Posts by compound complex

16

prayer with JWs

by truthsearcher in

jw
friends

as a lurker, i am now attempting my first post.

a question for any who may wish to comment.

what would be the response if i asked a jw to open our "discussion" in prayer to jehovah for our eyes to be open to the truth of what we are about to study?

Welcome to the board, and please be assured that, over time, your questions will receive satisfactory answers. The notion that God recognizes the prayers of JW's only in the circumstance you have described prevails. God's spirit, direction and blessing must be invoked by the Witness presiding over the study. Any allowance of the dread other option would smack of interfaith and Jehovah's displeasure. Well, once I got past all that, I began to feel right at home with, let's say, having dinner at a client's home, joining hands and bowing my head while the young son or father offered the blessing. And sometimes I would be asked to pray. No longer do I fear the strike of lightning during such blessed occasions. With the help of JWD, allow yourself time to figure all these things out.

Yours truly,

CoCo

15

A Video Shunning Xperience....

by AK - Jeff in

jw
friends

my g-daughter and i were in the video store this morning.

[she was out of school with a cough and fever - they won't let her back for 24 hours].. as we prepared to check out in comes sister rita righteous.

actually i jest here - rita has been df'd three times as a fornicatrix, married out of the 'truth' to a drug dealer, has raised three children who never accepted the religion, and has never, in my 35 years of her acquaintance been 'spiritually minded' or 'active in the service'.. anyway - i am freshly announced as 'no longer one of jehovah's witnesses', and apparently she has heard.

compound complex

Dear AK Jeff,

Your post is a reminder that I have forgotten to take my Saw Palmetto for a few days. Last visit to THAT medical office found me with the lowest PSA score in years! Thank you very much, indeed. Oh, while I am neither DF'd nor DA'd, merely inactive, I do attempt to speak to those who shun me for their own personal reasons. The pain is not so intense as it once was. While I am a "son," I have discovered that I am not the center of the universe and no longer need to be the friend of all. That realization is humbling yet calming.

Yours truly,

CoCo

22

Gosh this is so Stupid!

by roflcopter in

jw
friends

so my wife just got a job at a huge company where a witness friend works.

we only have 1 car... well my friend cant carpool with my wife to work because it would be imporoper for a man and a woman to be in the car alone.

grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr im so frustrated.

compound complex

Dear Rolf,

Our last CO told a middle-aged brother that it would be inappropriate to work out in service with female in-laws unless he were accompanied by his wife. Apparently, the neighborhood would be scandalized by such flagrant and outrageous flouting of social mores! Twaddle!

Ridiculously yours,

CoCo

12

Pollyanna With an Attitude

by compound complex in

jw
friends

dear friends,.

i have just finished reading the wanderer's post on suicide.

the heart-rending stories and subsequent comfort offered is an overwhelming testament to our survival.

compound complex

Dear Freedomlover and Unique1,

Thank you so much for your comments! Yes, Pollyanna needed a little attitude and now "he's" got it! And "freedom is what it's all about." Met up quite accidently (?) the other day with an ex-JW family who are happy and prosperous and still the loving folks they always were. Hadn't seen them in years. The little boy, now a grown man, is very articulate and serious-minded. He proceeded to tell me what hell he went through as a witness child. I offered him the encouragement received here on JWD and revealed my desire to become an exit-counselor for faith-shattered JW's. Afterwards, he counseled me to go for it, to speak loudly and clearly my "truth". Out of the mouth of babes!

