i was an elder in the 1970's and i was not a big fan of the "stay alive until 75" dogma.
i was looked down upon by the heavy hitters on the body of elders and in time i changed my mind.
i knew of the failed prophecy of 1914 being the end of all times which was repeated for the year 1925...yet i came to believe well maybe this time they've got it right.. with every new watchtower, i combed over every word to find support for my change in my belief that the end was coming in fall of 1975. at the district assembly in 1975, everyone clung onto every word in the final talk.
i quit the cult in 1971.
in 75 my wife--and i--deliberately made a baby--born april 76. my committment to the future.
that baby--a boy--is now 40--happily married again with a lovely son --a great job--property--friends--and a life free of that crazy religion.
every time i see photos of new jw parents cuddling up to their new babies.. every time i see people giving the parents new baby cards & gifts.. every time i see them having fun with their children.. i think to myself; 'you would shun your kids' .
if they don't end up being jw's.
if they simply publicly declare that they don't believe.
some may think all this shunning is rare--or at least uncommon.
consider this--
i now know very few dubs--having been free of it all well over 40 years.
however-----
my pioneer partner from back in the 60's---now shuns his own daughter---to the point of ignoring her in the street
another--a guy who i was best man to at his jw wedding--and remained close friends for years after----shuns his own daughter--to the point she moved away--from the UK to Australia.
my first wife--a born in--shuns our older son--now 40---and so hasnt even held his son born last year.
shunning is a far bigger issue now than the blood business--it affects far more families. it should receive far more publicity.
ive been reading through this forum for a while and thought i should contribute!.
so im df, i was very involved regular pioneer for several years and i slowly started to wake up.. my exprience of leaving is horendous and contains alot of shocking (but apparently not that rare in the orgs) judicials and various encounters with the elders.. ive been out 10 years now and at 27 loving life!
running a succesful business and dont all thay materialistic stuff thata frowned apon, like providing my wife and kids with a nice car and house!
hi scruff--heres a link to lots of other UK members--lots in southern England.
https://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/197364/ex-jw-uk?page=38&size=10
i'm quite new to this site, & have realised some members have a union jack symbol under their avatar.
i don't.. could we have a "show of hands" from any uk members?
i've already found several by reading older posts..
bumped for scruffmcbuff
just wanted to update you guys of the amazing couple of weeks i've had in recovering from the cult.. i was attending the meetings still just so i could see my daughter in the kingdom hall and have her sit we me half the time.
i had no intention of ever becoming a jw again but was hoping to be re-instated and just not turn up ever again so i could at least see my family.
but then an elder said something to me that changed all that.
pale emperor---have you sorted out access rights to your daughter--also--custody / care and control ?
for what its worth--i had joint custody of my 3 kids when their mother divorced me. it didnt mean jack shit when they were turned against me in their early teens.
my new girlfriend asked me over dinner last night what jw's believe.
as i sat there explaining it i realized how ridiculous it sounds and was slightly embarrassed that i used to believe this crap for 31 years.. try and read this and imagine hearing it for the first time.... me: well... jw believe that god's name is jehovah and that his son is jesus christ.
they believe that jesus died on a stake and not a cross and that in the year 1914 he personally chosen the jw's as his one true religion.
i like your seduction technique pale one
my witness self :-very hollow, slightly lofty, characteristically judgemental, overwhelmingly convincing.. my non-witness self:- and in my imperfect way no longer taking the passive attitude to reality, and most importantly no longer feeling an outsider with my " true" friends..
as a witness i lived a lie. i wasnt interested in it--never believed in god. just in it to please parents then gilfriend / fiancee / wife. was out of it 3 years after i got married.
that was 45 years ago.
since then ive been--me. no fake existence.
just sitting through this week's wt study and just spent 5 minutes listening to multiple answers where people are convinced that jehovah made humans from clay, literally forming adam like a sculpture then breathing life into him.. it's embarrassing to think i basically thought the same....
you either believe what it says in the bible--talking snake and all----or you dont.
if what the bible says is not true---then it must be the opposite----lies.
good morning i hope everyone is having a wonderful day.
there has been a lot of talk about the "new light" concerning the generation teaching.
it's been a major part of the prophecy concerning the last days and of course since jws are the only ones able to decipher and understand prophecy it is of great importance to get this main prophecy right.
this generation is trying its best to piss it away.
i really fail to see how much actual "witnessing" is occurring with the trolley carts.publishers, usually pioneers, just stand or sit there not engaging anyone and count their time.. the only thing i notice that it's accomplishing is brand exposure for jw.0rg so the public is exposed to the logo and literature/poster card headlines.. take for example this "evening" witnessing by a pioneer elder while on summer holiday/vacation.. .
is this not a wth kinda moment when you consider the years of slaving, knocking on doors, business territory and bible studies we had to keep performing so we weren't branded a "weak" publisher?.
is it ok to count time if a dub sticks a jayworg sign in his front window at home ? or--how about a jayworg bumper sticker ? count time whilev driving. or even when the car is parked for hours.
