Sylvia- interesting stuff in that thread you posted. Yeah in Michigan where I'm from, the congregations were 98% black, I mean about 30 of em. And I never knew anybody that REALLY shunned anybody, but I speak only for those I know, not as a general consensus.
tryingtoexit
JoinedPosts by tryingtoexit
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25
Confusion
by tryingtoexit inokay so i'm very very very close to presenting all my evidence for why i no longer want to be a jw to my parents and my wife.
we will be together just the 4 of us during the christmas season as we have that time off.
i've gathered enough information in the past 12/13 months to do this, 607/1914, birthdays, faithful & discreet slave, cult mind control/fear, false prophecies, preaching, etc.. but one thing i am still unsure of or have trouble understanding/explaining is the true answer to some things in revelation.. i know many chrisitans believe they are going to heaven, but in my "deprogramming stages" i cant figure out:.
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25
Confusion
by tryingtoexit inokay so i'm very very very close to presenting all my evidence for why i no longer want to be a jw to my parents and my wife.
we will be together just the 4 of us during the christmas season as we have that time off.
i've gathered enough information in the past 12/13 months to do this, 607/1914, birthdays, faithful & discreet slave, cult mind control/fear, false prophecies, preaching, etc.. but one thing i am still unsure of or have trouble understanding/explaining is the true answer to some things in revelation.. i know many chrisitans believe they are going to heaven, but in my "deprogramming stages" i cant figure out:.
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tryingtoexit
Thanks again to a-ebody, I know yall just lookin out for me. And that means alot, because nobody else would take the time to help me like that. But maybe I will keep it short and simple, it's just when I first started having doubts, I had 3 pages worth of questions, and me and my father (over the phone) had a great conversation. He admitted alot didnt make sense he just kept saying "Jesus said if you dont believe me believe the works" so I had convinced my elder father of alot of things and he treated me no different, maybe it's because I am an only child, I'm his only offspring you know?
But like I said I'm prepared for the worst, I'm not trying to give no elaborate speeches or come across as this know it all, and they know my personality is nothing like that. I'm just basically saying here's the facts/reasons why I'm leaving, you agree? Cool, let's have a discussion, you dont agree? So what I'm still leaving and if I have to loose you in the process at least I tried. Yall might think my logic is strange but thats how I see it...
I guess I'll keep researching and studying, thanks again yall.
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Confusion
by tryingtoexit inokay so i'm very very very close to presenting all my evidence for why i no longer want to be a jw to my parents and my wife.
we will be together just the 4 of us during the christmas season as we have that time off.
i've gathered enough information in the past 12/13 months to do this, 607/1914, birthdays, faithful & discreet slave, cult mind control/fear, false prophecies, preaching, etc.. but one thing i am still unsure of or have trouble understanding/explaining is the true answer to some things in revelation.. i know many chrisitans believe they are going to heaven, but in my "deprogramming stages" i cant figure out:.
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tryingtoexit
I appreciate your comments and I still want to share my thoughts with my family, we are very close and if they shun me, it's a sacrifice I am willing to take, I can NOT stand by and let my parents or my wife continue in the cult. And, if I loose the battle, at least I swung the bat ya dig?
Once again I really appreciate your concern and advice, but I just need to be "schooled" to what those things really mean (the questions I asked)
I am prepared for the worse and I couldnt agree more with you guys but it's a risk I am willing to take
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25
Confusion
by tryingtoexit inokay so i'm very very very close to presenting all my evidence for why i no longer want to be a jw to my parents and my wife.
we will be together just the 4 of us during the christmas season as we have that time off.
i've gathered enough information in the past 12/13 months to do this, 607/1914, birthdays, faithful & discreet slave, cult mind control/fear, false prophecies, preaching, etc.. but one thing i am still unsure of or have trouble understanding/explaining is the true answer to some things in revelation.. i know many chrisitans believe they are going to heaven, but in my "deprogramming stages" i cant figure out:.
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tryingtoexit
Okay so I'm very very very close to presenting ALL my evidence for why I no longer want to be a JW to my parents and my wife. We will be together just the 4 of us during the Christmas season as we have that time off. I've gathered enough information in the past 12/13 months to do this, 607/1914, birthdays, faithful & discreet slave, cult mind control/fear, false prophecies, preaching, etc.
