Posts by StAnn

51

Embarassed at school for being a Witness - Did this happen to you?

by Witness 007 in

when they played the national anthem everyone stood up...except afew of us witness kids who stood out like a saw thumb....a brother two rows ahead of me had a teacher physically drag him to his feet as he struggled to explain himself...i would sweat like a pig as others pointed and laught and told me off...from then on i would hide in the toilet till i heard the anthem finish then come out.. then theirs birthday holidays, sex education, religious studies which i wanted to do since i would be a star but i was banned by my family.. do you have an embarassing hide like a rat in the toilet moment..

StAnn

I remember being very disappointed when the WT changed the view about the national anthem.

They changed their on the national anthem? When? I need scans!!!!

Ditto to everything everyone else said.

In my case, I fell head over heels in love with a boy at my high school. My very first love. There was no way I could hide it from the other JWs in my school because he just didn't "get it" that he was forbidden and wouldn't remain low key! Interestingly enough, none of the other JWs "turned me in" for having a worldly boyfriend. However, the stress of knowing I was doing something "wrong" and that others knew about it and might tell on me at any time was very hard to endure.

The most embarrassing thing that ever happened at school~in retrospect~is when I gave my junior high school science teacher a copy of the Evolution book. Oh, what he must have thought!!

3

Teenagers & Communication

by HAL9000 in

if you have anything to do with teenage kids, have a look at this........ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_veiggp1uh4.

.

StAnn

Sounds like my phone calls with DS25...!

29

Do You Think Jehovah's Witnesses Are Truly Happy?

by StAnn in

i've been wondering about this a lot lately.

when i was a jw, i was always miserable because i was so busy trying to keep up with everyone else, i.e., field service hours, dressing appropriately, having the right attitude, feeling guilty about desiring things not approved by the wts, such as an education.

my own experience as a jw was so filled with unhappiness that it never occurred to me that anybody in the wts could actually be happy and have a joyful life.

StAnn

I've been wondering about this a lot lately. When I was a JW, I was always miserable because I was so busy trying to keep up with everyone else, i.e., field service hours, dressing appropriately, having the right attitude, feeling guilty about desiring things not approved by the WTS, such as an education. My own experience as a JW was so filled with unhappiness that it never occurred to me that anybody in the WTS could actually be happy and have a joyful life. Thus, I'm always trying to "rescue" people from the Society. Do you believe there are genuinely happy JWs who don't need to be rescued?

18

How do you tell somebody that they do something that is socially awkward...

by DanTheMan in

jw
friends

...and annoying?

my sister, who i am close with, has a tendency to talk and laugh at very high, at times even piercing volumes when she is in social situations where there is more than say, four or five people present.

it's like, her volume increases exponentially with every person that you add to the mix.

StAnn

Dan, I can be rather off-putting at times. I don't mean to sound harsh, but I do. I did not realize this until my husband filmed a family gathering and I watched it later. I was crushed to see how harshly I spoke to my son. In my mind, I wasn't angry or anything, so I was surprised that the way things sounded when they came out of my mouth was different than how I had them in my mind.

Take your cell phone or a camera and film your sister, with audio. Figure out some subterfuge. Then let her watch it later. Don't say anything to her. Just let her see for herself.

It certainly helped me.

37

For the Sisters: Were you ever happy you couldn't have male "privileges"?

by Open mind in

watchtower policies clearly make women second-class citizens.

i don't see it changing anytime soon.

this thread is not about how ridiculous it is that a female is not allowed to hand out mags, territory, books or carry a microphone if a qualified male is present.

StAnn

It's funny my mum always wrote the talks for my dumb Ministerial Servant dad....HOW MANY Sisters are "ghost writers" for there husbands?

007 ~ My mother still writes talks for my brother, who is almost 50 years old! The only time he comes to see her is when he needs a talk written! Talk about pathetic! I'd bet half the talks are "ghost written" by women.

