I agree 100%, Besty. If we can put up with all the 607BCE ranting and the "WT is still the TRUTH trollers", then surely we can take Goldensky on at least face value.
I see nothing alarming in what she has posted - but would like to know more.
New here
by goldensky 45 Replies latest jw friends
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StoneWall
Welcome Goldensky!
Very nice introduction of yourself.
Looking forward to hearing more from you.
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Leolaia
I read your first post with strange emotions...and, serious doubts about you as the poster!Please forgive me for stating the obvious , and also, please don't assume that I'm being rude, but your written English is far better than most university educated UK citizens - I'm totally amazed at your superb language skills! If your second language is this good, your Spanish must be absolutely immaculately written!
The English is very, very good, but there are signs here and there that English is not her first language. For instance:
A fully devoted Witness from infancy, I only have warm feelings of love for all the brothers and sisters I've met throughout my life in different countries, the U.S.A. being one of them.
It is a little more natural to say "I have only warm feelings" and Google bears this out: 3,000 hits for "I have only warm feelings" and only 7 for "I only have warm feelings". In most things "I only have" is perfectly fine but "I have only warm feelings" is something of a set phrase (idiom). In other expressions, it is the other way around: "I only have five cents" has 99,300 hits whereas "I have only five cents" has 5 hits. In Spanish, it is more natural for the adverb to go before the verb, e.g. solo tengo sentimientos por ti.
Another example:
One thing that greatly sustained me during the process was sensing that at least I was contributing to upbuild the faith of my brothers and sisters
This strikes me as very awkward....as there are two issues here. One is the infinitive clause used instead of a gerund or nominalization; it is more grammatical to say "I was contributing to building up the faith" or "I was contributing to the building up of the faith" (You can Google "I was contributing to" for yourself to see that nouns, nominalizations, and gerunds usually follow, not infinitives). It is usual however in Spanish to use an infinitive: Yo estaba contribuyendo a cambiar el hábito alimenticio de las especies, Yo estaba contribuyendo a aumentar sus sufrimientos, Pensé que yo estaba contribuyendo a hacer posible el sueño de este hombre, yo estaba contribuyendo a transmitir el mensaje de Jesús, etc. (again, you can Google "Yo estaba contribuyendo a" for yourself to see that infinitives usually follow). Second, it is more natural to say "build up the faith" (2,900,000 hits) than "upbuild the faith" (7 hits). This is another instance of an English idiom.
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Hope4Others
Welcome to Jwn....
Your post was well written indeed...
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OnTheWayOut
my logical mind was awakening all by itself and there was nothing I could do to reverse the process. I couldn't believe that was happening to me. I prayed to Jehovah incessantly to remove my doubts and I maintained all aspects of my spiritual routine, but all to no avail: my doubts only grew to an uncomfortable intensity.
I could tell a similar story. I woke up from reading changes in the WT magazine itself. I fueled that growing doubt by research mostly in "secular" writings, but not in anything by former members. I even pioneered for a year to give Jehovah the fullest opportunity to remove my doubts and use me to proclaim His will.
Overnight I went from being a 100% active publisher, somebody the elders could always count on for last-minute subjects and demonstrations on the platform and comments when nobody else put their hand up, to disappearing without a trail.
While I did not do that, I have since learned that I wished I had. I try to tell others on here that they can fade, but perhaps they can just stop cold turkey. Most would be happier in the long run if they did.
Unfortunately some of you use vulgar speech that makes me cringe. Your English language offers such a wide variety of expressive, yet elegant words! Why not use those instead? Then it would be much more pleasant to read what you have to say, and far more heart-reaching
Yes, if we could all be as unbitter as Ray Franz seemed to be in writing his two books, it might go a long way toward helping others. Unfortunately, we are not all that unbitter, probably more the opposite. We have to take the good with the bad. We have to allow each other the freedoms they were not allowed under WT rules. Some need to vent in vulgar ways.
Hey, welcome to the forum. Great starting thread of yours.
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JWoods
While I did not do that, I have since learned that I wished I had. I try to tell others on here that they can fade, but perhaps they can just stop cold turkey. Most would be happier in the long run if they did.
I think Goldensky may very well have done a very successful (and well hidden & silent) fade for those two years that she describes having doubts.
In my case I kind of did the same thing - dragging myself to a requisite few meetings and so on, until that one Saturday morning when I walked into that circuit assembly and just could not take one second more of it. Turned around, walked out, and never looked back.
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quietlyleaving
goldensky, I hope we don't ruin your english!
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daniel-p
Welcome to the board. I read your first post with strange emotions...and, serious doubts about you as the poster!
It's common for foreigners to speak with very formal English, and to take great care to speak the best they can, as is more than apparent with goldensky's posts.
I don't doubt her authenticity just due to that, but I would like to know more about how and why her doubts grew out of thin air.
Goldensky: surely, there must be something that triggered your doubts? Doubts can pile up in the back of our minds, but what brings them out is often a greivance we have, a disagreement about policy, an old wound... something. It's hardly ever pure reason.
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babygirl75
goldensky, I hope we don't ruin your english!
QL, I was about to post the same comment!!! lol We'd hate for any "newbies" to try to call you out on your English, Goldensky.....*spewing* Welcome to the board!! Babygirl......
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flipper
GOLDENSKY- Welcome to the board friend ! I was a born-in witness too. In 44 years- exited 6 years ago. Never been happier ! freedom of mind is sweet and like you said to be able to learn and research without feeling guilt is great also ! May I suggest several books that might assist you on your journey after exiting the witnesses ? The book " Crisis of Conscience " by Raymond Franz really helped me to see what really went on inside the decision making processes of the governing body. Ray is an ex-governing body member. Also - the books " Combatting Cult Mind Control" & " Releasing the Bonds - Empowering People to Think for Themselves " by Steve Hassan - really helped me to understand how the witnesses were able to manipulate me by mind control. It shows how mind control cults use guilt and fear to keep their members ( rank and file Jehovah's Witnesses) under tight control sqashing ANY individuality they might try to develop. It also explains why most of us were like robots as JW's ! LOL ! So welcome to the board ! Great first post and thread ! We look forward to your thoughts and takes ! Peace out to you, Mr. Flipper