But one thing I am still unsure of or have trouble understanding/explaining is the true answer to some things in Revelation.
I know many Chrisitans believe they are going to heaven, but in my "deprogramming stages" I cant figure out:
What happens after the birds have the Great Meal Of God?
What happens after the Great Tribulation and Armageddon??
Why would God do so much on earth if everybody is suppose to go to heaven anyway???
I just need a clearer perspective on these things especially concerning will there really be a "new system" (of course not the way JW's invision it) or will everyone simply go to heaven....
Any type of information/help/direction will be greatly appreciated...
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THE WITCHTOWER 11/2009: Who is the King of the North?
by processor inthe november 2009 issue of the witchtower is available for download now.. .
who is the king of the north?
who is the king from daniel's prophecy, and how does he affect our lifes?.
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tryingtoexit
"is making snowmen for christians?"
LOL!
What's next?
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Today's (10-18-09) Watchtower Study. More Lies...
by tryingtoexit inwell, today is another interesting day.
as some of you all know...i have been trying to make my exit out of the cult but my wife has been giving me some probs along the way.
today as usual i dont go to the meeting, i go on with my day as normal, wash clothes, cook breakfast, and so on.
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tryingtoexit
Thanks to everybody that came by and shared their thoughts.
designs- the revisionist history is the main thing the Society uses in my opinion to keep people "brain boxed" lol
flipper- everytime I read about the generation fiasco I feel embarrassed that I was ever a witness
Cicatrix- You're right, I mean exactly right, 2010 is going to be an interesting year for me, cause right now I'm compiling all my knowledge secretly into documents, DVD's, everything, so when I finally lay it all on my family, I wont be forgetting key points, I'll have ALL the information right in front of me, it will be a "talk" that they've never heard before, lol.
wobble- Yeah, I'm not suprised that there are other people in my situation. I really dont know, my wife is very very LOYAL to the WTS, I honestly know if I told her right now....that I will never be a JW again, she would try to put me out. Our marriage has suffered because of my actions to leave, and she wants me to save our marriage by coming back, that's why I'm gathering my info now, so that they can see I didnt leave on emotion....or because of what someone did to me, I left because of all the false teachings that are flat out wrong that they continue to teach. I'm gonna prepare the evidence like an attorney trying to bring down a killer, lol.
sammielee24- See that's retarded, and the funny part about is, Witness should know better, in the Revelation book it says "in 35 this crowd was identified"........that's in the 89 version of the book, so if you know your publications, you would know, how did Russell know of the TWO hopes back then, when nobody realized it until 19 years AFTER Russell died???? They're all either idiots or like to be in the dark.....
drew sagan- Very well said I never looked at it like that
Hamsterbait- No problem posting that here, I appreciate that, it's funny you mentioned that about the apostle Paul baptizing people. If these were "sincere truth-seekers" shouldnt they have known long before 1935 that people should be baptized??? How did they overlook those parts of the Bible for so long? LOL! Anyone else think the questions you get asked before you get baptized is like selling your soul over to the Society?? *shrugs*
MissingLink- That is so true, whenever I tell my parents the things I've read outside the Society's literature they act like I'm the smartest person in the world and go on and on about how proud of me they are, and how intelligent I am. I'm like nope, I just know how to read and comprehend, that's all, lol. Hope one day they'll be able to do the same.
garyneal- Yup, sounds like you and I have similar encounters with our wives. I had a conversation very similar with my wife about 3 months ago. I like your choice of words, something for me to learn from. Sad for them and frustrating I'm sure, but they'll never find the answers they're looking for in the Society's publications, but that unsatisfying feeling wont push them to search outside of them.
isaacaustin- Exactly, somebody should've corrected that in a comment during the meeting. Somebody probably did and got DF'd that same night, lol.
DaCheech- Right, but only when it fit's their needs, they do all the research so YOU WON'T HAVE TOO. Gimme a break..
WTWizard- Great points
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Today's (10-18-09) Watchtower Study. More Lies...
by tryingtoexit inwell, today is another interesting day.
as some of you all know...i have been trying to make my exit out of the cult but my wife has been giving me some probs along the way.
today as usual i dont go to the meeting, i go on with my day as normal, wash clothes, cook breakfast, and so on.
