Posts by elliej

110

WT desparate: Aug 15 WT- In Our Next Issue: When A Loved One Leaves Jehovah

by truthseeker in

jw
friends

no, i don't have this article yet, it will appear in the sep 1, 2006 wt.

it may even be a wt study article.. in the august 15 watchtower, the box "in our next issue" has three forthcoming articles, and one of them is "when a loved one leaves jehovah".

of interest, it's not when a loved one leaves the society, it's jehovah.. will keep you posted.

elliej

What makes me sick about this article is that my bil will look at it as a message from Jehovah about us leaving. Isn't it amazing how the Watchtower will come out with an article right when you need it? The FDS are really taking care of the Flock!

To him, it will justify his stand on shunning us. He MUST be right, they printed it in his Bible, oops, I mean the Watchtower. It will never occur to him that they have to print this crap because "loved ones leaving" is such a huge problem. Personally, I cannot wait for the moment I get to explain to him that leaving the organization is not the same as leaving Jehovah like his cult would have him believe. GRRRRR!

24

Saturday morning books study & Field Service combined

by JH in

jw
friends

i noticed recently that the book study i used to attend, used to be on a tuesdays or thursdays, but now it's on a saturday morning.. i notice that there are quite a few book studies on saturdays now.

i think that 2 out of the 4 books studies in my congregation are on saturdays.

is this a new way to get people to go out in the field service on saturdays?

elliej

Our old congregation has done this for as long as I can remember. For them, it is absolutely a way to get people out in service afterward. We were treated like lepers when we would get up to leave before service. Instead of letting that bother us we just quit going to the bookstudy. Didn't need the guilt.

54

How many ex-jws move out of town to start over?

by rebel8 in

jw
friends

i was wondering how common it is for ex-jws to relocate after leaving the borg in order to escape the bad memories of being in a cult, or to break contact with cult members.. i have wanted to move far away for as long as i can remember--even as a kid--for this purpose.

various life circumstances have delayed that--long story--but mr. rebel8 and i are thinking of moving within the next few years.

i am the one who's most interested in moving to a completely different type of place--different culture, different climate, different everything!

elliej

We moved and faded at the same time and it worked great. If my husband had decided to take a job in our old state, closer to home, I doubt that we would be out by now. Too many interfering family would have made it too difficult. New location, nobody knows our history, any dubs that knock don't know us from adam. It's fabulous. True freedom, we are shunned now back home, but who cares? We don't have to see those people anyway. And they are giving a bad witness to the rest of the non dub family.

35

Fluff Topic for the evening: What would you have pursued if you could have?

by restrangled in

jw
friends

i had 3 loves, art, dance and animals.

how i wish i could have followed up on one of those 3. i have picked up gardening of exotic plants, ....doesn't pay anything but brings me joy.. what was the dream you gave up beacause of being a jw?

tell us if you have picked up that dream or found another!.

elliej

What a nice comment, thank you. Maybe someday.

35

Fluff Topic for the evening: What would you have pursued if you could have?

by restrangled in

jw
friends

i had 3 loves, art, dance and animals.

how i wish i could have followed up on one of those 3. i have picked up gardening of exotic plants, ....doesn't pay anything but brings me joy.. what was the dream you gave up beacause of being a jw?

tell us if you have picked up that dream or found another!.

elliej

I was a teacher but I gave it up because the holiday/ birthday and science issues were just too stressful for me. How do you not sing "Happy Birthday" to an 8 year old while the whole rest of the class is? How do you avoid the holiday activities and parties? Or explain to the children that you won't accept their Christmas gifts? There were also too many meetings and activites -conferences, open houses, staff meetings, etc.- during the evening that caused interference with my meeting schedule. What a waste.

49

Make yourself a "mini me"

by damselfly in

jw
friends

i found the coolest site this morning to make a cartoon version of yourself.

http://elouai.com/doll-makers/new-dollmaker.php .

give it a try!

elliej

Oh man, this is the last thing I needed to find today. Now I won't get anything done!

