What did you do?

by jerome 7 Replies latest jw experiences

jerome

This is a question that keeps popping up in my mind.
I cant think of a rational explantion myself so i have to ask someone who has been there.
Well here it is:
"What did you when you first started studying with the witnesses and people from the outside warned you about it?
What did you do when people said it was a cult?"
This extends to both people who were born into the Org but especially to people who were converts.
This keeps running through my mind all the time, over and over again.
I heard of them telling you that your family may object and that this objection to your studying is all a result of persecution for true Christians for His name sake, fortold in the bible and that you may have to make sacrifices.
But what when people handed you a bit of apostate literature, or an old watchtower.
Did you actually look into it?
Or if you did look into it how far did you go?
Did you blindly accept the we do not entertain apostate literature statement?
Can someone please make sense of this.
It's all so confusing.
The Bible is a two edged sword wield it for evil and it you may get hurt.
plmkrzy

Jerome says:
[qoute]Did you blindly accept the we do not entertain apostate literature statement?[>qoute]
Please pardon, I must have forgot when you were baptized.
"The fellow that agrees with everything you say is either a fool or he is getting ready to skin you."
- Kin Hubbard
Adonai438

"What did you when you first started studying with the witnesses and people from the outside warned you about it?
What did you do when people said it was a cult?"
The warning came from people I didn't particalarly like and they couldn't explain the 'why' are they wrong part so I ignored them. I actually may have even 'rebelliously' taken heart that I was being persecuted [8>]
I heard of them telling you that your family may object and that this objection to your studying is all a result of persecution for true Christians for His name sake, fortold in the bible and that you may have to make sacrifices.
Ahhhh.... yes! They rejoiced with me after I was kicked out of my grandma's home because I wanted to be a JW --- Yay, a true mark of doing God's will--- suffering!
But when I later researched and found out the truth about the 'truth' then I was to be kicked out of my aunts house for not lieing and pretending I was a JW. That was 'Jehovah's Judgement'. Yeah, anyway!
But what when people handed you a bit of apostate literature, or an old watchtower.
Did you actually look into it?
Or if you did look into it how far did you go?
Did you blindly accept the we do not entertain apostate literature statement?
No one ever did that with me-- I got out comparing their beliefs to the Bible and finding them n error. It did happen to a 'brother' I knew very well though. In fact he joined the WT because he wanted my aunt to marry him- no other reason-- but started believing what they taught gradually. His (real brother) gave him a book outlining the JWs errors and he did read it-- it shook him up bad! I remember being there when he explained with great pride how when he took it to his study teacher for answers, his study teacher took it by the corner--like it was contaminated-- and held it over a trsh can and proceeded to set it on fire before him. That was his answer, end of discussion. Such a tolerant society they are too!
<>< Angie
PS: Hi Jerome-- Don't think we've 'met' but if you want to chat, vent, research, etc.. please give me an e-mail OK? GHoing through all this is no fun and is hard- it's nice to talk with people that have already done it
jerome

.....
He let someone take it to the garbage and set it on fire!
This behavior is kinda confusing.
Because I thought you said that it shook him up bad so now i guess thats how he deals with his problems.
Oh i get it now, it was just apostate lies so it wasent worth the instructers time.
I understand partially why so many people on this board dont wast any time trying to convince active jws that what they believe is wrong.
With the attitude the study instructer displayed i dont see how there is any convincing him of anything anti-watchtower.
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I have questions for you.
1) When you started to research the 'truth' what was the first thing that syruck you?
2) Oh and another thing is your auant still married to him?
3) And how long were you in the truth before you statred to doubt?

