A week or two after I gave a talk at the district convention a circuit overseer counseled me for my hair being too short for a convention speaker. The C.O. said that he personally had no problem with the length of my hair, but was just passing along observations from the visiting Bethel speaker. That happened near the beginning of my awakening. In retrospect I think it accelerated my eventual exit. It made me realize how superficial the organization is.
no lies please
JoinedPosts by no lies please
-
150
Most Ridiculous Thing You've Ever Been Counseled On
by MrFreeze ini'm sure topics like this have already come up but they tend to get hilarious with the absolute absurdity that goes on in the kh.
i was once counseled for not shaving after two days.
i was also counseled by a sister for eating lucky charms cereal.
-
-
-
13
Did you ever play this legalistic JW game?
by no lies please ini remember years ago playing a game at gatherings wherein the object was to get into the new system.
they would hold up a nwt or a knowledge book (or similar)and after clearing their throat would state the name of the book that they were holding and state that if you read it and apply it you would get into the new system.
after which you were told whether or not you made it into the new system by precisely repeating what you had heard.
-
-
no lies please
Terry, were we at the same gatherings?! I remember playing both those games as well. Quite often we played all three at the same gathering.
-
13
Did you ever play this legalistic JW game?
by no lies please ini remember years ago playing a game at gatherings wherein the object was to get into the new system.
they would hold up a nwt or a knowledge book (or similar)and after clearing their throat would state the name of the book that they were holding and state that if you read it and apply it you would get into the new system.
after which you were told whether or not you made it into the new system by precisely repeating what you had heard.
-
-
no lies please
I remember years ago playing a game at gatherings wherein the object was to “get into the new system.” It involved having to repeat a phrase exactly as you heard it from the person who started the game. They would hold up a NWT or a “Knowledge” book (or similar)and after clearing their throat would state the name of the book that they were holding and state that ‘if you read it and apply it you would get into the new system.’ Then you would have to repeat what you heard. After which you were told whether or not you made it into the new system by precisely repeating what you had heard. A person who had never played didn’t know that the key was the act of clearing ones throat first, then repeating the phrase. It was easy to miss hearing that from the other person. ( I hope that made sense)
Anyway, it just occurred to me how that game was such a metaphor for life in the organization. In the game you could repeat the phrase exactly as you heard it, but if you didn’t clear your throat first, you didn’t make it. Everyone would have a big laugh over the fact that no matter how hard you tried you couldn’t make it into the new system because you missed the subtle act of throat clearing!
In JW life you could do everything right but you always had the impression that just one ‘little’ thing would keep you out of the new system. Even missing one meeting could make the difference in whether you make it.
Really it’s the perfect game for JW’s where everything is so legalistic. Did you ever play that game?
-
9
Why is it called "Full time service"?
by no lies please ini've often wondered this during the twenty something years that i pioneered.
but it doesn't add up, literally.
seventy hours a month is only about 17.5 hours a week.
-
-
no lies please
I casually brought this up once in a car group of fellow pioneers. I said that maybe the society would eventually start calling us part-time servants. Well, of course that didn't go over well. One person said "We're JW's 24 hours a day!" My response was this is true of all Witnesses not just pioneers. The logic didn't work. I think it made them not like me so much.
-
9
Why is it called "Full time service"?
by no lies please ini've often wondered this during the twenty something years that i pioneered.
but it doesn't add up, literally.
seventy hours a month is only about 17.5 hours a week.
-
-
no lies please
I've often wondered this during the twenty something years that I pioneered. But it doesn't add up, literally. Seventy hours a month is only about 17.5 hours a week. By what standard is that full time? Even when we had to get 90 hours, it just didn't add up. Does anyone know of a reason why the society refers to pioneering as full time? What am I missing? It seems dishonest. (By the way, after I woke up to the reality of the organization I went from a regular pioneer of 20+ yrs straight to zero hours in 2 months time.)
