Topics Started by strawberry cake

7
Peoples temple cult
by jacethespace in
1. watchtower
2. beliefs
i just watched a documentary about the peoples temple cult and was suprised to find there is some intresting similarites between there attitude beliefs and the watchtower society.. they began as an ordinary group intrested in morals and god and jim jones gradually manipulated them to the point of murder and suicide.. he would reprimand people in front of the whole congregation playing on peoples fears and guilt to the point where sometimes he would encourage others to hit a " wrongdoer".as he got more control over the people they feared to leave and anyone that spoke about leaving was turned in by there own family, hmm that sounds familar.

jim jones feared some that got out and tried to shield the congregation from bad press which is why around 900 were " encouraged " to leave america and go to guyana to what they called jonestown.he told his members that they couldnt leave and that the world would harm them if they ever left.. at one time he passed around a cup to drink and then told the congregation they had drank poison then after they panicked he told them it wasnt true he was just " testing to see how loyal they would be to him".. when they moved to jonestown they set up there own paradise.they grew there own food and made themselves completly independant from the outside world.they built there own homes and would have no outside information except a loudspeaker which jim jones spoke over and used recorded speechs on even throughout the night.he was telling them that the whole world was coming to turn on them and kill them and take away what they had.. when they said they wanted to leave he would say they were committing " blasphemy" by leaving and they would change there mind.. sadly at the end they encouraged mass suicide and took with them a visiting congressman.. paradise quickly turned into chaos and a nightmare and it got me thinking about the wachtowers utopian dream of paradise on earth.if they watchtower cant get things right now how the hell are they going to be capable of governing the whole planet in " the new system.. this isnt the same documentary but heres a link to one documentary about the peoples temple.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3625536419231928674&q=peoples+temple&total=2133&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=4.
36
Hi, First Post
by AuroraB in
1. jw
2. friends
hey there.

i'm new to the forums and just had to say hi, and thank you to all of you who've shared your stories which have let me know finally and for sure that i'm not crazy and nowhere near as abnormal as i've been feeling...well, forever, really, but more so over these last few years!!!

i can't tell you what a good feeling that is, but i suspect you already know.
9
How many people did you bring into the j.ws & how many to jwd?
by karter in
1. jw
2. experiences
cant remember how many i brought in , so far 1 to jwd.
2
What do you tell the bible studies?
by strawberry cake in
1. watchtower
2. beliefs
i had a number of long term bible studies that i passed on to other jws when i stopped ministry.

i found it very hard to explain why i could no longer study with them or support them at the meetings.

i wonder how others managed this situation.
19
What do I tell the kids?
by strawberry cake in
1. watchtower
2. beliefs
i am quickly fading, desperate to leave.

my children, however have been brought up jws and are used to the jw way of life and ethos.

i have told them how i feel.
4
When You Lie...Whose Feelings Are You Trying Save?
by new boy in
1. jw
2. experiences
i never lied so much as when i was a jehovah's witness.

it started at bethel, when a bethel overseer asked me to agree with his opinion, when i knew it wasn't right....."fear of man"...funny term "fear of man.

" it seems the only time i really had it, is when i was afraid of the "men" in "god's organization.".
10
Too busy being JWs to be Christians!!
by strawberry cake in
1. watchtower
2. beliefs
some jws are so busy being jws, they have forgotten how to be christians.

the wts obsession with hours has led to the sick, elderly and depressed receiving rare visits because the time can't be counted.

if the wt allowed the time to be counted - i wonder how many visits these ones would suddenly start receiving?
18
Concrete Reasons for Being a JW (or member of any religion)
by Mrs. Witness in
1. jw
2. experiences
here is a question i've been wanting to ask hubby: "why do you want to be a jw?

" and i don't want ethereal answers like "they have the truth" "everlasting life" and other such nonsensical ramblings.

i am not a member of any organized religion and i don't see the appeal.. can anyone answer the question with a concrete reason?.
13
How to Slow Down Now (Please Read Slowly)
by AK - Jeff in
1. social
2. physical
http://zenhabits.net/2007/12/how-to-slow-down-now-please-read-slowly/.

how to slow down now (please read slowly)wisely, and slow.

they stumble that run fast.
1320
YOUR DAILY JOURNAL
by compound complex in
1. jw
2. friends
dear friends,.

much of what we do on a daily basis is routine and of no particular, earth-shaking importance.

however, after reviewing letters of family going back to wwii, it is fascinating to read what dad was doing on board the aircraft carrier in the pacific on any old day, what mom was cooking on her ever-steaming range, how i was dealing with the roller coaster of emotion at bethel [mom saved all my letters], how nana wrote that she would not study with the witnesses [per my request] but 'here are some mittens i knitted for you when you canvass new york with your magazines.