Posts by OneEyedJoe

13

Got my memorial invite yesterday...

by OneEyedJoe in

i wasn't sure how this would be handled since the elders haven't harassed me as much as a lot of others have gotten, plus we live a ways outside of the territory so i figured there was a shot they'd leave me alone since it's inconvenient.

guess not.

two elders showed up unannounced toward the end of their recruiting shift.

OneEyedJoe

Nope, no brochure. It's a shame, too, because I had prepared what my response to that would be.

13

Got my memorial invite yesterday...

by OneEyedJoe in

i wasn't sure how this would be handled since the elders haven't harassed me as much as a lot of others have gotten, plus we live a ways outside of the territory so i figured there was a shot they'd leave me alone since it's inconvenient.

guess not.

two elders showed up unannounced toward the end of their recruiting shift.

OneEyedJoe

" The reason I shall not be coming is because.... IT IS NOT THE TRUTH ! "

Yeah I was ready to go with that, actually, but they never asked why I wasn't at meetings or why I wasn't planning on making the memorial. The impression I got is that they don't care. They're just doing their duty and trying to pressure people to build up the attendance numbers. In fact, I think they specifically don't want to know why I'm not around anymore.

13

Got my memorial invite yesterday...

by OneEyedJoe in

i wasn't sure how this would be handled since the elders haven't harassed me as much as a lot of others have gotten, plus we live a ways outside of the territory so i figured there was a shot they'd leave me alone since it's inconvenient.

guess not.

two elders showed up unannounced toward the end of their recruiting shift.

OneEyedJoe

I wasn't sure how this would be handled since the elders haven't harassed me as much as a lot of others have gotten, plus we live a ways outside of the territory so I figured there was a shot they'd leave me alone since it's inconvenient. Guess not. Two elders showed up unannounced toward the end of their recruiting shift. It was definitely well planned, because it's the only two elders that I actually sorta liked, and they're not in the same service group. Anyway, there were a few points that came out of the ensuing conversation that I thought were worth noting.
Their appeal to me to try to get me to come to memorial was purely personal - no mention of its importance, no mention of god's forgiveness (since I'm sure they assume I'm guilty of some secret sin) nothing more than "I know I would sure love to see you there" said in a few different (and seemingly sincere) ways. How hollow this cult is. In the end it really does boil down to doing crap you don't want to do to please people that have to be given an assignment to seek you out for a conversation.
The other fun point was their first attempt to sell returning to meetings after I told them I wasn't going to be at memorial. "We have a new format now." Seriously? Do they think I'm not there because of the meeting format? He went on to explain with clearly false enthusiasm that "now there's a chairman for the whole program! It's like a convention!" It was really difficult to hold in a sarcastic "holy shit, I'll be at the next meeting now!" But no he continued on explaining that now it's much easier for my father-in-law (former school overseer) and in a moment of unscripted honesty said "I think he's actually the only one that likes the new format."
So there you have it. The best reason they could come up with to convince me to come to memorial was to make them happy. Next best reason to be at meetings is they've changed the talks slightly, and no one likes it. How will I ever live with myself if I don't make it?

4

If the meetings are SO valuable and vital, why do witnesses love having a day off from them?

by stuckinarut2 in

have you noticed how happy witnesses are when they have a change in meeting schedules, so that a meeting is missed?.

eg, the week of an assembly, the midweek meeting is not held, and they all say "oh it will be nice to have a night off".. or if a public speaker doesn't come for the talk, and the meeting has just the wt study, they all enjoy "an early mark".

or if they go on holiday, they say "oh we are on holiday, we won't go to the meeting".

OneEyedJoe

They hate the meetings but feel guilty when they miss them, so they're so relieved when they get a guilt-free day off.

10

I can't just walk away, I need to keep reinforcing what I did was right (Leaving the org)

by pleaseresearch in

when i speak to my mum about things, she says why do you keep looking on the internet and news etc... why don't you just live your life and forget what you learned growing up.. maybe i was so so indoctrinated as a child that even though i have woken up and learnt ttatt, i still need to keep up to date with new findings from ex and fellow brothers and sisters.

listening to their testimony about why they left.. this was to me and all of you i'm sure, the truth.

so to finally wake up is absolutely massive.

OneEyedJoe

I suspect it's a bit like the drive some have to meet their biological parents when they learn they're adopted. So much of who we are has come from the cult influence and, at least for me, there's a drive to understand it so that hopefully I can learn something about myself.
Of course there's also a human need to find understanding from others and it's hard to find someone that can relate to being in a cult anywhere else. And I think most that leave have a natural desire to help others that have been through the same challenge. I've found so much support from this community that I want to repay that where I can.

20

Just threw away...

by stephanie61092 in

so even though i don't drive much because public transit is so good where i live (and parking is a living nightmare), i always had a paper taped onto my glove box that said "no blood transfusions - jehovahs witness.

see legal documentation in wallet.

going through this "wake up" process as been a very crazy, emotional experience.

OneEyedJoe

I remember doing that myself. It's odd how much of a pull that piece of indoctrination has - it took me a week or so after waking up to tear up my card. At that point I was ready to admit to myself that I was an atheist but for some reason I still had some hesitation. Luckily that went away reasonably quickly. No regrets at all on tearing that thing up.

As some have said here, that card was a suicide note that you carried with you. Now that you're not planning to die, it's time to get busy living!

92

Only a few days ago I was entirely lost and without hope the rug was pulled out from under me

by elderess in

jw
friends

only a few days ago i was walking around the house in a mindless wander thinking if i needed to seek professional help.

then i got the courage to seek the comfort of complete strangers on the internet and found a world of support here on this website.

thank you simon and whoever else has made this website possible.

OneEyedJoe

That's amazing! It's always great to hear another success story of a couple beating this cult. It's destroyed so many families that a victory like this is really something special. The whole world is open to you! Have fun exploring the possibilities!

How old are your children? If they're still young I'm sure they'll come out of this just fine. Kids are resilient.

32

Strange sounds from the mens toilet ,late 80s early 90s

by pleaseresearch in

so as a young boy bored and wanting to stretch my legs i would sometimes take a trip into the toilet just to get away from the main meeting room.

did my little mind know what certain sounds were coming from behind the cubical?

no.. but now in my 30s i'm fully aware what that sound was.

OneEyedJoe

Probably one of the mic runners taking care of things after looking down that well-endowed sister's shirt.

23

New June Awake with Misleading Statements about Evidence for god

by ttdtt in

the article (faith) is all about why you should have solid evidence based reasons for belief in god.

it's not good enough to believe in god just because you were raised to believe in god.. (from the article).

but god wants those who worship him to have genuine confidence in his existence and in his love.. then it goes on to tell us how we can get that genuine confidence that there is a god.

OneEyedJoe

And kodos for you OneEyedJoe! Guess you had a CO visit recently?

Nah, it just always stuck out as stupid that they would cite how pleasing variety is as proof of god (or his love, as the case may be) when variety is also direct evidence that the biblical flood account is inaccurate.

That and a lot of species of apples are really grainy and not very good. The variety is equal proof of a loving god as it is proof of an asshole god that tries to trick us by making some of the apples good and some of them gross.

38

Proof of any Dragons

by pleaseresearch in

does anybody have any proof of the existence of dragons?.

we read in revelation about satan being the dragon, but aren't dragons mythological creatures?.

OneEyedJoe

There are books that talk about dragons. Isn't that proof enough that dragons exist?