I had to think for a minute about this question. I don't think I felt controlled while I was in, but I clearly was. I was duped to think I had "free will," which I clearly did not.
Cult mentality. sigh
Posts by Dagney
-
24Did You Feel That You Were Being Controlled WHILE You Were A Witness?
by minimus ini never fully realized it until i was just about out.
i adopted the attitude that “if mother says so, mother knows best!”.
it took me a long time to conclude they were actually a cult.
-
-
-
36
Faders Needing a Great One Liner
by Solzhenitsyn inso our family fade is well under way.
we changed congregations as regular attenders and left in good standing with those giving hugs and kisses simply knowing we "needed a change".
we moved to a neighboring congregation that is out of our original region knowing we would see no one and the two boe's wouldn't really have immediate dealings.
-
-
Dagney
What has worked for me is to have some responses ready at the quick. In the beginning I wanted to protect my relationship with my elderly JW mother at any cost. I didn't want any judicial action that would cause her more grief than she already felt.
That is no longer an issue. When someone asks "are you still in XXX?" I say, I'm not attending meetings at the moment." They usually change the subject, or tell me about a relative that did the same thing.
I respond as positive and happy as I can at the moment and redirect the conversation to be about them, their work/family/car...anything. That always works.
When they tell me they just got back from RC/SAD whatever, I always say "that's GREAT! How's your wife/kids/car whatever."
And if a former friend dug a little deeper, I've said this:
"I have no issues with elders or anybody. I do have issues with the corporation. And it's between me and Jehovah and I have taken it to him in prayer." This stopped any further discussion. They are not stupid.
-
23
2018 Service Year Report
by Rattigan350 inis there any word on what the results are for the 2018 service year report?.
-
-
Dagney
My "elder" brother keeps a spreadsheet on the statistics for all the years. Years ago he talked about the missing information for some of the years.
I wonder if he will wonder about the current info he will be filling in. Or will cognitive dissonance kick in....
-
22
What do the Angels do?
by LovingLifeNow inso what exactly have they been doing now , with the exception of intervening thousands of years ago, what exactly do they do in heaven?
.
-
-
Dagney
They help people win football games and Oscars.
-
13
Apostasy Movie - Available on Amazon Prime Video (plus Review)
by Simon inin case anyone is looking for a way to watch it, it's on amazon prime video.. (apologies if it's already been mentioned).
-
-
Dagney
Thanks for posting this Simon - I didn't know it was available on Amazon.
I finally watched it last night. Sigh. You feel for everybody. The mother is trying to do the right thing "she thinks" as a single parent, and keeping them isolated. The kids, well, both scarred from the JW smothering upbringing.
Just recently, locally here there was a tragedy with a young JW. Just awful. I was invited by the mother to attend the HUGE memorial, Bethel speaker flew out...yeah. I keep wondering if they have any thoughts "outside the JW box." Where was jah, angels...is there any cognitive dissonance...hello...anybody there....
Anyway, well done movie.
PS. The movie with Emma Thompson called "The Children's Act" regarding the blood issue is also free on Amazon.
-
33
Should Voters Be Made To Prove They Are Eligible To Vote?
by minimus ini believe that just because someone shows up at the voting booth, it doesn’t automatically qualify them to be legitimate voters.
i think it’s not unreasonable to provide proof that you are qualified..
-
-
Dagney
In my state you can't just show up to vote. You have to register, and the state records what district you are in, and your name is on a book you have to sign before you get a ballot if you don't use the official mail in ballot.
-
34
For those who are athest, or non-christian, how did you come to this decision?
by Tameria2001 ini'm not asking this question to cause an argument or accuse, but i am honestly just wondering?
for those of you who are now atheist or non-christian, how did you come to this decision?
i hadn't given this much thought until about a year ago.
-
-
Dagney
I was a faithful believer like most here, EXCEPT, there were all those niggles over the years of things that just didn't make sense.
Extreme cruelty of the Old Testament. It sucked to be a Canaanite. They didn't deserve to live in their own land; it should be Jehovah's! Some people die for touching the ark, others murder and commit adultery and receive far less sentences. Billions of people have died because Adam couldn't stand up to his wife? "Life is precious to Jehovah," he knows how many hairs are on everybody's head. Really?
I was a firm believer when I left, started doing some light research, which explained so many thing I wondered about, namely the inconsistencies in the Bible. The inspired word began to look less so to me. If it wasn't "God's Word" but man's, what's the deal with god? I grew distant from god, and it made no difference in my life one single bit.
My life has been fine, no horrible tragedies like so many suffer. Is god looking out for me and not others? I never thought so. Maybe it would be nice to have a sky daddy watching over you and helping you make that touchdown or get that job...but it doesn't answer for horrible atrocities man brings on himself. If there is a god, he is doing a terrible job.
Live well, be your brother's keeper, take care of things...that is as divine as we need.
-
30
Why Do JW Speakers and GB Members Sound So Robotic?
by minimus ineveryone sounds like they came out of stepford wives.
.
is this supposed to be the way witnesses are to speak?
-
-
Dagney
It's funny you say that.
I have been in contact for the past few years with former JW's I knew in my teens years. Most left late 70's and early 80's except for me of course. So I sent them the information of the Leah Remini special. One of the ladies who was in Bethel during the Ray Franz deal, and left soon after wrote me this morning. She said "I'm watching the show now. Are those the GB??? They are scary!!" LOL.
These guys are creepy.
They can't go off script as much as in the old days, everything is forever on the internet now!
-
1
Remarkable similarities between JW JC & LDS elder meeting
by Dagney inact 1 of the podcast below are experiences between young lds women and their disciplinary meetings with lds elders and the aftermath.. it reminded me of conversations we just had in tahoe last summer from several who had to go before a panel of jw elders, alone, 13-14 years old, scared out of their wits in having to confess a wrong doing.
parents are unsupportive of their children, instead force these young girls into these confessional meetings.
the scars are deep and pervasive.. so the same with the ladies in this podcast.
-
-
Dagney
Act 1 of the podcast below are experiences between young LDS women and their disciplinary meetings with LDS elders and the aftermath.
It reminded me of conversations we just had in Tahoe last summer from several who had to go before a panel of JW elders, alone, 13-14 years old, scared out of their wits in having to confess a wrong doing. Parents are unsupportive of their children, instead force these young girls into these confessional meetings. The scars are deep and pervasive.
So the same with the ladies in this podcast. Also the reluctance of an LDS elder to admit to the interviewer it how wrong these meetings are handled, and even to admit how harmful it can be to a young person, for life! It is just like the testimony at the ARC, and the JW lawyers in these recent court cases.
https://www.thisamericanlife.org/661/but-thats-what-happened
-
49
Worst Fire in California history
by 3rdgen inin terms of destruction.
52,000 people are evacuated.
started thurs.
-
-
Dagney
Greetings 3rdgen. What a week. So happy to see your name pop up. We need to catch up sometime with a glass of wine.
Maybe sometime when you are down visiting your daughter! I'm in Long Beach.
Love to you and hubby. xxxx