The very best to YOU,

CoCo

17

Hypothetical-if you went back

by darth frosty in

how outrageous would your behavior be.

i know if i went back i'll be eating crackers and cool aide at the annual march april event.

probably bring back the concubine arrangement.

compound complex

Dear Darth,

It hardly constitutes outrageous, but it's a take on my "Christ-like" behavior before I exited permanently. Though generally quiet and unassuming, I took on the personality and action-mindedness of a befriender of the underdog and outcast. Among the rank and file, of which I was part, I got on swimmingly, mutual respect, affection, etc. But I guess the BOE viewed me as a trouble-maker because I wrote letters to the Society over neglect and mistreatment of the sheep. I would step outside the box and perform "rash" acts of kindness in arenas not officially approved by the Hierarchy. I was accused of using bad judgment, being a complainer and apostate. I even offered to act as mediator between the elders and their intense haters in order to effect a reconciliation. My offer was rejected. I was/was not called on at the meetings, depending on what elder or ms was fielding questions. So I decided to try the old fiery coals ploy. I made a point to approach and speak kindly and warmly to haters of CoCo. I was not being two-faced, exactly. I just wanted to see if killing 'em with kindness really worked.

So, with a view to the hypothetical: were I to return, I would approach those shunning me and try to engage them in uplifting and spirited conversation. I would raise my hand to comment no matter how many times I was ignored. And if I were allowed to answer, I would give thought-provoking comments that drew from many years experience rather than parrot the formulaic answers provided. Being so concerned about political-correctness and not ruffling feathers of the big birds would no longer hamper my freeness of speech. However, you must understand that I am already using some of these tactics among my JW compatriots but outside the KH doors.

Yours truly,

CoCo

12

Pollyanna With an Attitude

by compound complex in

jw
friends

dear friends,.

i have just finished reading the wanderer's post on suicide.

the heart-rending stories and subsequent comfort offered is an overwhelming testament to our survival.

compound complex

Dear Friends,

I have just finished reading The Wanderer's post on suicide. The heart-rending stories and subsequent comfort offered is an overwhelming testament to our survival. There was something from virtually every post that I could relate to; the healing effect of all your words is of far greater emotional benefit than anything ever read in a WT publication. I would never have believed that this "time bomb" waiting to go off would ever achieve a manageable level of emotional stability and relative normalcy. That, of course, would be I. An eternal optimist, ever playing Pollyanna's Glad Game, I nevertheless sensed a major disconnect between my ideal and life's reality. Mental and emotional chaos, lashing out, paralyzing fear and subsequent depression, thoughts of and near attempts at suicide---my inescapable lot in life. Despite recent up's and down's (some evidenced in comments on JWD), "Pollyanna" has regained "her" good cheer and emotional equilibrium, due in large part to your help. But "Pollyanna" has an attitude; things will never be the same nor can they be. No more caving in to emotional blackmail (thanx Lady Lee), no more wild, unsubstantiated assertions (thanx jgnat), no more self-pity (thanx Mouthy). Freedom---in every conceivable sense of the word---such as I could never have imagined! Thank you, The Wanderer, for broaching that "taboo" subject. I wish I could thank you all personally for this most incredible educational tool---your own life's experience. Praise and gratitude also to our loving Father and his dear Son!

Love and peace and infinite blessings to all of you,

CoCo

54

Your Favorite Poem or Saying

by compound complex in

jw
friends

dear friends,.

my favorite poem is not in vain by emily dickinson:.

if i can stop one heart from breaking,.

compound complex

Dear Misanthropic,

Thank you for your comments. I know precisely what it means to have a "newest favorite saying," and that for "several different reasons." Tesla's opening words, "Let the future tell the truth" apply, it would appear, to the very essence of our being here on JWD. We are participants in the quest for truth or even something beyond (is there?). One active searcher calls himself Matthew 10:26 (in reference to that which is hidden becoming revealed). In addition to acquiring insight from the diverse offerings on this board, I am also seeing the need to let things unfold as they will. Thus, we are allowing "the future [to] tell the truth." With or without us, surely the FUTURE can take care of itself. Thank you again for your excellent thought.

