Congrats, Bryan. For your accomplishment and your bravery.
Ingenuous
JoinedPosts by Ingenuous
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29
Where Are All The "Happy" Witnesses????????? :(
by minimus inall the jws that i know of look miserable.
they look burdened, tired and hopeless.
do you see any happy witnesses?
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Ingenuous
When I was in, I was suffering depression and anxiety. I slowly learned that depression is rampant among the Friends, but that most are putting on a show to hide it. There is still a horrendous amount of ignorance surrounding mental illness within the Org and little sympathy. I learned of a Witness counselor who was booked solid with an all-Witness clientele. Not only are people getting ill, but they are likely uncomfortable going to a non-Witness counselor. And, having seen what happened with my sister and her counselor, all it takes is one run-in with a counselor who suggests the religion could be causing some problems to turn many Witnesses off the idea of going to one. Many who are ill are so under-educated about their condition that they don't know how to work with a doctor to find the right meds.
The happiest seem to be the least likely to think too hard about the whole situation.
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New Light
by Poztate inyears ago just before my exit from "the truth" i had a chat with my father inlaw about changing and conflicting doctrines in the wt.. i happened to use the word wrong ....wow what a reaction i got.
i was reamed out on the spot.they are not wrong...they are never wrong...... it is "new light" .
in the next hour i could not get him to say or even think the"w" word.. it was very frustrating.
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Ingenuous
Anybody else have a "new light" experience??
My Dad called me apostate for saying the Org has published falsehoods in the name of God. Does that count?
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99
Shunned again, and you won't guess where. EVER.
by kwintestal inwell, we were going about our business today as we usually do on a monday.
mrs kwin went to work, kids went to school, i stayed home and made apple sauce and beer.
2:30 comes along and it's time to pick up everyone and, oh yeah ... we have that appointment today.
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Ingenuous
I second Gerard's statement - a meaningfully severe reprimand would be appropriate.
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39
Do you find it difficult to tell your JW parents you love them?
by misspeaches indoes anyone find it difficult to express their emotions to their jw parents?
my father has never been a jw and i feel comfortable enough to tell him how much i love him without hesitation.
when it comes to my jw mum i feel like it is forced and then i feel resentful and then i feel guilty all at once.
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Ingenuous
I may love my parents too much, and that's a problem.
We've got no boundaries. I can remember being around them a particular time and feeling like I was part of the Blob - no edges, no unique personality, total and complete amalgamation.
So they've taken my taking issue with the Org personally - because that's the only way we've ever related to each other. It's new and painful for both of us for me to attempt to be a functioning, independent adult. And it'll be even harder when I start telling them that, while I'll always make myself available, I'm not going to tell them everywhere I'm going and everyone I'm going to be with. I've decided that my worship is my business, not theirs, and that this is the perfect way to start asserting my right to privacy and to be treated like an adult.
There's tension between us because of my decision, and the thought of losing them completely because they assume they have the right to judge me totally unravels me.
I'm not sure they'll know how to love me once I make it clear "this is where I end and you begin."
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Not everyone left the JW Org for the same reason...Why did you leave?
by JH insome left because they couldn't follow the pace.
some left because they knew they were living a double life.. some left because they rathered live a life of sin.. and some left because they considered it a cult.. i stopped going because i was unable to keep up with all their demands and expectations, and i found them too controling.
also because they cover their past and give false hope for the near future.. why did you leave?.
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Ingenuous
I actually read my Bible - and realized I had a conscience that worked on things other than what the Org told me I was allowed to use it for.
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JWs picking and choosing which rules to follow
by kristyann indoes anyone else find that many, many jehovah's witnesses pick and choose which rules they want to follow?
my boyfriend's parents are jws and i have many, many examples to share with you!
i'd love to hear if any of you have known of similar type things, or if you know any other rules that jws commonly break.
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Ingenuous
Now elders can't be bothered, until/unless some rule from the
Mishnahelder manual is broken.LOL
In the congregations I've gone to, none of the things on the list were acceptable except college (as long as you don't talk about it too much) and buying the holiday candy on sale after-the-fact. My Mom is especially fond of those giant Easter eggs with nuts and nougat.
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Why is it so hard to have meaningful conversation at the Kingdom Hall?
by truthseeker indid any of you stuggle for have good conversations with the friends, before and after meetings?
i know i did.. by meaningful conversations, i mean in-depth discussions about events, news, beliefs.
it seems that jw's .
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Ingenuous
Why is it so hard?
In addition to the holier-than-thou comments ("Oh, I'm so busy with service and studying, I don't have time for..."), there's also the fact that in many places, whatever you say will get back to you at some point - probably significantly modified from the original. I don't think half the people at the Halls I've been to would have any conversation if it weren't for gossip and betrayed confidences.
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Describe the WILDEST JW party you ever attended!! no seriously......
by kid-A ini realize this is totally context and culturally dependent, but the old toronto jw youth scene was quite wild during the years 1984-1994. .
one example, a group of about 40 jw kids would go up to a ski resort (usually mount st.louis/moonstone or blue mountain) over the x-mas week-end.
one year we rented out a block of rooms in a resort close to the ski lodge.
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Ingenuous
Well, there wasn't any alcohol involved, but the kids and the music were so loud, there were punks on the street trying to come in and crash it. I was so ashamed when the teenage "host" went outside and tried to turn the guys away by telling them it was a JW party. You could hear the noise all the way down the block.
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Anyone ever start a 'coffee-house' Bible study?
by AK - Jeff ini am thinking of doing this at the place where i have my daily brew.
just a simple coming together of those who wish to read a chapter or two of the bible once a week with a little discussion - completely non-denom of course - .
anyone have suggestions on how to go about this - have you done it or something similar?
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Ingenuous
Ros shut things down for a while, leaving only a select few still registered. The board is still available for viewing and she's trying to decide whether to open it back up/re-register those who are requesting to be allowed back on. Apparently, things got very nasty about a month ago or so, but I wasn't checking-in regularly enough to know the details. (Lots of posts deleted.)