Posts by foundfreedom

14

When you left JW, how did you help transition your kids?

by merfi in

my situation: i da'd this past march.

the ex is still jw, in a city nice and far away so isn't able to give me any local grief.

i have three kiddos, 8, 10 and 12. the 8yo (boy) could really give a crap, i think.

foundfreedom

My children are 20 and 11 and they are soo happy with their lives now, my daughter is marrying a yound canadian this summer that is not a JW and my son says that its so great to be a normal kid just like his so called worldly friends. I let him go to his first birthday party a few weeks ago and he had a great time. He feels so free now that he is all smiles and it makes me happy to know that I made the right decision. I have told my husband that we arnt going anymore and that our son was not going to be raised in the organization like we were only to be hurt and humiliated by so called brother and sisters.

My husband says that he doesnt want to go anymore but he does look down on me for reading what he calls apostate books and web sites. One day he will come around and finally give in and see the organization for what it is in all its glory. I dont push him and he knows not to cross me on my beliefs now, I have told him that I guess that I am an apostate and that he can accept it and stay or leave, he has chosen to stay says that he cannot live without me and the kids. Our family is much happier now and we get along sooooo much better.

Prais Jah for letting us see the light

23

An intriging tale of corruption in the congregation {Mark Heber Miller}

by sf in

http://www.nazarene-friends.org/pubs/confessions/000.htm

i haven't read marks story in a while and was looking for the part where he states ted jaracz went out in field service with him and a few other brothers back in the 70's, in newport beach/ balboa island, for another thread here.. if you grew up in southern california as a jw, you might find it a very intriging tale of just how the elite congs were being run.

i know for myself it is like trying to fit pieces of a puzzle.

foundfreedom

Oh thats must be coming in the future when he publishes his lost journals of during the time he had lost some of his memories

23

An intriging tale of corruption in the congregation {Mark Heber Miller}

by sf in

http://www.nazarene-friends.org/pubs/confessions/000.htm

i haven't read marks story in a while and was looking for the part where he states ted jaracz went out in field service with him and a few other brothers back in the 70's, in newport beach/ balboa island, for another thread here.. if you grew up in southern california as a jw, you might find it a very intriging tale of just how the elite congs were being run.

i know for myself it is like trying to fit pieces of a puzzle.

foundfreedom

Thats what I was thinking, he must be the most exceptional man on this earth! I do agree that alot of what he says happens with the elders but cannot believe that a sister sat in on a judgment meeting, never seen a sister ever be able to have any clout in the organization. There is just too much to his story that seems just too much over the wall. I am suprised that he hasnt walked on water and has lived to write about it.

23

An intriging tale of corruption in the congregation {Mark Heber Miller}

by sf in

http://www.nazarene-friends.org/pubs/confessions/000.htm

i haven't read marks story in a while and was looking for the part where he states ted jaracz went out in field service with him and a few other brothers back in the 70's, in newport beach/ balboa island, for another thread here.. if you grew up in southern california as a jw, you might find it a very intriging tale of just how the elite congs were being run.

i know for myself it is like trying to fit pieces of a puzzle.

foundfreedom

It is an interesting life story I havent read it all yet, but doesnt anyone think that its kind of funny that this man seems to have such a fantastic life story and and here he has supposedly accomplished so much in the organization by the age of 23-26yrs old? I am not saying that its not the truth but for us that have grown up in the organization it seems a little too beyond how it was during the time I was a JW and that is 41yrs. I have never seen someone that young have all the responsibilitys and privilages that he claims to have, most of the ones that I have ever known were alot older than he was when this was suppose to be happening to him.

It seems like he was a superman JW that could do it all and I have never seen this happen in my life time to anyone in the organization. I am no longer a JW and I am happy for that but we do need to keep things in mind that some of what he claims just doesnt seem right. Yes I know that we are considered apostates and thats fine with me it doesnt bother me one bit but when someone is telling us their testimonials I want it to be true and heartfelt so that we can be incouraged by them that we arnt the only ones that have suffered at the hands of the JW organization and that we are all here for each other. Not someone that seems to have lead such a super fantastic (over the mountain) kind of JW life while in the organization.

Dont want to offend others and what they think of his story but just think with an open mind when reading it and wonder if he may be over exagerating about his life some.

This is just my opinion and wanted to see if anyone thought the same as me.

