journey-on

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Posts by journey-on

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  19

  Polygamist child-rapist headed to prison in TX....

  by SweetBabyCheezits in

  1. social
  2. current

  .

  http://www.ajc.com/news/nation-world/polygamist-leader-arrives-at-1089456.html.

  ... where, in a twist of fate, he will become the "wife" of another polygamist, known only by the name j.b. juggernaut.. enjoy your stay, mr. jeffs!.

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  journey-on

  Finally!! It took Texas to get it done! Don't mess with Texas.
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  9

  What is God's Rest? Watchtower Study Articles for 12-25 September

  by TimothyT in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  [if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>normal</w:view> <w:zoom>0</w:zoom> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables /> <w:snaptogridincell /> <w:wraptextwithpunct /> <w:useasianbreakrules /> </w:compatibility> <w:browserlevel>microsoftinternetexplorer4</w:browserlevel> </w:worddocument> </xml><!

  [endif][if gte mso 10]> <style> /* style definitions */ table.msonormaltable {mso-style-name:"table normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"times new roman";} </style> <![endif].

  in a few weeks i am going to be disfellowshipped for being gay and my dad told me that i may want to read the two study articles coming up in the 15 july 2011, watchtower regarding entering into gods rest.

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  journey-on

  Timothy, your dad sounds like a man who has natural affection. The witnesses teach that in the last days there would be none. They need to look at their own organization to see it being fulfilled right there among themselves...the loss of natural affection.

  The WTS is slowly but surely putting the screws in tight and twisting...twisting the scriptures, that is. Their brainwashing techniques work on most of their followers, but there are some like your dad who are able to see with seeing eyes and hear with hearing ears. They know what's going on because their heart knows. They are being guided by God's Love, and are able to see right through the teachings of men.

  The best advice I can give for young people in the organization today is: DON'T GET BAPTIZED BY THE WTS. My nephew was raised in it by a fanatical mother and strong elder father. He never took the step to get baptized although they cajoled him to death. He left when he got old enough and just stopped going to meetings. He is not shunned and never has been. Yet, my brother, who was baptized as a ten year old, was disfellowshipped and my sister and bil shun him and condemn him. His lifestyle is probably no different from the nephew's, but the difference is...he got baptized.
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  23

  JW’s are obsessed with persecution

  by life is to short in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  over the weekend i was around a group of jw's.

  i have not been in such a setting for along time so it was sort of surreal.. so this one older jw woman started to talk about her neighbors and their little girls and how much she liked them.

  she said they were a nice family, etc, that they watch each other homes when they go away on vacation, etc.

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  journey-on

  I have been following the Warren Jeffs case, and listening to the accounts of how his followers have been indoctrinated and brainwashed, some since infancy. I know it's controversial, but I truly believe JWs are too, only in a different setting. The years of constant droning on and on with the same mantra at the same boring sleep-inducing meetings several times a week using the exact same outline all across the country (if not world) is a form of hynotic induction, imo.

  Why else would they all be triggered to say the same sort of thing when something is mentioned? I truly believe it is intentional brainwashing. There are about a dozen scriptures they use as triggers to keep them mentally tethered to the doctrines.

  Try this experiement if you're still in good standing. Stand around with a bunch of them and bring up the subject. Say something like: "The government should investigate the methods and practices used by religion to control their followers." Then as a decoy, mention Sharia Law in Islam, the Warren Jeffs case, the way some children have died from lack of medical care under the Christian Scientists. Then say, "the government should step in and do something about it".

  They will probably all start talking about how this might be how The Persecution starts. They're all looking for it and salivating over this "sign of the end." They can't wait. When I was a little girl, I remember my mom and dad talking about making a secret hiding place in the wall or around a door to hide our bible and WTs in when The Persecution starts!!!
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  11

  Warren Jeffs - guilty

  by Glander in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  a poster man for creeps, under the guise of religion.

  why do we keep seeing religion and sexual abuse of children in the same sentence?.

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  journey-on

  He makes my skin crawl. The mothers of the young girls he "married" should be prosecuted, too, imo.
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  89

  Can I Please Just Say...

  by AGuest in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  that it's "jewel-ry"... and not "joo-lery" (may you all have peace!)?

  i know, i know... very small potatoes in the grand scheme of things.

  but, dang, if you're gonna host a television jewelry show, shouldn't you at least be able to say "jewelry"?

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  journey-on

  It's hurricane season, not HAIRicane.
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  11

  Prayer

  by yrkdnme in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i am interested to know from other long time wittnesses if they had a hard time with prayer after leaving the organization?

  when i left i found it so difficult to pray to "jehovah" and still do to this day.

  i am always more comfortable with just "god".

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  journey-on

  When my fade got really serious, I found it difficult to pray. I know now this was because of my brainwashing ( yes, I believe they do that intentionally ) and my indoctrination from infancy. I was taught to feel guilty and separated from Jehovah God anytime I wasn't closely associating with "His" so-called organization. Even though I went through all the motions, pushing aside any doubts, I knew in my heart there was something very wrong with this religion. What they called a "complete suit of armor" felt more like a straight-jacket.