Yours truly,

CoCo

54

Your Favorite Poem or Saying

by compound complex in

jw
friends

dear friends,.

my favorite poem is not in vain by emily dickinson:.

if i can stop one heart from breaking,.

compound complex

Dear and welcomed Freedomloverr, Narkissos and other fellow-respondants to this post,

This is too wonderful and most unexpected, yet truly a fulfillment of YOUR (plural) very words! Your magical experience of transformation, Free, brought on by the words of another. And to think I missed the original statement by the eminent and worthy Narkissos. Your assessment of those words and their wondrous effect upon you personally have, in turn, moved me. The comments of so many others---most notably those of Ray Franz---have had an incredibly exponential influence upon all of us, I'm certain. Just this simple little thread about the joy of words has brought so much happiness to me. Oh, the gift of speech---communicating our heart, mind and soul to our Father and to our fellow man! I would never have believed that the "forbidden" JWD would be such an instrument of unceasing joy. Time for me to quit waxing prosaic but to wane. I must away to the gallery to replace the art that now graces the understatedly elegant walls of the newest and toniest eating establishment in our fair town. What a coup! Blessings and peace and love to all you dear ones!

Yours truly,

CoCo

28

What are some personal truths you now believe in after leaving the WT?

by lovelylil in

these are things i hold as personally true for me:.

1) there is no religion today that has the only truth about god.

2) the bible contains truths for christians but other religions have books that contain truth for them.

compound complex

Dear Lovelylill and Friends,

Love your list and quite agree. My basic approach now is to take it easy and not attempt to overturn and inspect every jot and tittle of my last forty plus years. I feel that in my already-begun-with-a-purpose exit from the OT religion into that of the NT, I am very concerned as to who Jesus really is and his role in my personal life. Also, my all-encompassing and all-embracing philosophy has become Peter's expression regarding the conversion of Cornelius et al. The one fearing God and working righteousness is acceptable to Him. Why did He ostensibly become "partial" (when clearly, He is not) toward only JW's?

One thing I am not: horrified or repelled by what our once "United Brotherhood" has become. It has never been about unity but uniformity. Such diversity of thought and belief, now that we are free to explore. And who am I to say "You are wrong and I am right"? The unmasking of the WT has absolutely convinced me that the "wheat" is not contained in but one storehouse. Strange, ironic, that so many of us HAVE heeded the warning to flee false religion. Why is it that I no longer say "bad association" and "worldly"? I think it's pretty clear. Peace and love to all my dear, new friends!

Yours truly,

CoCo

26

Society demands submission as a 'sacred responsibility'

by yaddayadda in

the society demands submission to them as equal to submission to christ.

nov 1, 2006 watchtower, page 22 of the first study article "do you share jehovah's view of sacred things?

" para 7:

compound complex

Dear Yaddayadda,

Granted, we differ as to our understanding of what "willing submission" entails for each of us personally. And all the more so now, as we enlightened and emancipated ones would not so eagerly obey, and unquestioningly, all we are/were told to do. My former PO was very adamant that "suggestions" from the FDS were as good as God-inspired commands and should not be taken lightly (never off the hook). Many of us did exactly as we were told, even anticipating a submissive demeanor by asking the elders for permission to do thus and so. Often the response was, 'thou shall not....' I cringe now at my former ready acceptance of most everything I heard from the platform, even when it was directed at some poor souls who wound up humiliated and crushed. It is very much like Lady Lee's recent repost on emotional blackmail, resulting in one's becoming, at least potentially, OBSEQUIOUS:

1. excessively willing to serve or obey; overly submissive; servile; toadyish; fawning

2. compliant; devoted; dutiful

Syn.---attentive, yielding, cringing, deferential, slavish

I'm sure that I frequently confused "devoted" and "dutiful" with "overly submissive," though cannot say that I was ever "toadyish." I am not going to look that one up for fear I may have to admit to it. It's going to take a very long time for me to get the balance between "You [FDS>DO>CO>PO>wannabe authority figure] may think without reservation that that is God's will for you and me" and "I disagree and must do what I feel is right." I imagine we're all works in progress.

Yours truly,

CoCo