Posts by LongHairGal

16

Did you at one time Believe-that you were not going to die. Does your still in JW spouse still believe?

by pistolpete in

this magazine says it all!.

and many of the older jws believed at one point in their life that they would make it through the great tribulation and into the 1000 year reign of christ without dying.

which is why so many jws stayed in so long.. is the main reason why jws ignore all the child abuse, the end of door to door service, and the closing of kingdom hall for almost two years----because they still believe they will not die?.

LongHairGal

PISTOLPETE:

You might have a point about why these older JWs stick with the religion. They want their ‘everlasting life’.

I don’t know if I ever Truly believed this. Maybe it was a nice mental exercise but that’s about it.

When I ‘Faded’ from the JW religion about twenty years ago, one of the first things I did was rid my mind of this ‘paradise earth and no dying’ teaching. I needed to do this because I felt this was a cruel trick to play on my mind. In no time it was purged from my mind and I wondered how much I ever believed it in the first place.

33

CO retirement severance?

by road to nowhere in

jw
friends

a friend says the wt gives a substantial sum to retiring cos. he says one bought land and built near him, a desirable rural area.

i think it must have been saved green handshake money or inherited.. btw this man also thinks the gb are the smartest men alive..

LongHairGal

ASP59:

Oh, I don’t know about that. I don’t think this thread removes credibility from ex-JW sites.

Just because something isn’t known doesn’t mean it can’t exist (secretly) in some form. In addition, it’s long been rumored that COs got gift$ from admiring people in congregations.🙄

My problem is with the whole “people in the religion are going to be taken care of” BS. This is a grossly deceptive urban legend and a sad joke. The religion is not known to give anything. So, the REAL scenario is somebody goes around with an envelope cornering individuals in congregations for money..I had this happen years ago.. I’m glad I’m Out because as somebody who was viewed as an outcast for my full-time job, my answer would now be ‘No’ to these hypocrites.

12

Did your congregation have cliques?

by Lost in the fog in

did your congregation have cliques?.

usually centred around two competing elders (or the elder's wife).

it could made obvious by whether you got to answer in the wt study.

LongHairGal

OVERRATED:

When you talk about the ‘social ladder’ 🙄 and the ‘soft shunning’ that was definitely a reality there. The JW religion is just filled with judgment and hateful attitudes. These attitudes must come from the top down!

I think of what I went through because I worked at a full-time job at the time. Why, you would think I had a scarlet ‘A’ embroidered on the front of my clothing or that I had committed some crime! I remember telling a former ‘friend’ in the religion that because I was so criticized for my job I would never tolerate anybody coming up to me looking for money - and that they better Go ask somebody ELSE!! She didn’t like hearing that but too bad!

Good thing I was a loner who had contact with people outside. I was glad I wasn’t raised in the religion and it made it easier to ‘Fade’..They really Do push people out (whether that was their real intention or not)..but I am glad I’m Out many years.

12

Did your congregation have cliques?

by Lost in the fog in

did your congregation have cliques?.

usually centred around two competing elders (or the elder's wife).

it could made obvious by whether you got to answer in the wt study.

LongHairGal

LOST IN THE FOG:

Just host a party sometime and watch the people as they mingle. After fifteen minutes you will see little groups assemble and talk among themselves. Can’t help it.

I definitely saw cliques in the JW congregation. I believe the Witness religion lends itself to cliques in the first place because of all the labels they have. And they are just a bit nastier than ‘worldly’ cliques with their hateful gossip.

I was a single working woman and I was in a clique all by myself. Luckily, I’m a loner. I didn’t really need anybody there..People from other cliques barely said hello. But, so what? I accepted this as normal and I have been Out so many years that this means nothing now.

17

When it comes to "we must be ready to obey whether....it

by nowwhat? in

i believe the the organization will tell it's members to sign over their mortgages and savings to the organization.

because of the impending fall of the financial institutions and the organization is the only place where it will be safe.

this has to be the only scenario possible because obviously they won't do a jonestown and where could 8 million flee to?

LongHairGal

NOWWHAT?:

I don’t know, this sounds so extreme that I believe JWs would absolutely have to be out of their god-damned minds to follow this!

This would be much worse than a pre-1975 scenario where the gullible and stupid quit jobs, got into debt, sold houses to live off the proceeds until ‘Armageddon’ came. And what happens this time when nothing occurs and you hear crickets? What will all the ‘faithful’ 🙄 do then?…I’m glad to be nowhere near these people!

16

Are Jehovah's Witnesses subtly directing the brothers to have homes with attics?

by was a new boy in

it seems if you have an attic, you'll be safest there..

LongHairGal

ZACHIAS:

Good observation about actually having to possess a home in the first place in order to ‘hide’ in an attic or basement.🙄

Too many JWs are low-income or living on the edge because they followed the religion’s dictates not to get college/careers. How can they afford a house? Answer: They can’t. Even somebody who inherits a home needs a decent income in order to pay taxes, upkeep and other expenses..The religion is showing an image of suburban prosperity that people can’t have nowadays unless they have a decent paying job or career - something the religion discourages.

If they are hinting that all the JWs in a particular area are going over the house of ‘Brother Responsible-Who-Got-A-Career’, well I feel sorry for that Brother. Believe me, in a ‘Shit Hits The Fan’ situation I would Never want to be around anybody but immediate family!