  Then, after a few years of an independent spiritual journey, I realized what prayer really is. I began a new and more personal way of praying. New doors opened and His Light and Love came pouring through. I can't even put into words how much better my Life has become because of the real search I embarked upon and what resulted from it.

  Help me understand why some people can't let go and continue to hang on for years and years.

  I know it's a controversial subject, but I truly believe there is a kind of hypnotic induction going on by the society. There are trigger scriptures used to corral and control the believers and any real spiritual search becomes painful for them. Most of them can't even see or hear with true spiritual eyes and ears. They are bombarded with uncomfortable guilt and fear, so they slink back to the drones they have become preferring that their ears be tickled. It's just easier for them. It takes real effort and love for Truth to break free of their chains.
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  24

  The Problem with the problem

  by Terry in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  jehovah's witnesses have an invisible problem which is as unseen as jesus.

  the problem with their problem is that it is unseen.. what do i mean by this?.

  no future.. the future jehovah's witnesses prepare for is not their future at all.. the jw future is armageddon (very soon!

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  journey-on

  Terry, I used to have that victim mentality, too:

  "I had what it took to become something more. I should have had my talents and drives encouraged as a child, rather than nipped in the bud. Rather than marry a nice witness boy, I should have grown into womanhood first and experienced REAL Life. I should have climbed that corporate ladder to the very top, but I was being held back because of the religious mindset inculcated in me by my parents and the Watchtower Society."

  I'm glad I got out fairly early and was able to overcome the indoctrination, but it was not without scars and a lot of determination.

  But, even among the witnesses of your era, there were those like my fanatical JW sister and her husband that DID plan for two futures. One was the unseen future you described so well. They believe in it whole heartedly. My BIL is a big-deal elder and more (I forget what it is he does within the circuit). They do all the JW things they are supposed to do and look forward to the New World. He is around the same age as you, Terry, and he, too, was a conscientious objector. He didn't go to prison, but would have if that had been given him. My sister is about as big a fanatic as they come. Her JW shell is unbreakable. Yet, she is a career woman. She has saved and provided for her retirement years very very well. They have paid off their home, made investments, created wills to disperse their wealth when they pass on, and laid out their burial wishes.

  Go figure?!
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  18

  how do we exdubs deal with family still in?

  by bigmac in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i would be interested in hearing how other ex's cope with family members--still stuck in.. .

  example--my 90 year old jw dad--been in 50+ years---continued close ties with me since i left 30+ years ago----yet he says he wont talk to his grandson--age 35 ( my son )--who was df 2 years back.

  my never jw (3rd) wife cant understand this.. .

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  journey-on

  The practice of shunning, even semi-shunning, is sick. It's a made up doctrine using the twisting of scriptures. I cope through prayer and my own spiritual practices. It helps me understand the whys and wherefores, and be able to love them anyway. I try to look past their fears and brainwashing, and see who they are sans the religion.

  Thank goodness, the org throws in a little dose of "exceptions" (i.e., "except for family business") to pacifiy those who would otherwise be cast into traumatic doubt. However, there are some that have no problem whatsoever with totally cutting family members out. (Perhaps, it's a good excuse not to have to deal with problem family members that may be draining on them in other ways.)

  I, or any semi-biblically literate person could take just as many scriptures along with scriptural examples and "create" our own doctrine against this horrendous practice. I'm confident anybody could twist the scriptures to condemn this practice. Disfellowshipping seems biblical to me, but not shunning.

  The practice of disfellowshipping and shunning serves the borg in many selfish ways. I don't see it ending anytime soon.

  I am semi-shunned. That is, my JW family talks to me when I call. Sometimes they even call me. But, we don't get together very often anymore, take vacations together, or otherwise associate much. It's very limited. Our conversations avoid discussions of a spiritual nature. I'm expected to listen with rapt attention as they relay their recent regurgitated feast of spiritual food received at some convention, but I, on the other hand, must remain silent as to any spiritual enlightenment I may have had recently.
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  12

  The art of letting go

  by journey-on in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i have had to let go of many things in my life.

  as i look back, i realize i might have made some mistakes in the process and procedure whereby it was accomplished.. when one decides to leave something or someone they have loved deeply, it is difficult, if not impossible (for some), to just turn loose.

  there are physical, emotional, and psychic pains that comes with it.

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  journey-on

  sooner7nc - I read your new "MOFO" thread. So sorry for your loss. Talking to a-holes is a good thing to let go of. Good luck.
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  12

  The art of letting go

  by journey-on in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i have had to let go of many things in my life.

  as i look back, i realize i might have made some mistakes in the process and procedure whereby it was accomplished.. when one decides to leave something or someone they have loved deeply, it is difficult, if not impossible (for some), to just turn loose.

  there are physical, emotional, and psychic pains that comes with it.

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  journey-on

  Shelby, I hadn't thought about bonds and attachments to habits, addictions, or one's children. But, you're right. There are many things in Life that require a "letting go" and each one should be approached differently. One size does not fit all, I guess. Even some old ideas or judgements might need a letting go.

  Judge Dread - hummm? That too, I guess.