Posts by Jamelle

28

What kind of things did you do when going door to door to add time?

by whyizit in

jw
friends

i was intrigued by an earlier post.

the point was made that the jws are going door-to-door to meet a quota and are not really concerned about the people they are witnessing to, but only in saving their own butts.

has anyone ever had a non-jw friend and asked them if they could talk about jehovah for a while to them, in order to fill the time they need?

Jamelle

As I recall, a typical Saturday morning excursion in service would involve a cargroup of 5 -6 people crammed into a mini-van stopping at someone's return visit for the very first call...this would let us "start our time"!

Then after waiting 5 - 10 minutes, more if they were actually home, we would drive to country territory and take one house at a time...

By 9:45AM the car was headed towards the break area to meet with all the other cargroups at 10AM. At 10:45AM (or later) the car group headed out again to do all RV's. Normal quitting time for service was 11:30AM.

Another common time user was visiting a Witness that was shut in or someone slightly inactive - you know - on the "pity" list. Single moms or people with disbeliving mates, things like that. Sheesh.

All in all, what a productive use of time. But you know what - I prayed for mornings like that.

The worst was being put in a car group with someone who was gung ho - then you'd be canvassing neighborhoods and actually knocking on tons of doors.

When it was my turn at the door I would pretend to press the door bell, positioning my body, etc. so that my partner couldn't tell. Sometimes I would say, "Gee, you could barely hear that bell inside there, huh?" {innocent blink}

So we'd be standing there on the steps and I always wondered if someone was inside thinking "WTF? Why are they just standing there without knocking/ringing?"

Thank Gawd!! those days are over!!!

10

Looking for input on the "Rapture" doctrine...

by Jamelle in

saw a documentary on tv this weekend about it.

have heard about the "left behind" series of books that deal with this belief.. one thing that caught my attention about the belief in the rapture was that it seemed very dark.

it seems to focus more on the scary things that are talked about in revelation than the message of peace and love that i admire in the teachings of christ.. the other thing that bothered me is that it seemed similar to the witnesses in that you have to be "saved" or you are going to die.

Jamelle

Saw a documentary on TV this weekend about it. Have heard about the "Left Behind" series of books that deal with this belief.

One thing that caught my attention about the belief in the Rapture was that it seemed very dark. It seems to focus more on the scary things that are talked about in Revelation than the message of peace and love that I admire in the teachings of Christ.

The other thing that bothered me is that it seemed similar to the Witnesses in that you have to be "saved" or you are going to die. Sounds alot like, "unless you are one of Jehovah's Witness, you are going to die!"

I know that my mother-in-law belives in the Rapture, and I questioned my husband on it briefly and he, after hesitating, said that he believed in it too.

Yes, I know, fine time for me to discover this about him, but we have really never talked about religous matters much, and when we do its about my past, etc.

Just looking for others out there that have information or opinions on this subject. I'm not trashing the idea, I'm not supporting the idea. I'm just looking for information. Thanks in advance for any input!

25

Would you change the way you left if you could?

by Gadget in

jw
friends

if you were put in a similar position to when you left the jws, would you choose to leave in a particular way because of your experiences?

if you had nothing to loose from family etc, would you be tempted to leave with a bang, or to get some sort of revenge on those who shun you?

Jamelle

I wouldn't change the majority of what happened...but I would handle one thing differently...my JC meeting!

At the time I was still intimidated enough to attend the stupid thing - and then I sat there and bawled throughout...ICK!

Knowing what I know now - I would have ALOT of questions for those elders. I would not cry. I would face them calmly and rip their illusions to shreds...

Whether they listened or not, I wouldn't care, but I would have said my piece. Then I would announce that I was DA'ing myself and walk out the door.

I've replayed that JC meeting in my mind many, many times.

13

C.S.I. Bridesmaids

by Poztate in

jw
friends

i was watching csi (crime scene investigation) with my wife last night.

the crime scene was at a wedding and a remark was made to the effect that the"historic" purpose of bridesmaids was to ward off evil spirits.

google turned up this comment amongst others.... choosing your bridesmaids.

Jamelle

Don't wedding rings and wedding cake also have "pagan" origin?

JW's - the only thing they are consistent on is being hypocritical!

33

Anger!!!!

by FlyingHighNow in

yesterday, when i was driving through holland, michigan, i was a little lost looking for the human resources office.

i was heading down a busy divided four lane street unfamiliar, when i looked up and there it was, a kingdom hall in all it's radiant three day quick-build glory.

and for the first time, rather than just the usual cringe, i felt angry!.

Jamelle

Anger was a key tool in my being able to break away from the JWs. Some of my anger was for the way I was treated, but ironically enough, some of my major doubts and angry feelings came from seeing how others were treated.

Then, over a year after leaving the JWs, finding out about Silent Lambs, etc. etc. just really made my blood boil.

I could forgive the Society for what they've done to me.

