Posts by findingmyway

33

Going to Church for the First Time Alone

by findingmyway in

i usually go with my boyfriend to his church, but i felt the need to explore this without him.

so since i liked his church (church of christ) i decided to find one in my area to attend.

i was a really nice experience.

findingmyway

That's interesting. Thanks for the definition. Don't the witnesses claim no denomination too?

8

Are you angry or rebellious? My sister thinks I am.

by findingmyway in

my sister although not df'd at the time, explored at least one other religion.

she attended regularly and was a sunday school teacher.

i asked her today what was her motivation and asked if she had ever done research about the organization.

My sister although not df'd at the time, explored at least one other religion. She attended regularly and was a Sunday School teacher. I asked her today what was her motivation and asked if she had ever done research about the organization. She told me that she was angry with the people in the JW organization and was simply looking for a place to belong. She says that she had an extremely rebellious spirit which opened her up to all sorts of demonic influences.

I do admit that there was a time when I was very angry with people (elders, former friends, family) in the JW org. However, because of everything I was taught about avoiding apostates and not looking beyond the material put out by the WTS, I never did any research. It wasn't until I thought long and hard about returning that I decided that, since none of what I was taught ever took root, maybe I should study on my own (since obviously there was no JW that would help me get a clearer understanding of the things that I never understood). I suppose I still have some residual feelings of anger, but it isn't the raging anger I once felt, and I may be fooling myself, but I don't think it prevents me from seeing what's real. I'm not latching onto anything just for the sake of belonging. I've been alone in this world for the past 4 years almost and I've never had the desire to belong to another religious group. Part of my reason for searching stems from my desire to worship. In order to do this, I have to understand why I have this need and I need to build a foundation for my beliefs. I am looking for a place that strictly adheres to the bible and is filled with warm, non-judgmental, christian love.

That's my short story, but I can't share that with anyone from my JW past because they think that I'm lost and angry and headed towards destruction. I'm sure many of you have had similar experiences. Will you share them with me?

42

Does your family still think you are coming back?

by kid-A in

hope springs eternal in the wts.

despite having left before even being baptized, i would have to say my parents still wholeheartedly believe i will someday come around, .

get baptized, become active and maybe even become an elder !

findingmyway

I have been df'd for about 4 years and my family still clings to the hope that I will return to the "flock". It's been months since I've attended a meeting, but months will eventually turn into a decade + and I'm sure they will always hold out a hope that I will return. I mentioned in another thread that my mom was discouraged at one point and even wanted to adopt my son so that he won't get destroyed with me in Armageddon. Of course, I told her no, so now she tries to drag him to meetings with her. They even signed him up to be on the Theocratic Ministry School without my permission. He hasn't been to a meeting in a while either. As I slowly phase out his meeting attendance and allow him to engage in birthday celebrations (especially his own this Sept. 26th), he'll lose interest quickly.

We rode past a KH today and the parking lot was filled. He said, "Look mom they are having a meeting." I asked him if he wanted me to drop him off and come back and get him and he quickly responded "NO."

33

Going to Church for the First Time Alone

by findingmyway in

i usually go with my boyfriend to his church, but i felt the need to explore this without him.

so since i liked his church (church of christ) i decided to find one in my area to attend.

i was a really nice experience.

findingmyway

No I meant to say Church of Christ which has no denomination. The United Church of Christ is a Lutheran church.

30

Update to my meeting with an elder

by Goldminer in

.

first of all,sorry for being so late with my update.my wife got up at 8 am this morning so i didn't have the opportunity to be alone for a while.. as for the meeting last night,the elder was very civil,actually commended me for writing my questions down.he never made threaths,asked me if i read apostate material or if i still considered myself a jw.. we started with the 607 question.he will not believe any research beyond the wt's but said he'd do more research on it(all wt) so i guess that will go no where.he believes that ctr got it right by using the bible so i told him if it was figured out 130 years ago,it should be very simple to explain today.the only time he looked stunned was when i showed him from the wt that they once believed that jesus' presence began in 1874.he said he had never read that and tried to walk around it even when i asked him if jehovah wanted his people to believe something that wasn't true.. we beat around a few other questions with nothing concrete coming out of it.he did take my list home with him and said he'd look at them more carefully to get some scriptural answers.i also got the feeling that my wife got a spiritual boost from his visit which was very disheartening to me.anyways,i'm going to work on this 607 thing and see how things go.my wife asked me if i felt like we got somewhere and i said no.beibg told that something is the truth just because the wt says so just doesn't convince me anymore.. i'm attaching my questions,hopefully they show up here.thanks everybody,i feel really down,like i'm wasting my time.i've been wanting to run from this religion for years and here i am still fighting to prove my points.. goldminer.