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tryingtoexit
Well, today is another interesting day. As some of you all know...I have been trying to make my exit out of the cult but my wife has been giving me some probs along the way. Today as usual I dont go to the meeting, I go on with my day as normal, wash clothes, cook breakfast, and so on. She says "I think you should go to the meeting today, besides I think you would really enjoy today's Watchtower lesson. It has some points about Isaac Newton and how he knew the earth would be a paradise".
I respond: "No I dont want to go, but you enjoy it though" Wife: "Why not?" Me: "......................I just dont want to................" Wife: "That's the best you can come up with, is I don't want to???" Me: "Yup, I dont want to go"
So she huff and puffs and gets ready for the meeting making lots of noise. After she leaves, I decide to pick up the Watchtower to see what she was talking about. I saw the quotes from Sir Isaac Newton and John Milton, but what really made me I guess angry for lack of a better word was paragraphs 12-17.
I'll type some of the lines from these paragraphs that stood out:
"Jesus foretold that false prophets would corrupt his teachings and that most people would be misled. (Matt. 24:11) The apostle Peter warned Chrisitans: 'There will also be false teachers among you.' (2 Pet. 2:1) The apostle Paul spoke of 'a period of time when (people would) not put up with the healthful teaching, but, in accord with their own desires, they (would) accumulate teachers for themselves to have their ears tickled.' (2 Tim. 4:3, 4) Satan is involved in misleading people and has used apostate Christianity to obscure the heart warming truth about God's purpose for man and the earth. - Read 2 Corinthians 4:3, 4.
Consider some historical developments in the decades prior to 1914, the year when the time of the end began. In the late 1800's, a number of sincere individuals were searching for an understanding of 'the pattern of healthful words'. In the late 1800's, a number of sincere individuals were searching for an understanding of the 'pattern of healthful words.' (2 Tim. 1:13) One such person was Charles Taze Russell. In 1870 he and a few other truth-seekers formed a class for Bible study. In 1872 they examined the subject of restitution. Later, Russel wrote: 'Up to that time we had failed to see clearly the great distinction between the reward of the church now on trial and the reward of the faithful of the world.' The reward of the later will be 'restoration to the perfection of human nature once enjoyed in Eden by their progenitor and head, Adam.' Russel acknowledged that he had been helped in his study of the Bible by others. Who were these?
Henry Dunn was one of them.
In 1870, George Storrs also came to the conclusion that the unrighteous will be resurrected to an opportunity of everlasting life.
Russell discerned from the Bible that the time had come to make the good news widely known. So in 1879, he started publishing Zion's Watch Tower and Herald of Christ's Presence, now called The Watchtower Announcing Jehovah's Kingdom. Previously, the truth about mankind's hope was understood by very few people, but now groups of Bible Students in many countries were receiving and studying The Watchtower. The belief that only a few will go to heaven, whereas millions will be given perfect human life on earth, set the Bible Students apart from Christendom.
The foretold 'time of the end' began in 1914. By 1913, Russell's sermond were printed in 2,000 newspapers with a combined readership of 15,000,000. By the end of 1914, over 9,000,000 people on three continents had seen the 'Photo-Drama of Creation'-a program including motion pictures and slides that explained Christ's Millennial Reign. From 1918 until 1925, the talk 'Millions Now Living Will Never Die', which explained the hope of everlasting life on earth, was presented by Jehovah's servants in over 30 languages worldwide. By 1934, Jehovah's Witnesses realized that those hoping to live on earth should be baptized. This understanding filled them with renewed zeal for preaching the good news of the Kingdom. Today, the prospect of living forever on earth fills the hearts of millions with gratitude toward Jehovah."
So I'm thinking to myself....once again they're throwing that 1914 stuff out there, saying that if not for Russel and his helpers we would not know the truth about the bible!! They throw out all these amazing figures to make it appear that God was blessing ONLY their work. And they purposely leave out the fact that Russel did NOT believe that Christ would come invisibly in 1914, but that Armageddon would come that year. I can just imagine the comments on the above, I'm so glad I'm not there right now to bear it. I wish I could prevent my wife from hearing this garbage, but I don't want to oppose, I can only imagine how she's gonna be acting when she comes home feeling all "spiritually uplifted".
