startfragment.
during the appeal period of one week we sent the following letter to approximately 22 of our oldest and closest friends.
im including it here because it conveys how we feel at present, looking back over the half-century of our lives.. dear ____,.
Frank,
Thank you for sharing your story and the letter you sent. Reading it was very encouraging and you have probably helped many more people than you will every know by posting here on JWN. I admire your courage and faith to leave that cult-organization ran by the Watchtower Society.
All the best to you and your wife,
Trebor
but i don't write this for sympathy.
actually, i just thought you all would like to hear how i am doing, esp with a little space now between me and the borg.
(its been 3 years).
Hey Jeff,
I don't post often, but do read much...I enjoy your posts. Please know you are not alone, I myself have and have had many of the feelings and experiences that you releated in your post.
The damage done by the Wacthtower Society is incredible, but your (our) testimony to surviving past it proves we're stronger than the cult, and everything will be alright. Give yourself time to continuing growing and adjusting, both in strength and in wisdom.
-Trebor
who i am is inconsequential.
it's safe to say, however, that i am between a rock and a hard place.
or perhaps...a watchtower and a hard place, more accurately.. i was raised a jw--mom got baptized same day i turned 4 (in 1986), alleged that 'satan got to' me because i wanted to do fun stuff on my birthday rather than go to the convention to see her get baptized.
sd-7, thanks for sharing your story and welcome.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bco8bepgzi0.
Absolutely, positively love old video games. Next to my XBOX 360 and PS2 is a PC containing emulation of:
Atari 2600, 5200, 7800, 8-bit Computer line.
C64/128 and Amiga
NES, SNES, N64
SMS, Genesis (32x/CD)
Vectrex
M.A.M.E. for running Arcade games ranging from the mid 1970's thru 2000's.
...plus a bunch of other system/computers...Including old school Coleco Table-top and Nintendo Game-n-Watch.
I also have an HotRodSE Controller, an Atari 2600 controller via USB Adapter, NES controller via USB adapter, and a PS2-3/XBOX (360) type controller all connected to my computer.
For those interested in old school Atari gaming...New games are still being developed for all systems. A great site to visit is AtariAge. A great community and very friendly people frequent...Myself included
-Trebor
i had a huge light bulb on moment as i wasy in therapy dealing with a nasty anxiety disorder for many years and having a huge trigger in my life finally silenced.
it was almost the last thing that i thought i would end up doing expecially if you asked my wife and myself even a year before our decision to " live " thats how i view it not decision to leave...........it was a decision to live.. .
my therapist psychiatrist asked me who are you?
"I think there are 2 types of Aha moments: Intellectual and emotional."
Great point, Jeff!
Intellectual Point:
-Organ Transplants = Conscience choice --> Cannibalistic --> Conscience choice
Reseraching blood fraction brought me to the above flip-flop in doctrine. Following that I found the UN assoication and then the 607 lie. But it was really over intellectually for me once I saw the Organ Transplant flip-flop.
Emotional Point:
Shortly after the Intellectual point, finding out that the Watchtower taught that a woman is guilty of fornication and basically better off dead if she did not scream out when being raped really hurt me...I literally cried. I could not believe I would ever and have ever supported an organization that ever taught such a belief.
-Trebor
for me it was when my elder dad put brusies on my arm, drug me down the hallway making me hit my head and broke my finger which resulted in surgery...and then he blamed it all on me!!!!
made me go to the meeting with my cast all druged up on pain killers and tell everyone that asked me what happened that it was an accident.
f***ing loser!!!!!
Women are fornicators and better off dead if they do not cry out when being raped.
It ranks pretty high...
Knowing that was a stance in any organization is proof they are not "God's chosen organization".
-trebor
i studied with the witnesses when i was in high school, 1984 my father didn't care at all but my mother was against it.
about a 4 month book study with the paradise book.
we met at a nearby jw's house once a week for a couple of hours.. since i was only exposed to the teachings and the very kind people for a short time i have very good memories of my experience with book study and the jw's.. i'm alone and lonely and they knock and i talk.
Hey Jim,
I think he is referring to "You Can Live Forever In A Paradise On Earth" book.
-trebor
i studied with the witnesses when i was in high school, 1984 my father didn't care at all but my mother was against it.
about a 4 month book study with the paradise book.
we met at a nearby jw's house once a week for a couple of hours.. since i was only exposed to the teachings and the very kind people for a short time i have very good memories of my experience with book study and the jw's.. i'm alone and lonely and they knock and i talk.
Welcome, ryan12.
"I never believed in the trinity even as a child and the resurrection always made sense to me even as a child. I believe in one God, God. One not three. So there is some common ground with the witnesses."
You also have something in common with other religions such as Christadelphians and House of Yahweh.
http://www.christadelphia.org/
http://www.yahweh.com/
They believe the same as you and the Jehovah's Witnesses.
-trebor
i have a problem.
i knew this would come up but what has me questioning myself is where some of my resistance is coming from.. my wife and i have a baby on the way in nov. (a little girl) anyway my mom immediately started applying pressure to me to go back to meeting and of course to attend the convention.
that is not the surprise.
Absolutely, not....
If you go now...what happens when she next asks for your wife and soon to be born daughter to go?
Where/when do you draw the line?
One of the reasons I disassocated myself, and not simply fade or be inactive was I refused to play the game or/and expose my (future) children to the organization.
Think it through to its logical conclusion...
What will you tell your children, if/when they ask you why you kept following something you know to be wrong...To please grandma (?) Therefore, when one of your family members does something wrong (I.E. daughter) for family or someone they view like family and you later find out they did this to please another person, what do you do at that point?
Should the example shown teach your family that you do things for other people/family even if you believe and know it's wrong? I couldn't look myself in the mirror doing that.
Just my two cents...Once I found out how wrong and corrupt the organization is I refused to support it any further.
-trebor
the july 2009 "our kingdom ministry" contains the following article:.
a circuit assembly to help us safeguard our spirituality.
what is one provision from jehovah to help us fulfil our commission to spread the good news?.
Thank you for this information, LUKEWARM.
Any pdf(s) available for the above?
Thanks!
-trebor
