Posts by StephaneLaliberte

posted

68
Unwritten, congregational 'rules'
by Thetruthhurts in
1. watchtower
2. beliefs
what were some of yours?

the big one in our hall was no frontal hugs!

these were generally thought of as inappropriate, only side hugs should be given between sisters and brothers.
StephaneLaliberte

I have to say tnat most ( not all) of these would be news to me.... Are you sure we were in the same religion ?
For me, its the oposite. I've observed most of the things reported here! There were soo many unwritten rules!!
68
Unwritten, congregational 'rules'
by Thetruthhurts in
1. watchtower
2. beliefs
what were some of yours?

the big one in our hall was no frontal hugs!

these were generally thought of as inappropriate, only side hugs should be given between sisters and brothers.
StephaneLaliberte

you'd be expected to go to the meetings even while you're on holiday (vacation) and "bring back the love of that congregation".
Ahhh that one! Yeah, I brought back the love of a few congregation I never attended!
68
Unwritten, congregational 'rules'
by Thetruthhurts in
1. watchtower
2. beliefs
what were some of yours?

the big one in our hall was no frontal hugs!

these were generally thought of as inappropriate, only side hugs should be given between sisters and brothers.
StephaneLaliberte

never once saw anybody vote against a resolution.
I did. Twice. Then about 20 people or so were disfellowshipped for apostacy.
68
Unwritten, congregational 'rules'
by Thetruthhurts in
1. watchtower
2. beliefs
what were some of yours?

the big one in our hall was no frontal hugs!

these were generally thought of as inappropriate, only side hugs should be given between sisters and brothers.
StephaneLaliberte

JWs didn't open cards in front of others
I can understand that. We'd open gifts (baby, wedding showers) without saying the name of who gave what. Even today, in my family, we'd do the same thing. Otherwise, it becomes some kind of competition of who gave the most or the best gift.
15
Can't deny my JW's past
by StephaneLaliberte in
1. jw
2. experiences
today was a beautiful day and so, decided to drive by my old town with my wife.

at some point, she asked me to stop talking about jws to which i said: i'm talking about were i lived, what i did and who i knew.

its just that all of it was jws!
StephaneLaliberte
Jofi_Wofo: You're right, there are some positive things about growing up a JW:
1. Public speaking
2. Public reading
3. Reading alot
4. Sales (aka: Preaching)
Than, there are other things I have gained by leaving the JWs.
1. See through manipulative organizations and self deception (religions, employers, etc)
2. See through doublespeachs
3. Stand up for my personal beliefs
4. See through fake friends
5. Understand the true value of family
While I certainly appreciate the value of these assets, I still regret the "how" I got there. Like the expression: You don't need to put your hand on the stove to know that it hurts if you do.
15
Can't deny my JW's past
by StephaneLaliberte in
1. jw
2. experiences
today was a beautiful day and so, decided to drive by my old town with my wife.

at some point, she asked me to stop talking about jws to which i said: i'm talking about were i lived, what i did and who i knew.

its just that all of it was jws!
StephaneLaliberte

Thanks laverite, you totally get me!
15
Can't deny my JW's past
by StephaneLaliberte in
1. jw
2. experiences
today was a beautiful day and so, decided to drive by my old town with my wife.

at some point, she asked me to stop talking about jws to which i said: i'm talking about were i lived, what i did and who i knew.

its just that all of it was jws!
StephaneLaliberte

Magnum: My wife is POMO, like me. We left together 5 years ago.
Simon: You’re correct that things become a bit more vague. For instance, I passed by a community center where I know I was there but can't remember what it was for. There is one difference however with a work place and when you grew up a JW: There are portions of your life that are not at that work place. You don't grow up immediately into a workplace, and the longest I've held a job so far is 6 years. I was born a JW. the first 35 years of my life was entirely IN the JWs. My friends, family, my jobs working for other JWs, field service, construction work, all those evenings, mornings, afternoon at the hall. How I was persecuted in school for my beliefs, etc. I passed by the house of a girl I turned down because I was a JW. EVERYTHING was connected to my JW beliefs. Heck, even the small waterfall is where I dedicated my life to God in prayer at 12! I'd fall asleep listening to biblical drama and would read the daily text in the morning. I'd be the one preaching at 6 am in the business district. That aint a simple job, that was my everyday life from when I was born to finally calling it quit at 35.

My point is that trying to forget my JW experience would result in forgetting my own existence.
15
Can't deny my JW's past
by StephaneLaliberte in
1. jw
2. experiences
today was a beautiful day and so, decided to drive by my old town with my wife.

at some point, she asked me to stop talking about jws to which i said: i'm talking about were i lived, what i did and who i knew.

its just that all of it was jws!
StephaneLaliberte

Today was a beautiful day and so, decided to drive by my old town with my wife. At some point, she asked me to stop talking about JWs to which I said: I'm talking about were I lived, what I did and who I knew. Its just that all of it was JWs! Its what happened; can't change my past.
I understand my wife, she's not the type to be on site such as this and she tries to forget about JWs, but today was wierd in that no matter what I do, JW will always have been part of the first 35 years of my life.
What a weird feeling.
22
My email to JW Following Trolley Conversation
by cofty in
1. watchtower
2. beliefs
a few weeks ago i had an really interesting conversation with three male jws who were loitering around a trolley at the west end of princes street in edinburgh.. i managed to completely avoid giving any hint about my jw past and focussed on why they thought the bible was a reliable moral guide.

i used the subject of slavery to illustrate my concerns.. one of the three was in his early twenties, knew a lot about his own beliefs but nothing about the real life and it was difficult to get through his thought-bubble.

the second one was in his 60s and not very bright.
StephaneLaliberte

That, sir, was a beautiful email. Nothing to add there. Beautiful!
20
Jesus said ''help and feed the poor,'' not build large headquarters
by RULES & REGULATIONS in
1. watchtower
2. beliefs
i was watching a news report last night on the homeless people in chicago, who were living outdoors in extreme cold and snow.

the homeless were seen living under bridges and street tunnels.. a missionary church called ''the night ministry'' was driving around helping the homeless with water, food , blankets and free rides to a local hospital if they were in need of medical care.

talk about following the words of jesus!.
StephaneLaliberte

Following up on my last comment, while JWs could indeed do some real charity work, their concept of teaching people to work for themselves and take care of themselves isn't wrong at all.
JWs can be poor, but usually, their houses will be clean, and will learn to cook decent meals on a low budget. My point here is that charity is a temporary answer and JWs do understand that.
Still, they could be helping people a little more.
For instance, in Gatineau, when there was a flood and hundreds of citizens were filling sand bags, they were out there preaching door to door. That is having their priorities at the wrong place.