Mrs. Fiorini

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Posts by Mrs. Fiorini

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  38

  How many here went to pioneer school, and who were your instructors?

  by BonaFide in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i went in 1982, one of my instructors was bill baxter.

  i taught seven pioneer schools, but in another country.

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  Mrs. Fiorini

  I attended Pioneer school in 1982. The instructors were Neal Slough, who was truly a kind, decent and compassionate man, and Dick Rainer.
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  9

  My Birthday!

  by crapola in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  well, i've got a birthday coming up on saturday and i'm sure feeling old.

  what keeps you guys feeling young ?

  i'm at the age where you don't mind telling your age because you are glad you've made it this far.

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  Mrs. Fiorini

  There was a time when even 43 was pretty old in my book. Now I only look at it in the rear view mirror. I have tried to value my experience over my physical body, as a coping mechanism. Maybe it will work for you too. Either way, Happy Birthday!
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  25

  road to paradise (witness E-mail)

  by darth frosty in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  warning this is the worst witness e-mail i have ever read.

  if you suffer from gag reflex or have just eaten do not read.. .

  excellent analogy and reminder for all of us.... .

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  Mrs. Fiorini

  Inunya hit the nail on the head. The whole WT system is a reflection of lack of trust in God's love. As if a loving God would just let you fall into the gap instead of go into paradise because you got too tired! The ideas spewed from the WT are all about earning your way to salvation and living in constant fear of an angry God who is never satisfied. The real 'angry god' is the WT society.
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  16

  The Spanking Room

  by jamiebowers in

  1. watchtower
  2. child-abuse

  http://www.earnedmedia.org/wppg09161.htm

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  Mrs. Fiorini

  Wow. I'm sorry to hear all this. I guess I was lucky. I was never beaten by my JW mother. She spanked me on occasion, a practice that I, as an adult, do not condone. But it never rose to the level of child abuse. I didn't know of any JW kids in my congregation that were abused that way either. Many children, however, were spanked at meetings. They were usually taken to the bathroom, or the room in the back we called the second school. It is asking a lot for small children to sit still for two hours at a time. I'm sure it would reduce the number of spankings if they created a Sunday school type children's program for the little ones. Sadly, the WT has never been a very kid friendly organization. But physically abusive? Not any more than anywhere else from what I observed.
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  21

  Most JWs Don't Leave The "Truth" Even If They Recognize The Lie

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i believe that very few witnesses leave the organization when they just "know" things aren't right.

  it's too much for most people to deal with.

  they need time to assimilate what they're taking in.

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  Mrs. Fiorini

  For me there were several instances over the years that raised a question here or there, but nothing I couldn't shove under the rug to still convince myself it was the truth. That is, until I started talking to a brother that had been reading apostate literature. After several discussions, I remember saying to him, "The Watchtower either has 'the truth' and, therefore, is justified, or they are the most presumptuous organization I have ever known. I'm not sure which." It was only when I didn't just assume that the WT was right, but allowed myself to evaluate it with an unbiased mind, that it became obvious to me which of those two possibilities it really was. Once I realized it, I wondered how I ever could have believed that nonsense for so many years. This all occurred in a matter of weeks. That year I didn't celebrate Thanksgiving because I still thought it was wrong, but by the time Christmas came around, I was celebrating. It did help that I lived far away from my Witness family at the time, so I was more free to be myself. Also, being around several other JW's who were realizing the same thing helped.
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  18

  What is the financial cost to be one of Jehovah's Witnesses?

  by Thechickennest in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  has anyone ever figured out what the cost is to be an average active jw?

  i am thinking of the jw costume of clothes for the whole family & drycleaning.

  the four door sedans, the fuel, repairs, and auto cleaning up costs after running a shuttle service at least serveral times a week.

