Posts by Juan Viejo2

38

What has or would motivate you to attend an Ex-JW meet up...

by Tuesday in

jw
friends

i just wanted to get a general consensus of what are the motivations to attend an ex-jw meet up.

if you've already attended one before, what motivated you the first time or each successive time?

if you've never attended an ex-jw meet up before what do you think could motivate you to attend one?.

Juan Viejo2

I've had mixed experiences attending a relatively nearby meetup group. I've also met a couple of people who were members of the group that my wife and I socialized with later on our own. They were close to our age and very friendly.

I found that there were three distinct types of attendees within the group I went to:

There are those who want someone to sit down with them and talk about surviving and adjusting after exiting the JWs.
There are others who want only to socialize and do not want to discuss anything to do with being a Witness.
There are some who have left and are looking for friends to date, roommates, or someone to support them financially.

In the groups that I attended there was a disportionate number of attendees who were LGBT. Not that I have any problems with LGBT individuals (I have family members who are so inclined), but they tended to become remote from the older straight members and avoided extended conversations away from their clique. Most of the time I found myself wandering around with a beer in my hand trying to join a conversation. I have not been to a local meetup lately, but it seems like the group has morphed into being more LGBT centric. In any case, there was never any real discussion of ex-JW issues or the latest events coming out of Patterson and Brooklyn.

I have attended a couple of other JW Meetup groups while I was traveling, but found them to tend to lean toward evangelical Christian proselytizing, with informal breakout discussions supporting the Trinity, the Rapture, and the inerrancy of the Bible. Opposing views were not welcome. There seemed to be a lot of time spent listening to testimonies by former JWs who had "been born again in Christ" thanks to sudden and miraculous reconversions to traditional Christianity. If I want to be preached to I can go to the local Baptist Church a few blocks from my house.

Unlike some other non-JW meetup groups that I've been to, I've also attended a Humanist meetup group in a nearby city. Those folks are fun. They show movies, plan events, set up volunteer groups for local political meetings and discuss how to combat right-wing religious groups trying to take over local city halls, schools and charitable groups. The objective with these folks is to find ways to get people to think for themselves and to respect everyone equally without regard to their religious (or lack thereof) beliefs. Very refreshing.

I do enjoy meeting up with ex-JWs, but for the most part I now prefer meeting them one on one (I'll buy lunch) and getting to know them on a more personal level.

JV

5

Is the Librarian on the "Jehovah's Witnesses News, Library, History, Videos, Talks, Illustrations" Facebook site an apostate?

by serenitynow! in

jw
friends

i've noticed that a lot of topics on his site seem to come from here, and the verbiage seems the same.

it's like he's taking stuff from here and posting it there.

one recent thing that was posted had to do with the confidential letter about the smaller mags, and boy did the jws ever bust his chops for revealing things before jehovah's time.. does the librarian post here?.

Juan Viejo2

Looks like the site is based in the Phillipines or SE Asia. But articles are pulled from numerous sources. I was unable to find the article about the change in magazines, so the "Librarian" may have taken it down.

JV

31

JW World Record - Youngest Baptism

by soiledumpling in

jw
friends

please let me know the age of the youngest child getting baptised.. i knew of a girl of 11 years.. .

Juan Viejo2

I was 10 when baptized. Most of my JW friends were in the same boat. Those who weren't baptized weren't considered "real JWs" even though their parents were.

JV

31

JW World Record - Youngest Baptism

by soiledumpling in

jw
friends

please let me know the age of the youngest child getting baptised.. i knew of a girl of 11 years.. .

Juan Viejo2

Sorry - system double posted...

JV

35

Prelude to a disfellowshipping: An open letter.

by rory-ks in

jw
friends

an open letter to the body of elders, .

sudbury (suffolk) congregation of jehovah's witnesses.. .

on wednesday, april 4, 2012, the decision will be carried out to announce to the congregation that, rory sullivan is no longer one of jehovah's witnesses.. .

Juan Viejo2

Rory-ks: Very well written. Look for a PM.

JV

79

What does your profile name say about you?

by usualusername in

jw
friends

i use usualusername as i am not creative enough to think of anything sexier.... .

what significance is there behind your profile name?.

.

Juan Viejo2

Juan Viejo = "Old John"

I'm old.

My name is John.

2 = the second

This is my second JWN account using the pseudonym "Juan Viejo." I was unable to access my original account after an extended absence due to technical difficulties.

JV

31

JW World Record - Youngest Baptism

by soiledumpling in

jw
friends

please let me know the age of the youngest child getting baptised.. i knew of a girl of 11 years.. .

Juan Viejo2

Nancy Sage, in her book Going Undercover to Rescue My Daughter, reports that she was baptized in 1941 at the St. Louis International Convention. She was one of the children in the group that heard J. F. Rutherford's speech that released the book "Children." She was born in 1933 and was not yet eight years old. So at seven, she would not be a record for the youngest, but would prove to anyone doubting that "baby baptisms" were common and approved at the highest levels that they have been taking place for decades.

