Posts by MerryMagdalene

9

2005 Statistics

by Jeffro in

.

after having a look at the newly posted 2005 jw statistics and comparing them to those of 2004, there are some interesting trends.. 23841 fewer bible studies.. 377274 fewer at the memorial.. 14785 fewer baptized.. 4032902 fewer hours in the ministry.. also, i have estimated, based on the change in the peak publishers from 2004 to 2005 compared to the number baptized, that around 146934 were disfellowshipped, disassociated or became inactive.. sudan has started reporting as of 2005. palau is now reporting under its english name; previously it was listed under its native name belau.. most areas showing growth are poor countries and countries with only relatively recent witness presence.

MerryMagdalene

Thanks for the numbers.

Sometimes IS

~Merry

20

PLEASE TELL ME...

by MerryMagdalene in

have i gone off the deep end with this one?

a brief conversation tonight with my jw mother, who has been ill recently, triggered this.

i called to see how she is and she warned me that she has sent me a note and hopes it won't hurt my feelings.

MerryMagdalene

HAVE I GONE OFF THE DEEP END WITH THIS ONE?

A brief conversation tonight with my JW mother, who has been ill recently, triggered this. I called to see how she is and she warned me that she has sent me a note and hopes it won't hurt my feelings. I think she is writing me off again. I'm DFed but she has some limited contact with me anyway, because she loves me and loves my daughter.

I was going to write to her, but just couldn't. She's a little fragile sometimes. Then I was going to write to my JW relatives, but then figured why not just go straight to the top? (Sorry it's so long.)

To the Members of the Governing Body of the Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society and the Christian Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses:

I want my mother back.

I have one mother on this earth, and she has one child, but you will not allow her to have an ordinary mother-daughter relationship with me. The only way she can do that now is if she is willing to suffer the same fate as me--disfellowshipping--which would result in her, too, being shunned by all her Jehovah's Witness family members and friends. This is no small thing as she is a 3rd generation JW who has been a baptized member for 55 years. It would also leave her feeling doomed to destruction since she accepts what you teach in that regard.

You have led her to believe that to disobey you is to disobey God, and, therefore, to continue our relationship would mean that she was choosing me over God. This places her in a very difficult position, and has greatly strained our relationship, causing much psychological stress and sorrow. Because I do not agree with all your religious teachings, even though I have developed new appreciation for the Bible, she worries that I will be sentenced to eternal damnation. To live with the horror of this, she must harden her heart toward me, and put even greater faith in you as God's representatives.Do you truly understand the position of responsibility before God and man that you have thus taken upon yourselves? You claim to be the Governing Body of God's ONLY spirit-directed organization, and that no one can come to God except through you (as Jesus' agents, of course).

Therefore, I hope that you will seriously consider the request that I am now going to make.

I was baptized by Jehovah's Witnesses as a minor, without fully understanding the ramifications this would have on the rest of my life. I gave in to the peer-pressure of the congregation in which I was raised and the well-meaning coersion of several elders, one of whom was my uncle. I did not know at that time what it meant to accept Jesus as my Saviour and have a personal relationship with Him, nor did I comprehend the grace of God and the action of the Holy Spirit. I understood the words of your teachings but not their full meaning and far-reaching implications, especially since as a JW I was discouraged from questioning those teachings or making any in-depth exploration of the Bible except in conjunction with your publications. Therefore, I am asking that you consider both my baptism and my disfellowshipping as null and void. I am also asking that you make a statement to that effect, notifying myself, my mother, and the elder's in her congregation of it.

If I am no longer considered a disfellowshipped ex-Jehovah's Witness then perhaps I will eventually be able to repair the damage that has been done to my relationship with my mother, benefitting not only us but my own young daughter as well. I will be able to present myself as I truly am--a prodigal daughter who has found her way home to her loving Father, having been drawn to Him through Christ Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit. She will be able to share her faith with me once again, this time as one adult to another, and she will be able to either accept me or reject me according to her own conscience.

It is my heartfelt desire that you, too, be either accepted or rejected on the merits of what you truly are, what you teach, how you govern, and what effect all this has on your members and your ex-members. It is for this reason that I am making this an open letter and will be sending copies to various news organizations, friends, and family members, along with a list of several informative and accurate internet sites they can go to for a more complete picture.

I pray for you and for anyone who is in any way involved with you. May you know God's mercy when you need it most, and may you show that mercy to others.

Sincerely,

Me

43

What do you believe now?

by NowImFree in

i have been out of the jws officially for over 3 years now, since disassociating.

after researching the history of the organization and reading the bible (without) the watchtower, i am now a christian.

i am just curious what happens to most ex-jws as far as their beliefs go, after they leave the organization.

MerryMagdalene

Though you have left that cult, if you still hold to those doctrines which downplay the saving grace of God and pervert the gospel message by the belittling of our Lord, then your trust is not in that Jesus of the Scriptures who saves and you are still in your sins.

