Posts by Alexia

44

Being told what to say in Convention interviews

by passwordprotected in

has anyone else heard tell of interviewees in convention parts being told what to say?

the way i've heard it is you're contacted to be interviewed in a convention talk because you've had a great experience in some form or other and they need you to boast about it.

so, you meet with the brother handling the assignment and you go through your experience with him (boast about it).

Alexia

Having a “non-believing” father and full-time employed, non pioneer mother, automatically disqualified me from boasting sessions, but I remember all of the answers from the other people sounded faked, very rehearsed and the wording and phrasing was always the same.

My mother did a part once (for the 1st time in 25 years of being in the Borg) about how she overcame having an UBM for so long. The truth was, despite my father's severe alcoholism, the elders told her she could not divorce him. After 27 years of marriage, she did divorce him but that wasn’t mentioned at all in the part.

14

Are all congregations equal?

by kzjw in

i've not posted much, but as i've lurked here trying to find the answers about the wt lies, it only re-enforced my disdain for it's cult like properties.

i've read the horror stories of some who've been trapped in the "jw-multi gen" families trying to extricate themselves from the borg, and truly have empathy for "these ones".. i have also attended a couple of months worth of sun meetings with my wife (i listen to the talk, then walk during the wts) and as you've seen from previous posts, if the speaker lies, i will point it out to him after the meeting.

but yesterday in a conversation with my wife i shared with her what i read on jwd, compared to how her congregation operates.

Alexia

I only attended mostly African American congregations and though we had a lot of characters, the same crap of shunning, the way the DF are treated, and closed minded elders, PO who thought he was the be all end all, and gossiping hens is universal.

Congregation profile: The members in my congregation mostly had new cars well paying jobs (I think their incomes are higher than the average in their communities/neighborhoods), homeowners, took vacations every year and there was a mixture between dual income families and single income families. Wives got their hair done every week and were very well dressed. Weddings were elaborate and expensive, and offspring were spanked liberally.

If you were poor, a single parent, husband who his not in the Borg, had more then two children or all over the above, you were left-out, didn’t get invited to “gatherings” (that very often included a lot of wine and beer) and the only gathering they were able to attend was the annual congregation picnic.

12

How was marriage viewed in your congregation?

by Alexia in

i ask because i see a lot of posts here about how the borg discourages marriage.

my experience is quite the opposite.

young people were pressured into getting married the minute someone from the cong.

Alexia

I ask because I see a lot of posts here about how the Borg discourages marriage. My experience is quite the opposite. Young people were pressured into getting married the minute someone from the cong. (more than likely an elder or gossiping “sister”) saw two members of the opposite alone in public together. Those who were in their late teens and early 20’s were in a hurry to marry. My guess is because of the strict rules about sex so we horny young folk wanted to marry to avoid trouble. Add to this, dates, etc had to be chaperoned. How are you supposed to have intimate conversations about your lives with others hanging around all the time?? Of course this all was a recipe for disastrous marriages. When I was dating this one guy, I was too young to be dating someone 12 years my senior. Despite concerns from some members of the congregations, elders kept pressuring us into setting a date because we don’t want to look bad. We only dated for a year before we got married.

There were a lot of concerns about the guy I married, but no on bothered to pull me aside and tell me about them. I didn’t find out about this “talk” until after we were married.

You would think for a decision so permanent according to the Borg. they wouldn’t pressure a 19/20 year old into marriage.

Thoughts? How was marriage viewed in your congregation?

45

The Most Tasteless Awake Cover ?? - Feb 8th 2003

by BluesBrother in

this magazine was disturbing to me at the time, but i lost track of it and only recently found it .

this is exactly as it was printed, no photo shop, i am not that clever.. it is credited to a newsagency, jan banning , panos pictures - so i do believe that she was a real child prostitute .

there is something that gets to me even now about this picture.

Alexia

The worst one was the abortion article (1993?) “Making and Taking of a Life” I think it was called. I don’t have access to a photo of it, but I thought it was really disgusting and sad.

51

Elder in my old hall is DFed wow!

by Alexia in

i ran into an old friend spontaneously over the weekend.

(one of the few jws i actually considered a friend back in the day).

we were briefly catching up and she mentioned an elder in my old hall is now dfed.

Alexia

I think there were some anger and a “bad attitude” at the meeting. My guess is the elders probably told him he should have called the cops (eye roll). This was clearly not the situation to wait around, look for a phone (if he didn’t have a cell in his pocket) and wait for the police to show up. The elder is former black belt so I guess that helped with the a$$ beating.

