Posts by boydarwin

10

Help with letter of dissociation

by boydarwin in

jw
friends

i am hoping someone here can help.

i have been a member here for a while but have never really been much of a poster.

i just like to read and learn more then anything else.. i have been a fall away now for several years.

boydarwin

Hello,

I am hoping someone here can help. I have been a member here for a while but have never really been much of a poster. I just like to read and learn more then anything else.

I have been a fall away now for several years. Over the past 6 months my life, family situation and marriage have changed dramatically. I have, after years of thinking about it, finally decided to seperate myself entirely and write a letter of dissociation. I can walk around living my life waiting for them to catch me on something and disfellowship me or i can leave on my own terms.

My problem - I do not know what to write or what it should say. I have seen examples on here before...but when I try searching for them now I am not getting many results back, and having a kind of a tough time. Can anyone direct me to where i can get an example of what I should be writing to cover any basis I made need to cover.

Thanking you all in advance for any help you might be able to give.

12

please help with translation

by boydarwin in

jw
friends

i have tried everywhere, searched the net, translation forums, googled.....you name it.. i am hoping that someone here might be able to help me or at least point me in the right direction.. i am looking for a translation of john 8:7. i am looking for the phrase "let the one among you without sin cast the first stone".

here is the catch, i want it in either aramaic or hebrew.

i love that verse, and it means a lot to me.

boydarwin

Narkissos,

Those are great, but I was more looking for the hebrew type, the old YHWH style drilled into my head as a kid, any ideas

12

please help with translation

by boydarwin in

jw
friends

i have tried everywhere, searched the net, translation forums, googled.....you name it.. i am hoping that someone here might be able to help me or at least point me in the right direction.. i am looking for a translation of john 8:7. i am looking for the phrase "let the one among you without sin cast the first stone".

here is the catch, i want it in either aramaic or hebrew.

i love that verse, and it means a lot to me.

boydarwin

thanks thinker,

That is my problem, I don't read hebrew, and to be honest I am not that "talented" when it comes to the internet. I was focusing more on the aramaic. I did find sites but nothing plain and obvious and I guess that is more what I need. But I do appreciate the link as I was not having much luck. Hopefully someone else can help.

12

please help with translation

by boydarwin in

jw
friends

i have tried everywhere, searched the net, translation forums, googled.....you name it.. i am hoping that someone here might be able to help me or at least point me in the right direction.. i am looking for a translation of john 8:7. i am looking for the phrase "let the one among you without sin cast the first stone".

here is the catch, i want it in either aramaic or hebrew.

i love that verse, and it means a lot to me.

boydarwin

I have tried everywhere, searched the net, translation forums, googled.....you name it.

I am hoping that someone here might be able to help me or at least point me in the right direction.

I am looking for a translation of John 8:7. I am looking for the phrase "let the one among you without sin cast the first stone"

Here is the catch, I want it in either aramaic or hebrew.

I love that verse, and it means a lot to me. So much so that I have for many years I have wanted to get it as a tattoo. My own little statement so to speak. I have finally decided to go through with it and now am hunting to find it so I can get it done. Does anybody have any ideas.

21

Did You Feel Being Disfellowshipped Or Reproved Was Justified???

by minimus in

jw
friends

at the time you got "disciplined", did you feel you "deserved" it??

what about now????

?

boydarwin

After I was DF'd, I was very upset as I thought it wasn't fair. There were alot of weird circumstances around mine that I will not go into at this point.

My father, a very prominent elder at the time, in an effort to try explain and perhaps put my mind at ease, filled me in on what I considered to be a shocking little elder secret that runs rampant within the elders when it comes to "judicial" matters.

He told me that in most cases, despite the wide spread elder B.S. about the spirit directing these matters, the elders will choose to DF if the case is public or tricky or if there is any risk that the JW public would be concerned about the case. The reason and I quote "The elders can't loose if they make the choice to DF because it gives them a guarantee of being right".

There reasoning: If the person never comes back, or makes no attempt to come back they were right in that they removed a bad seed from within there ranks. If the person makes the effort, repents and comes back, the corrective discipline administered was just, loving and helped turn the person around.

I find that disgusting. I was reinstated, so they must have done the right thing. That way I could fade away on my own.

72

Please say hi to my 6 year old...this is his first post.

by FreedomFrog in

jw
friends

.

booooooooooooooooooooooooo.

hee hee hee hi i'm zach this is my frrst post

boydarwin

Hi Zach

1

question re DF and DA

by boydarwin in

jw
friends

a few days back i read a thread in here about either an upcoming or recent change in the way annoucements will be made regarding someone being disfellowshipped or disasocciated.

i reread all the post there but would like a little more info if anyone has it.. if i understand correctly, anyone who is to be df'd or who had da'd themselves will have an annoucement read that they are "no longer a jw".

i understand this when it comes to someone saying "enough is enough, pull my card from your files, i no longer consider myself one of you, i'm outa here".

boydarwin

A few days back I read a thread in here about either an upcoming or recent change in the way annoucements will be made regarding someone being disfellowshipped or disasocciated. I reread all the post there but would like a little more info if anyone has it.

If I understand correctly, anyone who is to be DF'd or who had DA'd themselves will have an annoucement read that they are "no longer a JW". I understand this when it comes to someone saying "enough is enough, pull my card from your files, I no longer consider myself one of you, I'm outa here".

Although I am a fade away for about 10 years now, I was still baptized. If they nailed me for something now, chances are they would DF me and tell everyone I am no longer in the club. Here lies my question. If for some monumentally stupid reason I decided that I wanted back in. I would be a good boy, repent meet wih them until they once again approved me and let me back. Would I have to be re-baptized? If they say you are no longer a JW, they imply that I have turned my back on my dedication to god (and from reading these boards the organization, something i really didn't know i had done) and have left. At that point how would reinstatement work. Can you all of a sudden be one again without re jumping threw the hoops.

