Posts by bradford

69

Why Me?

by John Aquila in

do you ever wonder why out of all the witnesses, you are the one that woke up?

i wonder many times why me.

i know many men and women that are much, much better persons than me; either they are much smarter, more humble, kinder, more successful, or just better persons all around.

bradford

Love this post. It's something I thought about a lot, in hopes of identifying what IT was that got me started in this process of waking up so I could help someone else.

I realized that we are all on different points on our journeys. We all come from such a unique upbringing it's almost impossible to see what the main factor is unless someone did a study on all of us.

I have always been cynical and was willing to cross over the line that witnesses are not willing to cross. What really gets my mind twisted is how I let myself become convinced it was legit in the first place when I was 19.

579

Won't get fooled again ...Moon Landing.

by The Rebel in

jw
friends

so i was fooled by the witnesses.

what can i learn from that?

not to accept things at face value but to seek out opinion and different view points.. hence my question " do you believe man landed on the moon?.

bradford

Because this type of thinking is the same type of thinking that leads to anti-vaccination crusades. It's a symptom of a lack of critical thinking and reasoning skills, a demonstration of an inability to evaluate evidence and recognize reality. It hurts us all.

Good luck helping change people's ways of evaluating evidence and developing critical thinking! You have more patience than I.

579

Won't get fooled again ...Moon Landing.

by The Rebel in

jw
friends

so i was fooled by the witnesses.

what can i learn from that?

not to accept things at face value but to seek out opinion and different view points.. hence my question " do you believe man landed on the moon?.

bradford

Who cares? Believe what you want - except what the JWs are teaching.

118

Governing Body member is in Australia right now!

by Anonymous1 in

sorry i have to remain completely anonymous about this but you will see why.

i have first hand knowledge that geoffrey jackson of the governing body is staying with his parents in toowoomba, queensland for the next few weeks.

he has already been in australia for a couple of weeks.

bradford

Possible question?

The RC should read James 1:27:

The form of worship that is clean and undefiled from the standpoint of our God and Father is this: to look after orphans and widows in their tribulation, and to keep oneself without spot from the world.

Do you accept that the bible places a high importance upon looking after those in vulnerable positions, such as children, and women?

Does the Watchtower policy place more importance on the reputation of its older men or the looking after these children and women?

I'm sure the RC can produce some questions that highlight the fact that they are clearly coming up short in this area. The bible clearly did not prepare anyone for sexual abuse cases, did it? Why would a loving God allow for the mishandling of something so important as this, one of the worst crimes a human can commit against another?

53

Just wrote my DA letter....

by dubstepped in

jw
friends

my wife and i planned on fading but the elders now want a shepherding call and we are just done.

i know that many play the game to try to stay in, but i'm not a game player and neither is my wife.

our families already shun us because we reached out to a disfellowshipped family member.

bradford

I did this recently, back in March. I kept it short and sweet. Wrote a letter directly to an elder whom I had respect for as a friend and for being a decent human being. It's not their fault they are captives of a concept the same as we were before we found ttatt.

I didn't hear anything for a month so I called him and asked him if he received my letter. He said he did and was hoping to discuss it with me. I asked him if he wanted to discuss one on one and he said no, with another elder. I said I wouldn't and he asked me to call the other elder to confirm my letter. They announced it that week.

I think they are checking if you are depressed or under stress or something but they almost don't take your word for it when you write a letter which is strange. Maybe it's different elsewhere but that was my experience here in Rhode Island circuit 1.

I'm not concerned with if I'm playing by their rules or not. I just didn't want to be officially a witness. I formally got baptized and wanted to formally get unbaptized, so to speak.

10

Could this news cause a new revolt of members taking the lead like that which happened after the 1975 fiasco?

by opusdei1972 in

we know that after the 1975 fiasco there were some revolts and disappointments in the brotherhood, which finally caused the removal of raymond franz and overseers like james penton, and so on.

so, may be these news could cause the revolt of some members in the leadership.

any thoughts?

bradford

I wasn't around for post 75 and haven't read much other than Franz's books, which doesn't get into the years after they pushed him out and the prediction was off..but all I know is that I have talked to elders and COs from that time period and they just know that there was apostasy at Bethel. They also believe that Witnesses had wrong expectations and the GB never said anything was going to happen in that year.

