when you where at the demon hall, did you ever get a talk about how easy it was to serve jehovah?.
i was having a conversation with a friend recently about this and i wrote down what is expected of a jehovah's witness;.
go to 4 meeting per week.
GM said, "....the next time you go to a meeting, listen to how many times they say from the platform things that you should be doing. You'll be surprised once you pay attention to it just how much pressure there actually is."
Try this "game" I like to play at the meetings to help fill the mind void. Compare how many times you hear "serve Jehovah" vs "worship Jehovah" at the meeting. The difference will amaze you!
HQ
if a paedophile commits a crime against a junior there has to be, according to the watchtower two witnesses for action to be taken.. if one party of a marriage commits adultery, does there have to be the same, (two witnesses) before action is taken?.
if not........................ kt.
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Big TEX, I just want you to know that your words are so profound to me and they ring so true. I too am a victim of being a Silent Lamb. For years I was sexually abused and made to feel that it was all my fault. I too was told to keep Quiet. It has affected my life profoundly to the point that, because of the pain that doesn’t seem to go away, I have, several times, wanted to commit suicide! Thankfully, professional therapy and this web site saved my life.
Thank you for opening up the eyes hopefully of some of the Luckers out there.
yes we saved and loaned and skrimped to build our own hall as we share with 6 other congs amd our area keeps growing bigger.
we even picked out the land....nice, perfect for a hall.
we had 147,000 so....then the advice comes from "above" that bethel advised us not to build since the bookstudy is cancelled our hall can take one more cong????
During these stressed out economic times there must be families in this Hall who are either suffering now or soon will be. Why could'nt the local Hall have set up an interest earning Trust Fund? Thereafter, they could of used a Board that would vote on loans or grants to local JW families in need - perhaps to the very same families who donated much of this money in the first place!
"inciting hatred on the basis of race, religion, gender, nationality or sexuality or other personal characteristic.".
is this seriously one of the forum's rules to follow?
how can that be so when this whole forum is based on inciting hatred towards one religion.....jehovah's witnesses.......wow this is funny!
WOW!!! You all are to be congratulated. I have never seen such well written and thought provoking threads in one place on JWD. If ever there was any doubt that we are a kind intelligent respectful group this Thread should immediate take care of that doubt. This Tread is indeed a KEEPER! If only I could show this to my in-deep JW wife, but alas, even though I know she loves me, she would "turn me in" if she knew I looked/posted here - such is the mind control of the JW world.
I can only speak for myself, but after a lifetime in "the Truth" and having myself witnessed firsthand how sexual abuse can be allowed and is permitted by Elders within the organization and, with the victims made to feel like the party at fault, many here have the right to feel bitter and angry.
This site has been such a help to me over the years. Thanks to all of you who post!!!!
I am not sure if readers will consider this molestation, but I sure do. My attractive and cunning ex-wife learned from her first JW marriage to seduce her man, then use real estate to build equity and, when the time was right, accuse him of unfaithfulness, get the elders to feel sorry for her as the victim and cash in. Of course stupid naive me doesn't understand this sort of thing, trusted my fellow lovely JW sister, "fell in love" and got married.
After 8 years of wealth accumulation she played her card and convinced two elders to come to our house. There she proceeded, with the help of her fool of a dad, to tell the elders of my infidelity. Suddenly, I was the accused and on the defensive, this after 8 years of what I thought was a loyal and happy marriage. So now, when I think of my sex with this woman, I can't help but feel molested as it was not love but planned manipulation for a premeditated goal of cashing in at the point of highest return. Believe it or not, when she left the marriage, she got ½ of everything I had, a huge chunk of cash and a letter from the BOE that she was a sister "in good standing"! And, the same thing happened in her first JW marriage (in that case the poor guy got DFed!).
As I think back on all this, the whole ruse of this marriage (from start to finish) would never have happened without the implicit aid and support of local elders in two different cities thousands of miles apart.
i know i have been through all those stages, i denied it, then i got angry, definitely sad.
months and months of this, and i still am in for my family and friends.. but sometimes i just feel stupid.
why did i ignore basic common sense for so long?
I too grew up in "the Truth" and wanted to please my parents. I was idealistic and always brushed away my doubts, thinking that so many seemingly "smart" people could not all be fooled. Then came my "fake" witness marriage and I saw the "dark side" of people and had to make the conscience decision to "dam the torpedoes" and go out and enjoy a REAL life. Now, here's where my real stupidity kicked in. After all that, when my mother was dying, I allowed my grief to let the witnesses and a loving new wife, to draw me back in.
HOWEVER, this time, as a full grown "experienced in life" man, I soon realized that I was in a shame of a faith. So, still believing in the Bible and God, I thought to myself "Well, I need to worship God from somewhere; I’ll try to do it "my own way" from the JW faith. This just does not work. Why? It's easy to understand when I compare my 25 years in the corporate world with the "JW world”. The WBT$ operates like a corporation under the guise of a religion, so worship is not the priority, service is. If you want to confirm this, play the game I play at the meetings. Count the number of times you hear "worship Jehovah" versus "serve Jehovah”. You will be amazed! This test shows the true motivation of the WBT$. For every 10 times you hear "serve" or “service” to Jehovah, you will hear "worship" once. In that environment you will never gain spiritual enrichment, just frustration.
