Posts by Gopher

48

!!ONE MORE ELDER FACING WTS EXECUTION !

by exodus in

jw
friends

well, here it is, after almost 20 years 12 of those serving in position of responsibility it comes down to my spiritual execution(jw style).

allow me to explain.

for those who you who still remember me from h20 under the name truthexodus i came to post my experience as an elder of local congregation in nyc area.

Gopher

Alliwannadoislive,

You said,

i wonder why all the 'quality' friends leave the society

What an excellent point! Without being boastful, I have observed that the Society is getting drained...they are losing their best and most thoughtful people. From the posts out here, we [evil apostates, heh heh] can see that this is true.

Why? Because people with a heart cannot stand for very long what is happening in there! (To borrow a Scripture, they sigh and groan over the detestable evil happening within...) When opportunity for freedom comes, a person will see it & take it! (Those who follow the Borg blindly don't see the need for freedom, they're satisfied with the so-called life they have inside the society. OK for them, not for us...)

GopherWhy shouldn't truth be stranger than fiction? Fiction, after all, has to make sense.
Mark Twain (1835-1910)

48

!!ONE MORE ELDER FACING WTS EXECUTION !

by exodus in

jw
friends

well, here it is, after almost 20 years 12 of those serving in position of responsibility it comes down to my spiritual execution(jw style).

allow me to explain.

for those who you who still remember me from h20 under the name truthexodus i came to post my experience as an elder of local congregation in nyc area.

Gopher

Exodus,

Wow, what a story! But yet so familiar. The elders all along the way show cowardice and hatred, ganging up on people who merely have questions or differing ideas. Yikes, is this the loving Christian congregation or what?

Good for you, in calling a halt to this foolishness by not going to the judicial meeting. These meetings have nothing to do with God or righteousness, and everything with revenge and/or congregation politics, with people protecting themselves and their positions.

I wish I had the sense to not go to any JC meeting, my fate was determined well before I went in there! Impartial? I didn't think so.

Best wishes in your healing process (from a fellow wounded one).

GopherWhy shouldn't truth be stranger than fiction? Fiction, after all, has to make sense.
Mark Twain (1835-1910)

4

More Bird Stuff

by Bendrr in

jw
friends

i guess y'all read about peckerhead.

well, the little critter's still coming around when it gets hungry.

starting to think it's a he now, don't ask why.

Gopher

Bendrr,

I never read about your first bird. But good for you on selecting a cockatiel! I grew up with one of these. He was exceptionally alert and sensitive to everything going on. Very friendly, landing on your head or on your shoulder, loved to spend a long time there with you. Also he picked up little words and phrases!

Have fun with this creature. He/she should reward you for many years.

GopherWhy shouldn't truth be stranger than fiction? Fiction, after all, has to make sense.
Mark Twain (1835-1910)

5

And if the sky becomes dark with thick gloom......

by nakedheartpoet in

jw
friends

Gopher

Poet,

How has human life been sustaining itself over the past hundreds and thousands of years? Has it been, by your definition, in an "ungodly" way?

What will make the next 10-40 years any different? We have to be careful when trying to predict the time of the end, so many have been burned throughout MANY centuries saying that in each case, THEIR century was the time of the end. I know you have read of this being the case in both the 19th and the 20th centuries. What exactly makes the 21st century different?

If you point to the usual wars, earthquakes and things, you will get quite a barrage of counter-arguments here. That doesn't mean those who are doing the counter-arguing are unspiritual. It may just mean they're being realistic. (Just trying to broaden your thinking here a bit.)

Too many Christians have been laughed at over the centuries for proclaiming "the sky is falling", when in fact it wasn't. Let's spare ourself that same fate.

I could go on, but I'll end it with this info: if you read another thread that started today, you'll see that KIRAP is the Papua/New Guinean word for AWAKE, and so in that part of the world you can get a load of KIRAP magazines (sorry, couldn't resist....).

GopherWhy shouldn't truth be stranger than fiction? Fiction, after all, has to make sense.
Mark Twain (1835-1910)

12

You Can Have True Faith - Oct 1, 2001 WT

by MrMoe in

jw
friends

any comments on the latest watchtower?

just got it in the mail today.

it discusses your faith, true faith, lost faith and to follow the bible.

Gopher

Poet,

I'm somewhat impressed that you were so warmly welcomed back. I wonder (if I was Fredhall, I'd say "I wander"....) I wonder if it was because you were in a new hall. Perhaps the 'welcome back' may not have been the same in the old congregation (just a guess).

But it sounds like they 'love bombed' you in the new congregation, much like they would a new convert (until some time goes by and they find out that the new person has flaws too).

Or you may have found an exceptionally loving congregation. Some do exist.

GopherWhy shouldn't truth be stranger than fiction? Fiction, after all, has to make sense.
Mark Twain (1835-1910)

12

You Can Have True Faith - Oct 1, 2001 WT

by MrMoe in

jw
friends

any comments on the latest watchtower?

just got it in the mail today.

it discusses your faith, true faith, lost faith and to follow the bible.

Gopher

Hi,

Since I've been out over a year, I don't get the subscription any more. I don't want the elders to, ahem, "visit" me when it's renewal time....

But I have a comment on the title "Prodigal Child". I assume that refers to Jesus' parable of the child who wasted his inheritance, and later came to his senses and came home.

