Posts by Morbidzbaby

34

Did your spirituality improve after confessing to wrongdoing?

by jwfacts in

i was reading this thread, http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/members/private/220730/1/had-my-jc-today-oh-sugar, and morbidzbaby mentioned their husband confessed to uncleaness because he did not feel he was getting blessed by jehovah.

however, blessings did not increase after the confession.. it made me wonder about the whole idea of confessing so that you do not loose jehovah's blessing.

when i was in bethel i confessed about a couple of menial things.

Morbidzbaby

LOL @ DonutZ!

WTWizard, I find it funny that your guilt involved those Christmas lights...yet this recent Christmas, your comments on the decorating were very in-depth lol. Funny how things change, isn't it?

As for jwfacts' topic, within myself I always thought that certain "sins" weren't necessary to confess. Sins where you weren't hurting anyone else, only yourself, could be brought to Jehovah himself (who I questioned the existance of anyway, but still cried and prayed to once in a great while just in case). Sins involving someone else...it depends on if they would be hurt by it or if they saw it as a sin at all.

For instance: My last JC, I confessed to the elders. At the time that I confessed, I felt it might hold me back spiritually because I was trying to strengthen myself. It took way too long to set up the JC and I ended up coming back here in the interim. So when the JC finally happened, I really didn't feel sorry or guilty. When I left at the end of it, I didn't feel any weight lifted or an improvement in my spirituality. I was just relieved it was FINALLY DONE after so many months of waiting!

So, no, my spirituality didn't improve...Actually, it didn't ANY time I had to be in a JC (I've had 3). I walked out of there feeling no different, thinking no differently than I did before. Just glad I got through them unscathed at the time.

16

Going to Apostate Church

by DilemmaGF in

how many of you had gone visiting any apostate church when you were still in?

what was your feeling?

my bf went to my church with me once, i wonder how he felt....

Morbidzbaby

Usually only for weddings or funerals... Pre-marriage, I went to the wedding of a friend of mine in a big beautiful old church. I always went by it as a kid living in the city, but had never been inside. Whenever the door opened, I'd get scared of what might come out LOL. When I went to her wedding, though, I was surprised at how GORGEOUS is was inside! Not dark and dank like I thought it would be. Bright, high ceilings, beautiful paintings and sculptures, amazing stained glass art... I think it's funny how the JW's always said that a church having "images" was wrong because they "worshipped them". I never once saw anyone worshipping them at all. I saw them as a reminder...an embodiment of what the people believed. Something tangible that they could see and touch. My parents didn't go in...they met us all at the reception. They did this with family weddings, too. Wouldn't go into the church, but showed up to eat the food. I hated that and always thought it was so hypocritical.

For funerals, my mother didn't go into the church, but it was dad's family so he went (he wasn't a JW at the time). The last family funeral, my parents went to the wake, but not the funeral. I went to both. The church service was beautiful, and since my parents weren't there, I felt free to actually take part in a way. My dad's family is Catholic, so I did the standing and kneeling, the Lord's Prayer, etc out of respect for my family, particularly my deceased aunt and what she believed. I wasn't going to stand there all obstinate like "I'm an Atheist, I'm not participating, humph!!". I enjoyed smelling the incense, hearing the hymns sung, and seeing the ancient rites performed that are deeply rooted in my own present belief system.

However, I thought the Holy Water bowl that was nailed to the door was an ashtray... I leaned over to my friend who was there with me for support and said "I didn't think they allowed smoking in church". She looked at me and said "What do you mean?" so I pointed at the tray. She almost fell out of the pew laughing. She hissed "That's not an ashtray, it's for the Holy Water, MORON!!" LMAO So I whispered loudly (I tend to be loud without realizing it) "It's not my fault I was raised in a CULT!!"

18

Another Jaw Dropping, Hilarious Awake Mag.

by metatron in

jw
friends

Morbidzbaby

LMAO @ 3rdgen....I friggin' SNORTED reading that!

