6 months ago i was d'fd and I am right now confused as to what i want to do cuse i can put my letter in for reinstatement now but i just dont know if that would be the best desicion for me. One side of me says go back to the jw org and do all that i can in the org so that i can make it to the paradise. but then one side says just do what u want to do til u die. Then the otha side of me says what if the new system is coming soon like the org keeps saying. Then the otha side of me is saying just dont care about the flaws that the organazation might seem to have i will have a purposeful and rewarding life if i go back. Then the otha side of me says look at everybody else how is it that they r still in the org when the sinned multiple times and got caught but still got reproffd when i only sinned a few times and I went forward to the bro's and got d'fd. Then the otha side of me is saying I need to go back to please my mom and dad. Then i start to think maybe i should just come back and continue to do what i want and just live a double life like i was doing b4 cuz i relly do believe taht if had neva came forward i wuld have neva got caught.then i could jus have everything back to the way it was. so that i can speak with my family and witness friends and not be shunned like i am some kind of freak. Then i start to think well if i go back and do all that i can, will i even make it to the paradise? I have discouraged so many ppl from being jw's. those ppl will always think of me and my experiences taht i told them wheneva a jw tries to speak to them. will tat make be blood guilty? I start thinking " well if i stay out what will i do with my life? should i try to go to otha religions even tho its been jammed down my head that jw's were the only true religion and all the otha's have changed their bible to fit their beliefs and that all the otha religions are filled with hypocrisy. What do i do? I dont know. I dont really believe that the jw's r part of the un. How can u guys prove that to me? I would need some kind of written proof from the un or an official un website. And ive been told several times that their is alot of things that have been puled out of the bible. Alot of ppl told me that there was chapters on jesus childhood. What is this that they are talking about? I dont know what to do I just NEED HELP and ADVICE please contact me
I need HELP and ADVICE. PLEASE HELP ME PLEASE READ
by theyoungone 40 Replies latest watchtower bible
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ackack
Essentially it comes down to priorities. If you want to be able to hang out with your family, or you want the JW lifestyle, or you want to be with your "friends" again then yes, you should go back to the JWs. (And you really shouldn't be here too) The fact that you're here seems to indicate you want to be talked out of going back. I personally feel if you care about truth and knowledge, then going back to the JW is not a very good choice, and probably some reading (like one of Franz's books) and some cult exit counseling would help greatly.
I'm not going to say you can't have a fulfilling life as a JW. Just make sure you don't care too badly about being intellectually stimulated, pursuing truth or being allowed to make up your own mind about a great number of things. For some people this is a fine trade-off for their families and the only way of life they know.
ackack
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theyoungone
please post something ppl i see that it has been viewed several times but no posts have been added
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Euphemism
For the UN's official word on the Watchtower's membership, check out http://www.un.org/dpi/ngosection/pdfs/watchtower.pdf
No one here can tell you what the right decision for you is, but I left the Watchtower three years ago and I never regretted it.
None of us know "the truth" about the afterlife, or God, or anything else outside our physical universe; we're all just imperfect humans trying to make our best guess. If you're worried that the JWs might be right, why not worry that the Catholics might be right, or the Muslims, or the Buddhists? Or maybe atheists (like me) are right, and if you devote your life to religion you'd just be wasting the only life you'll ever have. And if there is a God, would he/she/it really punish the vast majority of humankind for living as best as they know how, but picking the wrong religion?
It takes time to find the path that's right for you. The important thing is not to let the Witnesses--or anyone else--pressure you into something that doesn't feel right. It can be scary to not have all the answers, but that's life. Anyone who tries to tell you otherwise is either deluded, or trying to sell you something.
Best of luck on your journey,
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Schism
Hi,
I know exactly how you feel. When I was 16, I was torn between between confessing something to the elders so I could "live forever", or just not caring and living like I wanted to. Eventually, when I was 18, I did get DFed because I was doing something with a whole group of other JW kids and they got off easy while I caught the brunt of it. So, I know exactly how you feel. I remember feeling sick to my stomach because I thought I was going to die at Armageddon at any moment.
