mamochan13

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Posts by mamochan13

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  67

  List of Prominent JW Urban Legends...

  by Tuesday in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  hey folks,.

  i'm wondering if you all could help me with my next video that i want to put up in the next couple of days (though i'm hoping for tonight), i want to come up with a list of the most prominent urban legends surrounding jws and then refute them whatever they may be.. i'm thinking there's the urban legend about the question on jeopardy that said the nwt was the most accurate would be a good one.

  that one stems from an online powerpoint presentation named theological jeopardy and a book which was written comparing six different translations of the bible.

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  mamochan13

  Wow. I had forgotten some of these. In Canada we heard these, too. The John Denver one was told to me by a pioneer who had just returned from Bethel. She claimed she was at the concert and he refused to start until all JW's had left the building.

  I heard the JW vs Avon lady one way back when. Also heard about Don Ho - that he hated Witnesses and wouldn't have them at his shows.

  My super-dub pioneer aunt told me the one slimboyfat recounts, except I heard it as some freak at the door who was acting all demonic and said that the demons were out to get all the JW children (it really freaked us out). The same aunt told a story about Malawi, after the JW intensive letter writing campaign, how the high bishop had been arrested and strung up by his hands and was punished for hurting the JWs.

  My aunt also told one about how in the early 70s the GB tried to arrange international conventions all around Europe for 1975. They found everything was completely booked everywhere they went. When they went back and instead tried to book for 1974, suddenly all the venues were free.

  I heard one, too, about a circuit overseer and his wife who visited a tribe in remote Africa and who were tormented by demons all night long in their tent and how they only way they survived was by saying the name of Jehovah over and over again. Blood in food products was a biggie: we weren't allowed to eat red licorice for that reason.
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  57

  Right to Die Issue Terminally Ill, Hopelessly Paralized, Etc..What Are Your Thoughts?

  by frankiespeakin in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  first off let me say this is not about me, i'm happy and healthy.

  it really about all the suffering i see people going thru.

  examples in my family over the years have caused me to think very seriously this.. i could give you a couple of examples and i'm sure some of our posters can tell other horror stories they'd witnessed where perhaps it would have been much better for them and their family if they could have passed away painlessly and with much more dignity.. one of my sisters developed breast cancer and died after about a 12month struggle, we saw her waste away to just skin and bones, it was hard on me as well as her two young children and husband.

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  mamochan13

  Sammielee - that is so beautiful. A wonderful way to go. Thank you for sharing that.
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  51

  Four die out in service in Texas

  by TJ - iAmCleared2Land in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  a real tragedy here yesterday; regardless of our feelings about the religion itself, we lost some good friends and genuinely nice people yesterday; these were some of "the good ones"--why is it always them??.

  http://www.wfaa.com/news/local/accident-80138632.html.

  southlake four people died saturday after their car flipped over into a six-foot-deep pond in southlake, police said.. just before 11:20 a.m. saturday, the toyota sedan drove through the intersection of lonesome dove road and burney lane, crashed into a metal fence, hit a tree, and landed upside-down in a pond on the grounds of a mansion.. "they came through this stop sign and, from eyewitness accounts, they never slowed down," said neighbor byron copeland.. copeland said the residents of the property raced to try and help.

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  mamochan13

  Man. That's so awful. I know of two incidents where this happened - in one an elder was driving the car turned on a left light and got hit by a truck - a sweet sister was killed. In another, a family was out in service when they had an accident and their little girl was killed. These people believed they were doing good and had god's blessing. Must be doubly terrible to manage the grief.
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  27

  Washer blows up: Maybe I fed it too many socks?

  by mamochan13 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  well my trusty washer has finally given up the ghost.

  for two years now, ever since my daughters and four grandchildren all moved back in with me, it's been subjected to two or three loads daily.

  last month when all the grandkids had the flu we were up to six or seven loads a day.

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  mamochan13

  heh. my aunt used to insist that the washer was eating her socks. Everyone laughed. One day my uncle took the machine apart, and actually found dozens of socks trapped in the space under the agitator!

  So yeah. I think I must be feeding the cheap thing too many socks. I shouldn't complain. It's been a real workhorse for many years.

  But I really do wonder what the heck always happens to the socks?
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  27

  Washer blows up: Maybe I fed it too many socks?

  by mamochan13 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  well my trusty washer has finally given up the ghost.

  for two years now, ever since my daughters and four grandchildren all moved back in with me, it's been subjected to two or three loads daily.

  last month when all the grandkids had the flu we were up to six or seven loads a day.

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  mamochan13

  Well my trusty washer has finally given up the ghost. For two years now, ever since my daughters and four grandchildren all moved back in with me, it's been subjected to two or three loads daily. Last month when all the grandkids had the flu we were up to six or seven loads a day. A bit much? Nah, it's gotta be the socks.

  *sigh* researching replacements. Limited by the little problem of zero budget. Are front loads better than top loads? I need a real workhorse for cheap. Any suggestions?
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  38

  My growing opinion about religion

  by AK - Jeff in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  when i walked away from jw's i thought that i would find other religions more comforting, less controlling.

  what i found was more of the same.

  religion acting like a 'prophet'.

