dmouse

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Posts by dmouse

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  13

  my intro and 1st impression of Memorial

  by BlueDanube in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i'm a new member but have been a lurker for some time, even more so since witnet went down.. i have never been a jw, though i have a couple family members on my side who are, also my inlaws and my inactive jw husband.

  right now i'm studying though it's more out of learning about them and finding out what makes them tick rather than joining.

  also the jws are the only religion that my husband would allow me to get involved with.

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  dmouse

  Welcome to the board BlueDanube!
  When you read stuff here you might be forgiven for thinking that JWs have two heads!
  In reality they are usually very nice people, and sincere Christians.
  The problem is that they have been badly misled by the people in charge of the religion.
  Also, when they first talk to you, they don't tell you all the negative stuff that will be expected of you once you join - that comes later when they are sure that you are fully under the hypnotism.
  My advice - keep coming back to boards like this for the lowdown on what JWs REALLY believe.
  Dean.
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  11

  New T-shirt logo: I survived the memorial.........

  by expatbrit in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  .........without smacking anyone!!!.

  but man!

  it was tough!.

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  dmouse

  LOL! I know exactly how you feel. What is it about JWs? What is it with all this 'we missed you' crap? Why don't they come round and visit us then? What they really mean is 'come back, we need the numbers, and it makes us feel good that we are not the only ones suckered but too afraid to admit it'.

  You get the feeling that they want to try and convert you again but don't want to spook you by going in too early. Strangely enough, JWs and Ex Jws are very similar in this regard. We hold back on what we say in favour of the softly softly approach (at least I do, probably because I have family still in).

  Hi! to TR. I used to frequent your board when you had one, I think I was your first poster - used to be called DM then I think.

  Dean.
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  46

  Tonight's memorial - did you go?

  by dmouse in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  my wife has just left for the memorial.. just before she went she asked me to come...this was the second year in a row that i declined.

  i hated seeing her so sad, i almost agreed to go just to cheer her up but that would betray her in a very real sense.

  to go to the memorial would be an admission in her eyes (and other jws) that i still believe deep down that it is the truth.

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  dmouse

  "Hugs" to all.
  It was great reading all your responses. Sitting here, all alone with my thoughts, while my wife sits with her 'friends' at the memorial.
  It was good to know that I was not really alone and that good people all over the world were having a similar experience. If only JWs knew what they put us through! I have spent weeks agonising over my decision not to go - if it wasn't for my wife and family there would be no issue of course, it would be adios amigos to all that JW bull!
  They probably think we make up our minds on the spur of the moment. If they bothered to talk to us about what we feel they would find out - but no, my wife absolutely refuses to talk about it, even though I always manage to keep calm, rational and kind. Do you remember seeing the pictures in the mags (often repeated) where a JW woman is holding a bible and attempting to reason with her husband, who is turning away in anger? What a laugh!!!! It's usually the other way round!
  Again, my love to all and thanks for being there on this difficult night.
  Dean.
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  46

  Tonight's memorial - did you go?

  by dmouse in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  my wife has just left for the memorial.. just before she went she asked me to come...this was the second year in a row that i declined.

  i hated seeing her so sad, i almost agreed to go just to cheer her up but that would betray her in a very real sense.

  to go to the memorial would be an admission in her eyes (and other jws) that i still believe deep down that it is the truth.

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  dmouse

  My wife has just left for the memorial.
  Just before she went she asked me to come...this was the second year in a row that I declined. I hated seeing her so sad, I almost agreed to go just to cheer her up but that would betray her in a very real sense. To go to the memorial would be an admission in her eyes (and other JWs) that I still believe deep down that it is the truth. To decide not to go to the memorial is the ultimate symbol of rejection of the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses. This is important because any hint that I might return will inevitably delay my wife's awakening to the real truth. I realise that any progress will probably take many years, but to give any hint of credence to the Society will set us back to square one. I must be strong, I must persevere in my rejection of all that is untrue. I love my wife dearly and I owe her that.
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  18

  Tonight's memorial. - The Point.

  by nicolaou in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  the following tale will only take a few minutes to read.

  i strongly encourage you to take the time and see 'the point' for yourself.. .

  you begin to sign and then you see that the number of pints of blood to be taken is empty.