33

CO retirement severance?

by road to nowhere in

jw
friends

a friend says the wt gives a substantial sum to retiring cos. he says one bought land and built near him, a desirable rural area.

i think it must have been saved green handshake money or inherited.. btw this man also thinks the gb are the smartest men alive..

LongHairGal

PERE ZAHUT:

Yes, the Mormons are a more sensible religion.

So much to say about this. You’ve heard the expression ‘sleight of hand’..Yes, it’s true about the impression the JWs try to give about a warm and fuzzy brotherhood. There must have been some serious ‘sleight of words’ at some point.. Never expected anybody to die for me though. Hell, many people didn’t even say hello!

As far as believing that ‘you are going to be taken care of’, this was a lie in general (even if some JWs once in a while help out). But, certainly it was not something you could stake your life on..Don’t know how the legend got started but it took off as the major urban legend in the Witness religion. Even when I was studying I was told ‘I’d be taken care of’ if I was needy. However, I worked full-time so this was never an issue for me. The problem arises when JWs start studies with ‘troubled’ individuals and then tell THEM this. We all know the religion gives nothing. So, the solution to this problem (and to keep up the phony legend) is to have somebody go around with an envelope cornering certain people for money!!! And, if I were sitting there NOW some idiot would come up to ME (who was criticized for working mind you) asking for money.. I wouldn’t be Retired if I listened to them. No forgiveness from me!

There are far TOO many ‘needy’ people in this religion and most are needy because they followed the religion’s dictates and never got a career - instead opting to be in the ministry. Now, to add insult to injury there are fired bethelites and CO’s (who worked for the religion by the way) - and yet this fallacy is floating around that they are ‘going to be taken care of’ by the average struggling Joe or Jane in congregations.

As the membership there decreases are the elders going to make cold calls in the community?..even having the audacity to call on disfellowshipped or inactive JWs asking for money??? Wow, would they get an earful from me.

33

CO retirement severance?

by road to nowhere in

jw
friends

a friend says the wt gives a substantial sum to retiring cos. he says one bought land and built near him, a desirable rural area.

i think it must have been saved green handshake money or inherited.. btw this man also thinks the gb are the smartest men alive..

LongHairGal

PETE ZAHUT:

That was a very noble thing you did for these people. But, I’m curious about the last sentence you wrote because I have heard this before. You address the fact that the brotherhood is imaginary - and I agree. Then you say ‘that if any tangible help is needed for any length of time - you are on your own’. Really? Does anybody there have a right to depend on anybody else? I never believed they did.

If JWs were taught to believe they should be responsible people, they WOULD be depending on themselves, just like responsible people in the world do. Instead, there is a fairy-tale fallacy you alluded to that ‘somebody’(?) will save the day with an envelope stuffed with $$. This bothers me because the religion gives nothing to anybody. Plus, the average member there is told not to pursue college or careers and is low income. Those that do pursue careers are ostracized..as I well know.. Question:..When did some ventriloquist act or magician make it sound like this burden should be on the average members (the rank and file)??..I always hated this fallacy..which refuses to go away it seems..and I am glad I walked away from this religion ages ago.

JAZZBO:

The religion is the one who ‘owes’ these people, in my opinion, because they were working for THEM.

33

CO retirement severance?

by road to nowhere in

jw
friends

a friend says the wt gives a substantial sum to retiring cos. he says one bought land and built near him, a desirable rural area.

i think it must have been saved green handshake money or inherited.. btw this man also thinks the gb are the smartest men alive..

LongHairGal

BIAHI:

They hardly talked about ‘counting the cost’ years back when they were in a frenzy to get everybody to pioneer. I really think they only pull scriptures like this out when it suits them!

They didn’t give a hoot what hardships a person went through. I remember talking to an elder once about people who were suffering and he said “sometimes people suffer because they are just plain stupid”. (This told me what some JWs secretly think about certain people who pioneer.)

Well, he was a man and there is a double standard there. He had a good job and you’d NEVER see HIM pursuing poverty!! But yet this poverty/pioneering is what was held out to ME and other younger single women (mostly Baby Boomers).. Any older women pioneers then were married with a ‘worldly husband’ and a comfortable life. Any younger person who pioneered and ‘didn’t count the cost’ or took a gamble because ‘Armageddon was near’ and who did this for decades is in a serious predicament TODAY.. And almost ALL those older JWs who cheered them on are all Gone and not even around to help anybody!

This is the tragedy of it all and why I am so Glad today that I never fell for any of this!

9

What's actually recorded in publisher record cards?

by optimisticskeptic in

it seems to be unclear if things like public or private reproofs and details around those events being recorded and traveling with you.

it seems like the details are largely part of whatever judicial paperwork there is and not necessarily attached to your publisher card permanently.

i changed congregations a few years ago and it appears the letter the body wrote only covered the most recent issue and said nothing of a reproof that had happened a few years prior.

LongHairGal

I heard it as a fact that these ‘letters of introduction’ contain unflattering things about the person who is relocating.

A certain sister (whose husband likely heard the confidential gossip from an elder) told people of the unfavorable contents of one such letter about another sister who had relocated and the restrictions placed on her, etc…So, there is NO fresh start somewhere and opinions and biases will follow somebody across the globe!

I can only imagine what such a letter would say about me: ‘She doesn’t do favors for all the Users or throw money around. She’s independent and outspoken. Make sure nobody talks to her and don’t invite her to any get-togethers’. 😉