Great suggestions everyone!
Billy, I don't know if he's the type to say "just have faith." I guess we'll find out.
doublelife
JoinedPosts by doublelife
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31
Well, I told my mom today that I haven't been to a meeting in 5 months plus I need some advise for next Saturday
by doublelife inme and my mom made plans to see each other today so this morning she called me and said she was already in my area and wanted to know where to meet up.
i told her that i wasn't ready yet so to come to my apartment first.
i said that me and my husband are still in our pjs and she gasped and ask, "you didn't go to the meeting today?
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31
Well, I told my mom today that I haven't been to a meeting in 5 months plus I need some advise for next Saturday
by doublelife inme and my mom made plans to see each other today so this morning she called me and said she was already in my area and wanted to know where to meet up.
i told her that i wasn't ready yet so to come to my apartment first.
i said that me and my husband are still in our pjs and she gasped and ask, "you didn't go to the meeting today?
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doublelife
Me and my mom made plans to see each other today so this morning she called me and said she was already in my area and wanted to know where to meet up. I told her that I wasn't ready yet so to come to my apartment first. I said that me and my husband are still in our pjs and she gasped and ask, "You didn't go to the meeting today?" (Our meetings are on Sat.) I said no and she asked if we've been making a habit of that. I told her that we haven't been going a lot because I've just been tired and don't want to go. Then, she went on about how it's so close to the end and now is not the time to drift away from the congregation. So I changed the subject by giving her directions to my place(she'd been here before but gets lost all the time). So she gets here and I walked out to her and we talk before going in my apartment. She wants to know exactly how many meetings I've missed. I'm so sick of hiding from her so I decide to be truthful and tell her I haven't been since my dad died which was in October. So she asked if being tired was the only reason I'm not going or is it doctrinal. I said that I'm having some doubts. At first, she remains fairly calm even though I can tell her cult personality is out now. She asked what my doubts were. I could tell that she thinks she'll know how to answer me. I started with telling her about the time I was an unbaptized publisher and I heard rumors that the jws were teaching that armageddon would come in 1914. And I reminded her that I asked both her and a pioneer in our hall and the answer I got was that they taught 1914 would be the beginning of the end. She nodded her head yes. Then, I told her that that is something that is hard to find out for ourselves because the cd-rom only goes back to the 1950s and that I've found scans of articles on the internet showing that they really did teach armageddon would come in 1914. Of coarse, she tried to warn me about apostate websites but I told her that what I looked at was just scans of old publications and that was it. She seemed okay with that and calmed down again. Then, I told her that at first I was concerned that these scans may have been forged so I compared one scan taken from The Harp of God and compared it with the book at my hall and found out for myself that it wasn't forged. Anyways, I told her about 1799, 1874, and 1914. I quoted her Duet. 18:20-22 about false prophets. Of coarse, her response is "unless new light comes." It was like she was trying to finish the quote but I told her that that is not what the scripture says. So she says, "I know but new light has come out since then." I didn't want to argue with her so I just said, "That's not what the scripture says but there's something else I'm having a problem with." So she stops talking and is now listening. I said, "Well, we know that they got the date 1914 from adding the seven times prophecy to 607 b.c.e. because that's when Jerusalem was destroyed right?" So I'm looking at her and immediately her shoulders become smaller and her faces changes from "I can answer anything" to "Uh-oh, she's getting into something deep and I don't know what to say." So she just nodded her head yes. Then I say, "Well, I've been doing some history research and found out that Jerusalem was not destroyed in 607 but in 587." Her response, "Well, I'm not very smart with things like that but your uncle is. Why don't I have him do some research about that and have him talk to you about it. Would you do that?" So I said sure.
Then she gets upset and huffy and puffy and asked if my husband was the one telling me all this. She's getting so angry before I even get the chance to say no. So quickly I tell her no and that this is all me and he doesn't even agree with me. She asked why he was missing the meetings and I told her that he was just lazy. So she says she wants to talk to his mom. I asked why and she said she wants to tell his mom that her son isn't making the meetings. So I say, "Wait, you're basically being a tattletell?" She thinks it's funny and laughs and says yes. I don't her that the bible says we are suppose to mind our own business and not be busybodies. But, of coarse, she says that only applies to personal matters and this was spiritual and his mom needs to make him go back to the meetings. I told her that my husband is an adult and his mom can't make him to anything and the same applies to me. She said, "I know."
As we were walking to my apartment I asked my mom, "Hypothetically, when my uncle speaks to me and if he can't prove me wrong and I decide I no longer believe, will...." I couldn't get the words out. She finished it for me, "Will I disown you?" "Yes." I said. "No, of coarse not. You're my daughter." I asked, "What if I disassociated myself?" She said that that would be different. I asked, "So as long as I don't disassociate myself, but I no longer believe, you won't disown me?" She said that's right. Even though I'm disassociating myself with my actions, as long as it's not an official disassociation, she won't disown me. Even though that's very hypocritical I'll take it so I didn't say anything else to her. But, at least now I don't feel any pressure to pretend my uncle talked some sense into me. I can disagree and I'll still have my mom.
