Posts by Nevuela

16

Today's Text - Jehovah is my helper!

by Divergent in

jw
friends

tuesday, october 18. jehovah is my helper; i will not be afraid.—heb.

13:6.. “people often comment about how happy jehovah’s witnesses are,” says a longtime elder in a developing country.

“they also notice that even poor witnesses are always nicely dressed and appear to be better off than others.” this harmonizes with the promise jesus made to those who put the kingdom first.

Nevuela

3. “They also notice that even poor Witnesses are always nicely dressed and appear to be better off than others.”

Yes, because they're pressured to spend what little money they have on eye-pleasing outfits to wear to meetings. Women may be able to find nice dresses, blouses and skirts at thrift stores (some of the best clothes I've ever owned are from such places) but men and boys have no such luck. Those suits don't come cheap, and it's extremely rare to find one (in good condition, no less) at a thrift store, meaning they have to pay full price. Growing boys better hope they have an older brother to receive hand-me-downs from, or their poor parents will have to shell out $$$ for a new suit every few months.

19

Is Watchtower now loosening the bedroom rules?

by OneGenTwoGroups in

i was at my assembly when this was discussed last week.

of course i hadn't prepared and i heard "no rules about limits", or at least i thought i did.. here's the direct quote from the watchtower study article.. "although the bible does not provide specific rules about the kinds and limits of love play that might be associated with natural sexual intimacy, it mentions displays of affection.

the watchtower (study edition) august 2016 : making christian marriage a success, paragraph 8.. what say you?.

Nevuela

How do you quote someone on here? The quote button does nothing.

19

What if all JWs had put off having children?

by keyser soze in

could the religion have survived?.

i know it was never forbidden, but i remember growing up, how we were encouraged to put it off until the new system, and instead focus on a career in the full time service.. can you imagine if every young jw had chosen to follow that counsel?

it's difficult to imagine the religion being sustainable without the next generation of born-ins..

Nevuela

I always heard that it had more to do with the scriptures regarding "woe to the pregnant woman and the nursing mother in those days" than the desire to focus on serving Jehovah. The JWs I've spoken to about it seem truly concerned that, during the tribulation, things will be especially difficult for pregnant and nursing mothers, and they also don't want to subject children to the misery of the "last days."

I know a thirty-something JW couple who, although they've been married for over a decade, have not and do not plan to have kids in this system for those very reasons, even though they really do want kids. I just picture them in their golden years, still in this system, with no adult children to care for them in their advanced age and no little grandchildren to bring them joy. They're probably going to end up being that creepy childless couple that simply ADORES all their friends' and relatives' kids just a liiiiittle too much.

Too bad JWs are discouraged from pursuing higher education, since that often leads to better pay, and with a decent enough income, they could adopt. And just think about how perfect adoption would be for a JW. They wouldn't be bringing any new children into "the last days of this satanic system" but would be helping a child that already exists. They'd finally have a child to love and impose their religion on. I'm actually kind of surprised the Watchtower hasn't come to this conclusion yet. :p

8

Blood is thicker than water??

by HereIgo in

i remember a co saying from the platform, " people often say blood is thicker than water.

well not in jehovah's organization" i don't know about anyone else, but it sure rubbed me the wrong way and one of the million reasons why i left!.

Nevuela

The saying "Blood is thicker than water" is often wrongly interpreted, and in fact, is being paraphrased here, which contributes to the misinterpretation. The full quote is "The blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb," meaning that bonds forged over a common cause - such as brothers in arms at war, or even a literal blood covenant - are stronger than any bond dictated by familial relations. Two people uniting in the face of adversity will naturally share a strong bond; two people being related to each other won't necessarily even like each other.

33

New, but needed to vent- thank you :-)

by Danni Jackson in

i discovered your website this morning as i was trying to find some information about 'marking'.

you see a very close friend of mine was 'marked' earlier this week and as i know the ins and outs of the situation (as we are close friends) i disregarded the talk immediately as i know my friend is obviously having issues but is no way a 'danger' to anybody else's spiritual health.

basically they are dating a non-believer- hence the talk.

