My brother and I were just poked and pinched during meetings. We were small . . . just 5 and 7. If we fell asleep, we were pinched awake. Others, like Joel Ronan, were beaten without mercy. It was hard to watch it all. It was a discouraging time.
Our company servant was Martin Anderson and he had to have been Satan's brother. His sermons delivered the directions to our parents and they followed in their putrid righteousness. I don't think he ever pinched or poked or beat his son Lannie, but he sure turned the dogs loose on us.
When he bossed the building of the new kingdom hall at 2020 S Norton in Sioux Falls, he had a "crying room" built in with speakers inside so his rants could be piped in to the pliable parents. I always thought the church for me would have a laughing room instead of a crying room.
At home our mother would go into rages and she'd go after my little brother. I soon learned I could protect him by diverting her attention from him to me. He'd lay on his bed and cry but I'd stand up to her. Of course that meant I got her rages aimed at me and I got the strikes from the diversions. I don't regret the diversions, I wish I could have done more. He really got hurt worse and more than me. He was a nice kid. He didn't deserve the abuse he got.
That abuse never started until my dad started dragging us to the kingdom hall when I was 7. Our mother would quote scripture when she bet us. Her abuse always occurred when my dad was at work. I always wondered if he knew about it. In 1995 I asked him and he said he did know. He shunned me for the next 12 years. When he died I didn't cry.
garybuss
JoinedPosts by garybuss
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61
"Genesis" spankings
by donny ini recently met a woman here at work (a contractor) and discovered she is an ex-jw.
eventually we got around to telling why each of us left the religion.
she said the main reason for her was not doctrines, but because she was tired of the physical and emotional abuse she received.
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garybuss
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Does WBTS Separate Itself From the 'Religion' of Jehovah's Witnesses?
by cameo-d indoes wt consider itself individual and apart from the jw congregations?.
does wt have a legal responsibility to the congos in any way?
(or is this just an occassional "advisement" courtesy?).
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garybuss
In 1971 apparently there was no difference between the Watch Tower Corporation and the local Jehovah's Witness Kingdom Hall. My card lists the Watchtower Convention address as the local Kingdom Hall.
By the recent "no go logo" Kingdom Ministry tabloid article, it looks like the Watch Tower Corporation would like to build a firewall between their billion dollar assets and the individual congregations of Jehovah's Witnesses. I can't see how they can do that without giving up their control of the people and access to future funds.
I always thought the kingdom halls and the Watch Tower Corporations together made up "Jehovah's Organization". If Jehovah's Witnesses aren't a part of the Watch Tower Society, how can they serve Jehovah apart from his organization? The obvious answer would have to be that the kingdom halls collectively (apart from the Watch Tower Society) make up the "Jehovah's Organization" definition and the Watch Tower Corporations serve in a supportive role.
The problem with that concept is this: Rationally, how can all guidelines, principles, and directions come exclusively from an entity that merely serves in a supportive role? How can there be unity without central command? And how can central command be separate from those commanded?
It'll be interesting to watch. -
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April 15th WT- Satan = Apostates = Critical Towards Brothers = Shun Them
by flipper inwow.
and so the wt society tightens down the screwdriver a bit more !
one of my wife and my lurking jw friends sent us this article which has some very pointed words in it inciting all jehovah's witnesses to take an even harder line view of apostates in this recent april 15th wt.. on pg.
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garybuss
I used to want witnesses to leave the group, but not any more. Now, I want em to stay right where they're at. If they all went to Mars, my life wouldn't change one bit. I wouldn't even know it.
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garrybus interviewed on local regional Australian radio.
by Holey_Cheeses*King_of_the juice. inhad a pleasant surprise today whilst listening to my local abc (australian broadcasting commission) radio station to find that the presenter was talking to a garry, with an american accent, regarding jws.
i began listening subsequent to the introduction of the segment, but eventually worked out that it was in relation to the person appointed to head a political party in queensland happening to be a former jw.. the discussion centered around garry's involvement with the jws and various activities in which the dubs are infamously known.
garry left a good 'witness' for ex-jws.. at the end of the segment the presenter thanked garry busselman from (such and such) in the u.s. and i thought, that name sounds familiar, and, sure enough, it is our very own garrybus.. it would be interesting to learn how garry came to be invited to discuss the subject.. cheeses - keeping up with current affairs..
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garybuss
So do I understand that the parents (Gilead Grads) as well as the two adult children left the Watch Tower group?
