please don't try discourage me !

by Yvonne A 28 Replies latest watchtower bible

holly

ps; please be careful though. from what ive read, disfellowshipping means you dont exist anymore. just be careful
czarofmischief

I don't know your story, Yvonne, but you may wish to seriously consider what you can learn here - many of us wish we'd known this information years ago.
But if you must experience it for yourself, have a good time. We'll be here. I can't seem to leave...
CZAR
wednesday

Yvonne,
U have a great gift given to u, the gift of checking up on this religion before u commit your life to it. JWS tell U to check out your religion . they always say that, they say "put it to the test". So why are u afraid to check out JWS , and esp. coming from people who have been there. What are u afraid u will learn? U know the experience u describe on finding the jws? I had a similar one on leaving. Almost as if God directed it. If your life has been in turmoil and u have just found jws, beware, u may not be thinking as clearly as u should.
At any rate, u would check out and other Organization u were thinking of joining, would u not? If we have nothing to say that is real or substainial , how can we discourge u? If this religion can stand the test, what are u afraid of?
jgnat

Okay, Yvonne, I am taking you at your word. Since you started your spiritual journey, has it improved your prayer life? Check out this link where others of like mind form "prayer circles". I see there is an interesting article about our Heavenly Father.
http://www.beliefnet.com/index/index_60.html
I would be interested in what you think of that site.
beebee
I realize that some of these posts may be downright scary but surely you know that once you are baptised, you have committed your life. You will have committed your life to an organization that dictates what you read, what you are allowed to think (be careful not to say outloud anything you think that disagrees lest you be removed - disfellowshipped or disassociated), who you should call a friend, and that tells you that those in your family and inner circle that choose not to agree are to be shunned. Remember that an organization that discourages you from having any friend outside of the group, leaves you with absolutely nobody if you should want to leave or be forced out.
I asked a friend of mine who is an inactive witness and is considering resuming activity if she's ready to cut at least two of her children out of her life. You see, her kids, though not baptised, are not living lives that would make them acceptable "associations." They are not bad people, they are not criminals, they are not insane, mean or heartless. They just live by standards unacceptable to the WT. She said she would never let them do that. So then I asked her "if you are considering becoming active again for the purposes of finding a husband, and you accept that he is the head of household (as you must if you are a good dub) and HE says you must shun your children, what then? She was silent.
This woman is fortunate she was inactive and off their radar screen when she left her abusive husband, for active witness wives are not encouraged to leave abusive spouses, in fact they are told it is their fault and they need to be a better wife. If she'd been active at the time, any attempt to remarry would be considered a disfellowshipping event.
You say you don't want children, so maybe you are lucky, for it seems that few families have ALL their grown children remain in the org. This means almost every family in has been torn apart. The WT is more important than family. It is more important than self.
Some people like this structure. They like not having to make decisions or define their own social mores. If this is you, than maybe the WT is the right place. All anyone wants for you here is to really think hard and be sure that IF and when you commit, you are fully informed. Only someone or some organization that has something to hide fears information that may disprove their theories, beliefs or impede on their path to control.
If you do some research on the warning signs that you might be in an abusive relationship, you will find things listed that include:(this list borrowed from the Oprah website, link to follow)
This list was written by Hedda Nussbaum. Perhaps in the UK you didn't hear of her, but she was the common law wife of Joel Steinberg who was convicted of murdering their illegally adopted daughter maybe 10 years ago or so in New York. People never understood why she let him do that, or why she herself had sustained such major abuse and stayed (google her if you want the whole story). I've put a few of these items in italics for emphasis.
These guys do not come with warning labels, but Nussbaum now thinks she can spot an abusive man, or at least a controlling man with a capacity for abuse.

Nussbaum's List of Red Flags:
He pushes too far, too fast, planning your future together right away.
He hates his mother and is nasty to her.
He wants your undivided attention.
He must always be in charge.
He always has to win.
He breaks promises all the time. ( I believe people were told in the last century that those alive in 1914 would never die)
He can't take criticism and always justifies his actions.
He blames someone else for anything that goes wrong.
He's jealous of your close friends, family members, and all other men. (the borg basically tells you not to associate with anyone out).
He always asks you where you went and whom you saw.
He has extreme highs and lows that are unpredictable.
He has a mean temper.
He often says you don't know what you're talking about.
He makes you feel like you're not good enough.
He withdraws his love or approval as punishment.
He pushes you to do things that make you feel uneasy, like taking the day off from work or even breaking the law.
Note how many of these items could be similarly applied to the Jehovah's Witness organization. Not all, but far too many for me to feel at ease. How does it make you feel?
Here's the link to this so you can view it in context: http://www.oprah.com/relationships/relationships_content.jhtml?contentId=con_200408_signs.xml§ion=Couplehood&subsection=Dating
This is why so many here are ENCOURAGING you to think and do some homework before you jump in. That's not meant to be discouraging, though I can see why it can feel that way when you so want this to be the answer to your prayers.
Please take care.
DanTheMan