The levels of ridiculousness are reaching new heights. Thing is, they need to put things in the Awake that might be remotely interesting to someone out in Field Circus in order to be able to sneak in the Watchtower as the "companion magazine"...but they don't realize that the vast majority of people can find all their information WITH accurate quotes IN CONTEXT right on the good ol' internet. Hell, the local Borders bookstore went out of business a couple of months ago because, quite simply, people don't really NEED printed books as much anymore. They can get their information in downloadable formats for their Kindle, Nook, or Smart Phone. If someone Fancies a Fungus, all they have to do is google it and everything they ever wanted to know about mushrooms (psychadelic, button, porcini, or otherwise) or any other fungus (VD). These dumbed-down articles are really grasping at straws. At least writers in the old days SOUNDED educated, even if they were only shoveling bullshit.

29

Open Letter from the Children of Jehovahs Witnesses to the Governing Body of Jehovahs Witnesses

by sizemik in

fyi from jw news .

also published here here and here .

an open letter from the children of jehovahs witnesses.

Morbidzbaby

Added it to my blog, along with Steve Unthank's article... Also shared it on Facebook.

Thanks for getting this back up, sizemik!

34

Just tired of the label "Apostate".

by rjl15225 in

jw
friends

bare with me on this post.

i just need to get it off my chest!.

i find it interesting that in so many threads here in this forum and in others, to find the reference to apostates.

Morbidzbaby

The word apostate means anyone who departs from a party, cause, or religion. In other words, if a person decides they're no longer going to affiliate themselves with PETA, they're an "apostate" of that cause. It's only negative meaning comes from the so-called "power" the Watchtower gives the word.

I am proud to be called an apostate...it means I no longer believe the lies I was told.

15

5 years, Turning 1000

by baltar447 in

jw
friends

i didn't want to waste post # 1,000 on arguing with someone, so i just wanted to celebrate my five years on jwn and two years of active posting.

in that time, i've gone from being a believer to fading hard core and taking my wife and kids with me.

i credit this site with being instrumental in our leaving.

Morbidzbaby

Congrats to you!!

And you've thoroughly embarrassed me...I've been here almost 2 years with over 1000 posts...yeah...I talk too much...

2

From the inside...

by OneDayillBeFree in

jw
friends

it all looks so empty and meaningless, useless and pointless!

the preaching .

the hours.

Morbidzbaby

Actually, this is a list you should keep, in my opinion. It's a list which will affirm the resolve to leave when the time comes. Sometimes those who are newly out get thoughts of "what if they were right?" or "what if it's the Truth?"... Reading down a list of affirmations as to WHY the answers to these questions are a resounding "They weren't!" and "It's not!".

It's also helpful to those who are perusing this site looking for answers to see the list of their life all broken down like that. When you really look at it, what's the point of it all?

28

Today I was told I've been reported to authorities for elder abuse!

by 3rdgen in

jw
friends

this is a very long story-probably requires at least 2 threads, but i'll try:.

my 93 yr. old widowed destitute mother has dementia.

i am her only child.

Morbidzbaby

I agree, Honesty... Something of that magnitude should have been stated in a certified letter with a copy of the bill for services rendered...possibly even a breakdown of what is being paid for. It doesn't seem right to me.

3rdgen, I worked in a nursing home with residents suffering from dementia and I KNOW how they can be. They honestly think YOU did something you are completely innocent of. I had one resident accuse me and one of the nurses of throwing her medication on the floor, kicking it under the bed, and laughing in her face! She also accused me of withholding food from her...I brought her breakfast, got her tray set up, made sure she was awake and sitting up, pulled the table over to her, and she started eating. I came back a few minutes later, she was still eating. 10 minutes went by, and I went in and she was laying down. I asked if she was all done and she said she was full. I took her tray away. Half hour later, she's down at the nurses station raising holy hell because I never brought her breakfast! She even called her daughter in the middle of the night to say we were all starving her (she was a big woman...no way she was starving lol). But this is the kind of thing that goes on. Chances are good your mom actually THINKS you stole from her...and it's not a reflection on you or anything you did or said...it's dementia. Unfortunately, she's telling other people and instead of those people realizing she's not all there and that not everything she says can be trusted, they're being quick to jump on you and assume the worst.

