recently,.
there was a morning worship a few days ago where the gb member spoke about false security.
he stated that many people look to social security and pensions for their security and how unwise that is.
I remember a talk from a long time ago (about the time these older Bethelites who have been let go would have been joining) about the proper attitude to have about going to Bethel. The best attitude was to "commit to working at Bethel for life." So it is not surprising that these people thought the commitment went the other way as well; i.e., that they would have a home for life.
Cate
firstly, thank god i found this forum!
i've spent the better part of today while my kids were in school reading many threads.. some background...i am in my mid 30s, married, 2 kids.
i was born and raised a jw...came from "good" stock...elders, pioneers, etc.
A couple of thoughts:
I began having serious doubts first, which shook my husband up, but I brought up issues a bit at a time, and he would think about them later (according to him). One of the issues I had was with blood (as you mentioned). I asked my husband how it could be okay to accept fractions of blood, if the only thing that was supposed to be done with blood was pour it out on the ground. If we accept blood fractions, aren't we encouraging people to break God's law?
The other question I asked him was: How did he plan to explain to people in the door-to-door work the change in the understanding of the generation. As you mentioned, we spent many, many years insisting that we could absolutely prove, from the Bible, that the generation alive in 1914 would not pass away before the end came. What do we say now? Why should they have any confidence that our new explanation is worth anything more than the old one?
I wish you the best. My husband and I are both out now.
Cate
posted this at the end of the last thread i started (entirely diff subject) but: i resigned from the world of the ministerial servant drone on sunday.
no more ridiculous 5min announcement parts.
no more idiotic q and a'a.
If you feel like telling us, what reason did you give them for resigning?
Cate
good excuses.
pinkeye.
(highly contagious, and you aren't supposed to touch other people's dishes and glasses.)tuberculosis.
Explosive diarhea.
good excuses.
pinkeye.
(highly contagious, and you aren't supposed to touch other people's dishes and glasses.)tuberculosis.
Too drunk to drive.
i came on jwd a year ago tomorrow, having realized that jws were not the truth, quite painfully, on march 29, 2008. i was here within a week, and within 2 months i was officially dad by my congregation.. ever since joining, i have never actually wrote down a comprehensive look at why i left the organization.
what doubts caused me to leave?
why did a gilead grad leave what i once considered so precious?.
Very well written and very interesting. I can relate to so much you said. There came a time when I could no longer just push the doubts aside. Thanks for sharing.
Cate
i wondered what would happen if 10% of those who received them, turned up?
in fact if only 2.5% turned up, our kingdom hall would not cope as it would mean in excess of another 250 people coming, even 1% would be another 100 and we couldn't cope.
does the society, have a means of guestimating the percentage that may turn up for every 1000 leaflets distributed?or is it just busy work for the publishers?
Yep, busy work. Just like the rest of field service. There are much better, more efficient, less annoying ways to reach people these days than knocking on their doors.
Cate
my 14 year old grandson's cause to help homeless children is gaining momentum.
he will be on the morning show on fox 35 tomorrow in orlando.. for those who missed the threads on this, here are the links.. http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/jw/friends/173448/1/he-made-the-front-cover-of-the-orlando-sentinel.
http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/jw/friends/172666/1/exciting-news-helping-step-by-step.
Wow! What an amazing kid! And an amazing mom, to make sure this happens. You are right to be proud of both of them.
Cate
had a pleasant surprise today whilst listening to my local abc (australian broadcasting commission) radio station to find that the presenter was talking to a garry, with an american accent, regarding jws.
i began listening subsequent to the introduction of the segment, but eventually worked out that it was in relation to the person appointed to head a political party in queensland happening to be a former jw.. the discussion centered around garry's involvement with the jws and various activities in which the dubs are infamously known.
garry left a good 'witness' for ex-jws.. at the end of the segment the presenter thanked garry busselman from (such and such) in the u.s. and i thought, that name sounds familiar, and, sure enough, it is our very own garrybus.. it would be interesting to learn how garry came to be invited to discuss the subject.. cheeses - keeping up with current affairs..
Gary is a riot and one of my favorite people!
Cate
me and the wife both.
for our you know, pre-marital bumping of the fuzzies.
all of those years of guilt she had- she's shocked that all she got was a slap on the wrist.
"I've often wanted to pull a pair of my own out of my pocket so that I could add emphasis to my own deep thoughts."
"So we will, you know, learn our lesson and not have premarital sex with each other again."
Hilarious Jimmy!
But seriously folks, this thread brings up a point that has long bothered me. I believe the correct statement is: I was privately reproved. A matter is brought up, and it is dealt with. No one is actually "on" private reproof. (Any ex-elders here who can confirm this?) So why must there be "punishment?" I don't think it's about readjusting a sinner at all. I think it's about creating fear of being publicly humiliated. And about power...the power to do that to someone.
A decent person would've said, "Mrs. Jimmy, this happened a long time ago, you are obviously sorry about it, let's just move on."
And, as someone else said, how does removing the ability to participate in the meetings help anyone? All it does is make the meetings more boring and tedious!
I'm sorry for the stupidity that you are going through, but glad it wasn't worse than it was.
Cate
