Posts by TheListener

283

Time again for........ Congregation roll call

by Jourles in

it's been a while since this topic has been brought up.

use it as a chance to see if there is someone you might know from years past.

1973-1976 --- lakeside, ca??

TheListener

Dwtnphotog, what years were you in Arroyo Grande?

12

Bethelite auto mechanics????

by asilentone in

jw
friends

where do bethel workers get their cars fixed?

do the bethelite mechanics fix it for free?

just wondering.

The Farm and the Brooklyn have auto repair shops. The Farm also has a repair shop for 18 wheelers. These are used primarly to maintain the Society's pool of cars but can also be used to repair bethelite cars, either by themselves on a Friday or Saturday evening or by appointment. The farm also has an automobile paint shop and body repair facility.

297

BETHELITES - Whatever Became of?

by Black Man in

jw
friends

i often times wonder what happened to certain bethelites that i ran around with during my 1990s tenure there.

while there are still a few left there, the greater majority of them aren't there for various reasons (marriage, disillusionment, left the borg, etc).

a couple of cats i wonder about - there was one brother who i believe was from kansas, who got his fingers cut off in a printing press.

TheListener

These are the type of threads that I find it dificult to read. Because I'm a fader I don't feel comfortable commenting on names I recognize or throwing my own old friends names out to the board.

When I was at bethel I was young and idealistic. I loved the organization and would have done anything they asked of me. Even at that I loved to party and visit various congregations each weekend. I remember all too well when the girls would come touring and us boys would strut around like peacocks trying to impress them.

Here's to having enough courage and freedom one day to really discuss my bethelite years openly on the board.

283

Time again for........ Congregation roll call

by Jourles in

it's been a while since this topic has been brought up.

use it as a chance to see if there is someone you might know from years past.

1973-1976 --- lakeside, ca??

TheListener

BTT for all the newbies that have shown up recently. Maybe some old friends can reconnect.

51

I think I just need to tell the story to someone who will get it?

by aimless in

hi everyone, im new.

i've been feeling a burden on myself for the years that i have been out and i just don't know how to ease it.

i can't talk about the organization or the people in it to anyone... if i try i immediately feel sick and want to close up and just disappear.

TheListener

Welcome Aimless.

What you posted took a lot of courage. I hope you enjoy the board and appreciate the variety of answers you received to your posts.

As I was reading your story I was rooting for your parents to stand up and demand the elders leave their house immediately. When they didn't I felt a let down. I can only imagine how you must have felt at the time. I'm really sorry you went through that.

You've found a place where your healing can begin.

70

How to make love & marriage work w/a JW

by StillinLove in

please dont comment saying to "run" or "get out while i can" thank you im not new to this, so i can handel it.

i have been with my boyfriend for 3 years, we started dating in high school and now i am going to college and he is working.

i am 20 and he is 21, i was raised catholic but my mom and i are too open minded for the church so we left.

TheListener

I don't know if you've picked up the term "worldly" from your boyfriend and his friends or from this board. If I were you I simply wouldn't use it. Don't allow yourself to be negatively categorized by anyone. It isn't fair.

I'm no psychologist, but I am going to take a guess here and say that you have Boundary issues. If so, this probably isn't the only example in your life where boundaries have become an issue. I recommend the following book. You can probably get it at the local library and it's a fairly quick read:

Boundaries - Where You End And I Begin: How To Recognize And Set Healty Boundaries by MA, Anne Katherine

70

How to make love & marriage work w/a JW

by StillinLove in

please dont comment saying to "run" or "get out while i can" thank you im not new to this, so i can handel it.

i have been with my boyfriend for 3 years, we started dating in high school and now i am going to college and he is working.

i am 20 and he is 21, i was raised catholic but my mom and i are too open minded for the church so we left.

TheListener

You've received a ton of responses and I haven't had the time to read them all yet.

I'm a faded witness but my wife and family are currently active.

