Posts by 2escaped lifers

28

Just lost our parents... Part 2

by 2escaped lifers in

jw
friends

for part 1, see : http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/6/62447/1.ashx .

well, my dad did his "elder" duty and called the elders in whose territory we now live.

two of them came by to see us this past saturday morning.

2escaped lifers

Greetings all,

for part 1, see : http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/6/62447/1.ashx

Well, my dad did his "Elder" duty and called the elders in whose territory we now live. Two of them came by to see us this past Saturday morning. Interestingly, they plainly stated that they weren't there to change our minds, but to verify if what they had heard (namely, that we no longer wanted to be JW's) was true, and if so, would we write a letter of disassociation.

Then they start asking all these questions about what we've been doing, who we've been seeing and talking to, and if I've had a drinking problem. Now, this last part is remarkable for two reasons: 1) I have never been much of a drinker, and have an allergy to brewers yeast so I can't drink beer at all, and 2) the brother asking me this was a friend of mine as a teen and was intoxicated so often as we were teens and early 20's that I can't count them.

All in all, a very offensive meeting. After they left, my wife and I wrote the following letter:

48

Just lost our parents....

by 2escaped lifers in

jw
friends

well, the shunning begins.

we finally had "the" discussion with my parents, that we no longer consider ourselves jw's, and a little bit of why we felt that way.

of course, "dad the elder and po" and mom the pioneer dutifully informed us that not only will they be "loyal to the organization" and shun us completely, but that he would immediately let the other elders know, so that proper judicial action could be taken.. it was a heart wrenching discussion, with all of us, including my two young boys (9 and 10) all balling our eyes out.

2escaped lifers

Greetings again,

Thank you so much, everyone!!!!!!!! For your empathy, your kind words of comfort and advice!!!

We are looking forward to seeing the looks on the elders' faces when we tell them that since we no longer consider ourselves Jehovah's Witnesses, and that since the Org is not what it claims to be, nor has the authority it claims to have, we consider our baptism null and void and really have no reason to even discuss anything with them - much less attend any committee meeting or write any official disassociation letter or such. We are also considering, depending upon their reaction to this, on following the advice given earlier in this thread to threaten them with libel and slander lawsuits if anything is publicly announced about us.

An update on the parents thing: My wife's parents (her mom was the one that yelled at her on the phone about the kids dying at the BIG "A") have said that regardless of whether we are disfellowshipped or not, they now consider us "Bad Associations" TM and will have little or nothing to do with us any longer. Of course, a few months from now, I guarantee they will be on the platform at an assembly being praised as righteous martyrs for their faithfulness to the Org for dutifully shunning their wicked apostate children. PUKE!!!!!!!!

My parents, who said that we were apostates now and that they would shun us, are actually starting to back pedal on that and are trying to find a loophole to keep association open with us. My mom tried to talk me into rewording what we told them the other night, so that it wouldn't sound so apostate. MOM = "We already knew, because you quit going to the meetings, that you didn't believe it anymore. Why did you have to say that you wanted no association with it anymore - that was dissassocation."

Maybe, if they can perform the feats of logic to believe some of the WT stuff, maybe they can manipulate it in their own minds to associate with us - who knows?

Thanks again for all the understanding and kindness!!!!!!!

Brandon

48

Just lost our parents....

by 2escaped lifers in

jw
friends

well, the shunning begins.

we finally had "the" discussion with my parents, that we no longer consider ourselves jw's, and a little bit of why we felt that way.

of course, "dad the elder and po" and mom the pioneer dutifully informed us that not only will they be "loyal to the organization" and shun us completely, but that he would immediately let the other elders know, so that proper judicial action could be taken.. it was a heart wrenching discussion, with all of us, including my two young boys (9 and 10) all balling our eyes out.

2escaped lifers

((((((ALL of YOU!!!)))))) Thank you all so much for your kind words and so much encouragement!!!! We also want to thank you all for your advice and support. It truly helps to know that we're NOT alone even though both sets of our parents practically screamed this at us.A friend of mine said just don't tell them because you'll be cut off ."You don't know what it's like," she said. Her mother died last year and she wishes for more time with her. I know I shouldn't say this but it would be less painful to know that your mother died loving you than to never talk to them again, and to know that they are SHUTTING OFF their love for you because of a rule they have to follow. At least Brandon's parents did cry and tell him that they loved him, but they had to "be faithful to jehovah." He asked them if they believed that they were truly being faithful to Jehovah, or were they being faithful to the organization. You can guess the response. Anyway, the wave of tears is back. Thank you all again, Stephanie and Brandon

48

Just lost our parents....

by 2escaped lifers in

jw
friends

well, the shunning begins.

we finally had "the" discussion with my parents, that we no longer consider ourselves jw's, and a little bit of why we felt that way.

of course, "dad the elder and po" and mom the pioneer dutifully informed us that not only will they be "loyal to the organization" and shun us completely, but that he would immediately let the other elders know, so that proper judicial action could be taken.. it was a heart wrenching discussion, with all of us, including my two young boys (9 and 10) all balling our eyes out.

