Posts by Flowerpetal

55

sigh I think I'm staying in the borg

by SC_Guy in

jw
friends

i *can't* leave, i'm trapped.

i was talking to my twin sister tonight on how i didn't want to go to the upcoming convention this weekend because we had already been to it 2 months ago... .

i have to prepare some audition matrial for a arts event and my parents are not sympathtic to the fact i got allot to do, and we've already been.

Flowerpetal

SS and Maverick,

As a late-blooming artist, (even though now looking in retrospect, I've always had that creative personality) your posts speak to me. At times, growing up, I always had the sense that my mom didn't know what to do with me sometimes, because my mind was always sort of off center, even though I was a good dub growning up..she knew there was something about me she couldn't reach. One time she even asked me why I couldn't be like my JW friend, who was always obedient and had that zeal for the "troof" that I didn't. I was her only child and she loved me...my non-JW dad and she had somewhat of a tug of war about me and he always let her win--therefore I was stuck in this religion growing up and now am attempting a fade...

29

JW Friends

by Sassy in

jw
friends

if you are no longer associating with jws either from fading or daing or being df'd, do you miss your jw friends?

have you found over time that the void was filled and you no longer needed them?

did you in fact find out your life was happier without them?

Flowerpetal

All my close JW friends (and there weren't that many) live where I used to live--and I am about 1200 miles from them and I really don't keep in touch and they don't either--just when we go up to visit them which isn't that much. The JW friends I have here are not close, confidential friends, and I prefer it that way. They don't seem like the kind of people I could get close to, except for one who has moved from the area and lives in the northern part of my state.

My best, closest friend is an agnostic and she lives an hour's drive from here. So we talk on the phone, and try once a month to get together for lunch and to spend the day together and get caught up on our lives. I drive to her house and she treats me to lunch. She is non-judgemental and understands how life works and I like that about her.

12

Internal conflict ? A JW is always "sick" and misses meetings. Doubting?

by somebodylovesme in

jw
friends

the person in question is my husband's mother who is a jw.

she is in her late 40s... has been a devout dub for 20 years or so, and has never to my knowledge had any spiritual "problems".

she exhibits every characteristic that the typical rank-and-file should have.

Flowerpetal

This reminds me of a sister in my congregation--although she has had some physical problems too. But right now she is experiencing vertigo, so when she comes to the hall, lots of times her eyes are shut the whole time, or she has to leave because of it. Why bother to come on those days?

The other thing is that she owns her own business and has a place set up in her garage, which looks like one big office with computers and work stations, and yet she seems healthy enough to run that. And when there is a shower to be planned, she is right in there fixing a lot of the food, etc. That part (the social) of being a witness brings her to life and she is always ready!!

15

Is there anything that you preached door to door that you didn't believe in

by JH in

jw
friends

on another thread, elsewhere said that he didn?t like going door to door, especially since he didn?t believe in what he preached.

i was a little surprised by his statement because i, on the other hand, did believe in what i preached.

i don?t think i would have been able to preach something i didn?t believe in.

Flowerpetal

I'm at that point right now, not believing the society's view on certain Bible subjects. So I've avoided going out in service, until I can find something to talk about. Probably something about how wonderful our Creator is and finding scriptures praising him...I would be comfortable with that and The Greatest Man Who Ever Lived. I haven't read the new book yet, Draw Close to Jehovah, so I don't know whether I could "place" that or not.

38

What Ways Did Jehovah's Witnesses Make You Feel Guilty???

by minimus in

jw
friends

i believe that many religions try to make their adherents feel guilt.

and of course, the witnesses are no different and imo, are more guilty than most.

people go to a meeting during a snowstorm because the elders feel it's not that bad.

Flowerpetal

I can relate to a lot of these statements, but the ones I felt most guilty about were:

Not always studying for the WT lesson

Not auxilliary pioneering enough

Not having the desire or wanting to go in field service on Saturday mornings, and doing something else instead and feeling guilty that I did something else

Not raising my hand to comment at the meetings

Always feeling inadequate and comparing myself to others, especially those who had become witnesses when I was raised as one--not having the "zeal in the ministry" that they had, even though I aided a few people to dedication and baptism.

