Posts by MeneMene

16

Got a letter from a JW stranger in another state!

by lavendar in

jw
friends

we received a hand-written letter (out of the blue!

) from a stranger who's a witness.

she lives across the border in an adjoining state from ours'.

MeneMene

I feel so bad this is happening to you. The WTBTS has certainly set themselves up as more important than families and friends. Hang in there. Just pray he comes to his senses and sees it for what it really is.

I am one of those that just faded away from it all so my family still speaks to me so far. I have tried at times to point things out to them but they always justify the errors and wrongs the WTBTS does.

16

Got a letter from a JW stranger in another state!

by lavendar in

jw
friends

we received a hand-written letter (out of the blue!

) from a stranger who's a witness.

she lives across the border in an adjoining state from ours'.

MeneMene

Have you discussed any of the JW beliefs with your son before? Could you ask him to "help" you research some things that you have come across?

I guess it would depend on your relationship with him whether or not to send him a copy of your letter(s). I was thinking of sending it to him since you suspected he referred the wit lady to you. Definitely don't want to drive a wedge between the two of you.

Have you discussed any of the WTS beliefs with him in the past? If he is close, maybe just ask him to read the letter before you send it - to get his opinion?

16

Got a letter from a JW stranger in another state!

by lavendar in

jw
friends

we received a hand-written letter (out of the blue!

) from a stranger who's a witness.

she lives across the border in an adjoining state from ours'.

MeneMene

If I may make one suggestion, don't hit her with several topics at once. It can be overwhelming. My sister recently sent me a whole package of copies from the Proclaimers book justifying their flip flops & new light. I have yet to wade through it. She was responding to an email I had sent her where I quoted from some old publications.

Perhaps address one topic at the time and send her one letter a week or something like that. (How about sending your son a copy of the letter you send to her?)

28

Who still fears the big 'A'?

by lfcviking in

jw
friends

i have been left for about 18 months now and am trying to get 'unindoctrinated' or 'unbrainwashed' or whatever is the correct term is.

but there still exists in me a considerable fear of 'armaggeddon'.

whether the jw teaching of 'armaggeddon' is true or not i am not sure, but such was their very powerful strong mental indoctrination of this event it has left me with what i think will be a permenant fear for the rest of my days.

MeneMene

I think your fear is perfectly normal. 18 months is not very long.

I did have specific horrors as a child concerning the Big A. I have been reminded of some of those because of things going on in Iraq.

I am not yet convinced there either will or will not be an Armageddon. I no longer fear it. Perhaps that is because of my age and that I left WTS close to 30 yrs ago. I have made peace with my decisions. Some people get more religious as they age but I seem to have gone the other way. I will accept whatever Jesus/Jehovah decides is best for me. I don't think I could change their minds anyway at this point and I don't want to try.

"Whatever Will Be, Will Be (Que Sera, Sera)". [That was my favorite song as a child. It's the one I never forgot and means even more now.]

38

JW's - Satanic Cult or just wrong-headed religion?

by AK - Jeff in

the evils of the religion are well documented here and elsewhere - but does that prove to you that they are indeed 'satanic', under the direction of satan?

or are they just screwed up?

jeff .

MeneMene

Based on the facts:

they used Johannes Greber for many years (27?) knowing he and his wife used demonic assistance in translating the NT; and

that C.J. Woodworth, Editor of The Golden Age and other WTS publications, acknowledged his demon possession and even automatic writing (http://geocities.comHeartland/2919/wood.html)

That's not to mention Russell's involvement with the Masons and Pyramidology

While I would not consider it a Satanic Cult, I certainly believe they have had Satanic/demonic influence throughout their history.

55

Will Lack of Leadership Sink the JW Ship?

by Seeker4 in

jw
friends

i see serious problems with the leadership of the witnesses on two important levels: locally, in smaller bodies of elders with marginally qualified men carrying heavier workloads, and internationally in a lackluster and unimaginative governing body.

there are no nathan knorrs, or fred or ray franz's in this pathetic group!

first, the local elders: .