Now I still attend for my wife, the amusement I gain by hearing the stupid comments and my new found skill of doing all I can to tell the GB where they can go by ignoring all their mind controlling techniques and being a secret force for good in working to prevent others from damaging their lives like I almost did to mine.
http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-he-bitterness25-2009may25,0,4544029.story.
bitterness as mental illness?bitter behavior is so common and deeply destructive that some psychiatrists are urging it be identified as a mental illness under the name post-traumatic embitterment disorder.by shari roan.
and, increasingly, psychiatrists know them.
Thanks. This is very interesting. Sign me up for treatment! The description is so accurate, as I know I suffer from this. It's been 18 years and I still want justice! I could use some help!
ok so the mate took good notes at the ca and here is the newest on "higher education:.
the usual bashing of motives: those who want great wealth, prestige and seek it in a college educationcollege graduates don't always get jobs in their fieldsdrugs, drinking and sex are "rampant" at collegesthose who want to "snatch us away" are near if we go to college (isa 54)if we seek a college education, we are not spiritual mindedthe most disturbing for me was this:.
those who choose college will not get blessings from jehovahand of course there was the obligatory interview with the college graduate who disdains the education whe received.. .
Here is another example. During my Hall's most recent CO visit I almost walked out when the CO stated "why attend college" when soon we will all be watching these centers for higher learning destroyed and in ruins. At the risk of giving away my identity, my profession causes me to work with colleges around the country and I find that the faculties, researchers and leaders at these institutions to be some of the most socially responsible and caring people I have ever had the pleasure working with.
This Thread is making me very angry
my experience?
in the past few years, i liked to research stuff on the internet for talks.
and for experiences, i used to google jw's to see news articles.. then one day last year, i saw this site, and it said that it discusses anything related to jw's.
I found this site by accident when I was looking on the Net for ways Witnesses might be able to contribute to Katrina victims. This led me to JWD where, like many have stated, I felt guilt and fear in looking at the threads. However, at the time, I was ripe for Questioning as my older age and painful past JW experiences were starting to affect me both mentally and emotionally. At the time I felt I was alone in all this only to find out through JWD that I was not alone and I was shocked to find so many who have been hurt so badly by the JW-cult like world. Yes, I, like most, was in total denial.
I lurked for years and in the process used the postings to heal. I read CofC and that, my friends, was the key turning point...that and the hypocricy of the WBS$ joining the UN as an NGO (I'll never forget going to the Book Study not all that long ago and covering the section on the UN as the Wild Beast, with the conductor and those in attendance spewing the Party Line all the while knowing that this site was in major discussion and revealing mode about the UN scandal. I thought to myself, "what a fool" the GB must think I am. I left the BS betrayed, angry and sick.)
Today, I remain undercover, going to meetings and keeping up Token Service for the sake of my "in deep" JW wife. I want to keep peace, so I must keep my involvement in JWD secret from her. I now am IN to live a life within the Org as an open non-conformist to send the message to the WBT$ that, not only do they not have my mind, they have someone IN who works within to prevent people from get sucked in. It's my way of saying "go pound sand!"
Not sure how long this can last before I am found out, as I am sure that the Org will be or is now very actively seeking ways to find out (in whatever non-devious or devious way they can) who is loyal to the Org and who is not. I guess I'll just have to cross that bridge when I get there. Meanwhile, I am enjoying this rebellious ride that I am now on and I appreciate all the years of good thought-provoking help this forum has provide me and the world. The GB must be running very scared about all this and I think their glory days are numbered.
(BTW: I do believe in God and that he has a purpose for mankind, just NOT through the WBT$!)
i was offered a journalism scholarship at ohio state ... mom made me turn it down cause "armageddonwas near"... ended up a janitor!
.
Well, yes and no. Probably more YES. First, as a "faithful" Jdub I did not pursue an education and, infact, was encouraged by my parents to quit high school, which, like a brainwashed fool, I did! Fortunately, I am smart and I was able to seek a unique high demand career through the help of some dear "worldly" friends (never in 50 years have I got any help from a JW) who saw my potencial. (BTW: I cannot id that career without risking revealing my identity, as I am still undercover) That said, my career has served me well for over the past 25 years.
HOWEVER, because of my money and a nice house, I have been duped (conned) several times by fellow witnesses through their clever manipulation of me ( And, I admit, I am trusting, nieve and idealistic - so I am an easy target), the manipulation of elders and the clever use of WBT$ rules. Case in point was my attractive "JW" ex-wife who originally saw my house and my horneyness as a way to enrich herself with my premarriage and in-marriage money and real estate equity leaving me pennyless, unscriptually free and out "on the street" without a home. I lost about $150,000, just in that one mess!
It took me 8 years (and therapy) to rebuild my life and, during that time, I must admit that my bitterness, along with continued JW-like thinking caused me to live for the day - wrongly thinking I was either doomed at "the Big A" or I would make it - either way I stupidly told myself that I should listen to those who are discouraging me from seeking a comfortable retirement. Now, as I look back I can see my peers happy as I start to struggle with the new found realization that I have no retirement or pension. I realize now that, had I had the right non-Jdub attitude earlier in my career, I would today be as happy, fulfilled and content as they are. I must now try to figure out a way to survive financially as I get older, after holding out for so long for a failed promise. Thanks so much WBT$ for leaving me with these messed up "golden years"!
