my mom and sisters have not had any contact with my family for the past year and a half.. we even recently announced a new pregnancy and none of them acknowledged it or called to say congratulations or anything.. this past week my non-witness grandfather passed away and i had thought that for the sake of his death and funeral, it being "necessary family business" that they would at least be civil in front of our other family.
all of them still ignored me, my sisters didn't even speak to my children at all - to be honest i don't think my kids even knew who they were.
for the sake of my grandmother i made a small attempt at the end of the day to say goodbye to my mother and she kind of just brushed past me and said goodbye without really looking at me.. anyways my grandmother told me later that my mom spoke to her and said "i love my daughter and i love my grandchildren and i'm so upset that she won't allow me to see them".
I am sorry they are doing this to you. It hurts.
My self personally, I wouldn't bother with the woman or any of them. They don't deserve you or your children. You are all better than that. I wouldn't write, text or call. Why should you? She and other family members don't respect you. Respect is earned.
Trust me it is their loss. I have had to do the same thing with family. Sad!
What a loving bunch of hypocrites eh?
"good friends are precious" , the article begins .
that is true enough .. "it is heartwarming to see how brothers and sisters today are united by a bond that goes beyond any role or assignment in the congregation.
by their actions they are in effect saying, “i am your friend, not because i have to be, but because you are important to me.”.
WT is writing about friendship?!! You gotta be kidding. Once you make your exit, the JW's scatter like light on a cockroach. I haven't heard from one of my "friends" in 4 years. Not one. No one know why we left and not one call of concern for me or my family. So much for "friendship."
i wasn't entirely sure what to expect when i made the decision to tell my parents how i really feel, but i was prepared for the worst, fortunately, it didn't come to that.
after i told them i didn't want to go to the meetings anymore it led to a long talk with them.
they made a number of irksome and woefully uninformed statements but at least they were not aggressive and have said that they won't force me to move out over this, though, i can tell they are hoping they can convince me to "accept the truth," as long as i still live with them.
"This newly liberated teenager became obedient and lost the rebel attitude. To this day our kid is kind, generous, and forgiving. Just never believed in the religion and we said okay."
We did this as well. Once we learned TTATT, there was NO turning back. Our oldest wanted out of WT and is now a hard working, kind and respectful adult. We could never shun our children, no matter what WT says. It goes against EVERYTHING we are. Sometimes the more parents try to cage their children, the more the child pulls away and rebels.
You never know where this could take your parents. Just show them that you CAN leave this cult and be a wonderful person. You sound like you are well on your way.
i wasn't entirely sure what to expect when i made the decision to tell my parents how i really feel, but i was prepared for the worst, fortunately, it didn't come to that.
after i told them i didn't want to go to the meetings anymore it led to a long talk with them.
they made a number of irksome and woefully uninformed statements but at least they were not aggressive and have said that they won't force me to move out over this, though, i can tell they are hoping they can convince me to "accept the truth," as long as i still live with them.
"They seem to think that my desire to leave is simply because I have "hurt feelings over being disfellowshipped," and that I "lack the humility to accept discipline," so I've clearly made no headway in convincing them that this is an informed decision, but ah well, at least I don't have to feel like I'm living a lie anymore."
They all use this one! Makes you want to scream! What they are saying is "it's your fault." It is the JW way. Tell them, "what kind of loving organization kicks their members to the curb?" The world doesn't even do this to you when you need help.
I'm glad you had the guts to do this. You spoke your mind and that is great. It hurts but you stood your ground.
i pretty much did it all.
vacation pioneered as a youngster and became a regular pioneer out of school.
i became a ms then an elder.....the organization pushes you to be somebody within the confines of their realm.
Let me correct my above statement. There is a apartment complex in Fishkill, Ny. that is housing some of the very old Bethelites. Not too many people know about this place. It is housing the very old. WT is doing 2 things...keeping the old ones quiet until they die. How many skeletons in the closet(s) of WT do the old ones know about? If you throw a 80-90 year old Bethelites out on the street, it doesn't look too good for WT.
We were told that they are laying off 50ish Bethelites. A comment was made, "they are still young enough to pick up and get a job." Really? Have any of these ones tried to get a decent job now days with no education, training or just a general ability in how to survive in the world? Most can not even rely on Social security because they never paid into it. It's so easy to say the above statement when you have been in your own little cocoon all your life and you have a comfy place to lay your head. WT only cares about WT and what it "appears" to be. They have a history of using you up and spitting you out.
i pretty much did it all.
vacation pioneered as a youngster and became a regular pioneer out of school.
i became a ms then an elder.....the organization pushes you to be somebody within the confines of their realm.
As to the travelling overseers that is a different history, they have been well placed; sometimes even choosing the congregation. They are seen as "princes" and most of them are still getting a lot of the "handshakes"
We know personally that some retired CO's and their wives are receiving housing. Any housing for the "laid off" Bethelites? Me thinks not!
i pretty much did it all.
vacation pioneered as a youngster and became a regular pioneer out of school.
i became a ms then an elder.....the organization pushes you to be somebody within the confines of their realm.
We NEVER gave out a golden handshake. I always thought that the Elders did a lot of hard work for zero pay. I watched my Dad give of himself in the congregation, work a full time job with a lot of over time and raise a large family. Did he get a green/golden handshake? NEVER, he had to make it on his own, all the while giving more and more to WT. WT has discouraged going to college which provides kids the opportunity to get a better job and make a decent living. Then on the other hand they want you to give until it hurts (for "kingdumb interests). A prime example of WT double speak. One of the main reasons we exited...HYPOCRISY!
convention introductions.
2017 “don’t give up!” convention.
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0bywm0b0qtwlsbzffazazotvfyxc.
They even put a big time clock on the screen. What is everyone, FIVE years old? Micro managing at its finest.
i pretty much did it all.
vacation pioneered as a youngster and became a regular pioneer out of school.
i became a ms then an elder.....the organization pushes you to be somebody within the confines of their realm.
We were only lowly publishers. We were good for cleaning, donations and typically filling seats at the KH. My spouse never felt the need for added "privileges." He knew once he became a MS they would dump all over him. So glad to be free!
so a week or so ago we received an invitation for a jw friend's wedding anniversary party in the mail.it was addressed to 'the andersen family' (and not just mrs. andersen & baby andersen) which was pleasant of course, but not a huge surprise given the type of person who said friend is.. however, i already prepared myself to be uninvited after all.
some time ago, there was a congregation farewell party/get-together.to my surprise, i was invited too!
an elder specifically came over to my house to tell me.then some weeks later, he visited again, being terribly sorry but the invitation was revoked as the congregation got concerned over my possible presence.. with that debacle in mind, i wasn't surprised to receive a message from my friend 'hey are you at home?
"When the week of the party came around, we texted my mom for details (time and place). That's when we were told we were no longer invited. No explanation was given, but we both knew. They wanted it to be a JW-only affair."
And they wonder why you don't want to come back. You just can't make this sh*t up!
