i was invited to a small get-together by a long time friend.
we both served as elders for years.
he is in his late 70s.
Yes...I agree with WingCommander.
This younger generation is more tolerant/accepting of differences then the generation before. They don't take any shi* off of anyone. NO ONE tells them what to do and how to do it. It's working great on the JW cult, eh? lol
the cobe of the cong we attended called me and left a vm, and also emailed both me and my husband.
this all happened yesterday.
he said he was checking in to see how our family was doing, which is a joke.
just got a phone call from an older sister saying that a couple that got re-assigned from bethel 4 years ago to live at their kh apartment as special pioneers, just received a letter saying "as of january 2016, your special pioneer assignment will be discontinued".. they live in a south miami kh(snapper creek congregation).. this couple had only served in bethel for 15 years before they were sent out into the special pioneer work.
they are now in their mid 50's and the sister said that they have to find part time jobs to support themselves.. the older sister (does not have a pc or internet), says that the couple are just devastated!
.
Part of me feels sorry for them but the other (evil) side of me doesn't. What did these people expect from the "most loving brotherhood on earth." Use em up and spit em out!
When my spouse was laid off 2x's over the past few years....guess what? She/he had to go find another job! Welcome to the real world. Welcome to our world!!
Just sayin.
grew up in east la in a bad neighborhood to a black mother and white father.
i never knew my father because he died in a car accident when i was a few weeks old.
my mother converted as a jw soon after when two sisters came to her door and offered her comfort, which was something she needed.
Hollywood20
Welcome. Wow...what a story.
I am sorry about what happened to you as a young man. That is so sad.
You sound like you are literally stuck in this cult.
My spouse and I are both born ins and decided to leave about 3 years ago (along with our children). We too saw through the hypocrisy and knew this was not Jehovahs organization.
One of the first things that really bothered me was how they were verbally bashing education. My spouse and I have watched and heard countless stories from older family members who are now in their 60's and 70's. These ones gave up dreams and talents they could have pursued but instead were told that they would never graduate from high school. These ones pioneered, went to Bethel, etc. and now they are struggling financially and some are even working hard menial jobs in their late 60's. Do they harbor resentment? You bet they do. We here them talk about it all the time. I think you are feeling that resentment yourself.
I guess you have to ask yourself the question, is this "act" of serving Jah worth it. We all have to make our own decisions based on our own circumstances. Myself personally, I can not put on the "act". It's just not part of my personality. I'm a all or nothing type. I have asked myself the question, can I walk away from everything and everyone that I have know all my life. My answer is...yes. In my opinion, I would rather be true to myself and have that freedom. The freedom is wonderful. But my circumstances are different than others. I have a supportive spouse who left with me. The sad part is that we shouldn't have to make that decision. No one should! This is a captive organization that holds people hostage. It infuriates me.
Keep posting on here, it does help to read and hear other peoples experiences. It's kinda like a therapy.
Keep us posted on your progress or if you just want to chat. There are some terrific people here who feel exactly the way you do. Hugs to you!
i was invited to a small get-together by a long time friend.
we both served as elders for years.
he is in his late 70s.
This kind of meeting would not surprise me. Just an observation over the past several years, the older ones are very disturbed by what is going on in the organization. A comment we have heard from several: "It seems they don't care much about the elderly ones anymore."
The smartest ones (IMHO) are the young ones. They leave and don't really care what anyone thinks. It's a different generation of kids than when we were young. The facebook generation moto, "if you don't like someone, just unfriend them." As simple as that!
last night our congregation read a letter for the global assistance arrangement combined with the traveling overseer assistance arrangement.
the "recommended" amount was $15 per publisher, which was well over $1000 for our hall.. it seemed steep.
our congregation does not have this type of money.
There are so many different "funding programs" with the JW's. No one can keep up!
Vote with your wallets! Take the $ and go on vacation or take your spouse out to dinner. The freedom is incredible!
i was invited to a small get-together by a long time friend.
we both served as elders for years.
he is in his late 70s.
back at the end of last year my now ex got what he thought was a printed form letter from a woman at a kh down the street from us.
i insisted it was handwritten.
a few days go by and i decided to write this woman back.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_h68ktwpim&feature=youtu.be.
"The Kingdom work is expanding at an accelerated pace."
Really? You just spent 3 plus minutes telling the audience that we are cutting back or cutting out special pioneers, Bethelites and slashing the magazines again. I guess it's kinda like May's broadcast..."we don't coerce members to donate" and then you spent another hour begging and guilting members to donate more.
You just can't make this stuff up!
hi.i've been pouring over this site for the past few days looking for some advice and i hope there is someone here that can help a guy out.
i'm desperate.....short bio: i came into the organization after high school and shortly after married a wonderful girl who was born-in.we have been happily married now for nearly 20 years and things were well until 2015 hit.
by the way, i currently serve as an elder and have the ""privilege"" of being the "watchtower overseer".. either here nor there, we were told we would never have children but late last year my wife became prego!!
Darkknight
I read your post yesterday and did not know how to respond until now. You and your wife must feel a sadness that others can not understand. Everyone deals with grief differently.
I think you received some excellent advise from others. Take it slow. You and your wife are going through some tremendous emotional turmoil. Move slow with your wife, you don't want to overwhelm her right now. You have a perfect opportunity to step down from being an Elder. You will receive a ton of nosy JW's that just need to know all of your business (including other Elders). You DO NOT need to share anything with them. Tell them it is personal and leave it at that. I have never met a more intrusive/judgmental group of people in my entire life.
As time moves on just make little remarks or statements that might get your wife to think about everything there is wrong with the JW religion.
When I think back, I stopped at the liquor store every Thursday night, after the mid week meeting. I didn't know why I needed a drink so bad on Thursday. Now I spend Thursday evenings either taking a walk with my spouse or going shopping. I never stop a the liquor store unless I just want to enjoy a glass of wine with dinner.
Be strong and be there for your wife. She is the most important thing. Keep us all posted on your progress.
Keep posting on here. It does help to hear from others who won't judge you and have been through their own personal battles.Take care.
