New and confused

Catareta

Hi all. Please don't hate on me.

im a 30 something blind woman, who has been aware of the Witnesses a while. After my Dad died five years ago - I questioned my own faith - Christian (Anglican). Tried everything - the occult, new churches etc.

3 years ago I was suggested to have a study by a good friend who is JW. I've been studying on and off for 3 years in different congregations and been to an circuit assembly.

I am degree level educated and love deciphering the tracts...

I wondered, when will they start suggesting ministry...and my conductor has said today, sometime in new year...

im petrified- I came for answers.. I'm scared that if I leave I'll lose some of my friends and get people asking me to come back.

The Searcher

Hi Catareta, welcome. As someone who's been brought up as a J.W. since childhood and has discovered The Truth About The Truth, (TTATT) I can assure you that if you do not "progress" to field ministry and baptism, then your new-found "friends" will drop you like a hot potato. If you don't want conditional friends, find a group of people who are not cult-minded.

I hope you find friends who care for you as a person - and not because you obey 7 men in New York.

keinlezard

Hello,

The little frenchy answer :) ( sorry for my poor english ) . I'm jw on the paper. since I discover all problems inside de Watchtower. I'm always in congregation, but my only way is the Bible and not the Watchtower and GB """truth""""

Are you baptized ? if no ... that would be simple ... You can continue to see your """friends""" from congregation. without continue to assists all assembly or reunion or publishing ( I stop to publish ... now since 6 month )

But, one question ... Are they really friends if they make a condition as "stay with jw" to continue friendship ?

It seems to me they are not really friends, but only interested people ! Only that was very strange and curious manner.

I am sure outside jw you can find real friends ... but it is only your own fear that stops you to approach other people ... read your first sentence "I'm a 30 something blind woman" ...

I read somebody , who excuses to be a little different ... you are EXACTLY as the other with your particularity you are blind ... you are just different like someone can be redhead , or , black .. today disable people are "PEOPLE" before be "disable"

Be confident to you !

30 it's the beginning of life !

Youre life is on your hand .. but you must accept sometime to suffer , the "jw" protection is a fake ... they want to use you and abuse you.

Be free !

Greetings

joe134cd

We won't hate on you and if you want to go down the jw path that is fine by me. The only person that I can change is myself.

I can only tell you my experience. I spent 40 years in the religion from birth so I think I qualify to comment on it. At the end of the day I felt this organisation after it had taken so much from me just spat me out. You are very lucky for a couple of reasons.

* Your not a born in and probably have no family ties to the religion. Which can make leaving it so much less complicated and easier.

* your still relatively young. Be thankful you know what you do now instead of finding all this out as a 50-60 year old.

* it's a relatively short time you have been involved with the religion. So they havnt had the time to condition you. If you feel terrified now of F'S. Imagine how I felt after 40 years.

Like I said before if you want to be a JW then that is fine by me. But my advise is run as fast as you can from these people.

Rocky_Girl

You say you've tried other religions and the occult after questioning your Anglican faith. What specifically were you looking for? Community? Answers to questions about life? Relationship with God?

Is your study with the witnesses satisfying? Do you believe in their teachings enough to go convert other people? Are you more attached to your new friends than to the actual teachings?

To be a JW, you must be willing to adjust your life around your religion. There is no half way.

Think about these questions and put the skills you learned in college to good use while you find your answers. This is something you must do for yourself because everyone is different. Perhaps your journey to find your faith isn't finished and this was just a step along the way.

Good luck.

DesirousOfChange

JWs can be a great social group. With your disability, you may be limited in mobility and JWs will often go "all out" to help other JWs in need. The average JW is a sincere and kind person, but they do not realize that they have been caught up in a Cult. Yes, JWs are clearly a Cult. They will expect you to cut off all other association and they will expect you to toe-the-mark as far as their rules and obligations.

Like most people who participate here, I would hope you could find a better group of "friends". Good luck. . . . Doc

megaboy

You ask no question in your opening post. Though that does illustrate you legitamately being confused and unsure. What are you wanting to know?

Other than that, if you read the texts you should notice that the JWs rely on logical fallcy language to convince people of things. Its written to sound reasonable when the conclusion is not truly reasonable.

tepidpoultry

One thing that the witnesses will not give you is a complete account of

their 140 year old history,

Which is ironic as they go over and over the historic faults of of other

religions,

For starts, did you know that the man that founded the religion/cult was a

pyramidologist,

Verified his prophetic calculations by comparing them to

measurements of the Pyramid of Giza?

Maybe you're OK with that and that's fine,

I'm just saying that I think you should know,

Almost all Jehovah's Witnesses don't!

All the best to you in your journey

:0)

Simon

You can be "associated" with the JWs and be perfectly OK. As long as you don't commit (get baptized) then you are pretty much free to come and go (depending on the local members attitudes) but once you do take that step, you can never leave without being cutoff and shunned.

They will nearly always put their loyalty to the WTS ahead of any friendships, however friendly and genuine they may appear.

VIII

Catareta you said:

I wondered, when will they start suggesting ministry...and my conductor has said today, sometime in new year...
im petrified- I came for answers.. I'm scared that if I leave I'll lose some of my friends and get people asking me to come back.

Having been raised as a JW, they put high value on Field Service and the Ministry. If you are at all capable of going out door-to-door, even with a handicap, they will expect you to. And, with a handicap, they will use that to their advantage. You will be less threatening and people may be more inclined to listen and perhaps open the door.

BTW, going door-to-door sucks. Between being told "No, not interested" to the dogs chasing you to clearly home people not answering the door, there is no "Upside" to going out door-to-door.

New and confused

Share this