just a couple of quick questions, the first directed at exjws - could you ever see any reason for you to return to the organisation?
what would have to happen for you to return?
under what circumstances would you ever go back?
Just a couple of quick questions, the first directed at exJWs - could you ever see any reason for you to return to the organisation? What would have to happen for you to return? Under what circumstances would you ever go back?
And for current JWs - could you ever see any reason for you to leave the organisation and what would have to happen within the society that would cause you to leave? At what point would you say - no more?
for me i think it was the sunday meeting.. just wanting to stay home and sleep in.. but i think the watchtower study was the hardest to sit threw... you had to have it studied before hand.. and highlighted.. then sit there and listen to it all over again..
Which meeting was the hardest for me to attend? That is easy - the very last meeting I ever attended was by far the most difficult. I sat there surrounded by people, most of them I considered to be friends, and I knew that this would be the last time I would be amongst them. I knew that as soon as my letter of disassociation became common knowledge I would lose all of them. And I was right. I hardly listened to a word that evening, just spent my time glancing around at people who I knew would alienate me. It was very sad but definitely the right decision for me.
can anyone out there ease my mind?
i am about to disassociate myself and feel so scared.
what if i'm making the wrong decision?
I disassociated last November and for me personally it was a huge relief. Leaving friends behind is very difficult, I lost every friend I had - but i felt that I could not carry on devoting my whole life to something that was making me miserable, and my children miserable too. I am managing to build up a whole new group of friends, it's just a case of getting back out into the world and seeing whats out there. Its nice to have friends that like you for who you are, not just because you believe in the same things. I think the true sign of friendship is to accept people for who they are.
As for Satan having fair prey on you - my life has been nothing but brilliant since I left, I have so many good things to look forward to, new opportunities, things that I would have not dreamt of doing whilst being a Witness. Life has become really exciting and I am not afraid anymore.
I truly believe that a good and fair God would look into a persons heart, not at which church he attends.
reading mulan's thread about her daughter-in-law's experience in the bathroom, i couldn't help remembering what happened at one district convention in jacksonville.. a sister brought her little 2 year old son in to spank.
she whipped him for so long with a thick comb and everytime the little boy would cry she would spank him some more because he was crying.
i went back to my seat crying.
Reading these posts I remembered an incident in the kingdom hall, a young lad, only about 10 months old was upset and crying - his mother had left him on the lap of an elder and she was sitting elsewhere in the hall. The elders wife, instead of taking the child to its mother, put her hand over the little ones mouth to muffle the noise, nearly suffocating the poor thing. This went on for quite a while and they were hissing at him telling him to show more respect in Jehovahs house. What a way to treat a toddler who is just fed up and wants to go and play, not sit still and be silent for hours on end.
there is a possibility that during my time as a jw i had knocked on every door and rang every doorbell and met just about every person in my whole area, especially during my over zealous pioneer episodes.
now that i have left i have the dilemma of how to show everyone i'm normal again!
it would be nice to walk down the street without sensing that everyone is trying not to meet your glance (mild paranoia!).
I did make the effort once to go up to a woman in the street who I had called on previously and did my best to apologise - it actually turned into a good opportunity to discuss some of the reasons why I left, I reckon she still thought I was a bit crazy though! I just wonder how long it would take for me to go around knocking on every door and ringing every doorbell again this time with a slightly different message and more apologies! I bet they would all be a bit more inclined to listen this time!
there is a possibility that during my time as a jw i had knocked on every door and rang every doorbell and met just about every person in my whole area, especially during my over zealous pioneer episodes.
now that i have left i have the dilemma of how to show everyone i'm normal again!
it would be nice to walk down the street without sensing that everyone is trying not to meet your glance (mild paranoia!).
There is a possibility that during my time as a JW I had knocked on every door and rang every doorbell and met just about every person in my whole area, especially during my over zealous pioneer episodes. Now that I have left I have the dilemma of how to show everyone I'm normal again! It would be nice to walk down the street without sensing that everyone is trying not to meet your glance (mild paranoia!). I think that at times it is certainly a disadvantage to live in a smallish community where everyone knows your business and anonymity is virtually non-existant.
