Posts by LongHairGal

17

Again, More confusion about the direction of the Watchtower Society

by Truth and Justice in

jw
friends

hi friends, i have not been on this board in awhile, and i would like to get some thoughts from some of you.

i have noticed a change within my 4 siblings in approximately the last year and a half to 2 years regarding their communication with my mother and i. they have either phoned us, texted, emailed, or written a letter or card to us.

the conversation has been good, and on any topic that comes to mind.

LongHairGal

TRUTH AND JUSTICE:

I don’t blame you for being resentful over these people ignoring/mistreating you for so long with the result being ruined family relationships. Years have passed and they just imagine they can try to come back into your life with no apologies !!!

Witnesses are deceived into believing people are like a light switch that can be turned On or Off.. They are so wrong.

I believe the reason JWs are ‘reaching out’ to estranged people is a combination of factors: the bad publicity the religion is getting and/or the realization that they have driven SO many away with their toxic environment and arrogance..Their numbers are declining and elderly Baby Boomers make up a significant portion of whatever people still go there.. They probably see the handwriting on the wall.

6

Attended the KH recently and found it to be thoroughly therapeutic.

by joe134cd in

i had to attend a family event recently which involved attending the kh.

before i went i had it in my mind this was going to be a different experience.

tbh i’ve had an interest in super hero socks.

LongHairGal

JOE134CD:

I would say it’s a subtle statement made without uttering a word. But, it might not have been noticed unless somebody was really checking you out.

18

Elderly and sick: Out of sight, out of mind

by Captain Schmideo2 in

jw
friends

someone else posted something a similar experience, this is one i had regarding my mom.my mom died last year.

she had been in failing health for years, but the last 2 year were pretty rough for her, with lots of visits to the hospital.

the last 4 months, it was the hospital, a skilled nursing facility/rehab unit, and finally, a nursing home.

LongHairGal

CAPTAIN SCHMIDEO2:

I am sorry about the loss of your mom and that the ‘friends’ turned out to be a disappointment. It is as you described it: unless you are part of a big clan/extended family, you are forgotten.

At least she had you and that is good. Don’t know if you are active in the religion, but those elderly JWs who have alienated their children are in a terrible predicament.

FOOLEDNOMORE:

Yes, they have their nerve $ticking their noses into other people’s business asking questions that don’t concern them!

22

Radical shake up

by Mikejw in

imagine if all the governing body resigned and a new set of brothers came in and said we are very very sorry for all those who have been disfellowshipped and disassociated over the years.

we know many mistakes have been made.

we are really genuinely sorry to all those who have been hurt and especially those who have died and been hurt by these mistakes.

LongHairGal

LV101:

My God, what kind of environment is this - and who the hell would want to be there???

I don’t need to go into everything but I was hated back in the day as a young lady who worked. Nah! these bastards can go take a hike!

I can’t even feel sorry for people who never wanted to work..Let their ‘spiritual’ friends give them money.. What you describe is nothing I would ever tolerate and I would have to openly shout and tell these brothers off. I would actually insult them. Why on earth would I go there? I don’t even want to know these people.

22

Radical shake up

by Mikejw in

imagine if all the governing body resigned and a new set of brothers came in and said we are very very sorry for all those who have been disfellowshipped and disassociated over the years.

we know many mistakes have been made.

we are really genuinely sorry to all those who have been hurt and especially those who have died and been hurt by these mistakes.

LongHairGal

MIKE JW:

I agree with MAGNUM and I think anybody who would go running back in your scenario to be a glutton for punishment.

Not only that, just what are they going back to? ..At least when I walked away in 2001 over the 1995 Generation thing + bad attitudes in the congregation - things were ‘normal’ with no desperation yet or panhandling.. Even the pioneers who didn’t plan weren’t worried yet.

Now, we are 23 years later. Things are bad in the economy and the congregations with many daydreamers reaching retirement age unprepared… What would happen if I were stupid enough to show my face there?? I guarantee some moron would approach me (a person knocked for working, I might add) and ask for money - for people there who didn’t work!.. I have told my JW ‘friends’ from the old days and even Witnesses at my door that I would never tolerate this.. I’m afraid that’s how it is now in many congregations.👎 You can have it.

