Posts by StephaneLaliberte

23

Anyone have an obvious gay or lesbian in the congregation?

by mickbobcat in

when i was a kid we had a kh with a basement and this guy joe winestien lived in it.

he has passed away i believe.

he was about 24 and used to hang around the young boys.

StephaneLaliberte

I was part of a group of friends who made plenty of gay jokes as we thought they were simply funny. However, one day, my wife pointed to someone who seemed to be gay in our circle and so, we stopped making jokes. I remember that my friends and I weren't homophobes in that we bought into the idea that they were born that way and, unfortunately for them, they simply weren't allowed to have sex, ever. So, we didn't avoid them or even feel uncomfortable around them.

Today, I realize that the amount of jokes we were making probably did hurt closeted gay friends that we weren't even aware of. There is no such thing as "gaydar". Some even get married as hetero trying to fight what they are.

Being raised as a JW is already not ideal. Being gay and raised as a JW or any anti-gay religion is absolutely horrible.

15

Get Vaccinated or Get laid Off

by StephaneLaliberte in

i’m personally for the vaccine, took two shots and would take a third if asked.

but i know a friend of mine that doesn’t want to take the vaccine who works for the government and now is faced with this choice: get vaccinated or get laid off.

i don’t agree with this measure as it is totalitarian and runs against my core belief in individual freedom.. now, with that being said, what i don’t understand is that my friend still won’t get vaccinated.

StephaneLaliberte

I’m personally for the vaccine, took two shots and would take a third if asked. But I know a friend of mine that doesn’t want to take the vaccine who works for the government and now is faced with this choice: Get Vaccinated or get laid off.

I don’t agree with this measure as it is totalitarian and runs against my core belief in individual freedom.

Now, with that being said, what I don’t understand is that my friend still won’t get vaccinated. Here me out: Someone pulls a knife on you in the street and tells you to give him your money. You have the choice to comply or run the risk of getting stab and possibly die. Most people will give their money while some will fight back and run the risk.

Handing your money over doesn’t mean you agree with person that stole your money. It simply means that you weighted the risks and considering the imminent threat, you chose the path of least resistance. Same goes with the vaccine in my opinion. You can get vaccinated or loose your job.

What saddens me about all this is that my friend thinks about this all the time, goes to sleep crying and feels utterly violated and betrayed by the very government she is working for. While I agree that she is indeed betrayed by the government and shouldn’t be forced, I can’t help but wonder why she is so obsessed about this. Taking the vaccine is safer than driving to your workplace everyday! I don’t understand the logic, I really don’t.

Anyways, thought I’d share this as it feels like the JWs not going to war. If there is a war where I’m called upon, I’ll likely go. But I would also respect people who simply don’t want to fight on religious grounds.

122

1995 generation change

by Gorb in

jw
friends

now, many years later, i remember the 1995 generation change, very well.. since early youth, hearing my father explaining in field service the 2520 years.

it was his main theme in the field.. with the change my doubts started.

with some jw friends we did not trust the organization anymore.

StephaneLaliberte

I am somewhat ashamed to admit that I was not too stubbled by it. I mean, I already didn't believe that teaching when I got baptized in '92, so, it didn't come as a surprise and I didn't care much about it.

It was only much much later, like in my early 30s, that, on this board, someone wrote that they preached about this date right on the magazines. That was the purpose of the magazine, that the generation that saw 1914 wouldn't pass away. It is only then that it dawned on me that the preaching work was somewhat bogus. If you go out and preach something false to billions of people in hundreds of languages, it is still false. The wide distribution doesn't make it true. That was part of the elements that slowly drove me out of the cult with my family.

7

Ezekiel's Temple Vision Changed

by IWant2Leave in

it was nauseating to listen to the book study the past week on zoom.

old timers, and elders who have served for decades took the change of the vision in ezekiel chapter 40 thru 48 without blinking an eye.

just drank it down.

StephaneLaliberte

When I was "in", from time to time, people would leave the truth and people around were saying that they were spiritually weak for stumbling on bible prophecies. Like other JWs, I felt that people stay in the truth because they love Jehovah and don't get bugged down in measly little details of the prophecies. I felt that way for several years and when changes to our "understanding" were done, I wasn't troubled at all.

Then I read somewhere (Ray Franz's books?) that if these prophecies were indeed not important, was it a loving and kind Christian trait to disfellowship people who publicly did not believe them? That's when I realized that this was a cult and not a Christian religion.

7

2021-September-S-147--Announcements And Reminders!

by Atlantis in

jw
friends

2021-september-s-147-announcements and reminders.

https://www.filemail.com/d/jthlqvljltxzpch.

https://we.tl/t-o3ynodngru.

StephaneLaliberte

Problems can result when a publisher uses the form to make arrangements for a relative or others to be contacted by one of Jehovah’s Witnesses.

