Posts by AshtonCA

36

Is Wearing a Cross wrong?

by AshtonCA in

ever since leaving the org 10+ years ago, i have often wondered about wearing a cross and if it is wrong to do.

i think the jw's see it as an idol, and i do know that the baptists actually pray to the cross because after i left the org, i became baptist for 2 years and they did pray to the big cross on the wall.

i'm not sure i believe that praying to the cross is such a good thing to do, but is wearing one as a symbol of my belief wrong?

AshtonCA

As the JWs dont believe Jesus died on a cross, it shouldnt be a problem, now if you wanted to wear a stake that another thing

If I wore one wouldn't I attract flies after awhile? :) Oh wait, that's stake, not steak! sorry lol

Asht

62

Let's do something big for this year's memorial !

by Simon in

enough of the wts intimidation and getting away with all sorts of crap.

we, "the people", have more power than they, "the establishment", do.. this year i propose that we make ourselves heard and noticed.

that as many people as possible protest at their beloved memorial - the one event that is "most sacred" to them.. i am not suggesting that we disrupt or do anything illegal but simply that we exercise our right to take up their offer of free wine and make a statement.. go, drink.

AshtonCA

stayed home for the very first time last year. My hubby and I drank the wine and I baked some bread. (Several people had recepies up on the board.) We read the passages from the scriptures and offered prayer. . I may not feel the need to do that this year, but it was sort of tramatic misssing the first memorial. I feel failry ok about it now. I really liked doing my own service.

This sounds just what we do! Good for you and don't stop doing it. Be happy in your celebration, enjoy your family and don't forget to include the passover celebration in this as well. Remember, Jesus was celebrating the Passover when he broke the bread and drank the wine with his apostles.

Also remember that the JW's have the day wrong, they are one day off every year. Passover/Memorial this year is March 23, not 24. I've posted on this subject before :) I think I'm obsessing about it lol

Ash

36

Is Wearing a Cross wrong?

by AshtonCA in

ever since leaving the org 10+ years ago, i have often wondered about wearing a cross and if it is wrong to do.

i think the jw's see it as an idol, and i do know that the baptists actually pray to the cross because after i left the org, i became baptist for 2 years and they did pray to the big cross on the wall.

i'm not sure i believe that praying to the cross is such a good thing to do, but is wearing one as a symbol of my belief wrong?

AshtonCA

Hi all,

Ever since leaving the org 10+ years ago, I have often wondered about wearing a cross and if it is wrong to do. I think the JW's see it as an idol, and I do know that the Baptists actually pray to the cross because after I left the org, I became baptist for 2 years and they did pray to the big cross on the wall.

I'm not sure I believe that praying to the cross is such a good thing to do, but is wearing one as a symbol of my belief wrong? My mom can't stand the thought of wearing something that Jesus died on, and she does see it as an idol, but I am not sure I feel that way.

Thanks for your help on this one.

Ash

46

How did you brutally destroy your WT publications?

by Nosferatu in

jw
friends

the only wt publication i brutally destroyed was a brand new copy of the revalation book.

i was so frustrated with the religion that i ripped the goddam thing into a hundred pieces.

it was a great way to take my anger out on it.. years later when i was dating this one girl, she had a copy of that same stupid book.

AshtonCA

Actually, books do not burn that easily at all, because the pages are so tight and close together. Oxygen only get to the edges

Yes, that's why my brother crinkles up all the pages before he put it in. It just took forever anway. My mom was saying, see? Satan doesn't want it to burn, I didn't believe that, but she sure did.

Ashton

36

Anointed to Apostate

by groovycat. in

jw
friends

hey, .

does anyone know if any of the 144,000 has left the jw's due to a change in beliefs?

what was the reaction of their hall?

AshtonCA

They used to be, way back in the day, but they no longer are, and as far as I have heard, it is no longer a requirement to be so.

Ash

36

Anointed to Apostate

by groovycat. in

jw
friends

hey, .

does anyone know if any of the 144,000 has left the jw's due to a change in beliefs?

what was the reaction of their hall?

AshtonCA

Yes, my mother was anointed in the mid 70's, and because she was a woman and not an elder, she was shunned for saying she was anointed. She was treated horribly by most of the members and friends we had at the time. She pertook of the bread and wine every memorial and she was looked down upon and riduculed by every elder in every congergation we ever went to. I spent my whole life defending her being one of the anointed. My dad suffered the torchers of the damned because he didn't want to lose his wife. Every memorial was so sad for our family. I and my father and I took it the hardest. He would actually stay in his room for 3 days after every memorial, crying his heart.

