alias

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Posts by alias

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  25

  Embarrassed As A Witness

  by EmptyInside in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  even as a witness,i was uncomfortable talking about everything we believed.

  i remember working with my brother out and service and he found an interested person.

  my brother was sharing information out of the bible teach book.

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  alias

  I was never comfortable with the evangelical aspect of being a JW.

  I was embarrassed (and still am) to tell people I was a JW.

  As a teen, I had high anxiety and was terrified at working territory that might have me run into schoolmates.

  When I was 16, I was forced to make a presentation in a business working business territory (such a dumb thing JWs do).

  From then on I was guilt-ridden over my embarrassment because a brother admonished me with that scripture about "not being ashamed of the good news." I complied as best as I could because being a JW was all I knew. My whole social life hinged on parental approval and peer acceptance.

  Now I can look back and understand better my discomfort at being a pushy JW. Even as a child I had some underlying doubts about things but just didn't know that's what it was at the time.

  alias
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  20

  How Did You Feel Knowing That YOU Were A "Minister"?

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  did you feel special?.

  i did when i got baptized at 9 years of age and became an "ordained minister"..

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  alias

  Ill-equipped. Still.

  alias
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  32

  JW leadership vacuum - explained!

  by sir82 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  jw leadership shows an appalling lack of creativty and originality.. -- meeting attendance down across the board?

  let's keep the same 1940's format anyway!.

  -- missionaries quitting their assignments?

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  alias

  creativity saved my life post-jw
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  105

  I've lurked a long time: JW's produce some of the most paranoid humans

  by Unlearn in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i'll keep this brief for now.. long time lurker (4 years or so).. born-in, elder, used on district level (last talk i gave before i left was the baptisimal talk), and lots of hard time put in...before i finally made the move to split.

  it's a long stoy, much like many of yours...but with it's own little interesting twists.

  more details in the future, perhaps.. as i said, ive lurked here for a while.. its funny: for a long time i'd only come on late at night.

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  alias

  Welcome, Unlearn. Great user name.

  alias
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  78

  My Sister Died This Morning After Refusing Blood On Four Occasions.

  by still wondering in

  1. watchtower
  2. medical
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  alias

  I'm sorry for your loss.
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  6

  Steve Jobs Profound Thoughts on Death

  by mindseye in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i was going to post this in the ongoing steve jobs threads, but these words were so profound i thought they deserved their own thread.

  growing up jw we were taught that we were supposed to live forever.

  death was bad.

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  alias

  No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don’t want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life’s change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true.
  
  Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.

  Thanks, Mindseye
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  63

  {Sigh}, I could use a hug...

  by Billy the Ex-Bethelite in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  my first two exams were this week.

  things didn't go well.

  the classes are tough -- math and science.

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  alias

  {{{Billy}}}
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  53

  Did YOU Actually Believe That You Would Never Die?

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  even though i was raised a witness, i was never convinced that the end would be in 1975 or even in my lifetime..

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  alias

  Re: Did YOU Actually Believe That You Would Never Die?

  I really, really hoped so.

  alias
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  19

  JW's - Hard to admit that much of life was a waste

  by xelder in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  from my observations, i think many (especially older) jw's hold through the stupid doctrinal changes because they can't admit the alternative.. i had wished the jw kingdom hope was true, i needed it to be true.

  i'm 5th generation and my parents, grandparents, great grand.....ect needed it to be true.

  i have watched many "faithful" relatives hang on and die disappointed.

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  alias

  Thanks for that link, Mickeymouse.
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  16

  Another possible explanation for why older JW converts won't leave....

  by besty in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  "dollar auction' theory - it goes like this.... .

  the setup involves an auctioneer who volunteers to auction off a dollar bill with the following rule: the dollar goes to the highest bidder, who pays the amount he bids.

  the second-highest bidder also must pay the highest amount that he bid, but gets nothing in return.. .

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  alias

  Over the years we gather around us a support system, friends and relatives we can lean on for support when things go wrong.

  As witnesses their support system is in the Watchtower fold. They are told not to make friends "in the world".

  As we get older it is difficult to get that support group again from scratch. We just dont have the energy to go out and join clubs or whatever is required to cultivate people with similar interests.

  My parents, now in their 70s, have almost 40 years of thier lives invested. My dad took an early retirement and they moved to serve where the need is great. They've been serving there ever since and will be until the end of their days.

  They, like many old-timers, are at a point where their whole existence is dependant upon being active in the JW culture. Their whole social life and purpose is wrapped up in and around supporting the organization. It's sad, but that's their reality and only source of self. I'd never in a million years try to destroy that for them.

  To me, their hope is grounded in sincerity, and no different from others who believe in some wonderful afterlife. They are good people surrounded by a lot of other good people who'd give you the shirt off their back to help you. Sad that they have given so much of their lives for a concept perpetuated by a group of men. It's a no-win situation for either of us.

  alias