Wow this is such a great post Terry. One of your best.
LITS
while you were sitting in that uncomfortable folding chair the other night.... listening to something you've heard already a thousand times before.... do you know what was happening at the same time?.
somebody somewhere else was studying a real textbook.
somebody was cramming for a college exam.
Wow this is such a great post Terry. One of your best.
LITS
.
here is where i found this pic.
bangalore.
Way to go Grace.
LITS
hopfully many of the older ones do.
since our move to wild's of pa many things have happen to my wife and i. our donut business went out the window.
we closed it last july.
Welcome back missed you.
LITS
i think everyone here has heard this as a response to questioning or serious concerns about the religion.
i think its a cowardly retort.
a flimsy cop-out.
LHG
You are spot on about working full-time. I truly feel that was a huge part of my problem is that I worked and supported myself. I was seen as not relaying on Jehovah but my own strength.
My husband used to tell me I was working for nothing that soon I would be throwing the money I made in the streets. That Jehovah would provide if only I would let Him.
We got so low on money and the JW's were COMING TO ME TO BEG not my husband. The car did not run on air and I NEVER ONCE saw Jehovah give me a dime. One time and one time only a elder and his wife were with us in field service this elder made a fairly good amount at his job and his wife did not work. So this elder filled up our gas tank after we had used our car all day in service. The wife was beyond PISSED at it and let me know very clearly that she was not happy but she never let my husband know she was upset and she was so sweet to him, so my husband swore that I was making it all up that she was mad at us and that Jehovah provided us a tank of gas.
I felt and still feel Jehovah or God or what ever higher power there is gives us the ability to work and that is how we take care of ourselves.
And yes ranmac I was around people who were not kind but really crule. So much for love in the true religion.
LITS
i think everyone here has heard this as a response to questioning or serious concerns about the religion.
i think its a cowardly retort.
a flimsy cop-out.
I agree with Postoff
My husband was an elder and we had little money as we both pioneered but we never talked about our money, what we had or didn't have and I have concluded that when you say nothing people just assume you have tons of money. I have been around brothers who make six figures and cry their eyes out about how poor they are, yet I never once told anyone what we made. I think people just assumed we were rich, we were NOT! Yet we were always willing to help anyone who needed help. I always made sure to include the single mom's the lonely ones in the hall. We have a 900 SQ foot home yet we had the whole congregation over three time over 90 people in our home. There was barely enough room to move. We had everyone from the book study over when we feed the speaker every six weeks etc. Our home was trashed over and over. No one offered to stay help clean up, they all just took off.
As a kid in the "truth" I was always left out because my parents were not in the in crowd and they were odd. I promised myself I would never leave anyone out if I was ever in the position so when I married an elder I made sure that everyone in the hall was invited.
My thanks for that was to be hated and treated like dirt. The poor ones in the hall felt we had money for whatever reason and would come up to me and ask me to give them money because they did not have enough to last for the rest of the month. Now these people were on welfare and I was working three jobs. When the poor would come to my home it was like they went out of their way to destroy stuff, break glasses, come in with mud all over their shoes, etc and never once did they ever offer to stay and help me clean up, never once did they thank me, invited me to their home, I had them even yell at me in my home when I did something that they did not like, like trun on lights.
The rich elders would dump the mentally ill on my husband, at first I tried and tried to help them help themselves, I got one brother a job, offed to buy a car seat for a single mom so her baby would be safe while ridding in our car. They did not want the help they wanted handouts. They wanted me to give them money and got nasty when I did not.
I worked too hard to give away what I had and then to watch them do and buy things that I never could afford. It just burned me out.
So I totally agree with Pistoff.
LITS
in case any of you wondered why those two poor women who were attacked by the pit bull and probably ignored warning signs of a dag being in the yard and posted signs went to the door anyway.. here it is from the latest april 2013 km front page titled "take as a pattern the prophets-jonah".
paragraph #3 "when jonah realized that his bad decision had jeopardized the lives of the mariners, he was willing to sacrifice his life.
