Simon,
I found the first thread 
Thank you so much for sharing your story and for making this place.
I've found a lot of encouragement here already (and I was very late to the party apparently).
*smiles*
NanaR
Posts by NanaR
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261Welcome !
by Simon inwelcome to the newest jehovah's witness discussion forum on the net.. please register so that you can post to the forum and turn this into a welcoming place for other brothers and sisters online
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21
It just seems that Witnesses are less active these days.
by free2beme ini remember being a teenager and being at friends home on saturdays, and every time you turn around there was a witness knocking at the door.
my non-witness friends would be nice, and say no, as they did not want to insult me.
even though, as a teenager, i was not a witnesses (baptized) and did not make a public show of my connection to people outside of the congregation.
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NanaR
I just plain remember, them being a lot more visible and active in the past.
In my particular area, there just aren't as many witnesses as there used to be. When I was attending meetings, there were two congregations close to me. Now one of those has been dissolved and their members absorbed into one congregation. The combined memorial this past spring was about the size of one memorial in my more recent memory. I am also told that the dissolved congregation territory (very large) is once again (after more than 40 years of being assigned to that congregation) unassigned territory.
Also a whole generation (of 20 somethings) is clearly missing. Of the young folks my girls grew up with, only one is still a regular publisher (to my knowledge). Several are disfellowshipped. My daughters were never baptized but are considered "bad association" although 2 of them study.
So my take is that the numbers are dwindling and the ones left are older ones and then new converts. Territory coverage will obviously be less under these circumstances.
I am amazed that the momentum has been maintained this long, in view of the ever changing reasoning behind the so-called "urgency" of the times and the fact that most people have access to information (such as found on this forum) to knock down the "canned" arguments.
*smiles*
NanaR
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24
Shunned by an old friend
by fullofdoubtnow inin all the years i was a jw, although i had many acquaintances, i only had 3 really close friends.
two of them are no longer jws.
one is trev, who is obviously a lot more than a friend to me now, and my friend marion left the wts a few months ago, with a lot of encouragement from me.. my other friend is still very much a jw, and when i was announced as no longer a jw last year, she phoned me to tell me how very upset and disappointed she was.
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NanaR
I always hated the shunning rule, and she hated it as much as me me, and she was the one person who I thought, hoped, might not shun me, she knew why I had doubts, and knew why I left, I wrote to her after I put my da letter in. But today she obeyed the wts shunning rule, and though I knew what to expect when I left from jws in general, it was still hard to take from her, remembering how close we once were.
Linda,
Several here have mentioned fear. In addition, I think it is likely that the BOE, knowing how close you two were, has given her specific "counsel" (read threat) that she is not to have anything to do with you. In their eyes, you are a VERY DANGEROUS person -- your dear friend could start thinking for herself, imagine that!
I don't remember when exactly I stopped obeying the shunning rules, but I know it was long before I truly "left".
It's the people who created those hurtful rules that are really to blame. Not the fearful souls who are imprisoned by them.
I'm so sorry you were hurt in this way. It's wrong and evil to divide friends under the premise of "protecting" and "helping".
Hugs and best wishes,
Ruth
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Did you ever think you'd stop being one of Jehovah's Witnesses?
by sandy ini'm sure this question has been asked before .
i've come a long way in my thinking.
a very long way!
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NanaR
Even though I am no longer a JW, I do not steal, kill, intentionally hurt others, I make a conscience effort to be honest even when I'm tempted to lie. As others have told me . . . I live a much more honest life away from the dubs.
Sandy,
I was a 5th generation Witness. I had doubts from an early age, but leaving never seemed an option.
After my father died in 1991, though, I really began to question how much of my supposed belief was really mine and how much was my father's overwhelming influence.
Then one of my dear friends (also raised a JW) experienced every mother's worst nightmare when her teenage son attempted suicide. At the hospital, she confided in me that she had given consent to blood. I was surprised inside myself that my heart agreed with her decision.
After that I believe it was just a matter of "growing away" from the organization.
Honestly, I now cannot imagine how I believed everything I believed then. I feel like I've awakened from a dream, and only now am living in reality.
