3rd.
My Grandmother "got the truth" 5 days before Xmas in 1939, while living in a tiny Missouri city (600 pop). She threw the Xmas tree out for curb trash for the whole town to see. My 7 year old mother had to go to school and deal with the backlash. They soon after moved to California.
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get to know each other better, share something about yourself with the board what would you like us to know about you?.
lola
Did she have a second witness on an extension? If not, I'm sure she misunderstood. You accidentally pulled up one of those evil apostate sites and you are so depressed about it that you are making yourself ill and might have to miss the memorial.
That would be my story and I would be sticking to it! Unless, of course, you're ready for the big showdown.
what is the book you liked the least studying at the bookstudy?
for me it was the isaiah books.
side question which book did you like the best?
Worst: Revelation Book. It had a WT spin for every verse,
Best: Babylon the Great Has Fallen. It had the coolest pictures to alter and color in. Anyone remember the two headed fanged sheep? (For JW's, I had cool parents-My Dad would even pass me different colored pens)
hi, i am brand new to these forums.
i have been reading some stuff for a while from here and other websites.
i feels totally crazy being a member now.
Welcome to the board, Airduster.
What always bothered me, from a young teen onward, was the constant teaching that if you were not a JW you would die. The entire message I found in the Greek Scriptures was the mercy and love of Jehovah.
As a hovering adult, associated with several congregations in different parts of the US, was the OVERWHELMING lack of love that was displayed by word or action. I know "man" is imperfect, but that does not negate the fact that Jesus said that you would know his people for the love they would display. Jesus did not say "conditional love". There was no qualifier in his statement. This "lack of love" is what pushed me to seriously examine the doctrines the JW's teach.
I don't know how old you are, but don't waste years or decades sitting on the fence about this. Once you are out or have firmly faded, you'll be stunned at how emotionally immature you are. Then begins the struggle to finish growing up. Reading this boards has been very helpful for men in knowing many have struggled with the exact same feelings and issues.
Wishing you the best
last week i sent an e-mail of a compilation of of traits of a cult (i posted it here mon.
or so) to every jw i had an address for.
i knew it would come and sure enough it did!
I'm with mjarka! I'm not cleaning it up.
this is a thread to share the good things in your life since leaving the jws .
let those lurking and those contemplating leaving know that life is great outside of the org!
i'll start: .
1. I finally lost the feeling of running in place and going nowhere.
2. I actually made a few unconditional friends.
3. In my forties, I finally started to emotionally mature and realize the immense possibilities life offers us..
how else can a person justify that jehovah will destroy 6 billion people, innocent children included?
i could never accept that i deserved salvation whereas almost no one else did.
it put me on permanent spiritual edge because i thought the slave is right so the doctrine of destruction must be, but my heart always knew it was wrong.
I was Very lucky to have rational, loving parents and Grandmother. When this bothered me deeply as a young child (my other grandparents were not JW's, but Good, loving people, etc) they reassured me that God was loving and just, and he knew everyone's heart. The JW's were always harping that the old covenant was done away with, but failed to take in the overwhelming message of the New Testament: LOVE! - A big part of my finally allowing myself to fade away.
damm!
my good friend who became an elder just recently wants to invite me for service because he wants to talk about a few things with me.
well ... you have not commented in months!
Don't turn in the book! You have misplaced it, or even better, you had it at the hall, your bookbag was open and somebody "lifted it"! They won't know what to say. You probably could make a small fortune on ebay from it, but do the pdf file thing first, for all to enjoy.
I agree with a vague "depression, chronic fatigue, fiber-myalgia (?) complaint". You, of course, will have seen an MD, but they couldn't really find anything wrong, and you're scared to go to one of those pshychiatrists, their views are so humanistic and worldly. Don't be specific about anything. Offer to step down until you've got a handle on your problem. You need to be allowed to fade in peace, especially if you have family that you're concerned with.
I think the tears idea is excellent as well. They don't deal well with tears.
Best of Luck!
i guess that one of my first memories, about 3 years old, had to be sitting in a hard chair being made to listen to a boring talk that i didn't understand.
we weren't allowed any toys or books to look at besides the wt publications...i remember getting taken outside and beat for something i did...but i didn't even understand what i did wrong.
i remember that our car didn't have air-conditioning and during the summer how hot and sticky i was by the time i got to the kh.
