Posts by Jamelle

24

While preaching, did you realize that you were also screwing up their lives

by JH in

jw
friends

.

when you were going door to door, although you had the pure intention of teaching people what you taught was god's will, did you realize back then, that if they listened to you and accepted a bible study that you were also screwing up their lives and that they would suffer greatly by this?.

it was always in back of my mind.....

Jamelle

I think there was a brief time - right after I was reinstated for the first and LAST time - that I got really into going out in service.

Other than that - I hated it and never tried to really do good at it. I remember always feeling that it was very rude and presumptuous of me to tell a perfect stranger that their faith was wrong and mine was right - however prettily I put the words. I know I was taught that we were trying to save peoples lives - but it just didn't seem that way to me.

I was never a good JW - not cut out for it! I do laugh about all those times I positioned my body so that my "partner" couldn't see I wasn't really pushing the doorbell button in. LOL! Sometimes I would say, "Wow - you can barely hear that ring from out here, can you?"

I was always mad when someone didn't have a doorbell and I had to knock!

68

Do You Still Look Like A Jehovah's Witness?

by minimus in

jw
friends

would someone still mistake you for a witness?

Jamelle

I suppose it's possible. I don't wear really revealing clothing (at least not all the time ). I don't have any tattoos or piercings.

I do wear my skirts above the knee - ohmygosh - I'm such a sinner!

Oh - and do you think the little jack'o'lantern light up necklace I'm wearing today would tip anyones opinion one way or the other?

21

Do you hate the person that converted you?

by MsMcDucket in

jw
friends

i really feel like i got punk'd!

so, punk'd, that i messed up my family!

all because i thought they knew better than me!

Jamelle

I don't have to decide how I feel about the person who converted me - since I was born into the JW world.

My parents were converted shortly before I was born - my mother by a pioneer sister - my father by that same sister's husband. That JW couple are the reason my parents met and got married and thus produced me.

How ironic is that? So I can't feel too much resentment or I'd be resenting the fact that I was born. AARGH! Too confusing!

8

Are we prey for the taking, from people in other religions?

by free2beme in

jw
friends

when i told people i was no longer a witness, i had some weird things happen with people in other religions.

one, i had a sister of one my friends call me and offer to bring a de-programmer to my house to help me learn the truth about jesus christ.

sounded like a programing, and not a de-programing.

Jamelle

I've never been actively pressured to join another church or learn a new way of thinking. I wonder if efforst like this vary depending on region, or if I've just been lucky.

When I was leaving the org I was surrounded by a close knit group of people at the small company I worked for. I had already "witnessed" to them of just what the JW's were all about. They were without fail very supportive of my decision to leave especially when they saw my subsequent treatment at the hands of family.

I too would recommend anyone that is leaving the JW's to be very cautious of jumping right back into another faith. Take some time to think things through for yourself - find out how YOU feel about things - and then look for a faith that will complement that.

37

Is Jehovah really gods name?

by dezpbem in

jw
friends

in another thread i started someone askedi still believe in jehovah, but now, i'm having doubts about his name???

is jehovah really god's name?

if he wanted his name to be known, he's all-powerful, omnipotent... i know that he has the power to make sure that his name is used correctly.

Jamelle

Let me put it this way - the Witnesses are wrong about soooo many other things. Why should I assume they are right about this one?

Frankly, the fact that the JW's assume that "Jehovah" is the correct name of God and reject all the others is quite arrogant. But the Society never lacks for arrogance, do they?

So I'm gonna vote - NO - it's not really his name to the exclusion of all others. However, if someone feels comfortable with that frame of reference I don't think theres anything wrong with that. As long as they don't deny that there are other names and ways of referencing the divine that are just as valid and just as worthy of respect.

17

Reverse Shunning

by JV in

jw
friends

.

has anybody launched a preemptive strike so to say on the witnesses and shunned them before they shunned you?

Jamelle

I have rarely had the opportunity to do any reverse shunning - the few times I've seen a Witness I used to know it's a passing moment in traffic or in a crowded shopping area.

The thing is - I don't like any of those people that were in my congregation. I know their dirty little secrets - I know what kind of people they really were/are. Peyton Place anyone? The handful of people I remember fondly I've never seen - don't know how I would react.

When I do see I usually ignore, pretend they are not there. It still makes me have a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. I know that whatever I do will get twisted out of proportion and someone will be on the phone to my parents before the dust settles. Not that I ever have contact with my parents but I don't want to purposely make their lives harder. They do a good enough job of that themselves by staying in "The Lie".