My dad once arranged for a brother to pay me a visit. I wasn't there and he left a note on my door. I called my dad and reminded him that encouragements only work when someone becomes inactive due to becoming tired, or discouraged. In my case, it was irreconcilable differences in core religious beliefs. There is nothing a brother like this can do. Well, there is in fact one thing he can do: leave my house convinced that I'm an apostate, schedule a Judicial Committee and have me disfellowshipped.

My dad never sent anyone else to my house after this.

19

How do JW feel about CBD?

by Iamallcool in

jw
friends

i am not so sure if i am willing to discuss cbd with my jw aunt.

.

StephaneLaliberte

They're fine with it if you've got a prescription. Then again, I've never heard of any elder asking to see proof of prescription.

JWs are against the use of recreational drugs (except alcohol) and abuse of medicinal drugs.

53

Those members who passed away

by Gorb in

jw
friends

who of those passed away jwd/jwn members, do we think of??.

oompah and the lady from australia, are there more??.

g..

StephaneLaliberte

Simon, this site has been running for a very long time and has been life saving to many. When you go, please don't turn the lights off, I'm sure this board has plenty of members who could take it over. Please try to set things up so its transferred to someone who will keep this site running.

23

Unfaithful spouse

by Worstfear in

my wife and i have been together for 12 years.

married for 6. she was born into the truth, i studied for 2 years before we got married.

we would attend meetings on a weekly basis, go to conventions, and memorial every year.

StephaneLaliberte

If you are an active JW, then, yes. Absolutely report to the elders! Otherwise, why would you, unless it was to deliberately hurt her? Don’t get me wrong, I believe in the sanctity of marriage and that people should work very hard on their marriage. But perhaps your wife tried for several years already to keep happiness in your marriage and was simply unable to retain it. As years go by, people change, and couples sometimes change in different directions. Its horrible to experience this, but it is far from being uncommon. The man you are today and the women she has become are, in her view, no longer compatible.

When there are no other options, the best is to divorce in good terms and be thankful to each other for the times you shared where you were happy. Surely, in those 12 years, there were such moments. Be thankful for these and understand that you now have a new life ahead of you.

As for cheating, well, if she did leave you before actually going to bed with that man, then, she didn’t cheat on you. This would be cheating only if you believed that people should never divorce. But does this really make sense? Should people who seriously try to make their marriage work only to find bitterness and sorrow not have the right to hit the “restart” button?

16

Even if God exists…….

by snare&racket in

i’m an atheist.. let’s assume i am wrong, i am willing to be.. let’s give people a god, let’s even make him the god of the bible…... does he deserve to be worshipped and obeyed?

if so, why does his abhorrent actions not morally make you question allegiance to him?.

does his authority alone allow him to murder and drown and order war, to throw people into a lake of fire?.

StephaneLaliberte

Interesting question. When I visited the Louvre Museum in Paris, I was intrigued by how a Moabite tribe won a battle and gave all the glory to their god in a language very similar to that of the bible. Essentially, the god of the winning tribe is the "True God" and whatever that tribe did, it was his will. The bible is just that, the folkloric tales of a tribe that worshiped Yahweh. When they won a battle, it was his will. When they lost, he was punishing them.

That explains why the loving god described by Jesus has nothing to do with the tribal God of the old testament.

And yet, the majority of the religious people want a loving God; someone who cares about them individually and would never be as unjust to order the death of incent children and even people.

As a result, main religions today don’t take a literalist view of the bible, they read its content within the context in which it was written and determines that God is a loving God. On the other hand, JWs and other fundamentalists groups reach similar conclusions about God, not by questioning the veracity of the story, but through complex reasoning that changes the meaning of what happened or what was said.

But in the end, if you read the bible at face value, it talks of a God with dual personalities. One of a lovable God who will forgive king Manasseh who repented late in life, but who killed the child of David and Bathsheba in retaliation for David’s actions.

9

The Impact of Less "Appointed Men" & This Site Thank You

by JWTom in

with the passing minimus, we all may think about what this site has meant to us personally.

i lurked here for quite a few years before becoming active as a poster....still i consider what i have done to be very slight compared with others.

may minimus rest in peace and a big thank you to all that have helped me here over the years.. a new member that is a pimo elder (reservations) posted here about how he could wake people up while remaining a pimo elder.

StephaneLaliberte

Reality is that this is already happening and its already a problem for them. For instance, I would have been very capable of "taking the lead" in the congregation. I left when I was 35, but from 20 to 35, never actually reached out to become a ministerial servant as I wasn't able to teach things I didn't believe in. Other brothers who felt the same confided in me about it. The end result is that there are less brothers to take the lead. One of my uncles is an elder and has been complaining that there are simply not enough of the younger generation to take over. A portion of me finds it sad for him as he dedicated his life to a cause where he's unable to simply pass the torch, validating all of his efforts. But that's basically what is happening.

They are addressing this issue by lessening the teaching burden with videos, merging congregations, removing the book study and removing days from conventions. But the issue will keep growing.