I was a third generation witness on my mom's side, but I was VERY fortunate that I had very loving, very balanced parents. They allowed us to do normal art, parties and singing at school, even for the holidays, figuring it was all part of the curriculum, but that was before the "SOCIETY" came out with their broshure to give to the schools. I even was allowed to play on the school softball team. We even went to my Dad's non-witness parents' house for Xmas dinner and presents, as long as they didn't put up a tree (They never did, so we would come). At least we did until the society pulled a major fit in the literature in 68 or 69. My folks compensated for that change by taking the whole family on ski vacations during the holidays. Plus they always made sure that we got suprises a few weeks before and after Xmas.
We were allowed to play with kids in our neighborhood. The only criteria my parents had regarding playmates was if they were fairly well behaved, decent kids. Their religion did not enter into it. I did not start hating service until I got old enough to be embarassed I might run into a school peer. Then I came up with every excuse in the book to avoid it, especially if I thought I might end up too close to home.
Meetings were okay, but mostly because I had a few friends there. I used to wait for my little brother to fall asleep, resting his chin on his propped up hand: Then I would knock it out from under him and he would jump awake. Good Times! I stopped doing it to my older sister after she tattled. My Dad would glare, snap his fingers and point. (I was a wimp as a child-That's all it took). Though we would all have "elbow wars" on the arm rests, until it got too heated and my Dad would do his "Snap & Point" routine. My big sister pioneered, so she was accepted everywhere, and I was welcome by association. Until the early 80's there were always lots of get togethers, parties, ball games, for all ages, then things tightened up a lot, and it seemed like everything that involved more than a few families or friends getting together was a "no-no".
The only real negative I can remember about growing up a witness was the awful pictures in the childrens' orange Paradise book. I used to have nightmares that I was going to catch fire and burn up in Armagedon because I was naughty.
I did love the circuit assemblies at Dodger Stadium. We always had people with kids come stay with us from out of town, we would sit "in mass" with my cousins and all my extended family, and would have ice chests of soda pop and goodies. My grandma would always bring my Grandpa's binoculars and we'd pass them around trying to find people we knew. We'd have sno cones, ice cream, carrot cake, fresh squeezed oj. My Dad and most of the men from our hall worked "expediting", so we always knew where the coolest things were. But in the last couple of decades, it seems like anything that could create bonding, good memories has been done away with regarding assemblies.
I think, looking back, that MY pleasant upbringing around the JW's had to do with my parents and a loving Grandmother, who talked about the loving qualities of Jehovah God. Because I do know plenty of my JW peers that had fanatical, unbalanced parents who, when the Society said jump, turned off their common sense and compassion, and leaped to the moon. I think I would have had a great childhood, no matter what religion we were, because of who my parents were.
while i was in high school in the mid 60's i was told that the end was so near that i would not get to graduate from high school so i should not be concerned about being drafted due to the war in vietnam.
well i got drafted but did not pass my physical due to a medical problem.. i then considered go to school in the late 60's to enter the medical field.
i was encouraged by the elders not to do this because the end is so near and why get schooling for a profession that you will not need in a few years?
I remember all during the early 70’s hearing repeated talks, especially at the Service Meeting, of the end coming in 1975. Direct quotes from the Kingdom Ministry, about how commendable it was for some that were selling their homes or the like so they could preach full time. During the District Convention at Dodger Stadium in the summer of 1974, mention were made of being prepared to go “underground”, “we were enjoying the last District convention there would be”, etc. I remember thinking how absolutely imbecilic it was for anyone to count on any day within 1975 being “The End”. That was contrary to the Bible saying “no man would know the day or hour”, “it would come like a thief in the night”, etc.
The “1975” instance, and the lack of caring, compassion and love I was seeing first hand, kept me from ever being able to commit myself to baptism. I hung on, off and on for another 20 years, trying to find the faith to commit, but only because most of my family were JW’s and a very few very loving people that made it all seem plausible. About mid 90’s I actively started to question all the other crap (doctrines and rules) and I faded away, without much resistance from anyone other than family.
I know my mom, who’s over 60 now, never thought she’d get old. She was inactive for years, but my three nephews, within 3 years, made us “inlaws” with ½ of the local congregation. She is suddenly part of the “clic”, has been love bombed and is studying and going to all the meetings again. All she talks about is Studying the Daniel Book, or for the watchtower, and how I need to get my 12 year old to Sunday talks. Argh! I will not subject him to their conditional love.
I have been visiting this board, off and on, for a couple of years. It has been a true awakening.
