Posts by LongHairGal

8

A Great Life After Leaving

by Lost in the fog in

https://www.hulldailymail.co.uk/news/hull-east-yorkshire-news/shunned-jehovahs-witnesses-life-now-7613921.

LongHairGal

It was wonderful to get my mind back (I wasn’t raised a JW). It was also great not to be around judgmentalism because I had a full-time job and didn’t ‘pioneer’.

Initially, it was great not having to get up early on weekends to go to the meeting/service. Sleep was so precious since I worked full-time. Also, it was a relief on weeknights not to have to rush to meetings after a long day at work. It was also great to reconnect with relatives.

In later years, in reading about all the changes in the Witness religion, I am relieved that I am many years Out.. All my predictions came true about Witnesses who preferred to be out in full-time ministry instead of at a decent job and planning for retirement.. I always said I didn’t want to be anywhere near them when reality hit.. I have No intention now of being targeted to give money to broke people who wouldn’t be caught dead in a full-time job or any JW for that matter.

15

Next time a jw says "the end is sooo close now"

by nowwhat? in

say this.

with what's going on the world does it look like they are going to proclaim peace and security anytime soon?!

or was the organization wrong again about the end times?.

LongHairGal

DESIROUS OF CHANGE:

That’s quite a gamble this JW took. Unfortunately, this type of story is not unique in the Witness religion. The congregations have their share of people with similar stories plus those who never even had a ‘lucrative job’ like this person did in the first place because it was actively discouraged.

Also, keeping the 1975 fiasco a deep dark secret has only contributed to clueless JWs in recent years making similar foolish mistakes that people did prior to that year.

There are far TOO many needy people in the JW religion today because of its policies against careers and retirement planning! ..Glad I never listened.

If I were still there I guarantee I’d be targeted by those thinking they are going to cannibalize anybody who looks remotely responsible. Like a rat they would come up to you privately with their envelope! If anybody wants to tolerate this, that’s their business. But, I certainly would Not👎.. Just as well I’m Out many years.

24

Becoming a JW

by Mum in

jw
friends

i rarely post here, but i often check in.

i used to post on h2o as well.

i think i once posted some of this on h2o, but there are many new ones who have joined since then.. i first encountered jw's at the age of 9. it wasn't in the door-to-door work, however.

LongHairGal

MUM:

So glad to hear that you did end up getting a job with a decent Retirement plan even if it was a little later in the game - but, fortunately, not too late.👍🏻 In fact, you were lucky, I think.

And, yes, all’s well that ends well!

26

More money and meeting with 3 elders

by Foolednomore in

jw
friends

so, we had this meeting with 3 elders ( larry, moe and curly) my uncle who is the lawyer sat in the room and stayed quiet, and fact for 40 minutes we let them talk.

we would just sit there.

they went into along winded monolog about how the world is in bad shape and getting worst.

LongHairGal

FOOLEDNOMORE:

The poster MUM above seems to think the meeting discussed here with your uncle and the elders was a ‘committee meeting’.. Was it?

I got the impression that it was a ‘friendly’ meeting that you arranged that may have been over somebody’s house. I didn’t think it was at the hall. You didn’t give any details. Please clarify a little.

24

Becoming a JW

by Mum in

jw
friends

i rarely post here, but i often check in.

i used to post on h2o as well.

i think i once posted some of this on h2o, but there are many new ones who have joined since then.. i first encountered jw's at the age of 9. it wasn't in the door-to-door work, however.

LongHairGal

MUM:

I’m glad you escaped from the JW religion at an early age!

Instead of 32, it could have been double that at age 64. Just think about how many Witnesses reached that advanced age with no preparation for retirement!.. They were discouraged or intimidated into not preparing. They were afraid to face shunning and not being invited to gatherings. I experienced this, but I stuck to my guns.. You got out at an early enough age to get an education, a decent job and preparation for retirement. You also had the chance to get some happiness out of life instead of the JW gloom and doom outlook.

Good for you!

77

A question about the contemporary generation teaching following a conversation with a JW apologist

by Giles Gray in

i would like to ask the ex-jws on this site to put their ‘apologists hat’ back on for a moment, so that i can go through the overlapping generation teaching in an attempt to make sense of it.

i apologise if these points have already been addressed on this site.a quick background for the reason for my request… having never confronted a jw apologist on the topic, i recently engaged with a jw regarding the official understanding of a ‘generation’ and unfortunately he didn’t have an answer to the points i was making.

i was left a little confused as to what the official jw response would/should be.so i was hoping that my thoughts below might be considered from an apologist’s perspective.the point in question relates to this section of the watchtower article below from 2008, as well as the jw.org video explanation of the overlapping generation:---:w08 2/15[box on page 25] can we calculate the length of “this generation”?the word “generation” usually refers to people of various ages whose lives overlap during a particular time period or event.

