this is my 15th year without going to the memorial.
based on comments, it seems i did not miss anything.
.
My last was 2004. In 2005 my mom was in a nursing home and I sat with her while she listened online. And that was it.
I have a friend newly out, and this year was his first memorial missed. He messaged me a bit on Saturday, mixed feelings. I told him "jesus said don't worry about it." lol.
this post hopefully will get you thinking about therapy, along with good mental and emotional health if you are dealing with the traumatic choices associated with leaving jw's, or if you are considering leaving.
because it is a trauma.. imagine a married couple in their late 30's.
because they took last weeks watchtower seriously, they have decided to talk to an elder in their congregation because they have practiced oral sex on each other, and feel a need to confess and get "spiritual help.".
Good subject and OP! Nice to see you ATJ.
It's amazing to me how many give their power over to the religion...a religion that changes its rules and regulations whenever some GB gets a "brilliant idea."
I learned at a young age from a young sister who had just been reinstated, how intrusive the questioning was by the JC. I was appalled, at probably 15 yo, and vowed I would never answer such questioning, which probably would mean my DF'g. The head elder in her JC ended up being a pervert and fired from his teaching job and DF'd a few times.
You need a sense of self, self worth to recognize the violation of boundaries. It soars like a red flare when breached. There are things that are your business only, and not that of uneducated counselors AKA the elder body and WT corporation.
in therapy, i was told i should write a letter of grievances to each of my parents.
i really do not have any for my mother, except for things that directly relate to being raised as a jehovah's witness.
upon reflection, my childhood was hell because of the religion and its pernicious corruption of a normal childhood.
John...weird childhood indeed. I think about from time to time when I wouldn't eat my cooked carrots my mother telling me "what are you going to eat when you are in prison during the tribulation, and all they give you is cooked carrots?" Prison??? to a little child?? Huh??? In her own way I guess she was preparing me, but jeez...prison?
Today at work I asked a temp worker what she was going to do for the weekend. She said she was going to color eggs to keep the tradition but her boyfriend wasn't raised celebrating holidays and he's not into it. Yep. Raised a JW. I told her the same for me, and we had a discussion about the shunning, and how cold people are to her when she attends his family gatherings and goes to the KH. And she's the sweetest thing. So what a greeeaaaat witness! Keep it up dubs!
I feel you John. The religion is spirit crushing. You don't forget the way you felt as kids, no matter how old you are. xx
i see there has already been discussion over lloyd’s new book how to leave the jehovah's witnesses.
this includes discussion around his personality, motives and financial gains.
i have written a foreword for this book, because it is an important topic that has not been covered in such a complete format before.
Well stated Paul. I too appreciate all you have contributed in this journey. We met at Sam and Paul's house, and I think Randy was there also.
I'm with you as to the many avenues to learn the TTATT. YouTube is so effective. I have heard even the presenters that people don't like, they still watch them to feel less alone...to know others experience the same feelings. I've been to several Tahoe fest, and it is amazing how many just show up after watching various videos and visiting sites. So, the medium creates results.
It's hard to forget the AWWA debaucle (was that the name?) and the horrible few days following. I was in the middle of it even fighting with his editor, who I hear is the nicest guy ever. And it seems the fighting continues with other highly visible ex's. Sigh...so it goes.
Lloyd is much more polished now in his presentations and provides I think a valuable service for the cause. I attended his book signing in LA along with dear friends of mine who are fans. There were people of all ages there, (and it was packed, standing room only), most not involved at all in any exJW community. Some out for 30-40 years, former specials, PIMO's etc. I don't even think some people were there for the book like me, but went just to scope out the event.
