AudeSapere

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Posts by AudeSapere

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  12

  You might be a Jehovah's Witness if.......

  by Sour Grapes in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  you might be a jehovah's witness if, to not feel guilty on saturday morning, you ride in a car with a group of adults driving in circles around town taking turns to get out one at a time to knock on a door that you hoped no one would answer.. you might be a jw if going on vacation meant going to a summer regional or district assembly where you did not need to pack shorts, tennis shoes, or tank tops.

  .

  you might be a jw if for lunch at the summer convention you and your family ate breakfast food from the holiday inn where you are staying for the summer assembly.. you might be a jw if the first thing that you think about when waking up in the morning is that it is meeting night.. you might be a jw if you introduce a person to another jw, not by the person's name by as my bible study.. you might be a jw if you don't celebrate christmas but will take the money from your employer to not come to work so that you can celebrate it..

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  AudeSapere

  Funny and true!
  
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  12

  Closure and the death of JW family/friends

  by dubstepped in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  a few threads recently made me think of how cruel jehovah's witnesses are in shunning around death.

  i don't have much experience with death.

  i lost my non-jw grandpa when i was 12 (?

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  AudeSapere

  This:

  dogisgod wrote: I recommend that those of you who are barred from your families memorials, have your own. Do it the way that brings closure (if that's possible) and peace of mind.

  
  
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  28

  "Thanks for the thought" - how the religion robs people of normal humanity

  by stuckinarut2 in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  so as you all know, my wife and i are not officially df or da.. a small event happened this week that i have to share!.

  a family that we were really close to (dinners and catch ups several times a month , go out socially often, play sport together, helped them through tough times, like uncle and aunty to their kids, etc).

  the wife's father died.

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  AudeSapere

  This:

  Incognito wrote:Taking an alternate view, maybe the father's death has hit them harder than you recognize. Perhaps they are in shock and consumed with grief and so are not acting as themselves and are not associating their behaviour with acting rudely.

  I lost both parents in the fairly-recent past. The passing of a parent can affect some people very hard. I think having a JW past complicates things exponentially - especially if someone is a little 'weak'.

  The loss can make you face everything you thought you knew. And feelings and insights can change daily.

  There can be a crisis of belief with the survivor.

  Manners and normal gratifude can easily be skipped by a someone have a great personal crisis.
  

  JWs are not accustomed to grieving. And they usually don't understand the benefit of grieving.

  And when they lose a parent, survivors are forced to confront their own mortality. An extremely sobering concept for those raised on assertion that they 'Can Live Forever in Paradise On Earth' and "Millions Now Living Will Never Die."

  One of the best things that one of my friend did a few weeks after my dad passed last year was to call to say she was in the neighborhood and asked if she could come by for just a few minutes. Very impromptu. Just she and I. We had a cup of tea and chatted in my home. And I cried without worrying about disturbing other people. She just said she was thinking of me and let me talk. She listened patiently and let me cry.

  It was powerful and kind and helpful to me.

  Maybe don't read too much into the brusque reply about the flowers.

  Maybe reach out to one of them for an informal one-on-one to show that you still really do care about them as a person. And as a friend.
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  14

  Early 70's JW POP Music: All Over, No wonder. By: The Great Crowd

  by I quit! in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  going through a box of old records in my garage i came across this 45 by the great crowd.

  it was given to me in the early 70's when i was living in crestline, ca.

  i had no way of playing it because i haven't had a turntable in years so i googled it and found this link.

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  AudeSapere

  I used to know Phil and Tina. Seems like two lifetimes ago!

  Pretty cool back story from DNC.Thanks for sharing.
  
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  9

  Memorial Question

  by charity7 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  hi guys.

  my husband is a jw and i have a question because yesterday was the memorial.

  i was wondering how they pick the date for the memorial because, even though religious groups are celebrating today as easter, next sunday is actually the anniversary date of the resurrection according to the jewish calendar?

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  AudeSapere

  From jw dot org:

  "Jehovah’s Witnesses observe the Memorial after sundown on Nisan 14, according to the reckoning of the Jewish calendar that was common in the first century. The Jewish day begins at sundown and extends until the following sundown. So Jesus died on the same Jewish calendar day that he instituted the Memorial. The beginning of the month of Nisan was the sunset after the new moon nearest the spring equinox became visible in Jerusalem. The Memorial date is 14 days thereafter. (Thus the date for the Memorial may not coincide with that of the Passover kept by modern-day Jews. Why not? The start of their calendar months is set to coincide with the astronomical new moon, not the visible new moon over Jerusalem, which may come 18 to 30 hours later. Also, most Jews today keep the Passover on Nisan 15, not on the 14th as did Jesus in harmony with what was stated in the Mosaic Law.)"

  https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1101989248
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  21

  Zeb's Memorial Experience

  by HiddlesWife in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i just saw zeb's ("i'm worldly") video entitled: "black mass mayhem" a few minutes ago.

  no doubt this was what he experienced at a memorial he attended last night.

