Posts by ValiantBoy

You betcha. My home cong was in a town with a population of 700. Most of the cong lived in town. We had about 30 publishers in a four block radius. You couldn't pass gas without the whole cong knowing it.

35

might go back to the meetings - what am I getting myself into?

by jwbot in

jw
friends

well my sister and her husband are now working towards figuring out the custody issues and divorce.

both being very civil about it.

my sister will most likely be disfellowshipped as she is with another man (a very nice british guy, actually).. .

ValiantBoy

It is very nice of you to encourage your sister to find her own path. We have to realize that even though we disagree with witnesses, we have to respect the decisions that other people make. I try to encourage my mom when I can, but I am also honest. As long as being a witness is making her happy, then I'll support her. But I won't ever excuse the things that the org does that are wrong.

22

same-sex relationships

by mamas in

jw
friends

i was recently disfellowshipped for being involved in a relationship with another female.

its been hard for me especially since my family no longer has association with me.

i love my lady so much and i miss my family so much.

ValiantBoy

I was not disfellowshipped for being gay. But the fact that Iam makes it all that easier for my former friends to shun me. My dad was never a Witness and has always been supportive. My sisters have both left the "truth" and are supportive. My mom is inactive. Initially she was very difficult. But when she saw how much my boyfirend cared about me and how devoted we were to each other, she became more understanding. In fact, she always asks about Dan and even welcomes both of us at her house..but we still can't spend the night...

12

International assemblies - $$$$ aspect

by JustTickledPink in

jw
friends

my mother is 61 yoa and has always lived on the brink of poverty.

a little over a year ago she said that there had been an annoucement of an "international assembly" in australia.

she applied.

ValiantBoy

I agree, Tickled, as shepherds the elder should have given your mom more realistic advice. She sounds like a very sincere person and it is very sad that this happened. There is so much of push to put first he kingdom and you'll be taken care of that it is hard to keep a realistic view of financial limitations

7

My story

by ValiantBoy in

this will be quite lengthy.

as it turns out, another member on here and i know each other and had some association a few years back when we were both active witnesses.

he says i should post my story.

ValiantBoy

Since it will probably not be discussed again, my grandfather never served jail time. He was convicted when I was 12 of propositioning my five year old cousin. His sentence was a couple of years of forced AA and a suspended sentence. Of course when my cousin came forward, everyone said she was lying..me included. A couple of years later he was charged with abusing another 5 year old cousin. This incident ocurred while he was watching her because my aunt (who is a Witness) and uncle had taken my Grandmother to the hospital because she had a diabetes related stroke. Anyhow, my aunt and uncle were not going to report it or press charges if he agreed to go back to AA. But he siad no, so they turned him in. After that, his two daughter both admitted that he had abused them when they were young. He died while waiting for trial and the world is a better place for it.

I never told my family what happened to me until Sept of 2004. I was ashamed that it happened. And I felt guilty because, sincce I didn't tell, it gave him the opportunity to hurt my cousins. And since I am gay, I was afraid that my family would say that was what made me gay and try to use that as wedge to not accept me for who I am. Fortunately, though, my parents were very understanding and it was very therapeutic for me to talk to them.

10

Why don't JW's Fast ????

by Why Georgia in

jw
friends

.

there are references in the bible to jesus fasting and prayfully meditating.. so my question then is why don't jehovahs witnesses as an organization ask their members to fast?.

why don't you ever hear about fasting at the kh?.

ValiantBoy

I like to eat too much. But I knew a Witness family that fasted on a regular basis. Sometimes they would do a complete fast and at other times they would do what they called an "apple fast," where they just ate apples for a day or two. They were odd, but the dad was an elder and the mom and daughters were pioneers. They moved to our cong to serve where the need was great.

Now he is no longer an elder and they have divorced. And they are in trouuble for not paying their taxes. Apparently even self contractors have to pay taxes.

12

International assemblies - $$$$ aspect

by JustTickledPink in

jw
friends

my mother is 61 yoa and has always lived on the brink of poverty.

a little over a year ago she said that there had been an annoucement of an "international assembly" in australia.

she applied.

ValiantBoy

While I agree with Mulan, I have known several poor pioneers that were able to go. One siister went to Brazil. She scrimped and saved and relied on friends to pay her way. My circuit overseer who taught my pioneer school class went to Ukraine. Again, though, he had "sponsors". And of course both he and the pio sister always encouraged other people to try to go to International Conventions, saying that expense would be no prob, because if you seek first the kingdom, Jehovah will provide. It is very easy to get caught up in that reasoning.

But, ultimately, we have to count the cost for ourselves. I saw the revers happen as well. A poor pio sister, the type that has always lived in low income housing and who really doesn't work, just lives off the state and pioneers, get approved to go to South Africa. She could not come up with the money. It was gut wrenching for her, but she was not bitter.

5

Huge Assembly in Bangalore - is this exploitation?

by eyeslice in

jw
friends

when the service began shortly after dark, official estimates placed the number of people who had already found their place in the vast area at more than 1.5 million.

as the 2,100-voice choir began to minister, the people kept streaming into the area, and by the time the service was less than an hour old, more than 2 million were lifting their hands and praising god.

benny hinn is currently in india preaching to hundreds of thousands of people.

ValiantBoy

Benny Hinn associated with exploitation? You've got to be kidding...

Several of my coworkers are very religious and enjoy TBN and have an evangelical radio station going all day long. Even they won't listen to Benny Hinn because they say he is a showy hypocrite. They also avoid Paul and Jan WhateverTheirLastNameIs for the same reason