49

Do JWs really believe the end is near?

by keyser soze in

or do they merely pay lip service to the idea?

i have no doubt that some of them sincerely believe.

but when i was a kid, growing up in the '80s, i didn't know of a single witness, myself included, who didn't believe the end was close.

Alexia

I believed it was right around the corner. World events: 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake (I was in the middle of it) gulf war #1, Berlin Wall, first attacks on the WTS, Oklahoma City bombing, Rwanda, Columbine, and eventually 911 had me thinking we were right on the edge of it. As I became a teen (when most of the events I listed happened) was even more fearful because I wasn’t living my life like I thought I should.

My mother drilled into me that we are getting close. I was 10-11 during the ’89 earthquake and the “earthquakes in one place after another” scared the crap out of me.

Now my mother tells me that it’s the “last DAY” of the system. (sigh) With that said, she has saved for her retirement (on year 39 at her job), make sure she has substantial heath coverage when she retires, house is paid off, and takes vacations.

51

Elder in my old hall is DFed wow!

by Alexia in

i ran into an old friend spontaneously over the weekend.

(one of the few jws i actually considered a friend back in the day).

we were briefly catching up and she mentioned an elder in my old hall is now dfed.

Alexia

I ran into an old friend spontaneously over the weekend. (One of the few JWs I actually considered a friend back in the day). We were briefly catching up and she mentioned an elder in my old hall is now DFed. I’ve known this guy for over 15 years and he was straight as an arrow and I bothered to ask why.

His young daughter (20) was DFed, moved out when she was 17 had a baby and eventually married the guy (not a JW). Father and daughter stopped talking after she moved out. A “worldly” acquaintance of the elder who also knew the couple took him aside and told him that he suspects that his daughter is being physically abused buy this guy.

He decided pay them a surprise visit with the assumption that he was just going to talk to them or have the police over if he suspects abuse. He brought some magazines and publications with him. When he went up to the door, he heard screaming and sounds of physical struggle coming from the house. He knocked on the door and the husband answered with blood on his right hand and saw his daughter in the back with a bloody (broken) nose. The husband slammed the door in his face and told him to get the F out.

You can probably guess why the elder is DFed now.

So the husband ended up in the hospital with a broken jaw and cracked ribs. Elder briefly went to jail and was DF for kicking the crap out of that guy and “bringing reproach”.

Father and daughter are close again (she and the baby moved in with him) so there is a good ending at least.

44

did you have CO's with speical dietary requirements ??

by karter in

we hade one if you served him a meal with onions he would not eat it and said to one sister"don't you know i can't eat this!

" no she did'nt.

the latest co around here if you have them for a meal you get a list what they will not eat.

Alexia

I have specific food allergies and intolerances so there are foods I cannot eat at all and some I have to be very strict with: gluten, most other grains, soy, dairy and sugar. With that said, I would never expect anyone to cater to my difficult requirements on a regular basis. When asked, I let my host know what I can and cannot have and leave it at that if I am invited to a food related event.

The COs wives need to cook for themselves or bring something they can have.

18

Suicide story - How many times does this happen.

by Witness 007 in

a pioneer couple were obviously poor so they shoplifted some meat from the supermarket...they were caught and charged and being a small town everyone would know about it, so they killed themselves before the elders could organise a linch mob.

sad story.. another brother just drove off a cliff....brothers would later say how he must have felt guilty over something...idiots!

not nice....he may have been mentally ill or had other issues.. does this happen alot around the world with witnesses under so much pressure to be perfect?.

Alexia

A young woman in my congregation committed suicide a few years ago. No one knew what happened or what was going on in her life. People were stating that she should have been closer to Jehovah or some crap like that. (eye roll)

9

Looking for recent thread about "No personal study groups."

by Confession in

at least one contributor posted about this.

i believe he/she related how the part on the service meeting was covered, but if you know the specific quotes that would be great.

Alexia

All the “young people” (I hate the term now!) used to get together at a brothers or sister’s house and study the WT Saturday before the Sunday meeting. After, we would either have BBQ, potluck, ride bikes, play in the streets or go skating or bowling. Many of the older teens would stay out until 2:00AM. My mom didnt give me a curfew as long as I was out with the "friends" and was able to get up the next day. I admit it was really fun and it formed a closer bond with the other kids/teens w/o a bunch of manic elder oversight.

We did have a lot of questions about what we were reading that we didnt dare ask at the meetings.

Too bad that isnt allowed anymore.