Were your parents a different religion before JDubism?

by Crumpet 38 Replies latest jw experiences

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  DesertRat

  Father was Jewish & mother was Methodist..

  She moved to Connecticut with an older sister (my now-JW aunt) to attend high school in the 'city.' Studied & was baptized at 17. My father, who was thrown out of the house for accepting the 'Truth' (I think also because he gave up a promising career in the defense industry..), followed suit & was baptized after their engagement..

  They were gung-ho from the start--going to serve 'needy' congregations in Pennsylvania & Massachusetts, to Gilead in 1967 (44th Class) & subsequently to Guatemala. My father got into some trouble down there & was DF'd for a time (I found out about it from some old Bethel letters which I stumbled across one afternoon while still living at home & my mother was gone..). Various non-JW relatives & family friends have surmised that there may have been a child as a result. Guess I will never know for sure; Mother flatly denies it (just as she flatly denies my father ever getting sick from the chemotherapy ).

  My parents, died-in-the-wool New Englanders that they were, returned to the States in the dead of winter, 1969, & couldn't stand the cold after two years in the tropics. They had plans to settle in Southern California. This was about the time that my non-JW grandfather (mother's side) gave them money to drive my grandmother, who was crippled with arthritis most of her life, out West while he wrapped things up back home. Those were the days of 'go to Arizona for your health.' They got her situated with JW friends in Apache Junction, a suburb of Phoenix, & were ready to head for San Diego or Orange County when my mother realized, while staying with friends in Tucson, what else was in their future..

  And yes, the rest is history (for better or mostly worse).

  DR
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  Taythan

  My parents, namely my mother and step-father became JW's as adults. My mother from a nonpractcing Catholic background and my step-father from a Bible-belt Methodist upbringing. The transformation took about 3 years from when my mother first began studying in 1986 to the eventual smashing of her Christmas record collection to their baptism in 1989. Sometimes I think it was worse that way than if they had been in the Org. the whole time because when they first started instituting JW law in the home they did so with a strict and heavy hand trying to live up to the new expectations upon them.
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  tall penguin

  Both were Catholic.
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  jwfacts

  Forgot about the names, I will change them.
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  LisaRose

  Hi - new here to the forum. My mom attended Presbyterian and other protestant churches. I don't remember my dad going to church. We all got babptized in '69, I was 13. They were very zealous and both died "faithfull". I think it was just something that worked for them, answered some questions they had. My mom was chronically depressed and had a 'nervous breakdown' before my birth ( I was the last of 6). She believed "The Truth" cured her of all depression and was contemptuous of those who were depressed in the cong. It seemed to me she was still very depressed but in denial, as she was so negative. Five of the six were not in the truth by the time she died (I was the last one out), and she agonized about it. Torn between wanting contact and feeling guilty about it. I visited her the year she died and we had a nice time even though I had made the final break by then. Then I got a letter saying that she enjoyed the visit but didn't want to see me anymore, as she felt bad. By that point it didn't bother me, I had said my goodbye. Then she complained that I didn't call. Never could win with that one. It was kind of a relief when she finally passed away
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  freetosee

  My mother was Methodist and my father was the son of a Lutheran minister.

  My parents are not from Germany. My father was based in Germany (British military) that how we got to Germany and got in contact with the JW’s in the late 60ties. My parents got baptized in 1972 (before 1975) and helped forming English-speaking congregations. Since I’ve left the org I hardly get the opportunity to use my English.
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  freetosee

  Welcome Lisa,

  Do you remember some of the atmosphere before 1975? I was too young to remember.

  Enjoy JWD!

  Freetosee
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  Midget-Sasquatch

  Both my parents were Roman Catholic. Although my father was only nominally. In fact alot of his antipathy for the church was instilled into him by my grandfather. Grandpa evidently was heavily swayed from the communist movement in Italy after WW2 (although both he and my dad still believed in god). So my Dad was searching and well primed to swallow the JW rhetoric.

  My mother became a jw decades after my father.
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  evita

  My mom was adopted by a Jewish family shortly after birth (her birth parents were most likely Jews also).
  When she was about 5, her adopted mom had a nervous breakdown. She was sent to a Catholic boarding school to be cared for temporarily. No one really knows why. This was very scary for her and she had many bad memories from this time.
  When my mom was in her teens, her mom began following Billy Graham. Very unusual for a wealthy Jewish family from the east coast.
  Later, she and my mother became somewhat interested in the teachings of Mary Baker Eddy and the Christian Science religion.
  My mother moved to NYC to become an actress. She met my dad who was Jewish but an avowed atheist. He told her she was foolish to believe in god. so she put it all aside for a while.
  My parents moved to California and became hippies and did lots of drugs. Many people were searching for a spiritual path at this time and my mother renewed her search also. She explored eastern religions and various gurus, but my dad remained a confirmed atheist. My parents divorced around 1969 when I was ten.
  My mother at this time was an emotional wreck and severely depressed. The 60's were over and she was divorced with three kids and no community. We lived on public assistance as virtual hermits for about 3 or 4 years. She tried many different churches, desperate for something. Then one fateful day, a neighbor woman named Carmen befriended my mom and began witnessing to her. We attended the KH and were love-bombed. My mom was convinced she had finally found the "truth" and was baptized a short time later.
  In many ways, the JW's "saved" my mom. She was severely depressed, scared, and sometimes suicidal. I really wish our family could have gotten the help that we needed but this was the early 70's in a small, rural town.
  So that's what happened.
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  Crumpet

  ((((((((((Crumpet)))))))))))) I read your experience on jwfacts' page and it's heartbreaking! You have been through so much, and yet you are such a positive-spirited, up-beat presence on this forum! You are wonderful!

  My ears are so ticklish! Thanks Good girl bad girl!

  Welcome to the board Lisarose.

  And thanks to everyone for their comments - I guess I am just trying to find answers or a pattern, and really there isn't a set pattern for every person....