Posts by ToesUp

21

They need MORE $$$$$

by TallTexan in

i haven't been to a meeting in years, but i was recently told by a friend of mine that they have really been hammering the 'use of your valuable things in support of the kingdom' in many of the talks and thursday night parts.

i know they used to mention it all the time, but he said it's gotten really bad lately.

i told him that's because the membership in the western (translate that to "richer"...lol) countries has really fallen off and even become negative in many countries and that the 3rd world countries can't contribute enough to support the great publishing empire.

ToesUp

Now, WT will brag up the soon to be constructed "Broadcasting center." Gotta keep the cash flowing in! The next 700 Club!!!

34

What triggered your awaking?

by Fadeaway1962 in

i was listening to a radio show about a jw women who had been disfellowshiped , her daughter cut off all contact ,must admit at the time i thought so what.. then this man phoned up and explained he was disfellowshiped for asking about jws being ngo in the united nations during 90s till early 2000s when a newspaper exposed them , i still thought he's a apostate but looked it up found the article then found this forum and even more info..

ToesUp

Lack of love and hypocrisy!

Then....we learned TTATT (the truth about the truth). Once you learn TTATT you can NEVER go back!!!

17

JW's and Retirement Planning

by JaNayNee in

my mother is a jw.

i studied for several years and ultimately could not digest what was being served.

for the last 20 years my mother has done nothing to prepare for retirement.

ToesUp

We are currently watching our entire family suffer from lack of savings over the years and zero higher education. They are now in their late 60's to early 70's. They are working still. Hard jobs too. The younger ones still in the borg? They are still living with parents and being subsidized by other JW family members. Remember....if you Pioneer, are a need greater and doing all the good JW tasks that Mommy and Daddy tell you, we'll "help" you out. Once the money runs out, these young ones will be in the same boat as those now in the 60's & 70's. Sad, you can see it coming.

"Over the years my Mother has told us that her spiritual family is more important to her than her biological family"

I have been told the same thing above. It's hard to believe it actually comes out of their mouths.

30

Today’s Watchtower Study (December ‘19 issue

by BluesBrother in

“parents train your children to love jehovah “.

the title says it all really, but par 6 has this piece of advice.. “jesus likened our time to “the days of noah,” and there is no doubt that we are living in “critical times hard to deal with.” (matt.

24:37; 2 tim.

ToesUp

"The title of an article from 3/1/88 Watchtower is indelibly etched in my brain, "Responsible Childbearing in This Time of the End".

We had a JW friend who found out that she was pregnant when this article came out. She was devastated. Crying and all. What should have been one of the happiest times in her life, she was feeling like she had done something wrong. Sad!

22

Expect 90% of pimi's to go down with the ship here's why

by nowwhat? in

i have been feeding my very pimi brother tidbits and clippings of all the csa issues coming to light the last five years and all the org's business dealings of hundreds of closed halls congs dissolving etc.

and reminding him of all the failed prophecies etc etc.

although he would listen and acknowledge.

ToesUp

Yep, our family reacts the same way. Loyalty to the end!!! That is what cults do!!!

55

Circuit Overseer to Answer My Questions + Concerns...or Not

by Research in

hello all, i'm 'researching', a jw who is in the first steps of taking a look at their beliefs.. i've semi-recently (about a couple weeks ago) heard about the sexual abuse cases (pennsylvania attorney general’s investigation request) and then the arc in 2015. this lead to a deep investigation, which lead to many questions arising.

a jw friend of mine suggested i be careful (due to apostates) and ask the brothers.

so i typed up my questions + concerns and emailed an elder my mother has known for a long time.

ToesUp

"The Elder did admit to my mother, who didn't believe me at first, that they keep records/a file of serious wrong-doing, seal it, and store it."

So much for forgiving up to 77 times. Hypocrites!!

Everything against WT is "apostate." Even a worldly thing, such as the ARC. They put their fingers in their ears and go.....lah lah lah. How can you even try and reason with unreasonable people? We quit trying. Life is too short!

I admire your persistence.

10

Brazen conduct

by road to nowhere in

i just noticed the clam illustration of "reject brazen conduct" a young man in service walking past 2 others drinking beer and playing cards.

i know elders who do both.

.

ToesUp

Spot on Phizzy!

7

'Phone call from Ex JW,

by Phizzy in

a guy i was great friend with in my teens 'phoned me out of the blue today, and brought back a lot of fond memories, he was df'd, because he was a very naughty boy lol, but as he said, as is common with a lot of us exes, he took a long time to grow up.

he spoke of my parents, who despite being jw's, were lovely people, they took him in to our home when his mum was in hospital for some weeks, he also spoke of the good times we had as kids, and how his parents were good to him, and made him what he is today despite being jw's.. we sometimes do not give credit where it is due, my parents made me a lover of truth, but it is real truth i espouse now of course.. perhaps this kind of view of our upbringing is more positive than concentrating on all the downsides of what is basically an evil cult ?

looking at the (very few) positives can perhaps help us heal ?.

ToesUp

If it wasn't for "the truth" (not so true), I would not be married to my wonderful spouse and have great kids. I also had a great up bringing. I was one of the fortunate ones.

I just can not condone the upper crust of the Borg and it's decisions and unloving practices. I believe they have "conduct unbecoming a Christian." The minions follow along blindly, I hold them accountable also.

6

A Better View of Trauma

by Sea Breeze in

jw
friends

i ran across this short essay and thought it was worth passing along.

trauma is not your fault, but healing is your responsibility.

what happened to you was not your fault.. it was not something you asked for, it was not something you deserved.. what happened to you was not fair.. you were merely collateral damage on someone else’s warpath, an innocent bystander who got wrecked out of proximity.. we are all traumatized by life, some of us from egregious wrongdoings, others by unprocessed pain and sidelined emotions.

ToesUp

So true!

Thank you for sharing.

22

My email to JW Following Trolley Conversation

by cofty in

a few weeks ago i had an really interesting conversation with three male jws who were loitering around a trolley at the west end of princes street in edinburgh.. i managed to completely avoid giving any hint about my jw past and focussed on why they thought the bible was a reliable moral guide.

i used the subject of slavery to illustrate my concerns.. one of the three was in his early twenties, knew a lot about his own beliefs but nothing about the real life and it was difficult to get through his thought-bubble.

the second one was in his 60s and not very bright.

ToesUp

"He humbly admitted he had no answer to my challenge"

We have received similar responses from family on subjects they can't answer us on. They just either don't speak to us anymore or just don't raise any JW subjects when we are around. We were told by a couple of our family members that, "we are just too smart." Yeah, too smart to remain in a cult.