21

Field Service

by Ding in

for those who are still attending meetings, what is happening at your congregation regarding field service now that reporting of hours is no longer required?.

are the elders pushing for people to go out in service anyway?.

what is the response?.

LongHairGal

MAGNUM:

In addition to what you mentioned, what about people harmed by following the religion’s advice?? (People led to believe they didn’t need to prepare for old age and retirement).. How could a just God not understand how misled people were???

As you know. they discarded that 100 year old teaching about counting time at their annual meeting.. I was judged over this and will never forget!!! Thankfully, I paid no attention years ago and did what I had to do, which was work. (You have mentioned your situation.) What about the many thousands of JWs in a similar or worse predicament now - and at an advanced age no less?

And no apologies (or anything else) to anybody.

I wonder what the majority of the JWs really think about these changes.

17

Enjoy hope without disappointment

by Mikejw in

todays watchtower is very interesting on many levels.

they know that millions are disappointed.. https://www.jw.org/finder?srcid=jwlshare&wtlocale=e&prefer=lang&docid=2023681.

i also found it interesting they talk about brother fred franz and show his picture.

LongHairGal

MIKEJW:

They need an article like this after the disappointment caused by the changes in their 2023 Annual Meeting.

I am long Out so it doesn’t matter to me - but very many Witnesses must be deeply depressed over these changes (especially the one about not needing to report hours). I got judged over this and glad I never listened.

I watched a You Tube by an ex-JW who talks about how they went ‘scorched earth’ on their own teachings! Any intelligent JWs must come to the same conclusions. How could it not bother them?

DING:

Nineteen Seventy Five was before my time in the JW religion. There must have been many thousands ruined by the bad advice they got. These people did more than ‘grow old’ - many have passed away… Sadly, people who came in after ‘75 got similar bad advice to not get careers, etc. Thankfully, I never paid any mind to anything said there!

62

The Vaccine mandate has been lifted, with no explanation or apologies

by redsetter2 in

.

LongHairGal

REDSETTER2:

Welcome to the forum. I sometimes look at Reddit and see it’s a young crowd. As to it being toxic, who knows? Some disgruntled persons thought that about this place. But, I think toxicity is in the eyes of the beholder.

I haven’t seen this vaccine news on Reddit unless I missed it.

This is very interesting and probably done for legal reasons - which I believe is the force behind the other recent changes. Theocratic? Don’t make me laugh.. But, I always felt the religion shouldn’t have been sticking its nose into people’s medical business!

I never got that vaccine anyway but it makes no difference since I’m Out of the religion.

45

The Day two JW kids murdered their parents.

by LDH in

jw
friends

for those of you who are unfamiliar with the story, which is ten years old now.

the freeman brothers of allentown pennsylvania lashed out against their strict upbringing by killing their loyal jw parents and even their younger brother.. the story made national headlines because these two had tattoos on their foreheads.

"berzerker" and "sieg heil.".

LongHairGal

I remember when this crime occurred. I was still working and was active in the religion at the time.

I didn’t know what to make of it then except that I felt sorry for those parents and wondered what got into those boys to do what they did.

Looking at it now - as a person who is Out of the religion and Know what I know and how toxic it is, I see it a little differently. First of all, I certainly don’t condone what they did. But, I look at the level of anger displayed in the savagery of the attacks. These were two boys probably intelligent who lived under restrictions that they knew were unfair and subject to bullying. Also, I wonder how they were treated in the hall? Maybe not so great.

When I think of all we know about this religion and their changed teachings that they discard without a thought to the trouble they caused people - it really makes me sad those parents were so zealous. So, the unthinkable happened.

48

2024 when will Witnesses admit they are wrong???

by Witness 007 in

1914 generation is long gone.

1975 was a joke 40 years ago.

i know of many witnesses still hanging on for armagedon but when will they give up?

LongHairGal

WITNESS007:

I don’t think they will ever admit they were wrong.

That might destroy the last vestige of hope that keeps many people hanging on there. Many know something is not right but they will stay for life. I saw on a Reddit post that somebody said Boomer Witnesses are very prideful.

I’m a Boomer myself who got a lot of grief from these people back in the day because I worked.. I am happily long out of the religion.. But, these ‘heavies’ aren’t going anywhere and, in fact, are probably propping the religion up. When they’re gone, that’s it.