Great question!
NanaR
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A Crag in the desert ????
by KAYTEE inin a watchtower question and answer session a few years ago.
isaiah 32 v 1-3 came up.
at that time there was 8 elders in the congregation, this was roughly my answer -.
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NanaR
most days i don't care anymore...but somewhere deep inside me i can't help thinking that jah is gonna want an explanation from them
I don't know what to believe about an afterlife anymore (working on that one), but I do believe in Universal Justice.
They'll get theirs -- the law of natural consequences will see to it.
And you are a survivor who is now encouraging others who are struggling.
Good for you!!
(Love the avatar
In response to the original question, the only elder I ever found the least bit comforting was an old gentleman who is now an apostate. Guess he couldn't stand hanging out with the other hypocrites.
*smiles*
NanaR
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Mom Died -- and I found out from an old friend!
by BrendaCloutier inok, i'm writing this thru tears as i just found out in the last 5 minutes.
my dad died in august, and they had been together just 1 or 2 weeks over 70 years married!
i didn't expect her to last without him, and visa versa.. i just tried to call my sister, and no answer there.
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A new experience
by NanaR inlast wednesday evening i attended a catholic mass for the first time in my life.
being raised as one of jehovah's witnesses, i rarely ever saw the inside of another church (maybe the occasional wedding or music recital), but catholic churches were particularly off limits.
i am now exploring my spiritual horizons.
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14
A new experience
by NanaR inlast wednesday evening i attended a catholic mass for the first time in my life.
being raised as one of jehovah's witnesses, i rarely ever saw the inside of another church (maybe the occasional wedding or music recital), but catholic churches were particularly off limits.
i am now exploring my spiritual horizons.
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NanaR
I was raised Catholic, and was unaware of this blessing alternative. What a nice option for those who are not Catholics, who want to participate.
The lady who took me is a newly converted Catholic. I don't know if this is a new thing, or just something that a "cradle Catholic" might not be aware of.
WELCOME to the board! And that was a very interesting post!
Thanks Bebu!!
*smiles*
Ruth aka NanaR
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14
A new experience
by NanaR inlast wednesday evening i attended a catholic mass for the first time in my life.
being raised as one of jehovah's witnesses, i rarely ever saw the inside of another church (maybe the occasional wedding or music recital), but catholic churches were particularly off limits.
i am now exploring my spiritual horizons.
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NanaR
Being shown unconditional love takes a little getting used to, does it not?
Yes, it does!
A dear friend of mine used to say "When the student is ready, the teacher will appear". I don't know who he was quoting, but I am starting to believe what he said.
There is so much good in the world. It's going to be fun looking for it.
And I'm finding teachers everywhere
Ruth aka NanaR
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A new experience
by NanaR inlast wednesday evening i attended a catholic mass for the first time in my life.
being raised as one of jehovah's witnesses, i rarely ever saw the inside of another church (maybe the occasional wedding or music recital), but catholic churches were particularly off limits.
i am now exploring my spiritual horizons.
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NanaR
The quest for spiritual freedom just feels so good
Yes, Balsam, it does
After living my entire life on the principle of "enduring" the present for "paradise", I am now living my life with a view to both enjoying it and HELPING OTHER PEOPLE in a concrete fashion. When I was growing up, we had a dear Baptist neighbor lady who lived 2 doors down. When the neighbor between us (our next door neighbor as well as hers) lost her husband, the Baptist lady "adopted" the elderly neighbor; that is, she checked on her at least twice a day, she took her food, etc. Now this wasn't easy as the elderly lady was very cantankerous and could be exceedingly rude and never once said thank you. And the elderly neighbor lady DID NOT go to the same church (I don't think she went to any church at all). But our Baptist neighbor just ignored all that and continued helping until one day she was the one who found the old lady dead.
In all that time, my JW parents never did ONE THING to help the neighbor.
Who do you think was demonstrating "fruits of the spirit"?
But WHY did it take me SO LONG to be able to see these things in their proper context?
I don't really know, but I am so glad to now be FREE TO THINK CLEARLY.
*smiles*
Ruth aka NanaR