How many "real friends" did you have in your congregation? (page 3)

fairchild

It is so true what has been said in this thread. Sadly, friendship among JW's seems to be 'conditional' and grows or fades with one's own growing or fading in the 'truth'.

There are a few people in the KH where I go whom I hold very dear. But there is always the thought in the back of my head that, should I mess up (which I am in the process of doing), they will not consider me a friend anymore. Although many have not been a friend to me because I'm the eternal bible student who never gets around to jump in the pool for baptism, I have been a friend to as many people as I could. That includes taking other people's children on my lap and entertain them when they are fussy, calling the elderly members of the congregation to make sure they have a ride to the KH, buying lunch after the meetings for families I know cannot afford to go out for a bite to eat, etc.. etc..

I can relate to one of the above posts where was mentioned that the worldly friends remain friends when one decides to join the JW's, but the JW friends do not usually remain friends when one decides to leave the JW's.

freedom96

Out of the hundreds that I knew, I only speak to a very small handfull to this day. Even really good "friends" I never see these days, and I am not df'd.

Honesty

Soon after that discussion she sent me an email and said we could no longer be friends because I was a threat to her spirituallity.......I miss her. I hope some day she'll wake up, but unfortunately I won't be the one to do it as I'm honoring my friends request.

I think what she really meant was that the truth about the truth would probably drive her insane but that's just an opinion.

I have 3 good JW friends left and 2 of them are an ex-ms and his wife who are faders because they know it's all lies. The other is an elder in great standing - FS and Book study overseer who is secretly tossing the Book Study material out the window and using just the bible. One of the Super dubs will eventually tell and he'll be out with me, a confirmed and unrepentant low life apostate who loves Jesus more than a demon inspired organisation.

PinTail

None really, if you feel that being shunned is a mark of true friend.

buffalosrfree

Let's see real friends, that would be one from the borg, I no longer hardly ever attend unless its just to keep the wife company, me and this friend continue to be friends doing things together, even tho i have basically all but totally faded. He knows how I feel, and what I think, and still is my friend. He found out who his real friends were when he encountered a real problem for several years, I was the only one who kept up a friendship with him, and he found out just how conditional the friendship was with the "friends."

I have people I haven't seen in 14 years and yet when we talk its like no time has passed and we sort of pick up just where we were the last time.

I called one of my old friends that i hadn't even spoken to in over 25 years, it was like no time had passed, we are truly blessed if we have someone we can freely speak to without being afraid of someone turning us into the jdub elders. this friend was so surprised as they mentioned this is unreal we haven't been seen or been in contact with each other all this time and its like not time had passed. Now that is a friend. When I had to go through so medical problems, I quickly found myself alone, just me, wife, and kids, no one would come over and see how I was doing, The so called brothers and sisters proved to be stranges encounted along the way of life, they were unloving, uncaring and didn't want to be bothered.

Well the hell with them, I dont care to speak with any of them.

kgfreeperson

" You spend 40-50 hours a week working toward a common goal with these people. How many are you "real" friends with? One or two? That's about the same odds as at the KH."

While this is true, it is seldom that your employer expects you to consider the co-workers your true family and to restrict your relationships with non co-workers to a polite acquaintanceship!

candidlynuts

zero

unclebruce

I had at least a dozen true JW friends over the years. From old brother Flynn a wonderful Irish gentleman/carpenter to others I relied on for life and limb either as work colleges or pioneer partners. Hilari Miri and other P/NG natives bring back particularly fond memories - how can a bloke share endless swamps and trecking, weeks of nothing but rice to eat and not have a true meeting of minds?

Of course JW frienship is conditional and we'd have had to part if rules were breeched. I may be rare in this but when one of my old camping mates (Werner Shultz) became an imbittered apostate I still considered him my friend (our paths never happened to cross after that so the 'bad associations' issue never arose. I did defend his character vigorously, particularly to his brother (an Elder) when false rumours circulated.

When I left, I moved city and ignored letters from my JW friends - Poor buggers were "worried about me" I met several of them later and when told: "I'm no longer in the truth", they have thus far all reacted with the same wave of the hand "we know - don't worry about that" attitude.

Of course I can no longer befriend a JW - my minds turned bad and mouth filthy.

unclebruce who averaged one close friend in each congregation

Goldminer

zero

it occured to me after a few years,I had many "acquaintances",but no real friends.

How many "real friends" did you have in your congregation?

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