p.s.-question files won't load-sorry.

findingmyway

If I mail-order it I run the risk my wife could pick it up,then I'm up the creek.

Why don't you have it delivered to your job or a discreet friend's house?

33

Going to Church for the First Time Alone

by findingmyway in

i usually go with my boyfriend to his church, but i felt the need to explore this without him.

so since i liked his church (church of christ) i decided to find one in my area to attend.

i was a really nice experience.

findingmyway

the hardest part is the children are torn between the old world they know and the new.

This is the reason why I have chosen for now to keep my son separate from this.

My wife and I have parents that try to use our children against us.

My parents do the same -- my mom in particular. Two years ago she asked if she could adopt my son because she doesn't want him to get destroyed. I was devastated because that was when I knew that she had given up on me.

Personnaly I could never go to another church after the hurt I have gone through. You must to tougher than I.

I'm not so tough. I just feel the need to have a church family right now. I may not feel this way after attending this church for a while, but I do right now.

Many Witnesses I know are Witnesses because their husband or wife became Witnesses and to keep the love of thier life they give in and become a Witness MAKE SURE THIS IS NOT WHAT IS HAPPENING TO YOU!

The reason why I decided to find a place to worship separate from my boyfriend is because I felt like I was doing it for him. Separating the two will help me decide if this is something that I really want.

33

Going to Church for the First Time Alone

by findingmyway in

i usually go with my boyfriend to his church, but i felt the need to explore this without him.

so since i liked his church (church of christ) i decided to find one in my area to attend.

i was a really nice experience.

findingmyway

Schizm,

That would be the United Church of Christ. There's a distinction between the UCC and the Church of Christ, which does not supply the US Armed Forces with Chaplains.

33

Going to Church for the First Time Alone

by findingmyway in

i usually go with my boyfriend to his church, but i felt the need to explore this without him.

so since i liked his church (church of christ) i decided to find one in my area to attend.

i was a really nice experience.

findingmyway

I have a son. I am in the very early stages of this spiritual journey, so I'm not involving him at this point. I can't answer any questions about the future, so we'll see. Ultimately, yes, I would like my family to all worship at the same place and share the same beliefs. But only time will tell.

33

Going to Church for the First Time Alone

by findingmyway in

i usually go with my boyfriend to his church, but i felt the need to explore this without him.

so since i liked his church (church of christ) i decided to find one in my area to attend.

i was a really nice experience.

findingmyway

I usually go with my boyfriend to his church, but I felt the need to explore this without him. So since I liked his church (Church of Christ) I decided to find one in my area to attend. I was a really nice experience. They have a very strong fellowship and the congregation was very warm. I wasn't feeling the communion or the money plate, so I didn't partake or donate. I will go back so if I ever feel comfortable enough, I may do that sometime down the road. I also think that I may start a bible study, but that's also down the road.

Just getting my feet wet for now.

31

Reasons for having a "Worldly" boy/girlfriend while still in?

by damselfly in

when i was a still a teenage jw ( sounds like a bad b movie drive in flick ) i had a "worldly" boyfriend.

i didn't want anything to do with the jw's but knew i wasn't strong enough to just walk away.

he became the focus of my family's hatred and the reason they believed i left (nothing could have been farther from the truth) this helped me to avoid explantions of why i didn't believe.

findingmyway

Simply was never attracted to any JW boy. They were either too nerdy or too perverted & horny. All the horny JW boys I knew go married as soon as they were legal so they could have sex and none of them are still married (at least not to their first wives).