Downunderandout wrote:I am new here, please tell me are you a active un-d' JW and if so why do you post here. If not, what is your story.
Baptized in the mid-1970's in southern California I'm presently an inactive JW. My story is that I was approached at the door on a Saturday morning in my mid-teens, coincidentally the morning after I attempted suicide (and perhaps hours before I had planned to try again). I had a childhood full of death, alcoholism and divorce throughout the family and relatives. We were affluent but I hated Christmas, as no abundance of material goods under the tree could fill the emptiness in my life. The sister that came to my door with the book The Truth That Leads To Eternal Life brought me hope. I can't describe the feeling other than to say that it was like coming out of a state of amnesia and "remembering" that mankind and the Earth was destined for greatness and glory. God allowed unhappiness, despair and suffering on Earth for a reason, and that reason was to give generation after generation the chance to be born and receive eternal life as a free undeserved and unearned gift from his Son, Jesus Christ. I became a very well known member of the congregation and loved the preaching work, seeing the looks of hope on depressed people when they heard what was in store for them in the future. It brought joy to me to see peoples faces light up when they discovered they would be reunited with those they loved who had died, in a future paradise where Heaven and Earth become as one. I was very fortunate to be in a very strong district of JWs. I had so many true friends that there was overflow seating in the parking lot with loud speakers on my wedding day. I'll never forget how the brothers didn't charge me or even hint that I should pay one dime for this wedding service at the Kingdom Hall! Looking back, I should have donated something to cover the basic expenses, and maybe in the blurr of the moment, my wife and I did donate something. I honestly can't remember anything in that regard except that they genuinely wanted the entire wedding to be a free gift to us. I was very fortunate as a teen, marrying a lovely hearted sister who was beautiful inside and out. I was thankful that my first experience sexually with anyone was with her on our wedding night. That may seem odd to many today, and being in my early 40's, perhaps that important detail has more importance with my generation than more recent generations. However, I honestly think that many young ones may never admit it, but they too want their first experience with someone they love on their wedding night. It's just not "cool" to admit it. (We divorced 5 years later even though I believe we still love each other.) I see that I digressed! As I was saying about my experiences as a JW, they were mostly good and taught me self-discipline, self-respect, self-esteem and "old fashioned" values so unpopular in the 1970's on through today. I met some cults in the kingdom ministry, and going into the mountainous wilderness where they lived to witness to them. There are so many unusual experiences that I could write a book. Anyway, you asked "what is your story?" and that's it in a nutshell. What is your story?
Derrick