75

I'm not buying it! That people left the Witnesses and became Christians.

by free2beme in

jw
friends

i tried it, could not swallow all the lies and misinformation they had.

i am sorry, but even if you deny the whole witness faith, there is still parts to christianity that they pointed out that you can not just ignore and act like it is okay to join another faith that is christian.

are you going to become catholic when your know their history?

Jamelle

It took me a long time after leaving the JWs to even want to want to consider thinking about flirting with religion again. After a few years, though, I met my now husband and started attended his church with him.

It's a Christian church but not any specific type - it's geared towards young people, but they have a BIG following locally. Its probably as far away from a Kingdom Hall as I could get in atmosphere. I still had a hard time going.

I've come to a point where I don't blame God for the incorrect teachings and actions of the JWs. I wonder if my life worked out the way it did because somebody up there was looking out for me. I mean - I could still be stuck in that zombie like existance!

Other days I doubt any "organized" religon. I stay alert, watch for red flags and question everything. I'm also very drawn to nature as proof of the existance of a Creator or at least a guiding hand...I try to never judge another's faith or lack thereof...and I've been getting along just fine.

What I'll do when we have kids is another story...not quite sure what I'll tell them yet.

9

trouble making real friends

by dezpbem in

jw
friends

we push people away and keep them at a distance out of fear.

fear of getting close again.

many ex-jw's have an odd habit of pushing people away.

Jamelle

One of the reasons ( and there were many) that I finally completely seperated myself from the Witnesses was this lack of real connection. I grew up in a cong with lots of young people, mostly other girls.

For the majority of my youth, teen years I was expected to like these girls and be their friend and "sister". Looking back I can see that I could barely stand most of them. I struggled to make them "like" me and didn't really succeed because they could sense I didn't really like them.

Being released from the bonds of who I should be friends with and who I shouldn't was a heady experince for me. I drifted for a couple years and one of the strong pulls away from the Borg (and there were many) was how easily I made friendships with "worldly" people. People who I could tell were decent and kind and caring.

I still have lasting legacies from the Society's brainwashing - but thankfully, being able to make friends with others isn't one of them.

54

How many of you shunned others when you were a JW?

by Lady Lee in

jw
friends

i know i did.. we had a young fellow who used to live at my grandmother's place.

in may ways he was like family.

after he moved out of my grandmother's place i saw him frequently.

Jamelle

I don't remember ever shunning anyone - but in our congregation anyone who was DFd was always sitting in back and would leave right after the meeting was over. I'm sure I avoided meeting their eyes when going back to the bathroom - just can't recall.

Truth is - I was the first to be disfellowshipped out of our hall's large group of teenagers - so they all got to practice on me. It was my turn to sit at the back, etc, etc, blah, blah, blah. Whatever.

I was definitely raised to shun and to do so to a very nasty level - my mother - being the wonderful woman that she was drilled stories into my head about how it was wrong to even smile at a DFd person. That would be like saying it was okay to be DFd. I remember her telling me a story about how a DFd woman whispered a question to her "Is this seat taken?"

My mother proudly reported that she "just glared at that person until they went away". Wow - that something to be proud of, huh?

The good news is that I can remember mentally rebelling against my mother's extremeist attitude towards things like this since I was the age of 5. Guess I never was cut out to be one of the Borg. Thank God!

25

MAJOR SHUNNING ARTICLE SPOKESMAN REVIEW WASHINGTON

by DannyHaszard in

monday thoughts

the spokesman review, wa - 45 minutes ago .

... before getting to the sports section, i read every word of virginia de leon's piece about disfellowshipped jehovah's witnesses cut off by faith, and i'm ...

Jamelle

Just wanted to add my support to that of everyone else that has spoken up. It's hard to lose ties with family - I know a bit about it.

My current status is DF'd. I haven't been spoken to by my mother in years. By my father in over a year - when he told me that he, my mother and my sister would not be coming to my wedding. I haven't spoken to my sister for quite some time either.

I used to be very angry - I still am sometimes and I think it is entirely appropriate. Sometimes I just feel pity for those who go through their lives serving false truths. They don't really have lives, do they?

I know that you will find the strength you need to get through this time and although it may take a while, it should get easier. Not much help now, I know.

I for one, am firmly in your court!