We grew up with the notion that she was going to die and leave us behind and go to heaven, however, she did always say that no matter what, she was going to do what Christ did and come back and visit us, just like he did with his apostles, so it made it easier on us. We were very young when she first got her calling.

In the early 90's, she DA'd herself due to changes in beliefs, as did the whole family. We now believe that there is not a set number who will go to heaven and leave their families behind, but that all who walk in Jesus' footsteps are to celebrate the Lord's Evening meal (Passover), which means we should all be taking "communion" as it is known in other religions. So, my entire family celebrates Passover and we break bread and drink wine just like Jesus did. We make the meal they made and we use unleavend bread and red wine and we say a prayer for each and we pass them around and we ALL take. We do make it solemn, but we enjoy ourselves because we don't have the sadness we had looming over our heads as we did then. posted about this subject in another thread, but I can't find the thread now.

The scripture that led us to this new belief and understanding is Mathew Chapter 28, the latter part where it says:

Mat 28:19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
Mat 28:20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

This tells us to do what he had commanded the apostles, and part of that was to continue to celebrate passover and partake in the sacrements, which he added to the passover celebration on the night of Nisan 14. So, for the last 10+ years, every "memorial" (we no longer call it memorial, we call it passover celebration just as it was in Jesus' day), we have a wonderful feast of lamb, bitter herbs and unealvend bread, with other side dishes, of course. Remember, Jesus celebrated Passover his entire life. The screments were added on the night of his last Passover celebration when he broke the bread and wine and shared it with his apostles. He said to continue doing this in remembrance of me, and we are to do this today, all of us, each and every one of us, not a select few.

We do not follow the roman calendar, which is not accurate. Memorial is on March 23rd this year, not what the JW's say it is. The roman calender, the one we use every day, is wrong, Nisan 14 is accurate on the Jewish Calendar. If you can't find a jewish calendar, do a search for one on the net. The reason the roman calendar is wrong is because the jews did not go by that calendar, they went by their own and it still is used today to establish the date for Passover, each year.

Don't get me wrong, I have not converted to Judaism, we just celebrate that day the way it was in the bible because that is the most accurate way one should celebrate it on the right day.

I hope you take this as it was meant, to inform and to enlighten, and I hope that I am not stepping on anyone's toes.

Ash

35

having a hard time making friends

by happy camper in

jw
friends

i was wondering if anyone else has had a hard time making friends since leaving the organization.

being raised as a jw, it seems difficult to me, as i was never allowed to have any friends who weren't other jw's.

as a result, i have isolated myself to only my immediate family.

AshtonCA

Yes, me too. our family moved around a lot growing up. My mom was sick and we were always trying to find a place she could live in (asthma). Actually, her asthma is now pretty much gone and she still moves around a lot. She has never stayed for longer than 7 years in one place. She has been in L.A. for the last 6 years now and she is now moving to TX.

We lived in FL (where I was born), NV, AZ, CA, and OR. We never lived more than 7 years in any one of those, except CA where I am back to now and have been here since 1993.

I dont' know what it is about my mom and her inability to make roots and stay in one place. I feel so bad for my dad! They have no retirement money because of this moving around and job changing. I just shake my head everytime I get a call about their "next adventure".

Ash

35

having a hard time making friends

by happy camper in

jw
friends

i was wondering if anyone else has had a hard time making friends since leaving the organization.

being raised as a jw, it seems difficult to me, as i was never allowed to have any friends who weren't other jw's.

as a result, i have isolated myself to only my immediate family.

AshtonCA

I am 37 years old, I was one of JW's for 23 of those years from birth up, in 1990, at the age of 23 (still living at home), I was DF'd for having a relationship with an unbeliever ( was caught on the couch with him, I am now married to him). I was raised very isolated and I always thought it was just how strict my parents were, I didn't know it was an org. thing, or I just never put it together. We were home schooled, so we didn't even have a chance to be around other kids. We were not allowed to play with our neighbor's kids, and they would look over our fence in our back yard and watch us play, but we couldn't talk to them, it was shear hell. I felt worse for them than I did us, however. To this day, I have only had 6 close friends, 3 of which were in the "truth". The other 3 were when I left the org.

