it sounds great. when I became a witness, my parents were very upset but I was just told they were satans agents trying to get me to side with them. My parents said all they could to me to come back to them but I had to see things for my self. 5 years later I seen how right my parents really were about everything. ITs good you kept your letter neutral, she can't block anything out in her mind. YOu didn't mention religion, just the good times you've had. when my parents would write the good times we had and how much they missed being with me that always stuck with me and I would cry hard because I missed it too. My new witness friends at that time never showed me the love my parents and siblings did. IF anything, she will always treasure those memories of her family. But for as long as she is happy in the 'box' then she won't leave it. She has to figure things out for her self. When my parents told me what to do, I distanced myself further from them because I was taught and truly felt at the time that they were being controlled by satan. Once my husband and I started to see hypocrisy and things that weren't scripturally correct was when I started to think of what my family was telling me. I wasn't in contact with my family for a full year and they lived five minutes away. that year was when I started to see how the organization really was. I was a pioneer that year and my eyes were fully opened to what was going on 'behind the scenes'. ITs as if Jehovah wanted me to see what was going on. then, out of the blue, my mom wrote me a letter. told me she missed me and needed some help around the house and such. I went over, and I seen my dad and when I seen my mom we hugged and cried. I told the witness people I thought were my friends that my parents and I have rekindled our relationship. They were upset and said to becareful because its probably satan trying to trap me. That made me upset, and at the same time, I had a friend I knew for years ( a non witness) and she was praying that my family and I would speak. She was very happy to hear what was going on. soon after that my husband and I left the meetings and since then the elders never came to see why we stopped going. loving, arent' they? the best thing is to always show you you love her and always give her memories to think on.
keeshondgirl
JoinedPosts by keeshondgirl
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Sending Out a Letter to My JW Daughter - Give Me Your Thoughts Please
by flipper insome of you probably read my jw daughter's letter to mrs. flipper and me a few weeks ago where she tried explaining to mrs. flipper why she doesn't have anything to do with me ( says i talk negative towards the organization ) .
in that letter though she showed some flashes of her authentic, kind personality and told us she loves us.
but much of the letter was proselytizing to us about how bad the system is and how jeovah will bring a paradise, etc.
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I would like know how you first found this site, and what was your first experience on here like?
by BonaFide inmy 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.
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keeshondgirl
My husband and I were upset with how things were going on in our hall...hypocrisy, emphasis in climbling higher in the org. to recieve titles and so forth, so we stopped going for months. I decided to type in jw and see if anyone else felt like us. When I got on this site, I couldn't believe it. It is actually comforting to know that others feel the same way we do on certain issues and we no longer feel guilty for not going back to the hall. Its nice to know their are 'others' out there like us.
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The Brain of a Jehovah's Witness
by minimus ini have to wonder what actually is in their heads,.
i called a former elder who i like and who lives close to my mother and asked him to do me a favor.
her phone was off the hook for the entire day and i got worried that maybe she fell or something.
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keeshondgirl
My husband and I felt like we were always guilted into doing something...LIke they looked at your life, had to know what job you had, then decided if you should pioneer or live more simply. They were always on our back about doing more for them....they are kings of making people feel guilty. It just took time for us to admit that we were feeling guilty for everything we did or didn't do and just couldn't take it anymore. Now we feel free..."the truth will set you free", and there is no strain on our marriage. I was pushed and pushed to be a pioneer, then told to push my husband to get some title. My husband didn't want no title so I was always frustrated at him...once i realized what was happening I had to quit that place, and so did he.
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Reading is over-rated
by yadda yadda 2 inhave you ever seen people who just constantly read.
they read at every given opportunity, at the gym, on the bus and train, at the beach, all weekend, even while holidaying overseas they mostly just read.
you even see them going down the street holding a book while walking, like some kind of zombie.
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keeshondgirl
after my husband and I stopped attenting meetings, we got rid of all the jw books and magazines. there is nothing wrong with reading, just as long as you arent' letting someone elses thoughts control your own thinking and reasoning. I am enjoying reading novels, and anything that has different information for me to learn compared to the witness books printed.
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My letter to all the schools about the effects of JW teachings
by boyzone ini wrote this letter several months ago but didn't feel strong enough to deal with the jw flack it might cause.
now i'm feeling better and ready to let the professionals around me know just how insidious the jw teachings can be on susceptable young minds.
the forst 6 letters will go out to the high schools in my area.