My 2 cents:

If he leaves the religion for you then he'll probably return to it one day. The witnesses have a strong psychological attachment to their religion. Guessing by your college major you probably figured that out already. Proof of that attachment is the fact that you've not been introduced to everyone in his life and that he is purportedly still a witness while doing many many things that go against his religious creeds. Living 2 lives must cause a fair amount of stress. In his mind he's playing both worlds. That does not mean his love for you isn't real - from how you described him it probably is very real.

The caution is that at some point later in life something may happen, be it old age, severe medical trauma, having childen or whatever he is probably going to return to the witnesses. If he becomes an active witness in good standing then unfortunately your relationship will change.

You need help him realize that the witness religion isn't "the truth" and that being a witness isn't an automatic ticket into a new system. Until you (or someone else) does that you will always run the risk of him returning.

I wish you the best of luck. Sounds like you know what you want in life and are going for it. Great job.

9

Checking in with new friends...

by rache31 in

jw
friends

hey, just wondering what's going on in people's lives.

i'm doing okay and my sons are growing so fast it seems.

little by little my nonwitness family is getting the word that i'm reaching out to them.

TheListener

Sounds great Rache. Especially the part about reconnecting with aunts, uncles and others. Good job on being proactive and not letting a situation keep you down.

223

Diary of a thinking to return ex-Jw

by reniaa in

i thought long and hard about posting this but the mis-information on this site finally persuaded me, i already accept many may not accept what i say on face value and get their appologist pens ready for making sure no pro-witness propaganda slips through the net on this site but here goes....... i've been on this forum for a few months my first post was about how i was thinking of returning to jw's and at my sisters recommendation to look at this site for both sides of the story before taking that step.. i faded from jw's 10/11 years ago now i left my hubby at the time divorced him to going on to have more relationships and kids, i was definately given the impression after asking on this site and with what i read that if i tried to return i might face df or at least a jc but definately a couple of elders questioning me over what i've been upto these last few years - none of these have happened.

i talked with an old jw friend (yes i do have then and she never shunned me quite happily accepted an offer of coffee from me and my asking for a chat) i told her i was interested in going back and was very frank about what i done in the last 10 years but not sure how returning was done now, she quite happily said she go ask for me to find out.. result!

she came back this week and said "all i had to do was goto meetings again" and an offer of a study was there for me if i wanted it to explore the open doubts that i had expressed i now had.. not quite the fire and brimstone welcome this site led me to believe would happen.. i will keep you posted with further updates if i feel the need to put them in future.. .

TheListener

Reniaa,

I appreciate your dilemna and situation in life. You need to do what feels right for you. If that means becoming an active witness again I wish you all the best. My wife is an active witness and I love her very much.

As for me, I love God and his son Jesus very very much. I feel much better spiritually now then I ever did all the decades I was a witness. I have a personal relationship with Jesus. That means so much to me. I'm not born again, nor do I believe in a trinity, but I do believe the Bible is God's word and should direct our footsteps.

Several on this board have helped me understand the difference between wanting a teaching to be right and finding ways of agreeing with it and really evaluating a teaching/doctrine/understanding against a completely neutral background (or as neutral a background as a human is capable of). For that knowledge I will forever be grateful.

I truly do wish you much happiness Reniaa. If you ever want to talk about specific issues or doctrines in a non-confrontational way feel free to pm me.

4

"Lost Sheep" Campaign?

by hamsterbait in

jw
friends

one of metatron's threads had the suggestion that around 2009, the witchtower will try to reverse its losses by going after inactive ones.

lost sheep.. what i will laugh at if this happens, is that the gibbering buddy has already said that one is not judged as a sheep until armageddy.

so how can you be a "lost sheeple" - it is as nonsensical as saying that somebody is a "lost goat".. i can imagine dire threats.

TheListener

If it's a money driven organization I think they'll get less cash from reactivated members than they would from new suckers in 1st world countries.

They need to shift from 3rd world growth the 1st world growth - if they want to increase the cashflow. Money from the sale of buildings can only go so far.