OLD PHOTOGRAPHS FROM JW DAYS

by Dansk 16 Replies latest jw friends

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  Dansk

  I left the organisation 5 years ago and this morning came across some old photographs from my JW days. Most photographs were taken in the KH, such as marriages, and at assemblies and many are of people once considered close friends - but now I find it hard to look at them. I asked Claire, my wife, if she would like to look at them and she said she couldn't bear to, so they went in the bin. I have kept only those photos where my own family are depicted. Have you kept your old photographs of JW days?

  Ian
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  llbh

  Hi Ian.

  I have vrery few photographs from my JW days that arenot family. Those that are i wish i could keep but i know that their love of me is usauly conditional on my adherence to their beliefs. so i am afraid they will go in the bin as when i come acroos them.

  Regards David
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  Quandry

  After more than thirty years in the borg, you can imagine that we had many pictures. The really sad ones to me were those of children's parties when my daughter was little. One was a Flintstones party where she was dressed as "Pebbles." I bought leopard print material and made a little outfit and even used material that covered her little shoes and tied around her ankles.

  It took days to look at and go through all the pictures. Of course, we threw many, many of them away.

  I wonder what became of many of the young people that moved to other places, or that we left behind when we moved.

  Very painful experience.
• 

  Velvetann

  Hi Ian

  I grew up a JW, my whole childhood was immersed completely into things to do with serving Jehovah. I have been out 25 years but my MOM died of cancer in Oct 2006, she was still faithfully believing the Lie when she passed on. I had to clear out her house and sell it. I inherited her photos. It took days to go through them all but they mostly were thousands of photos of her and my Dad with JW friends, at countless kingdom halls etc. Serving where the need was great, building kingdom halls. The momentous occasion back in the 60's when they bought a small house and had it moved on a truck bed down the main street of Perth Ontario to the piece of land they had bought. Even a bunch of photos of them doing a pretend door to door "sermon" to fellow witnesses for some kind of brag program or something. I found countless photos of me at assemblies with the stage background showing the year and the place. My Mom had videos of her and my Dad travelling out west in BC and even though my Dad wasn't a witness anymore they had to stop at every Kingdom Hall she saw and take video and photos of it. She was squealing with excitement at seeing them.

  Anyway going through thousands of photos of my MOMS showed me that her whole life was totally with the "friends" or serving somehow. They were special pioneers for years. I found the photos painful and threw most of them away, It brought back bad memories.

  Velvetann in Canada
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  Layla33

  Sure, I kept my pictures of my old JW days. My parents and grandparents have more of them than I do. I was born into this "religion", it was a part of my life. Picnics, parties, conventions, "gatherings" - but it doesn't bother me at all. I look at them as a part of my life that was then, and I look at my life as now.
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  XOCO

  I look at them as a part of my life that was then, and I look at my life as now.

  the same thing here, my mom was introduced to this religion and i remember my unbelieving father would take pics of me and my sis in our KH dresses but never with any of the dubs. the same thing when the dubs would take pictures of me and my sis us and not my dad irony here... but i know they would be good memories though seeing how innocent we were. GOOD TIMES LOL!

  XOCO
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  Peppermint

  This is an excellent old photo that is on Flickr. Their expressions say alot
  
  http://www.flickr.com/photos/36466215@N00/404517204/
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  XOCO

  In the pic it says a lot about JW youth. it looks like they are a couple but they had to leave room for Jesus. also i looked at Valno Alto and the Negros and BEFORE i read the description i thought that they must of not been welcomed i.e. the staring.

  XOCO
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  Cc81

  Its funny. Just the other day i found a old scrapbook from My pioneer school days... I couldnt bear to look at them. but i did not know if i should throw them out.. simply for the fact that it was a part of my life... I have been thinking about that book the past couple days now.
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  stillajwexelder

  yes - I have one of me being baptized !!