I'm 21 now, and my parents are still crying over me (even though I'm not DFed anymore). So, no matter what you do, even if you get reinstated, your mom and dad may still never be happy. Mine aren't
Take this from me, I should never have gotten reinstated. Period. I was reinstated last year, and it was the worst mistake of my life. If I could do it all over, I never would have been baptisted when I was 13. That was too young, but my dad made me do it, literally.
But anyway, up until recently, I totally believed that JWs were right about the Bible and God and the whole thing. It's funny though, that the day they told me I would get reinstated was the day I realised they weren't right. They say Jehovah's Holy Spirit will tell the elders when to DF or reinstate someone, right? Well, they didn't reinstate me while I was sad and sorry. They waited until I didn't care about them anymore. That's when they let me back in. It proved to me that Jehovah isn't directing them to do anything, like they claim he does.
About the Bible. Hmm, I know there are others here who know more about this than I do. I was watching the History Channel (I think) not too long ago, and it was about that. Your friend must have watched the same thing. Basically, there were a ton of these books all over the place, and tons of little churches had them. Well, the political ruler at the time (Emperor?) decided that he wanted all the little churches to have the same book and not a bunch of little different ones. So, he gathered a bunch of men around a table and they decided which ones to keep and which ones to burn. As for the ones they kept, they were twisted to fit and make some sort of plot in the story. He gave these back to the churches once they were done, because he wanted them to unite to be one church instead.
Eventually, people started to notice some things were wrong. For instance, there was no wife for Cain to have, so people wanted to know how he had kids. They rewrote it and added some sisters for him to marry. Little things like that were changed. There were many many books removed so that this emperor could have his unity.
That makes for a cute bedtime story, lol.
As far as I'm concerned, nothing in the Bible should have any effect on our lives today because it has been played with and twisted by greedy men. Whether you believe in God or not, that is your right. That doesn't necessarily mean that the Bible is Earth's window to God.
So, with that in mind, you can finally relax about the Witnesses being right about what the future holds for mankind. If we can't be 100% sure of where the Bible came from, then you know those who try to use it to rule people (JWs) aren't right at all.
I'm not sure what you did to get DFed, but I'm sure it wasn't terrible. Of course, your family is probably making you feel like you must be a demon or something, lol. But it's usually just human curiousity that gets us in trouble. You should never be made to feel like the "bad guy". I know I've been in trouble for every little thing. In fact, I am in trouble with my dad right now because I haven't been going to the meetings. The people on this site are new to me, but they're really nice people, and they've helped me to realise that I have to worry about my own feelings and not my parents' (yeah it will be tough for me).
I know when I was really young, about 5, I thought Jehovah must have been such a mean God to kill women and babies just because they "got in the way", or to prove a point, like my dad would say. I was like, "if he wanted to prove something and he had to kill a little kid to do it, then he would kill me too to prove something". But then the Bible says the he is "love". In my opinion, all those little books that were plucked out of the bunch to make up the Bible were written by terrorists of the time. Only someone evil could invent a "loving" god who kills innocent people to prove a point.
Please don't let anything the Bible or JWs can come up with worry you. It's all in their imagination, and none of it will ever happen. If God is real, he won't be found anywhere near the Watchtower Society.
I hope my post helps you. Are you living at home still? It's so hard to live in a house with a JW family when you're DFed. Just give yourself a few years before making a second huge commitment (the first was when you got baptised). I take it you are young, due to your screen name. If I would have had this site to come to only a year ago, I would have not written my millionth reinstatment letter, lol.
Take care!
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Schism
Wow, after seeing how long my post was compared to the others', I felt a little ridiculous. But I just have to point this out:
In the Garden, after Adam sinned, Jehovah didn't want to wipe Adam and Eve right off the map and start over because he wanted to prove a point to Satan, right? So, he let them reproduce and make generations of humans to prove to Satan that humans will be loyal to God. He didn't want to "flex his muscles".
Thousands of years later, when Jehovah kills over 6 billion innocent humans, what will he be proving? That he can flex his muscles?
There are so many contradictions in the JWs belief system. I don't think that I personally could live a meaningful life in the org because I am always one to think about stuff, and as a JW, I am not allowed to think.
