bradford

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Posts by bradford

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  17

  OMG... what happened in a bar today

  by leaving_quietly in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  so, i'm sitting in a bar, having a drink.

  the bar participates in taptv, an online trivia thing.

  the question that came up was, "what did jehovah's witnesses call themselves before 1931".

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  bradford

  It is like any pyramid program except you make no money. You lose money. You don't actually get people to buy what you are selling either. You push it on family and they start selling it. Success stories of those using the product are basically the same as the weight loss supplements with doctored photos. I almost got into isagenix recently and noticed the cult like similarities. Fun times.
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  30

  Seriously condsidering disasscoiating

  by Ashley L. in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i am seriously considering disassociating myself.

  i want to do this because i no longer consider myself one of jehovah's witnesses.

  i no longer consider jehovah as my god and i am in a new religion now.

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  bradford

  For me personally I thought about three possible solutions and there three outcomes.

  1. Fade and don't get caught doing something that could get you DFd.

  This option you keep your family and friends for time. You basically associate with new people and try to make sure you don't get caught up in anything. Witnesses will try to encourage you from time to time. You send mixed signals to those who don't know the truth about your wake up. You essentially play by their rules by fading for a small period of time. People will think you are stressed, depressed, and weak for slowing down and becoming inactive.

  2. Fade and live your life.

  Same as above except you aren't going to let it stop you from living life to the fullest. People will still think you are depressed, weak, etc. Eventually you get caught doing something like a holiday photo online or something and you get summoned to a meeting, eventually getting disfellowshipped. Or you move away from the congregation area and live happily ever after.

  3. Write a letter to disassociate.

  I told my friends all personally why I was leaving. I then wrote the letter to the elders because I have no kids or family besides my mother that are witnesses. I wasn't concerned with losing friends because I would lose them all eventually anyways when they decided I'm bad association. People will still think I'm crazy, depressed, prideful, demonic, etc. But we will all know the at I stood up for what I believe. And I feel like I can move on.

  Ultimately, different things work for different people based on their circumstances. Be patient and think far in advance.
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  30

  "Evidence" of a "smokelike pall"... This was the last straw for me back in 2008. Fade began with this:

  by DarioKehl in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  from that nutty red book of insanity, the grand climax at hand book, chapter 22, paragraphs 7 & 8. .

  i had my doubts since childhood.

  i went along with it to please people.

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  bradford

  They will most likely discontinue the disc library version and put a negative spin on researching old light. Then they will focus attention to the online library. They will use a line like:

  "Since 2000 Jehovah has truly sped up the work! As he blesses the "faithful slave" he also continues to refine. As such, all of our literature from 2000 onward shows the true light Jehovah has revealed in our time. The online library will be our primary research tool and is updated with all literature as it is released in real time on wol.jw.org. The old library by disc will be discontinued. Research that could be done there should now be done online. Jehovah loves those who follow this arrangement. "

  Throw a couple scriptures in there and a warm Christian love signature, send to all elders to read at the next meeting. Old light basically obsolete.
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  45

  Huge Shift in Doctrine?

  by Lemonp in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i am not sure why more people aren't talking about this?.

  the march 15 study edition of the wt has some major changes!

  - all unbiblical "types and antitypes" are now dropped.

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  bradford

  Does this basically erase Fred Franz from existence? Wasn't he the main writer of all these "types?"
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  17

  Another "reaching out" guilt trip this weekend, apparently.

  by OneEyedJoe in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  i just got word that the brothers of my congregation is "encouraged to attend a special meeting" this saturday.

  i was told to bring the od book, and the 9/15/14 and 4/15/15 study wts.

  judging by the articles in those, it's going to be another guilt trip to get all us dead-beat kids in our 20s and 30s to "reach out" to be jr. cult leaders.

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  bradford

  Actually it is probably the elders trying a last ditch effort to tell the CO they were doing a great job of training the brothers for additional privileges of service. #fail
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  56

  Who REALLY believed in the idea of living forever on earth??

  by stuckinarut2 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  seriously.....even when you were 100% in "the truth", did you really believe in living forever?

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  bradford

  I think we all tried as hard as we could to believe it, but many had this creeping doubt. I remember I used to reason with my non-witness dad:

  "Let's say it is all made up and we wont live forever on a paradise earth. Would living a moral and clean life that helps people be a terrible thing?"

  Turns out yes..yes it is terrible thing. Good thing he never listened to me.
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  14

  In Case Witnesses Didn't know..............

  by The Searcher in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  watchtower july 15 2015 p.11 pars.

  "your share in contributing to the spiritual paradise".

  18 it is an honor to be allowed by jehovah to contribute to the beauty of our spiritual paradise.we do that by zealously preaching the kingdom good news and making more disciples.

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  bradford

  I think paragraph 8 is more baffling.

  Watchtower July 15 2015, pargraph 8, p. 8.

  8 We find Paul’s vision described at 2 Corinthians 12:1-4. (Read.)What Paul saw in a supernatural vision was referred to as a revelation. It involved a future event, not something that existed in his day. When Paul “was caught away to the third heaven,” what “paradise” did he see? The paradise that Paul spoke about would have a physical, a spiritual, and a heavenly fulfillment, all of which will coexist in the future. It can refer to the physical, earthly Paradise yet to come. (Luke 23:43) It can also refer to the spiritual paradise that will be experienced to the full in the new world. Additionally, it can refer to the blessed conditions in heaven in “the paradise of God.”—Rev. 2:7.

  How did I proudly eat this stuff up before, and THEN regurgitate it at the WT study all proud of my wonderful comprehension skills. Excuse me while I go puke.
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  47

  All you men here, who does the house cleaning?

  by James Mixon in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  do you help or is this a woman job?

  have you change your ways since.

  leaving the borg.

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  bradford

  Is this a thing when you are a JW? For the 6 years we've been married, we have both always worked and both done cooking and cleaning together. It was never anyone's job. Now that we are out, nothing has changed except the fact that now we have more time together since we don't worry about field service on Saturday, meeting on Sunday, and all those extra books and magazines aren't lying around everywhere!
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  13

  Talking with JW Elders possibly..

  by bradford in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  as i wrote in a previous post i have recently written a da letter to the elders and haven't heard anything in the way of an announcement, phone call, or visit since.

  i called the elder the letter was personally written to yesterday and left a vm to call me back which he did this morning.

  he said they did get it but were meaning to call me and possibly meet with me to try and see if there was anything they could do to encourage me because they of course find this very sad.

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  bradford

  Yeah screw all that. Already called and said "no thanks." No point wasting any time talking. I'm walking away. I will try to stay away from this forum also. Time to live life without thinking about all this stuff and rehash it constantly.
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  13

  Talking with JW Elders possibly..

  by bradford in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  as i wrote in a previous post i have recently written a da letter to the elders and haven't heard anything in the way of an announcement, phone call, or visit since.

  i called the elder the letter was personally written to yesterday and left a vm to call me back which he did this morning.

  he said they did get it but were meaning to call me and possibly meet with me to try and see if there was anything they could do to encourage me because they of course find this very sad.

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  bradford

  @chris

  My wife is still a JW. My family are still JWs. I would like to tell them I at least tried to reason with the elders and have open honest communication so they can see that I am not being unreasonable. I also still love these people. They are only doing what they feel is right and are blind to everything that we now see. It is pretty much my last chance and explaining everything to them. One of the elders is my former best friends father in law and is known to have loose lips when he has a few glasses of bourbon. Perhaps what I say can go beyond the "official" discussion.

  Also, a question for you. You say walk away, but you are on these forums..why?