4) What caused you to look?
-----------------------------------
A little about me:
Well i am currently involved with a witness.
I dont know how long it will last because she is just begining to show her true witness colors.
She can be really heartless especially when you are feeling down.
It is as if she recieves pleasure from trampling you when you are in a weakened state.
[No offence to any jws but how common is this lack of sympthy among witnesses?]
I wish i knew then what i know now about the org and what it does to people, if i did i may not be in this situation right now.
I thought she was the swetest thing and she was kinda at least for a while, well that was untill i found out about the facts about watchtower and started to express them to her.
Now she has begun to treat me like if i am any other person, calling me a liar and saying that i am being used unwittingly by the enmy and his apostate minions to do displeasure to Jehovah.
Oh how ironic is this.
I've held back my main quotations for about a month and a half now and very soon i will have to drop the bomb on her.
Call me a liar, well we'll see.
In a way i dont care if this relationship ends soon because she's just become this angry unreasonable person and guess what,
my associating with apostates is what caused it, not her inability to wake up and smell the truth.
She loves me very conditionally. Hate the watchtower and i hate you.
At least she cant never say that she wasent warned.
---------------------------------
When they warned me about apostates and i decided to exercise my right to seek information the thing that raised my alarms was the 1975 false prophecy.
My God they predicted the end of the world in the name of God [No mans opionion is expressed in the watchtower] and got away with it.
Now my jw girl is telling me that its ok because 'new light' permits generation to have another meaning.
And the bible dident classify Nathan as a false prophet [i cant wait to nail her on that phoney excuse] and the other lame excuse it the deciples had wrong expectations an the bible dident classify hem as false prophets either.[oh give me a break]
This whole thing has me really rethinking her intelectuall capacity somewhat. She's a smart girl but with reasoning like this makes me wonder how bright our kids would be.[If we made it that far, which i doubt.]
-----------------------
I am really busy right now because i have exams coming up and this jw thing is taking up alot of my lesiure time.
I need to get through with this thing. It just keps bugging me.
Theres a battle ahead between the two of us.
---------------------------
Watchtower Propaganda vs Apostate literature
Who will win? [The bORG most likely but i gotta give it a shot]
If all goes well this board may have a new member in the next few months.
If it goes as usual i'll be single and stress free again. [Thank God]
She has decided to take a setp that i am sure that many of you here on this board wish you had taken, she has decided to 'preview the other side of the story.' Entertain the dreaded apostate literature.
Not that her reading anything anti-watchtower would matter to her beliefs because if she is too far gone nothing i say or show her can save her. But at least i could say that i tried my best for her, i gave her 3 months of my time and energy in research.
And that website quotes.jehovahswitneses.com
My God
that should contain enough incriminating evidence to silence any argument she may have defending her false prophesy.
If she only knew....
She still actually thinks that they only expected the heavenly calling in 1914... how sad. Has not a clue that it was another false prediction.
Oh sorry for going on so long, well that as much to know about me as there is for now. Thats my ongoing saga... trying to convert someone who was born in the truth that it is a lie.
----------------------
I may decide to get back to you in an e-mail but i am really busy now ok.
see ya.
---------------------------
I know your reading larc anymore questions...
How about you OUTLAW seen me in more than one place at the same time?
When are you going to hijack the thread?
The Bible is a two edged sword wield it for evil and it you may get hurt.
siegswife

It's weird that you ask that because just yesterday I was remembering something from that time.
I never had any opposition, but I remember that soon after I converted, I 'placed' the live forever book with my parents next door neighbor. They were Lutherans. Anyway, a couple of days later, the husband gave me a magazine, I think it was a Dawn(?) magazine. It had an article that was, almost word for word, identical to one of the chapters in the live forever book. I don't remember if I even looked to see what year it was published.
When I asked my friend about it, she said that it was probably something from the 'evil slave', so I never read it again. Most likely I threw it away.
I wish I had it, it would be interesting to compare them now.
larc

Jerome,
I was raised in it, so there was no one to tell me not to do it. It was just part of my life. When I was in my teens, I read Schnell's book, but it had no impact because I was a true believer. His writing was very angry and it turned me off. I know of other JW's that read his book and it had no effect on them either.
When I was your age, there was nothing you could have told me that would have changed me from being a true believing Witness. It wasn't until a few years later, when I explored on my own, that I got some doubts. My sister, who was valdictorian of her class, never did change and she never will. She is 58 years old and still is a true believer.
butalbee

Jerome--you don't listen, so why bother??????????????? If you've done sooooooooooooooooooooooooo much research why do you still ask these questions????
Okay, here is something for you to ponder: If you love this girl as much as you say you do, why do you want to crumble her entire world which she has dedicated to the org, with the "real truth"? She will never believe "your lies", and you will turn into one major bad association in her eyes.
Sometimes, when you really love somebody, you just have to let them go. I'm saying this from personal experience, as painful, as much as you ache for this person, you just have to let it go...
Adonai438