Hi Yvonne! I'm glad you found our humble little corner of cyberspace.
There was a time in my life when there was absolutely nothing in the world that could have prevented me from becoming a JW. Lord knows my Catholic mom certainly tried, but I was determined to "make a stand" for what (at the time) I was thoroughly convinced was "the truth".
More than anything, what attracted me was the "end times" stuff. I ate it up. I was soooo ready for Armageddon to come and destroy this bad old world, as I was a pretty resentful and world-hating young man. Little did I know at the time that the Watchtower had been predicting the imminent end for over 100 years, with many embarrassing predictions and failed expectations. I found the 1975 failure to be particularly troubling, and the more I learned about the details of it (by researching Watchtower publications from the late 60's and 70's) the more I couldn't buy the party line that 1975 had only been mentioned as a "possibility" and that the "friends" who were disillusioned after 1975 had just "read too much" into what had been said from the speaking platform and the publications.
As my time as a JW went on, it became increasingly apparent to me that by far the most important teaching in JW-world is not about Armageddon, or Jehovah, or Jesus, or the kingdom. The most important teaching is the Organization, the Faithful and Discreet Slave. If you search for these words or ideas in Watchtower publications, you will find that they are emphasized over, and over, and over, and over, and over again. The calls for submission to the organizational hierarchy are virtually endless, and for many of us they became increasingly irritating to where we could no longer take it.
All I can say is, if you decide to become a JW, please don't put ALL your eggs in the JW basket. Hold on to a piece of your own identity, don't let JWism become EVERYTHING for you. And don't be afraid to question things that don't feel quite right.
JamesThomas

Welcome Yvonne.

Be the very best Jehovah's Witness you can be Yvonne. Worship, love and admire your god even if he kills every other man, women and child on earth; and never allow yourself to admit that there is no greater evil imaginable than the premeditated slaughter and murder of men, women and children. For what then, would that make of you who worships it?

Never compare those who have no hope of everlasting life who would sacrifice their life for a stranger, to Jehovah's Witnesses who would turn a blind eye to everyone including their children to save their own ass from the bloody sword of their vengeful and murderous god.

Go, Yvonne, and worship, and never again open your eyes that you may forever stay warm and happy.

j

there are times not to be koom-by-ya
NewLight2

Yvonne,

I won't discourage you from studying the Bible, but the Watchtower publications take verses out of their original context and link them together to form a meaning that was never intended. A humorous example of what I mean is this:

"Matthew 27:5 So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself." "Deuteronomy 22:3 In like manner shalt thou do . . . likewise:"

So by pulling these 2 verses out of their original context we can 'prove' that the Bible teaches us that we are to go out and 'hang ourselves'. NOT!!!

Now for a 'real' Watchtower example of this method of Bible study check out page 218 of the 'Reasoning' book. The topic discussed is Jesus equals Michael the archangel. Notice how all of the scriptures are taken out their original context to 'prove' this teaching.

Now using the the Bible Study Outline, study these same verses within their original context (ie reading the whole chapter) and ask yourself the questions - who? what? where? and when? and see if you arrive at the same 'teaching' that the Watchtower puts forth in the 'Reasoning' book.

When you have done this exercise, show it to the person who has been studying with you and see what their reaction will be. One very important fact to mention here is that Kay Arthur, the author, is not, has never been, and probably does not know ANY JW doctrine, so she cannot possibly be considered an 'apostate'.

Here is something else to consider.

The Watchtower has written a booklet entitled, "Should You Believe in the Trinity?" This booklet contains many quotations that have also been 'ripped from their original context' and made to look like these books support the Watchtower doctrine. Study the material found in the following 2 links:

Frieda Landry, the author of that website has also never been a JW, so she is not an 'apostate'.

After you have studied the material at the above site, ask yourself this question -

Why would an organization that teaches 'The Truth' misquote so many sources to 'prove' their teachings?

Again ask the person you study with the same above question.

This is only a tiny start to the way you should 'study' before you decide to be baptized as a Jehovah's Witness.

NewLight2
Buster

I remember an elder back in the 70's. I remember him responding to someone who said something about keeping an open mind. He said, 'Then someone will come along and dump trash in it.'
They will want you to close your mind. Sorry, but I am compelled to discourage that.

please don't try discourage me !

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