There is no perfect, painless answer here. Do remember, though, it is YOUR life you are trying to live. You did not ask to be born a JW. I don't know if your parents had much of a choice, either, but the fact is that JWism is a deceptive, destructive cult and you know it. The only honest thing for you to do now that you know is to leave. Any shunning will be from JWs toward you, making them the guilty party. It is sad that your parents will throw away their family life on this junk religion, but thy are the ones living the lie, not you. You are choosing truth, and they are choosing lies. It seems from here that they have a whole family just wanting to be together in an open,, honest environment and they are throwing it away for the false promises of a few twisted minds at a publishing company in Brooklyn, NY. You moving on may be the final straw before they examine their lives. They must wonder why their children are all moving on and not ending up in the gutter. Anyway, welcome to the board, Confliction.
new light
JoinedPosts by new light
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36
[LONG] Making a plan to leave... I have no friends :'(
by confliction inthe title pretty much explains it all... i don't want to go too much into my story (for paranoid fear of identification), but i have been raised in the "truth", and got baptized at a young age- too young to truly understand what i was getting into.
i still live with my parents, and as such don't want to make a move just yet, as it would destroy virtually everything i have left.
as of now though, i see myself leaning towards agnosticism.. here's my short sob story.
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What does Jesus do all day anyway?
by Terry inwithout sounding crass or being impudent or deliberately caustic i'd just like to know one thing.. what does jesus do all day, exactly?.
is it interesting for him?.
is it productive?
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new light
Jesus could be like God's hippie son. He wears comfy clothing, has a beard and long hair, talks about peace and love and changing the world,but does nothing to back it up. His busy day involves hiding in his room smoking pot, staring at blacklight posters, and watching Lost reruns.
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What does Jesus do all day anyway?
by Terry inwithout sounding crass or being impudent or deliberately caustic i'd just like to know one thing.. what does jesus do all day, exactly?.
is it interesting for him?.
is it productive?
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new light
I was reminded of this bumper sticker saying: "Look busy, Jesus is coming!"
Really, Jesus having to look busy is just as funny and poignant. Good question, Terry.
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Ray Franz Passed Away Today
by Amazing ini just received word that ray franz passed away today at 1:37 pm eastern daylight time.
the cause of death is stated as head trauma, likely due to falling to the ground, and a stroke could have also been part of the cause or a result of the fall.
he died at emory university hospital in atlanta about 17 minutes after being taken off life support.
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new light
R.I.P., Mr. Franz. Your books were of tremendous help to me, shined bright light on what really leads the organization, and made my exit the absolute right thing to do, with no reservations. Thank you, sir.
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new light
LOL at OTWO!
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Natick, MA Assembly Hall
by Eiben Scrood ini have a lot of memories of attending assemblies there for 30 years.
does anyone remember all the purple coloring?
remember that guy who used to wave a stick like he was conducting an orchestra except there was no orchestra, only a guy playing the piano and the audience singing?.
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new light
Also, I always thought the big main loudspeakers in Natick looked like bacon strips....carry on.
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Natick, MA Assembly Hall
by Eiben Scrood ini have a lot of memories of attending assemblies there for 30 years.
does anyone remember all the purple coloring?
remember that guy who used to wave a stick like he was conducting an orchestra except there was no orchestra, only a guy playing the piano and the audience singing?.
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new light
Best assembly hall baptism pool ever, hands down. Interesting contours, built with real tiles, and part of the carpeted entryway (wow). I dreamed of being baptized there, but by the time I got around to it, we had been moved to the Monroe, NY hall. So I ended up getting dunked at the crappy New Haven Coliseum because it was no matter anymore ...yuk.
Somone mentioned volunteering for maintenance on Friday, and that reminded me for the first time in years of doing that. I have to admit, that was a lot of fun to the JW geek that I was. I really did like Circuit Assemblies as a kid, because for us it meant the only hotel stays and weekends of eating out that we would do all year, I guess. And then as a teenager assemblies meant a chance to be around a lot of girls that I would actually be allowed to date someday. Very exciting, hopeful times. Thanks for the trip down memory boulevard.
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a story for easter sunday (aka grab a drink and pull up a chair)
by ana_dote inthis is probably going to be a doozy of a post, as i'm no good at giving the abridged version of stories lol especially when they are about me.
lol i tend to give too many details and not get to the point, but i'll do my best to keep things as short as possible.. that being said, i have finally decided to give you all my background story.. i was born into the organization.
two older sisters.
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new light
That was a good read, Ana-dote. I can relate to much of your experience, and thank you for posting your story.
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New here
by Stimorol ini've been lurking this board the past few days and reading a lot.. i'm a 30 year old male from an unnamed european country, i was brought up "in the faith" by my jw-parents (my father is an elder and was even the "head elder" (i guess that's not the proper english term, english isn't my mother language) for a while, although i believe he stepped down when i faded away, but was reinstated as an elder later.
i never really had any interest in religion or god, not even as a child, even with my perfect jw upbringing.
it always felt like a chore and i did my jw duties, but just the bare minimum i could get away with, living at home with jw parents (attending the 3 meetings every week, and going to do field work 1 hours on saturdays).. at around age 15-16 i got baptized, i was not directly pressured to do it but some hints were made by parents/elders.
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new light
Welcome to the board, Stimorol!
The elders may or may not take some judicial action against you, but it sounds like you will be just fine no matter what the ending. As far as researching the organization, that shows that this is a logical decision based on intellect and not emotion. The more you read, the more you will want to distance yourself from the JW religion, so keep it up!
Being brainwashed the first 16 years of my life when I started thinking for myself .... it really screws with your mind.
Most of us can agree with that. Thankfully, facts are stronger than brainwashing, ounce for ounce, and will win out if given the chance. Best of luck to you.
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do you know someone who is disfellowshipped or not active who still talks of "truth" and is still judgemental ?
by looloo ini have only known one , who talked more about the "wicked system" and satan and how immoral worldlys are etc than the jws i knew who were still "in" and he ended up abusing my daughter !
still never gone back 14 years after being disfellowshipped , some local dubs take that to mean jehovah didnt want him back till his abusive past (as a jw ) had been found out !
do you know someone very hypocritical ?.
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new light
DF'd, then comes back far more 'righteous' than they were before. (aka, haughty)
This line slammed me. I had completely forgotten that I was the guy who was Df'ed, then in the time leading up to reinstatement was the most holier than thou, judgemental prick around, all the while being the community "leper". No regrets, though. Live and learn.