Today, there is so much info on the internet there is a way higher chance of people having this twinge of doubt and crossing that line to read what they aren't supposed to.

In '75 you had to be connected to someone to know the truth.

On the other hand, the cult leaders are on full tilt to remind and guilt members to not listen or read the Satanic propaganda about the organization. It's there word against Satan's world's word...who knows what will happen. Let's just be glad we aren't any part of it!

69

Thinking of Going Full Disclosure With Wife. Sorta

by freemindfade in

jw
friends

soliciting any and all opinions.

as some of you may know, wife is full in pioneer.

my fade has gone from us fighting.

bradford

@freemindfade

I guess it really comes down to how close you and your wife are, how open you are with each other, and all that. I kind of planted some seeds with my wife to let her know what I was thinking and what I was discovering. She recommended that I talk to the elders, which I did. After I told her how the conversation went and it only reaffirmed my lingering doubts we both shed many tears knowing what it would mean.

I actually told her I would stick it out and fake it for the sake of her staying in touch with her brothers. She said she would rather me make a decision one way or the other and just deal with what would come, so I did, and she respected me more for that than anything I ever did as a witness.

About 8 months later we are both free of the mind control.

On the other hand..she could turn on you. I think you would know better than anyone how she would react if you went full disclosure. Maybe inch out onto the ice to see if you hear any cracks and keep going if it is still safe.

204

Candace Conti Settles

by Nitty-Gritty in

hot topic on topix seems to be candace conti settlement.

but it's all quiet here.

are you guys aware that your hero, who was not in it for the money but to change policies, settled without changing anything?

bradford

I'm no bible scholar but I believe part of the acceptable form of worship was to care for motherless/fatherless children, aka vulnerable children. You would think an organization claiming to be the one true religion chosen by Jesus based on a erroneous date would make protecting kids a top priority.

They did not. They follow a principle out of context to protect their image in the form of the two witnesses ruling.

Nitty, who obviously is here to ruffle feathers and disregard the advice of the beloved org, puts Conti up as the apostate idol when no one views her as such. Then, tries to bring her down for settling. Whatever her reasons for doing what she has are her own. I think the WT says it is satanic to imply what others motives are. Idk Nitty, sounds like you are satanic. Bottom line... More will leave the org as a result than will join it. That is a win.

This forum has been entertaining.

52

Bethel Meeting at Regional Convention

by MrTheocratic in

i decided to go to the bethel recruiting meeting yesterday to test out my theory that the organization is in decline.

i assumed that if there is a general feeling of apathy by many in the org, then certainly it would be shown up by the lack of enthusiasm or zeal by many to sign up for bethel service.

well let me say that based on what i observed, this organization is not going anywhere.

bradford

There are many ways to interpret something like the bethel meeting standing room only scenario.

Reason 1:

Overcompensate for doubts, boredom, immorality by pioneering, going to bethel, school for couples, etc. Possibly the same is true here.

Reason 2:

If you are judged by full time service and field service accomplishes absolutely nothing, bethel becomes the only thing you have left to try, unless you can afford to move where there is a "need." Since there are not a lot who can afford.. There us go

14

No no No No NO! Jehovah's Witnesses are NOT COOL NOW!

by TerryWalstrom in

jw
friends

they obviously know it.. in the last few years, a more modern, hip, and cool image for their brand has been foisted on the public at large.. jw.org.

(sidebar: a group of us witnesses, when i was a teen, were sternly lectured by a circuit servant about how wrong it was to refer to ourselves as jw's.want to know why?

he said, "reducing jehovah's name to mere letters of an alphabet is blasphemy!

bradford

Most younger generation dubbs put "JW" in their Instagram profiles and refer to themselves as JWs like they are a blood or crip or something. At least they did five months before I was blocked for my disease. In and around bethel its normal and has been long before the launch of their sweet new website.