Posts by goldensky

31

For my sis, Kelly...12 years ago today.

by Tatiana in

jw
friends

my sis, kelly, killed herself 12 years ago today.

feels like yesterday.

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&grid=5369813.

goldensky

Dear Tatiana,

The sleeves of my robe are full of tears, totally wet... I'm so sad for your sister, for you, for all the mistreated children... I can't stop crying. My heart goes out to you.

Love.

7

in the four weeks or so since i started visiting this forum, the overwhelming amount of information my brain has had to process thanks to your fascinating contributions has been highly stimulating and thought-provoking.

but it has also made me painfully aware of two facts:.

goldensky

Dear all,

In the four weeks or so since I started visiting this forum, the overwhelming amount of information my brain has had to process thanks to your fascinating contributions has been highly stimulating and thought-provoking. But it has also made me painfully aware of two facts:

1. The poor optimization (?) of the time spent at meetings: I must have attended approximately 11.700 meeting hours (5 hours a week X 52 weeks a year X 45 years -I started at age 3-). Assuming I had learnt the basics of the doctrine by age 13 (I should have, since that's when I got baptized), the next 35 years all I heard was basically a repetition of subjects I already knew (how many times did you have to go through the item "How to start a Bible study with the book ...", to mention only one). Mind you, I nearly always paid undivided attention to what was said from the platform, often more out of respect for the speaker and the time he had devoted to preparing his part than out of real interest. But I was always happy to be at meetings in spite of that.

I realize now how much more interesting meetings could have been had we been given a fraction of initiative to do our own research from secular sources and expound it at the Hall for everybody's benefit like you do here, if we had been allowed a little bit of freeedom to express our respectful opinion on the Scriptures and their meaning (always with good moderators so things wouldn't get out of control), if we had been allowed a margin of doubt. My mind must have been accumulating rust over the years due to lack of use. You guys are really putting it to work these days! I have to thank you for that.

2. What the brothers have missed out on when you walked out: most of you, with your bright minds and beautiful personalities, were once in the organization. How you must have enriched your respective congregations while you were in! And how many more wonderful people will yet leave...!

You may not understand my reasons for being sad over that. You see, from what I read, my personal experience in the congregation differs dramatically from many of your situations. I fully understand you have very legitimate reasons to feel the way you do, but what the word "organization" evokes in my mind seems to be quite different from what if evokes in most of your cases. All I can think of is the hundreds of brothers and sisters I've met these 45 years who were always warm and friendly to me. I've had the luck of travelling and spending weeks, sometimes months, in different countries (France, UK, Germany in Europe; Alaska, California and Montana in the USA -longest stay: 5 months. Question answered, Leolaia-). Without exception, every one was very welcoming and supportive (to be totally truthful, there was an elderly French sister in Paris who was mean to me, but I guess she would have been just as cranky had she belonged to any other religion). As far as I know, nobody ever lied to me (I must say that my husband, who is not a Witness, has always told me I'm extremely gullible and naive, but I really don't have any evidence they ever did), no friends ever failed me, no one disappointed me. I'd be ungrateful and untruthful if I said anything negative. But now there is a "great chasm" between them and me. Pure reason brought me here (I've been thinking about your questions, JWoods, Daniel-p and others: I don't think anything triggered it, it was pure logic, a gradual awareness). And here I am now, inactive and out of contact with all my friends and acquaintances for four months now (how time flies by!), something I NEVER thought would EVER happen. I understand them, but they wouldn't understand me even if I tried to explain. I've been on both sides, they only know theirs. I won't be walking with them any more. And I sincerely wish them the very best.

And I've met you, and you've added joy to my life. You've made me think a lot in a short time. You make me laugh every day. You've helped me to see the reverse of the coin even more clearly. I thank you for letting me express my opinions even if they are different from the general trend here. You give the Witnesses and may others a lesson on tolerance. And to you too I wish the very best.

With love, GOLDENSKY.

