Posts by iamfreenow

15

Honestly-Did you ever......

by avidbiblereader in

read the entire bible all the way through, whether as a witness, after you left or did it take leaving to actually get the time to read it?.

abr.

Yes I did, many times, apart from 1Chronicles 1 -9, which are genealogical records, and I read them a few times. I used to read the entire Bible apporoximately every 2 years as part of my personal study programme. I have been doing that since I was married at 19, so I suppose I have read it around 20 times now.

10

TheEndOfDoorToDoorPreaching

by LovesDubs in

jw
friends

....would it be of any surprise to anybody if the suck-ciety did in fact declare that matthew 24:14 has been fulfilled and they can discontinue the preaching work?

imagine the savings that would mean for them in printing each month???

wouldnt they be able to just leave a pile of study articles for the troops in each kingdoom hall instead of printing billions of magazines left to line parrot cages and garbage cans of laundromats worldwide?

iamfreenow

LovesDubs,

In the unlikely event of the Watchtower making that proclamation, there would be an audible sigh of relief in every Kingdom Hall on the Planet. It won't happen though, the Society needs its' members to be kept busy, even if the preaching work has little or no results. Without it, JWs would have far too much time on their hands, and before you know it they might start thinking for themselves. The Society daren't let that happen, so the work will continue for now.

34

Comments You Will Not Hear at the 1-21-07 WT Study (Day Near)

by blondie in

will try again, getting error message.

says posted 6 hours 3 minutes ago which is not true, less than ten minutes ago.

iamfreenow

An excellent review Blondie, and as you say, nothing new at all.

But when is there anything new from the WTBTS these days? It seems to me that anything new tends to have an adverse affect on the older JWs. like the generation change in 1995, which postponed armageddon again for people who had already been waiting far longer than they thought they would have to anyway. I was an adult in 1975, and pioneered from 1967, despite having two toddlers in tow for most of the years, due to the "urgency" of the times. Of course when 1975 came and went, we were disappointed but accepted the Watchtowers reasoning, and got on with it.

I very much doubt that however near they advertise the end as being, they will never be able to drum up the same enthusiasm as they did for 1975. They know better these days than try to predict an exact date after the 1975 debacle, and proclaiming the end is near won't have the same effect as actually naming the year. The congregations are used to being told the end is near, they've been hearing it throughout their time as JWs. The tract campaigns, year text and special watchtower articles might have some effect, but the fervour which we all felt between 1966 and 1975 won't be repeated, even though the information has been.

17

Did the Watchtower Society Cause Mental or Emotional Damage?

by The wanderer in

jw
friends

did the watchtower society cause mental or emotional damage?the argument is the watchtower caused one, the other, or a combination .

in my particular case, it was emotional damage because individuals consider me .

to be fairly intelligent and clear minded.. what is your perspective about this matter?did the watchtower cause mental or emotional damage?

iamfreenow

They certainly put me under pressure at various times, like trying to push me back into regular pioneering only a short time after my dear husband had died. I had to endure several elder visits at the time, and thinking back they didn't seem overly - concerned how I might still be feeling about my loss.

Obviously, after an almost lifelong affiliation to the Watchtower Society, I still have many memories, and always will have, but I don't feel damaged by it. The shunning by the many friends I made over the years is hurtful of course, but I have made new, unconditional friends now. I have recently become a Christian, and am grateful that I have found the true path to God. That realisation is helping to offset all I have lost by leaving the Watchtower.

8

My big day went very well

by iamfreenow in

jw
friends

as many of you likely know, i was due to be baptised as a christian this morning at the baptist church i have been attending since just after i disassociated from the jehovahs witnesses.

this time, i remember it all.

we opened the service with "amazing grace", which is one of my favourites, and i noticed that my friends trev and linda were joining in the singing, somewhat to my surprise, especially trev, there may be hope for him yet!

iamfreenow

As many of you likely know, I was due to be baptised as a Christian this morning at the Baptist church I have been attending since just after I disassociated from the Jehovahs Witnesses. Well, I did the deed at just after 11:30 this morning, when I stepped into a batism pool for the second time in my life, almost 46 years after the first time I did it.

I can't really remember how I felt when I was baptised as a JW, it is so long ago, I was only 14 at the time, but I remember that my parents were very proud of me at the time. This time, I remember it all. We opened the Service with "Amazing Grace", which is one of my favourites, and I noticed that my friends Trev and Linda were joining in the singing, somewhat to my surprise, especially Trev, there may be hope for him yet! After a prayer, there was a short discourse from the guest speaker, who spoke about the importance of having a Christian faith nowadays, and a couple of testimonies from young church members. After another hymn "Come To The Saviour, Make No Delay", and a prayer, I stepped into a baptism pool for the second time in my life, this time much more aware of the commitment I was making. The meeting chairman made a few brief remarks which I couldn't really hear as I was changing back into my clothes in the back room, and the service ended with the hymn "Baptised Into Thy Name Most Holy".

I am so happy today, because now I feel that I am doing what God really wants me to do, and worshipping Him in the way He wants to be worshipped. After all those years of attending the Kingdom Hall, I have found services at the Baptist Church so joyful and uplifting in comparison. The congregation there are genuinely loving and genuinely friendly, they don't base their feelings towards others on how many meetings they attend, they are just happy to see people when they are there. Linda and even Trev, who hasn't been to a Church in years apart from weddings and funerals, noticed how different the atmosphere is there compared to JW meetings, though they have no plans to come again as yet. I was sort of happy as a JW for most of the time, but looking back there was always that fear that I imagine most Witnesses have of offending Jehovah somehow, without even realising it, and missing out on the new system. Now I have found the true path to God, I have no such fear, just joy at having finally found my way after all those years of being on the wrong road. I feel so liberated these days, as I finally experience true Christian freedom. After almost 60 years in the darkness, I am finally walking in the light.

love

Marion

22

Big day for me tomorrow

by iamfreenow in

hello everyone, i haven't been on here for a while, though i have read a few posts from time to time when i've been visiting my friends linda and trevor.

i would like to be here more, but i am retired now, and can't really afford a pc or the internet, being on a somewhat limited income.. since i left the watchtower society in august, i have kept myself reasonably busy.

i attend a couple of evening classes, help my non jw son and his wife out by babysitting when needed, and manage to see my jw sons' children as often as possible.

iamfreenow

Thankyou to everyone for your good wishes, I am off home now to prepare for tomorrow.

I will be getting baptised at about 11:30am UK time, and I am coming back here (to Trev and Lindas') for dinner tomorrow, so I will post on how it went.

love

Marion

52

Do You Miss Your Sense of Belonging?

by The wanderer in

jw
friends

do you miss your sense of belonging?what i miss is the sense of belonging and camaraderie that came with .

being one of jehovahs witnesses.

does this mean that i would return?

iamfreenow

Losing my sense of belonging, having spent so long as a Witness, was my greatest cause for concern when I decided to leave the Society. I had made so many friends over the years, and the thought of losing almost all of them virtually overnight was a daunting prospect, to say the least.

It hasn't been as bad as I imagined it would, however. I have taken up other interests, including a couple of evening classes, and been attending a local church which has fulfilled my spiritual need in ways the Kingdom Hall never did, so I still have a sense of belonging anyway. I feel that however much I lost by leaving the JWs, I have gained far more in the new life I am building now.

21

LOVE BIRDS

by purplesofa in

jw
friends

iamfreenow

Thankyou for sharing that purplesofa

In a business where multiple marriages and divorces seem to be the norm, for those two to be a year away form clebrating their 50th anniversary is quite an achievement, and a testimony to the love they have for each other.

8