I'm really sorry you're having to deal with all of this. The letter from Social Security should show the authorities that they cut her benefits because she was reported as "living at home" when she wasn't. Somewhere along the line, something got screwed up. That right there is enough to show you didn't steal or embezzle anything because there wasn't anything to steal or embezzle! I don't know if the crackpot cult will come into play when it comes to telling them what happened to her assets, but it might be worth a try. Hell, if you and your husband WERE stealing and embezzling, you'd think you'd be in a better financial situation... They will see all of this and you will be exhonerated...IF this isn't just some scheme by the nursing home to get you to pay them money they've already been paid...for you to only get an email about this...I dunno, it really smells rotten to me. It violates HIPAA, for one thing... You should make sure you save it because whoever sent that is subject to a hefty fine for that. Things like that aren't done through email or over the phone. That's something that should be sent certified/registered OR done in person so that they KNOW it's you they are talking to. Please keep all of this in mind as you go through this. And keep your chin up. We're all here for you!

(((((3rdgen)))))

26

My grandmother has died - All I am thinking about is the JW funeral...

by exjehovah in

jw
friends

my jw grandmother passed away last night after a long battle with alzhemers disease.

she suffered a lot at the end of her life, a shell of who she ounce was, so i am happy she is at peace.

as i mentioned my brother died a short three months ago.

Morbidzbaby

I'm very sorry for your loss. And you are correct that she is now at peace. I took care of patients with Alzheimer's in all stages...it isn't easy to watch them decline.

As for the Kingdom Hall... If there isn't an alternative, I personally would not attend. I would simply memorialize her in my own way, my own ceremony with close friends. Plant a rose bush in her memory or something similar. You know they're going to spend all of 5 minutes talking about her and her "service to Jehovah" and "faithfulness". The rest will be an infomercial you can't escape from...much like going to those timeshare meetings where you're promised a free TV, but you have to sit through the presentation. So basically, in my opinion, you'd be travelling 3 hours one way to be shunned and treated like crap and to listen to some elder take only 5 minutes to tell you stuff you already know about your grandmother and then wax poetic about the Watchtower Society. It's really not a funeral service and in no way does it honor her in and of itself, so I personally don't think it would honor her for you to be there. Would she, in her normal state of mind, want you to be uncomfortable and be made to feel unworthy?

This is simply my opinion. I have a friend whose grandfather passed away and the family wouldn't allow her, her sisters, or her mother to attend the funeral. Her mother was crushed because she had never done anything to her father to deserve that treatment. So I told them what I told you. Gather together, buy a nice plant or rose bush, have a memorial ceremony yourself where you say a few words about the deceased, then plant the bush or plant (or keep it alive until Spring, if you're in colder weather). Say goodbye and memorialize her in YOUR way. To hell with the JW's and the "way they do things".

34

What was the first thing you did...

by OneDayillBeFree in

jw
friends

when you left the man-made organization currently known as the wtbts??.

and for those still "in" but mentally "out" what have you started doing thats against the silly, stupid and non-scriptural watchtower policy/law/rule??.

i know the question has been made before on another thread but i couldn't find it and also there's been quite some growth in new ones here to jwn, so just wanted to see if we could all share some lovely/funny/random experiences.

Morbidzbaby

~Smoked Weed

~Got hammered

~Got drilled (heh...see what I did there?)

~Tore my No Blood card into itsy bitsy pieces

~Celebrated someone's birthday

~Bought scratch off tickets

~Registered to vote