48

MY FIRST DOUBT

by goldensky in

jw
friends

dear all,.

i posted my first thread a few days ago and some of you asked me questions i'm more than willing to answer.

but there is so much i want to say to you there's no way i can convey all the information at one sitting, so i've decided to tackle one subject at a time, both for the sake of not boring you and because i'd love to know how you feel about each individual topic.

goldensky

Behemot, you may not read this post, since this thread is already a few days old, but I've finally got around to reading the site you suggested and I'm totally IMPRESSED by it. Thank you so much! I felt "mental giddiness" (am I making myself understood?) as I read it. I'll definitely look for some quiet time to look into it much more deeply. I couldn't agree more on what this A.F. says. It's been very, very enlightening! Thank you very much.

6

Funny English

by goldensky in

jw
friends

although we live in spain, i've always spoken exclusively english to my two children since there were born (a 10-year-old boy and an 8-year old girl).

since i am their only "source" of english, their level leaves a lot to be desired, although they can have conversations with english speakers without any trouble.

also the fact that many words have exactly the same pronunciation but a different spelling and meaning doesn't help much.. when my son was 3 or 4 i told him that hitler didn't like jews at all.

goldensky

Ha, ha! How about when we Spanish say, "I'm very constipated" when what we really mean is, "I have a bad cold" ("Estoy muy constipada").

6

World's Largest snake found dead. Over 50 feet long! See Video

by StoneWall in

jw
friends

this is a short video but shows the length and size of its body.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqg3pg2m9wu.

goldensky

My daughter has just seen it. She has made me play it and then replay it three more times and the four times she has jumped out of the chair. She couldn't stop laughing.

Well, it's bedtime for her. I hope she won't dream of the snake...

6

Funny English

by goldensky in

jw
friends

although we live in spain, i've always spoken exclusively english to my two children since there were born (a 10-year-old boy and an 8-year old girl).

since i am their only "source" of english, their level leaves a lot to be desired, although they can have conversations with english speakers without any trouble.

also the fact that many words have exactly the same pronunciation but a different spelling and meaning doesn't help much.. when my son was 3 or 4 i told him that hitler didn't like jews at all.

goldensky

Although we live in Spain, I've always spoken exclusively English to my two children since there were born (a 10-year-old boy and an 8-year old girl). Since I am their only "source" of English, their level leaves a lot to be desired, although they can have conversations with English speakers without any trouble. Also the fact that many words have exactly the same pronunciation but a different spelling and meaning doesn't help much.

When my son was 3 or 4 I told him that Hitler didn't like Jews at all. He was disproportionately surprised and I couldn't quite understand what he had found so astonishing, until he said, "But how can any one NOT like juice?" You see, the difference between the soft and the hard sound of the s is not very detectable.

Three weeks ago I said to my daughter, "I've told you a hundred times to put on a pair of knickers (undies) after your bath. I don't like you sitting at the piano with your bare bottom". She burst into tears and left the room saying, "Now you have offended me, Mum. I DON'T have a bear bottom, I have a girl's bottom!" I choked with laughter...

I'm sure you have many funny stories too. Will you share them?

6

World's Largest snake found dead. Over 50 feet long! See Video

by StoneWall in

jw
friends

this is a short video but shows the length and size of its body.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqg3pg2m9wu.

goldensky

That really gave me a good shock! Ha, ha!

I'll show my kids the moment they come back from school...

48

MY FIRST DOUBT

by goldensky in

jw
friends

dear all,.

i posted my first thread a few days ago and some of you asked me questions i'm more than willing to answer.

but there is so much i want to say to you there's no way i can convey all the information at one sitting, so i've decided to tackle one subject at a time, both for the sake of not boring you and because i'd love to know how you feel about each individual topic.

goldensky

I fully agree with you, Winstonchurchill.

Sapphy, I'm so glad you posted! You sound sweet. I'm looking forward to hearing more from you.

Thank you, everybody, for your comments. They have really enlightened me as to the origin of sacrifices.

How I wish we had been allowed these open-hearted well-meaning debates at meetings!

