MARYBLOND GIRL- Welcome to the board friend ! My wife and I welcome you ! I too was raised in the witnesses. Got out almost 5 years ago at 44 years of age. But I understand the fear you have. We were all conditioned by the witnesses to serve God out of fear of displeasing Him- so armageddon was a very motivating , intimidating tactic they used to keep us in fear ! In fact I was out of the organization for about 4 years and I got scared out of my wits and went back because of the 9-11 attacks in September of 2001. But I left for good in December of 2003- after seeing injustice in the organization.
So don't fear my friend - in time you will lose your fear when you learn more about how we were all lied to and deceived. Educate yourself on the board here- and please remember- you are among friends. We care about what happens to you. Your new friends, Peace out, Mr. & Mrs. Flipper
New to board
by Maryblondgrl 36 Replies latest social relationships
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flipper
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ninja
hi marydoll....welcome to the board.....da ninja
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Gopher
Hi Mary, and welcome to the discussion board! I also was a 3rd-generation JW, made it as far as ministerial servant, took it quite seriously.
As far as the "statue toes" prophecy -- all I can say is that, looking back, the WTS has changed its mind about the interpretation of Daniel so many times. For example, in their 1958 book "Your Will Be Done on Earth", they said that the Communist powers (such as the USSR which was the biggest threat back then) would survive as the "king of the north" all the way to the end of the system, and that God's people (JW's) would be continually be persecuted by such powers up until the end! Now that Communism has fallen and the JW's do have their freedom in most of the former Soviet countries, you can see they were guessing.
They have no idea who the king of the north is now. So how can they have any idea about what the legs, feet, and toes of the statue really mean?
The JW's in this century have thought that the following were signs of the sudden end: The 9/11 attacks in 2001, Hurricane Katrina, and the Indian Ocean killer tsunami of 2004. Yet none of these terrible events brought the "end".
The "end" has supposedly been near ever since you and I were little kids, and for JW's the end will continue to be near for decades to come.
Nations rise and nations fall, the world will continue on, and there will always be world-end-prophesiers. It's all part of the scene. It doesn't mean the prophesies are anywhere near true.
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ataloa
Welcome, Mary.
I agree with ldrnomo. Some honest-hearted ones can no longer stomach the hypocrisy and lack of love and are driven away. Hopefully Jesus will think we are salvageable. If not, we will be sure to have better lives now, for all the sacrifices we have made.
The opinions here are so diverse, I'm sure this place will help us newbies to gain a much better understanding of the important things.
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Casper
Welcome Mary...
Thanks for sharing your thoughts, we look forward to getting to know you.
Cas
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JK666
Mary,
Welcome to JWD!
One surprise you will find out as you peruse this site, is that we are not apostate. The JW's are an apostate organization!
Keep posting!
JK
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MissingLink
I guess I'm an apostate cause I agree with everything being said.
Oh no you didnt! You bustin' out the A word against us?!
Just kidding. We actually are a bunch of evil apostates. Put on your devil horns, drink a cup of sheeps blood and read the forum.
Welcome. The A word will lose its power once you understand the loaded language thing.
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mouthy
Welcome to JWD Maryblondgrl! I was one of those knocking on doors warning folks 1975 they were going to die...UNLESS they come onto the Organization. I quit a very good job to go do it too. What happened ??? I found out Deut 18.20-22 was telling me they were false prophets.
They kicked me out because I said I didnt believe Jesus came invisably in 1914...
I would love to send THANK YOU cards to them now.Remember TRUE LOVE throws fear outside. If they had true love they wouldnt have loved us all conditionally .As long as we accepted THEY were the WAY TRUTH LIFE!!!! That is a LIE!!!!
Jesus Christ is in MY opinion.
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Honesty
Hi Mary !
I have an 'anointed' ex-Sister-in-law who shuns me better than any other JW I have encountered since I left the group in 2004 and became a born again christian.
I hear she gets an extra 'privilege point' applied to her reward each time she shuns me.
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Awakened at Gilead
Welcome MBG,
We're happy you're here. I have just been here for about a month too, and I have receieved tons of support. As a former elder and Gilead trained missionary, my exit has occured over doctrine. I could no longer stomach hearing about 1914...
Think about it. How many Witnesses can explain the 1914 prophecy? It actually doesn't stand up to the light of scrutiny.
I suggest that you do some research.. some books like Crisis of Conscience and The Gentle Time Reconsidered are helpful.
Or you could check out Websites like www.jwfacts.com (created by a JWD poster in Australia).
Get the facts, and the fear will dissipate...
BTW my step-father is of the "anointed", and he has already begun to shun me although I'm not officially Dfd or DA yet!.
Take care and Welcome...
A@G