i am a long time lurker who has finally decided to post.
i am still in along with my wife, kids and extended family.
i am in my 40s and was raised in the org.
Hi! Joining the board is a big step, and it shows that you are ready to learn and have any questions that you have answered.
Have you found the search function yet? It is a pretty good search engine, and anything you are interested can be found by searching through almost 12 years of posts. There are some great threads started by some scholarly types too, and a treasure trove of info can be found.
I look forward to hearing more about you!
Have a great day!
i've read a few people mention making up the figures for the field service reports, and i want to find out how common it is.
i never lied on my report.
sometimes i'd round up 15 minutes if i'd mentioned jw stuff to my brother that month, but that wasn't falsifying.
Unfortunately, I was too truthful on my reports when I was a Pioneer. My fellow Pioneers would start their time at 6am by putting magazines in the laundomat, and then continue to count their time until the group met for field service, and then when we broke for lunch they would count their time at the restaurant while eating. I didn't agree, so i only counted actual time when I was out in service. BIG MISTAKE. The way they did it, they were able to take a 2 week vacation away from service, and they got all of their yearly hours almost 3 weeks early. I was still struggling to catch up with no time off, and when the end of the service year came, I was 6 hours short. That 6 hours caused me to be brought before the Elders wondering why I didn't get my time, and it was a big scandal that a Reg Pioneer didn't get their time. Over 6 hours! It would have been easy to lie, but I didn't want to dissappoint Jehovah. I could kick myself for putting myself through such utter nonsense for a publishing company.
Had I cheated like they did, it would have been no problem, and I would have had my hours. But, since I did things "By the book" it caused a lot of problems. On top of that, the other pioneers were being supported by their husbands, but I had to work 3 jobs on top of pioneering and preparing for the meetings, etc. I was ragged and torn by the end of the year, and I left shortly after to another cong, but soon faded.
we have a copy of this book and are wondering if we should sell it...is it worth anything?.
amazon says it's worth 20 dollars.
will it ever get to be worth more if we keep hold of it?.
I know that they are being sold at a premium right now, but it would be great if there is any way you can keep it. The moment you get rid of it, someone will come along who really needs it, and you will be sad that you don't have it anymore.
Take Care!!!
i just got 2 emails from them inviting me to a conference call about the memorial.. i have no idea how they got my email address.. coffee .
It appears to be the Bible Students who still follow Russell's teachings.
From the website-
"Our purpose is to provide comfort, encouragement, friends and resources to our brothers and sisters in the Society who feel they are not permitted the liberty to freely study and inquire regarding Jehovah’s Word, without the fear of disciplinary action, disfellowship and separation from your family members. This website is a resource to help our dear brothers and sisters fellowship and study without fear of punishment."
"You are anonymous here. You can speak to other Jehovah’s Witnesses, former Jehovah’s Witnesses, Bible Students and other Christians. When posting your comments, you will be able to use a Pen Name. Your e-mail address and website info are completely optional. No one can identify you. No one can report you. You have a home and quiet place to pray and honestly investigate scriptures. It is not our purpose to indoctrinate you, but merely to provide you with resources for further study of Jehovah’s word. You are not alone. You have friends."
They also have a question and answer section, the link of which is posted below.
"The suggested answers provided to all questions below are based on and in harmony with the views of the original Watchtower Bible and Tract Society when under the guidance of Pastor Charles Taze Russell. Comments will often include a link to Pastor Russell’s own explanation. However, in any case, we leave your conclusions to your own personal study, prayer, conscience and the influence of the Holy Spirit."
star trek claimed to be fantasy and in fact, was fantasy.. wts claims to be the sole truth on earth and in fact, is fantasy.. star trek had spock who solved problems with logic.. wts has a gb who solves problems with bullshit.. star trek had a pompous ass charismatic leader whom everyone loved to watch rant and emote.
wts had three pompous ass charismatic leaders whom everyone hated to watch rant and emote.. captain kirk was always saving his people from new disasters.. wt leaders are always leading its people into new disasters.. star trek made money by always giving its fans the stuff they wanted.. wts makes money by always charging its fans for stuff neither they nor anyone else else wants.. people had fun when star trek came on.. people would rather have a root canal when meetings come on.. star trek was all about making the cosmos a better place for all.. wts is all about making the cosmos a better place for a few and killing everyone else.. people love to go to star trek conventions.. people would rather be in an earthquake than go to wts conventions.. star trek had a transporter room.. people in meetings wish they also had a transporter room.. star trek had lots of insane villains.. wts had judge rutherford and fred franz.
