Posts by HadEnuf

Well...in my son's case...they didn't even WARN him before marking him. When we talked with the PO who scheduled the talk for the local needs part (and by the way; the same talk was given by the congregation sharing our hall four days before the wedding) he said they never talked to my son because they were "GUN SHY". Oh for crying out loud...go figure that one out.

We pointed out that even the watchtower says you must warn someone before you punish him; but that was totally ignored. The big guys can do anything they want to anybody and take no responsibility basically for their actions.

And how can someone raised a JW and standing up for their beliefs her whole life be called an Unbeliever? A terrible misinterpretation of scripture and utterly taken out of context. (Do not become unevenly yoked with unbelievers).

Someone get me a beer.

18

What is this about Marking?

by Missie Eff in

jw
friends

i have a good freind here with me this evening.

(celtic, if you're around you know her - it's liane).

there is something that has always puzzled both of us.

HadEnuf

Yes, I am sad to say that marking is alive and well here in the United States. My son was "marked" the week before his wedding a couple of years ago because he was marrying an unbaptized publisher (who, by the way, had grown up in the "truth" and had been seeking baptism for quite a while before she even met my son...but she wasn't in the right clique and she had been put off several times when she wanted to go over The Questions.) He was never even warned about this situation...most of the elders had congratulated him and were interested in the wedding arrangements. They had known my son since he was born and he was, and is, a wonderful, warm, caring person. But I guess our CO got wind of the wedding and pressured them to "mark" him. Quite a shock coming just two days before the wedding! So the wedding was boycotted by all the elders and wives and ministerial servants...they were actually told that if they attended they would "possibly" lose their "privileges".

Anyway...though some would be somewhat friendly to them outside of the congregation...none of the elder's or ms's ever invited them over for a meal or any association. Few elder's would even converse with them at the meetings. Needless to say...they have since stopped attending meetings as have myself and my husband and younger son and her immediate family. (How do YOU spell RELIEF? NO MEETINGS)

The whole marking and shunning thing is the most un-Christian thing the JW's do and is so totally unlike what Christ would do. It is almost unbelievable that people can even support such an arrangement. I did it for over 40 years and I am most ashamed of my unloving behavior.

Marking is not rare at all. It is just a form of organized cruelty.

7

The Big Show This Weekend...

by mikepence in

jw
friends

...is not harry potter, it is the leonid meteor showers!.

see http://www.leonidstorm.com/.

this is a once in a lifetime viewing opportunity.

HadEnuf

Here in Wisconsin it is supposed to be at it's best viewing from about 3 am to 5 am early Sunday morning. I heard it's supposed to be cloudy Sunday but maybe I'll set the old alarm anyway and check it out.

20

Question - What is your dress sense now?

by Celtic in

jw
friends

just out of interest, what is your favourite, most comfortable style of dress sense now?.

peace.

celtic

HadEnuf

"Vintage" jeans with an elastic waist that have been washed 5,320 times and a ratty old Packer t-shirt with beer and brat stains all over the front.

15

Old Kingdom Melodies

by muslima in

jw
friends

even after a bit of time has gone by - do lyrics to "kingdom melodies" still drift in anyone's head?.

it is over 6 years now -- yesterday and even still now - for whatever reason the song with the lyrics "the way of the truth is the best way of living" -- just that line kept going through my head!

it's driving me crazy!.

HadEnuf

Actually...I gotta kind of admit I do miss some of those songs. That was probably the most enjoyable part of the meetings. It was especially fun to sit in the little back room that was the "overflow" room and second school and try to sing with just a handfull of people who couldn't carry a tune if their life depended on it (me included).

Or you sat in front of some brother with a big booming voice who thought of himself as Andre Bocelli (is that spelling correct? Who cares) and would mix up the verses or words and got everyone else off track too.

Or my son would try to sing in his "opera" voice and get me laughing so hard I had to rush to the bathroom before I peed my pantyhose.

