snowbird

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Posts by snowbird

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  13

  another 607 thread

  by BlackSwan of Memphis in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  aren't you excited?.

  i was looking through the net for some more info on ptolemy and astronomical records etc etc.

  and found this site:.

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  snowbird

  You're welcome. He was DF'd some time ago. I like the way he refers to the WTS as soothsayers!

  There is so much information against the Society. No wonder they're closing ranks.

  Snowbird
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  23

  I have a favor to ask of all of you.

  by lv4fer in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  my hairdresser has been diagnosed with lower bile duct cancer.

  she is 21 years old and a wonderful girl with her whole life ahead of her.

  she needs your prayers.

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  snowbird

  Raeann is in my prayers.

  Snowbird
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  13

  another 607 thread

  by BlackSwan of Memphis in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  aren't you excited?.

  i was looking through the net for some more info on ptolemy and astronomical records etc etc.

  and found this site:.

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  snowbird

  Yes ma'm, I have seen it.

  Mr. Parrish writes beautifully. He has a bunch of online articles at his homepage. I so enjoyed Machpelah!

  Snowbird
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  26

  THIS IS MY STORY (And I'm Sticking To It)

  by snowbird in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i joined this forum on 1may2007 with a promise that i would tell more about myself as time went on.

  well, here goes.. i was born and raised in the black belt of alabama in wilcox county.

  it is supposedly called the black belt due to the color of the soil, but i have a strong suspicion it is also due to the fact that there is such a heavy concentration of black people in the dozen or more counties that make up the black belt.. my parents were sharecroppers which was simply a form of whitewashed slavery.

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  snowbird

  To free2think, changeling, seeker4, and monophonic:

  Thanks for your kind remarks.

  Peace and love,

  Snowbird
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  26

  THIS IS MY STORY (And I'm Sticking To It)

  by snowbird in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i joined this forum on 1may2007 with a promise that i would tell more about myself as time went on.

  well, here goes.. i was born and raised in the black belt of alabama in wilcox county.

  it is supposedly called the black belt due to the color of the soil, but i have a strong suspicion it is also due to the fact that there is such a heavy concentration of black people in the dozen or more counties that make up the black belt.. my parents were sharecroppers which was simply a form of whitewashed slavery.

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  snowbird

  I joined this forum on 1May2007 with a promise that I would tell more about myself as time went on. Well, here goes.

  I was born and raised in the Black Belt of Alabama in Wilcox County. It is supposedly called the Black Belt due to the color of the soil, but I have a strong suspicion it is also due to the fact that there is such a heavy concentration of Black people in the dozen or more counties that make up the Black Belt.

  My parents were sharecroppers which was simply a form of whitewashed slavery. We were very, very materially poor. One of my earliest memories is getting up with my daddy to share a cup of coffee. He taught me how to read from the Maxwell House coffee can. He had me read the words GOOD TO THE LAST DROP to him each morning. Before long, I was reading any and everything. Mind you, this was when I was about 3 years of age.

  There were thirteen (13!) of us children. I was number 12; number 13 died in infancy. My dad was a brilliant, well-read man, but a stone alcoholic. He loved the Bible and would read it to us and tell us such wonderful stories when he was sober. But, when he was drunk, he was an entirely different person. He and my mother would fight like cats and dogs.

  All of us kids were gifted academically, and when I was five, a kind and loving teacher sneaked me into school. There was no kindergarten for Black kids, so she carefully instructed me to tell everyone I was six years of age. It was about the hardest thing I ever did. To this day, I hate deceit of any kind - even if it's for a noble purpose.

  When I turned 16, I went away for the summer to New York and Philadelphia. When I returned, the whole community was abuzz. What was all the excitement about? Jehovah's Witnesses had moved into our little hamlet and set up a Kingdom Hall on one of the main highways. They had made visits on everyone but us. Why did they miss us? Because we lived so far back into the sticks, that no one but the people who were born and raised there knew how to find us. My grandmother refused to get our house wired for electricity so we were completely cut off from the outside.

  As I said, everyone was talking about how the Witnesses knew the Bible and how they were teaching that the end was coming in a few short years. One girl at school tried to show me how they arrived at 1914 as the beginning of the time of the end. I was quite naturally intrigued. One of my older sisters who lived closer to town had obtained a copy of the blue Truth book. I read it all the way through on the long bus ride to school one morning. I made up my mind then and there that I wanted to become a Witness and help spread the good news.

  To cut this short some, I was baptized in 1974. I was fired up with a biblical zeal to reach as many as possible. I contacted every relative I knew, badgered my neighbors, elected officials, whoever. They must have wanted to slap me out of their faces many a time. The funny thing is, I never believed a word about 1975. I remembered from reading the Bible at home and at church that Jesus said no one could get the knowledge of the times and seasons that were in the Father's jurisdiction.

