Posts by JWdaughter

74

Living Through the Brief Liberalization of Jehovah's Witnesses, Never Recovering

by TMS in

jw
friends

with the book crisis of conscience detailing the turbulence at bethel during the early to mid 70's, the transformation from autocratic rule to governance by committee or a body of men, many of us can speak to how that felt among the rank and file of the local congregations during those years.

we learned new concepts based in large part to research done for the aid to bible understanding volume, then we were asked or coerced into unlearning those principles, going back to the old ways.

some of us never readjusted, finding ourselves very different from our more hardline compadres.. the inertia for the changes that eventually were initiated in the congregations came from the discovery that the greek words episkopos and presbyteros were used biblically to refer to all qualified men in a congregation, not just one.

JWdaughter

Man. Most of my years in the borg that I remember are 1970-1982. It didn't feel that liberal to ME, but I guess I do remember the cracking down when our youth bible study was summarily canceled after some earnest conversation with an elder about 1975 and other stuff.

I don't remember there ever NOT being elders. I don't remember short skirts, pantsuits or much more than cheesy sideburns and bro dent's neon green suits and purple shirts. He was s slight, short, balding white guy in his 30's and I can't even describe his style as I think he was completely unique in this world. Mostly I liked the elders until I was called in the back to testify that I was indeed abused and wasn't a willing victim(??) and then when I asked questions no one thought worth answering i just said I didn't want to be a JW and poof, I was DA'd. Not sure how/why as I was a kid and never baptised. I had no idea it was anything more than not ID'ing myself as one anymore and not going to meetings. It was I think a whole new category of getting busted in the congregation.

34

How far will they go?

by careful in

i've been drawing back lately and looking at the big picture going on in the org, somewhat like slimboyfat has also been doing, but i am wondering about different possibilities.

so the current gb has modernized recently in various ways.

they have done a strong and sudden about-face regarding the electronic world, from viewing the whole thing suspiciously and condemning bros. use tablets from the platform to suddenly embracing them and causing the r&f to do so to such a degree that old ones are spending hundreds of dollars to buy devices that they have no clue how to use; they have heavily embraced this media for their message, very much like the churches have been doing for years, especially with their jw broadcasting and their caleb and sophia animations.

JWdaughter

Meetings in basements, decentralized local governance all on in local Congregations, no reporting to branches. All they want is control of the money, now. People are a pain in the backside.

67

elders wife swapping question

by unstopableravens in

i hear of these stories of elders swapping wives, i remember when i was young hearing of three elders in florida doing this and getting dfed.

my question is this how is it possible to bring this up in conversation?

it seems impossible, how can there be multi elders that know each other willing and the wives?

JWdaughter

All those who don't believe it could ever happen among JWs are just still brainwashed. JWs are just people. No better than any other people. People engage in that kind of behavior and not all JWs are in because they are actually morally and ethically pure. HERE, we see all the time how many are just in because they have no other simple options. How many are in the borg that don't really buy into it or who just hope that they will get some points in the hereafter because they kind of believe it but aren't really committed? All those 2 hour averages come from somewhere.

A lot of people are going and playing along with no internal dedication to anything. They are playing it like every other Sunday/Easter Christian that JWs make fun of. A little more time, but no more heart in the game.

I was in a cong. in NJ that was all kinds of fun, they went to see movies unapproved of by hardass JWs, listened to music, went to DANCE CLUBS (it was the 80's) and out for drinks at bars (I was still underaged back then). I only participated in the regular Friendly's outing after meetings on Sunday, but to ME, that was weird-the only time we went to restaurants was when it was break out in FS.

I never did this but find it entirely credible that like minded people find each other in halls. They are, after all, just people.

17

How could i have ever let myself get involved with this cult? pains me when i think about it.

by goingthruthemotions in

when i think about where i am at now in my life, in my marriage, with my kids.

why did i get involved with this cult?

i have brought out the cult personality in my wife and there no turning her back.

JWdaughter

Hold off leaving the marriage until your kids are grown if you can bear it. Hard won experience with relatives (not JW) have shown me that leaving a marriage when kids are minors is truly tragic when there is no abuse (physical or emotional) going on. If it is truly unbearable, just be aware of the consequences-they can be as unbearable as you might think the situation now is.

30

Why I like the Mormons and why they are so much nicer then the JWs.

by new boy in

jw
friends

i never really knew any until recently.

as a witness we all thought they were weird.

but the two faiths are a lot alike, except the mormons are really so much nicer than the jws!.

JWdaughter

I think both religions are whacked. I know a LOT of both and the LDS win for being good neighbors in the literal way and the Jesus way. JWs can't touch them.

If all religion removed all the "spiritual" and doctrinal stuff and was left with the Christian 'life', the JWs would all be just plain dead. Mormons practice their religion in practical and truly neighborly ways. They help each other and their neighbors, their tithes support the things that the church does (and they do a LOT-their tithes support the community in the way they should). I can name some stinkier things that are official doctrine, but in everyday life, they practice being good neighbors and I think Jesus (who I believe existed) was more interested in informing what we do than what we blather about.

38

Your Jehovah’s Witness Is Showing

by David_Jay in

since i just signed up and posted a few times without doing this yet, here is my story..

i think that i became a jehovahs witness because of my immaturity.

i had some quirky personality traits, and i joined finding that i fit in because, as i said to myself: these people get me.

JWdaughter

When I saw the title, I already knew what this would be about and you articulated it beautifully. Been there, done that, got the t-shirt, only its not as well written as yours;)

16

Warwick -How much will it cost to build?

by TakeOffTheCrown in

jw
friends

there are some good minds on this forum.

how much will it cost, in your estimation, to build warwick?

JWdaughter

Oh, and if you think they aren't already hinting around for someone to provide a yacht or party barge or something similar for the pretty lake, then you are probably wrong. Unless watercraft is not allowed.

16

Warwick -How much will it cost to build?

by TakeOffTheCrown in

jw
friends

there are some good minds on this forum.

how much will it cost, in your estimation, to build warwick?

JWdaughter

When I first heard of the project, I thought that the whole thing would be much less than the Brooklyn properties would bring in. I'm looking at it though and it LOOKS expensive. Several large blocks of flats, the fancy dam nonsense, landscaping, hazardous waste cleanup, utilities to the boondocks. . . just the hardscaping would cost a flipping fortune. Can you imagine the driveway? In the boonies? Its not going to be a rutted dirt road or graveled. Road infrastructure and construction is $$$.

13

2 go bags

by johnamos in

will any of you post here if you hear anything in this coming thursday (1-14-16) meeting in regards to 2-go-bags being pushed again...

JWdaughter

Go bags are a good idea. We should all have some emergency supplies in our homes and cars. Even if it is just because someone next to us (not our family) has a blood sugar issue, an injury, heatstroke. . . but I have been trapped in cold weather on the side of a road for hours on a mountain pass before due to an accident. Fortunately, I always stock up for road trips with good snack food and extra blankets for naps. It is good to have things to share in times of minor need.

It is true that in a major need we'd need to be well stocked and armed like mormons or preppers to have any chance.

12

Today was an odd day.

by paul from cleveland in

jw
friends

experienced a series of odd coincidences today.

this morning i noticed a friend had "liked" a picture i had posted on facebook.

i hadn't spoken with him for a while so i texted him that we should get together to 'catch up' some time soon.

JWdaughter

Wow, that was quite a lot of day! My big news got a job interview, had a great unplanned sales call and baked a great loaf of bread.

Yours definitely had more drama and tragedies. I'm sorry so many that you care for are facing so much difficulty. May they all get rest from their stresses and find comfort.