15

Old Kingdom Melodies

by muslima in

jw
friends

even after a bit of time has gone by - do lyrics to "kingdom melodies" still drift in anyone's head?.

it is over 6 years now -- yesterday and even still now - for whatever reason the song with the lyrics "the way of the truth is the best way of living" -- just that line kept going through my head!

it's driving me crazy!.

HadEnuf

I am particularly fond of these lyrics:

I do not sit with wicked men of lies
I hate the company of those who truth despise
With evil men take not away my life
My soul, with those whose hands are full of
bribes and strife.

But as for me, determined I shall be
to walk eternally, In my integrity.

So I just hum that song or sing it to anyone who asks me why I haven't been at the meetings lately.

19

What helped you get over it?

by ashitaka in

jw
friends

hi guys,.

what helped you guys get over your anger of being shunned, dealt with unfairly, ignored, etc?.

my wife and i found comfort in each other.

HadEnuf

I'm still so mad I could just spit.

54

JW's and Chronic Fatigue Syndrone!

by cornish in

jw
friends

chronic fatigue syndrone, m e, yuppie flu.

.

i dont know if anyone else has noticed the alarming number of jws who claim to suffer from chronic fatigue syndrone,i mean hear in cornwall there tend to be several sufferers in every congregation,outside the jws out of the many people i know i dont know anyone,although there are obviosly many outside the jws who suffer this illness,percentage wise it seems that jws have a much,much larger occorance of the illness.. for example my brother in law has not worked and been living on invalidity benefits for more than 10 years since his mid twenties,his brother is also in the same boat, an m.e sufferer.. i wonder if anyone has looked into this a bit more?

HadEnuf

I've had CFS since 1989. It's a real disease. It's devastating. I don't "fake" my illness to get out of any of my responsibilities. But when you're a JW...getting this type of illness is a spiritual death sentence because since you "look so good" sometimes...you MUST feel okay!!

I was constantly encouraged to get to more meetings and out in service more as this would lessen my depression and help me snap out of it.

I had elders quizzing my friends and relatives about my activities apart from meetings/service to make sure I wasn't lying about my condition. After all...if I was seen at the grocery store getting groceries for my family (of course none of my "spiritual brothers or sisters ever offered to help our family out) then I must be feeling good enough for meetings and service!

But the very BEST thing I was told was by our CO. He told me during a shepherding call that my CFS related depression could be due to a guilty conscience about some former sin and proceeded to use the illustration of a girl who had committed fornication and got depressed and medication wouldn't help her...she just needed to confess her sin. She did and whatdoyaknow...she snapped right out of that depression!

And that...was the beginning of the end of my 42 year association with JW's.

AND furthermore...I have not been able to work even part-time for the last 12 years and have received no disability or any other financial aid.

I would gladly trade places with anyone who denies the impact of CFS on a person and their families.

Let's have a little COMPASSION here please.

23

Having Children Inside vs Outside The Organizatio

by Ranchette in

jw
friends

i feel cheated because i wouldnt know what its like to experience pregnancy and the birth of my children the way it was meant to be.. a completely natural and joyous event in human life was sabotaged by this religion!.

im sure there are others who know what i mean.. i would be interested to hear stories of others who have had children both inside and out of this organization.. i would like to explain what i mean.. i was raised as a witness and was always expected to be an example.

from as far back as i can remember we were taught that armageddon was just around the corner.

HadEnuf

How awful for you Ranch...but that kind of "Armageddon Programming" dies pretty slowly for those who have been witnesses for decades. My mother, who is 81, still comments when she hears that anyone is pregnant..."What a terrible thing to bring children into this old system of things!" Arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...but you know...I never thought I would be married in this old system (been married almost 29 years now)...I never thought I would have children (two sons...24 and 19)...I never thought I would have grandchildren (first granddaughter due in February). And most of all...I never thought I would see this religion for the hypocritical organization it has turned out to be.

I am so thankful everyday that I didn't put that stuff "on hold"...sometimes the only brightness is my light lately are my husband and children.