  My first serious surge of doubt about the Organization was in 1978 when they reversed themselves on the prohibition of certain marital intimacies. I remember reading the Org's assurance that if anyone had obtained a divorce due to their earlier understanding, that person was absolved of any wrongdoing in the matter. I thought, how can any person or any organization grant such assurance? Isn't that a mediator's prerogative? But, zealous little JW that I was, I simply pushed my doubts aside.

  Then around the 1980's the doubts and misgivings returned with a vengeance. Why were there so many articles about the FDS and how we should be loyally submitting to its direction? Why was Ray Franz disfellowshipped and why was everybody so hush-hush about it? I read the article about him in Time magazine and thought that he must have done more than simply eat a meal with a DA'd person.

  The doubts wouldn't go away; no one was answering my questions, so in 1988 I walked away from the JW's. I continued to get all the magazines, new releases, etc., from someone who remained in, however. So at heart I still thought of myself as a JW; even after getting married again and having another child. I taught that child all about the Bible but from a JW slant. I returned to the Witnesses in 1998 hoping things had improved, but it seemed they were worse than ever. I tell you, if I heard Faithful and Discreet Slave one time I heard it a thousand times. I would sit there and bite my lip to keep from screaming! Never any mention made of Jesus and the deep love He showed for all of us. Never any encouragement to pick up the Bible and read it for itself. It was all about our Bible-based publications.

  One day during a slow period at work I googled CULTS. I think everybody knows where I'm going with this. I followed a link to the Freeminds site and from there to here. It was scary at first, but at the same time liberating. Now I understood why I had been plagued by such recurrent doubts. This was not the Truth and had never been the Truth. I stopped going to any meetings in 2005; I've had only 3 visits from the elders; I have not DA'd or been DF'd. My youngest child is still in. She graduated from HS this year, wanted to pioneer, but I insisted she go to college first. We'll see from there.

  So, fellow JWDers, that is the gist of my involvement with the JW's. The WTS had us all fooled for a brief moment, but the gig is up. There is no way they can survive the onslaught of the Internet. The truth about the so-called Truth is but a mouse click away. Thank you all for your support and kindness.

  Snowbird
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  27

  Recurrent nightmare, what does it mean?

  by jillbedford in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i am having a recurrent and very upsetting nightmare that my husband is murdered.

  in one dream, i call the police and am arrested immediately myself.

  in another dream, there is blood everywhere.

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  snowbird

  Are you harboring any resentment against your husband?

  Sometimes our dreams are a reflection of what we subconsciously desire.

  Just a thought.

  Snowbird
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  24

  HELLO

  by memario in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  finally i made it!

  this is my first post and it feels great!

  great day to you all.

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  snowbird

  Welcome, memario.

  This site is the ALLSTATE of discussion boards.

  Snowbird
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  37

  A Bible Question, please comment

  by restrangled in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  there will have to be assumptions involved here.....that god exists, the bible is the word of god and creation is as stated in genesis, etc.

  etc.. in the old testament, god seemed pretty straight forward, let certain people know (and not by osmosis) his intent.

  backed certain kings, and showed power through physical occurrences over and over again.. along comes his son, who died for the entire race as a ransom for adam's sin.

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  snowbird

  God always dealt pretty straight forward with the human race, so why is his book so complicated that none of us are smart enough to get it?

  Does it make sense that he would only allow a select few to understand what he was trying to say? Maybe it is very simple and it has been complicated to no end my false religion........(you get my drift)

  This may seem like a ridiculous question, and I apologize ahead of time, but it's really bugging me.

  He does deal in a straightforward manner with the human race, and His Book is not too complicated for us to "get it." It only becomes complicated when we allow others to convince us that they're the only ones "smart" enough to understand it.

  No, it doesn't make sense that He would only allow a select few to understand what He is saying. The Way is indeed very simple and has been complicated by false teachers. Yes, I get your drift.

  I don't think there are any ridiculous questions. Ridiculous people, yes. I only wish I'd had the good sense to ask the above questions before I allowed an organization to convince me they were God's channel. Thank you for your compelling post.

  Snowbird
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  39

  Did You EVER Enjoy Going To Meetings Or Out In Service?

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i can say that i don't thinki ever really looked forward to going to a 2 hour meeting or a 2 hour ride around in the "ministry.

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  snowbird

  Welcome, shopaholic

  Snowbird
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  39

  Did You EVER Enjoy Going To Meetings Or Out In Service?

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i can say that i don't thinki ever really looked forward to going to a 2 hour meeting or a 2 hour ride around in the "ministry.

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  snowbird

  Call me weird, but meetings were good.

  I am weird and liked the LEARNING of it

  kat_bird27, WELCOME! If you are weird for liking the meetings and learning about the organization and the Bible, then I am too. I l-o-v-e-d the meetings and FS - at first. Later, it got to be a chore as the WTS completely pushed Jesus aside and focused on themselves as the object of our devotion.

  THAT was a real turn-off.

  Snowbird

  I didn't mean to put those two cups of tea in my post. Sorry.