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99
April 15th WT- Satan = Apostates = Critical Towards Brothers = Shun Them
by flipper inwow.
and so the wt society tightens down the screwdriver a bit more !
one of my wife and my lurking jw friends sent us this article which has some very pointed words in it inciting all jehovah's witnesses to take an even harder line view of apostates in this recent april 15th wt.. on pg.
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garybuss
Anything the Watch Tower Publishing Corporation publishes that will keep true believing Witness people away from me and my family is doing me a favor. All of my good days have one thing in common . . . no Witness people disrespecting me.
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garrybus interviewed on local regional Australian radio.
by Holey_Cheeses*King_of_the juice. inhad a pleasant surprise today whilst listening to my local abc (australian broadcasting commission) radio station to find that the presenter was talking to a garry, with an american accent, regarding jws.
i began listening subsequent to the introduction of the segment, but eventually worked out that it was in relation to the person appointed to head a political party in queensland happening to be a former jw.. the discussion centered around garry's involvement with the jws and various activities in which the dubs are infamously known.
garry left a good 'witness' for ex-jws.. at the end of the segment the presenter thanked garry busselman from (such and such) in the u.s. and i thought, that name sounds familiar, and, sure enough, it is our very own garrybus.. it would be interesting to learn how garry came to be invited to discuss the subject.. cheeses - keeping up with current affairs..
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garybuss
The interview was live 10-11 pm my time (CST) Thursday evening April 2 2009.
I believe the AU time was 2:00 PM Friday April 3 in Queensland, Australia.
The topic was: The leader of a political party in Queensland, Australia is a former Jehovah's Witness. I believe the program was trying to get some background insight into the political leader.
The ABC interviewer told me who the politician is but I didn't know the name. His sister is a famous comedian in AU. Both were raised as Witnesses and both left the group when they were about 19 years old. -
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garrybus interviewed on local regional Australian radio.
by Holey_Cheeses*King_of_the juice. inhad a pleasant surprise today whilst listening to my local abc (australian broadcasting commission) radio station to find that the presenter was talking to a garry, with an american accent, regarding jws.
i began listening subsequent to the introduction of the segment, but eventually worked out that it was in relation to the person appointed to head a political party in queensland happening to be a former jw.. the discussion centered around garry's involvement with the jws and various activities in which the dubs are infamously known.
garry left a good 'witness' for ex-jws.. at the end of the segment the presenter thanked garry busselman from (such and such) in the u.s. and i thought, that name sounds familiar, and, sure enough, it is our very own garrybus.. it would be interesting to learn how garry came to be invited to discuss the subject.. cheeses - keeping up with current affairs..
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garybuss
The ABC interviewer found me from an Internet article I wrote. I'd guess it was on Freeminds.
The best former Jehovah's Witness (Bible Student) business leader and political negotiator I can think of was Dwight Eisenhower. He was a West Point graduate, supreme commander of allied forced in Europe, rode his tank into Berlin and freed the (pacifist) Jehovah's Witnesses in Nazi concentration camps, became president of the United States and negotiated a truce in the Korean War in the 50's.
I have forgotten all of the 10 questions I asked the Witness clergy in the 80's. One question was: Who is responsible for writing all the errors in Watch Tower literature?".
I do remember when I read Crisis Of Conscience that all my questions were answered in that book. -
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garybuss
Can an elder's wife be an unbeliever?
It's a relative question with a relative answer. The short answer is "yes". The key thing to remember when discussing the Watch Tower Society is: There is NO unity. -
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Is this Franz Math ??? warning viewing could be puke worthy
by troubled mind inyear is as one day .
someone did the math of the 1000 years = one day equation (2 peter 3:8).
if a thousand years are in the eyes of jehovah as one day, and we look at history from jehovah's point of view, we should realize that: .
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garybuss
This is the game of a numerologist. No rational person I know would spend two minutes on ghosts and gods and number charts. It's just foolishness.
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The Great Crowd are NOT Jehovah Witnesses ?
by Nick! inthe great crowd are not jehovah's witnesses ?.
this is a statement i read recently on a french forum.. according to the statement, when the name jw was adopted back in 1931, the gc, as we know it today, was not yet identified, and the new name applied solely to the ex international bible students association, all anointed members of the fds.. when later, in 1935 the great crowd was identified, they were referred to as jonadabs, not yet as jehovahs witnesses.
i have been in the truth for over 60 years, but it is the first time i hear about that assumption.. can anyone of you confirm or infirm this statement?.
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garybuss
The Great Crowd are NOT Jehovah Witnesses ?
That's true. Also . . . the great crowd are spiritual Gentiles and there's no command for Gentiles to preach. And . . . a member of the "other sheep" can't preach at a meeting if there is a member of the anointed present.