zaphod

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Posts by zaphod

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  67

  The most condescending thing said to you by the (sm)elders.

  by diamondblue1974 in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i wasnt the most academic of children although i had some capability but i could read quite well by the time i was 4 years old at least for my age; i have always read as a child and still read now as an adult both professionally (research) and for pleasure.

  i have always been able to write too...and pretty much advanced as well as my peers did in school...perhaps i am lucky, i certainly feel like i am when illiteracy amongst adults and children is rife at present...however.. i remember when i was 16 the wts in the uk were pushing through a scheme teaching those who were not as able to read and write...and an elder in the hall made a point of coming to me and suggesting that i should actually attend the training!!

  !....i explained that i could read and write well enough and didnt need to be taught basic literacy... he said that i might learn something new and should respect jehovahs order of things and show appreciation...i did decline his kind offer rather abruptly....but wtf??

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  zaphod

  one morning, while on the ministry with a particularly pompous elder, i began humming a tune from the mikado.

  "oh," he quipped and looked rather surprised, " i wouldn't have thought you would listen to gilbert and sullivan."

  he could have meant that he presumed that i would be into far more high-brow music and that i would not waste my time on frivolous fancies such as light comedy operettas.

  i suspect that he presumed, due to my socio-economic background, that i was more into kylie and boyzone.

  if we had ever had a proper conversation in the nine years i associated with the congregation he would have found out that i like some of the work of all of the above and lots more besides. but we never did.

  zaphod
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  40

  20 years ago..a talk concerning field service..sisters crying..eyes opened

  by confusedjw in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  well i can't recall now which public talks it was - one of my first - and it dealt with field service / preaching.

  so i thought i would interview several people in the congregation about service and their thoughts and feelings on the subject, expecting something very different than what i got.

  to my shock (i was an over zealous young buck who thought the sun rose and set on the wt) three sisters burst into tears as they told about their feelings of inadequacy and guilt over field service.

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  zaphod

  oh, my gosh

  is it just me, or did anyone else picture the sheep and ducks admitting that they had had anti-party thoughts in animal farm.

  creeped me out

  zaphod
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  32

  i'm new and i was wondering...

  by zaphod in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  what is a dub?

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  zaphod

  thanks greendawn

  it's used quite a lot on this site. i wondered if it had a meaning peculiar to the members.

  zaphod
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  32

  i'm new and i was wondering...

  by zaphod in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  what is a dub?

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  zaphod

  another question

  what is a troll, please.

  zaphod
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  13

  do i have any rights?

  by zaphod in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  i sent a letter to the elders before i got df'd and i would like it back.

  i was not of sound mind (in my opinion) when i wrote it and foolishly disclosed stuff that i would rather was not in their hands.

  does anyone know if i can get it back?

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  zaphod

  i don't want to sound like a suspicious bitch, but since i left, you understand, i have learned to not take things or people at face value.

  i read your admission thread and you did not mention this accusation of child abuse/ homosexuality at all. do you not feel that it was important enough to mention? it just seems a bit weird to me that you would not mention it when the rest of your account seems so candid.

  zaphod
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  13

  do i have any rights?

  by zaphod in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  i sent a letter to the elders before i got df'd and i would like it back.

  i was not of sound mind (in my opinion) when i wrote it and foolishly disclosed stuff that i would rather was not in their hands.

  does anyone know if i can get it back?

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  zaphod

  thanks blondie

  oh, i really live in the uk.

  nobody outside of lincolnshire knows that lincolshire exists let alone the rest of the world lol.

  zaphod
• 
  13

  do i have any rights?

  by zaphod in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  i sent a letter to the elders before i got df'd and i would like it back.

  i was not of sound mind (in my opinion) when i wrote it and foolishly disclosed stuff that i would rather was not in their hands.

  does anyone know if i can get it back?

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  zaphod

  tijkmo

  if you had an elder you were close to you could appeal to them thru him on your 'diminished mental capacity at time of writing' and you may be accommadated ...you would have been by me...so there may be someone in your ex cong that would be understanding

  i can't recall there being even one elder that i was close to. in nine years i never went over their doorstep for any reason other than field service meetings or book studies. they partook of my hospitality though, bless them.

  i once asked for help with my family bible study (i'm a single mother with three fatherless boys, one literally as his father died when he was two and the younger ones because of divorce) and was curtly told that it was my responsibility and that was that. now that i am no longer "in" i cannot imagine that they would be more accommodating.

  i guess i'll just have to get over it. just makes me feel a bit sick inside, sometimes.

  you sound like you were a nice elder, if that's not a contradiction in terms. a nice bloke, anyway.

  zaphod
• 
  28

  Movie Recommendations

  by sandy in

  1. social
  2. entertainment

  anyone have any movie recommendations for me.

  i've been searching the internet but nothing has really caught my interest.

  i love foreign films, dramas, comedies.

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  zaphod

  if it is just pure unadulterated no-brainer laughs that you want then i highly recommend dodgeball.

  my son brought the dvd home and i said no i don't want to watch that rubbish.

  i lmao. not literally, though that would be a good trick

  zaphod
• 
  13

  do i have any rights?

  by zaphod in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  i sent a letter to the elders before i got df'd and i would like it back.

  i was not of sound mind (in my opinion) when i wrote it and foolishly disclosed stuff that i would rather was not in their hands.

  does anyone know if i can get it back?

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  zaphod

  hi dan

  i read your biog and see that you sent a letter too.

  i feel such a jerk for sending one but i could not bear the thought of going into intimate detail in front of three elders.

  i know now that i should have just ignored the system and left. hindsight is a beautiful thing.

  is this practice of keeping the letters just their practice? is there some real life legal way of getting these things back?

  zaphod
• 
  13

  do i have any rights?

  by zaphod in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  i sent a letter to the elders before i got df'd and i would like it back.

  i was not of sound mind (in my opinion) when i wrote it and foolishly disclosed stuff that i would rather was not in their hands.

  does anyone know if i can get it back?

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• 

  zaphod

  i sent a letter to the elders before i got df'd and i would like it back.

  i was not of sound mind (in my opinion) when i wrote it and foolishly disclosed stuff that i would rather was not in their hands.

  does anyone know if i can get it back? and if so, do you think that they will retain a copy?

  zaphod