i'm well into the book, can't put it down, it is just so fascinating and so utterly devastating to the credibility of the wtbts.
i suspect that any jehovah's witness who has a modicum of self respect and intelligence could not but finish the book a step or more on the path to emancipation from this awful, people destroying religion.. i really want my wife to read this book but i anticipate that she will refuse on the basis of it having been banned by the society as the worst kind of apostate literature.
i am genuinely saddened that she will not grant me the same kind of trust and respect she gives so lovingly to her watchtower masters and i will doubtless say this to her when she turns down my invitation.
In one of your discussions ask her. "Do this for me. Read COC. And after reading it, you don't agree with me, I will never bring this stuff up again. I will put it too rest forever."
I don't know of anyone who would not view the WT the same again after reading COC, except for a GB member. And they don't count, because they already know how dishonest they are.
i know that some will disagree on this, and say you can ask questions.
yet, i ask you to honestly think what would happen if you openly started asking questions on jw doctrine or evolution.
likely you would be made to feel like i did below if you started asking these questions to other jws.. .
As an Elder....you could NEVER have questions. Your status in the congregation would come into question if you did. So you quietly went along and kept your mouth shut.......It reminds me of the book Fahrenheit 411. Montag was having questions about the morality of his job and his kindly boss tried to help him at first, thinking he would come around. But when he didn't become well, he became like an apostate and was ostrasized.
Of course, Montag ending up killing his boss, which regrettably, we can only do figuratively to our old Elders.
this is very difficult to write (forgive me for any spelling mistake, i am not a native english speaker).. i cannot tell my complete story on this board - i eventually will, once i have broken the last "link in the chain" that has kept me captive to the borg.
i can't tell my story, because.....basically i will be known.....as a more or less "famous" jw..... i have been lurking this site for many years, wrote here under another name - this eventually was found out and i had to do "damage containment".
i had to "go back" and tow the party line....all my family (extended and close) are witnesses, all my "friends" and even work & business relationships are jw.
Intel - I was a pioneering Elder, with a 5 year old daughter when I decided to leave. For me, I just faded and feigned depression. I accepted a new job some great distance away, and moved, so I didn't have to face the JW's I knew well on a daily basis.
For a couple of years, i found it discouraging to pretend to be a 'weak' JW, but eventually I established a new life, with new friends and a completely new social structure. Fortunately for me, my wife came along and left the JW's. We have raised our daughter with no WT influence and we have become very happy apart from them. We've had no regrets, in fact, just the opposite. That was 13 years ago. She starts college in September.
It doesn't have to be so black and white as you have probably noticed from many others who have shared their own fade on this site. You also are never alone with so many communicating their leaving on sites such as this. You have all the support you need to get through this.
if you are an elder or an ex-elder please add a comment.
i hope that the governing body will see this.
it is too bad it has to be on an anonymous forum.
As a former elder, I'll sign on as well. It was well written with solid conviction of principles.
I admire those trying to change the org. but I feel it too late for that. Its time to leave and make a new life for yourself and family. Leaving quietly is the way to go. It would be even nicer if the GB respected those wishes of those leaving and put there pride aside.
the thread about the circuit assembly accounts and where the money goes reminded me of one time when we were at bethel.. we were at bethel between 1991 to 1994, there had been some problem in another country and at morning worship they asked all of us bethelites to put in at least one dollar a person to send to the brothers in this problem country.. at the time my husband and i just did not have it.
we only got $90 a person so $180 a couple.
ok i know we had a free place to live but we still had to pay for car gas to the hall our car insurance, air conditioning, shampoo, clothes, etc.
Ziddina - ...snif, sniff, thank you Ziddina. You brought tears to my eyes to know you still care....
the thread about the circuit assembly accounts and where the money goes reminded me of one time when we were at bethel.. we were at bethel between 1991 to 1994, there had been some problem in another country and at morning worship they asked all of us bethelites to put in at least one dollar a person to send to the brothers in this problem country.. at the time my husband and i just did not have it.
we only got $90 a person so $180 a couple.
ok i know we had a free place to live but we still had to pay for car gas to the hall our car insurance, air conditioning, shampoo, clothes, etc.
Ziddina - You are way too nice to this guy. Truth be told, I'm a little bit jealous that Flipper was so honored and I was ignored. I want you to know that I go to bed, crying myself to sleep, every night, wishing and hoping, that someday I will be considered worthy enough to go back to the WT vomit.
"Gee, I miss not being able to be controlled by a piece of paper not worthy of at least an honorable use like toilet paper." - Dissed
Call me sentimental, but I really miss being mislead and wasting my life on a wrong understanding of the 'generation'.
"Oops! Got that one wrong! At least those fools will believe anything else we can make up" - GB of JW's
http://www.youtube.com/user/bloodthirstymelon#p/u/5/sk8-6e9lmii.
I'm sure we've all been to a door with an Elder who sounds like those guys. One Elder told me he's weak at the door because of all the KH stuff he has to do.
http://www.youtube.com/user/bloodthirstymelon#p/u/5/sk8-6e9lmii.
I want to go to that church....
the poster ex dub ms reminded me of something i had forgotten.
at bethel especially in construction if there was a hot job going on or a deadline you missed meetings peroid!
no questions asked.. now if a rank and file husband who was working a low wage job to support his family or a single mom had to miss meetings due to a hot job at work what would happen to them?.
It was routine to miss a few at Bethel. When I was transerred to WT Farms, it was a matter of policy to miss several meetings per month. Some of us that worked the schedgule would joke that we forgot God's name, etc...we missed so much. Several of us came up with a plan to lesson the burden and we were soundly rejected as the plan could be potentially devastating to the current operation.
I never missed before Bethel, but learned there are reasons to miss as it later affected my meeting attendance.
the thread about the circuit assembly accounts and where the money goes reminded me of one time when we were at bethel.. we were at bethel between 1991 to 1994, there had been some problem in another country and at morning worship they asked all of us bethelites to put in at least one dollar a person to send to the brothers in this problem country.. at the time my husband and i just did not have it.
we only got $90 a person so $180 a couple.
ok i know we had a free place to live but we still had to pay for car gas to the hall our car insurance, air conditioning, shampoo, clothes, etc.
lits - I hope you don't mind me calling you by your first name? lol
I can also remember my overseer telling, (warning) us not to go to the infirmary as not to get a record. It could adversely affect your service priviledges.
When you read everyones Bethel experiences on this site, you will notice one overwhelming opinion expressed. A real lack of appreciation for the volunteers who slaved so hard for the WTS run by the GB. It was always, "the least, you should have done" attitude expressed by the WT administrators. Don't get me wrong, some people were very good to work for. But don't EVER have any problem, or you could feel the full effects of a un-caring, un-loving, and un-compassionate overlord. You were now, how do you say, 'expendable'?
Use, abuse, and then lose.....So many that were Bethel trained, and considered some of the best of the JW's, have either slowed down or entirely left the WT. I wonder how this is possible when they got to work so closely with the priviledged GB, "JC's spiritial brothers" oversight?