The father threw a big celebration for this son, and he welcomed him home IMMEDIATELY without reservations.

How unlike the way the Witnesses treat those who wish to come back after they left or were dismissed! If you want to come back, you have to sit at meetings, like an outcast, for months or even years. Then upon reinstatement, what's the chance they'll really welcome you back? In reality, you're marked for years, maybe for life.

So the way that the parable applies to JW's, is that they're like the older brother who grumbled that his younger brother was "reinstated" to the family.

GopherWhy shouldn't truth be stranger than fiction? Fiction, after all, has to make sense.
Mark Twain (1835-1910)

4

Problem with culpability?

by Nicolas in

personnally, i had this big problem of culpability when my parents decided to stop to go at the meeting.

when i was going to high school, i wasn't a jw anymore but i didn't want to participate to the party and other stuffs like that because the watchtower told me that it was wrong.

after six years out of the org, i'm just starting to feel free and i realized that we can look at the personnality of someone to see if it's a good friend instead of just try to see if he obey to what the wbts told us.

Gopher

Hi Nicolas,

Welcome to the discussion board!! Feel free to jump on and post, it's a good place to come for support and ideas.

I'm sorry you're finding it lonely, starting out on your own. I left the organization last year at age 39, and I felt VERY alone at first. I had my sister, but she is busy with her family and so I cannot demand all of her time. So I went back and found an old friend from high school, and then a friend from childhood who also WAS a JW but is not now. I'm enjoying being back together with these 2 good people, and they are or will introduce me to their friends as time goes on. It's a slow process, but worth it. I'm sure you will find a good friend or two. That's all it takes to start filling the void.

And their kind of friendship is REAL, not based on some organization's opinion about you! It is so refreshing.

And yes, I was a "square", very different at school. I was treated as such and got very few invitations to go places, except for a couple of very nice people....Being "square", I never had any offers for drugs or sex from my schoolmates...people just knew I'd say no, so for the most part I was left alone--by people of all sorts!

I'm trying, with what's left of my life, to recover some sense of normality. I hope you can too!

GopherWhy shouldn't truth be stranger than fiction? Fiction, after all, has to make sense.
Mark Twain (1835-1910)

1

Tolerance & Doubt

by thinker in

jw
friends

what makes a person tolerant of others' views ?

"the men who have fought for tolerance, whatever their differences, had all of them one thing in common; their faith was tempered by doubt; they might honestly believe that they themselves were right, but they never reached the point where that suspicion hardened into an absolute conviction.. they knew that the problem which faced them (the nature of god) was so vast that no one in his right senses would ever expect it to be solved.

and while they might hope and pray that the road which they had taken would eventually lead them to a safe goal, they could never convince themselves that it was the only right one, that all other roads were wrong and that the enchanting by-paths which delighted the hearts of so many simple people were evil thoroughfares leading to damnation.".

Gopher

Thinker,

This is a good reminder. I see a good deal of tolerance among people on this board. There's been a good number of posts where people have admitted to not knowing all the answers. (How different from the organization that had "all the answers", so they say!!)

But since it isn't strictly moderated (and who would want that?), we'll occasionally find some intolerance. It comes with the territory.

For those who insist on intolerance, please know that we know "FEAR" motivates your behavior. It'll also help those of us who see intolerance to get less upset at it, so we can concentrate on contributing positive things (to this board and to the world at large).

GopherWhy shouldn't truth be stranger than fiction? Fiction, after all, has to make sense.
Mark Twain (1835-1910)

10

Regarding Candles

by silentlambs in

jw
friends

this is my first time to be back on the boards in about a week, much to follow up on and i have quite a story to tell regarding the events of the last week.

before i go into that though i would like to make a clarification for all concerned regarding our family business.

while i do appreciate the efforts to offer support personally, it has never been the intent to profit in any way from silentlambs.

Gopher

SL/Bill,

Thanks for being so straight-forward and ethical. Your post clears up a lot. I hope the silentlambs web site gets even more donations, now that you have clarified things.

But you won't mind if we still want to buy some of your wonderful candles?

Look forward to your posts about the trial and conviction!

GopherWhy shouldn't truth be stranger than fiction? Fiction, after all, has to make sense.
Mark Twain (1835-1910)

3

Endangered Manatee Struggles with Congress

by bboyneko in

jw
friends

endangered manatee struggles to make self understood to congress .

washington, dc--despite valiant efforts to make itself understood, an endangered west indian manatee failed to communicate its urgent-sounding message to members of the house of representatives tuesday.

"euyah, euyaaaah," said the visibly flustered 900-pound manatee, accidentally knocking over a podium with its flat, paddle-like tail.

Gopher

Dan,

Thanks for posting this hilarious account! But a bit sad, seeing how the manatees are being beaten to near extinction by motorboats. Your post hit a tender spot here.

Manatees are in special danger because they move so slowly, and live in shallow water as noted above. They are loved by common folk about as much as dolphins are. I've seen large crowds watch them at Disney World and at the Bradenton, Florida science museum. They are so ugly, they're actually kind of cute. And their large torso moves gracefully through the water (once it finally moves!!).

But they cannot move fast like the dolphins can. The selfish boaters ought to be ashamed!

GopherWhy shouldn't truth be stranger than fiction? Fiction, after all, has to make sense.
Mark Twain (1835-1910)