TheListener

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Posts by TheListener

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  21

  My sister who is still in is going to Costa Rica as a missionary

  by time2keepmoving in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i left the organization in 2011 and never look back.

  i left behind my sister and her two daughters by mid 2015 both her daughters (both are in their early twenties) were disfellowshipped and left the organization.

  she has decided to go to costa rica as a missionary (i guess that's what they are still calling them, unless that has changed, been gone so long i don't know if they came up with a new term for it).

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  TheListener

  Don't worry, she'll be back in a few years and be looking to borrow money or to have you help her with retirement. It seems the witnesses trust in J with everything they have....until it comes time to retire. At retirement it's all 'is your basement being lived in...?'
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  57

  Did you participate in a Drama?

  by Hecce in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i am bringing this up because even it was a lot of work, for the majority of the friends this was a rewarding experience.

  camaraderie, joking, costumes, props and when the time came the celebrity status of being in the drama.. back in the 50s and 60s, conventions could be as long as 8 days and from about 1966 the dramas became an integral part of the program.

  we had one per day and the brothers looked forward to their presentation.

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  TheListener

  When I was a teenager my parents were in a drama, they may have played a friendly modern day circuit overseer and his wife (which wasn't far off the mark from their real lives). I was not included. I went to several rehearsals and helped my parents practice their arm waving. They have always said it was a mixed blessing. On one hand it was something different and exciting but on the other hand it was stressful and time consuming.
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  15

  Another JW Literature Trolly Experience

  by Athanasius in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  this morning i stopped at dollar general to get a cheap container for waste paper.

  it was 11:30 am and there were two jw literature trolleys parked near the store and manned by three jws, on old man in a rolling chair, a 30 something man, and 30 something woman.

  as i walked by them i glanced at the their literature rack and proceeded into the store.. i was in the store for 20 minutes and made my purchase.

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  TheListener

  If it rains - the cart and literature melts.
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  23

  Drifting what i've feared has started already...

  by pale.emperor in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  im in the process of drifting out.

  my entire family are jw's.

  my wife and her family are too.

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  TheListener

  I hear you PE. I was in a similar situation. I reported 1 to 3 hours for many months before I just never turned in a report. At the same time I was going to barely any meetings. At some point you just disappear off the radar - that is unless you ride to the meetings with your elder father in law. I also traded talks with other brothers claiming sickness or work; not the same brother more than once or twice. Eventually, I just didn't get any more talks.

  I guess what I'm saying is that if you slowly fade or drift you have to keep up some sort of pretense for awhile which may mean reporting an hour or two. But, I have a feeling that with your particular family situation you are going to have more pressure and may eventually just have to go full "I'm depressed and sick, give me time to heal" on the couple of elders that are bugging you.
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  6

  Feeling anxious, venting...

  by stephanie61092 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  good morning all,.

  this is just a rambling post.

  at the meeting yesterday during the wt study, i started flipping through the magazine to try to pass the time.

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  TheListener

  Good for you Stephanie! I'm glad you are being proactive and moving forward. Please always feel free to vent your frustrations and share your good times here too.
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  6

  Feeling anxious, venting...

  by stephanie61092 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  good morning all,.

  this is just a rambling post.

  at the meeting yesterday during the wt study, i started flipping through the magazine to try to pass the time.

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  TheListener

  You deserve some big hugs ((((((HUGS))))). Life is hard enough without the WTS adding to our problems. I'm glad your parents are communicating and socializing with you. All witnesses know the WTS rules and regulations on disfellowshipping; most likely they have justified their relationship with you to themselves in some way. Their attitude may swing back and forth a bit but I really don't think that one article will suddenly make them realize that they need to change how they interact with you.

  But, please, get some professional counseling to get you through this. You deserve to be happy and not to have your happiness so dependent on your outside relationships that you could possibly harm yourself. A professional counselor can be so helpful and important to our healing and moving on in a healthy way.
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  40

  New K.Hall Design, Mansfield

  by BluesBrother in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  not mansfield u k , but mansfield in u s a - it doesn't look much, does it?

  in fact even the uber dubs on j w talk are not impressed (that must be a first!

  this thread of theirs is publicly readable:.

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  TheListener

  I received pictures from an old friend of a relatively new KH in the USA northeast and it doesn't look as bad as that. They must have changed the design even more than a two years ago.

  Love how the witnesses on that site can't even speak their mind about how they personally feel about the design of a KH. Seriously? That is so sad. And if you asked any of them in person they would only admit to maybe not liking it at first but now they looooove it.
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  33

  "But WHY would you want to know those things??"

  by stuckinarut2 in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  i ran into an older sister who has always been very sweet.. it was a friendly chat...yet she pushed for a reason why my family have been missing from meetings for some time.

  the question was deflected, until it just had to be said: "well, there have been some troubling and disturbing issues about the society especially the way things were handled during the royal commission, as well as many other issues".. she quickly cut in and said "but why would you want to know these things?

  its best not to research and look at those sort of things - so we don't get upset!".

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  TheListener

  Kairos, I love the comment you made.
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  77

  Trying To Leave - Im Going Crazy

  by pale.emperor in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  this is my first post.

  i really feel i need to leave the jw's rather than go along pretending everything is perfect etc.

  no friends, me at work.

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  TheListener

  The old "even if it isn't the truth...." bullcrap. I spouted it myself years ago. In my opinion you can only say that and mean it when you totally believe it's the truth or are trying to convince yourself it's the truth. Once you know it's all crap that statement just doesn't ring true.
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  19

  Memorial Audience Filled with Unbelieving Mates and Other Miserable Relatives

  by xjwsrock in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i looked around my hall and saw so many miserable unbelieving mates and relatives it was actually funny.

  they were in a glazed-over stupor.

  they looked liked children forced to go to an opera.

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  TheListener

  Thanks Diogenesister.