Nevuela

I know a lady whose daughter has schizophrenia, dissociative identity disorder, and a few other things. I have met a couple of her personalities. She is a JW and, in her early thirties, is currently in her third marriage. The previous two ended in divorce on her part. No adultery, no abuse, nothing. And no, they didn't leave her due to her mental illnesses. She left them. She is very happy with her current husband, whom she has been with for several years now. Even some of her less loving personalities love him. This man is not a JW. And yet, despite all of this, she has never been disfellowshipped, shunned, brought before a judicial committee, or even marked.

19

Final Rejection

by Disassociated Lady 2 in

i have just returned from visiting friends and family.

when i was disassociated my parents had contact with me a few months before my dad was diagnosed with cancer.

i was reinstated 20 months after his funeral and then they disfellowshipped me 5 months later as they are convinced i had not changed my life enough to be a jw again.

Nevuela

berrygerry That passage strictly refers to married men.

2

Missing Thread: "Kingdom Cookies" and Worshiping a Rock From Bethel

by Nevuela in

anyone know what happened to that thread?

i remember reading it a few weeks back, but now i can't find it with any of the search terms that i included in the title of this thread.

basically it was about jws viewing bethel as the holy land and objects from it as sacred, which included cafeteria cookies dubbed "kingdom cookies" and one brother showing off a piece of broken concrete from a construction site at bethel, to the oohs and ahhhs of his fellow r&f.. was that a thread of its own, or were some folks just talking about it in an unrelated thread?.

Nevuela

darkspilver Thanks!

37

Just curious - is apostasy grounds for divorce?

by LifesNotOver in

i know only adultery is supposed to be grounds for "scriptural" divorce.

i'm a wicked apostate in their eyes, but my believing husband and i still can't get a divorce that would allow him to remarry.

we currently are separated - i have left him.

Nevuela

It seems like I've read a number of stories (maybe on this site, maybe on others - I don't know because I jump back and forth between numerous ex-JW sites) where a brother with an apostate wife is allowed to scripturally divorce her and remarry. Because they're an old boys' club, they don't hesitate to leave the door wide open for their fellow men to exit a less-than-ideal marriage, but God forbid if a woman's very life depends on escaping an abusive husband. :/

2

Missing Thread: "Kingdom Cookies" and Worshiping a Rock From Bethel

by Nevuela in

anyone know what happened to that thread?

i remember reading it a few weeks back, but now i can't find it with any of the search terms that i included in the title of this thread.

basically it was about jws viewing bethel as the holy land and objects from it as sacred, which included cafeteria cookies dubbed "kingdom cookies" and one brother showing off a piece of broken concrete from a construction site at bethel, to the oohs and ahhhs of his fellow r&f.. was that a thread of its own, or were some folks just talking about it in an unrelated thread?.

Nevuela

Anyone know what happened to that thread? I remember reading it a few weeks back, but now I can't find it with any of the search terms that I included in the title of this thread.

Basically it was about JWs viewing Bethel as the holy land and objects from it as sacred, which included cafeteria cookies dubbed "kingdom cookies" and one brother showing off a piece of broken concrete from a construction site at Bethel, to the oohs and ahhhs of his fellow R&F.

Was that a thread of its own, or were some folks just talking about it in an unrelated thread?

25

I found my wifes new blood card

by Steel in

i would like to say i am not in and my wife is a marginal witness at best.

she doesn't say anything bad about the borg or live an amoral lifestyle.

she just doesn't read the bible, or even the tracts anymore and generally has no clue about anything biblical or doctorial related.. i found my wives new card yesterday.

Nevuela

Here's something I've been curious about but afraid to ask my "anointed" roommate because I'm sick of listening to her back up her psychotic religion:

How does one get a blood card in the first place? Do the elders go around giving them out to everyone in the congregation? Or do they just ask random people if they have one, and if they don't, make sure to give them one ASAP? Or are you given one the day you get baptized? The latter seems unlikely because that would leave unbaptized children susceptible to receiving blood. I'm just wondering at what particular point, if any, a JW receives a blood card, and/or if it is simply pushed on them by the elders.