I have questions for you.
1) When you started to research the 'truth' what was the first thing that syruck you?
2) Oh and another thing is your auant still married to him?
3) And how long were you in the truth before you statred to doubt?
4) What caused you to look?
#1 In a good way or a bad way ?
I liked that they seemed to have an answer for everything. I am
a very logical person and easy answers are appealing.
The first lesson that struck me as weird or wrond was when they
were teaching me out of the What we believe pamphlet. It showed
a picture of Jesus and Adam on a scale (like the balancing
scales of justice kind) and it was balenced equal. They were
saying that JEsus's death made up for Adams sin etc... I
couldn't fathom how they could believe that Jesus was equal with
Adam. Adam had sinned, Jesus had not. Even without the trinity
issue Jesus would still not be equal.
#2 No my aunt never did marry the poor guy. He is now married to
another lady in the 'truth' and very convinced that it was
Jehovah that led him to join up even though he did it for
deceptive reasons in the beginning. She married another winner
but JW and is now in the process of divorcing him-- she was this
ones 3 wife and she has 4 kids by 2 fathers and was not married
to either daddy. Yeah, they have it all together.
#3 I was studying for a year before some friends of mine who were
Christians after sitting through my JW preaching asked me to
study the Bible for myself. I did and learned that although JWs
make a bit of sense sometimes that that didn't mean their
teachings were in the Bible. I learned all the dirty secrets
later after I left and became a christian. Incidentally, My
boyfriend was the one who got me out if that is any
encouragement . He was Christian and didn't realize until
after we had started dating that what I meant by christian was
JWs. He almost dumped me right there but decided to try talking
with me first. Well, 7 years later, he is my husband of 3 1/2
years & we are very happy. Not saying your girl will
neccessarily see the real light but..........
#4 I say God in the lives of my Christian friends and genuine
unconditional love from them. They were very tolerant of my JW
preaching and didn't put me down. They only encouraged me to
study the Bible for myself and see what it said. I did. It
worked for me but not neccessarily for every JW. It depends on
a JWs reason for being a JW. If they are because they truly
love God and think that JWs is the right faith- that can be
worked with. If they have any other reason no matter how much
proof one has that they are wrong- they will have no reason to
change.
Here are some quotes on the subject of examining beliefs that every JW should know:
(It's not apostae Literature so it's purely WT-- fair game!)
An impartial investigation of God's Word, comparing it to the teachings and practices of Jehovah's Witnesses, will provide the evidence that God's spirit is indeed backing them, and that he is using them as his instrument for proclaiming truth today. However, all persons who have a love for the truth are invited to examine this claim that Jehovah's Witnesses really do have the truth. In doing so, they should imitate what those persons in the first century did who listened to the preaching of the apostles: "The received the word with the greatest eagerness of mind, carefully examining the Scriptures daily as to whether these things were so." - Acts 17:11 (The Watchtower; 7/1/1979; pp. 25)

On the other hand, if young people are to lead rewarding lives, they must look to Christ, who 'left them a model for them to follow his steps closely.' (1 Peter 2:21) Appropriately, they were asked: "If you were raised in the truth, you know what you believe, but do you know why?" They were encouraged to make the truth their own by proving that the Bible is God's Word and that Jehovah's Witnesses really have the truth. (the Watchtower; 1/15/1990; pp. 27)
But what is really the command from the WT?:
And what if a different view about some belief is presented to you? Loyally adhere to the Scriptural information provided by God through "the faithful and discreet slave." (The Watchtower; 11/15/1989; pp. 17)
What about the changing doctrins?
It is a serious matter to represent God and Christ in one way, then find that our understanding of the major teachings and fundamental doctrines of the Scriptures was in error, and then after that, to go back to the very doctrines that, by years of study, we had thoroughly determined to be in error. Christians cannot be vacillating - 'wishy-washy' - about such fundamental teachings. What confidence can one put in the sincerity or judgement of such persons? (The Watchtower; 5/15/1976; pp. 298)

I guess that rules out the WT-- oh, thats right, it doesn't apply to them!
This is what they really do:
[quote]But what is not so generally appreciated is that the principle of caveat emptor should be kept in mind when one is buying ideas, that is, when he is reading articles or books that are trying to "sell" him on a certain viewpoint, philosophy, or religious idea. Writers of such articles or books may, for reasons of their own, be just as likely to be tempted to take liberties with the truth. This may be done very subtly, at times simply by ignoring certain pertinent facts in discussing a certain subject. (The Watchtower; 5/15/1963; pp. 293)
I had a specific quote COMMANDING THAT JWS examine BOTH sides to determine the truth but I will have to look for it again- can't find it right now !!!

catchya later! <>< Angie

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