(jonah 1:3, 4, 12) later, when fulfilling his commission in nineveh, he walked deep into the heart of the city, perhaps looking for a suitable location to proclaim the judgment of jehovah.
Thanks OTWO you spelled out what I meant very well. Apognophos what you wrote is exactly how I felt. If someone had a bad dog then we should not go to the door, why risk your life for it.
But see the point I am making is that not everyone had the chance to be in hall with balanced people like you who respected the rights and feelings of others. My feeling were never respected, I was mocked, put down, had WT and Awakes thrown in my face to make me do what they wanted me to. I did not know how to fight it so I went to door and was bitten six or seven times and I was told it was my fault because I did not have enough faith. I allowed my self to be bitten I kid you not.
I was in a hall of zealots who felt we needed to give our lives or at least my life to the cause. It is impossible for one person to fight that alone. And for that I am bitter now that I look back and that I allowed myself to be bullied like I did. I tried and tried to stand up for myself but I could not fight KM's like this alone when they were thrown in my face.
LITS
in case any of you wondered why those two poor women who were attacked by the pit bull and probably ignored warning signs of a dag being in the yard and posted signs went to the door anyway.. here it is from the latest april 2013 km front page titled "take as a pattern the prophets-jonah".
paragraph #3 "when jonah realized that his bad decision had jeopardized the lives of the mariners, he was willing to sacrifice his life.
(jonah 1:3, 4, 12) later, when fulfilling his commission in nineveh, he walked deep into the heart of the city, perhaps looking for a suitable location to proclaim the judgment of jehovah.
slimboyfat?
I do not understand what you mean that it did not deliver on its title? I am so sorry to tick you off and waste your time.
LITS
in case any of you wondered why those two poor women who were attacked by the pit bull and probably ignored warning signs of a dag being in the yard and posted signs went to the door anyway.. here it is from the latest april 2013 km front page titled "take as a pattern the prophets-jonah".
paragraph #3 "when jonah realized that his bad decision had jeopardized the lives of the mariners, he was willing to sacrifice his life.
(jonah 1:3, 4, 12) later, when fulfilling his commission in nineveh, he walked deep into the heart of the city, perhaps looking for a suitable location to proclaim the judgment of jehovah.
LHG
I agree I am not buying this anymore but I did when I was in, or I sort of bought into it. I guess I never totally bought into it because I thought going to homes with no trespassing signs and beware of dog sings was stupid. To me it was rude and stupid to call on someone who clearly did not want us there. But I had no chose when everyone in the car group vetoed my concerns. I was put down, made to feel stupid, told I lacked faith, etc. My husband at the time insisted that no trespassing signs did not apply to JW's.
We went to one home where the guy pulled a gun on my husband and shot it into the air, told us to get off his land and the next time he would shoot us. I begged and pleaded with my husband to write him down as a do not call. NO WAY, this guy was not going to decide for everyone else who might live in the house and besides he was drunk. My husband reasoned that the next time him might not be so drunk and get so upset.
We lived in the country and everyone had dogs and no trespassing signs I was told if we stopped going to those home was we have no one to call on. I could not argue that because it was true there would be no one left to talk to.
I hated it, I hated service but I bought into that we had to do it because Jehovah demanded it of us. So much of it made no sense and was such a total waste of time.
What makes me so upset about this KM is that a part like this would have feed fuel to the fire and I would have been bulled so horribly, and I was, I was shown WT's and KM's and you name it to shame me about my fear of dogs. To read about these poor lady's is maddening.
This KM just made my blood boil and your right LHG Jonah did not give his life he hid out until nothing else worked he did not jump to kill himself and it is not a literally story anyway from how I feel now.
It just makes me mad see this KM after what happened to these women and Outlaw you are right on again I loved your post as it so very true. They would kill themselves for the GB.
LITS
in case any of you wondered why those two poor women who were attacked by the pit bull and probably ignored warning signs of a dag being in the yard and posted signs went to the door anyway.. here it is from the latest april 2013 km front page titled "take as a pattern the prophets-jonah".
paragraph #3 "when jonah realized that his bad decision had jeopardized the lives of the mariners, he was willing to sacrifice his life.
