I am so glad you addressed these points!! I have wondered about these things myself, about the questioning and the nonsense of being baptised into an organization. You wrote so well about these things! I think that they are manipulative tactics, and I hope you and your wife think twice about continuing your study with this couple! I'm sure they mean well. For one thing they were hooked into the JW religion themselves at one time and were so conditioned that they stopped thinking for themselves and let the WTBTS do their thinking for them. This happens to so many people in the Witness religion, and it's so sad! It makes me angry that people are taken into the JW religion like that. Now, after all the years that I have been out of that 'religion', I think some things about it are just plain silly! Again, I hope you and your think twice, very, very carefully about continuing a study with the Witnesses. Be cautious. It sounds as if you and your wife already are careful people about it. Good!!!
JoJoJones
JoinedPosts by JoJoJones
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51
Our "Bible Study" with the Jehovah's Witnesses
by garyneal inmy wife and i had a "bible study" with an elder and his wife yesterday (9-11-09) and the topic was marraige.
the book we covered was "keeping yourself in god's love.
" this particular "bible study" was based primarily on the topic we covered in the book and, of course, there was a lot of "hop scotching" of the bible.
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38
Dealing with a 'molested child' in a Judicial matter.
by dissed ini'm trying to respect the privacy of this individual, so forgive me if i'm a little too vague in my descriptions.. this for me, was the most emotional and difficult judicial matter that i have ever experienced.
its been many years since this happened and i'm still troubled, and troubled for this individual.. a young sister had committed fornication and i was chosen to sit on the judicial committee.. the case didn't make sense at first.
she was a faithful example in the congregation and was very much liked by all.
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JoJoJones
The things the WTBTS gets people to do! Please don't be so hard on yourself. Elders are conditioned to be kind of stony hearted. It's terrible, but it's not really their fault, I don't think. The WTBTS is responsible in the long run, not the elders. It is such a shame the decisions elders often make. It really sounds as if you and the other elders felt compassion for this girl and that you were all truly torn about the decision to make regarding her. Please forgive yourself. You wanted to do the right thing and were led to believe that disfellowshipping was the right thing to do, even though you and the other elders agonized over it. So, you all really, truly cared about this girl and wanted to do right by her. It is so sad that elders think disfellowhipping is the right thing to do, which causes people's lives to be destroyed. Shunning is a horrible thing, and it is definitely a sign of a cult. I would love for this cult to implode! All the lives that have been damaged. It is outrageous! Just please don't be so hard on yourself. You were caught up in a cult, and once people are hooked into a cult their thinking abilities are actually kind of warped I think, and it's not their fault!
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Dealing with a 'molested child' in a Judicial matter.
by dissed ini'm trying to respect the privacy of this individual, so forgive me if i'm a little too vague in my descriptions.. this for me, was the most emotional and difficult judicial matter that i have ever experienced.
its been many years since this happened and i'm still troubled, and troubled for this individual.. a young sister had committed fornication and i was chosen to sit on the judicial committee.. the case didn't make sense at first.
she was a faithful example in the congregation and was very much liked by all.
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JoJoJones
The things the WTBTS gets people to do! Please don't be so hard on yourself. Elders are conditioned to be kind of stony hearted. It's terrible, but it's not really their fault, I don't think. The WTBTS is responsible in the long run, not the elders. It is such a shame the decisions elders often make. It really sounds as if you and the other elders felt compassion for this girl and that you were all truly torn about the decision to make regarding her. Please forgive yourself. You wanted to do the right thing and were led to believe that disfellowshipping was the right thing to do, even though you and the other elders agonized over it. So, you all really, truly cared about this girl and wanted to do right by her. It is so sad that elders think disfellowhipping is the right thing to do, which causes people's lives to be destroyed. Shunning is a horrible thing, and it is definitely a sign of a cult. I would love for this cult to implode! All the lives that have been damaged. It is outrageous! Just please don't be so hard on yourself. You were caught up in a cult, and once people are hooked into a cult their thinking abilities are actually kind of warped I think, and it's not their fault!
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My Story
by ~Jen~ ini was raised a jw by very strict parents who, in my early teen years were physically and then later emotionally abusive all the while with my dad being and elder (and he still is).
i didn't want to be a jw then but my life was all about making my parents happy which started with me being baptized at 13. my parents constantly drilled into my head that most things were "bad" and i was "bad" i constantly did whatever i could to avoid being bad.
i had no life but then met a nice jw boy when i was 17. against my better judgement, i stayed with him and married him when i was 20. i didn't have a lot in common with him but he was really nice and was safe - he was a witness and even though i wanted to be in the world so bad i chose to be with him because he would keep me grounded, in the truth and away from where i really wanted to be because it was the right thing to do.. we were married for 7 years and have 3 sons.. for the past few years i've known that i did not want to be a jw even more and was sick of being fake.
