Pardon my ignorance, but is this a new card? Or is this what most have now? I had one that looked different and haven't ever seen this one. Then again, my card was many years ago and I faded and never really kept up with things. That seems quite invasive.
dubstepped
JoinedPosts by dubstepped
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Informant-I consent for my relevant medical records to be shared with HLC!
by Atlantis infrom an informant who contacted atlantis:.
.. i consent to my relevant medical records and the details of my condition being shared with.
the emergency contact below and/or with member(s) of the hospital liaison committee.
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OK....IM TOTALLY CONFUSED ! !
by brandnew inok, so....does everyone who has ever been born, and lived on this planet called earth....get ressurected?.
doesnt that sound like pissin in the wind?.
destroy everyone......just to bring em back......to destroy them again....... seems like a neverending cycle..
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dubstepped
Ha, I've thought about this. When someone dies, from Leonard Nimoy to their cousin twice removed named Bert, they always look forward to seeing them in paradise. I even saw a post on a JW forum the other day where a person quoted the scripture that Jehovah will satisfy the desire of every living thing and they wanted to see cousin Bert, so therefore they were sure of them being resurrected. I remember making fun of worldly people and how they thought everyone went to heaven at any funeral. JWs think everyone will be resurrected, so what's the difference?
I do still believe in such hopes, but I no longer stand by any side of things. I'll let Jehovah sort it out. Not my circus to manage.
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Sorry, But Your Sad Story Doesn't Make Me Feel Better. Is it supposed to?
by Tempest in a Teacup ini have very recently come out of a bout of severe depression which lasted for years.
i have ginormous underlying issues which i hardly talk about, especially to my family.. today my sister came in, wanting to force me to do something she wanted.
her strategy was to make me feel bad for feeling bad, just to show me that my problem (which she has no idea of but thinks she does) wasn't the biggest in the world.
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dubstepped
I went through a really bad period with depression, suicidal thoughts, all of that fun stuff. One thing I've learned since is to see people for their intentions. Telling you that others have it worse is a poorly executed plan for a good intention. They're trying to help the only way they know how. Comparison is something that we all do in this culture.
With that said, it isn't effective. Try going into the breat cancer ward and telling them that the people down the hall have more deadly pancreatic cancer. That's not cheering anyone up.
Personally, I hope that you can open up about whatever you're dealing with. I found solace in a podcast called The Mental Illness Happy Hour. That is one eye opening show. I don't use it for comparison, but it gave me a new perspective on the baggage that so many of us carry. It helps many to hear similar stories and to know that they're not alone. When you bring things out in the light it is hard to stay in the darkness.
Best wishes. I hope thar you find a ladder out of the darkness.
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They only care about themselves......
by dubstepped ini've watched the reaction to the nepal disaster for the first time with eyes opened.
lots of comments about praying for the brothers and sisters affected.
the official release on the website references only the sister and her two children that died, along with the impact on the brothers there.
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dubstepped
I've watched the reaction to the Nepal disaster for the first time with eyes opened. What do I see? Lots of comments about praying for the brothers and sisters affected. The official release on the website references only the sister and her two children that died, along with the impact on the brothers there. That's it. For an organization that is supposed to be marked by love, for all of the gum flapping about how much love for neighbor they show, they can't even be bothered to shout out to the thousands killed and their families and friends. Would it be too much to even acknowledge that other people, you know, the ones that you supposedly love so much, even exist? I understand taking care of your own, but you don't have to ignore everyone else like callous narcissists. -
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Missionary send-off ... " If You Could See What I See " ... - The little cart with a big heart -
by Esse quam videri infrom the perspective of the jehovah's witnesses public witnessing cart.
a family put this skit on for going away party for our missionary family.
[ i can just imagine what the villagers are going to say about the crazy missionary gringo and his cart.
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dubstepped
Did they just boo the one black guy in the skit? Lol. Why does he have to be the ne'er do well in the production. Maybe I'm wrong on the color of the skin in the video, but if not......
If nothing else, that whole thing is embarrassing. Just hokey and ridiculous.
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Mummy Dear Lies at Assemblies
by Tempest in a Teacup inmy zealously fanatic jw mum is aware of my current "tourist-jw" life.
what she doesn't know for sure is that she's part of the ones who brought me to this.. my mum was a quite moderate jw, she even got publically reproved once.
in our house, there was no daily text, no family study, no eating together, no preaching together, no watchtower study...even though she regularly checked my wt to see if i studied it.. being a single mother, she had a quite busy work schedule, so from the moment she woke up to the moment she went to bed, you'd better not waste a single minute of her time needlessly.
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dubstepped
I feel for you TIAT. Not in the second act portion of life where family now has any control over my wife or I, but in that I watched the dog and pony show often. My dad was an elder and gave talks about happy family life as all of his kids, and even his wife, rolled their eyes. He was full of crap up there. He did the same on assembly parts. My mom has even left the auditorium during his parts.
As a young person I was a great example in the congregation. I was therefore asked to do several parts. I distinctly remember that if my answers to whatever questions I was asked in the interviews wasn't good enough, I would be coached into giving better answers. You know, not truthful ones, but ones that set a higher standard. My wife was on parts as a kid, and she too had her stories massaged to be more than what they were.
