Posts by Anator

30

What is the most embarrassing thing that ever happened to you at a meeting?

by IHaveADream in

jw
friends

mine was the time i had my twin grandsons with me and i was sitting in the overflow room.

they both needed to go potty at the same time.

so i tried to pick both of them up.

Anator

Standing behind a very large woman during the opening song, I noticed this women's dress was partially stuck up her butt crack. The brother standing beside me probably thinking he was being helpful gently pulled her dress out from her butt, but she turned around and slapped me in the face.

About a month later I saw this brother with a big red mark on the side of his face and asked him what happened. Well, he explained the same scenario to me about this exact same very large woman during the opening song, he noticed this women's dress was once again partially stuck up her butt crack. I said, you didn't do that again did you? He said "Oh No, I didn't!" he said the brother standing beside me did, but I remember how much she didn't like that so I tucked it back in.

5

Young JW's and divorce

by Anator in

jw
friends

it's an epidemic!

many young jw's are divorcing.

some say you can't talk young ones out of marrying when they get there minds fixed on it....jw's says that the young ones (when i say young i mean in their teens) think they have all the answers as to why they should get married.

Anator

It's an epidemic! Many young JW's are divorcing. Some say you can't talk young ones out of marrying when they get there minds fixed on it....JW's says that the young ones (when I say young I mean in their teens) think they have all the answers as to why they should get married. HELLO!! JW's are taught that they do have all the answers, this is just a backlash of the teachings. When JW's teach at the doors they don't listen to the householders point of view, because JW's believe they have all the answers and they wonder why young teens feel this way when it comes to marriage!

How many out their have experienced young JW's divorcing?

85

Name Certain Things JWs Can't Do

by minimus in

jw
friends

here's one thing to start off our list: jws can't stand for the country's national anthem (but they can rise for the flag salute).

Anator

No shit?

36

Elders Appreciation Day?

by Tired of the Hypocrisy in

jw
friends

hi everyone, here i come, "from roaming through the earth and going back and forth in it.".

i have been trying to keep from expressing my volatile opinions and doing pretty well until i came across this rediculous video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkzrvkey5yi.

Anator

Seeing this before, I always found it amazing there was never one elder or pioneer that refused this type of stuff. There was definitely an eliteness to all of this as they were always certain ones excluded from invites. I remember the very hurt faces the next day for those members when they were excluded from these functions.

47

Looking Back, Was Being A Witness A Worthless Experience To You?

by minimus in

jw
friends

was there anything positive about being a jehovah's witness?

Anator

Not totally. I found out that the society or organization or whatever they want to call themselves, will not be there for you when you are in dire straits. Therefore, despite advice, I went back to get my degree taking night courses. Got a great job, good pay, felt better, did better. Could afford things, better suits for the meeting, nicer vehicle for service. When the elders noticed how better I was doing they wanted me to reach out. I thought to myself, ain't that a kick in the head. The majority of elders did have good jobs and pay where I lived. I thought this was a

pre-requisite then to become one, but thought better of it. But that's a whole different story

30

JWD- Some of the Best Supportive Discussion I've Seen

by flipper in

jw
friends

it certainly is a diverse board we have here , isn't it ?

we all come from different backgrounds, walks of life, and had different experiences in growing up as children into adolescence.

so it should suffice to say, that we will all have a variety of takes on various issues that come up on the board.

Anator

As a witness, you could very rarely say how you feel about certain matters. I got the usual stuff from elders saying "what about you?". They always had the uncanny style to always turn your issues back upon yourself. It was a quick way to brush you off, basically saying without saying "the problem is you and no one else". When I started reading the JWD board, I found out that many, many here has gone through or going through the same thing. Hey, I wasn't going crazy, they were making me crazy. Having a listening ear is so crucial. It is healing. You can't put a quick fix on everything, but if someone listens to you it is part of healing.

22

Were Some Bodies of Elders Secret Societies unto Themselves ?

by flipper in

jw
friends

witnessing unjust treatment by elders and seeing others unjustly treated by such - had a big impact on me seeing through the facade that was the organization called jehovah's witnesses.

being raised in it 44 years i observed many times congregation elders operating their crew of " fellow elders " like a good old boys club in which although it was called a " body " of elders ; nevertheless still one elder dominated others and the lesser elders fell into line with what the " chief " or prime elder said would go down.

when leaving the organization in late 2003 - i questioned my own father, an elder for over 50 years about the unjust treatment i had received at the hand of such men.

