looking_glass

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Posts by looking_glass

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  30

  Attended Memorial Service, disgusted...

  by Wasanelder Once in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  out of loyalty to a friend that died i went to his memorial service today.

  get this, in 30 minutes of service his name was said 3 times.

  three times.

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  looking_glass

  Wasa - sorry to hear about your experience.

  I agree w/ yada. I think it has to do w/ the person who is requesting the funeral and the knucklehead elder that thinks he is running the show. The funeral I went to in Nov. was a large cross mixture of people. My friend's mom made sure that EVERYONE including DF'd, DA'd and inactive ones were welcome. The elder who got up and gave the talk did the usual JW thing, but there were a couple of guys who got up and spoke and one guy read a poem that the mom wrote. Then at the end a ballad from a 80's big hair hard rock band played (my buddies favorite love song so to speak). Obviously the funeral was not at the KH, so all of this was w/i the control of the mom.

  The only down side were the crazy, over the top JWs who were there and the dumb@$$ stuff that they said. Otherwise, it was rather nice, or as nice as it can be for such a young guy who died.
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  34

  For those who've settled on 'no contact' with their JW families . . .

  by Madame Quixote in

  1. social
  2. family

  for whatever reason.

  do you question it sometimes and think you should try to "reach out" to them again?

  i was this morning and then came across the thread above and was reminded why i need to stay away.. but, still, i read threads of people who have managed somehow, despite being d'f'ed or faded or d'aed and think i might try to be more understanding, supportive, reach out or something.. despite all the problems growing up in a fairly dysfunctional family, i still feel a deep attachment to them and hope against hope that they might come to their senses (if they ever had any to begin with) and get help and leave the cult of jehobo; and we might reconcile,etc., etc., blah blah blah dream dream dream.. i deeply wish for them all freedom and happiness and healing and feel so helpless to free them of their bonds and yet see so much possibility for it, if only they could be reached somehow.

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  looking_glass

  Do you question it sometimes and think you should try to "reach out" to them again?

  No. My response to my mother and her "you are no longer my daughter letter" was ... until you get the mental health help that you need in order to have a proper happy healthy relationship regardless of if you have a come to jesus moment, I will not have a relationship with you. And I mean it. Unless she tells me she is getting mental health help (which we know from a JW standpoint that will never happen) I refuse to have anything to do with her and the dysfunction that she, thru the religion, brings with her.

  As we have seen here, there are many amazing people who have lost family/friends due to this religion. Those family members have lost out on time and amazing family (friends). It is their choice and it is their path. We can chose to feel less of a person because these people have rejected us due to their crazy beliefs. Or alternatively, we can accept the fact that we are wonderful people who bring amazing things to this world and it is their loss.

  I have a small core group of friends who act as family to me. When time is hard or my life is stressful, these people rally around me and build me up. I would never give them up for the crazy JW way. Some of these people are active JWs, some are inactive JWs, some are DF'd DA'd JWs but many are not, nor have they ever been, JWs. These people are my family.

  I am blessed with my friends and I know it and acknowledge it every chance I get.
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  32

  First impressions of Dallas

  by Crumpet in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  hi all - well i got here a few hours ago.

  the flight started off well, but i got over greenland and suddenly got very ill - high temperature, and nausea.

  i called the flight attendants who moved to the back and in the process i fainted.

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  looking_glass

  I have a GF who is originally from Spain. She knows around 8 languages. She now lives in Dallas, she and her Belgium husband. She makes me laugh all the time because she tells me that she cannot understand a word the southerners say to her. She turns to her hubby and asks him in French to translate what the southerners are saying! How hysterical is that.

  So, I hope that you can understand them better then my GF. And welcome to the US.
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  42

  Can You Spot A Jehovah's Witness???

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  are you able to tell if someone is a jw just by looking or listening to a person?

  what are the give away signs that make you just know that they're a witness?

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  looking_glass

  I think there are certain things that stand out. For example, my GF who was raised a JW, her non-JW hubby knows a lot of the crazy religion and one day he told her that he thought one of his work associates was either raised one or was an inactive one .... and he was right. How did he guess, well no "god bless you" after sneezes, no participation in holiday work stuff or after work stuff. How did they confirm it, my GF went to the Memorial at her local Hall and dragged hubby w/ her and guess who was there YUP work associate.