What are yall thoughts on this??
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As A JW Did You Care About Old JW History, Old Light & Flip Flops?
by minimus ini used to look at the old stuff as info that the witnesses were progressively understanding.
i didn't hold it against the witnesses if they changed understandings because after all the 'light was getting brighter and brighter".. as time went on, it did start effecting me.
there were too many things i'd let slide by when i was younger that i just couldn't ignore any longer.
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tryingtoexit
When I was in, I didnt really care about it. The light has gotten brighter thing was drilled into my head as a kid so the older I got I never questioned it. Only thing I know all the way through high school as far as the past was there was LOT'S of old books, many with covers that covered every color known to man, they were thick books, some average, and that there use to be green bibles and purple song books. Other then that I never really investigated because I thought this was "the truth". I think it was 2003 when they shortened the # 2 talks to just reading with no intro or conclusion. I remember a close friend of the family we called "Pops" because of his age, said right before he died that "I wish they wouldve started this NEW arrangement when I was healthy and giving talks". Next in 2004, the Pontiac Silverdome in Michigan hosted the final District Convention, it's the only place I've ever been for a D.C. and was hosted there since the early 70's. Word spread amongst EVERYBODY, "well Jehovah made the light brighter, and we couldnt stay there anymore, because the older friends couldnt hear with all those people walking around and making noise right by the elderly section. 30,000 people was just too much, and there was no air circulation, so people were always passing out, the brothers couldnt get nothing out of the program if they had assignments so it's a good thing Jehovah got us out of there". At first......I accepted that, cause on the surface it makes sense, there's more bad than good at that site of course, but then I meditated for awhile, and I thought "This doesnt make any sense! How do yall know Jehovah said it's time for us to go?! Where's the proof???"
So I told my father what the flock was saying since he's an elder, and he just says "That's not true, when the Detroit Lions moved into their new facility we knew our days were numered at the Silverdome, each year we didnt know if we were still going to be there. Finally in 2004, our contract had run out, and the city had other plans for the Silverdome, THAT'S why we had to leave, not because Jehovah God saw the benefits of us leaving"
I started to wonder why would all the other friends who know nothing about the in's and out's of what goes on with the D.C. sites make such outlandish claims. I would tell certain people that was saying that stuff, and they would say "Well, That's a lie, your father doesnt know what he's talking about". Like they knew more than my dad, then in 2005, we changed to the Seagate site in Toledo, OH where only 6,000 max could be held in there......alot different from the 30,000 we were used too. Once again "the friends" start saying the usual, "Jehovah has gave us new light and answered our needs, we have a smaller facility, air condition, and a hotel connected right to the site!"
Then from 2006-2009 we've saw the change in no more home book study arrangements, Sunday talk shortened to 30 mins, 30 sec. or less comments for the bible reading, etc.
Most of the people took as God hurrying up the end of the system so that's why all these changes were being made, but all these changes started to make me question like other people in this thread if God is perfect, why would all these things be changing? How does a talk becoming only bible reading have anything to do with the end of this wicked world???
And that's what led me to start researching our "truth" and make all types of discoveries. I got so irritated with everybody saying the same thing "the light has gotten so much brighter than now we......."
I'm always like "HOW DO YOU KNOW?!"
I'm actually grateful I heard and saw all those things because it helped me search for the real truth which I probably would not have done, so big shout out and thank you to all the JW idiots who set me free, word up, peace.
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As A JW Did You Care About Old JW History, Old Light & Flip Flops?
by minimus ini used to look at the old stuff as info that the witnesses were progressively understanding.
i didn't hold it against the witnesses if they changed understandings because after all the 'light was getting brighter and brighter".. as time went on, it did start effecting me.
there were too many things i'd let slide by when i was younger that i just couldn't ignore any longer.
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tryingtoexit
great topic, I will come back later with my thoughts
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Jehovah's Witnesses Exposed Video
by tryingtoexit inhow do yall feel about this video?
i'm sure it's been posted before...but i really enjoyed it, would love to share with some of my family (some day).
what are yall thoughts on it??.
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tryingtoexit
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7529203252348464576#
Having trouble posting a clickable link, I guess just copy and paste it...