As I was typing this my mom called and said that my aunt and uncle want to come visit me next Sat. afternoon. I told her that I only wanted to talk to him because I don't want to feel like I'm being ganged up on. They were in the background and my mom told them I only wanted one of them to come. I could hear my aunt in the background say that only my uncle would come and I heard him agree to it. So, I need to get everything prepared for my uncle next Sat. He's an elder so he know how to explain this subject. But I do too. Does anyone have any suggestions? What none apostate sources can I copy or print out to show my uncle that Jerusalem was destroyed in 587? Any suggestions on how to handle this I would appreciate.
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Borg court: 2nd session
by sd-7 injudicial committee, round 2. i have to give it to the elders on this one.
they fought well, albeit with unrefined technique.
pure strength of authority apparently seems to make up for a lack of sufficient evidence, just as the 300-pound fellow who believed you were checking out his girlfriend can beat the tar out of you even though you were merely looking at the clock behind her on the wall.
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doublelife
I don't have much to add either but thanks for sharing your experience and I'm sorry your going through this.
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Watchtower Letters to BOE exposed on You Tube about Child Abuse
by Frank75 ini don't know if these letters have been seen before, certainly some have discussed them.
but this you tube upload is short and sweet in exposing some confidential letters that show the two sides to wt speak.. cheers!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzrz4sgqs1y.
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doublelife
Marking for later. I'll have to watch these when I get home form work.
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doublelife
Welcome!
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15
A term that put me in my cult mind set...but only for a second
by doublelife ini was just hanging up my husband's shirts and started on the section where he had his dress shirts.
but what i thought in my head was "meeting shirts.
" and i quickly realized that i have to start saying "dress shirts" instead.
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doublelife
chickpea, lol. That poor dog.
Quirky1, .
Hortenzie and White Dove, I have a really nice looking denim skirt that I wore to the convention in 2008 and my mom got onto me about it because denim is on the list of things you're not suppose to wear to bethel in that brochure the congregations got. It was so frustrating because they claim that they don't want you to wear denim because it's too casual but this skirt was not casual. I guess that's an example of my mom's black and white thinking.
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Another bit of unexplainable hypocrisy
by Mad Sweeney inask a dub acquaintance this and see if they have anything resembling a rational answer:.
you: when you're at a public event and the announcer says, "please rise for the playing/singing of the national anthem," you refuse to stand because that would be considered an act of nationalistic worship, correct?.
dub: correct.. you: why then, when a jw is in a courtroom and the baliff says, "all rise for the honorable judge whatsherface, court is now in session," do jws stand up?
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doublelife
I always thought we could stand as that would be showing respect. There's a picture in one of the publications that shows a boy standing as his class is saluting the flag. I think it's the Live Forever book but I'm not sure.
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A term that put me in my cult mind set...but only for a second
by doublelife ini was just hanging up my husband's shirts and started on the section where he had his dress shirts.
but what i thought in my head was "meeting shirts.
" and i quickly realized that i have to start saying "dress shirts" instead.
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doublelife
I'm so relieved to know it's not just me.
yknot, I'm glad I could help.
Confucious, lol. Well, since I'm not a guy I never knew the difference between the shirts. But, I always tried to wear my more casual skirts in FS and save the ones that had to be dry cleaned for the meetings.
White Dove, it still amazes me that jws change something as simple as clothes descriptions so that non-jws wouldn't understand. I mean, what non-jw would know what meeting clothes means?
dig692, I'm glad I started this thread.
chicken little, I never heard that joke but it makes since. lol
pixiesticks, lol. You have now been freed of that term. Don't let yourself say 'meeting clothes' anymore! :)
babygirl30, I hear ya. I don't buy dresses anymore either. I was going to throw mine out. The only reason I didn't is because sometimes when you do movies or commercials you have to provide your own wardrobe and I don't want to have to start from scratch if I need to be prepared with a dress or skirt.
cantleave, I was always too poor to buy a different outfit for teh memorial or the conventions. I was jealous of those that could.
garyneal, it's good that you're trying to stop that now while she's young.
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A term that put me in my cult mind set...but only for a second
by doublelife ini was just hanging up my husband's shirts and started on the section where he had his dress shirts.
but what i thought in my head was "meeting shirts.
" and i quickly realized that i have to start saying "dress shirts" instead.
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doublelife
I was just hanging up my husband's shirts and started on the section where he had his dress shirts. But what I thought in my head was "meeting shirts." And I quickly realized that I have to start saying "dress shirts" instead. Just another term I'd never thought of before as putting me in my cult mind set. It made we wonder something though. Did anybody else ever refer to their dress clothes as meeting clothes or is it just me?
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It's amazing how much you can get done when you don't go to the meeting!
by JimmyPage injust tonight i've worked out, done laundry, cleaned my daughter's room, read a chapter in a book, burned a cd and a dvd, sent some emails, and started a few threads here... and i'm probably forgetting a few things!.
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doublelife
Yeah, not having to go to all the meetings and field service has helped me keep up my exercise routine and to keep my apartment clean.