Posts by LongHairGal

42

Why did you leave the organization of Jehovah's Witnesses?

by Vanderhoven7 in

i've never been a witness so i never left.

graeme hammond writes:.

for some years i’d had a growing irritation and disillusionment with the religion: i was getting tired of the pompousness, the arrogance and the control, i felt increasingly choked by their restrictions and i was drained by their demands on my time.

LongHairGal

VANDERHOVEN7:

You were never a Witness? You could have fooled me. Just because people reply to a post doesn’t mean they read all the posts that person ever made.

I agree with most of the points of the person you quoted. In my case, I hated the intrusiveness and lack of boundaries people had. If you were single they imagined they could say anything or ask any question. I hated the snitch culture. I hated the exploitive nature of it (although they got nowhere with me since I was criticized over my job). There’s more..

Over time the negatives got to be too much and even though I considered leaving, I figured I would put things on the back burner in hopes things would improve. (Ha ha).

Then came the 1995 Generation teaching and I knew it was Over. I planned my ‘Fade’. Because I was already in the workforce and not a born-in, it was pretty easy.. I was already in ‘reality’ my whole life.. I had friends and connections outside. Aside from a few kind JWs, the rest were no loss to me. To them, I was probably a hologram on the wall they just didn’t see anymore.

I’m just glad the whole thing was finally over. No loss that I wasn’t popular. I am grateful I followed my instincts.👍🏻

76

Scriptures That Don’t Fit WT Theology

by Sea Breeze in

here’s a couple good ones: a. jesus said, “come to me and i will give you rest”.. why did jesus command us to go to him and not jehovah?.

why does the bible say that the name of jesus is above every name?

.

LongHairGal

The scripture in 2 Thessalonians 3:10 which says: “He that does not work shall not eat.”

I never heard this scripture stressed at all when I was in the JW religion. I wondered if it was because the religion was against careers and gainful employment. Truthfully, they were against anything which took somebody away from full-time ministry. They imagined people were just going to half-heartedly do part time work and maybe get handouts and charity.. Meanwhile, those who did this their whole life have a problem when they hit retirement age!

I know some JWs might feel their ministry is ‘work’, but it is not really.

5

Did the Fugazi 1975 Prophecy Really Happen?

by Sea Breeze in

i was 12 years old in 1975. how old were you then?

all jw's were counting the years till armageddon.

towing the line was the only thing that would get you through it.

LongHairGal

SEA BREEZE:

I just watched this YouTube. I’m a little older than you and wasn’t yet in the Witness religion in 1975.. I was in blissful ignorance about everything.

In watching the video and hearing former JWs give their eye-witness account of what happened, I’m not surprised they left the religion. When I came in the late ‘70s nobody talked about this.. I might have had second thoughts about getting involved with the religion if I knew about this and earlier failed prophecies.

The sad part is this failure was kept hidden from newer JWs in the following years! This explains why a lot of newbies don’t know this history.

Problem is history repeated itself to some degree in the last two decades with some JWs making similar mistakes of selling homes, leaving the workforce before their actual retirement age to go ‘where the need is great’, etc. They were sure Armageddon was coming soon!.. Then the money runs out and rumor has it they are contacting JW friends to send them money!

This adds yet more needy people to Witness congregations - which is why I’m Glad to be nowhere near this mess! As another poster says: ‘The chickens have come home to roost’.

33

July 2023 Study Watchtower - Great Tribulation is coming soooooooooooooon!

by BoogerMan in

is this the "great tribulation" which jesus warned he would bring upon the corrupt christian congregations worldwide, (revelation 2:22; 7:14) or is it the same 1st century g.t.

which he said would never occur again?

(matthew 24:21).

LongHairGal

LEE MARSH:

Your story is interesting and thank God you never listened to anybody and had your baby - and grandchildren, etc. Thankfully, you had your college education and the career you wanted.

I agree that you cannot state enough that nobody should listen to them! By them, we mean both the religion and the busybody enforcer people in the congregation. Unfortunately, the desire to be liked and accepted is strong and too many fall for it! Thankfully we didn’t.

I am eternally grateful I never listened or paid any heed to what anybody said there.. If I had, I would not be Retired today. Very sobering. The religion and those busybody people would certainly not be supporting me now!! Believe me, this was a life lesson learned!

6

"Look at the Artwork!"

by FadeToBlack in

from the back cover of the july 15th, 2013 study edition.. "look at the artwork!".

how many times have you said that to yourself or to others when you opened a new issue of this magazine?

i didn't use the same wording, but needless to say, i was stunned.

LongHairGal

JOURNEYMAN:

What you said brought back memories of when I attended book studies years ago!

Some individual would raise their hand and make a comment gushing over some picture (artwork really) in the book.. They acted as though it were an actual photograph from the First century and was a real depiction of some event in the scriptures.

To my knowledge they didn’t have cameras or videos back then.🤔 Everything appearing in the books and magazines was and is purely the imagination of people in the art department in the religion.

I just could not get over the gullibility and suspension of reality that goes on in the minds of JWs to be acting like this is real.

31

Predict JW life in future

by ExBethelitenowPIMA in

a sister said the other day at the ministry group “”what is all this talk that the end is still some way off” she said she has been waiting for decades and she was told there is no way it would take this long.

some others said in an annoyed kind of way yes they would have made different decisions decades ago if they knew the end still would not have come by 2023.. how will the majority react in a few more decades time when the end still hasn’t come?.

why all that talk of sense of urgency decades ago?.