(jonah 1:3, 4, 12) later, when fulfilling his commission in nineveh, he walked deep into the heart of the city, perhaps looking for a suitable location to proclaim the judgment of jehovah.
In case any of you wondered why those two poor women who were attacked by the pit bull and probably ignored warning signs of a dag being in the yard and posted signs went to the door anyway.
Here it is from the latest April 2013 KM front page titled "Take as a Pattern the Prophets-Jonah"
Paragraph #3 "When Jonah realized that his bad decision had jeopardized the lives of the mariners, he was willing to sacrifice his life. (Jonah 1:3, 4, 12) Later, when fulfilling his commission in Nineveh, he walked deep into the heart of the city, perhaps looking for a suitable location to proclaim the judgment of Jehovah. Those where the actions, not of a coward, but of a courageous prophet of God! (Jonah 3:3, 4) What about us today? God-given courage is needed to give a bold witness in the face of opposition. (Acts 4:29, 31) Self-sacrifice is required to invest time and resources in the ministry.- Acts 20: 24."
And for those of you who wondered why someone would go to a door who was afraid of dogs, terrified of them like I was but yet I still went was because I was being told this stuff in the car group. I was told that I had no courage, I was a coward, I did not trust Jehovah, and you name it I was told it.
I feel so horrible and it just breaks my heart for those two poor women, even if they recover they will never be the same, it just affects you mentally being attacked. I was attacked when I was a child thus my fear of dogs now. And for what did those women give their lives because of some garbage like this. It just makes my heart hurt.
LITS
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtrdafq0xac.
i guess this sort of thing is bound to happen, even though the society implies that angels are out there protecting jehovah's witnesses from harm.. interestingly, it wasn't an angel who came to the rescue, but a "worldly" bystander with his gun.. .
cedars.
I was terrified of dogs have been every since I as a little kid.
I was ridiculed, mocked, put down, made to feel like I had no faith, etc when I was out in service if I refused to go to a home with a dog becuase the dog scarred me.
The dogs always sensed my fear and they would come at me, I have been told over and over by JW's that I lacked trust in Jehovah that was why dogs bit me. I kid you not.
I have put myself in danger so many times it is unreal. There was one time where I knew this home had a mean dog and it was my door. I was in a car group of four other sisters and I begged them to just write it down for letter writing, This aggressive sister told me NO WAY it was my door and that I had better get out of the car. There was no dog in sight so it was clear to the car group that I just did not want to talk at the door. I went to the door shaking and sure enough the dog came tearing out from the back, he was a wicked mean German Shepard I ran for my life and barley made it back to the car. I was so scarred and all the sisters in the car were laughing their heads off at me telling me I looked so stupid.
I have been bit six or seven times, one bit did not break the skin but it bruised so bad that it took six months to heal. We were pioneering and I had no money to go to the doctor. My husband asked me why I allowed the dog to bit me. I just wanted to cry. It just really hurt my feelings more than anything because he did not care, it was like it was my fault.
I have been told that I was faking my fear of dogs just so I did not have to go to the door because I did not want to save peoples lives, I was trying to get out of talking, taking my fair share of the doors.
Yet I have been with other JW's who have been afraid of dogs and they get away with not going where there are dogs. I do not know why there was such a difference with me.
One time I was bit by a small dog an ankle bitter and my husband said Jehovah let it happen because the guy was so afraid we might sue he stood and listened to my husband for over an hour, my husband said if the dog had not bit me the guy would not have gotten a witness, so Jehovah allowed it to happen and it was no big deal just a small wound.
The bottom line is I had no choice but to go to doors with bad dogs, I do not know why I was forced to but I was FORCED TO. I know to most of you that makes no sense why did'nt I just say no. I did, I begged, pleaded, even cried not to make me go to the doors with bad dogs, but I was told it was my service to Jehovah to go to ALL DOORS. I have even been told that they would not move the car until I got out. Now I find it hard to believe myself but it was how I was treated in feild service.
The pain of how I was treated by my fellow JW's hurts more then any dog bite.
LITS