Did You Have A Lot of "Friends" In The Organization? (page 2)

TheOneBuck

Not really. Witnesses were always shallow back assward to me. I maintained most of my worldy friends because quit frnakly they were more of what a friend should be then any witness. There was one I really liked and was close with but he is inactive now too... Hmm I see a trend.

GetBusyLiving

I had a lot of drinking buddies. I had a tendency to make fun of stupid Watchtower teachings and that turned off a lot of people. The ones that werent turned off thought I was joking or trying to be risque.. but I wasn't laughing. I am now!

GBL

Mulan

Yes we had lots of friends and were in the heart of the congregation clique. It was hard to give them up, but we had to, to survive mentally.

They all made it easier by treating us badly.

blondie

I had a few friends, not many. But then now as an ex-JW, I don't feel the need to have oodles of friends. I enjoy the once-a-month meetings we are having now in this area and the discussions I have online. I have met some of you IRL too.

Blondie

freedom96

When I was a youth, I had very little friends in our own hall. Most of mine were in nearby halls. The congregation I attended was very strict, and not much fun.

Most of the people I hung out with have been long gone, basically due to distance, and time, not because of religious issues.

ljwtiamb

Interestingly, I was able to experience various levels of friendship in the org:

Young person in the 'truth': we were all pretty stupid, until divisions occurred as we aged. Two camps: serious about the 'truth' & 'spriritual losers'
Became a pioneer: shining 'spiritual stars'; common quality - turning our theocratic noses up at the 'spiritual losers' class (what a bunch of a$$es we were!)
Go to bethel: now you get lots of friends, because jws just luv being the first to get news from mother
Give first assembly talk: jws want to be seen as your friend (some kinda weird jw celebrity status)
Leave bethel: still got that jw hq stink on you; people wanna be seen with the new local elder from bethel; invitations galore; always asked to pray for the group; people want you to do weddings and funerals; memorial talk is almost always a given
Leave elder ranks: WTF (Hey! Remember me? - Whaddya mean you want someone else to pray for your crummy dinner?) Haven't had this much free time after a meeting since I was in diapers!
Miss meetings (beginning of fade): Initially, a few of those obligatory pre-CO calls. Nobody else even calls to see how you are doing? (except for the congregation secretary at the beginning of each month!) What happened to all of my 'real' friends?

heyfea

When I was a JW, I thought I did have friends, but I really never paused to realize that these "friends" never ever called me for any other reason than to get together to practice for a part in the meetings. True, I never called them either, but I had nothing to talk to them about. Once I took the initiative to ask a sister, regular pioneer and also popular, if she could be my partner on the field a few times a week (I was finally planning to actually do spiritual work to see if that brought me happiness, you know like the WTS suggests will happen if you do more spiritually), but the sister plainly said NO, I want to preach with this other sister who just came from another country and she needs friends.

I had another friend, who I liked and still like very much. But she had extremely protective parents. She was taught by her mother that she shouldn't trust another woman with her man. When we were single, I sensed her mother always on my back, kind of watching me around whom ever single brother was trying to get to know my friend. I felt targeted all the time. When my friend got married, that was the end of everything. It was not a spoken separation, but I knew, my friend was not going to sociallize much with me after that. Now that I don't go to the meetings anymore, her parents (who are still extremely influencial in her life) absolutely will discourage any association with me.

Dismembered

I'm all alone in the world.

Dismembered

"Don't you go dyin' on me now"

prophecor

No, I was an outcast inside and outside the pearly gates.

I'm still an outcast, misfit even in the regular world.

I prefer true few friends, as opposed to several questionable acquaintances.

Did You Have A Lot of "Friends" In The Organization?

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