LongHairGal

TRUTHLOVER123:

Congratulations for being one of the Witnesses who ‘woke up’ after the 1975 fiasco! You didn’t even wait ‘til the end of the year! You sound like you did well. I wonder if you still stayed in the religion?

From what I heard, everyone back then must have been ‘under a spell’ to do what they did (leaving jobs, etc.) Yet, there was never an apology from the religion. Who knows how many thousands of people never recovered?

I came into the religion in the late ‘70s and hardly any talk about 1975 except to say that ‘some were serving for a date’. I also heard a joke about some woman referred to as a ‘Seventy-fiver’. I started off on the wrong foot because I had a full-time job that I refused to quit. They thought I was supposed to take up housecleaning and pioneer. I couldn’t see the sense of it - especially since I saw older people there collecting pensions. They were obviously in the workforce!

Anyway, I was viewed as a ‘low hour publisher’ as I worked full-time. I stood out as a working woman while others seemed like ‘Stepford Wives’ out of the 1950s. I was on the fringes of the congregation and had few friends and wasn’t invited much. That’s okay as it was all worth it because I Retired when the time came!

Most of the older critics have passed away and the ones my age who pioneered and didn’t even get smart after the ‘1995 Generation teaching’ are struggling today!!!

29

Been years since Ive gone - should I bother with a letter?

by BeaverEater in

jw
friends

sig other is half assed still in, one family member is in... its been years... wondering if i should just let it be or just call up hq and say i resign... i will be pissed if they announce shit at the kh, though i dont even remember the last one i went to... lol.

for me, its none of anyone elses business... thoughts?.

LongHairGal

I agree with those on here who feel No need to write a letter after they’re done with the Witness religion! ..When I did my ‘Fade’ from the religion I just wanted Out. I didn’t want any drama with stupid people.

However, if somebody wants to write a Disassociation letter (especially one of those looong ones), please be aware that your letter will not be read in full.. Maybe the first paragraph will get read (in the back room in private) until they get the point that you don’t believe it anymore.. Their faith is so flimsy that they don’t dare read the rest.. All your very valid reasons will not even be heard.

Unless you told your friends privately before you sent the letter, the congregation will never learn the reasons why you left. Your name will just be announced…

But, if anybody wants to write their letter because it makes them feel better to ‘tell the religion off’, go right ahead. There is no right or wrong.

31

Predict JW life in future

by ExBethelitenowPIMA in

a sister said the other day at the ministry group “”what is all this talk that the end is still some way off” she said she has been waiting for decades and she was told there is no way it would take this long.

some others said in an annoyed kind of way yes they would have made different decisions decades ago if they knew the end still would not have come by 2023.. how will the majority react in a few more decades time when the end still hasn’t come?.

why all that talk of sense of urgency decades ago?.

LongHairGal

THOMAS MORE:

It’s true that some people procrastinate and/or don’t plan for retirement.

The thing is: if the people are non-Witnesses and just worked over the years, they’d still get Social Security because it was taken out of their paychecks! It may not be enough as they would need other investments (401k etc.)…But Witnesses barely in the workforce would get pathetically low or next to nothing!

I also remember hearing the ‘lack of faith’ crap.. But, it was some hypocritical older Witnesses collecting pensions, married women with ‘worldly’ husbands, etc. - along with a few self-righteous ‘pio-sneers’.. They scorned me and wouldn’t be caught dead in a full-time job.. I am eternally grateful now I never listened to these goddamned people!

As for the pioneers who felt so ‘special’ and got invited to dinners back then: if they can’t make it now.. they better track down their ‘spiritual’ friends and ask them for money or handouts!.. I’m glad they don’t have my phone number.

5

Unwitnessing

by Biahi in

i “unwitnessed” at work yesterday.

in case anyone doesn’t know, i retired last year from the post office.

after being home for 5 months, i got bored, so i went back to work where my husband works.

LongHairGal

BIAHI:

At about 6 yesterday evening, I heard a knock at my door.

Without opening I asked loudly, ‘who is it?’ They answered they were missionaries.. I said loudly, ‘I’m not interested!’ They asked: ‘do you know anybody who might be?’ I answered: ‘I can’t speak for other people but I’m not interested. Have a nice day!’

When I looked out my window I saw two young guys with black backpacks. I can’t imagine they were JWs because I don’t recall them carrying backpacks and I don’t think they would have called themselves missionaries. If they were JWs I might have enjoyed asking them some questions and watched them struggle to answer!

33

The (Shunned) Woman at the Well

by Sea Breeze in

i always found the account of the "woman at the well" to be particulary interesting.

this unknown shunned woman of ill-repute was specifically sought out and chosen by jesus.

why?https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=el7dzonv3iy&ab_channel=michaelpapale.

LongHairGal

JHINE:

I agree with you that Jesus preaching to this ‘woman at the well’ was to show he viewed women better than the society around him viewed them.

This woman went to the well when she did because of how she was viewed in her society because of her lifestyle and perhaps to avoid insults by other older women. They lived in a time where people were extreme and had to dress a certain way according to their station in life, etc.

People can speculate all they want about what she may or may not have been thinking, but I believe she was probably treated and/or viewed badly and went out and about when she was less likely to encounter unpleasant people - and wanted to be left in peace. I would have probably done the same thing.