49

feel kinda sick and shaky

by Merry Magdalene in

jw
friends

just found out my mom's cancer is worse than she thought...widespread--colon, lungs, bone...so she said i can come down and see her if i want to (7 hours away), and my help would be appreciated if i could manage it.

of course i can manage it.

she's my mom.. but i'm dfed, and she's a jw, living with her jw neice's family.

foundfreedom

Dear Merry my thoughts and prayers are with you during this sad time in your life, just remember that your true friends here are sending cyber hugs and lots of prayers your way.

13

Talk Prayer

by under_believer in

jw
friends

someone posted something in another thread about how prayer is often used to summarize the content of the meeting.

this is absolutely true and is something that always has really bothered me about witness meetings.

jws often use the opening or closing prayer to "teach" the congregation.

foundfreedom

The worst is listening to my dad give a prayer (use to be an elder) his prayers just seem to ramble on and are so long that my mind begins to wonder and I stop listening to it. Only then at the end do I say amen to a prayer that I didnt even listen to. LOL

50

Was there immature behaviour in your KH?

by badboy in

jw
friends

any takers?

foundfreedom

I think that the Pioneer's are the most immature one's, they look down their noses at the rest and always act like they are doing us a really big favor by letting us spend time in their glorious mists. They are the ones that seem to keep ones in the hall in an upset state of mind, esp. if they are wifes of elders. I hated going out with them.

14

The Best I've Heard Yet

by Gordy in

jw
friends

tonight i had a call from one of my daughters (16) who is not a jw.

she wanted to borrow some money.

so she could go and attend a funeral.

foundfreedom

When my mother-in-law's dad (non JW) passed away they only had a grave side service so she went but then when all her brothers and sisters wanted to get a family picture of them all together (their older than the hills and wont be around much longer) she wouldnt take one with them because they all wanted to have the picture taken in front of an extremely old chappel ( I guess she thought that Jehovah would strike her down! LOL) I just wanted to laugh at her, its all so stupid.

15

Urban Legend

by Siddhashunyata in

jw
friends

don't know if this has been posted somewhere but i just received it in an email : ( for your encouragement.

"thought you'd all enjoy this experience.. > .

> this is an experience from andre' ramseyer, overseer, just back from the.

foundfreedom

Good one under_believer, sounds like what we did to our kids when we drug them to the meetings. I feel really bad what I have done to my kids in the past by making them go with me and now I am letting them be normal kids, none of this JW stuff anymore!!

7

Things that still haunt you......

by whyizit in

jw
friends

i heard a former jw lady give a talk and she said that even after leaving the wts and being a born-again christian for over 15 years, sometimes when she drives through certain neighborhoods that remind her of the homes that she used to have to go door-to-door at, she gets this pain in the pit of her stomach and that she had panic attacks for many years after.. she also said that one of her jw friends periodically calls her crying and begging her to give up her life of partying and running the bars, and come back to the jws.

she tries to explain that she doesn't do those things, but her friend just can't grasp that she left and is still a moral person who loves jehovah.. do any of you have similar experiences?

what were some of your biggest struggles?

foundfreedom

What still haunts though, is the memories...memories of how things were in their life. And how those that turned their backs to them when they were at their lowest point comes back into their life..NOT to just talk shop and say that they're happy that that person is doing well, but only to "cry and beg" to comeback, so that things can be like they were.

What still haunts me is that here the ones in the congergation were suppose to be my friends but when I was at the meetings I could look around and see that I had no real friends even though I was spending so much time in the service and doing all I could do for lots of brothers and sisters and still my kids and I were left out of gatherings or sometimes invited but ones then wouldnt chat with me unless I went out of my way to say hello, I felt then and at meetings like a wallflower at a dance. I was the one that always had to go up to ones if I was going to be able to visit with ones. No one ever went out of their way to come and talk with my daughter and I my son didnt have that problem because is was young enough and had 2 friends close to his age. My family was never invited to anyones house for dinner even though we had ones at our home all the time. It is really sad when you have to try to explain to your kids when they are the only kids that arnt invited to a pool party and when I had to talk with the elder that was having the party and ask if my kids could attend and reluctanty they let us come! makes me sick to even think about this time in our lives, it still affects my kids and I.

They just dont show the love that they preach!! I have friends now because they arn't JW's we are always invited to gatherings and always felt welcome when we are with them, and they are so Christian and have much better morals when it comes to life than alot of JW's.

We are happy now and loving life!! I hope all ex JW's can say the same!!

Please drop me a line, I would love to meet all here on the site!