Posts by LongHairGal

46

Have You Been “Gaslit”?

by minimus in

jw
friends

gaslighting is a form of sustained manipulation that causes the victim to question or doubt their sanity, judgment and memories.

it’s a form of emotional abuse.

i think jehovah’s witnesses have been gaslit.

LongHairGal

MINIMUS:

Gaslighting? They are experts at it. Another funny way of putting it is the expression: pissing on somebody’s head and telling them it’s raining.

I wasn’t in the religion yet when the 1975 fiasco happened but not a word was mentioned to me when I was ‘studying’. So much was withheld. I never would have joined if I knew the real history and the heavy-duty pressure to come (from older people with cushy lives)..to quit my full time job. Thankfully, I never listened to them and kept working until retirement.

SIMON:

I remember some trying to say ‘they never said that’ about higher education. I don’t know how anybody there can say this with a straight face. They may have appeared to let up on it for a short while some years back. But, it’s still being knocked last I heard. I agree the only way to win is walk away, which I’m glad I did.

27

With a whimper, not a bang

by JeffT in

jw
friends

the thread about old timers got me thinking about trends i see with the watchtower.

i've changed my opinion about where the organization stands.

when i joined the religion in 1973 it was dynamic, even the small congregation i attended sent out three or four pioneers.

LongHairGal

FFGHOST:

That is a very funny but informative post about the realities of what happens when a young person in the religion does not get college/career. You got that right about never being able to afford that nice house!...There are non-JWs working who can barely afford it.

That is also sad what you wrote about somebody who sold their house a decade ago and decided to live off the proceeds..’because Armageddon was coming!’.. He can barely afford his baloney sandwiches. 🙄

I am sure there are JWs who did this or something similar like dropping out of the workforce to live in some exotic place. Then the money starts to run out..and the End isn’t here yet. The person is over Sixty and has to deal with this. In a sucky economy. In a worldwide pandemic no less.

Even when people DO plan for their retirement..they still have to watch their money and act wisely and can’t necessarily do everything they would like. It makes me cringe to think what could have happened if I heeded all the bad unsolicited advice all these ‘spiritual’ types heaped on me years ago!

123

1969 "fact": You will never grow old in this present system of things

by Ding in

awake!

"if you are a young person, you also need to face the fact that you will never grow old in this present system of things.

because all the evidence in fulfillment of bible prophecy indicates that this corrupt system is due to end in a few years... therefore, as a young person, you will never fulfill any career that this system offers.

LongHairGal

ZOOOOOO:

Thanks, I do understand! Yes, those scriptures mention that about ‘faith’.

Unfortunately, I saw that others use that as an excuse to judge those who aren’t following to a ‘T’ what is said in trying to micromanage people’s lives...It was my personal experience they certainly go beyond what the scriptures say with their ‘rules and regulations’. Not to mention the hypocrisy in targeting some (like me) but not others (older JWs in the hall with affluent lives who WERE in the workforce). The poverty being pushed for me certainly wasn’t for THEM.

Not meaning to hijack the original thread..and getting back to the point:..I’m thankful I didn’t follow the popular attitude mentioned in that famous 1969 article or I’d be so screwed it wouldn’t be funny.

Glad you’re Out.

27

List of Critical WTS Teachings

by Vanderhoven7 in

i sent a list of statements about current wts teachings to a friend who is being carefully recruited by a seasoned witness.. hi em..... just a quick summary of what all “good” jehovah's witnesses believe...even though some of these things witnesses are not always willing to be transparent about.

this is your crash course.

i have quotations for every item listed if you want or need them.. witnesses believes that:.

LongHairGal

LV101:

You can say that again! They didn’t lay their cards on the table when I was ‘studying’ with the JWs.. I NEVER would have joined the religion if I knew.

TRUTH B KNOWN:

I also agree about point ‘E’. I was always disturbed that there was no accountability on their part about people damaged over the decades by faulty or changed teachings. I’m sure the cemeteries are filled with these people! Too bad we will never hear their stories.

123

1969 "fact": You will never grow old in this present system of things

by Ding in

awake!

"if you are a young person, you also need to face the fact that you will never grow old in this present system of things.

because all the evidence in fulfillment of bible prophecy indicates that this corrupt system is due to end in a few years... therefore, as a young person, you will never fulfill any career that this system offers.

LongHairGal

ZOOOOOO:

If somebody reads that scripture and thinks the label ‘weak in faith’ applies to them (because only THEY can truly know this) that is their private business to deal with.

However, it does not fall to you or me to be saying this about somebody else. For those of us who are out of the JW religion we have to rid ourselves of the atrocious habit of labeling and judging people!

Of course, this point is moot to somebody with one foot in or intending to go back. Good luck. I’m just glad I’M out.

