For born in's: how did your parents get you to answer up?

by highdose 18 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  highdose

  My mum used to smack me on the arm with a rolled up WT when it was my turn to answer, she said it was " to make sure you didn't forget!". Most of the time i ended up just yelling "ow!" and rubbing my arm, but she never got the message.

  Another way was to scream at me non stop all the way home after the meetings if i hadn't answered up. I remember her once tearing up the next weeks WT in front of me and throwing each page at me into the back seat. Screaming that Jehovah hated me because i hadn't answered up, that i had let down god and therefore wasn't worthy of having next weeks WT, that when all my freinds asked me why i didn't have my own copy i would have to tell them it was my own fault! Because i hadn't answered up and therefore showed no respect for Jehovah! By the time we got home i was crying hystericaly, although she took no notice of this and continued screaming at me "look how youv'e made me behave now! What do you think Jehovah thinks when he looks at you and sees the way you have made me behave!?!!". A 10 year olds tears and "sorry"s fell on deaf ears.

  Truth is i was terrified of answering up, i would spend the whole meeting stewing about what i was going to say and practicing it over and over and over and over again in my head, i would shake all the way though and feel emotionaly exhausted afterwards. Strangly enough though, i never had a problem answering up in school??
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  garyneal

  Sorry you had to go through that. Wow.

  My wife just allows my daughter to answer up only if she is interested. Oftentimes, she would want to speak in the mike and my wife would tell her what to say. It doesn't happen very often, though.
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  Found Sheep

  I wanted to just because I got so many "you did such a good jobs" as a teen it became hard but i just wanted to be a good girl
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  Alfred

  I wasn't allowed to play with my worldy friends from the neighborhood unless I answered every Tues, Thurs and Sunday at least once per meeting... but it was a fairly easy rule to follow.. I would just read a text or say "Jehovah" or "the Bible" or some other easy response... However, if I fell asleep during the service meeting (which I occasionally did), I would get a severe spanking when we got home... How dare I disrespect Jehovah by falling asleep in his house? Made me feel like sh*t...
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  mrsjones5

  When I was little my mother used to pinch me to get me to answer. When I was older she would glare at me to try to get me to answer. If I didn't answer I would get talked about as if I wasn't there in the car and when we got home. Thankfully she gave up when I was close to 18.
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  highdose

  Alfred: i couldn't get away with simple answers, it had to be in my own words, lengthy and enough to rival the "elderettes" anwsers/ mini talks that they would give. Include one scripture at least as well.
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  Ilovebirthdays

  Guilt. She would circle the questions that I needed to have my hands up for. She would tell me that my Grandpa was the PO of the congregation, and it would look bad for him if we didn't answer at least once every Watchtower and book study.
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  happyexjw

  My experience the is same as Found Sheep, the praise was the only thing that made me feel good, an extra notch on my worthiness to definately get to pet lions and have my own chimpanzee in paradise

  Happyexjw
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  FirstLastName

  I STILL have a fear of speaking to a crowd because of being forced to answer and also give talks as a kid. When my family had our watchtower study at home, I was made to pic three questions that I would have answers to. I would write my answers in the columns and read them verbatim when I got called on. I still get sweaty palms thinking about it !

  I did it cause the look of dissapointment from my parents was worse than any spanking.
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  cantleave

  Highdose - we must have had the same mother!!!