same thing.. star trek also had lots of good guys.. good guys are banished from the wts.. star trek had the klingons who spoke a bizarre language.. wts had fred franz who spoke an even more bizarre language.. star trek had all sorts of devices which could cure most any medical problems, but of course, they were science fiction.. wts had the electronic radio biola which it sold and said could cure most any medical problem, but of course, that was science fiction.. star trek had floppy disks, computers you could talk to and flat screen monitors all of which were about 50 years ahead-of-their time.. wts had vaccines which were called "filthy animal pus", humans hearts which were the seat of all emotions, organ transplants which were cannibalistic, human personalities which were also transferred with blood transfusions and black people turning white by reading their literature, all of which were 100 years behihd-their-time.. if you missed a few star trek episodes in a row, no one came by to harrass you.. if you miss a few meetings in a row, you are in deep shit.. star trek tv shows and movies are still played all the time, even after 47 years.. wts dramas never even play a second time.
That's really funny, Farkel! Hope you are doing well! Here's another:
Star Trek boldly explores the Galaxy to seek out new life and new civilizations.
The Watchtower Corporation boldly explores new ways to be a big pain in Uranus.
as i walked through the streets of my hometown i walked past a 'sister'tm).
at first i didn't recognize her as i wasn't paying attention.. she sort of gave me a bit of a smile (or did she have wind/gas?).
after i has passed her, it dawned on me who it was.. i'd given her family lifts to meetings and socialised with them.. i then realized she'd shunned me.
Regarding the shunning, it doesn't bother me as much if/when an active JW does it to me, because they are directed to do it by the rules of the Watchtower. But, if an Ex-JW were to ever shun me after I take the time to offer them a kind word, praise, and positive reinforcement and had no previous negative "Run-ins" with them, it would give me a WTF moment as I would think of what I could have ever done to deserve such negative treatment, especially when the person who was doing the shunning knows exactly how bad and insecure it makes one feel, having been shunned themselves.
CptKirk, thanks for the trip down memory lane with Star Trek. It was fun reading the posts between you and the OP about that particular episode.
as i walked through the streets of my hometown i walked past a 'sister'tm).
at first i didn't recognize her as i wasn't paying attention.. she sort of gave me a bit of a smile (or did she have wind/gas?).
after i has passed her, it dawned on me who it was.. i'd given her family lifts to meetings and socialised with them.. i then realized she'd shunned me.
I was just thinking about the "Horta" last night, and here you posted a picture of her! The Horta was one of my favorite Star Trek creatures. At first she was misunderstood. She didn't want to hurt anyone, she was only trying to protect her eggs.
She definitely wasn't the purtiest thing though...
checklist of characteristics.
deception lies at the core of mind-manipulating and high-demand ("cultic") groups and programs.
many members and supporters of these groups/movements are not fully aware of the extent to which they have been abused and exploited.
Thank you LL for taking the time to compile all of this helpful information! Anyone who thinks that JW's are not a cult have their heads buried in the sand (or in a particular orifice)-lol
It is sad that oftentimes people are so involved in a cult that if they do ever leave, it takes years if not decades to be truly free from the thought control and other peculiarities, even ones that may seem insignificant. I've been away since about 1986, and I still occasionally catch myself humming "Kingdom songs". It causes a huge WTF moment when I realise what I am doing. Another example is going to a store, and when I see a tie I automatically start thinking about the Kingdom Hall, etc.
I wonder what the cult recovery times are on average? Say for example if someone was in for 5 years, how long would it take for that person to become totally free of cult thinking? The longer one is in, I imagine the recovery rate would be longer as compared to someone who wasn't in as long. Of course everyone is different, and some may be able to recover in minimal time, but I wonder if there is a correlation, and if so, how significant it would be.
Again, thank you! I, and I am sure many others appreciate how you are always trying to come up with topics that get people to not only think, but heal from the influences of a dangerous cult.
just had a flashback of my mother forcing me to eat a rotten roast beef sandwich at the district convention.. i remember her telling me jehovah would not provide us with bad food and how ungrateful i was.
she literally told me if i wasted jehovahs provisions she would "slap my face off"..... for the love of god a roast beef sandwich sitting out in the hot yankee stadium sun all day... i really wonder what could cause someone to be so insane.
Yummy rancid translucently shiny rainbow tinted theocratic roast beef. The kind of spiritual food that even real spirits would pass (or throw) up-lol.
as i walked through the streets of my hometown i walked past a 'sister'tm).
at first i didn't recognize her as i wasn't paying attention.. she sort of gave me a bit of a smile (or did she have wind/gas?).
after i has passed her, it dawned on me who it was.. i'd given her family lifts to meetings and socialised with them.. i then realized she'd shunned me.
I'm happy that you did not let her shunning bother you! You are a nice person, and I'm sure that there are plenty of people who want to be real friends with you who care for you unconditionally, friends who don't let a publishing company dictate how they should feel and think.
Take care!!!
