Posts by LongHairGal

10

How the JWs Handle a Member Visiting Another Church: What Is Your Experience?

by LauraLynn in

i grew up a jw but my parents were not regularly attending services at a kh.

they used to, and were thoroughly indoctrinated though.

as is the jws habit of visiting non-attenders, 2 sisters came to my mom and dad's door one day to inquire of our well-being.

LongHairGal

LAURA LYNN:

Back when I was active in the Witness religion a few of us were talking after the Sunday meeting.

I had recently gone to Europe and toured many churches/cathedrals. I was talking about my trip and mentioned that I got to use the ladies room in one of them. So, an elderly sister standing nearby overheard and puts in her two cents and says I should not have gone in them ‘because what if Armageddon struck right then?’

I might have muttered something about it not bothering my conscience. Even when I was a ‘believer’ in the JW religion I felt that it wasn’t bad to view those old churches and I compared it to visiting a museum! Witnesses are so stupid and extreme in their views and I let it go in one ear and out the other.. From that point onwards I learned to keep my mouth shut and weigh my words around JWs.

95

Are you glad you got the Covid Vaccine? Did it help?

by liam in

i didn’t get the covid vaccine, but i admit, i was scared as shit i made the wrong decision because there was so much confusion out there.

practically all my family and most of my friends took the vaccine because everyone was depending on those in charge to speak the truth.

now a lot of them are sick, and they can't figure out why.

LongHairGal

BLONDIE:

So sorry to hear about that family that did not get that child their polio vaccine!

We, as a generation in the West, have not been raised around the horrors that you mention that are prevalent in other places in the world today. These older vaccines were invented so that people would be spared the nightmare of these diseases and I am very grateful I got these vaccines.. I went to Catholic schools and I remember in grade school we had some vaccines given to the whole school in the auditorium. The nuns had us line up.. .I remember a polio shot on one occasion and also that sugar cube with the bitter pink serum on it another time.

Because practically every child back then was vaccinated - the diseases were ‘wiped out’ in a sense. That is why those few who weren’t vaccinated never contracted them. They were lucky everybody ELSE was vaccinated!!

When I was a young adult I needed another smallpox vaccine to travel somewhere. Now they don’t give it out except to the military.

So, I’m NO antivaxxer. I just don’t feel confident about the Covid shots.

95

Are you glad you got the Covid Vaccine? Did it help?

by liam in

i didn’t get the covid vaccine, but i admit, i was scared as shit i made the wrong decision because there was so much confusion out there.

practically all my family and most of my friends took the vaccine because everyone was depending on those in charge to speak the truth.

now a lot of them are sick, and they can't figure out why.

LongHairGal

BLONDIE:

I never got the Covid vaccine because I had a bad reaction to the shingles vaccine. I was afraid at that point.

Like you, I also had all the required childhood vaccinations. I do remember as you probably do, some older people walking around with leg braces because they had polio.

I think a large segment of younger people today might be vulnerable. The authorities stopped giving out some vaccines at some point thinking those diseases have been ‘wiped out’!

34

Jehovah's Witnesses came by today.

by 3rdgen in

this morning i was in our front yard sitting down pulling weeds when i saw 3 people slowly walking on the sidewalk in my direction.

2 of them were young, handsome, clean shaven, wearing nice crisp white shirts and perfectly tailored black slacks.

they could have been mormons except.... there was a 60ish portly woman wearing a frumpy dress and ugly sandals.

LongHairGal

3RDGEN:

I had two JWs (men) come around the end of last summer who must have been working the area.

I was polite to them and gave a very general story about myself and what I went through in the religion as a working person. I told them I would not be interested in going back and I told them goodbye!

4

Just Curious: Do JWs Count Their Time Spent in Chat Forums "Witnessing?"

by LauraLynn in

hi, all--i was just wondering, since there is emphasis on counting your witnessing hours in the jws, if they indeed count their time here and in other chat forums?

i happened to check the jws own chat forum, and it is closed to non-members.

i thought that it was interesting that they are free to come here, but we are not free to go there to discuss the bible.

LongHairGal

LAURA LYNN:

Yes, the Witnesses took away their long held teaching of counting time and turning in a slip at their 2023 annual meeting! ..No more. They just need to tick a box now that indicates they did some witnessing.

