so hadn't been to a clam meeting in quite a few months, but went last night.
so we learned that gog of magog is not satan as previously believed.
they used a few scriptures that made it clear that it couldn't be satan and that it would be a coalition of nations.
lso had another talk on the 3 things needed to survive into the new world.........1. need to preach. 2. need to be baptized. 3. need to be at meetings. All of these were stressed as things that needed to be done in order to be saved.
It works, at first anyway. It's one of those things that quickly loses its impact the more it is used/abused, it's the boy who cried wolf syndrome. I lived through the 1975 hysteria, it was hard after that to ever be as frightened or as easily manipulated.
warning - vent ahead....... so, my father (still very much in jw but who has at least had the decency to still keep in contact with me and hubby and to show interest in why we aren't attending and respect where we are at) is in intensive care at a local hospital and is intubated and sedated with some serious health issues.
i'm next of kin so i get all the phone calls from the hospital.. so, the rest of the "family" has cut me off because we are inactive and because the ever-active jw gossip grapevine has rumoured with a sibilant slithy hissy voice: "apossstassssy" is the cause of our inactivity.. whatever.. but now i've had to contact said "family" with the news about my father and what is going on....... so, dad's sisters answer my calls and manage to act and conduct themselves with a degree of decorum.. my sister on the other hand - well, she doesn't deign to answer my calls and texts for most of the day.
i push the issue tonight and insist on speaking to her when my brother-in-law answers the call.
That's so sad. Since you aren't disfellowshipped or disassociated she is actually going counter to the bible by choosing to listen to gossip and shun you without even talking to you, but at this point there is nothing to be gained by calling her on it.
My mom passed away shortly after I left, it was a very difficult time, no one told me she had gone into the hospital, I was only informed when she died. How could that ever be an OK thing to do??
It just shows how evil the Watchtower teachings actually are in practice, that they can tear families apart and cause such heartache and grief. Rather than motivating me to return I was just more determined to have the stupidity stop there, no way was I ever going to shun my children.
I have found meditation to be very helpful with the stress of dealing with JW family.
greetings, dear friends and fellow survivors:.
i am grateful to be alive and associated with like-minded people, both here on this wonderful forum and in day-to-day interaction with friends, neighbors, clients, but, sadly, few if any jehovah's witnesses.
i have, somehow, become detached from the sadness and sorrow of the past, about which i have written on this and other ex-jw forums for some dozen-plus years.
I am glad you have found a measure of peace through your writing and with time and distance. Every moment of joy and contentment is a victory.
I also enjoy creative pursuits, it's very much a part of me. I also have been much helped by meditation, recently I have been using guided meditations, which helps my ADHD brain to stay focused. My favorite are those by The Honest Guys on you tube. They have different meditations depending on what you want, stess, anxiety, depression, motivation, healing, creativity, etc. I highly recommend them, if you are not already practicing meditation.
This is my favorite, it's called "The Seat"
it is said that a dfed is handed over to satan and left alone in his or her gross unrepentant conduct.
however, you'll agree with me that not all dfeds are living that way.
the truth is that some have actually repented and stopped their bad conducts but have fallen victim to the legalistic and procedural expediences of the wbts which makes it very difficult for some to come back in the shortest period of time.
If you still believe the Watchtower's brand of crazy, then work on getting reinstated, change congregations if you have to, then hope you find a like minded person who is willing to overlook your past.
I cannot recommend getting married to someone from another church, you would be a very poor choice for them as they wouldn't know what they were getting into, you would be constantly at odds over holidays, church attendance, blood transfusions, and a million other things that the Watchtower considers wrong that nobody else does. We get people on here all the time who got involved with a straying JW then are heartbroken when the person went back and left them (or stayed with them and drove them crazy) . Please, please, don't do that to anyone.
Better yet, look into this religion, see the many lies they have told and things they covered up and free yourself from it, then find a nice person to settle down with. Start with JW facts and howcultswork.com.
greetings, cold and allergy sufferers:.
i'm in good health currently, but i do sneeze quite a bit, bringing down the rafters, as one sister exclaimed at the kh.
apart from that, no jw ever acknowledged my clearing out .
It used to be believed that people were vulnerable to posession by spirits at the moment one sneezed, hence the custom of saying "bless you" as a sort of protection.
Of course these days its just a social pleasantry, nobody else knows the origin of the custom and the JW rule that forbids it is downright silly, but they never miss a chance to split hairs and micromanage.
i was recently told this by a jw family member when trying to get through to them.
does this quote indicate that maybe such ones have considered that the jw's may not have the truth after all?
or is that just my wishful thinking?
Look around at the Kingdom Hall, does it really look like those people are living the best life possible? Maybe things have changed since I left, bit I don't remember a more joyless group of people.
trying not to type swearwords as i write this so bare with me.. my little 3yo attends meetings with her jw mum (who doesn't believe watchtower anymore but is stuck in because she relies on her family for help).
my mum (the one who tells people im dead) had a party for her grandchildren.
that's my 4 nieces and 1 nephew aged from 3yo-11yo.
Yikes, what a horrible thing for your daughter, those people should be ashamed, but of course JWs have no shame as they are incapable of seeing anything other than their own twisted viewpoint.
Just tell her that grandma is sick in the head, and leave it at that.
so we've already established that most religions can be classified as high control groups, we can name the wbts, church of scientology, lds, etc.
the list goes on and on.
but are there any religions or organizations that aren't classified as a high control group or aren't as bad as the ones i've just mentioned?
I don't agree that most religions are cults. Cults use deception, control the time of their believers, claim to be the sole source of salvation, use fear and intimidation and do many other things that most mainstream religions do not do.
If you are looking for a specific religion that is as far from a cult as a religion can be, I was favorably impressed with United Church of Christ. I attend occasionally as my in laws belong. They are a very welcoming group that doesn't espouse any particular doctrine, it's more about mutual support and charitable works, sort of religion light, they have great music also. I considered joining, as they were even OK with my being an Atheist, but after thinking about it I decided not to, it ultimately seemed pointless.
what are your convictions now that you are no longer one of jehovah's witnesses?
are you a born again christian?
have you joined another denomination of christianity?
I am not against religion in general, I think it fills a need for some people, but I see no evidence of a creator, so I am not religious myself.
so over the last few years, the witnesses i know (who were close friends in the past) who follow me on instagram social media have been steadily dropping off and blocking me..... but there are a small number who are still friends.. i have noticed one sad situation for one friend who is clearly battling cognitive dissonance.
if she posts a picture and i leave a nice comment on it, my comment quickly disappears.
(she must delete it i guess) but then soon after she sends a nice private message asking how we are, or commenting on the post or activity.
It's called hypocrisy.
