Posts by franklin J

10

What to do when you see young lives being wasted?

by shotgun in

jw
friends

a young pioneer elder i know informed me that he and his wife have been accepted at bethel.. he's a brilliant young man with a promising future where he is employed.

the job he currently has is as safe and secure as they come and is well above the average income.. in a short period of time he'll throw that all away to go and serve at bethel.. he's expressed to me in the past the desire for children which they will also forgo until the new system.. i've almost expressed my true feeling to him several times but felt that because of his positon in the congregation and his family history of faithful missionaries and bethelites that he would not only label me as a dangerous apostate but also instigate judicial action.. i guess i've answered my own question with the last statement.

it just makes me feel sick to allow him make such an uninformed decision which will affect the rest of his life.. have any of you been faced with similar circumstances?.

franklin J

yes, Shotgun, I know how you feel

I was in that position over 25 years ago, and I decided to leave Pioneering full time and pursue an education and a career in the "World" . I have never looked back and never regretted my decision. After my college years and at the beginning of my career, I married a nice "worldly" girl . That was 17 years ago, and I am still happily married with 3 kids. Life is what WE make it.

The JW boys ( and girls) I grew up with ( some were pioneers with me, some not so theocratic) who "shunned" me because I left the faith, and who to this day will not speak to me; most of them married very young and got divorced and went on to live miserable lives. They had the same decision and made a choice, many years ago, just like me.

If I see young people now going door to door, I can only shake my head and wish them well. Chances are they will not listen to any of us. That religion makes people do crazy things.

Frank

11

I haven't seen the 2 jws who called 2 weeks ago.

by badboy in

jw
friends

can't think of any reason y they haven't called.

franklin J

they do not waste their time with Apostates

59

What do you belive happens to us after we die?

by Singing Man in

jw
friends

i was raised a jehovah's witness and like most are aware, they presently belive that by and large everyone who dies ceases to exist.

i accepted this fate for most of my life and i guess i still do for the most part, but now that i do not go to the meetings what am i to accept death to be, as i will die as well as my friends and family at some point.

i think that idea of being in gods memory made sense to me as i have excepted it for forty five of my fifty years of being alive.

franklin J

Singing man,

I was raised a JW too, and just recently lost my father. Life does teach us lessons , if we are willing to learn.

I can tell you, I honestly believe he is still around me. I can feel his prescence, and that may be a psycological thing. However, I do believe we move on . I tend to agree with Sironas post, there is something that we move on to; a passage. Gut instinct; my recent experience with my Dads passing; I strongly believe this based on my "animal" instincts, which have brought me thus far since JW land. There were too many odd coincidences since my Dad passed. And they might just be that--odd coincidence.Or it could be that residual of spirit/ energy. It is not a bad feeling or a fear of death. Instinctively, I know it is and will be all right.

Science has proven that energy cannot be destroyed--can only change form. Interesting. I have no real evidence to support my argument---and I will not say it is a leap of faith.

LOL for Alan F's "bug story". Hey Alan, if you are reading this, I saw the movie " A Bugs Life".

Is that what they taught you up at MIT? LOL!

Frank

9

The festival of Thanksgiving...have a good one my American Friends!

by shotgun in

.

this could probably be under friends but it has a belief twist in it.. enjoy your time with family and friends this long weekend and give thanks for all that is good.. i know many of you turkeys will be scared though...run ..run for your lives.. i don't think there can be too much wrong with the celebration considering the nation of israel celebrated with the festival of ingathering or harvest, almost sounds identical when you think about it.. .

franklin J

thank you , Shotgun

I have been enjoying the holidays with my non JW wife and small children for some time. This year we are all volunteering in a soup kitchen.

Hopefully this will give the kids a perspective that life is not all the "wrappings and ribbons" that their little world is made up of; the perspective is good for all of us. The world ( although it is great outside JW land) is still not a fair place, and there are many underpriveldged people, who , through bad luck or bad circumstances, do not have food or a place to sleep. There are other REAL issues in this world besides the ones that the Watchtower has created.

frank

42

60's kids sign in!

by Beans in

jw
friends

if you are a product of the 60's, witnessed the plaid pants in the 70's, loved the 80's and forget why the 90's happened check in here!.

yes i was born in 1968!.

beans.

franklin J

born in 1956, remember all the Beach Boys in the 1960s graduated high school in 1974, spent the rest of that decade Pioneering ( boring). Although I do remember going to Discos in the 1970s, ( not a very conciencious Pioneer, I guess)

came of age in the 1980s when I exiting the JWs ( ran for my life) and had more fun. I remember the 1980s very well.

36

cough cough sniff

by tink in

jw
friends

uuuugh, i feel like i have one foot in the grave right now.

i am soooo miserably sick it is unbelievable.

i really thought i was going to die yesterday, i had this horrible raspy cough and a super high fever, you know the kind that makes you feel as if you're moving under water?

franklin J

feel better Tink,

I have missed your posting....:)

Frank

14

Commercialism of Christmas

by mpatrick in

jw
friends

.

i hear a lot of people complaining about the commercialism of christmas....well, i buy into the whole kit and kaboodle...i love christmas and everything about it!.

infact, i celebrate only for the commercialism since i don't buy into the whole "christ" of the holiday.. does anyone else love christmas?

franklin J

It is a "fun" party time of year. It was denied to me as a child, and so I think of it as that much more fun and harmless to celebrate and revel in the festivities.

Any excuse for a party!

32

What Do You Plan On Buying For Christmas Presents?

by minimus in

jw
friends

i want to give a few "presents" to some in my immediate family as well as a couple of friends.

what's on your "wish list"?

what do you plan on buying this year?

franklin J

I used to buy my wife lavish presents; and when the children came along, they got whatever they wanted. Being an X JW, I suppose I had something to prove and lost time to make up " recher che du temps perdu" Proust.

Then I bought a house with a hefty mortgage payment due every month.

The children still get whatever they want---and my wife and I are content with being proud "homeowners", and paying our bills on time.

102

Currently, Who Is Your Favorite Politician??

by minimus in

i like bush.

franklin J

my favorite politician? Why, you are, Minimus....

12

Bin Laden threat

by JH in

jw
friends

al qaeda: countdown for ?biggest operation yet inside america?.

monday, november 24, al qaeda marked eid al fitr, the festival closing the muslim festival of ramadan, with a dramatic warning.

debkafile?s counter-terror sources reports that a message published over al qaeda?s electronic channels and websites declared that the countdown has begun for the biggest operation ever carried out in the united states.

franklin J

these people are sick...we all know just how sick religious fanatics can be.