so, hubby gets contacted today by one of the elders saying 2 of them want to pay us a visit and asks him when we are available.
we both had the heart drop feeling for a few minutes lol.
but he promptly, and politely, informed them that we are very busy but he will let them know when we are free.
True story. I made a deal with an elder that said something stupid to me that would be horribly embarrassing to reveal to his fellow elders. Then he had the nerve to slander me. So I called me, went off, and made him a deal.
You make sure the elders don't come to my house......and I won't talk to them about what you told me.
Deal. Done. Nobody comes by. We may even be on DNC.
http://www.people.com/article/vester-lee-flanagan-bryce-willams-the-man-who-allegedly-shot-3-people-live-tv.
people magazine: who was vester lee flanagan, the man who allegedly shot 3 people on live tv?.
born in 1973 in oakland, california, to vester and betty flanagan, he was raised as a strict jehovah's witness.
Being a homosexual black man whose world view was in part shaped by a fundamentalist religious background that is as exclusionist and judgement as JW's have to be a lethal trinity of personal complex creation.
Still.....he didn't shoot people because he was raised a JW.
Danny Hazard should stay off the internet. He does much more harm than good.
in march of 2014, i was a very active jw, a ministerial servant, gave a public talk, was an attendant for the memorial, and one of 4 cleaning captains for an international convention of 40,000+ attendees.
so what woke me up?
an innocent comment from a co-worker about the candice conti court case rang a bell that could not be unrung.
The first brick fell with blood.
I simply could not logically defend the change in policy, and I always prided myself in being able to debate the bible and doctrine very well and with dignity. I simply could not defend....even really stretching it.....why some things were "allowed" and others weren't. It began to dawn on me the people I knew or had heard of directly that "died faithful".
I wondered what they were being faithful to. Something they believed to be true no doubt, but who had taught them that was true? My logical mind kicked in and it went like this.
2) So who decided what was forbidden and not? What was the criteria for this?
3) Crickets.
4) Answers I received revolved around weak arguments of better overall health, continued growth and therfore evidence we could not have been bloodguilty, and the argument that "not that many had died", and that "cause of death really couldn't technically be traced to blood loss in most cases".
My brain went wild. I thought I could stay for the good. I didn't want to leave. Years later i knew I had to be my authentic self, or not. I decided to be authentic. My wife did too.
Blood started it all. It woke me up.
It gave me permission to research with new eyes things I had previously already held as truths.
Then.........it all falls down.
anyone in the usa following this morning's shooting "on-air" live tv will know what i'm talking about.
bryce williams (not real name, but on-air name) shot and killed 2 people on live television this morning in roanoke, va. he was wearing a go-pro camera, and uploaded his first-person video onto his social media accounts.
i've seen his twitter feed (before it was taken down), and not very far down he mentions being raised a jw.
Ugh. I am remorese to say that while this guy was clearly unstable in a very odd hard to understand way, that neither guns nor his former religion are clearly at fault enough to make any real case.
He was racist, and felt his actions were justified by another racist. He didn't know how to process emotion as can be seen by his employment history. I have a few threads out to JW's here in San Diego that may have known him when he lived here.
He clearly was not a JW for some time, as a gay man. I am sure more details will come out.
this doesn't help or hurt anyones cause. Its just brutal and horrific. I watched the videos. I am not sure why. They are incomprehensible. He even seems to linger after showing them the gun and them not noticing......almost as if he is getting even angrier.
Just terrible.
i saw this coming since my mother-in-law's funeral .... the congregation's "love-bombing" over my wife had its impact.
i watched her drawing closer and closer to her friends in the congregation.
then she decided she would attend the memorial.
Well don't keep us on the edge of our seats you jerk. :)
how does (or did) feel to be a jw, gay, and female?.
Actually DD, if you were a lesbian trapped in a mans body you would be a transgender male identifying as a gay female.
Take that!
Bashful, I am absolutely sure that there are. There are also many gay men as well.
i've finally got round to joining the site (after over 2 years lurking!
i was born into jws, pioneered for 10 years (met my husband at pioneer school).
had health issues that saw me catapulted away from 'the centre of the cong' and wow what a different place that was!
Welcome to the ste and thanks for sharing that story. I am glad to hear you guys are doing wel, and not looking back. So many unique stories and circumstances here....but the constant is the fact that nobody can leave with dignity. they try to rob you of it at every corner.
Good for you guys for doing what you needed to mentally and emotionally.
May I ask what it was that woke your elder husband up?
I'm always curious about how the light goes on for people.
hi everyone, this is my first post so go easy on me :) i have been a witness all of my life (i'm 37) and truly believed it until 3 years ago.
my husband and i had become spiritually weak and over time i began to question more and more until i came to the conclusion that the witnesses were not the true religion but just one of many religions and that if god is there then there are many paths to get to him.
anyway, i've battled with keeping going as my husband still believed and i didn't want to be in a divided household as we have a young daughter and thought it would be very confusing for her (and us).
Hey BB,
Honesty is shocking isn't it. Like when you really start to allow yourself to believe what you already think, its kind of amazing. Well that is just starting. Not "feeling like a fraud" as you put it, is its own reward.
I had a friend of 20 years tell me 2 weeks ago we could no longer be friends. That hurt. Last week I have a friend of 23 years old thank me because a conversation and link I sent him opened his eyes to the fact he was part of a high control group that does not speak for God.
That is a roller coaster. But I like you, felt like the price of living an authentic life was WORTH loosing those who would not be my friends. In particular, because my two young children need an authentic father with integrity to raise them.
Dont stress about what else you HAVE to believe or WANT to believe. Purge the REQUIREMENT to believe anything from yourself first, and then you can figure out what you think and feel on your own terms, with an honest heart.
Making friends? Not always easy. I'm aware of certain social awkwardness I was unaware of before because everyone I knew had t the same. But I'm fortunate.
In all honesty BB.......you have your husband on your side, and your little girl. that is more than a lot that leave get to leave with. So good for you!
And this place.......kind of therapeutic.
Welcome!
hi all, just got this letter (sorry about formatting - anyone clean it up?).
christian congregationof jehovahs witnessesthe ridgeway, london, nw7 1rn telephone: 020 8906 2211august 13, 2015to all congregationsre: making wise use of our magazinesdear brothers:millions of people worldwide appreciate the bible study aids that are provided by thefaithful and discreet slave.
(matt.
the past week has been hell for me.
my mother started feeling ill and we went to seek medical assistance.
we live in the mountains and the nearest large hospital is about 150 kms away.
I'm glad she listened. I'm also glad it seems to have taught her a lesson. the party from your father though, that is a bit confounding? Maybe there is a personal element to the story missing.
Either way I hope your family finds peace, and I'm glad she lives to fight another day. Maybe its a good opportnity to explain to her why she need not even ask forgiveness for this thing.
