smiddy

Joined

• started 536 topics
• posted 8,695 times   see topics posted on
• send a message

Posts by smiddy

• 
  14

  Freeminds - Announcements

  by sweet pea in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  barbara anderson recently posted that she felt at a loss as to where she would now be able to make her announcements.. hopefully freeminds can be the main place where we all go for big announcements once they are no longer available on jwd - freeminds helped many to initially find out the substance behind their doubts and i'm sure if there's not an announcement feature right now, randy can sort one out?

  randy - where are you???.

  one day there will be a site that will help doubting/fading/free ones to find a safe, caring and stimulating community, i can feel it in my bones.... .

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  smiddy

  Previous post was meant for sweet pea
• 
  43

  Does anyone remember the big 6 month Bible study push during the mid 1990s?

  by neverendingjourney in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i was a regular pioneer for a while during the mid 90s, about a year or two after the knowledge book replaced the live forever book as the primary bible study manual.

  around that time the society began to spew a bunch of b.s.

  about the end being so near (hadn't heard that one before) and how there were waiting lists for bible studies in many former soviet countries.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  smiddy

  I can add my voice to the pre-75 push....I think they hoped that the heightened expectation of the witnesses would snowball over to the general public resulting in an ever increasing "witness" to all the nations bringing on armageddon.So it`s nothing new.

  smiddy
• 
  124

  The most inappropriate remarks from Jehovahs Witnesses

  by jambon1 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i have a few which still either anger me, make me sad or just make me grateful that i am no longer one of them.

  1 - "well, everyone is going to die anyway, so if it at armageddon then ce la vie" 2 - "the disater today at the world trade centre is sad, but exciting" 3 - (an elder) "when armageddon happens, i want to be at a window, watching it all".

  sick, sick, sick!

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  smiddy

  I don`t know whether this fits the category or not,but when i first became a jw i soaked it all up like a sponge and then after a year was a little bit stumbled by some jw`s,then (early 1960`s) the congregation servant (elder today)visited me to see if i would buy life insurance,seeing as he thought i no longer beleived in the truth.I politely told him I didn`t want any.Some time later his brother,employed by the same insurance company tried a softer approach (he saying his brother might have come on a little bit to strong )also tried to sell me life insurance.I reactivated myself,and spent the next 30 yrs slaving for the wtb&ts ( so what does that say about me )

  smiddy
• 
  27

  Just got my copy of "Crisis of Conscience"

  by JimmyPage in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  after finishing "combatting cult mind control" i decided to move on to the next logical book.

  i've read the first 100 pages of "crisis of conscience" and it's gone by really fast.

  now i know why this book is so important.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  smiddy

  I would add Captives of a Concept by Don Cameron to that list, it hones in on the very cornerstone of witness dogma and doesn`t let go.A very easy read,and cheap $7 to download from lulu,up to date too 2008,in fact I would put this at the top of the list for "must read"publications on Jehovah`s Witnesses

  smiddy
• 
  17

  Blondie's Comments You Will Not Hear at the 07-13-08 WT Study (DOING GOOD)

  by blondie in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  comments you will not hear at the 07-13-08 wt study (may 15, 2008, pages 7-11(doing good).

  review comments will be in red.

  wt material from today's wt will be in black.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  smiddy

  In the 70`s I grew a beard ,was counselled and removed from priveledges until I shaved it off.I recall a magazine,not sure if it was the watchtower or awake,front cover I think,showing jesus on the stake clean shaven,I don`t recall any comments associated with the illustration(a picture is worth a thousand words)Anybody remember that article?
• 
  34

  After years I visited my Disfellowshiped Sister and "worldly" husband! CRY!

  by Witness 007 in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i've been away to visit my sister and her "worldly" husband after many years of not seeing her...i don't even have her phone number as she lives overseas.

  we just had a first family get together.

  when she met me at the door i was ready for anything!

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  smiddy

  It`s a crying shame that active jw`s can`t see that shunning one`s family is such a hateful practice disguised as "love"I wish you all the best as you mend your relationship with your sister
• 
  59

  My first post

  by BonaFide in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i prayed before i came on here.

  i know that it weird.

  i have been reading here for a long time.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  smiddy

  Hi BonaFide

  I just finished reading"Captives of a Concept"by Don Cameron I would highly recomend you read it,as it helps explain a lot of what you are going through.

  welcome aboard
• 
  24

  Does the JW mindset ever leave totaley leave you ?????

  by karter in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i was 38 years in left 7 years i find myself still in the mindset sometimes maybe becouse wife and some family are still in but can you ever fully ''check out and leave"

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  smiddy

  It may depend on the degree of belief when you came in.Some become involved because of family connecections others are born into the religion and the others,like myself were converts.I think converts are more dedicated to their beleifs than the forementioned,solely because they are more inclined to study more deeply,become more ingrained deeply(indocrinated)than those influenced by family members which can be more emotionally affected.I have no problem now recognising JW`s as a cult or dismissing their beliefs in general,but their are times when I get that eerie feeling about certain topics,and I faded 15 years ago.I was in 33yrs and was a MS for many yrs.Needless to say like many of you I truly beleived it(hook line & sinker) for all those years.
• 
  74

  News Flash !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  by TooBad TooSad in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  my wife excitedly told me that she talked to the wife of an elder that just came back from.

  the special training for elders in upper state new york and that the elders are being told .

  to go back to their congregations and to get them ready for the great tribulation.. i said to her that is great news !!!!

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  smiddy

  When I became active in 1960 the bro who studied with me said the system could not last more than 5 more yrs.Every year he would say that not realising the carrot was continually being dangled in front of us.The penny eventually dropped 33 years later for me.Silly boy I am
• 
  3

  My Letter to the Schools about Knocking - Please Participate in Your City

  by jamiebowers in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i wrote the following letter and will be sending it to my school board, superintendent, principals of the middle and high schools and the high school civics teachers.

  if anyone has any additions/corrections or wants to use it for their own school system please feel free.

  knocking has selected for "community classroom" and will be offered to public schools across the united states for free.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  smiddy

  It may be a good idea to mention the court case in canada that shut down the watchtower quotes site because it was an embarrassment to the society( freedom of speech? Yeah right.) One rule for witnesses,another set for anybody else.