It's funny that the Watchtower criticizes the Catholic Church and other denominations for "christening" babies, but what is the difference? Yes, six and seven year olds are going to school and can speak for themselves, but they certainly have not reached the "age of maturity." They can not vote, drive a car, live on their own, or hold a job. And yet the Watchtower feels that they can make a lifelong commitment that will affect their lives and relationships for their entire future at those tender ages.

This is another example of the hypocrisy of the Watchtower's leadership, both secular and theologically. I think a few lawsuits are in order to take them to task for applying disfellowshipping rules and enforced shunning against anyone baptized under the age of sixteen.

JV

84

Kingdom Hall remodel - scam

by Dagney in

jw
friends

i was wondering from any here in the know, does it seem like there is a lot of "remodels" going on?.

in the last week i had the occasion to talk with two jw's in different halls, about 10 miles apart.

they both are undergoing major remodels.

Juan Viejo2

Here is an article that explains how KH upgrades and builds were done in the past. http://ex-jw.com/kingdom-halls-who-owns-them

Menlo Park (CA) Kingdom Hall is a classic example of how the Watchtower HQ and the local RBCs work together to force upgrades and rebuilds on local congregations. The Watchtower makes sure that any upgrade or new construction is recorded as belonging to the corporation, not the local congregation.

Whether the Watchtower charges interest or not isn't important. The local brothers will not only pay for their new KH at a higher cost than could be acquired locally (in spite of mostly free labor), but the locals will also be paying monthly maintenance fees forever + their group donations for "the worldwide building work."

The real question is what does the WT use their donations (aside from KH payments) for? The reality is that the WT gets money from several different pools from every KH and Circuit, but returns little or none of it back to the local congregations.

What a scam! Ask for donations AND payments - and then take ownership of the land and building when everything is complete.

JV

9

Watchtower 1954 = "Jesus had NO Beard and nice short hair?? What?

by Witness 007 in

1954 - 1968 jesus appeared in all publication pictures as a clean shaven short haired "witness" man....remember?.

watchtower 1954 p.511 q.f.r "why do watchtower books now show jesus with short hair and no beard?

....because he is shown that way in representations that are older then the traditional effeminate looking pictures...".

Juan Viejo2

Amelia,

Maybe he does look like Jesus. I doubt JC ever wore eye liner...

JV

30

Davy Jones dead at 66

by undercover in

jw
friends

sure, the monkees were a pre-fabricated band, but their influence was still immeasurable.

especially mike nesmith.. .

rip davy.... .

Juan Viejo2

I worked for the telephone company in Hollywood between 1966 and 1972. I visited Davy Jones' apartment on two occasions to fix his phone and would also see him from time to time crossing the street at Gower and Hollywood Blvd.

The very first time I met him was one night when I got off from work at the telephone company building at Gower and Sunset and walked all the way down Sunset Blvd. to Vermont Ave. to have breakfast at Norm's Restaurant. I was very poor in those days and at Norm's you could get a complete breakfast of eggs, bacon, potatoes, and coffee for 99 cents. That was often my main meal for the day. This short kid walks in and sits down next to me and orders the same 99 cent breakfast.

I didn't pay much attention to him at first. But when he spoke to the waiter I noticed his very pronounced British accent. I turned to him and asked if he was one of the Monkees? "Yea, I am. I'm the short one." I mentioned that I had seen him several times walking on Gower Street. "Yeah, I have a flat over near there," he replied. We both finished our breakfast and were ready to pay. I saw him count out all of the change in his pocket and he was about a nickel short. "Oh, damn!" he said, "I'm going to be washing dishes tonight." I offered to "loan" him a quarter to cover his bill. "Oh, that would be so kind of you. But could you loan me fifty? I want to tip the waiter." I agreed.

Several months later I was sitting in an ice cream shop at Western and Hollywood Blvd. taking a break. In comes Davy. It had been far too long for him to remember me, but I said "hi!" to him and held out my hand. "We had breakfast one night at Norm's."

"Oh yes. Of course! You are the telephone man. Don't I owe you some money?" I waved him off, and told him that it was well worth the 50 cents to have been able to chat with him for a while. He reached in his pocket and pulled out a $20 bill (quite a bit of money in those days) and slid it under my ice cream cup. "I hope this covers it for you. Things were tough then and I was barely surviving. But it's better for me now. "

I tried to refuse his offer, but he insisted. "But I tell you what. I'll have a chocolate shake and you can pick up my tab - OK?" (Shakes were about 75 cents in those days.) "We'll call it even," he said. And out the door he went.

I'd see him on occasion at Columbia and Paramount studios, but never had a chance to chat with him again. He seemed to be a bit shy, but very normal. He certainly did not seem to be full of himself, in spite of his growing success.

Davy was a pretty cool guy. I'll miss him...

JV