Posts by Brymichmom

Sabine, I try not to just tell them a bold faced lie. Actually I've been an XJW for a lot longer than I was in for. I was only "in" for 8 years and I've been out for 22 years. But I always use the "relatives" approach when speaking to them. So of course, if you in anyway let them know that you are an "XJW", then that will send them running with their tails between their legs. It's sad, but because they are so programmed to respond negatively to any hint of "apostasy" we have to hide to fact that we were once JW's. I don't see any other way of dealing with them.

Cynthia

31

How many did YOU recruit?

by In_between_days in

jw
friends

just a quick question, and one that seems to take jehovahs witnesses back a little, an extremely good question to ask a pioneer.

"so, with all your hours of service, how many people have you actually brought into the jehovahs witness organisation?".

um.... genuinely, 100% of my old jw freinds have all been raised in the organisation.

Brymichmom

Actually, I only was responsible for recruiting one person into the WT organization. When I left 22 years ago, she was still in. The sad thing is that I heard that she died about 10 years ago. She died of cancer, and a "battered lamb". She is the one person that I truly grieve over. I had heard that while she was DYING and in a wheelchair (she had an inoperable brain tumor, cancerous) her MS husband was still hitting her!

Cynthia

7

Had JW's at my door on Saturday

by Brymichmom in

jw
friends

well i rarely get jw's at my door at all.

but today, i had them in my neighborhood and boy, oh boy, what an experience!

it was two youngish, 20-something females.

Brymichmom

Well I rarely get JW's at my door at all. But today, I had them in my neighborhood and boy, oh boy, what an experience! It was two youngish, 20-something females.

The first thing I did before she could go off into any pre-rehearsed speech about "world conditions", was to let them know that I knew who they were. I said, "Yes, I know who you are. You are Jehovah's Witnesses, and I already know quite a bit about your organization because my parents joined your organization some "years" ago. I'll have to say, that I can't agree with a lot of your teachings. One of the things that bothers me is that I found out recently that the Watchtower was a member of the United Nations for quite a few years as a 'non-governmental organization'. What bothers me about this is that your Watchtower has always said that that the UN is an evil organization and teaches that it is the image of the wild beast in Revelation 13. But yet, the Watchtower had chosen to join them as an NGO. That doesn't make sense and is very inconsistent. Later on I found out that last Fall the WT quietly ended their relationship with the UN. That is very inconsistent."

"The other thing that really bothers me is the whole blood issue. I found out that the reason JW's don't accept blood is because of some scriptures in the Bible that seem to forbid blood. Then I found out that your organization allows you to have certain 'fractions' of blood. Now if blood is just WRONG, then you shouldn't be having any blood at all, and having fractions of blood would be just as wrong."

At this point she tried to stop me and tell me about world conditions and that Bible study was so important. I agreed with her and told her that I was a Christian. I then quoted her from John 6:68 where Peter is saying, "Lord, to whom shall we go?" I went on to explain that what we need to do as individuals is come to the Lord Jesus Christ as it says in this very scripture. I told her all we really need is Christ in our lives, not an organization or any particular church, that it's all about coming to Christ. (as the next verse in 69 says, "Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God") The Watchtower ALWAYS uses this scripture as a ploy to keep their members from leaving. The WT makes them believe that there is no where to go once you leave the WT--does everyone remember that?

Well I did this in front of my husband, my sons, and my ex husband (that's another story) happened to be there at the time. I was so busy talking to these gals that I hadn't really noticed the other girl who was with this JW I had been addressing. My husband said that the other girl's mouth dropped as I said all this stuff.

The thing is, I didn't try to "slam" them with anything. All I tried to do was to plant "seeds" in their mind to get them to think. I am not angry with the average "rank and file" JW. I would love to see them come out of this dastardly organization. I looked at these girls and possibly thought that they could have been "silent lambs" who had been abused in the past. I don't know anything about them, but maybe someday, they will think about what I have said and start to think outside the perimeters that the WT has drawn for them.