  Same couple moved into a quiet neighborhood. The guy they bought the house from said "every one in this neighborhood is really nice and friendly expect for the couple across the street. They have lived there for 5 years and we have no clue who they are and then never socialize." My GF got the feeling that they were JWs ... and she was right. How did she know because she would see them dressed up w/ book bags on Sat and some times Sunday. Then one day she saw the big brown song book and the JW bible in the one chick's hands.

  So there are things (albeit crazy) about JWs that stand out. You may not be able to track them by their clean cut ways, but you can certainly track them thru other means.
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  25

  I saw Chicago KNOCKING screening and discussion afterward with filmaker

  by OnTheWayOut in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  quite a while back garybuss said:.

  the producers obviously had high watch tower support for the project since they had the top .

  watch tower lawyer and a watch tower vice president on lengthy interviews.

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  looking_glass

  Thanks Onthe for posting that. I was considering going to IFP tonight, but work prevented it. I did not have a strong desire to fight my way out the door either, so it was not that much of a loss. Anyways, I wondered how it was going to be presented pro/con-wise. Interesting to hear that it was not a lot of go JWs go. I am still interested to see how it will translate to the rest of the free world.

  On another interesting note, PBS has been running the LDS on PBS. It is a 2 part series. I have found it amazing the similarities between JW and LDS. The one comment that stood out to me was night b/4 last, the commentator said that Joseph Smith was either truly a martyr or chose to make himself a martyr. It made me think of Rutherford. As some here would say, he put himself in a position to become a victim and also encouraged JWs to become martyrs for the cause as well. Whereas, JWs would say that the early day bible students/jws were martyrs because of satans wicked system of things turning on them. Funny how the spin doctors have been present since the very beginning!
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  35

  Am I bored with JWD? Or have I outgrown it?

  by AK - Jeff in

  1. social
  2. relationships

  this is not one of those 'farewell' threads, 'gotta' go' threads, or 'bye' threads.

  because i know myself well enough to say that i would not honor my own exit - i would soon be back, .

  but in all honesty, i am finding my desire to be on this forum less and less compelling.

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  looking_glass

  I totally agree Jeff. I think some of it is personal growth or the weather? maybe a little bit of both. If the goal was to move beyond the religion, then the ability to not feel angry and hurt by it anymore is a huge step. I feel the reason I stick around is to see what is happening w/ the various lawsuit as well as any "new light" that the JWs have cooked up. I like being in the know before many of their own people are.
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  38

  What Have You Learned From JWD?

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  what have you taken from being here on this site?

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  looking_glass

  That some people are really really angry

  That some people just don't care

  That some people have taken some JW traits along w/ them in their non-JW life (right/wrong, black/white way of thinking)

  That some people put in as much time researching against the JWs as the WTBTS spends in spinning a good tale.

  That for some people if you say anything that is close to positive about the JWs they see you as a troll and/or traitor

  That many people have experiences some sad things during their life time. And everybody could use a hug at someone point.
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  11

  WHAT MUCH DOES AVERAGE JW DONATE IN A YEAR?

  by badboy in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  any ideas?

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  looking_glass

  I think it depends on the hall and if the people have money or not. I was in a hall where there were a lot of women whose hubbies were not JW and they were dripping in dough. They were VERY generous. The halls may not be doing well but considering that people are getting the hard sell to will stuff to the WTBTS, the men at the top are making sure the money is still coming in. A family member recently modified their will and they left EVERYTHING to the WTBTS, I am sure their three kids (who are not JWs) will be thrilled to know this when the day comes.
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  36

  My upcoming UN-Dedication Ceremony

  by OnTheWayOut in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  my last meeting at the kingdom hall was the memorial.

  i told the wife i don't want.

  to go to the meetings anymore.

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  looking_glass

  Since you get btz'd by water, why not do an un-dedication ceremony w/ water. Flush the mag and blood card down the toilet. Rip the stuff up and put it in the jon and say a few words over it and flush away. Maybe 3 flushes (don't they ask three questions) that way you don't clog the jon w/ all that crap. Just a suggestion.
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  35

  What are the love names you call your pets?

  by restrangled in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  since we have heard many bad names for humans lately in the media, i thought it would be fun to hear what we call our pets..... i have two large male (one in tact) dobermans and they are called an answer to: lovies, darlings, gooies, babies and bad boy loves.. what do you call your pets?.

  r..

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  looking_glass

  I love munchkins. I have a tendency to run them all together. The minute I enter the door, there they are to greet me ... Hello Munchkin Puppet Heads. Who knows why I came up w/ this, but I feel it is very fitting and they seem to answer to it more then their own names!