Even though I am long out, learning about this change came as a shock to me as I was judged over ‘low hours’ years ago because I worked.. But, today I am very Glad that I never listened!

But, active JWs surely did come on here to count time.

42

What would happen to a JW for celebrating Christmas?

by Vanderhoven7 in

mark jones writes:.

if they were spied upon and it was reported to the elders they’d be “invited” to a judicial committee whereupon they’d be cross examined in a locked backroom by three men acting as judge and jury to decide if they are guilty.. .

if the elders decide that they are guilty, they’ll then decide if the person is sorry.

LongHairGal

BETH SARIM;

What I took away from all of this is that the JW religion hates holidays and celebrations - and not just because they are supposedly ‘pagan’. That’s just a convenient excuse because even the days of the week are pagan.

The religion does NOT want their members associating with non-Witness relatives and friends because it fears that the members will get used to the love and non-judgmental treatment they would receive.

The religion is simply afraid the members will wake up and get un-indoctrinated when they compare that loving treatment to the grief they get in the Kingdom Hall.

75

Would you be able to survive a three day Assembly?

by RULES & REGULATIONS in

the last assembly i attended was over 10 years ago.

the monotone speakers, boring talks, uncomfortable seats, long prayers and nodding off after the lunch break did me in.

i survived the morning sessions, but the afternoon sessions were brutal.

LongHairGal

RULES & REGULATIONS:

I worked full-time and I remember going to work on Monday after the assembly being totally exhausted!.. Now why would that be after I was sitting for three days? Maybe it had something to do with getting up early; being around people I didn’t really want to be with and maybe listening to monotonous talks and sitting on uncomfortable seats, etc. You were not refreshed when it was over.

What I also hated was the overly long closing prayer.. If people were smart they left before the song and prayer and beat the crowds out of there.

You couldn’t pay me to do this now and I am glad this is all in the past.

54

Covering up bathroom mirrors at the assemblies!!!

by nojudgement in

jw
friends

this was one of the craziest things i remember about the summer conventions.

i would go into the sister's bathrooms and the mirrors would all be taped up with brown paper so that we couldn't look at our reflections.

were were amish or something?

LongHairGal

LOST IN THE FOG:

Sometimes a woman didn’t just want the mirror to ‘put on war paint’ 🙄 but to see that her dress was down, run fingers through her hair - and check that she wasn’t trailing toilet paper on the bottom of her feet!

And ‘suitable single brothers’? That’s a laugh.

I remember in the early years once trying to do this very quick once over in the bathroom of a circuit assembly and getting an evil look from some miserable sister changing a baby’s diaper. I was nowhere near her. She acted like I didn’t even have a right to be there.. Not my problem.

42

What would happen to a JW for celebrating Christmas?

by Vanderhoven7 in

mark jones writes:.

if they were spied upon and it was reported to the elders they’d be “invited” to a judicial committee whereupon they’d be cross examined in a locked backroom by three men acting as judge and jury to decide if they are guilty.. .

if the elders decide that they are guilty, they’ll then decide if the person is sorry.

LongHairGal

KERRY KING:

I am glad you are able to see the importance of celebrations and holidays for forging strong family ties!

I was raised Roman Catholic and so thankful I had these things and wonderful memories of caring people including beautiful decorations and cooking aromas.. These were priceless and in sharp contrast to the sterile environment of JWs.

Right before I started my ‘Fade’ from the Jehovah’s Witness religion, I sent out Holiday cards for the first time in decades!.. I also re-established contact with estranged relatives before it was too late.👍🏻. I had much apologizing and explaining to do but people were understanding!

You were correct about those JWs who abandoned their families and got ‘married’ to the organization in a sense.. If these Witnesses are expecting the org. (or any of their spiritual friends) to take care of them in their old age they are in for a very rude awakening!

15

Crisis of Conscience available for free on Audible

by nicolaou in

i'm unclear on how this has been achieved or if permissions have been given.

presumably, audible (part of amazon) have their own procedures to ensure legality, but here it is nonetheless;.

listen to crisis of conscience - raymond franz by crisis of conscience - raymond franz on audible.

LongHairGal

JEFF T:

I remember when a friend loaned me her copy of ‘Crisis of Conscience’.

She made fun of me (and rightfully so) when she saw how I turned it over and hid the cover. I’m ashamed to say that this was true. However, the book was a powerhouse and I was sorry I hadn’t read it sooner.