i took my two children home today, and was about to step in when my ex says, 'i've got people here'.
it turned out to be her sister (also a jw).
normally i'm ok to go in, but not this time, if i ever go in and she happens to be there she doesnt say a word to me.
Bringing your children home is necessary family business, isn't it. So you have a proper reason for being there. What would happen if you said, "That's nice," stepped in anyway and acknowledged the sister. I guess she wouldn't say anything back and you would feel embarrassed. Annoying!
Hopefully one day your children will see the nonsense in it all.
the time has come.
i shared with my mom the wondrous hope that is jesus.
with my toungue i confessed jesus is my lord to the glory of god the father.
Dear Sacchiel
No matter what path we take after leaving the WTS, the prospect of losing family is distressing. I hope your mum finds it in her heart to accept you with your new belief. Even if she doesn't at first, don't lose hope.
As for the elders, you may be lucky but mostly they are an unloving bunch.
Love
penny2
i was raised among the witnesses and left in my early 30's due to a mixture of doctrinal disputes and social isolation.
my mother and both of my sisters remain within the organization.
i also have two brothers, one df'd, one who never quite caught the watchtower bug.. my road within the organization was a rocky one that eventually lead to a place where i found myself socially isolated within the congregation as a person simply unfit for fellowship with proper, upright, theocratic people who must cut off all 'worldy' association, suffer the ensueing isolation, and eat humble pie until such a time as they determined i was 'spiritual minded' enough for them to associate with.. baptism was held up as my expected goal, but despite trying, i was never quite good enough for them.
RollerDave, welcome to JWD. I really enjoyed your posts - I am so grateful for the internet allowing us to read about others' experiences.
If only I could have rescued either of my ex-wives I introduced to the society
I am amazed by this. Two women who became JWs - presumably as adults, they saw how you were treated and yet they remain. Now that I'm out, I find it hard to believe that outsiders could be attracted to the WTS but I guess it must still be a persuasive message.
penny2
i'm new here -- i confidently disassociated in 1994 (but really left the organization in 1992).
i was a ministerial servant and gave talks at conventions.
i'm not bragging, but just giving you an idea of my involvement.
I would think that more and more witnesses would be presenting Web printouts to the elders
Francophile, I don't think this is happening at all. Those who have doubts are too scared to bring them up lest they be labelled an apostate and shunned by family and friends.
an example of how watchtower regulation invades every aspect of a witnesses life are the following articles of socializing in gatherings, warning about provision of alcohol, time spent entertaining and size of events.. i remember the stress that accompanied each event that we hosted, as the host is considered responsible for any situations that may arise.
how many people, how much alcohol, who can we invite that wont be offended, what music can we play that will be considered acceptable, is it too loud, too dark, is anyone pairing off, ?
on more than one occasion i was summonsed to the elders after such events.
They love to put a damper on anything that involves a bit of fun. I remember in the 1980's there was a talk at a DC warning about ice skating. Groups of JWs would go to the local ice skating rink on a Sunday night - I had been once and couldn't think of anything more innocent. This was family groups going. Now if it was just one family ice skating amongst worldlings, that would be OK. But going with groups of JW families - that was not OK.
i just purchased the 2006 annual report for the australian watchtower bible and tract society.
below are the highlights.
most incredible is that donations dropped by almost 50%, from 15 million dollars to only 10 million dollars.
You could say that donations were 50% higher last year compared to this year.
It's a huge drop. It's never occurred to me that the demise of the WTS could be hastened by lack of financial support. I've heard in the past that the biggest donations come from the poorer congregations. Maybe the poor are just too poor now.
<!-- .style1 { font-family: arial; font-size: 18px; color: #000099; } .style3 { font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; } .style5 {font-family: arial; font-size: 16px; color: #000099; } --> what was it like to grow up a jehovahs witness?it is fair to say, that as a convert from roman catholicism my understanding .
of what it was like to be raised a jehovahs witness is limited because of not.
having had any family in the organization.
To this day I have celebrated nothing EVER!
(((Tyrone))) I hope you get to the point one day, that you want to celebrate.
in my darkest hour everyone of these bastards turned their backs on me
This is so cruel, when young people are abandoned by their families and the congregation. It's hard enough to know how to fend for yourself when being a JW is all you've ever known.
penny2
<!-- .style1 { font-family: arial; font-size: 18px; color: #000099; } .style3 { font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; } .style5 {font-family: arial; font-size: 16px; color: #000099; } --> what was it like to grow up a jehovahs witness?it is fair to say, that as a convert from roman catholicism my understanding .
of what it was like to be raised a jehovahs witness is limited because of not.
having had any family in the organization.
As a young child, it was quite confusing. I was never sure what I could sing and what I couldn't. So I asked my dad. He said if it had "god" or "jesus" in it, I shouldn't participate. So when our class did Sound of Music as the class play, I knew there was no way I could have any part in it. Week after week I stood silently during rehearsals. Once I stood for the playing of a national song because embarrassment and humiliation got the better of me. I felt so guilty and I hoped the JW boy in my class hadn't noticed. We never discussed it.
Later I found out that some in the congregation had been to see Sound of Music. I was angry. That was the first time I was angry.
As I got older, I mostly felt privileged. I knew that Armageddon would come by 1975. Until that time I would devote my life to telling others about it and saving their lives. I would be a missionary, perhaps in India.
hello, how long do judicial committees for possible disfellowship typically last?
I asked him how long he thought his disfellowship would last, and he said maybe 3-6 months, maybe longer.
I don't know anyone who was disfellowshipped for less than 12 months. Most go for 2-3 years. When he applies for reinstatement, they will ask him if he has been seeing you.
If I don't become a Witness, he is willing to date me for the rest of his life
And not have sex? Is that realistic? (a JW can't have sex outside of marriage)
emilyblue, sorry you are going through this.
penny2
i'm new here -- i confidently disassociated in 1994 (but really left the organization in 1992).
i was a ministerial servant and gave talks at conventions.
i'm not bragging, but just giving you an idea of my involvement.
Hi Francophile and welcome to JWD!
Sorry but the cat's not out the bag. Most active JWs steer clear of "apostate" sites and are as brainwashed as ever.
penny2
