Gopher

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Posts by Gopher

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  10

  Jeremiah book this week - cult control at it's finest

  by 88JM in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  having to sit through this at the meeting just now.. blatantly saying to obey without question: "will you be as determined to comply with god's guidance as jeremiah was?

  ", "...accepting the guidance given through the faithful slave class is for your lasting good.".

  this is so painful to sit through :(.

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  Gopher

  Jeremiah is said to have written the Bible book of Lamentations.
  
  This led to the English-language word Jeremiad:

  noun

  a prolonged lamentation or mournfulcomplaint.
• 
  21

  Baptized

  by nibbled in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  how old were you when you were baptized?.

  .

  i was 12 years old..

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  Gopher

  I waited until the ripe old age of 16. That's way too young to make a lifelong decision like who to marry, but probably a little too late (by JW standards) to make a "lifelong" decision to serve an organization.
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  20

  Newbie Again (Kinda Sorta)

  by lostinnj83 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i made my first post (which i have attached) more than 2.5 years ago.. sad to say i am still in the same situation.

  still "physically in" but have mentally been gone for years.

  i am still in my marriage and unfortunatly things have not gotten any better as far as me being able to help him see the light as far as the organization.. i am at a serious crossroad though because i am almost 30 years old, with no children.

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  Gopher

  To thine own self be true. If you aren't, you won't be doing anyone a favor including your current husband or any prospective children that might come along.
  
  Your husband's efforts to reach out to you as a doubter are much in line with what the organization would want him to do, along with the common decency he has. However if you would go back on those terms, as fully accepting Watchtowerism, you wouldn't be true to yourself and it the reluctance you now feel would widen and possibly just become deep resentment.
  
  I left the JW's behind when I was 39, almost 40. It took a while to rebuild from there, but on the whole it has really been worthwhile (despite the anguish of having 75 and 80-year-old parents who are loyal JW's and have let the organization drive an immovable wedge between them and me).
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  10

  Grey's Anatomy 1/31/2012 - "Bad Blood" about a JW kid in the ER

  by Gopher in

  1. social
  2. entertainment

  i don't closely follow this show, but this week's episode (bad blood, season 9 episode 13) was captivating for me as an ex-jw.

  one of the story lines centered on a 19-year-old boy whose family is jw (but he is obviously a fringe jw) - brought into the emergency room after a serious skateboarding accident by his friend who was totally unaware he was jw.. the episode summary along with a "watch this episode" link is linked below.. i found most of the jw storyline quite realistic (except for a "we believe prayers can yield miracles" quote from one of the jw's - i think it was the mother).

  after the parents refused a blood transfusion for the boy, the resulting chaos and philosophical arguments were riveting to watch.. http://abc.go.com/shows/greys-anatomy/episode-detail/bad-blood/1062764?page=1.

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  Gopher

  Dagney, just follow the abc.go.com link I provided. On that page they have a "watch this episode" link.
• 
  13

  Mum feeling depressed but they're the happiest people on earth

  by not bitter in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  saw my mum a couple of hours ago and she was saying how low she was feeling.

  basically miserable and doesn't like anyone.

  she wouldn't tell me anything other than that but i kind of know whats eating at her.

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  Gopher

  When I was JW, I remember having the phrase "we are the happiest people" drummed into my head. They even had a Kingdom song "Jehovah's Happy People". They published a book in 1980 "Happiness - How to Find It".
  
  Happiness supposedly came because you were spiritual and following the organization's program (study, prayer, field ministry, association) to a proper extent.

  The flip side of this is that you had to act happy or you weren't being spiritual. And if you confessed to not being happy, you'd be told to increase your study, prayer or field ministry.
  
  Thus, if any JW isn't happy, apparently it is THEIR fault because they weren't doing enough of one or more elements of the study-prayer-service-association program.
  
  It couldn't possibly be due to belonging to an overly-demanding cultlike group. It couldn't possibly be anything the organization expected from them, even if all they ever said was "do more do more do more" and if you didn't do more you were somehow inadequate.
  
  /end of rant/
• 
  10

  Grey's Anatomy 1/31/2012 - "Bad Blood" about a JW kid in the ER

  by Gopher in

  1. social
  2. entertainment

  i don't closely follow this show, but this week's episode (bad blood, season 9 episode 13) was captivating for me as an ex-jw.

  one of the story lines centered on a 19-year-old boy whose family is jw (but he is obviously a fringe jw) - brought into the emergency room after a serious skateboarding accident by his friend who was totally unaware he was jw.. the episode summary along with a "watch this episode" link is linked below.. i found most of the jw storyline quite realistic (except for a "we believe prayers can yield miracles" quote from one of the jw's - i think it was the mother).

  after the parents refused a blood transfusion for the boy, the resulting chaos and philosophical arguments were riveting to watch.. http://abc.go.com/shows/greys-anatomy/episode-detail/bad-blood/1062764?page=1.

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• 

  Gopher

  I don't closely follow this show, but this week's episode (Bad Blood, Season 9 Episode 13) was captivating for me as an ex-JW. One of the story lines centered on a 19-year-old boy whose family is JW (but he is obviously a fringe JW) - brought into the emergency room after a serious skateboarding accident by his friend who was totally unaware he was JW.

  The episode summary along with a "watch this episode" link is linked below.

  I found most of the JW storyline quite realistic (except for a "we believe prayers can yield miracles" quote from one of the JW's - I think it was the mother). After the parents refused a blood transfusion for the boy, the resulting chaos and philosophical arguments were riveting to watch.

  http://abc.go.com/shows/greys-anatomy/episode-detail/bad-blood/1062764?page=1
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  24

  Music Upon Your Exit

  by RAYZORBLADE in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i know this topic has been touched upon from time to time.

  i haven't been on here regularly in many years, but i know what it is like for many; or those that are on their way of exiting the organization.. what songs do you recall or remember during your exodus from the wtbts ??.

  i left mentally in the late autumn of 1983; apparently (i don't know officially...but does it really matter?

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  Gopher

  For Label Licker, "Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word"

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3nScN89Klo
• 
  10

  Jeremiah book this week - cult control at it's finest

  by 88JM in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  having to sit through this at the meeting just now.. blatantly saying to obey without question: "will you be as determined to comply with god's guidance as jeremiah was?

  ", "...accepting the guidance given through the faithful slave class is for your lasting good.".

  this is so painful to sit through :(.

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  Gopher

  As usual, they equate the organization (represented by the FDS) with God. Idolatry at its finest (a feature of the control that you pinpointed).
• 
  12

  Governing Body member John O Groh

  by TheListener in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  can anyone tell the story of john o groh?

  ray and the wts mention him as a society director and member of the early 1970s governing body..

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  Gopher

  "Died before he could see Armageddon come in the autumn of 1975."
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  24

  Music Upon Your Exit

  by RAYZORBLADE in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i know this topic has been touched upon from time to time.

  i haven't been on here regularly in many years, but i know what it is like for many; or those that are on their way of exiting the organization.. what songs do you recall or remember during your exodus from the wtbts ??.

  i left mentally in the late autumn of 1983; apparently (i don't know officially...but does it really matter?

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  Gopher

  It's my life. It's now or never. I ain't gonna live forever. I just wanna live while I'm alive!
  
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vx2u5uUu3DE