I don't think they'll shun you if you never get baptized. They will be disappointed and the relationship will be stifled, but I don't think they will shun you. Only time will tell but that's my hunch.
I'm getting baptized
by BlackWolf 150 Replies latest jw friends
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LisaRose
Good for you. Learning to listen to your inner voice, the one telling you to run from this, is a very important life skill. Trust that voice no matter what others may tell you. Standing up to your parents while still being respectful was probably a very difficult thing, so good for you for pulling it off. Every young person has to do this at some point, but not all are able to do it as well as you have.
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Anders Andersen
Learning to listen to your inner voice, the one telling you to run from this, is a very important life skill. Trust that voice no matter what others may tell you.
It just hit me...this might be why Washtowel continuously stresses that "the heart is treacherous", don't listen to it.
How many dubs are silencing that inner voice telling them 'this isn't right' because of that indoctrination! -
Witness My Fury
I think you've changed your mind (for now) but getting baptised to get others off your back or for any other reason is the dumbest move you can make with very long term consequences.
In this cult you are never good enough, they want more more more. Baptism is just the start and a very consequential one at that, then it's pioneering, bethel, more more more. The pressure never stops.
Dont do this for any reason. if your parents are so small minded and abusive that they view this a problem and resort to threats or actions to make you change your mind then they dont love you, they dont care for you they just want to control you and have you validate their fucked up world view. They are not worthy of your love.
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SAHS
In reality, it’s not too late, nor should it rightfully be, for you to back out of it! Remember, legally there is a “grace period” to back out of something such as a contract for a new furnace or water heater. So, logically, a proposition which would literally involve giving of your whole life and very being to some printing corporation should likewise be conditional upon some reasonable sort of grace period.
The other consideration, which will hopefully end up being for you a light at the end of the tunnel, is money – that is, if you can somehow secure some employment from which you can save up a bit of money and establish some financial security, then you will have the real power to move out on your own and thus begin to assert your own ideals as you see fit, devoid of the silly little publishing corporation which seemed to hold so much power over you at the time.
My advice is to just do whatever you reasonably can toward that goal one day at a time.
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Vanderhoven7
Dear Watchtower Society:
My name is Sharon and I’m 13 years old. I have been wondering if I am ready for baptism. I think I am, but I’m still not sure. I’m sure this is also on the minds of other young Christians. Could you please write an article to help set me straight?
SHARON is right. Baptism is indeed on the minds of many God-fearing youths. Among Jehovah’s Witnesses, youths recognize that they must make their own decision to serve God, that their parents cannot make the decision for them. They also appreciate that Jesus Christ commanded his followers to symbolize their dedication to God by water baptism.—Matthew 28:19, 20.
To make public declaration as a dedicated servant of God is a great responsibility. Certainly you would not want to rush into it simply to please your friends or parents. Furthermore, no one should coerce you into baptism. (Psalm 110:3) However, Jesus did advise all to “calculate the expense” of being his disciple. (Luke 14:28) This does not mean that you should weigh whether you want to become Christ’s disciple or not. Clearly, this is the right thing to do. You should, though, be fully aware of what being a Witness of Jehovah involves. Next, you should determine whether you are really ready to take on this responsibility.—Compare Proverbs 20:25. ---- Awake, 4/8/90, p. 15
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westiebilly11
..'maybe when I'm an adult'?....you're in no position to decide anything. should you get baptized?...asked and answered...by yourself!
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blondie
BW, are the elders pressuring your parents about your getting baptized? Many MS and elders are told that if a adult child lives at home and is not baptized the father (and mother) might lose "privileges." Perhaps they are worried about losing social standing in the congregation and being avoided by their so-called spiritual friends. I have seen it happen.
Getting baptized and later df'd and shunned is a legalistic thing in many congregations. I have seen family members who were never baptized but are living with people they are not married to, using illegal drugs, even getting arrested still having jw family associate with them socially.
In the end, the person you have to live with and their decisions the rest of their lives, is you and your decisions.
Hugs, Blondie
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Nathan Natas
Join the military.
Of course, if you're an obese and unintelligent couch-potato, this WILL NOT WORK, because they won't have you.
On the other hand, if you are reasonably fit and reasonably intelligent, this could be an excellent way to provide almost immediate housing and employment for you, AND it has the added benefit of flipping your Dad the Great Big BIRD.
The military will teach you how to be a responsible adult if you avoid linking up with "bad associations."
Depending on how you do on the tests, you could find yourself doing an important job that doesn't put you in harm's way.
People (especially JWs) often think "early death" when they hear "military."
How many kids in your area and of your age die in stupid car accidents or stupid drinking games or bar fights, or from heroin overdoses? All of those are TRUELY meaningless deaths. If you die in the military doing the job you're there to do, your death is not meaningless.
Bot MOST of the folks who enter the military DO NOT DIE! They complete their tours of duty and come back to civilian life with a stronger sense of self and with skills that will continue to serve them.
That's my two cents. YOU are the captain of your ship and the Master of your fate.
Whatever you do, be wise. THINK. Then act with confidence.
Once you're in the military, seek training in a profitable trade such as electrician or plumber. That way, when you finish your military commitment, you will be immediately employable in a profitable trade.
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blondie
Just a note about expecting the military to teach you personal responsibility, that may have been true many years ago, but in today's volunteer military they want responsible people already. And my father with over 30 years in the military would say, if you aren't prepared to die for your country, you haven't read the fine print of the contract you signed with the military.