Posts by StephaneLaliberte

i was on several occasions.. the arrangements were often announced from the platform after the closing song and prayer by the last elder up on the platform.. sometimes it was included in the service meeting announcements as "on saturday we're meeting at 10.00am at the kingdom hall for field service, and after field service for anyone who wishes, especially for the younger ones, we will be having a congregation picnic meeting at the beach carpark on seaview road.".

well, according to the new elders manual you won't be hearing those words again.

StephaneLaliberte

Yes. We all had to be sensible and on our best behaviour. It was worse than terminal constipation. - Punkofnice

I'd say this was more the case at congregation parties. But then again, I see the same type of social constraint outside of JWs as well. Just think of many office parties and you'll get similar result. You don't party with people in specific social groups the way you party with your friends. I guess that the fact we called each other “brothers and sisters” was blurring that social line and we felt unduly restricted.

42

Have you ever been on a congregation picnic?

by LostintheFog1999 in

were you ever on a congregation picnic?

i was on several occasions.. the arrangements were often announced from the platform after the closing song and prayer by the last elder up on the platform.. sometimes it was included in the service meeting announcements as "on saturday we're meeting at 10.00am at the kingdom hall for field service, and after field service for anyone who wishes, especially for the younger ones, we will be having a congregation picnic meeting at the beach carpark on seaview road.".

well, according to the new elders manual you won't be hearing those words again.

StephaneLaliberte

Those picnics and baseball games are among the things I actually very much enjoyed about the JWs. And yes, I do remember some of these announced from the platform, especially at the book study meetings. I guess now they have to rely on word of mouth and there's a bigger chance someone will be forgotten.

6

2023 meilleurs voeux

by Marcial in

jw
friends

a tous ceux qui parviennent à ce message, j'envoie mes meilleurs vœux pour la nouvelle année 2023. pas de fausses prophéties, pas de doctrines sordides, pas de lumières changeantes... juste une amitié sincère et durable.

marcial, qui depuis la france, remercie chaleureusement atlantis et petra pour leur courage et leur fidélité.. .

StephaneLaliberte

Bonne année à vous les Français de la part d'un Québecois!

15

burning another bridge

by enoughisenough in

i feel like i am burning another "friend" bridge.

i just can't seem to keep the lies the wt prints to myself!

i don't know how the pimo do it!

StephaneLaliberte

Enough is enough, PIMOs do it so as not to lose their family and friends, which is still possible for some. I faded nearly 10 years ago and still have contact with my parents and some very limited conversations with one or two friends; its not much but its still that. This is only possible as I didn’t give any details as to why I was leaving other than a generic expression: I no longer agree with the theology (aka: teachings), the official doctrine thought by the organization no longer aligns with my values.

If they pressed me for more details, I’d go with:

Think of something you don’t agree with in your religion; could you freely talk about the matter with people in your congregation without fear of any reprisals? If not, why would discussing an insignificant matter cause division in the congregation? If it is not trivial, should you really ignore your disagreement?

16

Am I being unreasonable in this ?

by smiddy3 in

hi friend`s ,i have my son and dil living with us ,which has been ok,overall ,quite a few years now ,however ,a few months ago they decided they wanted a dog ok ?

we had one a toy poodle for about 16-17 years and i just loved her as did my wife.. a few months ago my son wanted a dog and got a french bulldog as a pup ,which was ok by us .. however to cut a long story short, yesterday i was out in the back yard and the dog lunged at me and started attacking me in such a way as i can only describe as being frenetic in his attack ,in trying to ward off his attack and getting away from him i fell over and i believe if my son hadn`t finlly restrained him he would have mauled me .

i am 83 years old and my wife has just turned 80. and i dont want that to happen to her .. i don`t know the dog is what 4-5-6 months old i`m not sure , and been living with us all this time ,however i`m going to tell them to get that dog out of my house by the week and and a half or i will one way or another .. i am not going to tolerate that in my household and if he don`t like it he can go also .. i`m not being unreasonable am i ?

StephaneLaliberte

What if instead you insisted that the dog attend an obedience school.

