How old were you when you were baptized as a JW, and what was it like? (page 2)

I was an adult convert, and got baptized a month before my 26th birthday. I had given up a lot of friends and a fiance to join the "truth". I was a true believer. I also thought I'd soon find friends to replace the ones I lost when I got involved with the JWs. I was wrong. The JWs were friendly enough until the day I got baptized, but once the deed was done there was no longer any reason for them to be friendly to me. They had their holy statistic, and could immediately move on to new potential suckers. I was virtually ignored from the moment I came out of the pool. I couldn't even find someone to sit with for the rest of the assembly. The other 5 in my hall who were baptized that day were taken out for a celebration after the assembly program that day. Since I wasn't invited, I went home alone and watched TV.

The day of my baptism stands out as the loneliest day of my life.

W

rathfear

Lets see I was 17 and I suppose I did it to belong because my mother was in and thanks to being brought up in the truth™ I had no life outside of it anyway. After baptism I still didn't belong in the congregation I was expected to be a good JW but was left out of stuff and passed over for stuff because of who you knew or were related to. The internal politics was confusing to me then, looking back I see how petty and pathetic it was and also realised that the baptism questions were about dedication to the borg.

oompa

i re-read your post..............the devils challenge...........so funny.....it is not even in the bible..........and for me......the only reason i got the dunk is cause my friends were doing it.....i never did the kneel down dedication.........i was a jw rebel since third grade......i have never fit in......and i wish i had had the guts to move on when my first wife left me...........oompa

wunce_wuz

I'm not sure what exact age I was, definitely teens. Think it was a district assembly. What I do remember is that the baptism was at someones private resisdence. They had a pool and we all went there.

Narkissos

I was 13. 1972, at a time when dedication was still to follow the lead of the Holy Spirit, not the "spirit-directed organisation" (the nuance became important to me later). The day before Christmas -- I remember that because the next day we had a feast with all the congregation in our home, with my fiercely anti-JW grandmother staying in her room in protest. I was baptised along with my father and stepmother who had started "studying" months earlier and whom I had eagerly caught up with from the day of my first JW meeting in July.

The only thing I remember was when the baptism talk speaker started talking about repentance, and I began wondering what I had actually repented from. I couldn't feel concerned with most of the "sins" he mentioned until he got to the sin everyone is guilty of, i.e. "living for oneself". I felt oddly relieved to find something I could at least repent from...

lalaa

I got baptized in 1997 at the age of 17. They had to dunk me twice since my shoulder or something didn't go under the first time. I only got baptized becuase it was the thing to do since everyone had already done it. I don't really remember much except that my mom was really happy.

Rosey

I was baptized at 12 and I totall agree with primateDave.....it was like a rite of passage.

I was brought up a witness and it was expected of you.........I don't really remember feeling any kind of dedication in my mind....I just remember feeling like I had achieved a goal.......reached the next stage of being a jw.

I remember the date really well because it was the first of september 1990 which can read as 1.9.90 .....or 1990.

When I think back now it was the biggest mistake of my life as it meant that they could df me........I mean honestly, how can a 12 year old possibly be expected to make a decision like that......there is no way that at 12 I could ever have imagined meeting and falling in love with a non-jw...

.....heck, at 12 I was under the impression that one day that perfect jw would come along and we'd have some big old jw wedding and then I'd have babies while he went out and provided for us and he would always have the final say. Scary!......not the having babies part.....the not having a say part!

Rose x

BonaFide

I wonder if God accepted my baptism

How old were you when you were baptized as a JW, and what was it like?

wannaexit

Finally-Free

rathfear

oompa

oompa

wunce_wuz

Narkissos

lalaa

Rosey

BonaFide

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