One was DA'd and we weren't allowed to talk to her. The story on this one is agonizing and I hate that we did it to her. She went with her mom and our family to Disneyland one year with her boyfriend and we did not speak to her the whole time she was there with us, we ignored her the whole trip. Later on, the org. turned around and had changed their policy on DA'd persons who were not baptized, and they no longer DA'd someone who was not baptized, but by then it was too late, the damage was already done. I grew up with this girl and she was like a sister to me, and to this day, I am saddend and angry over what we did to her.

I find it very difficult to make friends and keep them. I don't go anywhere or try to make new friends; however I want to, I have an urge to, but I don't know how. I am still leary of anyone, and if they don't fit a certain mold, I will reject them.

We are choosing not to raise our sons in this manner. My oldest, 11, is probably the most popular kid in our complex. He has both male and female friends and he is allowed to go to their houses to play. We are choosy whom we allow him to have as friends, however. He has let go of a few friends who were just into bad stuff, and even he said he didn't like being around them because of their choices in how they acted. He doesnt' swear, and if his friends do, he will tell them that it's not right to swear, and so far, they actually listen to him! If they are doing something that he knows is wrong, he will flat out tell them that it's wrong and he will walk away and not join in. They look toward him for guidance, which is surprising! Usually, these types of kids will pick on someone like our son, but they don't they actually act better when he's around! We have been told by our managers in our complex that our son is a joy to have and they wished that all kids were like he is, that he never acts up like they do and he is respectful and we are very proud of him. Can't you tell? lol.

I can't do to him what was done to me, so we allow him to make friends. He is homeschooled, however, for now. But, eventually he will go to high school. Our youngest will not be homeschooled, I don't think. He's only 4 months old, so I have time to decide if I can do it again. Homeschooling has not been easy for me, I'm not as smart as my mom who was able to put 4 children through 17 years of homeschooling. My 3 brothers all graduated high school by the age of 16, and were in college by then as well, I on the other hand, was not so lucky, I struggled with school due to ADD and learning DA's. My son's in the 4th grade and I am already struggling lol.

okay, this is long enough, sorry.

Ash

14

Young People Ask: Where do I go from here?

by truthseeker in

jw
friends

if you're a young practising jw, maybe you've read the glossy brochure released in 2002 entitled, "youths - what will you do with your life?

did the idea of a full-time career in "jehovah's service" as a bethelite, ministerial servant, or international quick-build volunteer appeal to you?

or maybe you had other interests - maybe you were already at college or studying for a degree.

AshtonCA

My father entered Bethel at 17 years of age and did 3 years. He said it was the most horrid time of his life and he tried to get out of it, but they would not let him leave. Kinda sounds like the Armed Forces to me. He did however learn a lot and worked his entire life in the printing industry. He just retired this year from this industry.

So, basically he spent 45 years as a printer. He never went to college, until in his adulthood. in the 70's, he and my mother went back to school and got their master degrees. I remember we stayed home (4 kids) alone while they went to night classes.

One thing that happend to him while he was at Bethel was, when he was working on one of the presses, something broke off the press, I can't remember what, and hit him in the mouth and shoved one of his eye teeth up into the roof of his mouth. To this day, it is still up in there. It isn't noticeable, unless he mentions it.

Ash

23

Hello

by Es in

jw
friends

hello to everyone, my name is esther and i am from australia.. i was directed to this website from my ex husband who also was a jw.

i guess in the truth we still are as we have not been df or disocciated ourselves.. i just wanted to say hi.

this is a great website, i had been brought up in the truth and had only decided to leave about 2 years ago, when my marriage was failing,i'm not a person who lives great by other peoples rules, especially when i dont agree with half of them.

AshtonCA

Hi Esther,

I know how you feel about holidays, but luckily, even though my parents were both very much a part of the organization (dad was an elder for 17 years), my parents never believed that birthdays were wrong, so my mother wrote the org. and asked them what was their take on birthdays and they told her that it was up to each individual's conscience to celebrate or not to celebrate and that it was not an df'ing or da'ing offense, but you know how that is.

Knowing this, my parents did give us birthdays, but they usually did not buy us presents, we only got a cake and they sang us happy birthday. We did not have any friends to share this with because, unfortunately, we grew up with few friends because no one was ever good enough (bad associations), so birthdays were really lonely. Even most of the kids in the halls were not good enough (most weren't, but still it was lonely).

Also, my dad loved Christmas music, so even though we didn't celebrate it, if it was on the radio around that time, we never changed the radio. We now celebrate Christmas and have for about 10 years. My mother refuses to include Santa as any part of her holiday, but my hubby and I do. He's not the focus, but he's included.

Ash