One more question...if I DA'd myself, would they still shun me? Can they still shun those they DF. For example: If I was a hard core member right now, lets just say I have a neighbor who is "worldly". Although I would no that I am not supposed to spend huge amounts time with them or associate with them. I am not required to treat them like crap. I am supposed to love my neighbor in hopes they see the light and sign on the dotted line. Right?

Well if the just announce that I am no longer a JW if I am DF'd or DA'd are they not just reverting my status to that of my neighbor example, and as such should treat me with respect, dignity and love.

I know this was a long way to ask a simple question, but would appreciate your input. This in my mind is a huge change for the WTS and I am just curious about the impact to me and my family as a potential DF or DA depending on which road I take in the future.

9

help with my parents

by boydarwin in

jw
friends

at times, i have shared my feelings, questions and doubts with my father.

i am always careful.

i never try to force anything on them.

boydarwin

At times, I have shared my feelings, questions and doubts with my father. I am always careful. I never try to force anything on them. My parents have had a rough go of things the last 10 or so years. I should explain. I was (or still am, as I guess I am a fade away, not d'fd or d'a) a third generation witness. I was destined for greatness in the organization. My grandfather, long before there were elders was the leader for lack of a better word of the witness community as it existed way back when. When the elder arrangement was put in place, my grandfather and father were given the top dog jobs. My brother and I were given responsibilities at a young age. I gave my first talk at 4 years old. I regave it at an international assembly when I was 9. I was made a servant at 17. I was told by the PO that If i played my cards right I would be an elder by 20. My brother followed suit.

I was the first nut to crack. The pressure, and doubts I struggled with became to heavy. I had a tremedous head knowledge. But my parents never got it into my heart. When I was eventully disfellowshiped it caused quite a scandal. My father was forced to step down. I was reinstated after about 6 months. Mostly because I bluffed my way through but more I think for the sake of my father. Then my brother slipped and got the boot too. He spiraled int depression and eventually committed suicide. As a result of his "family name" falling from grace, the enemies he had made over the years from dealing harshly with others and judging others my mom and dad find themselves in an onpopular position. Most of there close friends have abandoned them. They lead quite a sad and solitary witness life. I asked my father one time why he continued to go and subject himself to what appeared to be nothing more than a two or three time a week source of depression. He told me that "going, and being a witness is all I know how to do so I continue" I responded with the fact that I felt that that was not faith, but habit and true faith can not be based on nothing more than habit.

I digress....I should get to the point.

I love my parents very much. I am not bitter towards them for anything. They "accept" I guess that I have left. They know my reasons. They cling to a hope that one day I will return. My problem is that as I get older, and smarter I suppose, more and more obvious doubts and flaws in the JW system become more and more real. It is getting harder and harder for me to "soft sell" what I believe or think. I want to share it with them but I don't want to hurt them.

Are any of you in similair situations that you cans share with me. I have read stories in on these boards the last few days and see that alot of you are on the outs with your releatives. I don't want that to happen. Do any of you have any advice on how to keep that balance. How to keep the sanity and the peace, but at the same time try to maybe help them or give them an idea of what else is out there? Or should I just leave well enough alone?

Your thoughts are appreciated

44

Hello - I'm new here

by boydarwin in

jw
friends

today is my first day here.

this is my first post.

i just wanted to say hello.

boydarwin

Hi again,

Wow....what a welcome. Thank you all very much. I see in some of your welcome notes that a couple questions have been asked. I will try answer them.

Am I a JW or an ex JW. The answer is I don't know really. I am not sure what category I fit in. I am baptized. I got dipped when I was 14 (cause elder dad was starting to get heat that I had not signed up so to speak) and am now in my mid 30's. I was a ministerial servant at 17. Removed as a servant at 21. Disfellowshipped at 23. Reinstated 6 months later, more then anything else cause i bluffed my way through. After I was reinstated, I went through the motions and was a good boy for about a year. Then for lack of a better expression I just got tired. I slowly stopped going. Then I started reading. I was pissed off over a lot of things. Things started to bug me. I had questions that no one wanted to answer. Things stopped making sense. I stopped believing. I have been inactive since then. I guess I am still on the books. No one has come to see me in years. I bump into people every once and a while and they say things like " we miss you" "special talk coming up you should come" "memorial time soon" blah blah blah. I had a meeting with the elders where I told them I was pretty much done with it. They said "well, there isn't much we can do then, if you don't want help we can't help, call us when you need us" I haven't called, and they no longer ask.

Sooooo....I don't know what I am. I guess I have disassociated myself with out ever letting them no. I live the life I want, sort of celebrate Xmas, smoke and I don't hide it. I think I am waiting for the day they wake up and give me the boot, I just don't want to do the legwork for them.

You tell me....what would you all call me.

Oh...and boydarwin. Well....I am a boy trapped in a man's body (peter pan syndrome) surviving, evolving, trying to reinvent myself or at least re-become what I woulda, shoulda been if I had not have wasted roughly 25 years of my life being what everyone else wanted me to be.

44

Hello - I'm new here

by boydarwin in

jw
friends

today is my first day here.

this is my first post.

i just wanted to say hello.

boydarwin

Hello everyone,

Today is my first day here. This is my first post. I just wanted to say hello. I have been here a few times and I can't believe the wealth of expeirences and stories and information available here. I look forward to hopefully being involved in the many discussions that take place here. I hope it serves as the connection I have been looking for.