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JoJoJones
Yes, welcome, Jen, and I hope you keep posting! Leaving the Jehovah's Witnesses religion was like taking in a great breath of fresh air. I have found "worldly" people to be mostly kind, caring, very decent people, who accept others unconditionally. I have such wonderful friends in the "world"! They are nothing like what the WTBTS tries to lead the Witnesses to believe. It truly is a manipulative religion, and I am so happy to be out of it. I feel bad about family members who are JWs and that I can't have normal, natural relationships with them. Though I feel sadness about that, I am certain that I made the right decision when I disassociated myself. Thanks for sharing your story, and please keep posting. I wish you and your children the best!
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JoJoJones
Hopscotch, I agree with you about these videos. I think they are manipulative (in a subtle kind of way) and, to me, anyway, kind of cheesy. Bleh. I have great-neices and nephews being raised in this cult. The oldest is 16 now. I hope that when he and the others graduate from high school they go to college and pursue their potentials. They are intelligent and talented young people. I hope they get out of this cult. I don't know if my 16 year old great-nephew is baptised or not. If he is and he wants to pursue higher education after completing high school, I hope elders and the congregation don't give him a hard time. He deserves to be who he is, not what the WTBTS dictates who and/or what he should be. That would be the pits! I want the best for all of them and for all of them to be happy, truly happy outside the cult!
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JW's Value Position & Appearances over Displaying God's Qualities
by flipper inbefore some of the long time members here say to me " tell us something we don't know flipper " - please hear me out on this one.
some of the newly exiting jw's may not know this info - but need to be made aware of it.. as a young man i was raised in the cult jehovah's witnesses and remained from birth until age 44 .
i was never, ever asked by my elder father in all those years the question, " son, how is your relationship with jehovah doing ?
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JoJoJones
I agree that this is a really good thread. I can recall feeling so depressed in this cult. It felt kind of like an exclusive country club sometimes. Getting the members to think that very menial tasks were "privileges" was such a maniipulative tactic. It makes me think of Tom Sawyer trying to get his friends to think whitewashing a fence was fun and cool. Sure, Tom. Sure, WTBTS. All it is is another pyramid company - - makes me think of Amway or some other companies like that. An orgainization that feeds off the 'rank and file' - - sad term, I think. Anyway, I am happier than I have ever been in my adult life, and that is largely because I am no longer a Jehovah's Witness. My ex became an elder, and it seems as if he was a warmer, kinder person before he became one. Something about rising up in the 'ranks' does something to a lot of JWs. Elders who seem pompous, arrogant, and full of themselves sure don't emanate true Christian love. They sure don't seem approachable, and I think elders should be personable people - - genuinely, sincerely so.
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Lawrence Hughes will not give up!
by Dogpatch inhe won't let the death of his daughter bethany over the blood transfusion issue be forgotten, least of all in the courts.
hi randy,.
attached is a copy of my application filed today at the supreme court of canada.
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JoJoJones
To me, the WTBTS's allowing transfusions of blood fractions but not whole blood seems kind of sly and sneaky. It's a face saving tactic - - of course, I emphasize that this is how I see it. Allowing fractions while not permitting whole blood has a legal motive to help the WTBTS cover themselves in the event of lawsuits over the blood issue. Lawsuits falling like avalanches!! Which the WTBTS deserves!
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Lawrence Hughes will not give up!
by Dogpatch inhe won't let the death of his daughter bethany over the blood transfusion issue be forgotten, least of all in the courts.
hi randy,.
attached is a copy of my application filed today at the supreme court of canada.
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JoJoJones
Yay, Lawrence, the more power to you!!!
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Jacksons birthday burial may make things harder on his children
by Dogpatch injacksons birthday burial a family issue.
michael jacksons aug. 29 burial points to a power shift within the jackson family that could ultimately affect jacksons three children.. up until recently, michaels mother katherine was making the major family decisions, but the decision to schedule the burial for jacksons birthday was largely joe jacksons.. katherine didnt want it (the burial) on his birthday, neither did rebbie (jacksons oldest sister), said a close family friend.
both katherine and rebbie jackson are jehovah's witnesses, and do not celebrate birthdays, but the religious reason isn't their only objection.. (katherine and rebbie jackson feared) it would turn the burial into a spectacle that will be hard for the kids to not be swept up in," the friend said.
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JoJoJones
This is all so sad and confusing the children! I'm so glad that Michael had Elizabeth Taylor in his life. She's a good person, and I'm glad she got Michael to celebrate Christmas at least once. I hope that she will be in Michael's children's lives, too. I feel so bad for them, as do so many other people. I wonder if they have to go out in service with their grandmother and how they like it and if they are given any choice about it. Those poor kids!
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Besty Unplugged - My Life Story Part III
by besty in<< part ii.
leaving home and losing my religion.
sometime in early 1986 my dad asked me the hitherto unspoken question i had been in patient dread of.
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JoJoJones
You're a very good writer! It's so interesting and fascinating to read your life story. I'm looking so forward to the next installment. Not to be a party pooper, but I just read a news article that says men who drink beer on a daily basis are at risk for certain kinds of cancers. My brother loves his beer, so I definitely passed that article on to him! Anyway, you're a gifted writer, and maybe you should consider writing a book about your life as other former Witnesses have.