at the service meeting the other day the "friends" were given an opportunity to discuss the district convention (portland, or, june 30-july 2).
) people baptized at that convention.
a bigger number than i remember for at least a decade.
Hey Under....
Thanks for the kind words. It's been 9 years since this transpired, and I have began the healing process a few years back. Now I am happily married, free from cult control, and practicing another religion quite happily. It's still funny how much this memories still sting after all these years. It's nice to be amongst people who understand this...for the first time!!
Disowned and Not So Alone After All.
at the service meeting the other day the "friends" were given an opportunity to discuss the district convention (portland, or, june 30-july 2).
) people baptized at that convention.
a bigger number than i remember for at least a decade.
My Story:
D&A was baptized at the young age of 9. She realized that she was going to have to get baptized eventually, and figured she might as well do it as early as possible to solidify her place in the "Child Baptismal Legends List." Truth be told, she also really wanted the presents that one got when one was baptized. On the morning of her baptism, her cousin french-braided her hair, and D&A slipped into her size 2 children's shoes and set off towards the assembly hall. As she stood in line watching the candidates before her take the plunge, she had a feeling of dread in her stomach, and wanted desperately to turn around. However, her entire extended family members (about 50 people) were busy taking pictures and crying, and she couldn't dissapoint them. So, she took the plunge. She got some nice gifts and was treated like a star in her circut. She was also mentioned by the speaker after lunch, and commended for making the wise choice to dedicate her life to Jehovah at an early age.
D&A regular pioneered to further solidy her star status, and was called on numerous times to present parts at assemblys and district conventions. She strongly preached against the evils of homosexuality, promiscuity and high school proms, making her pretty unpopular in high-school. She disowned a close friend because the friend's mother was disassociated, and God forbid D&A spoil her "useful habits." She disowned another friend because the friend eloped, and this was a sign of spirtual sickness. Around 16, the lights came on in D&A's head. She began to question the idea that all others outside this faith would be condemned. She began to ask questions and explore other faiths. D&A realized that this was not for her. On the morning of her 18th birthday, she returned home to find her belongings strewn across the lawn and the locks changed. D&A has no contact with her one-time family and friends, and has been shunned for a decision she made when she was 9.
All for a few presents.
in my disassociation letter i said i deny jesus.
of course i over-reacted - i do not deny jesus the man, in fact i undeny him.
but i do deny what i consider to be the fraudulent writings about him in the bible.
Hi There Hallelujah.
Congrats on breaking those chains!! I read your DA statement, and I applaud the fact that you are attempting to encourage the dubs to think...not an easy task!
I wanted to take a moment to direct your attention towards Islam. Islam does not believe that Jesus was a deity, but instead that he was a prophet. Although Muslims believe that the bible was inspired of God, we also believe that it has been tainted by man over the years.
Muslims also do not believe in the original sin. Our flawed legal system would not allow a son to pay for the crimes of his father...how could we imagine that God, the most just being in the universe, would expect each baby to be tainted with sin and have to work off someone else's condemnation? Just a thought.
I wish you a world of luck...oh and not the Satanic sort.
Diana (of the not gnashing my teeth class)
i actually wrote this late last night and when i tried to submit it i was rejected.
the reason for that is still a mystery to me and i vowed not to rewrite it as it would mean visiting myself and that is never easy.
sometimes as i look through the site and read to many posts i marvel at the beauty of the words and the complexity of the reasoning.
Hey Cab.
I feel your pain, but I promise that you can overcome this. I was also offered a full scholarship out of high school to three colleges, one of the, being UCLA, which was the school I had dreamed of attending. Being a witness intent on being a good example, I declined all three offers. The day I graduated high school, I was kicked out of the house by my parents (for questioning JW beliefs) and ended up struggling financially for years. I always wanted to go to college and struggled to do so, but when one has to decide between basic survival and textbooks, survival always prevails.
Fast forward 8 years.
I am now a student at one of the top ten universities in the country (UCLA, the school that I had dreamt of attending in my youth), with a full academic scholarship. I was surprised to find that others receiving full scholarships did not fit the "cookie-cutter" stereotypes either. I attend classes with mothers, grandmothers, and people who work full-time. (As do I.) I have also realized that an education is much more than a degree. I have learned to think critically, and challenge that which I don't agree with. No one can strip you of an education and the sense of achievement that comes along with attaining it.