2escaped lifers

Greetings,

Well, the shunning begins. We finally had "THE" discussion with my parents, that we no longer consider ourselves JW's, and a little bit of why we felt that way. Of course, "dad the elder and PO" and mom the pioneer dutifully informed us that not only will they be "loyal to the organization" and shun us completely, but that he would immediately let the other elders know, so that proper judicial action could be taken.

It was a heart wrenching discussion, with all of us, including my two young boys (9 and 10) all balling our eyes out. We told my parents that we loved them, and would always love them. We said that our house will always be open to them, no matter what. They, of course, said that WE were forcing them to shun us, that it was our decision to break up the family. Unbelievable, isn't it. I told them that saying that was like a terrorist telling an uncooperative hostage that it is his/her fault that the terrorist has to kill other hostages. They didn't get it, the mind control is too strong in them (they've been active JW's since the 50's).

Anyway, even though we knew this was coming and could predict their response, it is still very difficult to know that they will never talk to us again or acknowledge our presenece even if we meet them in the aisle at Wal Mart. My extended family is also active in the cult, so soon they will follow suit and shun as well. My wife's parents (also "pillars" of the congregation) will inform us today of their decision whether or not to shun us. We all know what the answer will be, so her parents and extended family will be "dead" to us shortly as well.

I don't have time to go into details here, but I'll post more on our discussions with them and the coming JC crap shortly.

Best regards to all here,

Brandon

14

Are the witnesses tight?

by stillajwexelder in

jw
friends

are jehovah?s witnesses tight?

a presiding overseer stated that from the platform in the last 18 months.

there was a thread recently where one poster stated that at district conventions pioneers actually gave literature as a tip to the waitress at a place where they were dining -- no doubt counting their time also.

2escaped lifers

Back in the 50's, when the big Yankee Stadium conventions were being held, and the JW's would set up big "tent cities", there was a joke that when the Witnesses visited the city, they brought with them a $10 dollar bill and the 10 Commandments, and didn't break either one.

Of course, it could also be that most witnesses are at the bottom of the economic ladder, because a good career is a "materialistic" goal.

Brandon

14

Crisis of Conscience availabitity

by Frantic in

jw
friends

yes a newbie!

probably been asked one to many times, nonetheless, whats the crisis of conscience availibility?.

can most of u borrow it from the public library?

2escaped lifers

Excellent book. As far as helping, it simply reinforced what I already knew. I knew all the main players in Gadsden, Alabama, where Ray Franz (the author) was disfellowshipped. You wouldn't believe the many false stories that were circulated among the Witnesses back then about the Gregersons and Ray. But they had to cover their butts somehow.

If you are not familiar with the inner workings at "headquarters", it will be a very enlightening read.

Best regards,

Brandon

20

Your JW / ex-JW Experiences Needed - PLEASE!

by 2escaped lifers in

for a new book project..... my wife and i are putting together a book project that will describe in detail the actual practical effects of wtbts beliefs and doctrines on the daily lives of average jw's.

there are currently books out there that describe the operation of the organization at the top levels (e.g.

crisis of conscience), books that take issue with jw doctrine and/or false predictions, and books about cults in general that mention jw's among other cultish organizations.

2escaped lifers

bttt

58

What was the first computer you ever owned?

by Nosferatu in

jw
friends

what was the first computer you ever owned?

for me it was the trs-80 model 1. i bought it for $10 at a second hand store when i was 10 years old.

took me forever to find info on the thing, an manual, and a patchcord to hook up a cassette deck.

2escaped lifers

Dedicated Pong game console, bought at Radio Shack.

Texas Instruments TI-99 4A with 16k of memory

Tandy TRS-80 - with casette tape drive

Wow, those were the days...

Brandon

20

Your JW / ex-JW Experiences Needed - PLEASE!

by 2escaped lifers in

for a new book project..... my wife and i are putting together a book project that will describe in detail the actual practical effects of wtbts beliefs and doctrines on the daily lives of average jw's.

there are currently books out there that describe the operation of the organization at the top levels (e.g.

crisis of conscience), books that take issue with jw doctrine and/or false predictions, and books about cults in general that mention jw's among other cultish organizations.

2escaped lifers

bttt

20

Your JW / ex-JW Experiences Needed - PLEASE!

by 2escaped lifers in

for a new book project..... my wife and i are putting together a book project that will describe in detail the actual practical effects of wtbts beliefs and doctrines on the daily lives of average jw's.

there are currently books out there that describe the operation of the organization at the top levels (e.g.

crisis of conscience), books that take issue with jw doctrine and/or false predictions, and books about cults in general that mention jw's among other cultish organizations.

2escaped lifers

I posted my experience on this forum a while back, but the way I view the experience is different now in a lot of ways.

I look forward to reading your experience. I am also interested in learning more about how you view it differently now, and why.

Regards,

Brandon