You can be glad Cthulhu!
How old were you when you got baptized...was it your own decision?
by Desilusionnee 36 Replies latest jw friends
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lepermessiah
14 - while it was "my" decision, once you hit your teens it was either get baptised or get asked "what is wrong with you, what are you waiting for?"
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nancy drew
I was 36 and believe it or not I was contacted at the door and I thought it all sounded interesting because it was all new to me now I realize how little I knew about it at the time. there was no internet to check everyone seemed so nice & sincere and I just didn't see what was coming.
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Witness My Fury
16 Yrs old and born into it. And yes I believed in it 100%. .....But back in the mid 1980s there was no internet so not at all easy to double check other sources to make a subjective decision about it.
Cheers
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man in black
I was raised a Roman Catholic from day 1 to 16 yrs.
parents and grandparents were both RC.
Dad started to study with the jw's in mid 1970's and the whole family turned rabid.
I felt as only son it was my duty to stand up for what was considered the "truth".
During his book study (which I sat in on quite often) much time was spent ripping apart many of our RC beliefs, and replacing them with the
pure / wholesome, wt thoughts, and teachings.
And also as a side benefit to me, many of the younger guys from the hall became my so - called "friends" who shared with me the very important skills needed as a teenager to evaluate, purchase, and smoke weed, drink heavily and not get caught by parents, teachers, or the police. Run around and date those awful worldly girls while all the time putting on a correct, rightous face at the hall. Everyone thought we all were the most upright-spiritual young kids around.
The funny thing is that I was pretty straight and decent before becoming a jw. It took me having to join gods "true religion" before I knew how to be a total drug using, alcoholic , lying, swearing, hypocrite.
With wonderful friends like that, and being young and naive I bought the whole baptism thing hook-line-and sinker.
So while it was my decision, now I look back and see that I was guided in different ways to reach that outcome.
The worst thing to me was the reaction on my Grandfathers face when he learned about me becoming a witness,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
I really respected and admired him. His reaction will bother me for the rest of my life.
Yet at the time I knew that my decision was correct in order for me to survive armageddon and live forever in a paradise earth with my hypocritical friends.
That was 35 years ago, and from what I have heard over the past few years all of my "friends" are either df'ed, divorced, or in drug rehab,
Not one is a rightous, god fearing person,,, what a crock of garbage this religion is for young people.
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NiceDream
I was also 19. I figured I was getting to be too old to "ride my parent's coattails" as per info from the platform, plus I wanted to get married one day.
Ironically, I was told that I couldn't get baptized because I didn't have an average of 10 hours of service per month. I guess my worth and salvation hung on my field service hours.
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IsaacJ22
I was 21. Pretty young for a convert, but not as young as those raised in the org. It was my decision alright. You couldn't have stopped me.
Since then, I've considered getting DAed (I'm not clear on whether they still do that these days) just so they'd leave me alone. Go fig.
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sd-7
12. I made the choice, but I was afraid to refuse, really. I did to please my mom and compete with my sibling.
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Desilusionnee
Didn't know one needed a min. hours of service per month to get baptized...one more rule
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JimmyPage
Wish I could see this thread.