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xz1eb63iry .

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  AudeSapere

  It's outrageous. It's 'in your face'. It goes right over most JWs heads. It reinforces JW perception that XJW's are crazy. To the average JW, it sounds absurd. It reinforces JW persecution complex.

  It feels wrong.
  

  But I'm also certain it gets some JWs talking.

  Or a least thinking.

  And maybe that's a start.

  But I think they are talking more about the actions and the disruption rather than the actual message.

  It feels wrong and disrespectful to invade and disrupt religious services.

  But JWs for so many years said they are not a religion. And they said their places of worship are not churches. And for over 100 years they run their organization like a business. A non-charitable, tax-exempt business with a religious fairy-tale message.
  

  And the Jehovah's Witness organization does invade and disrupt and break-up families. [Just ask anyone who has observed the recruitment and indoctrination of a family member.]
  

  But the average JW does not really perceive it this way.

  In the minds of the JWs watching the 'outbursts', the disruptive nature of these KH stormings would validate the shunning (and disfellowshipping) of the participants.

  The kids or others who may already be seeing cracks in the organization and those starting to wake up may be the only ones who take note. But I would assume that they don't want to be aligned with what they perceive as unhinged, raging, mentally-diseased, demon-possessed activists.

  And yet...

  We learned to 'Preach with Boldness' at our KingdomHalls.

  These activists learned their lessons while in their seats at the Hall and in Field Service.
  

  This activism feels wrong. But it also feels very right, in a weird sort of way.

  Maybe business cards with links to a few select clips of the ARC (or a 20-min video of ARC highlights and a link to the full 8-10 days testimony of the ARC) and jwfacts.com??

  I would love to see links to print out the XJW convention brochure from 10 years (?) ago, the Funny Money, and the new brochure that was featured at the Warwick protest march last fall. These printed items can be left around town by those of us who for a very wide variety of reasons cannot or will not join the 'in-your-face' team. We can feed the information to the general public who can then have a topic of conversation to start with any JW they come in contact with.

  The printed pieces can begin specifically ask the recipient to discuss this info with any JW they meet.

  Just a few thoughts as I watch these YouTube videos.

  The CTV program that aired last week (?) was sooo well done. And I thought nicely explained why some feel the need to storm KingdomHalls. Time will tell how much of an effect it has on the average JW.
  
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  8

  Have I made a mistake?

  by Calashan in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  so i've been out since my mid teens.

  never baptised and consider myself among the lucky ones as it meant i could still have a normal(?

  ) relationship with my parents who are both still in.. jump forward 14 years or so to last night.

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  AudeSapere

  Oh! That tightrope we walk when interacting with our JW family members!!

  We *all* know that constriction in the chest.

  Maybe call your dad and just say something like "I've been thinking about our conversation from yesterday. I really hope I didn't say anything that could get you in trouble with the elders. I sorry if I over-spoke or did anything to cause you distress."

  And just leave it at that.

  I think those exact years are effective because it could put your dad back in the mindframe of being a grown man just speaking honestly with his son. If the elders try to interfere in the discussion/relationship, he is more likely to feel that *they* are overstepping the line, not you.

  And welcome to JWN. It's nice to have a place to meet with people who know where you are coming from.

  -AudeSapere (meaning: Dare to Know; Dare to Have Wisdom/Understanding; Dare to Think for Yourself)
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  4

  Is the Watchtower Bible and Truck Society still paying $4,000 a day in fines?

  by new boy in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  to the state of california for not turning over the list of all the known pedophiles in their organization?.

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  AudeSapere

  This discussion may help with the answer to that question:

  https://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/5873117277716480/padron-case-settled-what-happens-fine
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  92

  Only a few days ago I was entirely lost and without hope the rug was pulled out from under me

  by elderess in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  only a few days ago i was walking around the house in a mindless wander thinking if i needed to seek professional help.

  then i got the courage to seek the comfort of complete strangers on the internet and found a world of support here on this website.

  thank you simon and whoever else has made this website possible.

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  AudeSapere

  So glad you found us here. You will find much information (use the search feature) and support.

  Slow and steady with your next steps.

  Aude Sapere (meaning: Dare to Know; Dare to Have Wisdom/Understanding; Dare to Think for Yourself)
  
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  41

  suicide

  by zeb in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  who among us has known a jw who has committed suicide.

  i believe this as a separate subject has not been covered..

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  AudeSapere

  SUCH an important topic. Good to bring up the subject again.