Anator

Over the years this seemed to become more and more apparent. Elders preach from the platform to approach them, but as time went on more members seemd to shy away from the elders because they just screw things up more. I found througb experience they just love to tell you "here's what you should do!" rather than trying to find out the root cause of the situation. The "here's what you should do!" scenario has proven

disastrous for some who followed through with advice or so called "counsel". You cannot put a quick fix for people. I always wondered why they just love to tell members "here's what you should do!" when in acutality the opposite should be true. If you tell people "here's what you should do!" and they "do it" for what reason are they doing it? Dangerous thinking!! Whoever gets this type of counsel does not "own it" they do it saying to themselves "well, the elders said!" like it came from Jehovah himself!! The one statement that scared me the most was "If you go against an elder, it's like going against Jehovah". I truly believe for a number of elders when they believe this statement they put themselves on the same playing field with God giving them a God-like complex and it shows for some. I have seen that humility was replaced with haughtiness. To hear from a few that had actually said "I'm an elder! and you can't talk that way to an elder!" was a bsolutely crazy. They can talk to you anyway they want, but you can't!!?? Whatever happened to "treat the congregation with tenderness"?

37

Were YOU Personally Afraid of The "Demons"???

by minimus in

jw
friends

.

did you think you might "get contacted" somehow by those powerful demons?

did you avoid anything the society said was associated with demonism?.

Anator

I wasn't raised as a witness, but knowing a number of witnesses who were raised as one were extremely s uperstitious when it came to demons. If something bad happened it was because of the demons or if something good happened it was because of Jehovah. I remember when I first came in as a witness one sister suggested to me to throw out all my furniture and buy new stuff because of the chance it could of been demonized becuase it was used stuff. With that kind of mentallity, you are in a constant state of paranoia.

50

How Did You Deal With Weirdo Witnesses?

by minimus in

jw
friends

i know that some believe all jws are "weird".

but i'm not talking about that.. there are some real weird witnesses!

you know, the ones everyone had in their hall that everyone talked about or laughed at.. we had one 25 year old man who was pioneering and he used to go out to literally every neighborhood in the city.

Anator

I remember this one sister who bought two small dogs. Her two new dogs were trying deperately to consummate and she thought she better call an elder to come over and marry these two dogs or these dogs might fall into fornication. I remember just staring at her as she was telling me this and I was starting to think if I stay long enough in this organization will I turn as weird as her? I beleive certain ones turn weird because of the constant paranoia that is fed to them

49

How Were You Treated as a Jehovah's Witness if You Had Depression ?

by flipper in

jw
friends

most of us who were in the jehovah's witnesses for some time realize that for years the watchtower society had always discouraged it's rank and file members from going to see therapists, or professional counselors if they had depression, or serious chemical depression.

the watchtower society always told us to go out in service more, do more personal study, be more regular at meetings - and essentially we would lose our depression , and everything would fall right back into place.

the old, " don't worry, be happy " cliche.

Anator

That was one word that created depression for me. The word "WEAK"! The elders passed judgement on me a number of times with that word. Even when I was picking myself up in increased meeting attendance and service, that word "WEAK" always was in the back of my mind. Even when you were doing everything possible, it wasn't ever enough. There was very little validation and the feeling of inadequacy was growing deep inside me and eventually going to and from the meetings was getting me depressed.It seems that when your labeled by the elders and if they pass that around in casual conversation you are then ostercized by members of the congregation. I have met a number of others within different congregations who felt similar and who also felt suicidal. I was shocked to find how many thought about suicide and finding out how many actually did it. It seems to me that as the years progressed, things started to change in the congregation. Elders seem to become less humble, more haughty, more judgemental. I even heard that you can't talk to an elder a certain way, but they can talk to you anyway they want. When I mentioned it was getting me depressed, the only answer was I was "weak" and needed to pray more. OK, that got me even more depressed. I learned never to approach them. They have made themselved unapproachable and then they preach from the platform to go to them and if you do, I find they can make matters worse not better. They are not professional counslers and can do much damage when they try to be. I truly believe that when they get the title "elder" they feel like whatever they say to you will work like magic.