So, it doesn't surprise me one bit that anyone would lie around the circuit or on any part. Happens all of the time. It is easier to lie in that way because the lies are often things that you feel guilty about. Your mom probably felt bad on some level that she didn't study and such with you, and she intended to, so that's all that counts. In her mind, she probably did at this point because she can't bear the shame of not having done so. How sad that all of that is put on everyone to the point of shame that motivates one to tell revisionist stories.
I believe very little of any personal experiences given from any stage. I assume most to be exaggerations at least, outright lies at most.
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At the Kingdom Hall
by paradisebeauty ini was thinking of starting a topic on thoughts that go through your mind while attending meetings.... right now i am at the meeting and thinking ... we study about jesus's courage to stand by rightness and truth, about him getting in conflict with religious leaders who thought of themselves as experts of the law, jesus understood truth and god differently of them and he had the courage to speak out!.
so we study this, but after that we draw the concluzion that courage is to go preaching and identify yourself as a witness .... well, this in not what i understand from jesus's courage!.
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dubstepped
My wife and I have had a similar conversation. If you look in the Bible, all of these big players in the grand scheme of things were people that went against the status quo. They actually stood up for truth as they saw it or as Jehovah showed it to them. You cannot do that within the confines of the organization. What is it that you read story after story on here about that the elders ask you if you express doubts? It seems to be, "do you still believe that this is the one true religion?". Well, I believe that it is one religion, and that it has some truth in it, but no, it isn't the only religion with truth as a component. What we were taught wasn't all true either, see the many predictions that fell through to give way to "new light". It also has some very toxic components to it and the organization seems to have become bigger than actual truth. But if you are one that sees it, people will condemn you. It is a lonely place to be, but I've always marched to the beat of my own drummer, so be it. -
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How to Choose a Wife!
by snugglebunny inback in the day, when my family moved to a new congregation, i fell head over heels with a young sister who was an elder's daughter.
it wasn't long before we were talking about marriage and i was contemplating buying her an engagement ring.
my parents were not happy at all.
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dubstepped
Funny the things I accepted back then that now make my stomach turn. I read this to my wife, and she said that her father told her the story recanted earlier by Joe and Faye. He was trying to get her to test me. I would have passed with flying colors back then.
A person I know had a young sister that he was dating and she inquired of the elders about him, and they told her family that they wouldn't let their daughter marry him. Yeah, he had some issues in life, but at least he was real about them. They were more mental issues than anything, and I don't think it should be up to them to decide who is or isn't worthy of a marriage mate. After all, many of those same elders live in absolutely miserable marriages like the one I grew up watching. Not the person I want marriage advice from.
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How do stop myself getting too Bitter?
by stuckinarut2 inyou know, i always maintained that during this fading process, and while learning ttatt, i would not let myself get "bitter twisted and angry".... but, in all honesty, if i examine myself, i have become quite bitter toward the org, toward the false friends and the gb.. i have become angry as i see the extent of damage i feel being raised in "the truth" has done.... i feel hurt towards the lost opportunities in life etc.... how do i not allow myself to get too swallowed up by such bitterness?.
i have always been a very happy, positive, selfless person.
i can put people at ease, i am someone people feel comfortable chatting to.
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dubstepped
I've been dealing with this a lot lately in the org and my family. What I came to realize is that I needed to forgive. You forgive for yourself, not for the other person, so that you can let go. I did some research on how to forgive someone that isn't sorry. I came across a quote that went something like "forgiveness is letting go of the hope that it could have been any different". That helped me to see just that. It couldn't have been different. Everyone thought they were doing what was best, however misguided, and mental illness was involved to some extent. It may not have been best for me, but back then I didn't know any better either. It was what it was, and nobody comes out without scars no matter if we're talking JWs, religion in general, childhood, family stuff, or even if you were all alone on an island in a protective bubble. There's nothing wrong with feeling the bitterness and anger (which usually just masks deep pain), but at a point it is healthy to forgive for your own sake. -
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Hi Everyone. Answer to prayer countdown...
by Stumpy ini've been lurking for about 3 months now and thought i'd better finally sign up.
you have all been an immense help to me as i have come to realize that this isn't the truth so i want to say a great big thank you!
what a crazy, emotional ride it is to finally face the truth about the doubts that i have carried for many years.
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dubstepped
And those who treat me with the greatest distance are some of who used to be the closest to me. Many of those who were just acquaintances remain more or less the same. Odd.
EdenThose closest to you have their own identity at stake. They identify with "The Truth", but they also identify with you as their close friend. When those two entities are in conflict, it threatens them. They know who you are and obviously respected your views on some level. To have such a person be negative about their other greatly respected entity is a threat to them and who they are and what they believe. I know how badly I fought what I started to see. It is easier to live in denial and cut you off than to try and hold two opposing views in their midst. I believe that's the very nature of cognitive dissonance. Those that weren't close to you have less skin in the game, less importance attached to you versus their beliefs, so you aren't a threat.