I grew up as an elders child, and if anything my behavior was scrutinized even more closely than others. I did see other elders kids getting away with everything, but I was certainly not on that list! But then again, I rarely did anything that I needed to "get away with." I can relate to being the one blamed for what others did wrong though - my brother and I both experienced that.
caligirl
JoinedPosts by caligirl
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My story growing up as a JW ........
by WingCommander injw kids = "children of the corn".
growing up as a j-dub, i have seen all of the special treatment most jw kids and elders kids recieved in general.
while, no you were not allowed to celebrate holidays, etc, being a jw child meant you could do no wrong.
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Student dethrones Teacher
by JH indid you ever study with a person, who then got baptized, and rapidly became a ministerial servant or elder in no time, and displayed a superiority complex over you, just because he climbed the ladder faster than you did?
have you noticed how some brothers changed friends, when climbing the watchtower ladder?edited by - jh on 9 december 2002 20:55:3.
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caligirl
Well, I guarantee that she was never "promoted", but she did tell me that I had taught her all I could and that she needed to move on and finish studying with someone who could help her more. I don't know if she ever found anyone else, or who she learned from, but she got baptized soon after that, then DF'd a year later for banging her fiance in the basement of the ice cream store she worked at!
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Is it me ???
by somebody ino hearer of prayer, even to you people of all flesh will come.psalm 65:2.. jehovah god is the king of eternity.
who can pray and be heard?
approaching the king eternal.
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caligirl
They are most definitely saying that you have to be a dedicated witness to have your prayers heard.
" But how should they come to him? Earthly kings regulate such things as the dress and the manner of those allowed into their presence. Surely, then, we should expect the King Eternal to have requirements that must be met by anyone wishing to come before him with supplication and thanksgiving.Philippians 4:6, 7."
Notice that they make reference to regulating dress and the manner in which one is allowed to approach? This seems to me to be a not so subtle reinforcement that they have the right to dictate dress code as well as who is allowed to approach. In my opinion, they are also setting themselves up as the ones who are in a position to make the decision regarding who would be worthy to receive the holy spirit and have prayers heard based on what they judge to be appropriate dress and mannerisms.
baptism(as a witness) = proper fear = prayers will be heard
Notice that paragraph 11 states that those holding back from baptism are showing that they do not have proper love for God, therefore are unworthy to have their prayers heard. Great use of guilt as a motivator! So a genuine person will read that and say "I have to get baptized because I couldn't bear it if anyone doubted my love for God"
This article is a great example of misapplication of scripture, going beyone what it written and twisting the meaning so that it appears to support their teachings.
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everone is in confusion
by zolensky ini joined this site last week hoping to meet people that would steer me back to the organization.
instead the people i have talked to her are all trying to tell me too see the light and get out of the organization.
in my opinion, not that it matters, i really think that if a person had the truth deeply ingrained in them, they would never leave the truth.
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caligirl
With all respect, I have to disagree with you. I did not leave the truth. I left an organization of men. I did not leave because I wanted to indulge in "physical pleasures. I left because I discovered through PERSONAL RESEARCH that what I was taught was not correct. I left because my conscience would not allow me to continue to profess belief in something I felt was false. I left because I was living a lie. The conscience that I was given told me that someone was playing with my mind and my God given free will. We were all created with free will- it was given to us for a reason.
Why do you beleive that you are wrong? Obviously you have doubts, otherwise you would not have stopped attending meetings. Do you beleive you are wrong because you have done thorough open minded personal research into the questions that you have and have discovered that you are in error, or are you drawing your conclusion based on everything you have been told regarding the evils of independent thinking and going against the organization, or because an elder is telling you that you should feel horrible for allowing yourself to question the teachings? Guilt is a horrible thing to use as a motivator, and extremely damaging when misapplied. I think that if you really read the bible, sans watchtower, you will find many instances where people questioned God himself and were not considered evil or rebellious becuase of it. Research for yourself with an OPEN mind. Try to put your fear of man aside long enough to do a thorough examination of the mountains of information available to you. If you can do open minded, thorough research, and still draw the conclusion that the witness way of life is for you and that your doubts are in error, then by all means go back - that is your decision and you will be employing the free will that God bestowed on you. Those on this forum are employing the same free will. The organization of men have caused a great deal of harm and pain to many on this forum, and that is not to be taken lightly. Many have lost family and friends, not because they are evil or wish to go out and live immoral lives, but because they simply disagreed with the teachings of an organization, not God, an organization. That is an important distinction.
Your opinion does matter, all of us matter. We are condidtioned to beleive that salvation is earned by meeting attendance and field service and never ever questioning what we are taught, when the bible clearly states that salvation is a gift. Gifts cannot be earned. I hope that you are able to find some peace and real answers to your questions.
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What are your current beliefs on God and the bible
by Leander inwhen i first left the wts initially my intentions were to continue studying the bible on my own.
but now i really don't see the bible as being a true source of guidance.
as a witness i used to constantly read in the articles that god loves mankind, but how much love could there be if there are so many different religions all claiming to be the right one?
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caligirl
I dit not have any for a long time after leaving. It took me 4-5 years to purge my mind of all the twisted things I had been taught. I considered myself to be without any form of religious belief during those years. It is only within the last couple of years that I have begun to define a belief system that I feel comfortable with.
I have come to the personal conclusion that there is no "right" religion. I have been to several non-denominational services, and one in particular stood out to me. It was said if you are involved in a religious group that tells you that they are the only way to salvation and that you will die if you do not worship their way, RUN! I thought that was pretty sound advice and it made me realize that I was not wrong at being so uncomfortable with what I was told all growing up, and that there were others who felt that it was wrong to have your worship defined for you.
I think that there are miracles being performed. I think that many of us are too jaded to recognize them when we see them.
I wish you the best on your road to recovery.
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San Diego - Recovering & EXs - Please Post
by DamnedAt21 ini am fairly new to the san diego area.
being part of a large, well known jw family, my dfing was very difficult to deal with.
i was dfed about 2 years ago, and i am still having serious problems with the family.
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caligirl
Hello Damned -
Email me if you want - my better half and I are in the area. Always nice to meet new friends!
Cali
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Xmas xchange present(s) arrived safely........
by scootergirl ini have already gotten an email from someone stating that their gift arrived safely in the mail.
i thought it would be nice to start a thread where we can post what we got (for those nosey like me who want to know!
) and a thank you.. as for me, i haven't even begun yet!
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caligirl
I FINALLY mailed mine out today - but I am told that it will still arrive at it's destination before Christmas. And by all the people posting who have not received theirs yet (me included) at least I know that I am in good company in the "Pracrastinators Club"! Merry Christmas Everyone!
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caligirl
Love to watch Buffy, have just started watching Angel, and am a big fan of Charmed. (Lilacs, it is on Sunday night.)
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Being called brother/sister in public places
by JH inhow did you like being called brother or sister, when you were in public.
i remember once i was inside a bank waiting in line, and all of a sudden , a brother also waiting in line, said to me quite loud, hello brother x .
i felt like a jerk, being called brother in front of everyone there.
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caligirl
Rarely happened in my hall - everyone was pretty much on a first name basis except when you were being called on for commenting during the meeting. But I would have been mortified if it had ever happened in public!
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caligirl
Nice