Posts by Balsam

14

Why do elders offer to "study" with witnesses?

by donuthole in

jw
friends

has anybody else ever experienced this?

when you get into a bit of trouble in the congregation or have certain questions/doubts over teachings and they want to study with you all over again?

you could have been a witness your whole life, know the bible teach/live forever/knowledge book front to back, even have studied with others and brought them into the religion - and the elder sitting across from you wants to know if a bible study would help you.

Balsam

Yes seen this happen many times when a person has become inactive they will approach them to see if a bible study with them will help them get back on track coming to meetings and going door to door. When it is a sister they usually ask a pioneer to study with them. One of my friends had a bible study with a pioneer sister to get her back on track after she had a emotional breakdown and was hospitalized for about 6 months.

I studied with a gal who was a baptized witness but she had left the witnesses and wanted to return and she was considered inactive. I was able to count time studying with her because it was requested by the elders. Yep it is on the rare side but it does happen.

Ruth

31

The WT LIE re "Sign" of the "Generation"

by AGuest in

jw
friends

to the household of god, israel, and all those who go with... may you have peace!.

the following excerpt was posted from paragraph 14 of the wtbts article, "the holy spirits role in the outworking of jehovahs purpose":.

14 what does this explanation mean to us?

Balsam

The WT certainly is misleading the followers saying they are the ones dispensing God's truths. They completely leave Jesus out of the equation. The Governing Body has inserted itself in Jesus position and God's dispensing of truths. They are so friggin bogus. Yet JW's continue to follow and bow to them as the authority of the bible. So sad and yet when I was a JW I trusted them until I realized they were not worthy of my trust, that was what brought my awakening.

Ruth

7

Help for newly disassociated member

by VanillaMocha73 in

jw
friends

haven't posted here in a long while, but i was seeking two people who used to be members and whose names i cannot remember for the life of me.... my mom da'd this week for doctrinal reasons - realizing that the jw is all about idolatry of a group of men / organization.

she has been a jw for 35+ years and anointed, so she is getting a lot of pressure from elders, etc.

i wanted to find the grandmotherly lady from england that has been through this and also the sister / brother from edmonds, wa that i knew when i was in the kh there.

Balsam

WOW what a brave move for your Mom. I totally know how hard it is to leave after 35 years. I was in for 30 years, and though I didn't believe I was of the annointed I did feel a pull to it but resisted it all those years knowing Elders talk about so called annointed sisters and whether they really are or not. It is a blow to find out the religion you've been devoted too for all those years is baloney. Hope she will find her way.

Ruth

41

Have you Been Shunned Even Though Just Considered " Inactive " ?

by flipper in

jw
friends

many of us here on the board are " inactive" , myself included.

have not attended meetings or gone out in service for years.

i haven't now for 6 years + .

Balsam

Flipper,

It is a stroke of genius to play the system and play the witness by going occasionally just to keep the JW family members happy. It is funny looking back on it some of the so called inactive ones who I tried to be friendly with even calling them to see how they were doing were friendly but distant and basically made it clear they weren't interested in what was happening in meetings. It wasn't till I was out I got it and had to laugh, and finally understood why they popped up occasionally to put in an appearance then disappeared again.

I left and was disfellowshipped so it was a clear cut so I never got to do the inactive way but I can totally see the benefit of doing the fade thing. Good for you all who have made it out of the crazy cult.

14

I don't get this! Does anyone?

by wannabe in

i thought that jehovah had his worshippers on this earth today!.

why does the prophecy of zephania make it look there'll be no survivors ar armageddon?

doesn't that sound very strange to anyone?

Balsam

Oops no faithful witness left alive on the earth, they didn't understand the prophect right did they. LOL

41

Have you Been Shunned Even Though Just Considered " Inactive " ?

by flipper in

jw
friends

many of us here on the board are " inactive" , myself included.

have not attended meetings or gone out in service for years.

i haven't now for 6 years + .

Balsam

I'm going to speak to this on the basis of how I felt when I was an active witness.

I resented inactive ones showing up at the KH after being gone for years living their life any old way they wanted and no door to door work. They would show up everyone talking to them asking how they were doing. I know it was small and petty of me but I felt like the prodical son's big brother. It pissed me off.

I suspect now that I have been out for a while that a good many of the JW feel the same way. I can remember thinking to myself these folks just come prancing in all friendly thinking they are witnesses because their baptized but they aren't. I don't imagine I am the only one who had such thought running through my head. That is probably why they sort of shun inactive ones. The active ones are out there busting their butts and the inactive ones are still hanging on the fringles not disfellowshipped. The WTS incourages this kind of division among witness to keep the active ones serving, imaging they are more favored by god. Of course now it seems all like baloney which is exactly what it is. Traditional churches don't do that to their people who have not attended in a while they genuinely welcome them back because there no me and them attitude.