44

Singing at the Meetings is so mindless...

by logic&reason in

i was always uncomfortable singing at the meetings when i was a kid.

as an adult, i rarely if ever sing anymore because i think it is a joke.

sit down, listen for 45 minutes.

StAnn

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIb4vHdGmco&feature=related

Shamus, this isn't a JW video, is it? BTW, is the from THE Kenneth Copeland, charismatic preacher ad nauseum?

I can't imagine a JW singing this. It's actually a praise and worship song. No selling instructions included.

14

How long must you suffer?

by Magick in

jw
friends

...for being involved with jehovah's witnesses?

2 years?.

5 years?.

StAnn

There is an old saying: "A mother is only as happy as her least happy child."

Although I'm generally happy outside of the WTS and have absolutely no desire to go back, I'm hurt when I watch my son and see all of his struggles. He's still mired down in the pain of being DF'd. He's very angry and enraged and that's a way of life for him. Although I do have real happiness and real joy in my life, it is always accompanied by the sorrow of my son's pain. Also, I have other family members who are still trapped in the WTS, one who just recently came out and is a wreck.

What I want for them is what I have; peace of mind and contentment. But as long as they suffer, I suffer a little alongside of them. They're my family. I love them. Even the ones who totally reject me.

21

Catholic ex-JW's? Interpretation Questions for You.

by bavman in

in view of the much publicized conversion of tom cabeen on this website i thought i would ask a couple of questions.. do all catholics interpret the scriptures literally or do they allow for metaphorical interpretation?

such as the miracles of jesus or the trinity understanding itself.

i seem to see a difference between some believers and especially between certain traditions within the church itself.

StAnn

Yeah, what Tom said.

9

A new generation of jws

by Fisherman in

what are the new jws going to be like?.

seems that bethel is no longer looking for jws to make bethel their career, not unless one is a doctor, lawyer, engineer or very educated or talented individual that the wts can prophet from.

people now comming to bethel are ones that will stay during their youth and then get out.

StAnn

Just think how much more convenient it is to witness on line when you want to and be anonymous at the same time. I wonder if the ones who make videos count their time.

I'd bet that this will be what Tuesday nights are designated for in the future! "See, we did away with the bookstudy so you could save your gas money to pay for an internet connection. You can witness online for hours and count every second if you'll just install the WTS spyware that tracks your every move on the internet for Big Brother and allows you to report your time automatically."

32

Did you have the bookstudy at your house?

by karter in

we did for many years it was great becouse we had small children.

however you are expected to have a supper now and then after having food droped then ground into the carpet a few times i called it quites on the suppers although i'd invite some for beers after.

one bookstdy conducter announced there was going to be a supper next bookstudy so i announced no there wasen't he spoke to me after something about unwritten rules i said '' the phraseas call it oral trditions"

StAnn

Okay. You're not going to believe this. I have it on good authority from several eyewitnesses that it is true. I was very young and have only a few actual memories of it all.

We had the bookstudy in our house. And our house was "demonized."

We bought the house from an old widow. She left the dining room suite in the house. We found out much later that her husband had taken one of the dining room chairs into the attic, climbed up on it, and hanged himself from the rafters. From that day forward, the dining room suite was haunted. That's why the old lady left it behind.

My mother kept her literature stash in the dining room buffet. As soon as the prayer was said at the beginning of the book study, the buffet drawers would open an inch or two and then slam shut, open an inch or two and then slam shut. The book study conductor would give my mother a pleading look and she'd yell at the buffet to settle down, and it would, for a little while.

Other things happened in this house. Something invisible picked up my grandfather by the ankles and threw him across the room once.

It's been 40 years since my parents hosted the book study but the oldsters who remembered these things still talk about them to this day. I don't know how much of it is mass hysteria or delusion. My father is not fanciful (and not a JW) and he says this really happened. What I can't figure out is why the elders allowed them to keep having the book study in our house with all this going on!

Eventually, we sold this house to a young couple. A few months later, we drove by and the dining room suite was in the front yard with a "for sale" sign taped to it.