when you compare the way you feel now as members of this forum with how you felt on your early days here what sort of thoughts and feelings come up?
what was your journey here like?
for me i have gone a long way, when i came here i loathed typing long posts, and hardly knew how to go about forums i was basically a forum virgin.
I know I'm still a newbie so being on this thread at all may be presumptuous. However, I've been reading here for two years+. I want to thank all who are here.I even love the apologists, for they convince me further that I've made the right decision. Even the widest, deepest, most powerful river is made up of tiny droplets of water. All play an important role. To sum up my feelings about the effect JWD has had on me:
NO MORE GUILT!
well, i thought i'd start a fluff thread for once, so i'm posting here some of my favorite photos from my many trips over the years.
i hope you enjoy them and they inspire you to take awesome pictures on your own travels (or even your own backyard).
[edited to add...let's hope this formatting helps...jgnat].
Thanks for so kindly sharing. Life (whatever it really is) is good. I'm happy for you that you've had the opportunity to travel so extensively.
i would like to pose some questions that may challenge your thoughts, if i may.... .
former elders, while i may commend you all for seeing the real truth on about the so called "truth" and thus leaving the borg for what it really & truly is, a lie.
former elders, have you ever thought about or attempted to contact anyone that have been disfellowshipped by your involvement in the j.c.?
Yizuman,
I will comment on this topic with great pleasure. Superb questions. The whole judicial process is one thing that began to convince me that the org. is a sham. From the first J.C. I served on I always sought to preserve the dignity of the individual. This often put me at odds with the other members. Till the very end of my service as an elder I tried, albeit in a quiet way, to look out for the accused. I understood that,even playing by the org's own rules, dfing should almost never take place. I based this on the example of David. David was,by all accounts, a very, very, very bad man. Yet he was shown mercy. I often reminded the other J.C. members of this fact. Ultimately I realized I could no longer sit as judge of anyone. My resignation as an elder soon followed. As for apologizing to some for my role in J.C.s yes I've done so in a couple of cases. For some cases it would be impractical if not impossible to do so.
I'm in the process of helping several Witnesses to wake up. I'm sure I'll help more to leave than I ever converted. I'm planning to write a book as well.
P.S.- Please allow one point for your cosideration Yizuman. As Ray Franz reminds us in CoC, elders, GB members, etc. are victims of victims. Yes some are haughty, arrogant, (a bunch of other descriptive words I don't want to use because I don't want to get kicked off of here) human beings. But for the most part they're just doing what they've been taught (programmed) to do, at least by example. We must not hate. Rather let's spend our energies on helping as many as possible to wake up and being there for each other. I shed many tears as an elder. I know I wasn't the only one. Give them time. Many,many more will awaken to reality. Let's be there for them so their path isn't so difficult.
Much love and respect,
Nvrgnbk
i was thinking about this today, as al gore did win the popular vote and lost because of how the electoral college works.
so people like to blame 9/11 on bush, and fahrenheit 9/11 really tried to make it look like bush.
i remember when the movie, "the road to 9/11" came out, clinton was having a fit that it showed the problems with 9/11 started while he was in office.
No disrespect meant towards conservatives but Bush is delusional. He believed himself to be Cyrus when he attempted to conquer Babylon (Iraq). Seriously.
this post is in honor of ozziepost, one of our long-standing australian posters.
i am probably posting this in the perfectly wrong time of day, so if one of our australian friends could bump this thread when you are all waking up, i'd appreciate it.. ozziepost is well known for his love offfair with shiraz, an australian wine.. you may not know this about me, but i am a neophyte drinker.
i like to be in charge (is anyone surprised), and acohol unacceptably takes away my sense of self-control.
Serendipity,
Good call on the Gewurtztraminer. It tastes great, pairs well with spicy foods(Thai,Indian,Vietnamese), and best of all sounds really sexy when properly pronounced.
this is from the wall street journal (page a12), thursday, march 1, 2007: (sorry i don't know how to scan).
"there is an irresistible quality to the story about al gore's energy hungry tennessee home, replete with a heated poolhouse that burns more natural gas--$500/month worth--than most of us can afford to use while heating houses that shelter people, as opposed to swimming lanes.
did you know that mr. gore's house uses more electricity in a month than the average household does in a year?.
Qcmbr,
Though I like Gore when compared to all of the other options for Prez(and yes I know he's not officially running), I must agree with your summation.
through out my witness life i have always believed that when the partakers at memorial went up that means.
that some of the anoited were unfaithful and had to be replaced.
i have beleived this for 40 years.
Why doesn't the GB just put in a request to the angels who actively participate with them in the preaching work to expose all the fake, lying, whacko, mentally ill, suffering from delusions of grandeur, and otherwise illegitimate partakers. This could work much in the same way that they expose all of the wrongdoing that takes place in the congregations. Surely the angels have both the power and desire to help resolve this serious problem.
please excuse my ignorance regarding this.. i posted a solicitation for this little survey i'm doing here .
http://kent.steinhaug.no/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=4910.
a poster named "queen beetle" got all excited because the title of the survey referenced jwd which she couldn't (evidently) bring herself to type out (using "xxx" instead).. i explained why i named it jwd but...i sensed some animosity (color me sensitive).. do some folks have a problem with jwd?
I've lurked on many of these boards for more than two years. The opinion of some seems to be that JWD is for the uptight and self-righteous. That has not been my observation. It was here that I felt comfortable posting for the very first time just two weeks ago. I've felt love, sincerity, maturity, positivity(if that's a word), and hope on this forum. Literally, this forum has saved lives. If that causes some to take it a bit seriously, so be it.
http://kcbs.com/pages/270226.php?contenttype=4&contentid=352202.
church leader sentenced for molestation.
san jose, calif. (kcbs) -- a man from san jose has been sentenced to twelve years behind bars for repeatedly molesting the daughter of a fellow church member.
Happy to be of help exjwms. Isn't it a privilege to be a part of the spiritual paradise.
http://kcbs.com/pages/270226.php?contenttype=4&contentid=352202.
church leader sentenced for molestation.
san jose, calif. (kcbs) -- a man from san jose has been sentenced to twelve years behind bars for repeatedly molesting the daughter of a fellow church member.
Xjwms,
Let me explain one more time. If the pedophile elder goes undetected, thus raping countless boys and girls, the holy spirit obviously appointed him. However, should he be found out, his appointment was obviously of man.
