Am I still an unbaptised publisher?

Bad Girl

Hi all I am new here and I have a question for you. I was an unbaptized publisher many years ago and attended meetings fairly regularly. I beleived in Jehovah and still do now. I beleive in Jesus, read the bible and pray sometimes. I went out on the service a few times and didnt enjoy it at all. I placed a few magazines, but the whole thing felt unnatural and forced. I was ok about doing informal "chat" type witnessing to people I knew though, that felt ok.

The main problem I had was that allthough I beleive in Jehovah/Jesus/The Bible, I dont beleive in being spoon fed a guide of what to do, how to act and what to think by a bunch of guys in suits. Ive always been a bit rebellious and strong minded. I found all the rules very stifling and claustrophobic. I stopped attending meetings and eventually just drifted away.

I have never been DF'd and I havent DA'd myself so what do you think my "status" is? in the eyes of the cong? in Jehovahs eyes?

Is it possible to serve Jehovah without following all of the WT "Rules"?Can you be a Jehovahs Witness if you live your life by the bibles standards, dont celebrate holidays etc and informally witness to friends, relatives and other people you feel comfortable talking to?Or is being a JW defined by regular meeting attendance, sitting pretty in a little row and putting your hand up with all the right answers, stomping the streets looking for people to take your magazines, and attending regular assemblies and conventions etc?

I would be interested to hear from anyone who feels that all the rules are very restrictive and that these were an obstacle to them serving Jehovah.I think that religion is a private thing and that its between you and your "God" I dont trust some group of elderly guys and Im not convinced by their impressive speeches and their smart suits, I think Jehvoah judges whats on the inside and a lot of these men seem to be all about whats on the outside. Does anyone know where Im coming from?

zeroday

I have never been DF'd and I havent DA'd myself so what do you think my "status" is?

Having never been baptised you can not be DF'd or DA yourself, you were never one of them. You can not be an umbaptised publisher if you are irregular at meetings and don't hold true to all of the WTS doctrines. At this point you have no standing in the organization.

bubble

You are no longer an unbaptised publisher because you are inactive. If you were never baptised then you can't be df'd or da'd.

Since you are not an active witness you can't call yourself a jw (not by their rules anyway).

Just be content with being a good christian, you don't need the title of being a jw.

I think everyone on this forum felt stifled by the rules, that's why we all left!

fullofdoubtnow

Hi Bad Girl, and welcome to the forum

Most of on here are ex or faded jws who left for a variety of reasons, but one thing the majority of us agree on is that the wts rules are too restrictive.

As for your "status", if you were never baptised and haven't attended for some time, you have no status with the jws whatsoever.

Bad Girl

Thanks for the welcome.

The only meeting I ever really enjoyed was the book study one which was usually a small group held in a brother n sisters home. I really wished we could do what the early bible students did though, sit round and go through the Bible, on its own, without any supporting books and just discuss and debate our findings. Why does even something as simple as a small get together to discuss spirituality have to have so many rules and regulations ie you are made to feel like you have to study the book beforehand, prepare all your answers, dress in a certain way, behave in a certain way etc etc etc etc it was like being back at school again and I hated school!

zeroday

Why does even something as simple as a small get together to discuss spirituality have to have so many rules and regulations

That's what a mind control cult is all about. The rules and regulations are there to keep you in line. You are not allowed to study the bible and come to different conclusions. Everything is scripted.

fullofdoubtnow

Why does even something as simple as a small get together to discuss spirituality have to have so many rules and regulations ie you are made to feel like you have to study the book beforehand, prepare all your answers, dress in a certain way, behave in a certain way etc etc etc etc

I'm not surprised you wonder about all the rules, seeing as you never got ~~duped~~ baptised as a jw. You only learn the full meaning of what you are involved in when you become a fully - fledged member, and by then it's too late to back out, and you're usually too brainwashed to want to anyway. Once you're a jw, questions are discouraged to start with, then punishable if you persist If I were you, I wouldn't go back, just try to be the best Christian you can without any help from the jws. This site will give you some insight as to how the jws and other cults work:

http://www.howcultswork.com/

Remember, it's better to have a question you can't answer than an answer you can't question, which is how it would be if you were a jw.

Linda

Honesty

Hi Bad Girl,

Just be thankful to God that you never got baptised because the Watchtower Society is a sham and a fraud. GOOGLE the internet for United Nations and JW's. The Watchtower Society condemned the UN for over 50 years as being the 'Beast' of Revelation. From 1992 to 2001 they were affiliated with the UN as an NGO, the same as any other religion that wishes to 'join' the UN. When 'apostates' found out and blew the whistle to the Bristish newspaper 'GUARDIAN', the Watchtower DA'd from the UN the next day after the article was circulated.

Just trust in Jesus and forget about the Watchtower Society because they will lead you straight to a Christless eternity if you go along with their whacked-out doctrines.

Wasanelder Once

Badgirl,

This is what always amazed me, people study, become unbaptized publishers and then get baptized - all without knowing what the hell they're doing. They have no clue how things work or the ramifications of thier decision. The Witnoids go over 100 plus questions before baptism and people still don't know what they're getting in to. It just blows my mind that people get sucked into this movement without any clue what's going on. Good for you that you are asking questions.

Yeah, pray and stay away from the Borg.

W.Once

Bad Girl

I think the WT is like everything else in this world, its got corruption running through it right at the very core. Ive read a lot about the UN issue and the child abuse issues, and it really puts me off attending meetings and giving any sort of support to an organisation I know very little about. I think the internet is a very valuable tool for hearing both sides of the story in order to gain a balanced view of whats really going on. If I was a baptised JW I would probably be in trouble for even coming here and posting right? So that tells me the WT is an organisation that wants to control people because like the cults website says (thanks for the link btw it was an interesting read) if the org genuinely had nothing at all to hide, they would encourage people to go off, do some research, listen to both sides of the story and then make up their minds as to what is the "truth" and whats not.

If you have really strong faith and beleifs then nothing you read on the internet will change that faith, in fact reading opposing views might actually strengthen your faith because debating and discussing is a natural and healthy thing to do. On the doors you would meet people who disagree with your views, so I cant see the difference between that, and coming onto a forum to discuss differing views with people, but I know it is frowned upon if your a practising JW to be on these kind of sites.

From the answers you have gave me I am not one any more in their eyes though so I dont have to worry what anyone else thinks it feels very refreshing to be here, I like this site lots allready

Am I still an unbaptised publisher?

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