Posts by houdini

i can confirm (as there seems to be some doubt) at the service meeting last night during the item about the new watchtower, a letter was read by the po.

the public talk is to be 30 minutes long.

this is to allow for more association and ministry.. lengthy negative introductions about the state of the system of things/deep last days etc are to be heavily curtailed.

houdini

I'm pretty sure you can keep the same talk, just speed up a bit, most of our public speakers are so slow and deliberate, that they could easily fit it into half the time.

Also cut out half the made up bible references that have very little bearing on the topic of the talk. and you'll be over with in 15 minutes.

I won't have time to fall asleep then only to be nudged awake when we have to stand up to sing,

59

WT + Awake Update - restrictions

by stillajwexelder in

study edition of the wt will be restricted - it will be as per km

houdini

I'm pretty sure that even after 2008, when the new study editions are released, that they will still be available by some enterprising people on the internet.

I haven't been to a meeting since 2005 when I had a disagreement about the watchtower mixing up it's bible quotes to come with it's own amongst other things, but still have gotten my watchtowers to have a good laugh at in .pdf format

2

Free for a year

by houdini in

well this week marks an anniversary for me.

it's one year to the week since i last stepped foot in a kigndom hall and attended any meeting.. i'm still not totally free as one of the elders in my ex-congregation still calls round every week to see me and still leaves the watchtower and awake magazines.

i still don't put them straight in the recycling bag were they belong but i'm getting there.. houdini.

houdini

Well this week marks an anniversary for me

It's one year to the week since I last stepped foot in a Kigndom Hall and attended any meeting.

I'm still not totally free as one of the elders in my ex-congregation still calls round every week to see me and still leaves the Watchtower and Awake magazines. I still don't put them straight in the recycling bag were they belong but i'm getting there.

houdini

5

Plain Nasty !

by Nadsam in

i've been reading posts all day.

i haven't for some months now and remebered a nasty experiance when i was about 5yrs old.

.... we were standing in a cue at a convention when my mom dropped her "food stamps" .

houdini

That is one of the things about JW's that really p****d me off

They had a man who was in his 30's when I was like ten.. and she would imply that I would make a good wife for him when I was 18 which was 8 years to go. He was renting a room from them

The way that they seem to arranged the marriages of their children long before they were old enough to decide for themselves who they would date and marry. Although I was only with them a short time it was so plain to see the elders pairing off couples within the congregation.

Also the way the treat women as second class citizens all the time.

Houdini

24

A boiling pot of emotions

by JV in

i'm not baptized, but i do go out in service, not much now that i'm getting a post secondary education.

i wasn't raised a jw and this is where i run into a lot of problems, the things i like to do don't really jive with the wts.

i played comptive sports in high school and college.

houdini

HI JV

Like me you got it JW's from outside source. I too was not brought up JW but studied with and got into the whole field ministry routine and Ministry School thing. I spent 3 years with them and had quite a good time, especially the ministry school as it taught me quite a bit about public speaking and confidence.

Then it came to me that in the main I was bored s**tless with the same repeative talks that said nothing to me and meant nothing to me anymore.

I realised that I'd lost contact with a lot of friends on the outside because they were meant to be a bad influence on me and stopped me for developing relationships within the congregation, and that I when it came down to it, like you, I had no really freinds within the congregation, because I didn't really fit in with the majority of them, because we had very little in common to talk about before or after the meetings. It was the same boring stuff, about field ministry stuff like that, no real personal stuff.

I mean I didn't go out drinking with them or to nightclubs dancing in the first place so that was no great loss, but there was that something missing from my life that I'd had before called FREEDOM to do and meet who I liked.

JW's are too controlling, they want to take over your life, make you feel guilty all the time.

My advice is get out now before they suck you further into their grasp and get you life back the way you want it to be and not the way they want you to live it.

If it's a question of belief then IMHO, God will love you for who and what you are and doesn't care if your in some mind controlling corporation or not.

Houdini

33

A Newbie Comment......

by Nan in

jw
friends

i'm a newbie, but have been reading this board for quite a while.

i have never been a jw nor anyone in my family, so i feel like i don't quite fit in with all of you, but hope you'll welcome me.

i have done extensive research and study of the watchtower teachings.

houdini

Sorry to hear about you Daughter in law being dragged into the JW clutches. It will be hard to get her out at this moment in time I feel, whilst her faith is still strong and still has that zeal for the "truth", and she will have many people in the congregation trying to support her, being new. I speak from personal experience here of almost being dragged in myself.

I spent 3 years studing with them, going of field service and street work, handing out watchtowers and awakes left right and centre. I was supported be the whole congregation and enfolded in their arms as they tried to suck me in to the centre of their flock.

But keep chipping away whilst that strength is not fully built up yet and she is not as resitant to you subtle arguments. Keep sowing the seeds of doubt in her. It's good that your son isn't a JW as that will help, but he has to be careful that he doesn't get dragged along to support his wife's beliefs, because they are taught to prey on family members.

I JUST got off the phone with our son and had an amazing conversation with him! He called to see if we wanted to come hear a Curcuit Overseer's talk at their KH. To make a loooong story short, he has agreed to read some stories from ex-JWs that I've found on the net. I asked him, "Doesn't it make sense to hear an ex-JW's side of the story? After all, THEY HAVE BEEN THERE....THEY HAVE LIVED IT and know what they're talking about." He agreed. HALELUJAH! So, we'll see what happens.....

Soon as they realize what he is saying the ushers will probably drag him off the platform,or if they let him continue then the P.O. will be striaght back on with many tales of ones who have fallen by the wayside, probably made up, or how they have joyfully come back into the loving arms of their brothers and sisters

They can't have him expounding the virtues of being an ex JW and having a good time and being in a successful life. According to JW's all disfellowshipped ones, fall either into drug's, prostitution, money problems etc...

Play dumb, be subtle. Are you a bible reader already.............if not, start............this will help in casual conversations, because if you are not then anytime you bring up the bible, they will be ready to defend.

Simplesally

This is good advice even though you may not believe in the bible, if you know it, you can use it against them and get them thinking. They'll come up with the usual excuse of "I'm not to clear on the subject, I'll do some research and get back to you." or "I'm not familiar with that scripture" They rarely do, it's the JW way of getting out of a tricky situation. They don't like to think that there are people who know the bible better than they do.

dont' use things that go against their teachings. use their own ideas and experiences and such

Dustyb

This is how JW try to "convert" people to their beliefs as well so they know all about it. when on bible studies and field service they are told to find out something what beliefs they have in common and build them up first before going against well held beliefs. If you try to knock away their support in one go it will just make them put two in it's place. You have to replace that support first before you knock the original one away

Houdini

12

questions about interfaith and interrace dating according to JWs

by greenmarie in

.

i was wondering what jehovah's witnesses have to say about interfaith dating or inter-race dating or if either of those are even issues at all.

your input/comments would be so appreciated!

houdini

From what i've deduced from my teaching is that it's frowned upon.

They seemed to quote certain passages from the bible about marrying only in the lord and also about serving two masters, can't quite remember where that was eaxactly

But I seem to remember this being quoted to me about my relationship with this Jewish girl I was seeing.

"Do not become unevenly yoked with unbelievers. For what fellowship do righteousness and lawlessness have?" 2 Cor 6:14

"Whoever . . . wants to be a friend of the world is constituting himself an enemy of God" Jas 4:4

et al

From the reasoning from the scriptures book

"Would it demonstrate loyalty to God and to his righteous standards if his servants were to embrace in religious brotherhood those who themselves practice what God condemns or who condone such practices?"

Houdini