Ruth Baker

2

Book

by Tan Hai-chi in

i'm writing a book related to the watchtower and jehovahs witnesses.

the book will be about ex-jws, their experiences as a witness, leaving the religion and what they believe today.

i'm looking for people who would like to be interviewed.

Balsam

Well if your brand new to this sight, don't know if anyone would be eager to share their story with you. There is a concern that this stuff gets back to active JW elders who life to act like the Nazi's and hunt down inactive folks so they can disfellowship them. Me I have nothing to hid but have already shared my story with another author who is using it.

Ruth Baker

138

JWs having Facebook Sex - Strongly warned to get off FB at CA yesterday

by shopaholic in

jw
friends

so it appears that jws are letting their freaky side come out on fb for everyone to see.. there was talk on the ca yesterday strongly warning all true lovers of jehovah to delete their fb accounts.

the talk was solely about fb.

the speaker mentioned that jws are associating with people that would not associate with in real life, often using the excuse that the person is a relative.

Balsam

LOL I love it. My husband and I both have FB accounts and we plow each others fields. LOL on Farmville and it is so fun. I love that the GB have their tidy whitties in twist over Facebook. We're 59 years old oh its so dangerous so fun. LOL

Ruth

86

My Republican Friends

by JimmyPage in

jw
friends

i have a jw friend who i watch sports with.

his wife is not a dub.

he has a daughter from a previous marriage who is gay.

Balsam

Hi Hemp lover,

It worries me to death my son having no insurance coverage. He was fortunate with an emergency he had when he was hit by a drive away car and had to go to the hospital to make sure nothing was broke. Some group came in and paid his hospital bill completely but left him owning another $1500 that was unpaid. It helped but, what about next time?

My poor sister lived a short live all because she could not get insurance because companies did away with that benefit and she had pre-existing conditions from childhood that cause all of them to refuse her. Doctors refused to treat her because she was a hard luck case and no insurance. She lived just 11 months after finally getting medicare, but her health was so destroyed by them from lack of medical care she died.

You know what one person told me before they knew how I felt about Universal Healthcare? They told me "so let them die if they don't have insurance it isn't my problem they don't deserve to live, probably just human garbage anyway." I looked at the woman shocked and then I asked her what party she was affilated with? She told me Republican. I then told her my story of my sister who was a single parent then she did try to back pedal on her hateful words it was too late. I told her she was the problem not my sister or other people who have no insurance but it is anyone had eltist attitude it was her. I had another anal Republican man tell me they can just give the poor who can't afford insurance suicide pills that we didn't need them anyway. That kind of talk is just shocking and shameful from any person. Very sad commentary on the human condition when our fellow Americans can say and think such things.

Ruth

86

My Republican Friends

by JimmyPage in

jw
friends

i have a jw friend who i watch sports with.

his wife is not a dub.

he has a daughter from a previous marriage who is gay.

Balsam

Oddly enough I signed up to vote for the first time in my life with the presidental elections in 2005, as an independent so I would be able to open minded enough to evauate both sides and in the middle. I voted in 2005, then I voted in 2009. Sad thing is I've tried to have rational conversations with Republicans and it has always gone south quickly and it always turned ugly on their part which totally boggles my mind.

Needless to say the polictical system is so devisive that there is no meeting in the middle so I dropped all my republican friends. The feeling was mutual in the end and they were more than glad to have no more contact with me and replaced them with folks that still have the ability to think and reason without wanting to kill me.

My parents when I was growing up became Republicans back before I was born, then became so disgusted they quit voting entirely by the time I hit jr. high school. My Dad used to say there is no such thing as good politics.

I thought it would be so wonderful to vote and try to understand it all but that didn't happen, it is disappointing to say the least. I very much wanted Universal Health care, my son is uninsured because he out of school and working. His company insurance is so high it he literally would have his entire wages to pay the insurance. My sister died at 65 as a result of temporary jobs and no insurance in California. By the time she was given insurance through Social securty she died because of no health care for years and years and her health was so bad. I've seen poor poor republicans who have no insurance fight this chance at having univeral healthcare for all Americans. It is just boggles my mind how they could feel like they do. They stand to die without healthcare but still they want no part of it. Social Security medicare is a very good program but has a lot of waste and it is reasonably priced compared to other insurance companies and it is a product of the federal government.