Posts by chelleadam

5

Appreciating Neighbors never an option as JW

by restrangled in

jw
friends

i just had a wonderful conversation with one of my neighbors who's husband is fighting prostate cancer.. it is a great feeling to connect with those who live near by or next to you, and find ways to support each other, finding laughter and solace.. this was never really allowed with jws.

we were always cold to our neighbors unless preaching work could be done.. my parents had an odd situation in that their next door neighbor lost a son to an accidental gun shooting.

the police were aware of my brother's death many years previously and called on my mother to comfort her next door neighbor, actually asking her to be there when they announced her son was dead at age 12.. my mom had no problem with that but since they had little to no social contact over 10 years it was difficult and probably felt icy.. how sad!.

chelleadam

I think maybe a lot of us still have problems with relationships. I still don't relate well to people at times. I do okay on the internet, I guess, but one-on-one with people is hard. As a witness all your relationships to people tend to be cold. I didn't really love the people at the KH, and I wasn't allowed association with anyone else. Now it takes me a long time to get comfortable with anyone.

16

Did Armageddon Hold You Hostage?

by The wanderer in

jw
friends

did armageddon hold you hostage?when my zeal for the truth started to slow down and i started .

to view the dictations of the watchtower society as more work .

and responsibility than love and caring it was the fear of dying .

chelleadam

I couldn't have said it better, greendawn. I called them terrorists one time talking to my husband. He thought I was being overly harsh, but I meant it.

16

Did Armageddon Hold You Hostage?

by The wanderer in

jw
friends

did armageddon hold you hostage?when my zeal for the truth started to slow down and i started .

to view the dictations of the watchtower society as more work .

and responsibility than love and caring it was the fear of dying .

chelleadam

Hey wanderer,

Yeah, I've heard of this happening to others. I am so grateful that I got out of that mindset, but I worry about former friends of mine that I can't find on the internet, or anywhere at all. I guess I won't know about some of them unless I come across an obituary somewhere. It's a terrible tragedy, and it seems like no one except us ex-JWs knows about it. It's so sad.

35

What things did you do through a mtg to distract yourself?

by FourMs in

jw
friends

when we were kids, my best friend and i would do each others hair.

wed have our barretts and elastics and the whole bit.

then when we got a little older we used to do our nails nail polish and all .

chelleadam

I doodled a lot, or picked at my nails. Once, for about a month, when I was a teenager I tried to answer every question asked at the meetings. But only because I thought one of the boys on microphone duty was cute. Other than that I'd do nearly anything to pass the time. I actually went to a couple meetings stoned when I got older. I nearly got busted because everything they said was just so damned funny!

17

How much money did you give the watchtower?

by ninja in

jw
friends

approximately

chelleadam

Not much in the way of money. I gave way more time and free labor than they deserved.

3

current policy on swearing, as in oaths

by carla in

what is the current policy on swearing an oath to tell the truth?

such as in court, affidavids, passport office and that sort of thing.

i thought they were not supposed to at one time has this changed?

chelleadam

I never heard of that one. I can't really see what they'd have against it. Unless you were telling the truth about them.

16

Did Armageddon Hold You Hostage?

by The wanderer in

jw
friends

did armageddon hold you hostage?when my zeal for the truth started to slow down and i started .

to view the dictations of the watchtower society as more work .

and responsibility than love and caring it was the fear of dying .

chelleadam

I stayed in because of the prospect of Armageddon as well. I wasn't afraid to die, but they portray the manner of death as being very horrific and excruciating. I was very suicidal for a long time because I thought a bullet to the head would be much easier to take. I had a close friend that killed himself. He left a note saying basically the same thing. The witnesses kept his suicide note completely under wraps, but I knew one of the officers that handled the crime scene. He told me basically what it said.

28

Percentage of JW's that are undercover?

by flipper in

jw
friends

what do you think?

it seems like a lot are there so they won't lose family and friends - are in good standing but don't actually believe.

chelleadam

All I know is that when I was growing up, none of my friends actually believed. NOT ONE. I was a JW for 19 years, so if you figure that nearly all the young adults don't believe, and a lot of the older adults have serious doubts at the very least. Well, I guess I think the # would be quite high. The only people I ever knew that I believe were 100% sincere were my mother and her parents, and a couple of the elders that were friends of the family. That's why I say 75-80%.

Michelle

35

Scared the P~Waddins out of me! Scary People out there!!

by Sparkplug in

jw
friends

so my daughter walked to the end of my street to the store.

it is still daylight and it is drizzling, and she cut down the alley.

we have friends that live right by the store, and recently there was several houses bulldozed over.

chelleadam

I'd rather do a murder stint than let anyone hurt my child. I know exactly what you mean. I hope they find the ba**ard.

52

IT IS TIME FOR A___CONFESSION!

by Terry in

there is an old-fashioned definition of the word "confession" which is the public expression of one's deepest faith and belief.. take a deep breath and give a one or two paragraph summary of your deepest belief.. i'll go first.. from the time i was a small child i had a deep and abiding reverence for god as a father.

(my own father i never even met until i searched and found him when i was 25 years old.

) my grandmother had been raised in a catholic convent.

chelleadam

I was born a witness. I finally got away from them at age 19 ( I hadn't believed what they taught since about 12). I really hurt my parents in the process of leaving the witnesses. I will regret that always. I know that they will most likely never understand why I left, and why I was so harsh about it. Now it's very difficult for me to get through to them to tell them about the real peace I've found as a christian, because not only are they upset by my being disfellowshipped, but they have a bad view of me as a person. They were terrible parents but that doesn't mean I want them to die and go to hell.

The aggravating part is that I still miss my family. I wish I didn't because it would make things much simpler.