17

Oh I get it.........it's WORSHIP

by Dawn in

jw
friends

i feel like such a dufus sometimes .

i started attending a church a couple of years ago - i really like it but was really puzzled at first because they sang a lot of songs at the beginning of service.......like 6 or 7. i've gotten used to it - but still didn't really get it.

that is...until this sunday.

Flowerpetal

Hi Dawn and Ann!

You both make great points and it's true. JWs, in all my time being raised as one have NEVER raised their hands while singing. But...if you notice the picture in the back of the songbook, the priests are singing and raising their hands...that should set the precedent, should it not? I wish they would eliminate one of the meetings or turn it into maybe 20 minutes of singing to praise God.

But..I guess we aren't the only ones who don't put any feeling into singing. I was listening to a comedian (British) yesterday on HBO. His name is Eddie Izzard and part of his routine was criticizing religion and particularly the Church of England. He demonstrated how bland their singing is. Anyway, if I may put in a plug, this guy is hilarious. He had me laughing so hard, I was peeing in my pants!!!

48

Were Most Of The Elders "On The Ball" In Your Congregation?

by minimus in

jw
friends

i think most of the elders relied on the "smart ones" to help them out.

my experience was that there was probably 2 or 3 "sharp ones".

the rest were dopey!

Flowerpetal

The elders at my congregation are pretty OK. One has two adult children who never got baptized and one of them is gay. Two elders have d/f'd adult sons and one of them has an adult d/f'd step-daughter but they bring her daughter because she so far, likes learning and giving talks. One elder served in Bethel a long time ago, and now has a 20 yr. old son there, along with a daughter and her husband. This elder is a great teacher and asks a lot of thought provoking questions when he conducts the WT study which isn't very often....another elder did have a daughter who was publically reproved, but now she is a pioneer...another elder has no children and his wife is a regular pioneer--but they are pretty cool, and the last elder has only one child who is in middle school and it will be interesting to see how he turns out. This elder I don't think has an original, spiritual thought of his own when he gives talks--and his wife isn't much better. But ask them all about the books they have read from Star Wars (which talk about Princess Leia and Hans Solo getting married and having children) or Disneyworld--and you have walking/talking encylcopedias!!

29

you know what

by U.2.K. Tha Greate$t in

jw
friends

just sitting here thinking it's possible that the end could infact come in our life time.

serious now i have had many dreams from god or jesus christ where i did infact survive the time & hour of armageddon and it was good.

what yall think, are you giving up hope or are you praying that it would come?

Flowerpetal

U2:

When i said i think that armageddon is coming before the year 3000, im saying that cause i have alot of faith and it's always good to have positive thoughts on this subject. To not say it's coming sounds like you are short on faith. And for the last time im not a witness, i told yall i dont wanna be one because of personal reasons. I listen to them and they told me alot of things and when people tell me something that comes from the bible, i always go back and read the king james bible and study on my own!

What if Armageddon is not at all going to be like we think or were taught it is?

46

What is more important to understand...

by Siddhashunyata in

jw
friends

moral principles, doctrine , prophecy , ourselves ?

Flowerpetal

ourselves

26

The Feb1st WT article minimus was talking about - scans

by dmouse in

they're saying the prophecy is possibly fulfilled of "peace and security and then sudden destruction" in the year 1986 when world leaders dubbed that year as the "year of peace".

the feb.1st watchtower mentions that just as a pregnant woman over 9 months gradually has signs of a baby's growth in the womb, so too, we may have a fulfillment of bible prophecy without knowing it fully beforehand until the effects and results become obvious.

my mother read excerpts of the wt.

Flowerpetal

What do they mean in paragraph 4 that Christians don't overly concern themselves with the identity of the performers when that is exactly what the society does?