by keyser soze 40 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
Two elders in my home telling me that going back to school was a waste of time and that it would get me nothing but minimum wage jobs with my wife nodding in agreement.
Now that I've quadrupled my income with benefits in a reccession proof job, learned how to fly, bought one of the biggest houses on my block, and the wife doesn't have to work amongst other things, I can only imagine where I'd be if I'd have taken their advice and "concentrated on my ministry"!
Steps of my fading:
1) Always had doubts about blood, but when my son was born 7 years ago I thought: Would you let him die? No! Can you bring others into religion, where they are suppose to do it, but you yourself are not willing to do it????
2) Seeing stupidity of some JWs: when WTBS cuts production of magazines , cuts meetings etc... some JWs around me started zealously yelling: Thats a proof we live in last days!!! This is a proof that the end is sooooo close!!! I thought: This really is a bunch of brainwashed people.
3) Studiing pedophile cover up cases - I realized, that WTBS is actually the slave, who beats his brothers ...
4) Reading several heart breaking stories of shunning on internet...
4) Hearing a record from JC, that disfellowshiped my friend who was JW over 20 years, pioneer, elder, cooperating with local Bethel in translating, extremely humble and spiritual person - the reason: From the Bible he realized, it is OK to aproach Christ in prayer. Because his little son was taken to the hospital in a serious condition - he did pray to Jesus also. After some time spoke about it to other wittnesses, they denounced him and so he was taken to the JC. He has excellent knowledge of the Bible so the 3 elders were absolutely helples, not beeing able to prove he is wrong from the Bible. Anyways, he was disfellowshipped. I am so happy my friend did record the whole meeting...
After all of this I realized I have only one goal in my life: To do whatever I can and to sacrifice whatever I have to, to prevent my 7 years old son from becoming a member of this wicked and destructive cult!
Albert
Over the years so many thngs began to bother me ,but of course I always chalked it up to me being weak . I would attend a convention and come back all fired up that THIS is the Truth and I needed to get with the program . I would study more go out in service more and yet feel even more depressed . Stuffing doubts and dissatification down all those years took a toll .
When I began to see my teenage children being forced to conform to opinions of the Elders it brought out a protective mother instinct in me like a wolf protecting her cubs . I knew my youngest son was going to stop associating and I would be damned if I would follow the WT counsel to shun him .
The straw that broke the camels back came with the Awake magazine outlining what were acceptable and unacceptable blood fractions for "Christians ". After standing up for absolutly NO Blood for myself ,my son and my Mother ....now they are saying ',UMMMMmm well we could take certain parts of the blood '.....WTF are you kidding me ! I put my kids lives on the line because I believed blood was sacred to God and now your back pedaling on 'certain' parts of the blood . If the information we had been given from Gods channel here on earth could be making such a dramatic change on this issue WHAT else could they change on us .....
That did it for me I felt i had seen behind the mirror and the great oz (org) was just another manmade religion trying to control the masses .
For me it was the worship of the Governing Body. EVERY prayer, SO many meetings and WT pubs would talk abou the Governing Body. I had SUCH dissonance because it felt so wrong. I thought God and Jesus were to be on top, and the GB was just a channel... so why give them so much attention.
I have heard talks that defined idolatry. They said if you give excessive and undue attention to something (like sports, cars, etc) then it's idolatry. So to me the worship of the GB was idolatry.
I of course had many many doubts, but this was the last straw...
The knowledge of Beth Sarim. That really opened my eyes.
Donny, you must be joking!!!
Albert
When the hounders told me to just meet men at a$$emblies, I realized it was time to start leaving (and to give them as many headaches as possible on the way out). At that point, it mattered not whether or not it was the truth: even if it was the truth, I did not want to enter a world with nothing but men, or where the opposite sex is all terrified by my being there, and either way realizing that it is me that f***ed it up for them.
one waste-of-time-and-money
summerfest, aka DC, my family
opted to go to an earlier one
at a different venue than the one
the KH i attended was assigned to..
rochester, mn..... home of the mayo clinic....
a brisk 4 minute walk from the convention center
through the skywalk system led to a food court
in a mall.... and that year the b0rg was cracking
down on "leaving the building for meals"
when an elderly elder's wife was recounting
to me that the "brothers" assigned attendants
to TAKE THE NAMES of fellow believers who
DARED to go to the food court and ANNOUNCE
THE COUNT to the assembled crowd.....
i felt my brain re-engage....
out-f 'ing-rageous
Their demotion of Jesus.
Sylvia
My conclusion that even if the doctrines were correct ... I had no interest in living an eternity with the people who belonged to this particular organization. I would rather be dead!