LongHairGal

THOMAS MORE:

You must be referring to the 1995 Generation teaching. That’s what did it for me and I think a lot of people left in the decade after that. I knew right then and there as the article was being discussed that my time in the Witness religion had come to an end.. I did a ‘Fade’ after that so I’ve been Out many years.

This latest ‘overlapping’ generation teaching of recent years sounds so absurd I have a problem accepting it is actually believed by current Witnesses. Maybe they’re just keeping quiet and letting it go in one ear and out the other like other ridiculous teachings.

26

More money and meeting with 3 elders

by Foolednomore in

jw
friends

so, we had this meeting with 3 elders ( larry, moe and curly) my uncle who is the lawyer sat in the room and stayed quiet, and fact for 40 minutes we let them talk.

we would just sit there.

they went into along winded monolog about how the world is in bad shape and getting worst.

LongHairGal

SEA BREEZE:

That’s a good story and it was embarrassing to that MS but it just goes to show how people there can’t keep up with the changing teachings.. But, I suspect many Witnesses now don’t CARE what the teachings are. At this point it’s just a club and if all you know is the name “Jehovah” and “new system”, you’re good in their eyes.

BIAHI:

I didn’t believe that at first either when I read about it. But, when you think about it, if something like that were literally true and Jesus was not everybody’s mediator - then people should be praying to the GB, right? 🤣🤣

8

Leaving JW - My own experience

by joao in

as some of you may know, i disassociated myself from wt$ last april.

and i did it in the noisiest way i could find: i wrote my disassociation letter and made sure to send it to all elders of the two congregations in my town and to all jws whose email address i possessed.

i knew this would bring loads of issues because my wife was in as well as our younger daughter.

LongHairGal

FOOLEDNOMORE:

Yes, somebody’s exit must be carefully planned and I wish your relative good luck.

It is especially necessary for JWs raised in the religion to plan carefully because they have led an unnaturally sheltered life.. And if anybody wants to believe this was a ‘protection’ for them, I disagree. I always felt it was a protection for the religion because these people were pretty much trapped there and less likely to leave . They had no options and knew almost nobody outside!

This is why I am ever grateful that I was not raised in the religion and kept my job. So, when things started unraveling and it started to stink - I was prepared all around for my exit from the charade!

8

Leaving JW - My own experience

by joao in

as some of you may know, i disassociated myself from wt$ last april.

and i did it in the noisiest way i could find: i wrote my disassociation letter and made sure to send it to all elders of the two congregations in my town and to all jws whose email address i possessed.

i knew this would bring loads of issues because my wife was in as well as our younger daughter.

LongHairGal

I planned my ‘Fade’ far in advance. Even though that 1995 Generation teaching was what did it, I didn’t leave immediately but had to wind-down, etc. I made sure all my ducks were in a row. I kept my thoughts to myself.

I re-established contact with non-JW family and friends first before it was too late. This was priceless and I remember sending out Christmas cards again after so many years!

Being as I already was working (I held onto the full-time job the Witnesses hated me for).. I wasn’t faced with the problem most Witnesses have: a mad scramble to find work to support themselves when reality hits them. They realized they need to prepare for retirement. You could say I was already in ‘reality’ about this!

My next problem was working out ‘when’ I would actually stop going. It just so happened somebody passed away and that was my excuse. I remember the first night I actually stayed home from the meeting. I watched CSI. After several weeks of deliberately not going, I mentally got used to it. I felt I broke a bad habit and I think I went for so long because it WAS habit and I didn’t know what to do with myself plus those very few people I was friendly with.

Afterwards..I did get several cards of the usual ‘miss you’ variety but I could see some were from people who hardly bothered with me. So, how could they ‘miss me’?🙄 It’s absurd and I’m glad this terrible waste of time was finally over. I should have done it a decade sooner with the bad treatment I received! ..Good riddance.

26

More money and meeting with 3 elders

by Foolednomore in

jw
friends

so, we had this meeting with 3 elders ( larry, moe and curly) my uncle who is the lawyer sat in the room and stayed quiet, and fact for 40 minutes we let them talk.

we would just sit there.

they went into along winded monolog about how the world is in bad shape and getting worst.

LongHairGal

RATTIGAN:

I don’t agree.

I think it was smart to ask them questions about past teachings of the religion. Most Witnesses are ignorant about past teachings or scandals. Many are even ignorant about current teachings! ..I could just see these guys getting all tongue-tied and stuttering - and then he asks them that last question (which they didn’t expect) and they got tongue-tied even further.

I’m sure they must have been embarrassed, shocked and angry when they walked out of there.