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keeshondgirl
I think it is hard for people to understand the religion if they were never a part of it. But if they take it seriously then they can understand more of why witness kids are always on the outside, and don't participate in any school activities. I didn't grow up as a witness. I started taking an interest in it a year before I graduated. I was friends with a girl, whose dad was an elder, for many years. She would never get too close to me, but I liked her because we had similar interests. My parents would invite her over, but her parents would never allow it, and her parents wouldn't allow me to go to her house. Once i wanted to study the bible, things were different. When I got baptized she was more my friend then ever. Now that I don't attend meetings, I don't get my phone calls returned. Was she just a close friend because I became her religion, or does she actually like my company? Does she not want to talk to me beause of how she was brought up in thinking all people are bad that aren't active witnesses? I don't know. People I thought were my friends, and my husbands, do not talk to us since we stopped attending meetings. I was depressed for a while, because it was 5 years of my life. I made new friends there, or so I thought I did, and now they don't care if we disappear off the face of the earth. The organization seems too judgemental, and you have to be in it too see it. I am glad I woke up to see it. For like 2 years I was afraid to tell my husband how I felt about things. I didn't want to stumble him. But it turned out he felt the same way as me. I was a pioneer for a year and thats what opened my eyes to hypocrisy, and judging others for every little thing. Pioneer school was the last straw for me. I hated it sooo much. I wish I could erase my memory. Its all about how more special pioneers are compared to publishers. sickening. The information in the pioneer book is for no one else too see. ITs like high school all over agian. being accepted with what titles you have or how many return visits you have. We still hold strongly onto bible principles, but cannot out of good conscience step back in that k.hall. We stick to the bible and what it says, not the hundreds of books and magazines that are worshipped in the religion. When I became a witness, i was shunned by my parents. they said those people are controlling me. LIttle did I know that they were actually right. it took 5 years for my parents to speak to me. I was close to a neighbor, a non jw, and she said she was praying for me and my parents to communicate. She had other people praying too. within a week my parents and I were talking. I was sooo happy. I didn't even know she was praying about it. When I told her she was happy. I told witness 'friend' that my parents and I were talking again. I was still going to the k.hall but the doubts were coming on stronger by the day to get out of it.. this 'friend' said i should becareful that satan is letting us communicate, not god, well, that really upset me and I stopped going not long after that to the hall, and I am happy to say, my relationship with my parents is getting stronger by the day!!
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WTBTS: Do Not Mark Donations For Relief Efforts - Mark World Wide Work
by Honesty ini have just talked with the wtbts service department at 718-560-5000.. you can contribute for hurricane katrina relief efforts through your local kingdom hall and put your donation in the contribution box marked for the world wide work.
you may also send donations directly to the branch office... to the brooklyn address.
donations should be marked for the world wide work and not specificically reserved for relief efforts.
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keeshondgirl
I always wondered how there could be a deficit of $5,000 for a one day assembly. It cost that much to hold an assembly? religious organizations get money back from the government, do they not, at the end of the year? The society has huge branch buildings all over the world and can't give a penny to help their own people with housing or food or clothing. It's all about the new k.h. or new printing press...not about the people.
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I was counciled for putting in Pioneer hours and not officially "Pioneering"
by RubaDub ini didn't want to hijack the thread about people having to "wait" until the society approves their pioneer status.. i recall once an elder was shocked that i had done the 60 hours a couple of months but not officially on the pioneer list for the months.
i told him that i didn't need the title, that the purpose was to do the work, not get a title.. i then heard a long lecture about how that was not encouraging to others, etc, etc, etc.. he got rather annoyed when i asked him what the purpose of the preaching work is.
of course he said to spread the good news.
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keeshondgirl
the elders would start pushing for people to aux. pioneer a few months before the c.o. came for a visit. they would go around to everyone with a stack of the forms guilting you into doing it. there would be parts on how to take off work and stuff to do it. I knew the real reason...they wanted to look special and wanted the c.o. to say how many the congregation had as pioneers at the assembly so all people would know. so showy. it wasn't from the heart. one time, my husband and I were with a group that decided they needed to rent a tux and get something for breakfast, so we drove around in the car with them for like 2 hours, then they decided to witness at 2 houses so they could count all that time. what a joke!!!
