Posts by Dawn

WT 01/79:

"In joining the YMCA as a member a person accepts or endorses the general objectives and principles of the organization. He is not simply paying for something he receives, such as when buying things being sold to the public at a store. (Compare 1 Corinthians 8:10; 10:25.) Nor is his membership merely an entry pass, as when a person buys a theater ticket. Membership means that one has become an integral part of this organization founded with definite religious objectives, including the promotion of interfaith. Hence, for one of Jehovah’s Witnesses to become a member of such a so-called Christian association would amount to apostasy."

Oh - thanks for posting that article. It's much clear now to me - so I CAN'T join the Y but I CAN join the UN.

15

ymca

by bavman in

has anyone ever called the y to see how they r funded???

it doesn't seem they r sponsored by all churches.

what did u find???.

Dawn

to join the y was apostasy

Ah...crap.....I didn't know that...darn it - now I'm officially apostated. Oh well - better have a drink to that!

110

Apostates are very disappointing. I just found the WTS is true about them.

by reason in

your conduct, attitude, manner of speech, avatar, all of these shows what sort of hearts you people have.

i can't feel the holy spirit operating in you people.

the first time i exposed myself to apostates, i was imagining matured people, more matured than the jw's.

Dawn

All i see are avatars of twisted fleshly parts, people swearing, people jeering, SatanSaints etc. Very immature people.

What's wrong with my avatar??

Oh well - it's good that you can come to a place like this and speak your opinion freely. That's not something you can do "just anywhere" - as you're probably already familiar with. (hint hint)

11

Is there a major event happening on June 5th?

by cameo in

jw
friends

.

a family member (who is a witness) said they're going to some event june 5 through june 12. i'm assuming it's a jw activity of some sort.

(she knows how i feel about the wts).

Dawn

Wow - thanks for the reminder Nathan! THANK YOU HEROES!!

24

How Long did it take you to re-build?

by Scooby in

jw
friends

just wondering how long it took/ is taking many of you to rebuild your lives and say goodbye to phobias, etc.?.

for those who grew up in the borg and don't have a point of reference to go back to....what have you done to create a new life free from that anguish to your mind?

did a new religion help or therapy?

Dawn

(((Scooby)))

It does take time - so be patient with yourself. You are on the right track - counseling will help.

I was raised a JW and was DF'd when I was 20, reinstated (ugh..) and DF'd again about 4 years later. I did have a really good support group to help me out at that time - my boyfriend (now husband) was never a JW and was helpful in pointing out the control aspects. I also had made some friends at work who were good at giving me an unbiased view of things.

Being raised in it I found that it took me a very long time to finally break free of the phobias and guilt. I am 38 now, it's been about 2-3 years since I have been totally FREE - that is, I don't have nightmares anymore, no fears of armageddon, no weird feelings if I run into a JW. It just seems like another life and is of no consequence to me any longer. I do think that I learned some very good lessons in the process and it hasn't all been a waste - I can use what I've learned to help others and turn something that was terrible into something beautiful. (Isaiah 61:3 a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair)

Here is my advice to you:

1) continue in counseling - it will help you even though it is hard and may take a long time it's very much worth it

2) study other christian denominations - somehow researching other people's beliefs helped me to view the JW's more as a "religion" than the "truth" - I realized it was just another set of doctrines and eventually was able to separate doctrine from God.

3) Read the bible - by itself with no other literature. I recommend the book of John - in reading that book I began to see Jesus in a whole different way. It's all about a relationship with him - not a relationship with a church

4) Pray to God about it. I found it was easier for me to address him as "God" because using the name Jehovah just put me back in the same rut. I started addressing him different ways such as "father", "Lord", and "God" - it helped me think of him in different ways and build a new relationship that the JW's had previously hampered.

5) Most important - be patient with yourself. Healing takes time but it's well worth it!

76

FDS Sends Convention Delegates Packin'

by ezekiel3 in

jw
friends

jehovah's witness across north america are being sternly counseled at this week's service meeting that they should pack lunches during the 2004 dictrict convention instead of leaving the site to eat elsewere or return with food.

in a letter read during the announcements, members are told this is a "serious problem".

reportedly jws have been banned from some convention locations because the venues want concession stand business if jws insist on bringing carry-out meals into the facility.

Dawn

Posts like this never fail to remind me just how fortunate I am to be free now!

48

BREAKING NEWS FROM GOVERNING BODY

by wannaexit in

recently the local congregation had the visit of the c.o.

the local needs talk he usually gives was replaced by a talk he said will be given to many congregations around the world.. this talk is targeting th very young.

kids are being strongly encouraged not to put off baptism and that children as young as 10 can make an informed decision to get baptized.

Dawn

I'm so glad to be free of this all...

38

What Is The Root Of All Evil

by Elmer J. Fudd in

jw
friends

money?,,,,,,, no, religion!

all the wars that i have studied have been attributed to religious beliefs who's foundation whereby being unfounded and un-provable.

trust in gawd, allah, jesus, jehovah, mohammed and on and on is what the lost say, or "the lord will provide" for that matter.

Dawn

I agree with LittleToe - to be more specific, it's not really money itself, but desire for power and control of resources. Money simply represents those things - but in all of man's history wars have come down to a basic disagreement over control of resources whether it be land, diamonds, oil, or people.

So - I'd have to say the root of all evil is greed - demanding full control of resources and power over others.

18

I Threw Out My NWT Today.... I am officially a cult free household.

by shamus in

jw
friends

did you throw your trash out?

how long did you keep it?

stupidly, i felt awful about fading, and went through my huge collection of bound crap, making sure that my name was nowhere on the cult material, and dropped off three large boxes at the kingdumb hall one night.

Dawn

You may want to consider holding on to such books as the NWT or Aid book. These may come in handy later on if you decide to help a JW find his or her way out of the group.

Bingo!! That's why I have held on to a few of the books and the NWT. But I don't use the NWT for my personal studies - I use several other translations and like to see how things are translated in each version - gives me a more full understanding of the scripture.