thanks for the concern guys. it amazes me that the WTBTS demonstrates so much mind control that is only apparent from those outside the org. now that i am out it is so obvious but unfortunately for my family they are blinded and only see what they are told to see. it saddens me
Opinions on a letter i am sending my family
by jaredg 80 Replies latest jw friends
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ApagaLaLuz
it amazes me that the WTBTS demonstrates so much mind control that is only apparent from those outside the org. now that i am out it is so obvious but unfortunately for my family they are blinded and only see what they are told to see
No Kidding Jared. It is a sad thing. And espescially sad when your hands are tied to do anything about it. Try explaining how controlled they are to them. Happy thoughts for you, and that you find the strength to move on, no matter how long it takes *muah*
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4JWY
oops, post was meant to be a pm
((((Jared))))
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Country Girl
Jared:
Your Father's post breaks my heart. He truly loves you and wants you to make it through Armagheddon. My heart breaks for you and your whole family. My response would be: Hey Dad! The Society told people that it was NOT okay to accept transplants before <whatever date they came out and said that it was up to a person's conscience>. Before, they said it was cannibalism or whatever they said back then.
Whatever happened to all the families of those people that said they could not accept a transplant based on the Society's interpretation of scripture at the time and DIED? Their family member died, perhaps leaving a widow and ten kids, and then they change it around? There's too much blood guilt here in this first paragraph for me to even go beyond that. Did they apologize and pay the hospital and funeral bills? Did they pay for the widow and her ten kids to live til they grew up? I think not. These people make arbitrary life-altering decisions for people, and then change it. That's not Christian.
They tell people that it's THIS way, and then turn it around in two years and say it's the OTHER way, and then are not held responsible for their decisions.
They say they are a prophet, but then .. oh no.. no we're not.. we are just "spirit-directed." What the heck does *that* mean other than that you are claiming to be God's mouthpiece, but not accepting the responsibility for the lives that are ruined by this.
This whole thing just gets me in an uproar. If you want help composing your letter, gimme a PM. I've almost composed your response letter myself. hehheheh..
Hugs Jared...
country girl
I spent My
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jaredg
hey guys.....i wrote my dad back today and i went in a totally different direction. let me know what you think.
Dad,
I've been thinking about your email all day long. Now it's late at night and I can't sleep because I'm still thinking about it. I feel that the tone and focus of our conversation needs to shift. We can argue and debate this point and that point forever and never really get anywhere. I want to just tell you how I feel and how I got to this point in my life.
Soon after I moved out I did go through a time where I felt like I gave into the temptations of the world. For two years I pretended to be a good JW and basically lived a double life. During this time I never lost faith in the belief that we had the only true religion.
But then things started to change. I had pretty much gotten used to not having a family. Well I never really got used to it and I missed you guys terribly, but I was able to accept the possibility of things never being the same. During this time I found Love and support from my friends. I got to really know people and talk to all sorts of people from all over with all sorts of backgrounds and beliefs. I met some GREAT people and they were nothing like the "worldly" people that I was brought up believing them to be. Growing up I thought that if I left the "truth" that I would be handed hell in a hand basket and demons were going to come after me and things would just go all wrong...but it didn't. I felt in a way that I had been deceived. So this made me question my beliefs.
I remember when I used to go in service and I would try and place the new Creator book and I would read a passage to the householder that said something about having intellectual honesty and that we need to question our belief system to achieve it. I need to find that quote.
Anyway...I got to thinking about what I believed to be true. This disturbed me because the thought of abandoning what I had been taught to believe, my whole life and my family was very upsetting to me. I had an internal crisis. From this point on I started to think for myself.
I began to think of other things or teachings that I was brought up to believe but didn't agree with. You and me had many discussions about our feelings on blood, how not only JWs are in God's favor, how there will always be a food chain in the animal kingdom and many other things we didn't exactly agree with. So basically one thing lead to another but the clincher was LOVE!! You see dad the love I feel in the place I am now is totally different than how I felt as a JW. When I was a JW I looked at people a lot differently then I do now. I had love back then, but not this kind of love dad. When I was a JW I loved my friends and my family and other people in the organization. Even if I didn't like the person I could still love them....at least i could act like it.
On the flipside where the people outside the organization. WORLDLY people. These people were wicked or they could be good people but they were just blinded and needed guidance. That is what I believed!! I think there are a lot of JWs that believe that too. In fact I believe that mentality is encouraged. Even you in one of your letters to me said that it was "us against them"! THAT SHOCKED ME!! What kind of mentality is that? That's not the mentality I see Jesus as having! Sorry if that sounded like I was attacking you, I'm not but I am attacking the mentality that is encouraged by the Society. I got to a point in my thinking that I just did not agree with the what the Society was preaching and trying to spread. I did not feel that it was the love that Jesus taught. The Society's message wasn't a message of peace anymore...it was a message of hate. To hate these WORLDLY people on the inside but act like we love them on the outside. I see more people showing genuine love by volunteering in a soup kitchen then by going in field service. Do you ever really go out because you have compassion and love for the people in the world or because you have to? I went because I had to. If there wasn't the command in the Bible to preach I wouldn't have done it. Would you? If so why would you pray for the New System to come right away when all these people, in fact the majority of the earth did not have accurate knowlege and would in fact be killed? How loving is that?
You see that's why when you asked if I was going to go out in service when I got reinstated I told you that I couldn't. I told you that I would go to the door with only a Bible in hand but no literature. Do you remember that...coming back from the Circuit Assembly?
This thinking was a critical point in my life because now not only did I question some things but I also firmly disagreed with the whole mentality. Then I found out that there were people just like me. People who had put a lot of sweat and tears and money into the organization, most a lot more than me, who also at some time started to question things. Some of them had horrible experiences and were treated very wrong...and no these people aren't just making it up...it really happened! I could discuss with these people my feelings and what I was going through. We had open discussions, not about who was right or wrong but just about what you thought. I also found information about secrets and other bad things that went on behind the scenes. I found apparent contradictions in teachings and changes in the polices that resulted in the loss of innocent life. Things that I never heard of or I just dismissed because at the time I didn't want to hear it. . I was programmed to reject it with out question...now how intellectually honest is that?
I figured information can't hurt as long as I know my sources. So I dug and I dug and I was on the search for truth! I am still on that search dad and it's great. So far what I have discovered is that there is no absolute truth. There is no one right way. I feel like I am free and as long as I have Love things will be ok. The future I leave in God's hands...isn't that what putting your burdens on Jehovah is all about? I would love to discuss with you my change in perspective more but it's late and I'm going to bed. I just had to get this off of my chest and let you know where I'm coming from.
Love always,
Jared
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toreador
Excellent letter!
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jaredg
thank you. i felt that arguing over details wasn't getting anywhere so i just decided to write how i felt. maybe my family will understand.
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jaredg
i just wanted to BTTT this thread b/c i think this is the best letter i've written yet.
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ohiocowboy
Another nice, heartfelt letter!
Your Dad asked you to take at least a week to think about things. Are you going to wait at least a week to send him your latest letter? Maybe it will give him a little more time to think too...
Again, best to you!!!
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jaredg
originally i wanted to give it a week but last night i really couldn't sleep because of thinking about his letter and my own convictions. i kept going over and over in my head what to say and i just had to had to write the letter at that moment.