No worries, mdb. I do not still hold to those doctrines

~Merry

26

Do J.W.'s deliberately lie to new converts?

by hubert in

when i showed my daughter a story of an old man who was df'd and shunned for asking questions about w.t.

doctrine, she said "he must have had a big sin".

so, this is what my daughter is being taught, that you have to have a "big sin" to be disfellowshipped and shunned.

MerryMagdalene

Exactly, Poz. I think they see it as "progressive truth" rather than deceit, just like mother org has taught them. They start things our real dim and shadowy and then let the light get increasingly brighter.

~Merry

32

hi everyone :)

by jojochan in

jw
friends

just wanted to drop a line and say "hi".

i too am a long time lurker that "came out" sort of speaking.

(' bout 2 yrs!

MerryMagdalene

Glad you're here, jojochan

Right now that I feel like I'm unpluged from "mother" I see things VERY differently...which scares me since i'm in too deep in a way

There are others here who have been or still are "in too deep." I trust you will find much help here to do whatever you need to do to and eventually free yourself completely.

~Merry

6

JWs' use of Technology and Penton's "Jehovah's Witnesses in Canada"

by JW_Researcher in

.

i've put in an interlibrary loan request for m. james penton's "jehovah's witnesses in canada: champions of freedom of speech and worship" which i can't seem to be able to purchase for less than around $200.. i guess it's a strict "supply and demand" reason for the cost.. i'm looking at jws use of technology, especially the radio.

i have the proclaimers and divine purpose books and a scholarly article or two but does anyone know of any studies conducted in this area?.

MerryMagdalene

These probably aren't anything you don't already have, but they are all I know of myself. Sorry.

http://www.watchtower.org/library/jt/article_02.htm

from http://www.angelfire.com/nj2/piratejim/nycamhistory4.html :

WPOW - 1330 AM, New YorkJehovah's Witnesses was one of the first religious organizations to enter the broadcasting field.
In 1923, the International Bible Students' Association (as it was then called - the name 'Jehovah's Witnesses' waa adopted in 1931) bought the equipment of radio station WDT (see Page 1) at Stapleton, Staten Island, which the Ship Owners Radio Service was shutting down.
A year later, on February 24, 1924, Judge Franklin Rutherford, successor to the sect's founder, Charles Taze Russell, dedicated the new station, called WBBR, at Rossville in southwestern Staten Island.
Facilities and accomodations for the staff were in the 2½ story "Big House" at 111 Woodrow Rd.
WBBR's programming schedule included programs in several languages, including Yiddish and Arabic.
Judge Rutherford later expanded the radio operations into ownership of at least 7 stations in the United States and Canada, including outlets in the Chicago, Toronto, and Oakland areas.
On August 5, 1928, Rutherford broadcast on a chain of 96 stations, the largest radio network organized till that time.
Later, broadcasts were beamed via shortwave to over 400 stations worldwide, sometimes originating from WBBR's studios.
In the New York area, the Witnesses also bought time on WBNX (see Page 5), WOV (see above), WGBB, WFAS and WNEW (see Page 3).
But, Rutherford's attacks on other religions led many stations to drop his programs, sometimes cutting him off before he was finished.
WBBR started off on a frequency of 1230 AM in 1924, then moved to 1100 later that year.
In 1925, the station moved to 720 AM, unauthorized.
In 1927, WBBR moved again to 1170, and in 1928 to 1300 - in both instances, sharing time with other stations.
In 1931, the main studios were moved from Rossville to the sect's headquarters at 124 Columbia Heights in Brooklyn Heights, which also served as a residence for church workers.
In 1941, WBBR's license was transferred to the Watchtower Bible And Tract Society, the religion's publishing arm, and in March of that year, WBBR (and its share-time partners) moved to 1330 AM.
Judge Rutherford died in 1942 and was buried at Rossville in a Methodist cemetary within sight of the WBBR towers.
A fire at the Rossville transmitter in February 1945 put the station off the air briefly.
In 1946, WBBR erected a 411-foot, three-tower array at Rossville and two years later, the power was increased to 5000 watts.
A new structure housed the transmission equipment.
For all its days on the air, WBBR was powered by its own electrical generator.
In 1957, choosing to emphasize its publishing activity and stating that WBBR "no longer served the interests of the Kingdom," the Watchtower Bible And Tract Society sold its station to H. Scott Killgore's Tele-Broadcasters Of New York Inc. for $133,000.

An article about WBBR New York by Alice Brannigan-- http://members.aol.com/jeff560/am4.html

http://www.premier1.net/~raines/biola.html (different kind of radio)

~Merry

22

Hey there - New born

by BlessedStar in

jw
friends

hey all!

i'm the new guy on the block.

blessed star

MerryMagdalene

I don't usually welcome BS...but as long as it stands for BlessedStar--WELCOME

~Merry

50

Hi Im new and want to thank you all

by montana96 in

jw
friends

hi all on this thread.

i am very new here quite excited to finally make the move and register.

i have a very long story but i would like to leave that for another time perhaps.

MerryMagdalene

Welcome, Mercedes & HusbandAdding your voice to the others here gives strength to all and encouragement to those still lurking, watching, waiting. Bless you!

~Merry

35