6

Obama care: Will it cover the JW's at Bethel?

by dissed in

jw
friends

this is not a political thread.. my question has to do with the possible usa government mandate of employers covering its workers with healthcare.

if it becomes law, then all bethel workers must have health insurance.. so who pays for it?.

can the bethelites claim poverty and the us covers them or would the us claim that the wts is the employer and they must pay for the insurance?.

goldensky

"The straw to break the camel's back, like in Spain"?

In 48 years living in Spain I've never heard that expression once. What we say is: "Esta es la gota que ha hecho rebosar el vaso"= "This is the drop that has made the glass overflow".

But yours is cool too: "La paja que le ha roto el lomo al camello". I'll start using it and see if I set the fashion.

That's my correction.

What was the main subject...?

48

MY FIRST DOUBT

by goldensky in

jw
friends

dear all,.

i posted my first thread a few days ago and some of you asked me questions i'm more than willing to answer.

but there is so much i want to say to you there's no way i can convey all the information at one sitting, so i've decided to tackle one subject at a time, both for the sake of not boring you and because i'd love to know how you feel about each individual topic.

goldensky

Dear Winstonchurchill,

I'd seen your two preceding posts and was about to answer them when I found you've just written again.

First of all: muchísimas gracias por tus cariñosas palabras. ¡Me encanta que hables castellano! Tus expresiones: "¡He dicho!" y "¡Hala, maja!" no me dejan lugar a dudas en cuanto a tu procedencia española. (Sorry, guys... I couldn't resist this temptation. But I'll carry on in English, only now at half the speed). I think you are extremely open-minded being on this forum while still an active Witness and it's very, very commendable that you openly acknowledge your position as an elder in the congregation. You are very brave, very honest.

The points you make are EXTREMELY interesting, and I was keeping that topic for another occasion, but since you've brought it up, I can't help contributing my own thoughts on that.

Yes, the reason the brothers offer for the allowance of suffering is not only absurd, but insulting to Jehovah. What earthly parent would allow anybody to inflict if only one minute's suffering on his child only to prove how much the kid loves him or vindicate his rights? NONE OF US WOULD! There has to be another reason that has not been disclosed to us humans. Either that or God does not exist. Or he dropped us on this planet and forgot all about us. But he just can't mind more his sovereignty than our suffering... And as you say, suffering can reach extreme and spine-chilling heights in the case of thousands of humans throughtout history. Just the thought that right now a child is paralyzed looking at his father approaching him knowing what's going to happen next... I have to stop thinking because I CAN'T BEAR THE THOUGHT. And that is just one drop in the ocean of horrors some humans are capable of inflicting... And are we supposed to believe Jehovah permits that to prove His points? I prefer to think there is a cosmical reason we will learn about in our next life, if there is one (I hope, I hope, I hope, I want there to be another life!!!).

Do you remember a few months ago the Watchtower study article about Job? When I prepared it I realized I couldn't believe one word of it. In spite of that, for my 10-year-old son's sake (I'll talk about him another day) I went through it with him in advance (we've always, always prepared for the meetings) trying to sound enthusiastic. I made a point not to let through my own feelings. At the end of our quick review (I always made it quick since he picks it up in seconds and I don't want to bore him), there was a sad look on his face and I asked him what the problem was. He says to me: "Mum, was it really necessary for poor Job to suffer like that? I mean, couldn't Jehovah have spared him that?" That's all I needed to hear! Even an innocent ten-year-old found the whole reasoning absurd! When we went to the meeting I looked round to see if any of the brothers made a strange face or something. That would have comforted me. But no. Every one gave categorical answers as if they were saying the most logical thing in the world. And I thought: "Why am I the only one who finds this impossible to believe? Are they all under general hypnosis?"

Why would Jehovah, the Sovereign of the Universe, feel he had to give an answer to Satan? He doesn't have to prove anything to anybody, least of all to an unscrupulous (no time to look up the spelling in the dictionary) enemy. And he goes and hands Job and "by extension" all other humans into Satan's hands? And for thousands of years? Come on!

I have to pick my kids up from school, otherwise I'd elaborate on my feelings about Abraham's story, also along the same line of thought. Another day.

Enjoy today.