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  dmouse

  I agree with most of what has been said here.
  The analogy falls down in a number of respects. The father in the story has no supernatural power whereas God could bring his son back to life after a short time. The father had no knowledge or involvement in the problem whereas God created the circumstances that led to our predicament (He put the tree there, while there was a known adversary on the loose, BEFORE they had the opportunity to mate. What a moronic thing to do considering what was at stake!). The father in the story is a powerless victim like everybody else whereas God is an omnipotent being who could do ANYTHING He wanted, including solving the problem right at the beginning without anyone having to suffer.
  What about the issue of universal sovereignty? Well, God could have just zapped any being who didn't accept it, in the long run that's what he's going to do anyway; why wait 6000 years? Faithful creatures would accept anything that the Almighty wanted to do...no need for 6000 years of absolute horror. No need for a 6000 year 'court case.'
  In short, I feel for the father's predicament in the story; but God, if he exists, is either an incompetent coward or a complete sadistic psychopath.
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  30

  1975 New Info

  by AlanF in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  it means that within relatively few years we will witness the fulfillment of the remaining prophecies that have to do with the "time of the end.".

  the lead article "the finest work on earth" in the october 1967 km (p. 1) continued the theme of preaching with a sense of urgency:.

  the sense of urgency was effective in getting some students to make a decision.

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  dmouse

  I was interested in the comment about how close the end was believed to be and studies were to be TERMINATED (no…they can’t mean…) if the householder showed no promise of becoming a JW after 6 months.
  How times change! The latest KM (Britain April 2001) insert – Be intensely occupied with your ministry – in paragraph 5 states:
  “If a person is making progress and has studied the require brochure and the knowledge book, the bible study may be continued in a second book…”

  So, no time limit, a brochure and TWO books.

  So, does this mean that times are not as urgent as they used to be? Or are they just desperate to get any increase they can, even if it takes years?
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  19

  My First Birthday Celebration

  by Kristen in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  my first birthday celebration.

  by kristen 4/5/01.

  having been brought up in the organization since age 3, the only memory of a birthday celebration i had was an old photograph of when i was 2. in front of the camera was my sister and i, with a cake baked in a regular rectangle cake pan, frosted, and with two candles sitting on top.

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  dmouse

  Happy Birthday Kristen!
  I just had my first birthday too, at the age of 40! (March 23rd)
  My Mum, who is no longer a JW, decided to invite everybody I knew (and who would come - I know a lot of JWs) and she threw a surprise party for me.It really was something special, gives you a warm feeling all over.
  The Org ban (oops, Christians making up their bible trained consciences...blah blah) on celebrating birthdays is just stupid, and shows them up to the rest of the world for the morons they are.
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  26

  How long was it for you?

  by expatbrit in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i'm curious: how many years were you in before you left?

  by left, i mean either df'd and decided not to go back, or da'd, or faded, or even just realized it was a crock but stuck around anyway for family reasons?.

  we're told in la-la-land that it's the newly baptized, those who are "spiritually immature" that mostly leave.

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  dmouse

  I think about 26 years. My Mum became a JW when I was about 2, in 1963. So I was bought up as a Witness, baptised when 18. Married an elder's daughter when 22. Shunned my beloved sister when she was disfellowshipped - all the proper JW malarky. I even refused to let my 18 month old son have a blood transfusion when he was seriously ill and had to have an emergency operation. My faith was that strong. Then, when I was 28-ish I woke up and smelt what I was shovelling. The Society was lying through their teeth to us, I caught them out on numerous occasions. I tried to share this information with my wife but she just blocked me out. Now, I am inactive. I am not DA or DF and don't want to be - I keep a low profile because I know that my family will have to shun me if I ever am DF. I believe that if the society ever dropped the shunning rule then tens of thousands would just stick the finger up to them and leave. At the moment many are forced to stay because of family and fear of shunning.

  Oh and Farkel - I enjoy your posts and I know that H2O treated you badly but please show some respect for the old board; they were pioneers in JW discussion forums. And ultimatly we all want the same thing - to get the truth out about the 'truth'. Perhaps we could start a new topic over there: Is reform (of H2O) possible?! :-)

  Dean
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  104

  Elders' Gems of Wisdom

  by stephenw20 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  my dad asked the co about this one.

  mat 27:52-53. and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, .

  and came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.

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  dmouse

  Oh yes, once when I was 'doing the sound' I sat next to a brother who had the ‘privilege’ of counting the attendance. He wrote on his piece of paper to hand to the speaker:

  Pubic talk – 105
  Watchtower - 103

  The speaker just smirked, said 'public' talk and carried on. Nobody else except myself knew why I had the giggles.
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  104

  Elders' Gems of Wisdom

  by stephenw20 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  my dad asked the co about this one.

  mat 27:52-53. and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, .

  and came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.

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  dmouse

  Funniest thing I ever saw was at Dudley assembly hall in the mid 80s. They had a little pool at the front for baptisms. One candidate slipped on the steps on the way in and did a swallow dive into the pool!
  We had an old elder who used to break wind profusely when he stood up at the end of the book study to say the prayer! Jeez, how I managed not to do myself an injury stifling my laughter I’ll never know!