Please realize that your aspiration to attend college is not a lost one. As long as you are living, you can achieve it. I felt angry too, until I decided to do something about it. Attend a community college and take one class a semester until you feel comfortable. Realize that achieving a college education is a lifetime goal, not something that you have to rush to achieve. Your communication skills are excellent and everything else will come back to you. As a JW, we spent years training how to talk our ways out and into things. These skills will help you.
I beg you not to give up. Don't spend so much time looking in the rearview mirror that you miss out on what's still to come!!
Wishing you luck.
excerpt (with personal notes) from ayaan hirsi ali's (a.k.a.
ayaan hirsi magan) [a somali-dutch activist-cum-politician] new book, "the caged virgin: an emancipation proclamation for women and islam": .
my parents brought me up to be a muslim[/jw] -- a good muslim[/jw].
Hey Everyone.
Hello Everyone.
Finally had time to head back over to this board.
I have to make a couple comments on this one.
I was raised a JW and left when I was 18..as many others. I converted to Islam 4 years later and have lived my life quite happily as a Muslim woman living in America.
I was your average 22 year old, searching for the truth that I thought I had known my entire life. I learned about Islam and was intrigued, but I figured they couldn't be right because...well, they blow people up. (That's about all I had learned about the 2nd largest religion in the world throughout my lifetime to that point.) As I took a closer look, I found true peace in this religion. I am an American gal who wears a hijab (scarf) and dresses modestly, not because I have to, but because it liberates me. I am not judged by my body or my hair or my fashion sense, but instead I am judged by who I am. A few years after converting to Islan, I began to contemplate marriage, secure that my future mate would choose me based on the "secret person of the heart," not based on my outward appearances.
I am now married to a wonderful man who respects me, supports me and treats me like a queen..not neccesarily because I am but because he understands what God requires of a husband. I never have to worry about my husband enjoying a night in a bar with friends, and perhaps making a terrible mistake. And it is not because I am so secure in the fact that he loves me...he answers to a higher source. [No, not like the hot dogs..(Hebrew National.)] He fears his creator, not me. And that, my friends, makes all the difference.
BTW, women are seen as anything other than property in Islam. As a matter of fact, Islam does not support a woman changing her name when she is married. The significance of a woman changing her name was meant to show that she was being passed, as property, from her father to her husband. Islam does not support this because a woman is not property.
Finally, I would encourage everyone one learn about this religion as opposed to accepting the stereotypical generalizations passed along to us by the media. There is much more to Islam that what meets the eye.
i was so excited to come upon this website today!
it's so nice to read logical, educated voices who have been brave enough to walk away from this organization.
i was raised a jw, and every person that i personally know that has left has ended up miserable.
I was so excited to come upon this website today! It's so nice to read logical, educated voices who have been brave enough to walk away from this organization. I was raised a JW, and every person that I personally know that has left has ended up miserable. I've got a cousin in my life who contracted HIV because of the bad choices he made on his own, and God knows that my mother reminds me of this...when she is willing to speak to me.
Okay..here it goes....
I was raised a JW (baptised at the young age of 10, regular pionerering by 13) and somewhere around 17, I began to develop a mind of my own. I started to understand that all people really believe that their resepective religion is true. Up until that point, I had assumed that they knew they didn't have "the truth", but were too lazy to do something about it. The day I turned 18, I explained to my mother that this was not the path for me...I came home the next day after my high-school graduation to find all of my worldly posessions on the front lawn and the locks changed...can't say I was suprised..but it was horrible anyway...
Fast foward 8 years. I am now 25, and have searched long and hard for the "truth." I have no dealings with my family, and have been named an apostate because I am practicing another religion. However, the seeds planted in my youth continue to bloom. For instance, I cannot bring myself to believe in heaven nor in hell. Although I logically accept my new religious beliefs, I constantly find myself starting sentences with, "but Jehovah's Witnesses believe..." I can't seem to break free of this mindset...I continue to tell myself that I do not feel this way because I believe in the organization, but instead because there is always comfort in the familiar. Somedays I have to fight the urge to run to my mother and tell her I made a huge mistake, but I simply remind myself that I am only missing my family. (My entire extended family on both sides are JW's...cousins, uncles, grandparents...you name it)
I know that this feeling must be common, and I believe that there must be a way to overcome it. If there is anyone who can provide me with advice, or the name of a good deprogrammer in the Los Angeles area, I would be hugely indebted. Thanks for taking the time answer this!
Disowned and Alone.