Now that I've given myself the opportunity to think about things, and to look at it however I'd like, I am very happy. I used to be depressed when I made all my meetings. Now, I am always happy unless my JW dad calls and nags me. I have never been so happy in my entire life! I wish my parents could be this happy, but they're not. They truely believe that Armageddon is coming, and they cry themselves to sleep over it, while me and my significant other are watching reruns of Seinfeld and eating ice cream, lol.
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vitty
http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/7/100714/1.ashx
I think you would be interested in reading the above link that sent to me today by a poster who was reinstated.
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OnTheWayOut
what if the new system is coming soon like the org keeps saying
They KEEP saying it, alright. You are all over the map with your one side and the other side.
The Watchtower Organization is all over the map, too. They have been saying the end is
"right around the corner" for 100 years naming specific dates, then they say they didn't say
specific date.You have to slow down and make your decisions. There is no hurry. The end is NOT "right around the corner"
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sass_my_frass
For me, it isn't worth sacrificing my freedom and happiness to make my family happy. It was great when the world didn't end after I was disfellowshipped. It was a massive shock for sure, and it took many months to be comfortable with the choice not to get reinstated (I put in an effort for a while but attending meetings while In Good Standing was bad enough). It hurt my family and I feel sorry about that, but I did my best for them for many years. I'm only willing to sacrifice so much of my life and happiness to keep them feeling confident about what they believe.
Don't worry about many reads and no posts - we have many more lurkers here than posters.
Chill bub, take a few steps back from it every now and then. It's one of the worst things you'll ever go through, don't try to resolve it quickly. Take the time you need and be gentle on your heart and mind, because it hurts like hell.
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sass_my_frass
I figured I'd answer your questions...
I have been reading all of your comments and really but when you really look at jehovah's witnesses they live a good life
... no, not all of them. As good as every other person I know anyway.
and though not everyone is happy i would say at least 75% or more are happy but most people in the world are not happy. Y? Because they have no hope in life.
I think that your world has been too small all your life for you to make a judgment like that. I found that JWs mostly pretended to be happy and that's what wore them down. Non-JWs have their ups and downs but generally look forward to a real future.
Are you guys acctually happy living your lives with no hope really knowing that your going to die in like 50 years or so.
Yes. Really.
Jehovah's witnesses at least have a hope that they will live forever in paradise and they truly do believe in that and that hope brings meaning to their lives.
As it's not actually going to happen, what good is the false hope?
I dont think you guys should down people who for the most part, are living respectful and meaningful lives.
In my opinion and experience, a non-JW life is more respectful and meaningful than a JW life.
And for all of you ex witnesses you have to admit that most of your morals that you have today are because of what you learned at the kingdom hall.
No, I got them from the law.
And far as what if it true? that is a good question. I can guarantee that even though u might not think so, if armagedon came 2morrow you would be balling your eyes out wishing that you had just followed what the bible said.
... but it isn't going to. When it doesn't, and you die old, will you be bawling your eyes out because you wasted your life?
And as far as I see Jehovah's witnesses are following the bible pretty well. What other religions do you see trying as hard as them?
Pretty much any other religion.
They are preaching all over the world.
Many religions preach. Most religions that go out on the preach don't do so in order to fill in their time card and get their average hours.
But in the end all I am saying is why should I discourage you from going back you obviously need to because your killing yourself by not going back. Your fighting a fight that you can not win because as much as yall all dont like it, the truth will always be with all of you guys in the back of your mind at least.
No, it didn't take long to realise that I'd been fed a long and complex series of lies. I won the fight after only a few months.
Obviously you must have had good times in the organazation or you would not be having the thougths you are having? And obviously your life right now is not very happy?
What thoughts? I guess the rest of what you're talking about is specific to the thread I copied your first post from. Because speaking for myself, I'm infinitely better off on the outside. As a JW I was depressed and suicidal. As an ex-JW, I have joy and laughter and happiness in my life every day. Anyway, sorry about the confusion you're going through - disfellowshipping is hell, and they make you feel like you've brought it on yourself. I hope that you can see through the cloud of misery you're in and that you can be true to yourself and find whatever it's going to take to make you happy.