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  Mrs. Fiorini

  johnnyc, I am happy to share my experience of the JW views on higher education. When I was in high school and planning for my future, an elder in my congregation decided to 'help me out' by giving me a typed list referencing a selection of Watchtower and Awake articles discussing higher education. He titled it CVS for College and Vocational School. It was a number of years ago and I have long since thrown it away, but it was, not just one, but many articles on the subject. None of the articles spoke positively about schooling. They all gave varying reasons that a 'true Christian' would want to avoid taking any kind of schooling above and beyond what was required by law. Somewhat earlier, before I was in high school, I remember the trend was for many JW kids to even drop out of high school. The reasoning was, since we were so close to the end, it was just a waste of time and unnecessary exposure to 'bad associations' and they could better use the time in field service. I don't know what congregation you were in, but in my 20 or so years as a Witness, I have never known a single JW of high school or college age that did not know that choosing to go to college was pushing the limits of acceptable behavior.
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  30

  Married my partner...

  by writerpen in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  we just got back from san francisco where we were married last week.

  maybe some day gay couples won't have to travel 1,000 miles to get married, and their commitment of love will be recognized by society.

  there will be no need to use code - my friend, my roommate - at the office, with neighbors, or with family when speaking about the person with whom you live your life.

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  Mrs. Fiorini

  Congratulations!! I wish you and your new spouse a wonderful, happy life together.
• 
  17

  9 / 11

  by billie jean in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  firstly my thoughts are with anyone who lost loved ones in this terrible trajedy.

  the other point i wanted to make was i remember the witnesses here only seeming to be bothered about 'the brothers' in new york at this time.

  made me feel sick !

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  Mrs. Fiorini

  Even though it seems shocking that they would have this attitude, it shouldn't be. After all, they fully expect God to do much, much worse at any time. Their ideas of God and his plans for humanity make these terrorists and, for that matter, even Hitler, look like rank amateurs.
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  10

  looking for opinions....would this have ANY success?

  by The Oracle in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  looking to try something a little different with my ongoing campaigns to free minds from the wt.. .

  if this was sent to a few thousand jw's do you think any would respond?

  i'll check back in tonight and see if anyone has any thoughts on this.. .

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  Mrs. Fiorini

  Oracle and Mickey,

  I think those are both good approaches. It's true that many won't listen, but what of those who will? If you even help one person it will be worth it. One of the things that bothered me when I was in, was the idea that God would kill so many that I knew to be good, decent people. That was one of several things that always rolled around in the back of my mind as a problem and eventually helped me see my way out. I'm sure others feel the same.

  Several years before I left, I was approached by a former JW. He was a stranger to me, but I have often thought about him since I left the WT. He was not effective because he had such an arrogant and rude attitude, there was no way I would listen to anything he had to say, right or wrong. Of course, I now understand why he was so negative. It was, nevertheless, ineffective at the time. What I like about your approaches are that they are caring and humble. People are more likely to respond to that. Also, even if they don't listen now, you may be planting seeds for the future. I say go for it. And a variety of different approaches just means that you may appeal to different personalities. Good luck, and thanks for caring enough about others to try to reach out and help them.
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  14

  Further apostasy in the WT; Sept 29 - Oct 5 Study article dissected.

  by passwordprotected in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  sept29-oct5 "jehovah will not leave his loyal ones" name jehovah is used 21 times, jesus is mentioned 3 times.

  the fds is, of course, mentioned.

  the verses in revelation say that the lord (who is ruling as king) would bring to ruin those not fearing his name.

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  Mrs. Fiorini

  "When faced with trials or apostate ideas or when carrying out challenging assignments, God's loyal ones can be confident of Jehovah's guidance and support."
  
  Notice anything odd about that sentence? "God's loyal ones can be confident of Jehovah's guidance..." If Jehovah is God, and vice versa, why refer to them using two terms in the same sentence. Those loyal to God can expect Jehovah's guidance is what they're saying. Isn't the use of Jehovah redundant in that sentence? Did they have a 'Jehovah' quota to make up and threw it in there right at the end?

  The WT has always had a problem confusing what they call Jehovah's Organization (themselves) with Jehovah. I think it was a freudian slip.