by minimus 43 Replies latest jw friends
I think if I didn't have some of the JW values that I would've be screwing everyone in sight. I think the JW lifestyles kept me from having tons of kids.
It also gave me many friends that I never would've had.
Minimus have I told you lately how much I love you? Haha! Great question as usual.
I ask this question because I hear so many awful results of being a Witness. As dear little Stinky Pantz suggested,without some JW values she might have been doing some really fun, I mean immoral things.Some, even if they disagree with the religion, may have gotten something positive out of bieing a JW. Perhaps, they stopped smoking or drugs. Maybe they were thieves or violent types. Haven't some positively changed because of the religion?.
SEAWOLF, STOP BRAGGING
lmao
Did I learn anything from jw's?
Most of the good things they taught were also taught by my parents. So I am not sure of where these things originated.
The religious or spiritual or biblical teachings I guess a few were good.
But the chaos-fear-grief and sadness seem to out weigh all the good.
I just don't have any praise for the wbts.
Outoftheorg
Several have mentioned speaking/presentation skills. Yes, it gave me that too. Also, it gave me discipline. If you can pioneer at a hundred hours a month, work part time, make the meetings, and prepare for your assigned talks, you can do about anything.
I had a horrible fear of public speaking. I wanted to kill myself rather than give my first talk. I cried. I prayed to God to take this cup from me. I practiced my talk over and over. It was the hardest thing for me to do to get up there and deliver it. But, I did. And, I learned I could do things that I was afraid of doing. So, being a witness made me brave.
I had a true, beautiful friend when I walked away. I miss her and it was difficult for me not to answer her last e-mail to me. But, I didn't. She really was a true friend of mine.
When I was out in service, there were times I honestly felt like I was showing love to others. And, I believed that God loved me and was shining down on me.
As a witness, I didn't smoke, drink to excess, have sex, masturbate as much or get attacked as I have been by a couple of people I have met at exjw boards.
I really wish that they had been IT, THE TRUTH, because the disappointment I feel right now is very great. And I agree with what someone else wrote, I learned to not follow men or man-made religions, so I won't be disappointed like this again.
Windchaser, I'm sorry to hear of your disappointment.No matter where you go, there will always be jerks. As one friend always says, "Carry on".
I learned from the MS that I would not do well in commercials. OR infomercials
I met lots of friends all over the country. even though I no longer see or know them I do have some pretty damn good memories.
I learned to have the courage to stand up for what I believe in. All those years in school, going up to each new teacher and telling them the holidays I couldn't participate in and the pledge of allegiance (I was told I couldn't stand up, so I didn't) every morning was tough but I learned that what I believe is more important than other people's opinions of me. That skill proved very useful when I stood up to the Witnesses later in life. I found out that it's what you have inside that matters, everything else is just for show.
Yes, I have learned things attributable to my time as a JW, 27 years. They are not the
things which were taught in the pages of the WT or from the platform by elders.
I learned that even someone who thinks they are reasonably self-aware and a logical,
considerate thinker, can be duped under the right circumstances, by the right
blandishments, with the backing of mind control techniques.
I learned that living your life for someone else's welfare or their expectations (such as
continuing to be a loyal JW for years on end because you think you are saving your kids,
even though you, yourself are miserable as a JW), whether it be children, mate, or friends
at the KH, is no way to live, and is so empty in the long run that it neither accomplishes its
initial aim, nor provides any satisfaction for the one so martyred.
I learned that externally imposed spirituality, such as marketed by the WTS, is of little
lasting benefit, either in making one feel 'right with God' or in knowing yourself and your
connection with the rest of huamnity, and the universe.
I learned that while fear and guilt are great motivators (I once had a sister tell me that guilt
was a good thing, this in the context of the free-floating guilt which JWs are subject to,
not in connection with any particular wrongdoing), which the WTS uses to manipulate
those under their influence. Ultimately the destructive use of these tools will boomerang
on those who impose them from their watchtowers. The human spirit can only exist under
those constraints so long, before it strives to break free.
I learned that I CAN trust my own heart, and my own judgement, despite much warning to
the contrary from the pages of the WT.
truman
