its richie again.. i was thinking last night about my inevitable, fast approaching exit from the wtbts.
i guess that out of common courtesy, i will provide a copy of my disassociation letter to my mother, however, it is nothing more than a baptism nullification / gag order / i'll sue all of you letter.
its not one of those lengthy numbers that some have chosen to write.
Have you considered that
- You were baptized as a child
- You are not yet a legal adult (18 years)
1 + 2 = you can annul your baptism.
Oh! I really LIKE this one. If anyone could pull this off, our Richie would be the one to do it.
All the best, Richie.
-Aude.
like the subject title says, i'm hurt, desperate and confused and don't know what to do anymore.
i'm so desperate to have something to live for that i'm considering converting to something like the jehovah's witnesses.
i know this might seem a bit extreme but please hear me out.
jgnat wrote:
Just because, I am guessing, AA explores co-dependency, enabling, and blame. Besides, it gets you out of the house and out with other people.
It also explores spirituality and self-worth and personal growth.
And the price is right. Much cheaper than private psychiatrist. As I recall, it's a donation to help with the basic costs for the group (coffee, snacks, paper, pens, room 'rental'). Way back when, we each contributed $1 per person, per meeting. At one time there were other 12-step programs that were based on AA principles. CoDA (co-dependents) was one that I found extremely enlightening but the group that I really identified with was ACA (Adult Children of Alcoholics). I attended meetings with a friend just to see what she was learning and was amazed at what I learned about myself.
These groups are generally pretty social (even if just for the hour or so of the meeting). You may find that none of what is presented applies but most likely you will find, like you did here on JWD, that there are common threads and the people in the group will understand some of your situation and will respectfully help you find what you need to heal and grow.
Even now (15 years later), another friend of mine invites me to AA functions when I'm feeling lonely. I sometimes go just because they are fun and clean.
I know it seemed an unusual suggestion, but you might want to find a meeting close to you and pop in. If nothing else, just for the new experience. You won't have to lie. In fact, it's better if you don't.
Keep in touch.
-Aude.
like the subject title says, i'm hurt, desperate and confused and don't know what to do anymore.
i'm so desperate to have something to live for that i'm considering converting to something like the jehovah's witnesses.
i know this might seem a bit extreme but please hear me out.
Hi Very_Confused -
Welcome to JWD. I think this was great place for you to post and was happy to see that not only did you come back and submit such a warm post, but you also took some positive steps to improve your own life right now (School, diet, excercise, etc.). You comment about attending Mass intrigued me. I now consider myself more agnostic than anything but have this yearning to attend a Mass or two. Not sure why. I will probably do that in a few weeks.
You wrote:
...especially when this is a board that seems to be geared mainly towards ex Jehovah's Witness support, and I'm a person that's never even been afiliated with the Jehovah's Witnesses. You're a surprisingly compassionate bunch, thank you all for the kind words and warm welcomes.
My mind kept going back to this comment and I tried to think why. And why what you said is so true.
I think it's because even though we are mostly x-jw's and you were merely considering investigating/associating/joining, we have all to greater or lesser degrees been where you are in our own lives. At a crossroads. Sad. Alone. Looking for something to grab on to or connect with. Many here have truly lost everything - and all their family and friends and social status.
What you can see, though, is that each of us has found a way to move on with our lives and make them better than they were before. We learned to set goals that we wanted for ourselves. We started building lives that we wanted to live. We looked deep within our being and found what we love about ourselves.
JW or not, that's very human. And you were touched by human compassion and understanding.
Again, welcome to JWD. There are a few others who, for one reason or another, have stumbled on to this site and stuck around. I hope you stay. I think you'll like it. And if you want to just ramble and ramble and ramble on, go right ahead!! If someone really doesn't want to wade thru your entire post - they won't. No harm, no foul. But you get to 'say' what you want/need to say and might just get a comment, or two, or fifty and the knowledge that others can and do care.
You might even be helping someone who is more shy than you and is just browsing or lurking.
Enjoy your visit here and come back as often as you like.
-Aude.
biteme -
I vote that you are just twisted.
-Aude.
i always was fascinated with cars and driving.
when i was a child going to school, often i sat in the front seat, just to look at the bus driver change gears, press on the clutch and just by looking at the way he did it helped me when i drove my first manual transmission car.. here is a picture of my first car.
an old 1974 volks wagen beetle.
The day I turned 17 was the day I got my learner's permit.
I remember the news report from the car radio that day: Elvis Presley had died.
-Aude.
i do, i had to read ezekiel 9: (1-11)
and he proceeded to call out in my ears with a loud voice, saying: have those giving their attention to the city come near, each one with his weapon in his hand for bringing ruin!
there were six men coming from the direction of the upper gate that faces to the north, each one with his weapon for smashing in his hand; and there was one man in among them clothed with linen, with a secretarys inkhorn at his hips, and they proceeded to come in and stand beside the copper altar.
I remember mine. I was nine. I was the first one in my family to join the Theocratic Ministry School.
My parents had only been studying with the witnesses for 3 or 4 months. Neither of them had even given a talk yet. I wrote the entire talk myself.
I was assigned to the main hall but do not remember who my householder was.
The topic was: Court Judicial, The Sanhedrin from the Aid Book.
Who makes up these assignments??? I was NINE. LOL.
-Aude.
tonight we had a letter read "to all congregations in the united states".
i will paraphrase.
the graphics department has moved to walkill as from nov 30th 3005. this includes all artwork prepartion and other associated departments.
Once again, why do they need 4 new high-rise residence buildings in Manhattan??? Is there not a thinking one left among them? Build them withMy thoughts exactly. The WTS will make a mint from sale of their properties - both old and new. -Aude.free/cheap labor sorrydedicated baptized resources from the regional building committee then sell them at huge profit - makes total sense to me
seems firpo has got himself a gig on the la airwaves on sunday afternoons.
check out his extensive bio that mentions jws not one single time: .
http://progressivetalkam1150.com/weekendhosts.html .
Well, Firpo, I love ya even if noone else does.
I don't know who this is. Don't think I've ever even heard the name..?
Can you please tell more about how/why I/we should know him?
-Aude.
i have been trying to become a member of this site for weeks!
i started "lurking" soon after andersoninfo's big news.
i couldn't believe my timing!
Hi Looking -
What a nice introductory post. I'm so glad that you steeled your nerves and started participating in the discussion. I'm sure you will find this site to be even more valuable as the months go on.
I look forward to knowing more about you and your story.
Welcome!
-Aude Sapere (Meaning: Dare to Know; Dare to Have Wisdom/Understanding)
i'm so excited , i'm almost giddy .
wow ,ray has a lot to say, these books are thick !
which one should i start with or does it matter ?
Reading this thread reminded me of my own excitement when ordering my copies.
I also remembered this thread. Funny. It was a year ago today that Goldminer started this thread:
http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/7/82534/1.ashx
It's got some fun experiences of people's fear associated with ordering the book(s).
Amazing how fearful many of us were about ordering a book. And most of us are adults!
-Aude.
