Posts by Aunty

5

Columbus OH ex-jw's

by DanTheMan in

i've met a few in the area, but i thought i'd post to see if there are more -

Aunty

Hey Dantheman - I grew up in Delaware, OH - I might know you? My maiden name was Betsy Reinhard. If you know me, post back and I'll post my e-mail addy.

11

Anointed Experience #3 - He Just Can't Be!

by Amazing in

jw
friends

the society literature has given mixed messages, but older literature tended to lay the basis closer to the bible that those 'anointed' are not chosen according to position, age, or experience, but according to god's will.

as the decades of the 40s and 50s passed, the subsequent decades brought in the view that those chosen to be 'anointed' would be chronologically older, many years as very active jws, likely serving in some position such as pioneer for sisters and elder for men.. the reason for the changed view: given that the society stated that the "general' call to heaven ended in 1935, then only a few replacements would be needed to fill vacancies by 'anointed' who died unfaithful to jehovah.

to the society it stood to reason that jehovah would only call 'mature' individuals with much experience as very faithful jws ... but ... they never made this a hard and fast rule, so at times, some jws would feel they wanted to go to heaven, and managed somehow to overcome the cultural fear of being different by making such a profession of faith.. nevertheless, as jws of the other sheep aged in the 1980s and 1990s, the view toward younger, newer 'anointed' became more and more jaundiced.

Aunty

Amazing -

Great story! I really enjoy reading about your experiences and the good-humor you show in looking back on your days in the jw's. This made me remember something similar that happened when I was in high school. Every year we would visit my relatives in Florida over Christmas break. Well, one year we went to a cong. picnic. My Aunt was your typical elders wife, all gossipy, but of course we listened to everything she said! There was a younger man professing to be of the Anointed in their cong. He happened to have a band with a few of his friends that played at cong get togethers, weddings etc...Well, the buzz was he couldn't be of the Anointed because his band played current pop hits (at the time it was "Walk like an Egyption" if you can believe that! Oh, they said, if he was Anointed he would only play classical music! How ridiculous! I laugh even now about it since I too was gullible enough to buy that arguement.

12

HELP! NEED INPUT/EXPERIENCES

by stevieb1 in

jw
friends

i have come to the conclusion that so many of the society's doctrines are not scriptural (both major and minor ones) that i can no longer cal it "the truth".

i still go to congregation meetings, but i can't see myself going for much longer - a bit of a crisis of conscience.

however, there seems to be one piece of seemingly logical advice from the elders that i cannot come to terms with despite what i have found.. even amongst the elders that have spoken to me there seems to be some who do not accept the entire body of doctrines of the society, yet because they see the fruitage of matthew 7:17, 20 being expressed within the congregation and not elsewhere they stay and advise me to stay too.

Aunty

Here's a thought:

If there are elders in the cong that disagree about doctrine, etc, but don't say anything, does that mean they're really "united in one thought"? They may give the impression that they're united, by not allowing anyone to express their disagreements with any particular point the Society makes.

Example:

For years my Dad disagreed with shunning non-baptized jw's. This opinion first started when my non-baptized brother was DA'd for smoking. My parents have basically shunned him for over 20 years even though they didn't agree with this particular doctrine. Okay, we all know they changed this "rule" so that non-baptized publishers are DA'd, but not necessarily shunned - but they still rarely speak to him, and he's not included in any family functions. There are other families that associate with DA'd family members because they're no longer viewed like a DF jw.

Is this unity? I say no. Unity means agreement. So if you don't agree with everything the society publishes, you're not in unity.

Also, regarding being the only group that witnesses - are you forgetting that time and again jw's are reminded that the way you live your life gives a better witness than going to the KH every week? What about the millions of people leading good, clean lives, loving their kids and just trying to be happy?

15

Dreaded Ministry School Speakers!

by TR in

i'm sure every hall has or had a "student" or speaker that they just dreaded to listen to.

wether it was poor reading and pronunciation, or repetitive words, there are those grueling speakers that are murder to listen to.

and they never got better.. in one hall i went to, this bro, actually a friend of mine, had the speach mannerism "you know".

Aunty

Too funny!

This was actually my Dad! He never was the scholorly type and would mispronounce words all the time. We just giggled at him (he had a great sense of humor about himself). It would frustrate my best friend at the time though. I could hear her huffing about it next to me. She was so serious! Anyway, at least he wasn't slow about it, so always ended on time. And he was a MS, so it was funny when he gave the announcements at the TMS - something always came out funny!

I sympathize with the sister with the mentally challenged daughter. My older sister is a tad slow and would take about 4 years to give a demonstration. But, they kept assigning her....we never laughed at her though - that would just be mean. They finally got wise and took her of the list, but it was just recently.

17

Wouldn't It Be Great If We Could Only.......

by Englishman in

jw
friends

do you remember feeling like that when you were a jw?.

if only we were allowed to ........... (fill in the blanks stating what it was you really wanted to do, but couldn't because of your religion.

) i'll wait for someone else to start because my "if only" is a bit obvious.. englishman...

Aunty

In December we used to drive through town and I'd see the Christmas trees all lighted up in the windows and wish that I could have that warm, holiday feeling in my family. It seemed so comforting to me for some reason. It's really my favorite time of year now - celebrating family and togetherness. Funny something so "pagan" can give you such a warm feeling huh?

56

BEATING KIDS IN THE WASHROOM

by Rags in

i am 36 yr old female originally from toronto ontario canada.

was raised jw till i was about 14. has anyone else had this happen in their hall?

the mom's (thank god never mine!

Aunty

Waiting -

I see your points in your comments and for the most part agree with what you're saying. I think most of the experiences here were regarding being disciplined at the meetings and the disruption everyone felt when it happened. Parents that would normally not spank/slap their kids are pressured into doing it at the KH so as not to "look bad". Also jw's put so much pressure on little children to sit for a long period of time and listen to lectures they don't really understand.

Many times parents will be commended for the "love of Jehovah" their well-behaved children show by their good behavior. When in fact, they were threatened with beatings. That's what's so upsetting. There is no understanding for little ones.

Also, for every parent in the world that beats their child, there are 10 more that don't. I'm certain the odds are less for jw's (at least it was the norm where I was raised).

37

How long have we waited? DATELINE

by biblexaminer in

we have been hearing about dateline nbc since, what, last july?.

anyone have any clue how long it's been?

i mean, after a while, it seems pointless.. is dateline backing out?

Aunty

Hi All, I just tried the 800 number and got Richard's voicemail. So, it's a valid number. I didn't leave a message since I'm at work, but I'm sure someone would return your call if you left a message.

Sounds like no one intended to mislead with the information that's been given about the show airing, just inform.

13

Anyone here from Central Ohio?

by Aunty in

jw
friends

i'm now in ca, but grew up in central ohio.

wanted to see if there's anyone i know on this board.

Aunty

Thanks borgfree.

I didn't know if some are just afraid to post about this or not. I'll be more specific.

I grew up in Delaware, OH, went to Delaware East after they split. So...if you think you know me I'll reveal my name...I'm not worried about anyone knowing I'm posting here.

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