Lozasleft said I should introduce myself. I'll try. WAY back in the sixties my Mom, than older sister, than father came into the truth and got baptized. I wasn't happy my dad got baptized because I thought it would change him and I liked him the way he was. Anyway I got baptized in 1969 at 16 yrs old mainly because I wanted to be able to date JW girls. I was not theocratically minded, but went through the motions, made the best of it all, had some good friends, had some good times. Growing up in NYC we had alot of bethelites in our congregation, often trying to take me "under their wing". A lot of that had to do with me having a good looking older sister. One bethelite use to take me on out of town speaking assignments. It was all good, but they were NEVER going to make a bethelite out of me. In my congregation was George Gangas, Charles Feckel, as well as other bethel heavyweights but not annointed. I knew Nathan and Audrey Knorr, (and years later knew Audrey and her second husband Glen Hyde). My two younger brothers also got baptized.
I'll fast foward---moved upstate NY near Wat farm in 1971. Still hanging on to the truth but still not very spiritual. Probably in the 1980's got more serious and made spiritual progress. Served as an elder for years but stepped down for domestic troubles. I would say fading began about 3 yrs ago. Some things that ALWAYS bothered me; 1) Jeh telling Abraham to scrafice his son, I would have said no-- take me. How could Jeh put a man through stress like that? The constant violent nature of worship, scrafices, wars, destruction. Adam dooms the whole human race to imperfection, sin, and death an Jeh lets him live for another 900 yrs, kills a guy for preventing the ark from falling. Blood doctrine which I dealt with personally. How the GB has turned themselves into Saducese and Pharisies (spelling but you know what I mean) When they started telling us how to dress even during our relax times something has gone to their heads. Not too long ago we had a Wat study about how a gecko, a rock badger, and some other critter should make us think of Jeh. Not Jehs. creative power, but his attributes. It had to be one of the most stupid things I ever read. This was real Dr. Suess but not written that good. I'm sitting in the hall thinking this is all our GB can come up with? Taking a break from the reprints this week. Then the generation thing. It has to be wrong to try to make Jesus words fit what they are teaching. The way the org. makes stuff up, like no more food service so we can concentrate on the more important spiritual things. I can guarantee those dried out hoagees were not why my mind was drifting. The real reason was improper food handling with untrained workers getting people sick and trouble with Boards of Health. Just tell us the truth. Only book a room off our list. The real reason is that is how org. gets their rooms for free. Just tell us.
Left out a whole lot, wives, jobs, illnesses.......haven't been to a meeting in months but not out yet. I'm in the same boat as a lot of you, I don't want to crush my parents.