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  mamochan13

  I tend to share your opinion, Jeff. Very religious people make me nervous, as so many of them seem to feel they are in possession of the "truth" and need to force others to accept a religious way of thinking. There are exceptions to that, of course. Moshe and Heaven - you bring up an interesting point regarding the appeal and role of organized religion. As Jeff says, spirituality is not religion.

  Ever since suffering my own loss of faith, I've been in a kind of limbo. I haven't come to terms with whether I want to embrace a set of beliefs that might be defined as religious. Cantleave's idea and humanist philosophy is also appealing.

  I'd say existentialism is probably the closest to my belief right now. Two of existential theory's founders: Kierkegaard and Nietzsche, argued that organized religion prevented the use of free will and allowed people to avoid actively embracing life's anxieties. Sartre, May and Frankl took these ideas further and developed existentialism into a form of therapy, with the key message that we are each alone and must find validation for life within ourselves. Our problems are our own and we are the authors of our destiny. Once we take responsibility for our choices, we can find our potential and true meaning in life. Existentialism is very much about taking control of one's own life - something quite contrary to JWs and other organized religion.

  I haven't yet formulated a complete theory of my faith and spirituality as an existentialist. However, I'm now responding to questions from my grandchildren about god and the meaning of life, so I think I must resolve my crisis of faith fairly soon!
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  57

  Right to Die Issue Terminally Ill, Hopelessly Paralized, Etc..What Are Your Thoughts?

  by frankiespeakin in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  first off let me say this is not about me, i'm happy and healthy.

  it really about all the suffering i see people going thru.

  examples in my family over the years have caused me to think very seriously this.. i could give you a couple of examples and i'm sure some of our posters can tell other horror stories they'd witnessed where perhaps it would have been much better for them and their family if they could have passed away painlessly and with much more dignity.. one of my sisters developed breast cancer and died after about a 12month struggle, we saw her waste away to just skin and bones, it was hard on me as well as her two young children and husband.

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  mamochan13

  Elsewhere and Frankiespeak: I think you are talking about a slightly different group of people. I was part of that group after being DFd, too. So while I understand the profound mental anguish that leads one to believe death is the only viable option and one which will actually benefit everyone, I also believe there is a cure for that condition, unlike a person who is terminally ill. I survived, thank god, and I look back in horror at what might have happened and the awful long-term consequences for my family had I succeeded in that choice (even at that, there has been consequences).

  Hope for a cure, I suppose, is one of those things which might cause families to resist carrying through on an individual's expressed wishes regarding his/her right to die. Unfortunately, the argument for choice is also one JWs use when it comes to refusing blood. Now, I think every person has the right to choose what treatment they will accept: i.e. do I take painful chemotherapy to sustain my life for a few more years, or do I take blood when it contradicts my deeply-held beliefs and will impact my emotional and mental health in an unacceptable way? I also think every person ultimately has the right to choose whether they wish to continue living when they are facing hopeless economic conditions or severe depression or other mental illness.

  But where to draw the line? And who makes the decision whether there is no longer a cure or hope? If a person's thinking is distorted by mental illness or, arguably, by cult-speak, is their decision truly theirs? There have even been cases where terminal or hopeless patients have been "cured" and gone on to find quality of life. I'm thinking "quality of life" might be a key factor.
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  158

  Older posters check in...just post your name...we need to hear from you!

  by restrangled in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i am not the oldest but have 3 years here!

  restrangled.. how about you?.

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  mamochan13

  I guess five years, plus several months lurking. Been here a long time, haven't said much, though, compared to others.
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  14

  First Christmas until ruined by family Jdubs

  by foolsparadise in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  we were having a wonderful christmas until some relatives came to see us.

  we put away the tree and everything so they wouldnt b stumbled.

  i swear they came to see if we were doing anything non jw.

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  mamochan13

  Celebrating christmas is a learning experience, and part of it is defining how to take a stand with family JWs. For many many years my daughters have been afraid of their grandma and try to hide the fact that we celebrate. This year my 4-year-old granddaughter took matters into her own hands when she proudly told her great grandmother all about the tree that we were going to be putting up. She was so excited and happy and wanted to share her excitement - and of course my mother responded, "That's disgusting". But I believe its much better to have it out in the open and not live a lie. To me, hiding it is almost an admission that I feel I'm doing something wrong, when I'm not.
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  34

  I feel so down :(

  by creativhoney in

  1. jw
  2. friends
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  mamochan13

  creativhoney - I've been there, too. It's interesting that you question whether there is something in our upbringing that makes us pushovers and forgiving of unworthy people. I think there is something in the JW mentality, particularly if you are female. I stuck it out in an abusive relationship for a long time because I believed (with the counsel of the elders) that it was my role as a wife and mother to be subservient and that my mate might eventually "see the truth" through me. My daughters all have trouble finding healthy relationships as well, and I do think it is rooted in JW thinking where women are undervalued and made to feel guilty if they stand up for themselves. There is also the thinking that you must define yourself through your role as a good wife and mother - so we keep subjecting ourselves to bad relationships because we believe it is the right and normal thing to do - to not be in a relationship and instead be strong and independent is contrary to JW tenets that keep women in their place.