123

1969 "fact": You will never grow old in this present system of things

by Ding in

awake!

"if you are a young person, you also need to face the fact that you will never grow old in this present system of things.

because all the evidence in fulfillment of bible prophecy indicates that this corrupt system is due to end in a few years... therefore, as a young person, you will never fulfill any career that this system offers.

LongHairGal

ZOOOOOO:

Sorry you didn’t understand my post. I assume you are out of the JW religion.

When I walked away from the religion I made sure I changed my vocabulary and no longer used certain terms used by the religion. For instance: you’ll notice I call it ‘the religion’. I would not say ‘the truth’ like some still do. 🙄. Also, I don’t use terms like ‘spiritual’ when describing people or phrases like ‘weak faith’. Nobody can know this about people and it sounds silly and presumptuous to me.

In a nutshell: I was treated hypocritically when I was in the religion years ago. As a young single woman I was expected to pursue poverty and be a doormat for Users in the congregation. These Users were mostly older people with affluent lives and the poverty they were pushing wasn’t for them, just some young gullible fool. Thankfully, I did not listen to any of them.

40

What is your status (as of today) as a Jehovah's Witness?

by RULES & REGULATIONS in

active believer...still attend meetings, go out in field service, believe it's ''the truth''.

active non-believer... go to meetings and field service to please family... living a double life .

inactive believer...don't attend meetings but believe it's the truth, one day might go back to kingdom hall.

LongHairGal

RULES & REGULATIONS:

I am a twenty year+ Walkaway/Fader from the JW religion.

Over the years I contacted all my ‘friends’ to let them know what my issues were with regard to the religion’s intolerable views towards careers/jobs, etc. and how I’m glad I never fell for any of the high pressure they tried to put on younger people especially women in the congregation back then.

I think everyone knows I’m Out and not coming back!

123

1969 "fact": You will never grow old in this present system of things

by Ding in

awake!

"if you are a young person, you also need to face the fact that you will never grow old in this present system of things.

because all the evidence in fulfillment of bible prophecy indicates that this corrupt system is due to end in a few years... therefore, as a young person, you will never fulfill any career that this system offers.

LongHairGal

ZOOOOOO:

So..What about all those older people I saw in the congregation who were collecting their pensions or had businesses and were doing well? These people went to their graves after living a cushy life..Would you say they had ‘weak’ faith? 🙄

Why do these people get a ‘pass’ and yet somebody who is a Baby Boomer like myself who worked to support myself back in the day not considered to have ‘faith’? This is a double standard hypocrisy. There were people dripping with diamonds and I don’t begrudge anybody well off. But, why was it expected that some young person there pursue poverty?????? I did have faith in God, just not in the religion or organization.

The fact that you use terminology like this tells me where your head is at..Sad to say. Oh, right! Maybe you didn’t mean it and it was just a Freudian slip. 😉

I’m just SO glad I never paid any heed to self-righteous people and all the nonsense talk about ‘spirituality’ back then because I would be in a serious predicament now instead of Retired.

20

Remember how it felt before you woke up. Living forever in a Righteous World.

by pistolpete in

i woke up early in life.

it’s not because i was smarter than my brothers and sisters.

in fact, reflecting back, i actually don’t know why i didn’t embrace the watchtower teachings?

LongHairGal

PISTOLPETE:

I don’t know how much I totally believed in living in a ‘righteous world’. My disgust with the JW religion grew over time and I don’t know at what point this particular teaching left me.. I just know that I was DONE with it all when that 1995 Generation thing came out. This was the last straw.

OVERRATED:

I know what you mean and I have no pity either. But, I’m just grateful I followed my gut.👍🏻

123

1969 "fact": You will never grow old in this present system of things

by Ding in

awake!

"if you are a young person, you also need to face the fact that you will never grow old in this present system of things.

because all the evidence in fulfillment of bible prophecy indicates that this corrupt system is due to end in a few years... therefore, as a young person, you will never fulfill any career that this system offers.

LongHairGal

FFGHOST:

I’m glad this was bumped up because there are many JWs and ex-JWs who are suffering today in their senior years because of this teaching and who must feel bitterly about this!

I wasn’t yet in the JW religion in 1969. I was a teenager headed for the workforce. When I did make the fateful mistake some years later of entering a hall, there was never a whisper of this (or the 1975 fiasco). Thankfully, I resisted all their efforts to get me to give up my job or I wouldn’t be Retired today..Meanwhile, all the hypocritical older people in the congregation pushing poverty for some young person were collecting THEIR pensions at the time!

So, yes, this 1969 article is one of the most damaging teachings of the JW religion. No wonder they wouldn’t want to highlight it.