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The Secret Pioneer School Manual
by WuzLovesDubs ini saw one up close and personal because the jw annointed sister who was studying with me, told me that if i looked up every scripture in her (illegally gotten before the school started) pioneer school book and cut it out of old green nwts and pasted them in the margins, it would make her a stronger pioneer and jehovah would reward me.
and in the process i would learn where things were in the bible.. gosh what an incredible honor i was blessed with!
you know i did it..i didnt know a damn thing.
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keeshondgirl
yea, the book isn't at all that special. My husband didn't understand why pioneers only get them when everyone is a servant of Jehovah and would all want to benefit and make more of the ministry. its like the pioneers hours and what they do with their time is more important then any one else. when i went to the school, i was up for hours doing all the homework and looking up the scriptures, then there were people in my congregation in that class who got other pioneers books from the previous year and got to copy all their information. nice. I guess since I didn't like to go to their pioneer get togethers and gossip about others and go to dunkin donuts and go shopping while out in service then I wasn't really 'accepted' as a pioneer yet. I still had some 'requirements' to fulfill to be part of their SPECIAL CLUB. when i got off the list the elders told me I should keep a high number of hours still and aux. pioneer and to encourage others to pioneer because of the great time i had. yea...such great time...actually if i didnt' pioneer my eyes never would have been opened to how naive i was and how phony everyone really is.
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If Jesus Was An Elder
by Mulan ini didn't write this poem, but think it is awesome.
a friend sent it to me yesterday.. if jesus was an elder.
if jesus was an elder, what would be his main concern?.
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keeshondgirl
great poem. I will see if i can print it or re type it and give it too my husband. he will like it. The titles are a big emphasis in our congregation. we stopped going for a few months now. I was a pioneer for a year, and boy were my eyes opened. IT's like once you have a title, you are to keep climbing higher like your climbing the corporate ladder in the business world. and then at the assemblies and conventions the only people worthy of giving a talk have a title and they have to announce the title and how long they've had that title. we were also tired of the way the pioneers and elders mapped out our life in their eyes, what we need to do to win their approval, not Jehovahs. they think these titles matter and will get them to the new world faster before anyone else, but they forget that Jehovah doesn't look at titles, but the heart. The title lovers will find out soon enough. We didnt' know there were that many other people who felt similar to us. this poem says it all...
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I was counciled for putting in Pioneer hours and not officially "Pioneering"
by RubaDub ini didn't want to hijack the thread about people having to "wait" until the society approves their pioneer status.. i recall once an elder was shocked that i had done the 60 hours a couple of months but not officially on the pioneer list for the months.
i told him that i didn't need the title, that the purpose was to do the work, not get a title.. i then heard a long lecture about how that was not encouraging to others, etc, etc, etc.. he got rather annoyed when i asked him what the purpose of the preaching work is.
of course he said to spread the good news.
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keeshondgirl
when i came a jw i loved the ministry. i loved talking to people about what i knew. i was being pushed into being a pioneer by the pioneers in my congregation. i was slowly being guilted into being one. an elder always was putting me down for not being a pioneer so i finally put the slip in. when i became one, that was the wake up year for me. i saw how hypocritical everyone was and having a title meant you were better than everyone. I hate titles. after the year was up, i no longer wanted to be one. my desire for the ministry was gone. i was told to tell everyone how great a time it was and push others to do it. well, i couldn't do that in good conscience. i stopped attending meetings, and so did my husband. they picked him apart because he wasn't reaching out like thier best buddies were. he never fit in with the elders and they always put him down. we had enough. no one comes to visit us, so the past five years the people i thoght were my friends aren't. people who aren't jw are nicer to us and care for us more than they ever do. my mother in law asks when we will come back, well, i think i have the perfect answer now...when jehovah takes over. I had enough of haughty men and people who don't practice what they preach. they always had a map on what my life should be like in their eyes. i have a lot of pets, and i wasn't living simple enough in their eyes and i was too get rid of my pets. way too judgemental. it's sad, because i know the truth is there but there is too much emphasis on titles. it's like once you have one title, you need to climb for a higher one, like you are climbing the corporate ladder in the business world. at the conventions and assemblies, the only people worthy to give talks are those with titles. and to make matters evern more showier they announce what title they have and how long theyve had it. sure, they don't wear preachers collars, but they wear the titles. Jehovah sees us equal in his eyes, he doesn't look at titles, I guess they are forgetting that. well, soon enough Jehovah will remind them of their place.