You said at the bottom that you thought there would be some who wouldn't believe you. But I think this is the absolutely most truthful thing I have ever read. I experienced everything. All the things you point out so clearly were niggling thoughts that I couldn't put a name to.
What especially jumped out at me was how uncomfortable I used to get at bookstudy, studying about how the bible prophesied this organization. It always hit me as ridiculous and wrong; I never bought into that, but just brushed it aside as just another one of those things that would eventually change. But it always gave me a really icky feeling inside, how presumptuous it felt.
halcyon
JoinedPosts by halcyon
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81
What Gilead Taught ME
by AllTimeJeff inthey mean the leadership.
all of this is code for: one who is not ready to really study and accept how the leadership of jehovah's witnesses use the bible to their own self serving means.
but to be fair, jw's teach that most all of these characters refer to the leadership of jehovah's witnesses, the governing body.
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halcyon
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81
What Gilead Taught ME
by AllTimeJeff inthey mean the leadership.
all of this is code for: one who is not ready to really study and accept how the leadership of jehovah's witnesses use the bible to their own self serving means.
but to be fair, jw's teach that most all of these characters refer to the leadership of jehovah's witnesses, the governing body.
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halcyon
I really really want to read about how your time in Africa offended you.
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registering for Selective Service at age 18?
by halcyon inevery year this news item was published in the km.
but i've noticed that i've never heard of it anywhere else, ever.
how do most young men in the world know that they're supposed to do this?
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halcyon
Every year this news item was published in the KM. But I've noticed that I've never heard of it anywhere else, ever.
How do most young men in the world know that they're supposed to do this? Who tells them? -
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witnesses don't hear so good
by booby ini was talking to a witness today, and when talking about how quickly things can change.
i mentioned the cost of gas excuse for the book study change and how now it is gone so low and while sort of acknowleging it he immediately goes of on a tangent about the changes in the forestry sector.
since the slow downs etc.
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halcyon
At some point I remember someone saying that the Wt & Aw mags were always "ahead" of current events; and that if they ran an article about something, it would soon be in the rest of the news. For the longest time I wondered how the WTS could do that ... were they foretellers of events or something? ... and I kept my eye on the mag topics and compared them to the news for the longest time.
ANd then I finally realized that the mags had nothing at all to do with the news, ever. Well, maybe once. In all my years. -
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halcyon
check this link for others you may come across:
http://www3.sympatico.ca/n.rieck/docs/Internet-Acronyms.html -
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halcyon
It stands for Laughing Out Loud. You will see it on message boards everywhere.
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The most stupid thing a sister said to me
by Newborn inone of my "so called" closest sister friend in the congregation, said to me when we once had lunch that "if i was a man, i would want to have an affair with you"!!!
i just went numb...what a crazy thing to say.
i think she revealed her sick deep thoughts.
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halcyon
I've been told that same thing by my best friend, who's a lifetime Lutheran. ("Why aren't you a man? I'd date you!) She's not lesbian; I've pushed it just to see, and we're so open with each other about sexual things that if she had any tendencies that way at all, she'd feel comfortable telling me.
She's basically telling me that she loves my personality and my company so much that she wishes I had "the rest of the goods" so that she could marry "me" ... meaning, a man who she feels just as comfortable with and who makes her feel as happy as I make her.
My brother also used to say that if I wasn't his sister he would marry me. I've always taken it as a compliment that I have a good personality and am easy to be around.
It always does feel a little bit icky weird to hear it, though. -
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Just How Important is the CO Visit For The R&F?
by sacolton inco is visiting this week and they stress not to miss a meeting during his stay.
you'd think god himself was in town.
what's the big deal?
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halcyon
I grew up thinking COs were cool guys, but not gods. My whole family had that view. Then I got married and moved to another cong, and when the CO would visit I always enjoyed it because there was more energy at the meetings and the extra talks were pretty interesting. But over time as I grew older I started seeing how so many people elevated the CO to such a position of status that it seemed unbiblical! That's about the time when I went the opposite direction: where people signed up to work with him, I consciously did NOT. I stayed away from any gathering that fed him lunch or dinner. I made no special effort to get out in service any more than usual; in fact after awhile I would stay home that week. It just seemed so wrong to worship this man. I wanted no part in it.
And over time they got meaner and duller, as well. Many were downright apathetic if you caught them in their off-hours. Some were even apathetic in their talks and counsel! -
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Did you always know you might leave?
by jws inif you grew up a jw, did you always know you weren't going to be one when you grew up?
did you ever have that spark?
i don't think i always knew i wouldn't be one.
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halcyon
I always felt just like the original poster; I could have written exactly what they said. I also never thought I would leave.
But then I did. It took years, and I separated myself from friends for a few years before I actually quit going to meetings. I kinda shunned myself away from them, I guess.
What did it take? A lot of things, but mostly I fell in love with a worldly man and my heart couldn't accept that it was wrong, even though my head was screaming it to me every day. I wanted him to convert, but at the same time I started looking at my religion through the eyes of an outsider, and I was finally forced to look at it rather than bury my head in the sand and accept everything without thinking. And once I did that I could see how so many things just didn't make any sense.
And since honesty has always been important to me, and since I felt that I had learned to be manipulative and devious as a witness, and then I imagined standing before God and justifying why I had stayed a witness even though I didn't believe it, which made me a liar ... and that was the breaking point for me. -
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announcement at service meeting last night
by isaacaustin inlast nite at my parents service meeting an announcement was made regarding the new triple meeting.
they said that no one can go over their allotted time at all during the tms.
if the bell rings you are to stop immediately- not even finishing your sentence.
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halcyon
> So who is the bell person? is this another special privelege like the michrophone guy? one lucky guy gets to obssess about the time and not listen, just sits there waiting to ring the bell? It always seemed to be a precocious little kid, or some up-and-coming brother who was working toward microphone handler. NObody important (yet).