Posts by Closer to Fine

14

What is it like to have that one true friend?

by My Name is of No Consequence in

what is it like to have that one true friend?

growing up in the org, i never really had friends.

i had many acquaintances, some of which were worldly.

Closer to Fine

Can you be married, live in the same house and be lonely? Yes!

I agree. In my house it is for the same reason as yours. Once I told my spouse I had no interest in being a jw I was tattled on and thrown under the bus. It got ugly!

Do you have any non-jw family? Would there be any way you could re-connect with some of the friends you used to have? It may take awhile to develop the close friendship that you seek, however, it is worth the effort! I have a friend that I can confide anything in. I will always have her back and she will always have mine. The friendship is not conditional on the two of us agreeing on religion.

51

One Year Later - A Thank You to Tony Morris.

by cappytan in

jw
friends

dear anthony morris, iii:.

i wanted to send you a note of "thanks" on this special day.. why is this day special, you may ask?

one year ago today, you, tony, woke me up to the fact that the governing body could not have jehovah's blessing or direction.. last year, on november 8th & 9th, 2014, the united states branch visit was broadcast to over 1,000,000 jehovah's witnesses across the country.. as i sat at the kingdom hall listening to the "historic occasion," i was ignoring certain doubts that had surfaced in the few months prior.

Closer to Fine

I've read in the past that this was a wake-up call for many. I wonder if he has any idea how many have left in part due to what he said that day? Do you suppose he regrets it?

Congrats to you, Cappytan for exiting with your family. Hope you're loving your new life!!

48

Retirement Planning for ex-JW's

by Simon in

this is something i think about a lot, possibly because i'm just getting older.

it seems that not only should i finally one day decide what i want to do with my life, but i should also be planning for retirement.. hands up everyone who feels their future has been royally screwed by the wts experience?.

if you were a good jw and followed the wts advice you could well be finding yourself facing middle or even old age without much or anything put aside in retirement savings.

Closer to Fine

I agree, great thread and I appreciate the explanations and advice. I too because of age started thinking and planning for retirement several years ago. This is one of those difficult situations that UBM's can find themselves in. My hubby has no interest in planning for the future. He spends more than he makes and would be in the hole by hundreds of $'s every month if he was on his own. It is the way he was raised and is of course supported by the belief the big A is any day now, so why save anything?? He has told me many times how foolish I am for thinking this system will be here when we are old. So the retirement planning is up to me and can be a bit intimidating. I appreciate all advice on this topic.

138

My Mother Died Two Weeks Ago

by Perry in

jw
friends

none of my jehovah's witness relatives called to tell me or my family.

just found out this morning.

Closer to Fine

I'm so very sorry to hear of the loss of your Mom, Perry. I hope you find comfort in your faith, and in the love from your wife and children.

49

Extreme emotions re today's watchtower

by Tornintwo in

jw
friends

i was supposed to attend the meeting today, one of my once a month duties for the sake of my family and my fade.

i read the wt and i just can't stomach going.... what this wt does is again and again reiterate that only jws will survive the coming destruction and that they should be happy about this and raise ourselves erect...eg:.

we cannot expect that many people will suddenly convert to true christianity.

Closer to Fine

Faithful Witness 41 minutes ago

Closer to Fine: Most churches that I have visited, seem to be encouraging their audience to do as you described... often in the form of a monetary donation.

Yes, this is true and it's been proven that unfortunately many abuse that trust and steal the funds for their own benefit.

Some are still using the funds honestly. A co-worker of mine belongs to a very small church and their donations go towards food for the homeless. They have volunteers that cook and feed close to a hundred homeless people every weekend. The donations pay for all of the food year round. Jw's believe these people still deserve to die despite their charitable works just because they aren't jw's.

49

Extreme emotions re today's watchtower

by Tornintwo in

jw
friends

i was supposed to attend the meeting today, one of my once a month duties for the sake of my family and my fade.

i read the wt and i just can't stomach going.... what this wt does is again and again reiterate that only jws will survive the coming destruction and that they should be happy about this and raise ourselves erect...eg:.

we cannot expect that many people will suddenly convert to true christianity.

Closer to Fine

I was raised catholic, which I know makes me even more deserving of a horrible death at the big A according to the jw's. I stopped going to church as soon as my parents didn't require me to go. I am in no way defending them as there are lots of problems in the rc church and I haven't attended one in over 20 years, however, I will say this much. Growing up I don't ever remember hearing anything on sundays regarding being excited and looking forward to God destroying anyone. The message was almost always more along the lines of 'how can we be better followers of Christ's example, how can we help our fellow man more, take care of the elderly, etc....'

My guess is that most other religions try to deliver the same message of hope and love for God, Christ, and their fellow man on sundays. They don't stand up and say 'I can't wait until we are proven right and everyone else is dead.'

18

This week at the meeting elders call friend in the room.

by poopie in

jw
friends

ok heres latest at kh .i have a friend of mine who is df but trying to get reinstated i know you may ask why but its a free country anyway he is a frienldly chap and likes to say hello to old friends.

he does his hellos very discreetly not makeing a scene.

well the elders have noticed him saying hello to people at hall so they invited him in back room.

Closer to Fine

When I started to attend some meetings I would always sit in the back. I was just more comfortable sitting in the back. Maybe they all thought I was df'd and trying to get back in. Several times I said hello or good morning to some and they didn't answer me. I thought they all were so unfriendly.

19

Not one single head was lost on the wife birthday!!!!

by James Mixon in

a surprised birthday party for the wife yesterday.

we had no idea about the planned party.. the kids (wife daughter and husband) really surprised the wife and i. sunday morning a. truck pulled up and started unloading tents, tables and chairs.

the son-in-law fired up the grill,.

Closer to Fine

Sounds like a great party and I hope you and your family had a very happy day. Your wife must have felt so loved and appreciated! Happy Birthday to her!

17

Where's this going? American soldiers call on Jehovah

by fulltimestudent in

jw
friends

the song is 'days of elijah,' and the bit i'm referring to is about half way through, as they sing, "there is no god like jehovah":.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjz_ilp9c5a.

Closer to Fine

Several months ago a jw told me the reason he knew it was the truth was because they are the only religion using Jehovah's name and that they alone were given permission from Jehovah to use his name. He explained that once the gb were given permission they then changed the name to Jehovah's witnesses. He would truly be shocked to see this video.

16

Advice

by Tigerlove in

hello, new member here.

i have a question that has been bugging me for a couple of months now.

so i have been dating this guy(a witness ) for over a year now.

Closer to Fine

Hello Tigerlove and welcome. I dated and married a jw. Looking back I believe dating me was more his way of rebelling. He wasn't in love with me. He wasn't baptized so they couldn't really tell him what to do, however, no one in his family was happy about him dating a non-jw girl and he knew it. At the time he enjoyed being the bad boy. We lived many years as I would consider normal with holidays, etc.... Fast forward to now he is more involved with the religion and his opinions have changed. I'm the same as I always been, but now in his eyes I am a sinner who is allowing satan to mislead me. Please believe me, it is a very difficult position to be in. There are many un believing mates on this forum with similar difficult experiences.

Please think very carefully before making any kind of commitment to your boyfriend. He may be enjoying being a bit defiant right now in dating you, but if he changes and starts to follow the jw's you could become the enemy. It is not a good sign that he is afraid to introduce you to his mother.