I'm just wondering how to make a statement to my small part of the world saying "I'M NORMAL AND NOT ONE OF THEM ANYMORE!" What do you reckon - small ad in the local paper
or full page ad in the local paper
or print a T-shirt with appropriate logo
or print flyers to put through peoples letterboxes
(perhaps with a copy of my DA letter!)
or all of the above - go for it big time
or none of the above - just get on with my life
What with JWs shunning me because I 'don't want to play with them anymore' and non-JWs shunning me because they think I am going to thrust a tract in their hand - the world could end up being a bit lonely. Still, I am trying to make a real effort to get out and get involved in new pursuits - I refuse to become a recluse. Hopefully I will end up with a whole new set of friends, genuine friends, friends that look far beyond your religion, friends that will STAY friends even if you don't happen to agree on certain things.
Have any of you had this particular problem - any suggestions on how I can assert my reclaimed identity and show everyone just WHO I AM and WHO I AM NOT! or should I just let things emerge over time?
i knew a presiding overseer in the congregation i attened who was possibly the strangest person i ever met.
he took a rigorous position toward the society's view on everything!!!
he was against many things ....including....science fiction, fantasy, the x-files, disneyland, cartoons and football.
I think the strangest one for me was a sister who was convinced that after Armageddon she would be given the ability to walk under water and look at all the fishes - without the need for diving equipment. She also loved telling people about the time she had an angel 'in disguise' come to her house once and gave her money when she was a bit broke. Strange woman - never could quite work her out!
has anybody seen the film deep impact?
it was about the possible destruction of the world by an asteroid and it came out at about the same time as the film armageddon.
the reason i ask is because this film had a very profound effect on me whilst i was still associating with the congregation.
Talking about those hideous pictures - I remember sitting down with the children once to discuss an Armageddon scene in the 'Paradise Lost' book, pretty gruesome stuff, peoples faces screwed up in pain, others falling into cracks in the earth, thugs with guns terrorising, angry skies and toppling skyscrapers. What a lovely book to read at bedtime - just the thing to make them sleep well! And to try and explain that Granny would be amongst those in the picture because she didn't go to meetings.... Let's just say they are happier with fairy stories now.
i understand you've met my other half - now it's my turn!
i feel as though i've known some of you for ages as we've been regular visitors to the board for a long, long time so it's nice to be able to dive in at long last and make contact!
life is good - the disassociation letters went out last november and things are unbelievably quiet, no phone calls, no visits and best of all - nobody rushing up to me in the street begging me to come back.
And was this car going at great speed!?!?!
What constantly amazes me is the sheer effort they put into ignoring you, I imagine they go away feeling very smug and self righteous. Little do they know that I am the happiest I think I have ever been right now, likely they are thinking that I am really suffering, really regretting my decision and trying to pluck up the courage to walk back into that hall and fall down on my knees and beg for THEIR forgiveness. Note - I say THEIR forgiveness and not Gods. A few years before I disassociated I had to sit through a judicial committee 'performance' and had a real insight into their way of thinking. (By the way - I had'nt done anything naughty - just dared to go to a meeting after being absent for 9 months - what a welcome back!!)
i understand you've met my other half - now it's my turn!
i feel as though i've known some of you for ages as we've been regular visitors to the board for a long, long time so it's nice to be able to dive in at long last and make contact!
life is good - the disassociation letters went out last november and things are unbelievably quiet, no phone calls, no visits and best of all - nobody rushing up to me in the street begging me to come back.
I understand you've met my other half - now it's my turn! I feel as though I've known some of you for ages as we've been regular visitors to the board for a long, long time so it's nice to be able to dive in at long last and make contact! Life is good - the disassociation letters went out last November and things are unbelievably quiet, no phone calls, no visits and best of all - nobody rushing up to me in the street begging me to come back. Shunning has really become an art form around here, isn't it amazing how a witness will suddenly become very interested in a shop window when they spot you coming down the street?! It's been a bit trying with at least 4 JW families living within 200 yards - it feels as though you are under a microscope all the time. Still - it's just a case of moving on now and leaving all that behind, fresh start and all that. Pleased to be here and look forward to having on-line arguments with the husband! Only joking - we tend to agree on most things fortunately! (including what a waste of time it was being a regular auxiliary pioneer - just think of all those shoes I wore out!)