-
63
Non-practising homosexual JW's
by Quillsky inas i understand it, being gay is not a sin in the organization, only homosexual acts are sins.
i've never read anywhere that gay jw people are encouraged to "fix" their gayness and marry.. i've certainly known a fair number of confirmed bachelor types who live exemplary lives in the witness sense - one life-long bethelite i knew springs to mind - but are clearly (to me anyway) gay.
they've all been in the closet though.. i wonder if any jw has ever been out of the closet, but not disfellowshipped since they don't have sex?
-
-
no lies please
"I've never read anywhere that gay JW people are encouraged to "fix"their gayness and marry."
True, it's not stated directly. However, there have been a number of experiences published where individuals chose marriage as a way to get beyond being gay. It seems that the society endorses that course by publishing those experiences.
I can think of a couple of examples that lend to your question. I know of one witness male who was completely "out" and had no cong. responsibilities-ever. Another witness male who had a ton of responsibilities in the cong., circuit, district. He lost it all after confessing to a cuddling encounter with another male witness that he swears did not involve "porneia".
-
34
Elders who step down for little or no reason?
by Truthexplorer inwithin the past decade, two elders stepped down in my old congregation.
actually one was taken off for commiting adultery and therefore reproved, but the other one simply stepped down for no apparent reason.
also, in another congregation i used to attend for a short time, i was shocked to hear of another elder stepping down, again for no apparent reason.. i am wondering if there has been an increase in the number of elders stepping down for no obvious reason and to see if this is a worrying trend causing alarm for the society.. i am thinking the past 10 years, particularly with the internet being available to so many people around the world today; but have you experienced many elders stepping down in your congregation or past congregation?
-
-
no lies please
I decided to stop serving as an elder almost 2 years ago. I had a reason. I had discovered that the organization is not being led by God. But I refused to share this reason. I just said it was personal. So, it may have seemed to be for no apparent reason to them.
NLP
-
74
20/20
by SnakesInTheTower ini dont know if this has already been posted..but 20/20 has this as one of its segments tonight (fri 11/20/09 9pm cst..abc).
devout jehovah's witness is suspected of murdering his wife of 19 years in cold.
snakes (rich .
-
-
no lies please
I'm watching it right now. This a tragic story. Shockingly violent.
NLP
-
57
I'm new, let me introduce myself
by no lies please ini've been lurking here for many months.
i served as an elder for many years, and regular pioneer for much longer until recently.
i'm also a mts grad and was used extensively on the circuit and district level.
-
-
no lies please
Thanks everyone for your very encouraging words. It means a lot to know that I'm not in this alone, and that many of you have had similar experiences. It assures me that the future is bright. I just have to get through each of the difficult stages. I'll likely post more later as things move forward.
Wobble - Great point. An unofficial exit I think is what I prefer, which would still allow some access to friends. It depends on how hard the elders push as to whether I will submit my official exit letter that I wrote many months ago in case I needed it.
Open mind - It's just me, no wife and kids.
NLP
-
57
I'm new, let me introduce myself
by no lies please ini've been lurking here for many months.
i served as an elder for many years, and regular pioneer for much longer until recently.
i'm also a mts grad and was used extensively on the circuit and district level.
-
-
no lies please
I've been lurking here for many months. I served as an elder for many years, and regular pioneer for much longer until recently. I'm also a MTS grad and was used extensively on the circuit and district level. I know that the organization's claims to be directed by God are false. I relinquished these responsibilities because my conscience would not allow me to continue faking it. I thought that somehow I could gradually fade away. However, due to a recent turn of events, I may end up making an official exit. I kind of have a sick feeling in my stomach right now because I wasn't planning to leave right now. But the elders seem to have picked up on my mindset. They want to meet. I don't plan to. I'm not angry or bitter. I am disappointed and hurt. I feel like I'm grieving. All of my family are non-witnesses. I've spoken to them about what I'm going through. They are very supportive. Much of what I read here has already helped prepare me for this. However, any additional encouragement will help.
Much love and thanks to you all
NLP