Cynthia

42

I'm With TR!

by LDH in

jw
friends

i have really enjoyed getting to know so many of you.

don't consider this a permanent goodbye, as i'll most likely stop back every now and again to see how you are faring.

and to keep you updated with me and the family deal.. the reality is, this board was great for me while i was pregnant, i was so sick.

Brymichmom

I'll miss seeing your posts over here, but maybe you'll have some time for my forum now Anyway, please write when you can and give your baby a "snuggle" for me, ok?

Love, Cynthia

41

Test: Where do you stand politically?

by JanH in

jw
friends

sometimes political orientation is described through a left-right axis only, which is obviously inadequate as it tends to associate gandhi and stalin, and make pol pot a radical and hitler a conservative.. this is a good, short test that asks you a number of questions and places you on a two-dimensional axis.. take it here: http://www.digitalronin.f2s.com/politicalcompass/.

i took the test and got the following result:.

your political compass:economic left/right: -1.12. authoritarian/libertarian: -6.21. that is, centrist with a slight leftist bent, strongly libertarian.

Brymichmom

This was me:

Economic Left/Right: 3.12
Authoritarian/Libertarian: 0.46

Cynthia

2

DISNEYCUTY, et al

by QUEENIE in

jw
friends

for the time being consider me unable to attend the xjwmeetup i my area bakersfield this one...when someone lists themselves and then i find out your e-mail addy is no longer a functioning one--i get rather suspicious among other things / u say you r only out of the org a rather short one year--hmmmmm / queenie has been out 11 yrs and intend on keeping it that way especially since watching dateline may 24th regarding jw--perverts, etc.

all 24,700 of them and probaby a lot more that have not been discovered.. peace queenie

Brymichmom

Queenie, Disneycutie recently changed her email address, just a few days ago. She must have forgotten to change it on her profile. She really is a very nice person.

Cynthia

119

Are the MEN apostates more imp. than the WOMEN?

by LDH in

jw
friends

well, here are my thoughts on the subject.

we sit here and bash the wbts for having gender separation, but what about us apostates?

do the women apostates carry as much weight as the men, and why do you say so?

Brymichmom

Lisa, for me it took 17-18 years of shunning. It was awful to be shunned by my parents for so long. After all that time, they finally decided to start speaking to me again. We talk and visit now, but never mention religion. Part of the reason for their change I think was that they are getting older (69, 70) and they never knew their grandchildren.

I have a feeling that my parents are tired of being JW's but are too pig-headed to admit it. In April when I visited them in AZ, I spied upon some "medical power of attorney" documents in the corner of the room that were not filled out. I visited them again about 6 weeks later, and the documents were still there untouched.

I don't feel angry with my parents for not speaking to me. I am angry that the WT has so much control over them. When I first left the WT, I tried every method there was to try to get them to listen. Nothing worked. So I kept quiet for 17-18 years. Now they act as though nothing happened and they go out to dinner with me. Weird, huh?

Cynthia

119

Are the MEN apostates more imp. than the WOMEN?

by LDH in

jw
friends

well, here are my thoughts on the subject.

we sit here and bash the wbts for having gender separation, but what about us apostates?

do the women apostates carry as much weight as the men, and why do you say so?

Brymichmom

Lisa, you said, " I do love this board, and have some wonderful friends on it, but my soul-searching is moving me in a different direction lately.

What direction do you mean? Please explain .

Cynthia

119

Are the MEN apostates more imp. than the WOMEN?

by LDH in

jw
friends

well, here are my thoughts on the subject.

we sit here and bash the wbts for having gender separation, but what about us apostates?

do the women apostates carry as much weight as the men, and why do you say so?

Brymichmom

Hey Lisa, you forgot me! I'm running a support group for XJW's in Los Angeles and I have my California Yahoo Group (75 members strong now!) and have just set up my own website. The website is still under construction, but I've got a lot of good ideas for it.

Cynthia

Brymichmom

Posts by Brymichmom

Economic Left/Right: 3.12Authoritarian/Libertarian: 0.46

Economic Left/Right: 3.12
Authoritarian/Libertarian: 0.46