Bonnie_Clyde

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Posts by Bonnie_Clyde

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  18

  Blondie's Comments You Will Not Hear at the 11-15-09 WT Study (CHRISTLIKE LOVE)

  by blondie in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  comments.

  1. comments.

  2. comments.

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  Bonnie_Clyde

  That part about making and monitoring arrangements to help the elder ones who are sick...hogwash! I can't think of one elder who showed any real interest in my mother during the 6-1/2 years she was sick. Only two or three people in the congregation showed any interest at all, and it wasn't because of the elders, it was despite the elders. My father was the primary caregiver, and one time he was almost reduced to tears because hardly anyone came by to visit. However, at her funeral, the speaker commented about how active they had been in the congregation and how their home had been a "hub of activity." Yeah--they used to have gatherings at their house, used to have lots of friends stop by, book studies, etc--that's when they were able to be of use to the congregation. It all stopped when they got old and sick. That comment almost made me sick.

  When we finally had to put mother in a hospice near the end of her life, I mentioned to the staff how bad I felt that one of the family couldn't be there all the time. They asked about our church--if we didn't have a ladies' auxilliary group. I father said, well we have elders. I just about choked. Dad still wasn't getting it. This whole situation was primarily the catalyst that got me out of the organization.
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  25

  Faithful and Discreet Slave

  by stillin in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  i'm sure that this has been discussed before, but bear with me while i share my little insight.. the scripture about the fds is found in jesus description of the last days in matthew 24. not in mark 13, nor luke 21. those other writers didn't consider it important enough to include it in their writings.

  it is the only mention, as far as i know, of any such "arrangement," yet on face value, if you are just reading the bible, it seems more like one of jesus' thought-provoking rhetorical questions, rather than a part of the sign of the last days.

  no "two or three witnesses," yet this one scripture has become a rallying cry for a whole religion, consisting of millions of adherents!.

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  Bonnie_Clyde

  "The scripture about the FDS is found in Jesus description of the last days in Matthew 24. Not in Mark 13, nor Luke 21. Those other writers didn't consider it important enough to include it in their writings."

  Luke 12:42,43: "Who really is the faithful steward, the discreet one, whom his master will appoint over his body of attendants to keep giving them their measure of food at the proper time? Happy is that slave, if his master on arriving finds him doing so!"
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  23

  Amway

  by bobld in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  everybody has heard of amway but few are joining.everyboby has heard of jehovah's witnesses but few are joining.both use deceptive tactics to recruit new members.. bob.

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  Bonnie_Clyde

  I didn't find my experience so bad. It is true we spent quite a bit of money (that part I regret), but I did learn that it was OK to think for myself and that it was OK to be the best you could be, that making money (even becoming wealthy) wasn't evil, also learned about how to get along in a marriage that I never learned from the Watchtower (my marriage wasn't going to well at the time). I really believe that Amway was a significant factor in my finally exiting the Organization. We didn't make much money with Amway (lost a lot more), but the principles I learned helped me grow another business which proved to be a lifesaver for Clyde and I, especially when he had to retire early due to illness. I'll admit that I wish I could learned those principles another way (it would have been a lot cheaper), but at least I learned them.

  Bonnie
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  66

  Did you Exit the Witnesses Gradually - Or Exit Suddenly - Your Reasons ?

  by flipper in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i thought it would be good to discuss it to understand what caused some of us to exit suddenly, or some to exit gradually .. myself , i had been in 44 years , had mentally had doubts for years before exiting - but injustices by the elders and my doubts about the " generation " doctrine led me to exit suddenly one night before a meeting.

  the elders pissed me off , i went to my seat, picked my books up and walked out - never going back.

  so what is your story and reasons ?

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  Bonnie_Clyde

  I exited gradually. It started when I noticed that the congregation really had no interest in my parents when they got old and couldn't be useful to the congregation any more, despite their having been pillars in the congregation. When my mother broke her leg (she also had Alzheimers), after the initial show of interest, it tapered off almost to nothing. My father was house-bound for several years taking care of her. We noted that several times car groups of witnesses would drive by the house--even calling on the neighbors--but didn't bother to stop to see how they were doing. I would hear comments at the KH Hall that would go like this, "How is your mother doing?" I'd say, "She is in bad shape, but she really does enjoy visitors. It would be nice if you would stop to see her some time." All too often the response, "Well I would but I'm going to be auxilliary pioneering next month."