My point...we are on the same side and with the same goal. We want to successfully exit the cult and shine a light on the damaging doctrines and lies from the corporation. We don't have to agree with everything everybody does. That's the beauty of freedom...even though freedom is a rocky ride.
the egibi tablets are contemporary (that is, they were written at the time) documents containing the records of the babylonian egibi bank over the time period of the neo-babylonian kings, 606 - 482 b.c.. these detailed records, the first of which was discovered in 1874, five years before the first issue of the watch tower magazine appeared, should have been of great interest to anyone who wanted to establish the reigns of the babylonian kings.. however, the watchtower has never mentioned the name egibi in any of its publications over the last 130 years!.
the watchtower has completely ignored this source of information!.
book: 'das egibi-archiv, i: die felder und garten,' vol.
I miss Lars. Never was there a more colorful chap.
the detroit free press article from yesterday that made front page news on yahoo makes it on yahoo again today!
good to see the main line news paying attention to what kind of sh*t goes on inside the watchtower.
and to think that this bad publicity is happening during the "memorial season" (lol memorial season).. just saying!.
Really good article.
Dave Gracey was an elder in my old hall. We found each other on FB, and met up for 2 years in Tahoe. He has been through hell. Just awful So happy he and his wife found their way out. In fact his wife found this site while looking for the the JW.org site to get her WT for the Sunday meeting. They were DF'd. She read here for days straight and it was over. They just have an amazing story. Makes me cry every time I think about it.
i don’t care about it unless someone runs on a record of being a model family man or woman.. does it bother you if a president or princess or top government official “cheats “??
?.
No.
what started as news of a man and woman being found unconscious on a park bench 12 days ago is escalating into an international incident.. sergei skripal had worked as a double agent for british intelligence mi6 before he was discovered and imprisoned in russia in 2006. he was later flown to england as part of a spy-swap in 2010. on sunday 4th march he was discovered along with his 33 year old daughter yulia close to a shopping centre in salisbury.. since then the story has become increasingly bizarre.
a policeman who was first to attend the scene also became critically ill and remains in hospital.
government scientists at porton down have confirmed that the cause is a russian military-grade nerve agent novichok.
Russia is not our "friend." They don't want the best for humankind. Putin wants the best for himself.
Putin is flexing to the world what he is capable of. This current administration doesn't want their shady business deals to come to light at the expense of the US nation and people. They are crooked and dirty in their businesses. And I'm not talking about Putin.
happy st. paddy's day.. that being said, life is a bag of shit.. so please give me some sort of positivity in this post.. i wish i could get it from whom i would like it from, but that is a bullshit dream.. life sucks then you die!.
jk.
I feel for you John.
Good ideas here. Might be too cold to go outside, but it does help. Maybe time to try a warmer climate. Arizona, Florida, maybe on the Gulf.
Maybe some volunteer work, being around people doing good things helping others.
It's been a rough year I know. And I know you miss your mom. It just takes time, one foot in front of the next. Keep trying different things, meditate, support groups...whatever it takes to help you make it through the dark time.
anyone who has awakened to ttatt and conscientiously left the organization--especially a once-prominent individual from a prominent multi-generational tribe of jws-- after decades of devout, high-profile "serve-us," who continues to put in an annual appearance at the memorial thoroughly subverts and undermines, by this one act, any hope s/he may entertain that his/her departure will stir family or former friends to question the whole watchtower bamboozle.
by this one concession s/he assigns him-/herself by every single jw to their handy and dimissive purgatory: the "spiritually-weak.".
nothing blasts a louder, clearer, and more deliberate message to the jws who personally knew you and those familiar with your jw bona fides that you are not merely "not making the meetings" or "spiritually-weak" but that there is a conscientious reason you have rejected the entire watchtower society life than choosing to forego what they know you know to be their one-and-only holy and sacred event of the year, the lord's evening meal.
Della - when my mom was alive I went, and the rest of the non-JW family went to the memorial. She wouldn't understand the reasoning why it doesn't matter and it made her soooo happy she could get us all there. She would be so crushed and imagine all sorts of awful things. She was already so worried about our destruction...for that I hate the WT. Needless worry and fear they instill in people.