MeneMene

sass_my_frass, when I was reading through the posts I was thinking the same thing.

I remember several times when I was young and no 'brother' showed up for service, a 'sister' handled everything including the prayer.

Of course she had to wear a hankie on her head but as long as they have plenty of head coverings I would expect they will carry on.

14

Drawing ConclusionsWhy we Believed what we Believed

by The wanderer in

jw
friends

drawing conclusionswhy we believed what we believedinspired by another thread questioning why we believed in the garbage for so long,.

i have drawn some conclusions about this issue.. a vacuum societyas a captive of jehovahs witnesses, the beliefs taught did have a ring of truth .

around it and therefore anything that stated was unquestionably accepted.

MeneMene

"I think those that are raised in it, they have it beaten into them ..."

That is soooo true. Even as I got older, I never really questioned the doctrines. Never researched. Never entered my mind it was not all true.

I was told that in Paradise there would be no children and there would be no sex because the earth would be full and there would be no reason for either.

That plus there were some JWs that I really really did not want to live forever around, I found myself going less and less.

I just decided somewhere along the line I did not want to live forever in a JW paradise. An endless sleep didn't seem as bad as living forever with no sex and with people you didn't care for. :)

It wasn't until my daughter started researching the WTS so she could prove her boyfriend wrong about them that she learned things were not right and started telling me what she was learning. I was probably about 40 by then. If it weren't for her I may have never really learned it was not the 'truth'.

90

Would you date someone with a history of INCEST?

by kristyann in

jw
friends

hey everyone!

i hope that at least someone missed me or noticed that i was gone!

i have been so busy, and i don't think that i've really been on here since june.

MeneMene

"He says it was about 5 years ago or something, and it took place over a period of several years."

Did she blackmail him and threaten "rape" every time over the years or just the first time and then he kept going back for more? What is the age difference between him and his cousin?

You say she has kids. How old are those kids? Could any of them be his kids?

Sorry, but this is just too much for me. I would run for the hills. I have made some very bad choices in my life so I am probably more suspicious and less trusting than most.

Also, you definitely do not want to get mixed up with someone that is controlling who your friends are and who you are allowed to speak to. That is what the JWs do. Is he a JW? Is his cousin a JW?

26

cortizone shot,anyone???

by aquagirl in

jw
friends

hey,i know this is a bit um,off topic,but i am told that i have to get a cortizone shot in my heel due to plantar faciitus..anyone have any first hand experiance about what i can expect?

am envisioning a huge knitting needle like device jammed into the delicate already sore bones in my heel,causing great agony and pain and armageddon like conditions..anyone,any thoughts?

?

MeneMene

I had one in my elbow that pretty much fixed the tennis elbow. Never had to have another one for that.

I did have a shot in my foot a few months after bunion surgery. The shot was not bad but the doc said the cortisone would hurt for a couple days afterwards. I don't know why the shot at the base of my toe would hurt after the shot but he was right. It hurt like the devil but once that pain was gone no more problems.

I have also had to take cortizone treatments (pills) several times for poison ivy. As I understand it, your body never gets rid of the cortizone. It just keeps building up and can hurt some of your organs (kidney?? - can't remember for sure). I am probably close to my lifetime limit.

My cat had to have cortizone shots several times and the vet told me the same thing about him. He said the cortizone builds up and will eventually shut down something (kidneys??).

4

It's snowing in Arizona!

by misanthropic in

jw
friends

it probably won't stick because it's been raining all day here but the snow is falling in the tucson/oro valey area right now.

just tons of it falling down, i can't even remember the last time i have seen anything like this here.

i'm going outside to watch it fall :)

MeneMene

It was also snowing this afternoon on the west side of Phoenix. It was funny snow though. At first I thought it was sleet. It didn't look like the regular soft fluffy snow flakes. I went out to feel it - it was more like soft wet little snow balls. It didn't last long but it was really fun watching it come down.

First thing my daughter said was, "Global warming!"