  Then I got an elder's visit because my hours had dropped off to nothing. I told them that, between working and helping my father take care of my mother, I just didn't have any time. The response was, "Well that's well and good, but we really need to be out in service talking to people who have no HOPE." I wish I had spoken my thoughts right then. They were, "Well my parents sit at home HOPING that someone will stop by to see them."

  I don't want to discount a couple of people who did show some interest--one couple came over and sat with her occasionally so my father could go to the meeting, and that took a burden off me. I loved that couple and still do. But one time they went on a 3-week vacation and told me they asked around to find someone to look in on my parents, and no one was interested. That got me thinking, Some people in the congregation will show love, but it's not because of the Organization, it's despite the Organization.
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  26

  Has the Watchtower ever admitted making a mistake?

  by moomanchu in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  with all their flip flops, errors and changes, do you know of any printed admission of mistakes made ?.

  have they ever apologized for wrong doctrine?.

  i think it's because of too much pride..

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  Bonnie_Clyde

  "Like now the 1975 date at the last DC this summer they tried to make out that the friends are the ones who said it but it was never said though the mags or by the GB."

  I believe the Wt made a vague kinda, sorta apology regarding 1975 (in print) about 4 years later. It may have been motivated by the fact the number of publishers was declining a bit since 1975.
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  20

  Started reading Crisis of Conscience

  by KingDavidwasframed in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  i was referred to the above mentioned book but never thought it necessary before to read.

  i am starting the 3rd chapter now and all i can say is wow!

  what happened to me has happened to many.

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  Bonnie_Clyde

  I meant to add--right away I ordered the book and couldn't put it down. I was afraid of telling Clyde for awhile (even though he had faded much earlier) because I thought it would make him upset enough to go tell the elders off. As things turned out, it strengthened our marriage as we could now talk about all the things that had bothered him over the years, and now this book gave us the answers. Since then we have been able to get our two sons and a daughter-in-law out of the borg. Sadly, our daughter is still in and won't have anything to do with any of us even though we're not disfellowshipped.
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  20

  Started reading Crisis of Conscience

  by KingDavidwasframed in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  i was referred to the above mentioned book but never thought it necessary before to read.

  i am starting the 3rd chapter now and all i can say is wow!

  what happened to me has happened to many.

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  Bonnie_Clyde

  When the Time magazine article came out in 1981(?), my daughter showed it to me. It bothered me a bit, but I asked her, "Where else can we go." Maybe 5 years later I saw an article in a local paper about a couple who were disfellowshipped for reading the book. All of their children were shunning them, including a JW woman I knew personally. This also bothered me. When I finally had the courage to go on the Internet many years later, the first word I entered in the search engine was "Franz," also "1975."
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  55

  Do You Miss The Witnesses Even A Little Bit?

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  a smidge??

  ?.

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  Bonnie_Clyde

  I miss being "right", having the "truth." I miss the knowledge that Jehovah was looking after me and protecting me. Lately, I've been remembering a saying I heard from a non-witness when I was a child, "God helps those who help themselves."
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  24

  People dont get disfellowshipped anymore

  by foolsparadise in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  they are announced as no longer being one of jehovahs witnesses.

  why then do people still shun them if they are not disfellowshipped.

  witnesses talk to non jws all the time, so we should be allowed to talk to members who are announced as no longer one of jehovahs witnesses.

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  Bonnie_Clyde

  So does anyone know of a witness who has been reprimanded for continuing to speak to someone who is "no longer one of Jehovah's Witnesses?" - arguing that the announcement said nothing about being disfellowshipped?
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  147

  Did You Personally Know Any JWs That Were Sexually Molested By Other JWs?

  by minimus in

  1. watchtower
  2. child-abuse

  i knew of a handful (which is too many) that were molested by a jehovah's witness.

  it was not typical in my experience.

  what about you???.

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  Bonnie_Clyde

  Minimus - the details of your story sounds almost exactly like one in a nearby congregation. The son who molested two little girls went to Bethel after high school, married and came back to the congregation. They were considering making him an elder--but about this time, JW child abuse scandals were starting to hit the news. One of the little girls grew up to be quite promiscuous, and the father of the pedophile was quite instrumental in getting her disfellowshipped--I suppose that made his son look more righteous. Soon after this, I think, out of fear of litigation, the father was removed as an elder (he had been highly influential in the area).