45

id JWs RIP you OFF in the MARRIAGE Dept.?

by Ms. Whip in

jw
friends

this photo (taken from a jw group on aol) is quite typical of jw marriage matches.

don't get me wrong, i'm sure they are great people as far as jws go.

but, it made me think.

elliej

My husbands uncle did just the opposite and tried to encourage his sons NOT to get married, better to wait until the new system and bag one of those beautiful old testament virgins. None of the sisters in our hall were good enough I guess.

20

To disassociate or not?

by elliej in

jw
friends

late last year my husband and i, with our children, moved to a new state and decided to leave the organization after much research and soul searching.

our intent was to just fade quietly away in order to maintain certain family relationships, but thanks to a couple of militant dubs who were assigned to find out what was going on with us, we were outed.

even though we haven't made any comments other than that there are certain things we don't agree with, we have been completely shunned.

elliej

This is exactly how I felt back in 2002. For me, DA'ing was an important symbolic act. Wiping the slate clean, severing all ties. If this is your intention, then I think it's a good idea.

I think this is exactly how I feel. When I was first studying with the JW's they told me that I had to write to the Catholic Church and tell them that I wanted to be removed from their membership rolls. Whatever. At the time, I thought that was the dumbest thing I had ever heard, and while I told them that I did it, I really didn't. I just admitted that to my husband and he was shocked!

Now I don't think its so dumb. And if it makes things worse, well I doubt they could really say too much worse than they have been. Unfortunately, it is part of my husbands family who have said the worst. Seems they have been waiting a long time to cast me in a pretty bad light.

20

To disassociate or not?

by elliej in

jw
friends

late last year my husband and i, with our children, moved to a new state and decided to leave the organization after much research and soul searching.

our intent was to just fade quietly away in order to maintain certain family relationships, but thanks to a couple of militant dubs who were assigned to find out what was going on with us, we were outed.

even though we haven't made any comments other than that there are certain things we don't agree with, we have been completely shunned.

elliej

Wifey and I have not Da'd yet - but know that may happen someday, only because I refuse to let them Df me without a word. So far I am playing a game of cat and mouse with the elders. Looks like about every three or four months they make a stab at trying to get me corraled for a 'little conversation'. I have just avoided them to date.

Jeff, I don't want to let them DF me, but since we are in another state, they can't really try to contact me either, can they? Would they announce that we are no longer JW's without even talking to us first? Would they do that just based on rumors? I would love to have a JC just to get some of this crap out in the open, but I don't get that confrontation with them because of my distance. I hate that they can talk about us and we don't get a voice. I guess I shouldn't let their games get to me though, huh?

I also like the idea of writing to the local paper, but I doubt it would be published. Maybe it's worth a try, thanks for that link. I would hate to write letters to individuals because I don't want to prove them right that I am an evil apostate out to damage their precious organization. I need a more subtle way to get the word out.

I guess my biggest problem is just that I can't stand the idea of being associated in any way with the Watchtower Society. At all. I just wonder if disassociating myself is worth the trouble. Thanks for all your replies.

20

To disassociate or not?

by elliej in

jw
friends

late last year my husband and i, with our children, moved to a new state and decided to leave the organization after much research and soul searching.

our intent was to just fade quietly away in order to maintain certain family relationships, but thanks to a couple of militant dubs who were assigned to find out what was going on with us, we were outed.

even though we haven't made any comments other than that there are certain things we don't agree with, we have been completely shunned.

elliej

Late last year my husband and I, with our children, moved to a new state and decided to leave the organization after much research and soul searching. Our intent was to just fade quietly away in order to maintain certain family relationships, but thanks to a couple of militant dubs who were assigned to find out what was going on with us, we were outed. Even though we haven't made any comments other than that there are certain things we don't agree with, we have been completely shunned. If that was not enough, we have also been slandered and gossipped about.

More and more I have the desire to write a DA letter to my former congregation. I don't want to be associated in any way with that organization, and I would like to tell them why. Since my fade has been unsuccessful and I am being shunned and demonized anyway, is there any reason I shouldn't DA? Or should I just let sleeping dogs lie? Any advice would be appreciated.