how do you handle relatives questions on your jw status?

atpeace

i was curious how others handled the questions like - so, when is your convention, how many publishers do you have now, etc. these questions always come up with the once a year visit to jw relatives. usually it's asked in earshot of my jw parents. my immediate family knows i no longer attend meetings, but they have not pushed for more of an explanation. but out of respect for them, i feel uncomfortable in these settings. any suggestions on some vague answers that are not dishonest, but to just end the conversation?

Dagney

I just day "I don't know."

OnTheWayOut

"I don't know." is a pretty good answer. I find that even most elders don't know how many
publishers are in their cong.. While respect for your parents is nice, don't feel a need to
come up with answers to these questions.

I am not a phychologist, but avoiding family's questions to make immediate family feel
less uncomfortable is called "enabling." You are enabling them to feel comfortable in their
mind-control cult. I do understand the difficult JW situation you are in. If you don't keep
fairly quiet, the immediate family could decide to cut you out of their lives. I don't suggest
that you tell the others, "I know it is not the truth." But don't have more than "I don't know."
If they push, stay with that.

"Well, is the hall crowded?" "Is the convention in July or August?"
"I don't know." "I don't know." "I haven't been to the hall in a while, so I don't know."
"Why haven't you been to the hall?"
"I don't really want to discuss it."

You are not lying. You are not attacking either.

dawg

As I tell everyone, don't ever take my advice, I don't know squat... but just for the fun of it, why don't you say... I don't go to the KH anymore, becasue I've figured out what absolute fools the GB are, did you know they changed the generation thing again to those in the "annointed"? Drop that a-bomb and see what happens....LOL!

THen say, if threy are "God's chanell of communication" as they claim, why would God's spirit direct them to do such stupid things?

Always amizes me that they feel as if they have the right to pressure you with their religion,a nd that you have no right to your own opinion of it..that just doesn't make scense....Period!

AlyMC

hmm... nothing stays that quiet in our family I guess. Our family wasn't even in the same state as us and they knew before we told them. I would just go with the honest "I'm not sure" and then I'd ask them a question. People love to talk about themselves. ;o)