The dog is insecure/aggressive. Training a dog is to teach him how to behave around various scenarios and to follow orders, it won't change his personality. I mean, you can make changes to a lot of things, the way you talk, where he sleeps, which room he's allowed in, how often he walks out, his toys, etc. These all contribute to addressing his insecurities. It will work, until one day, the routine is not followed, something will happen that wasn't planned, and the dog will fall back on his lower instinct. That day, you'll blame yourself for not properly training him, or for not keeping up the routine, but the real problem is that you invested all this time and emotions into a dog that was aggressive to begin with.

16

Am I being unreasonable in this ?

by smiddy3 in

hi friend`s ,i have my son and dil living with us ,which has been ok,overall ,quite a few years now ,however ,a few months ago they decided they wanted a dog ok ?

we had one a toy poodle for about 16-17 years and i just loved her as did my wife.. a few months ago my son wanted a dog and got a french bulldog as a pup ,which was ok by us .. however to cut a long story short, yesterday i was out in the back yard and the dog lunged at me and started attacking me in such a way as i can only describe as being frenetic in his attack ,in trying to ward off his attack and getting away from him i fell over and i believe if my son hadn`t finlly restrained him he would have mauled me .

i am 83 years old and my wife has just turned 80. and i dont want that to happen to her .. i don`t know the dog is what 4-5-6 months old i`m not sure , and been living with us all this time ,however i`m going to tell them to get that dog out of my house by the week and and a half or i will one way or another .. i am not going to tolerate that in my household and if he don`t like it he can go also .. i`m not being unreasonable am i ?

StephaneLaliberte

What? You shouldn't need to ask if you are being unreasonable. Your son should have taken steps straight away to keep you safe in your own home. - Listener

That's exactly how I feel. If my dog was unprovoked and yet attack any member of the family living in my house, I'd give him a nice last meal and end his life the same day. Was nice to have you around until you messed it all up you miserable violent psychopath.

50

1969 Awake on Education - A Sore Spot for Me

by NotBlind in

jw
friends

my father would have started college 49 years ago this week.

about three months earlier, the week he graduated high school, the awake!

magazine came out with some very clear direction to teenagers.

StephaneLaliberte

Aside for my family, all I got was push back and judgment from my congregation when I attended University. They even made a “congregation’s needs” talk over it. I ended up quitting university in the first year, in part, due to this lack of respect for higher education, making me feel like I was not relying on Jehovah enough, I lacked faith. It’s not the sole reason, but it played a major role in my decision to stop attending.

Despite quitting school, I eventually became a senior solution architect in IT and when I look at my career path, while different, it did have the same momentum than many others who did complete their higher education. Heck, I’m even further along than many who do hold diplomas. Still, I’m an exception; I’ve never come across anyone else with a similar career path.

Anyways, even if I got “there”, I still hold a grudge against the WT as I am not doing what I really wanted to do: Law. I would’ve liked to become a lawyer, probably go into politics! But that was a big no-no, even to my family at the time. And unlike computers, where I learned while I earned, there is no way you can start without formal education.

Anyways… just thought I’d share this, this morning.

43

Anthony Morris responds to Norway's denial of financial aid

by RULES & REGULATIONS in

https://direkte.vg.no/nyhetsdognet/news/jehovas-vitner-nektes-statsstoette.5z-pnao3e?utm_source=share-btn.

08:20 27.1.kristoffer solberg.

jehovah's witnesses denied state aid.

StephaneLaliberte

I wonder - so as not to be seen as discriminating/persecuting JW's - if the Norwegian government will target any other religion for their unpleasant practices, and create new laws to deal with them?

The practice of enforcing shunning among the JWs is beyond "unpleasant". It isn't simply: You should keep away from people who left our group. It's: If you don't follow this practice, you will also suffer shunning as we'll throw you out as well!

Unpleasant would be more like, this person ...

is the only one in your group who doesn't eat pork
will not go to war (assuming they are a small minority in your country)
will never work on sundays
will not celebrate christmas or halloween on your street
will preach all the time
will ask for special time off due to religion
etc.

Enforcing disfellowshipping goes beyond mild inconvenience by threatening the freedom to choose your beliefs, your religion; the very thing they demand!

How would they react if people, upon hearing that they are JWs, would stop talking to them completely, shun them and not hire them anywhere? They would cry out "Persecution!" from the rooftops. But when THEY do it, it's ok? They're hypocrisy is loathsome.