Posts by Incognito

21

His Rose colored glasses are back on

by HappyBlessedFree in

so my husband who was not attending meetings for the last four months, went to the special talk, the memorial and the meeting today.

he said he feels jehovah’s spirit is back and that they are all being so kind.. i am just sick to my stomach.

he just refuses to see anything as a problem.

Incognito

What made him stop attending 4 months ago?

Except for the effort to ensure he was invited to the memorial and 'special' talk, plus all the 'we miss you' love bombing comments, nothing has changed. While he may feel energized and enthused to attend for a time, routine will again develop. Attending alone can also be tiring and without you to push hm to attend, he will likely again soon loose interest and begin missing more and more, for the same reasons he stopped attending previously.

If you criticise him because he started attending again, that may give him justification to consider his renewed enthusiasm is correct and may therefore delay his becoming inactive longer than if you said nothing.

49

VIDEO - Memorial toast stuns Jehovahs Witnesses congregation!

by John_Carter_1912 in

i applaud this great and holy man!

do you?.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fstqepi9iu.

Incognito

While some may say what he did was illegal or disruptive, this is not necessarily true.

JWs invest considerable time inviting the entire community to attend this 'special annual celebration'. If someone isn't home when JWs call, a printed invitation is left in each door. There are no stated requirements on who may attend nor is there a stated restriction on who may not attend.

Although JWs may not consider it this way, in passing the emblems, that is an invitation for each person attending to take their turn to personally participate in the celebration.

The person waited for his turn and when he was passed the wine, he used that opportunity to calmly offer a toast before drinking the wine he was offered.

Although anyone is invited, JWs take exception when everyone attending does not adhere to appearance and behaviour dictated by WT. When someone doesn't follow the script, JW elders will attempt to physically remove that person or will proceed to call the authorities, even without first contacting WT legal department.

18

I’m so sad . . .

by HappyBlessedFree in

so my husband asked me if i’m going to the memorial.

i said “no”.. he asked would it be okay if i take the kids.

“i would prefer that you didn’t”.. why can’t he see the lies!

Incognito

... it’s been about 4 months since I woke up.

Sometimes fear gets the best of me. I guess because everything is up in the air and I don’t know where it will all end, it honestly terrifies me.

As a JW, you likely put your full trust and beliefs in everything they claimed. They appeared to have all the answers which on some levels, can be very comforting.

Unfortunately, their indoctrination is so insidious that attendees do not recognize their thinking process and reasoning is being conditioned and modified with every magazine and book that is read and every study and meeting that is attended. If you were a JW for any amount of time, you can't realistically expect to undo progressive and longstanding indoctrination within a matter of months.

Even as she suffered from advanced dementia and couldn't remember what happened 20 seconds before or do anything for herself, my aunt never forgot what she was programmed to believe as a JW.

While my SO and I have broken away from JWs for more than 15 years, even after all that time, old JW thinking and ideas will sometimes reemerge.

if the worst case scenario happens and my husband remains a JW for the rest of his life,

Just as WT claims that as a JW, a non-beliving spouse may be won over without a word, it can also be true that a non-believing spouse can win over their JW spouse, although this will be crazy difficult due to the cult indoctrination.

As a JW, unless something within the religion negatively affects him personally, he will usually defend and rationalize anything you may say that is critical or proves the religion is not 'The Truth'. Think back about something that doesn't sit well with him in which to further investigate and discuss.

31

Who Really Was Satan?

by ZindagiNaMilegiDobaara in

jw
friends

dont you think that satan was a pomo ?

when you read in the genesis account : "at this the serpent said to the woman: 'you certainly will not die.

5 for god knows that in the very day you eat from it, your eyes will be opened and you will be like god, knowing good and bad.'".

Incognito

Verse 7: "Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized that they were naked......."

As the only two humans on a paradise earth, and since they only ever saw naked animals, they would have no concept or understanding of clothing, covering or what nakedness is.

The quoted scripture seems to suggest they were programmed to understand what naked was and feel shame in being so, only if they ate of the forbidden fruit.

It appears the shame for being naked causing them to cover themselves, may have been the physical indication to God that they had disobeyed even as we are lead to believe God can see everything every person does.

Sorry for veering from your question but thought I would comment on this point since you had included it in your initial post.

24

My JW boyfriend broke up with me

by DrunkinLove in

i am so crushed right now.

i have been dating a witness for over a year now.

we love each other so much.

Incognito

I feel guilty at the same time because i am the reason his family hates him right now and they even let the elders know.

He chose to start a relationship with you, a non-JW. As a JW, he knew full well the consequences of a 'worldly' relationship. You are not the reason for his problems.

He is 29 but acting as a child, continuing to allow his family to control every step of his life that he doesn't keep hidden from them. It appears to be acceptable to him that his sister took access to his phone and read through his private messages. And it is now acceptable to him to break off with you because his family found out and told him to break-it-off?

