by Shadow1 36 Replies latest jw friends
Thanks jgnat...I'll be sure to check out that link
Yes my wife is baptised, many years ago. She has just recently returned to the Org. after being away from it for a few years.
I would never attempt to stop her from attending any meetings. This is her choice. However, I don't think I could ever bring myself to attend. Just not my gig.
Gee Shadow I didn't know your wife was that involved already, it sounded like she was just newly introduced to them.
If she is already baptized that makes things a little more difficult, you should have mentioned that at the beginning.
Then she has already been exploited by this bogus publishing company to a fair degree
You may want to rethink that Shadow, as soon as you hear the word "worldly" and you begin to feel isolated, and then badgered into attendance. Step 1. Then the fun begins. Remember Christmas, Hallowe'en, your birthday?. Oh and did I say your life is history. That's step2. Don't ask about step 3. You won't like it.
It's been a while since I was at one of those things--I was 10 years old (I'm 28 going on 29 now)--but I'll try to help you out here.
Assemblies and conventions of Jehovah's Witnesses are essentially extensions of meetings, except with more people, since members from many congregations gather in one place, and they last for at least 2 days. I remember seeing skits, sometimes involving costumes (if stories from Biblical 'history' were being re-enacted), and listening to tape recordings. But the point of assemblies, and conventions, is that of meetings--to keep up the mind control.
I hope this helps even a little bit, but, if not, I'm sorry I couldn't have been more helpful. Like I said, it's been a while.
My first thoughts, were the parallel to myself. I always thought that after I stopped doing "bad things" that I would go back. I too was baptised. I got married, and started studying with a sister in the town I lived in. Got divorced, quit studying, moved to new town. Ex-husband enjoyed hitting me too much.
New town, single, started back to meetings. (Just a few) My hormones got the best of me, and I started having a good time, for the first time in my life. I would wait awhile, before going back.
Started smoking, and still having a good time. Won't go back right now. Later I will.
Got married again, still smoking. I will quit soon, and go back.
Had a baby. Oh, I really need to go back. Don't want my child destroyed at Armageddon. Maybe my husband will convert also. Need to stop smoking first.
Quit smoking, Didn't really want to go back, but thought I really should. Armageddon is near. Parents are after me to go back to meetings.
Almost ready. Look up Jehovah's Witnesses on internet. Find JWD, and lurk for a couple of months. Finally felt comfortable enough to join and post.
I said all of the above, because I think your wife, is where I was. She got married, quit doing "bad things" and feels now, that she can go back with a clean conscience. Is she going to the same Kingdom hall, as she was when she was 14?
Ahhhhh, she knows so many people. They all welcome her back into the fold. She is baaaaack. Things are familiar. Her former sins are forgotten.
They are inviting you to DINNER????? Of course they are. The "brothers" are jockeying to see who can start a study with you, and get the KUDO's to "bringing you into the Truth".
When they find out, that you don't want to play their game, the invitations will stop, and your wife's honeymoon popularity will stop.
An idea, is to tell her, you are researching the Witnesses, to see what they believe. Start to teach her what they believe.
I have a confession. I didn't even know, what they believed, until I came here. I knew all of the buzz words, but not the core beliefs.
"The Faithful and Discrete Slave"??? I had no idea. She may just be going again, like a zombie, if she got out when she was very young. She may need to be taught, some of the beliefs, and open her eyes.
These are basically wastefests. About 90% of the program is talk about avoiding independent sources for research, cutting back on all other activity to make room to pioneer, and that too many people skip too many boasting sessions. Of course, there are the fake experiences that someone had a big mountain (sickness, big family, etc) or ditched a high paying job to make room to pioneer. This is intended to make you start picking up the field circus activity.
Thank you all once again.
Horrible life...thanks for your comments. Yes it does sound like you have had a similar experience as my wife. She was baptised at the age of 14, and stopped going to meetings and such about 5yrs ago. She is 50 now. She had been divorced for about 1 1/2 yrs when we met. Dated for about a year or so, and now have been married for just over a year. I am 54, and was widowed about 7 yrs ago.
I knew she had been a witness, but we didn't discuss it much. Her entire family are witnesses. She has a couple of brothers in law that are elders. Her father (now deceased) was a pioneer of some sort, and very active in his congregation.She had told me she just didn't have the same beliefs anymore. I had not even met any of her family until we were well into our relationship. I was cool with that, and didn't pay much attention to it again. I am not religious in any way. I have no belief in God at all. When she had told me she would like to start attending meetings again, I didn't put much thought into it really. Who am I to stand in her way? But now I find myself completely surrounded by witnesses! Now, for the most part, they tend to leave me alone when it comes to trying to convert me. I have told them flat out that I would never become a witness, and so far, this has kept them at bay. I'm sure they are just waiting for that opportune moment though, to strike!
I started doing some reading online awhile back, just to maybe prepare myself for the future. That is what lead me to JWD. I told my wife I had started to do some research, and she seemed to be quite defensive. She said she was pleased that I was taking an interest in things, but I should be careful, and not be gathering the "wrong" kind of information! I told her that I would just like to learn more about the "Organization" she belongs to. She seemed a bit worried. She has gone off to attend day two of a curcuit assembly this morning. That's pretty much where I'm at right now.
Thanks again for the comments.
Shadow
I agree with more of the postings that the assemblies are just larger meetings with more guilt-ridden lectures to make them do more (meeting attendance and field service).
However, I think the most important thing you need to thing about is when elders from her kingdom hall will want to come over to visit with you. There aim will be to convert you by starting a bible study !
My brother in law, who is an elder, gave me some books to read one day. I politely handed them back to him, saying "I already have some good resources. thank you". He seemed disappointed.
Shadow.
FreeWilly....Wife became part of the Org. when she was 14 yrs of age. apparently dropped out about 5 or 6 years ago (before we met). We have been married for just over one year, and she returned to the Org about 3 months ago.<<
You are S*C*R*E*W*E*D
NO seriously, you married one person and very shortly you will meet the "real" person inside, the one who lives to serve the WT and is incidentally married to some "unbeliever".
It will suck to be you very shortly when you find that you rate well below her cult on the list of things most important to her.
I suggest you print out some of the material about this cult and get both of you in front of a decent marriage counselor before your life turns to crap. At the very least you wifey will have something to think about besides the mind-control given by the Org.
