Posts by ToesUp

63

Life is changing for me: no pioneering, got a job!

by Skepsis in

jw
friends

a month ago i decided to register in this board.

i had decided to step down pioneering but was frightened about the consequences.

i had finished my university degree some months before (despite disaproval from brothers in my congregation) and i had to choose: continue pioneering and working in jobs with no future or starting a career, working full-time.. i was thinking to postpone the decisiton but... i was fed up with preaching.

ToesUp

The key thing you said in your post is..."they elders have NO empathy." You are 100% correct on this.

My spouse and I are currently watching our family members struggle financially. They are almost 70 years old. None of them went to college, they pioneered and went off to Bethel. They look and sound so beat down and discouraged. Trust me when I say to you....TAKE THE GOOD JOB. You have your education, now go use it.

The only reason they (the Elders) are discouraging you, is because you do a lot of tasks that they don't want to do. They are "using" you.

Move forward. You have a lot of life before you. We left in our late 40's and even we have a lot of life ahead of us. Our families in their late 60's do not. They have wasted a life.

Good luck and hugs to you. You sound like a brilliant guy!

16

JW as a secret society - a weak link in the Information Age.

by slimboyfat in

in the late 1990s there was magazine article that asked the question, are jws a secret society?

obviously they said no, because they claim to be transparent to outsiders and new members.

but they really are not transparent at all.

ToesUp

Slimboyfat, yes the Internet has exposed many details and activities that might have never been revealed to the rank and file in the past.

One example a few years ago was the apartment complex they purchased with "dedicated funds" for over $50 million!

Why didn't they build enough space in Warwick to house the all the Bethelites for the move out of NY? Only space for 800 - 1000?

Who get to live in these luxury apartments? The faithful ones with the biggest secrets?

Heres the link:

https://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/289472/watchtower-buys-apt-complex-fishkill-ny?page=1&size=10

45

Are there any doctrines which all Christian religions follow.

by jwfacts in

i cannot think of a single doctrine that is so clearly laid out in the bible that every christian sect teaches the same point.

are there any doctrine where there is total consensus amongst all christian religions, including jehovah's witnesses?.

ToesUp

Jw leaks stated the number 1 reason for any religion. Money, I will add, power and a comfortable life style for it's leaders.

11

Cutbacks

by pepperheart in

what other cut backs do you think will be coming or might be coming these next few years for the borg ?.

ToesUp

Current elder arrangement will go away. You know how they replaced the RBC with the LDC. New and improved in name only...with the same crap!

65

Short stay

by midnight in

after much research and prayer i am returning to being a jehovah's witness i can find nothing that eliminates them from being god's directed people , in the end they will reach the end of there journey despite mistakes and errors just like the israelites entered the promised land , thanks for your input and all the best on your personal journey ☺.

midnight..

ToesUp

Yes...I had that voice all my life. I always use the example of a child. Imagine your child comes to you with a question and you punish the child for asking the question. Good grief, how will they ever learn? As a JW you are not allowed to ask questions. What is wrong with that?

Right before we left I asked a Brother..."do you not see the contradiction on this point?" He replied "no". I knew then and there that these people will not see it...no matter what. I dropped it and and never asked a question again. What's the point? I will spend my time enjoying my life and not banging my head on the wall.

19

Rank & File Reaction to Leah Remini Series

by freemindfade in

wife and i have watched the whole series and just finished episode 7 last night.

personally, i am seeing a great deal more subtle and day to day similarities to watchtower than the obvious ones i already knew existed, ie shunning.

very eye opening and heartbreaking, even more so than going clear in my mind.

ToesUp

Oh wow tor1500 are you ever right on your post above. We have witnessed this several times in our family. We had a family member that got a slap on the wrist and boy he just couldn't take it. Now that he is in "good graces" again in the org. he can't see anyone elses problems. He's all warm and snuggly in the org again so all is well. It's always easier passing judgment on others, UNTIL it happens to YOU!

30

How to reply when someone asks about your spiritual health

by RodrigoGuerreiro in

first of all, sorry if i cannot correctly express the original expression used in my native language to ask for the "spiritual condition".. a few years ago some member of the family asks my wife directly how is her "spiritual health" (for me it's one of the many strange vocabulary used by jw like "the slave says...").

she was catched by surprise with the direct question and says that everything is ok... and luckily someone call them for lunch.. my question is: do you have any good answers for that question?

you can be ironic/use some humor because the question is a little bit anecdotical .

ToesUp

Spirituality equal JW tasks, nothing more. How many hoops are you willing to jump through to prove your loyalty to a man made organization. Sad!

65

Short stay

by midnight in

after much research and prayer i am returning to being a jehovah's witness i can find nothing that eliminates them from being god's directed people , in the end they will reach the end of there journey despite mistakes and errors just like the israelites entered the promised land , thanks for your input and all the best on your personal journey ☺.

midnight..

ToesUp

Good luck.

If you struggle with that little voice inside your head that continues to say..."something here (WT) just doesn't seem right", it will never go away. I struggled with it for years (40+ years) and finally figured out something really insn't right. We all gotta do what we gotta do. I hope it works out in your best interests.

3

What happened to JWStruggle.com

by TweetieBird in

jw
friends

i post here off and on and go months, sometimes years without even thinking about jw's but recently started watching some youtube videos and have especially enjoyed the ones by eric.

i noticed that there have not been any recent ones and also that his website doesn't have anything new on it for a while.

what happened?

ToesUp

I like Eric and always enjoyed his Youtube videos. I check back occasionally to see if he has anything new. I think in one video he mentioned he was doing some volunteering. He's a good guy!

30

How to reply when someone asks about your spiritual health

by RodrigoGuerreiro in

first of all, sorry if i cannot correctly express the original expression used in my native language to ask for the "spiritual condition".. a few years ago some member of the family asks my wife directly how is her "spiritual health" (for me it's one of the many strange vocabulary used by jw like "the slave says...").

she was catched by surprise with the direct question and says that everything is ok... and luckily someone call them for lunch.. my question is: do you have any good answers for that question?

you can be ironic/use some humor because the question is a little bit anecdotical .

ToesUp

"I'm sure that only Christ can judge my "spiritual health" accurately, so I'll leave it up to him. What I or others think is of no consequence!"

I like Searchers answer, that is a good one. The state of mind that I am in right now wants to say is..."mind your own damn business" BUT the sensible side of me will probably be similar to Searchers.

I think I might say..."why would you ask" and see where they go with it.