If you can't contact him, does that mean they placed him on a type of 'curfew' and he lost his phone privileges?

You both are adults but act like children who must meet in secret and do everything his mommy and daddy require. Your understanding and easy acceptance of this situation has not helped the relationship.

When a couple is truly in love, almost nothing can separate them. There seems to be no indication that he has fought to keep his relationship with you but he (and you) appears to have accepted breaking-off with little or no effort to keep it alive.

In entering the relationship with your eyes open and accepting the unusual conditions required, how long did you realistically expect the relationship would last?

19

How many hours of field service are now required?

by new boy in

jw
friends

to be a publisher?.

an auxiliary pioneer?.

an regular pioneer?.

Incognito

I already know it takes 13,880 hours of field service to make one new convert.

To correct this, it takes 13,880 REPORTED HOURS to make one convert. Just because hours are reported, does not mean that time was truly spent in Field Service or anything related to preaching.

Consider the number that report significantly more time than they actually spend in service, then justify it by reasoning they must have spoken incidentally about Jehovah on numerous occasions through the month.

Then there are those that start their time by calling on a return visit nearby to where the service group meets, then drive 45 minutes+ to the farthest edge of a rural territory, make 1 or 2 calls, stop for coffee, drive back to near the group meeting location, make one more return visit to conclude their time before heading home. Probably 3 hours service time counted by each occupant in the vehicle while calling on 4 homes.

17

"I don't want to hear any negative comments about the truth"

by days of future passed in

today the "anointed" sister that drops off tracts at my house, did a little i'll just stop by and show her a website about furniture and then offer the memorial tract visit.. her exhusband is a jw that did terrible things to her by taking property, didn't want to pay adequate child support and had the elders on his side.

she was telling me all about how, because he felt so guilty, now he had intestinal problems.

eventually the conversation ended and she offered the memorial tract to me.. "did you get an invitation?

Incognito

... and prays to Jehovah to take care of things. (my brother in law, sister, their children and me left)

Perhaps an appropriate reply could be: As JWs, we are always taught to pray to Jehovah for help. After my sister, BIL and I each prayed to Jehovah for TRUTH, Jehovah helped us to recognize he does not approve the WT organization and he helped each of us to leave the JW religion.

What can she say? Satan responded to your prayers?

7

Sad stats Willoughby ohio ass hall

by nowwhat? in

just a little fyi 900 attendance.

2 kids baptised and $12000.00 in the hole.

( not my assembly).

Incognito

explained to the audience that these funds were for other areas less fortunate and not a direct cost reflection of our assembly.
I actually appreciated the transparency...

True transparency would involve providing a detailed accounts report for all actual costs pertaining to that weekend circuit assembly.

Charity collection for other areas and for WT is not an expense to holding that assembly and should not be disguised as such.

If funds are to be collected for charity purposes, then attendees should be able to choose if they wish to donate to those causes independent from any funds given to pay the true expenses for the circuit assembly.

15

Special Mercy Provided to Adulterous Husbands 'if' Elders

by HiddenPimo in

so here is something else that helped me wake up -.

the elders manual - shepherd the flock of god contains a special caveat for elders who have committed adultery some time ago (not sure how many years, 'some time ago' is, but probably based on a complex formula of donations and # of assembly parts given.).

but basically, they can just get a talking to by 2 brothers and then they can keep on keeping on.

Incognito

Like King David, he was not put to death for adultery and murder although that was the Law. No exception like this for other Jews.

Blondie, does WT claim that as a scriptural example that those in higher positions within the organization, are to be given special treatment and allowances?

they care more about how it makes them look than the consequences of the 'sin,' that's why they hushed up so much child sex abuse

As the number of 'hushed-up' child abuse cases within the religion is being increasingly publicised, the reflection on the organization is now far worse and being complicit to child abuse crimes.

With abuse cover-ups becoming known in many religions, I expect JWs would have appeared much better to the public if JW congregation elders had reported cases immediately to Child Services or the Police.

I anticipate to JWs, WT in immediately involving proper authorities, would have shown positive efforts to keep each congregation 'clean'.

15

Special Mercy Provided to Adulterous Husbands 'if' Elders

by HiddenPimo in

so here is something else that helped me wake up -.

the elders manual - shepherd the flock of god contains a special caveat for elders who have committed adultery some time ago (not sure how many years, 'some time ago' is, but probably based on a complex formula of donations and # of assembly parts given.).

but basically, they can just get a talking to by 2 brothers and then they can keep on keeping on.

Incognito

Stephane, what you say is true regarding Christian mercy and forgiveness.

Unfortunately, in an identical situation as outlined in the OT except involving a non-elder, rank and file JW, that person would probably not be shown any mercy and would be forced to endure a judicial committee review and likely disfellowshipping.