I have a much harder time trying to forgive the mistreatment and manipulation of my family and others I've known.

But I will never forgive them their policy on child abuse. I can never forget the ones who have died over the blood policy. Who died over whether or not they had a political party card. Who died or suffered because...fill in the blank...

BTW - instead of draping a sheet advertising Silent Lambs over the Kingdom Hall sign, why not rent a billboard near (or joy of joys, right above/next to) the Kingdom Hall?

Perfectly legal. Perfectly infuriating (for them) - {evil laugh}

21

Do you like to complain?

by JH in

jw
friends

.

in a way i love to complain.. our roads are horrible, the gas is way to expensive, the neighbour is a pig and could sweep his darn sidewalk, the lady across the street could put a smaller wattage bulb not to blind be on her porch, inflation is going up faster than my salary.....and so on.

ok, what do you like to complain about?

Jamelle

Sometimes.

But my husband is such a good complainer that I let him shine at that, while I practice my Pollyanna skills and try to find the bright side of the situation.

37

The Increasing Degradation of Women in the Watchtower Society.

by Dogpatch in

jw
friends

from towerwatcher:the increasing degradation of women in the watchtower society.

the lifestyle of a woman as one of jehovah's witnesses is certainly not an easy job.

it is a well known fact that most of the work that takes place within the watchtower society contributing to its success, is due to the backbone of the watchtower which can be described as the women in the congregation.

Jamelle

Good thread! I remember aux pioneering in the summer months and rarely, rarely was there ever a man that went out in service.

I also remember how the powers that be - read elders - treated a dear friend who was being abused by her husband. "Oh sister so and so, we know your husband got drunk and chased you around the house with a sledge hammer, but what did you do to make him so angry?"

Grrrrr.... I'd like to pick up a sledge hammer and chase those yahoos around and see how they like it.

My mother is one of those that tries to live up to the impossible ideals - and shes managed to turn herself into a half real/half imagined invalid who is addicted to prescription medications. Very sad.

20

Hypocrisy

by 5thGeneration in

jw
friends

wondering everyone's best hypocrisy stories.. one of many for me is an elder who told me he doesn't think gambling is wrong and smoking the "odd" cigar is fine.

beauty!.

in a local cong.. any good stories?.

Jamelle

The elder who sat on juidicial committees and supposedly had God's holy spirit directing him...oh wait...that was the spirit of lust directing him in his years long affair with another elder's wife...

The P.O. who liked to watch his R rated movies on his big screen TV

The P.O.'s wife who liked to criticize everyone ruthlessly but who cheated on her husband while he was jailed over draft doging

(There are some benefits to being ~~the doormat of~~ friends with the snarky P.O.'s daughter!)

24

JW to use bullhorns at doors

by Smiles in

jehovah's witnesses to use bullhorns on people that don't answer their doors.

monday april 24, 2006 .

by david tolsey .

Jamelle

This has got to be a joke!

Well I know Witnessare are a joke already - but you know what I mean.

37

May I pay for your wedding? And your baby shower? and your house warming?

by LDH in

jw
friends

ok i know it was not just upstate new york that had this problem.

of all the jw weddings i went to, i can think of 3 that were catered.

all the rest, the congregation members paid for.

Jamelle

LOL! Boy does this bring back memories. Add Indiana to that list of states where the potluck reigns supreme in dub-dumb!

Over the course of 19 years, I went to many, many, many, many weddings and wedding showers and baby showers. Don't think there was ever a house warming party, must be a regional thing.

I can remember on one hand, the events that didn't expect all the guests to bring food.

While I don't automatically disprove of the theory of potluck weddings/shows - they may be entirely appropriate and expected and welcomed in certain groups of people or regions of the country - I remember the Witness gatherings like this through a haze of disgust.

To me the unwritten rules about how Witness weddings would occur equalled the concept - why spend money or effort on over glorifying an event in the day of a rank and file JW's life? To do so would be wastefull and unbecoming to a true Christian. Blah, blah, blah...

I guess I feel that the shabby "celebrations" I remember were examples of a larger problem in the Witness community.

The worst were when the reception hall was a gymnasium - but I guess it felt comfortable to the bride/groom since most of them had barely graduated (and some hadn't yet!). Sorry - that was pretty snarky of me!

There are many, many options available regarding weddings now a days that don't involve spending ridiculous amounts of money. Dessert receptions, appetizer receptions, etc. are a great alternative. Using creativity and the help of willing volunteers can turn small funds into big impact. I know because I had to do it when hubby and I paid for our own wedding. We wanted our day to be special and our guests to feel welcomed.

But anything different or out of the norm that brides in my area tried to do was looked at askance. People felt like the bride (somehow the groom was never talked about - funny huh?) was putting on airs by trying to do anything nicer than normal.

Just another example of how the Witness lifestyle sucks every last drop of joy from anything!