so we talked briefly by phone after she read this email/letter, and we talked about the masturbation point and married sex stuff....i asked what were the biblical reasons for fds teachings....she said for masturbation it was "deaden therefor your body members"....i said that did not mention masturbations....then it hit me.....crap....masturbation is how you deaden your body members!!
!......esp as a kid....your all excited (horny)....so how do you deaden it?....the answer is obvious.........oompa.
dear wife, please read all of this letter.
Before I quit being a JW, a friend of ours kept bringing up problems he found with the WT. At first I just dismissed him as misguided and confused. After awhile though, I realized that if he was right, the WT was really a very presumptuous organization. When I allowed myself to be open to that possibility, I was out in short order.
Who knows, maybe it will be that way with your wife, too. I hope so.
when i realized that 1975 was past, and the end appeared no closer than before.when a boe made up of men i had 'served' with for better than a decade were willing to write a letter of 'recommedation' that was character assassination at it's finest, and then defend the lies within with a straight face and no remorse.when i began to notice that many of the 'friends' seemed mentally unstable, in an organization that claimed it offered the greatest hope for mankind and the 'only true brotherhood' of supporter's available.when i saw a 'bible student' who was refused any assistance in her move to another congregation because of her sins before she was ever baptized [she never was in fact].when i was 'allowed' to conduct funerals and weddings that needed a minister, but for people who were too soiled in one way or another for the self-righteous upper-crust elders to touch.
yet they all attended and seemed to rejoice/mourn with all others in attendance.the day in the early 90's when i read a critique of jehovah's witnesses in which the author roundly condemned jw's eschatology regarding the '1914 generation', and in such article stated that they would have to renounce such foolish reasoning soon, before the end of the century to avoid being the 'relgious laughingstock' of the world.the day in 1995 when i saw his predictions come precisely true in the watchtower.when i watched and saw no other jw's bothered by this massive change in position.the months that i compiled a chart in which, using actuarial mortality figures, in which i applied the numbers, age-group by age-group to the 'annointed' from 1941 to 2002, and saw that it was empirically impossible for 8500 to still be alive.the month in which i read ray franz' books, and found myself aware that my life was about to change forever.october 2006, when after 3 years of 'fading' and staying out of sight, i submitted my letter of disassociation, and saw a look of happiness on the face of the friend-elder that took the document, though it meant the end of 20 years of personal friendship with him.the day my cousin - my best friend for 35 years - decided i was unworthy of even a reply to a simple email.the list is longer.
but so theraputic to put in words.
When a nice, young woman I met out in field service invited me into her home. She was a very enthusiastic Christian and we had a lovely conversation about the Bible. As I left, I realized that she was just like me, except that I had the one true religion, and hers was a lie from Satan.
When a CO gave a talk stating that JWs shouldn't expose themselves to any critique of the WT because it could cause them to leave the organization, implying "the truth" couldn't stand up to criticism.
When I saw what a nice person one of my coworkers was, but realized that Jehovah was probably going to kill her at Armageddon.
When I read Steven Hassan's book, "Combatting Cult Mind Control," and realized that the WT wasn't the only group who thought they had the corner on truth and everyone else was living in the dark.
When my then father-in-law said, " 'Where else would we go?' is not a reason to stay a JW!"
does anyone have the article that met the un obligations for being a ngo?.
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Thanks to everyone on this thread for their great info. I still can't believe the WT has gotten away with it. It shows just how much they control their followers access to information that most JWs know nothing of this.
i haven't really posted here much lately, i think it's because being old skool i cannot get used to the new format, but thought i'd check in.. i posted long and hard here the first half of last year about my alcoholism and attending aa, so thought i'd give a short update for anyone who remembers and gave me a lot of advice, which i am grateful for.. my last drink was may 30th, so i am now 8 months sober.
i hardly ever crave or even want a drink anymore, if i do it's when i think that maybe i can handle one or two on a night out or something.
but it soon goes, when my head kicks into gear and realise that i can't.. i used the aa alot in the early stages.
Congratulations!
As a former regular pioneer for four years, I would have to say field service.
so we talked briefly by phone after she read this email/letter, and we talked about the masturbation point and married sex stuff....i asked what were the biblical reasons for fds teachings....she said for masturbation it was "deaden therefor your body members"....i said that did not mention masturbations....then it hit me.....crap....masturbation is how you deaden your body members!!
!......esp as a kid....your all excited (horny)....so how do you deaden it?....the answer is obvious.........oompa.
dear wife, please read all of this letter.
These are great questions. I actually know a couple who left the WT because of questions like these. They couldn't help but notice that WT policies were a lot like the Pharisees that Jesus condemned. You might want to share with her some of the scriptures where Jesus criticized the Pharisees and all their petty little rules.
i have thought about this a lot recently.
as a jw, did/do i really have "beliefs"?.
how can a person have "beleifs" only to turn a page in a magazine - the same mag that tought them what they believe - and now completely change their "beliefs"?.
I think all JWs have their true beliefs, which vary from person to person. The WT tells them they must adopt a particular set of beliefs, which can and do change at the org's request. Since they use manipulative techniques on their followers, JWs think they believe the WT dogma.
When I was still a dub, we had a conversation in our fs car group one day about what we would believe if we were not JWs. The answer to that question is what individual JWs really believe, in my opinion. And I'm not talking about the WT implanted phobias such as 'I would probably be so lost that I would have become a drug addicit, prostitute, criminal, committed suicide,' etc. But instead I'm talking about what the individual really thinks makes sense in life.
When asked what their beliefs are, most JWs will say whatever the org currently teaches, and promptly change their "beliefs" as the org reveals "new light." That's why the question "if you weren't a JW what would you believe?" is important to ask.
i have not posted very often but, i do read the posts all the time.
my hubby was not a jw when we got married.
it has been 9 years of the borg.
While some cult members find happiness in their group, especially at first, it is just a matter of time before most become disillusioned. This is because, as Steven Hassan says, cults, ultimately, do not deliver on what they promise. Being there to help your loved one out when the time comes will be a gift for him.
Using every opportunity to point out how other cults (not JW) function and letting your JW recognize the same tactics in the organization can help speed the process along.
Best wishes to you on your efforts.
the wbts frightens me.
it is as though they have no weaknesses.
one might say that this is assurance that it is the true organization of god.
Personally, I'm not sure that it's in the best interest of most JW's for the WT to be brought down all of a sudden, even if it was possible. People who have devoted their lives to a cult need to choose to leave when they are ready, not be forced to by events. That's my opinion anyway. I would hate to see large numbers of distraut followers committing suicide or something as a result.
That having been said, I would love nothing more than for the WT to either change to the point that they are no longer abusing people, or dwindle away to nonexistance. I, too, detest that organization for all the pain and damage they have caused to their followers.
It seems to me that the best way to fight them is to educate the public about cults and how they work. Then followers of all groups, including JWs can see their way out as they are ready to, and hopefully find support and healing in the process. I believe, as Steven Hassan does, that this is a public health issue and should be addressed as such by society. For this education to be effective, it has to receive widespread attention from the public. I'm not sure what can make that happen, except another tragedy maybe. :-(
after taking tons of pics and then realizing i did not have memory card in the camera, i did not get many pics.
jada had a blast, had tons of kids there and i took a nerve pill that proved to be a bit too strong, (probably why i took all those pics with no memory card!!!).
the day brought back lots of memories of when my kids were little and we celebrated birthdays, before i became a jw, my oldest was 7 and my youngest was not born when i got baptised.. it's great fun and if you have reservations about celebrating i understand.
Purps, your grandbaby is just the cutest!!
Thanks for sharing the pics.
