I cried (Posted first by SilentLambs)

WildHorses

i cried

i cried for my sister ... raped by a temporary (auxillary) pioneeer, who was a close friend of my brother (now a bethel elder) .... she was only trying to come into the truth like her big brothers ... trying to attend meetings ... go in the field ... to study ... trying to ONLY associate with jehovah s people , instead of those "evil worldly people....bad associations"

i cried for my sister again .... along with my littlest brother ... because when the two of them stopped studying and coming to meetings ...and my brother and i .....we were too busy with our new "family" spending all our spare time going to meetings... studies... door to door ... assemblies ... and conventions...we were too busy doing god s work to notice or worry that our step father used the older siblings being away to take advantage of those two children

i cried for both my EXes ....raised in the truth....molested by their fathers repeatedly....honoring their parents...the inner turmoil they had ...which finally took it s toll on them...tearing them apart

i cried for my daughter ... horribly abused by her stepmother...with me at first to blinded by the "truth" to see it...until it was too late

i cried that i was stupid enough to try to salvage that marriage .... believing everything that the naysayers in this guestbook also so ardently believe...that jehovah s earthly representatives...guided by holy spirit could and would fix it....

i cried that i furthered my childrens pain trying to make them "wait on jehovah" too...

i cried that i got in trouble for getting my daughter away from her abuser and considered it "discipline from jehovah"

i cried when i remember how the elders treated me and my children for wanting them to take action against a second generation child abuser who remained in good standing....

and i cried when i thought of all the slander they perpetrated against my family for finally putting a child s welfare above that of not rocking the theocratic boat...

and i cried that i believed i was developing a "bad attitude" like they said...and followed the bible s advise to "call upon the older men" to help restore my waning faith and spiritual sickness....the same ones who didn t give a shit about my children...and further proved it by refusing to make sheparding calls on either me or my kids....

i cried that i furthered the pain of my children by continuing to take them to meetings, etc. when i just needed to take them away.....

i cried in shame for my part of co-dependence in this theocratic family

i cried when i remember the actual letter i received from the watchtower bible and tract society...the governing body...telling me to put my spouse above my children

and i cried in empathy for other families who have taken a stand for the children....who put actual truth above saying we are "in the truth"...and are now being administered "jehovah s loving discipline" by being disfellowhipped

and i cried for you people, who continue to harangue the truth-tellers....knowing exactly how you feel....because i used to feel the same way...and i wonder how many of you might actually be victims yourselves ...or have family that are...and realize that you are saying the same things that the abusers are?...the same thing that the leadership(in the congregations and the headquarters) are saying?

i cried because i know that my family and i will not be able to be there....with our own candles

i would like to ask for volunteers to burn special candles for each victim in my family...since we cannot attend at this time

it would mean a lot
______________________________________________

I don't want someone in my life I can live with. I want someone in my life I can't live without.

plmkrzy

(((((((((((((((LILACS)))))))))))))

AjaxMan

((((LILACS))))

Thanks! Thank you for posting it! It is very heartfelt.

Thanks! Thank you very much!

regards,

AjaxMan

As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.
Galatians 1:9

WildHorses

Don't thank me, thank SilentLambs. He asked that someone post this if they wished to, seeing he had used up his new topic post for the day. It made me cry.

I don't want someone in my life I can live with. I want someone in my life I can't live without.

TheStar

((((Lilacs, Bill Bowen and all Silent Lambs out there))))

silentlambs

For those who wish we will be happy to burn a candle in your name on May 24th. Please send your requests to [email protected] with the initials of the person you wish to burn the candle for. If you wish to make a brief statement it will be shared with those in attendance. We will be happy to honor your request.

jwsons

I want to light a candle on front page of my website. Does anyone has an animated lighting candle ? please just post it in your reply and I can copy it to my page. I prefer the background of candle is blue sky color. Thank in advance.

WildHorses

Hi jwsons, check this out. http://www.xara.com/products/webstyle/ it is a trial version, Maybe you can maek your own. I tried to find a candle like you were looking for but couldn't find one.

I don't want someone in my life I can live with. I want someone in my life I can't live without.

Had Enough

I was so moved by this victim's letter to silentlambs, that I sent it out to others.

First however I made a list at the bottom of the letter explaining some of the JW terminology that non-JWs might not understand...like "pioneer, disfellowshipping, shunning, worldly people and why they are considered 'evil', in the truth, and wait on Jehovah".

Then I started to explain the JW policy on handling abuse accusations, ie: the 2 witness requirement, reporting only in States requiring it, handling it internally without reporting it. I also explained that when the abuser denies it, the victims are kept quiet, by not being allowed to speak to anyone about it on threat of being df'd themselves.

I then added silentlambs website inviting them to view the many victims' accounts showing that the JW claims of protecting the children and not the abuser, are false, and to also view many slurs and condemnations by typical JWs who refuse to believe their religion is wrong.

Then.....I added the information about Dateline's coverage, air date and the judicial manhandling of the supporters like Bill, Barbara and the Pandelo's.

I have already received an answer back stating how TERRIBLE this news is and "I just can't imagine what it could be like to belong to an organisation that actually TAKES OVER your day to day thinking!"

She then assured me she will watch Dateline and inform others about it too.

And so on....and so on.... The news is out there folks!!!!

Had Enough

"Never doubt that a small group of citizens can change the world.
Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."...Margaret Mead

cellomould

I sent a copy of this to each elder in my former congregation and each JW in my e-mail address book. Of course, I used bcc, or 'blind carbon copy', so that it doesn't appear to be a mass e-mail. I think this will be very effective.

Appeared in Awake! October 8, 1993:

_____________________________________________________________________

AFTER using children to satisfy perverted lusts, after robbing them of their security and their sense of innocence, child molesters still want something else from their victims—SILENCE. To secure that silence, they use shame, secrecy, even outright terror. Children are thus robbed of their best weapon against abuse—the will to tell, to speak up and ask an adult for protection.

Tragically, adult society often unwittingly collaborates with child abusers. How so? By refusing to be aware of this danger, by fostering a hush-hush attitude about it, by believing oft-repeated myths. Ignorance, misinformation, and silence give safe haven to abusers, not their victims.

For example, the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops concluded recently that it was a "general conspiracy of silence" that allowed gross child abuse to persist among the Catholic clergy for decades. Time magazine, in reporting on the widespread plague of incest, also cited a "conspiracy of silence" as a factor that "only helps perpetuate the tragedy" in families.

However, Time noted that this conspiracy is crumbling at last. Why? In a word, education. It is as Asiaweek magazine put it: "All experts agree that the best defence against child abuse is public awareness."

_____________________________________________________________________

Please watch Dateline NBC on Tuesday, May 28th. Please encourage your friends and loved ones to watch.

This topic will be discussed in relation to its prevalence among the congregations of Jehovah's Witnesses.

Please help protect children.

Thank you,

cellomould

"You're crying 'why am I the victim?' when the culprit is YOU" Stevie Wonder

I cried (Posted first by SilentLambs)

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