Posts by nugget

11

Elder left a calling card - what's with that?

by Julia Orwell in

jw
friends

he called me a week or two ago offering 'assistance' and told me he'd pop by some time with 'a packet of biscuits' and i told him to ring before he came so as not to show up unannounced.

we went out yesterday, and this morning i find a little business card-sized calling card obviously printed up on ms word and cut with scissors.

on it is printed, "sorry i missed you," and has his name and number, and the scripture from romans saying something about an interchange of encouragement.. pretty inoccuous right?

nugget

It is stressful because it shows a complete disrespect for your thoughts, feelings and expressed wishes. It means that they can and will visit unannounced and that they are in control of when they turn up at your house and not you. It is basically an effort to reassert their authority however clumsy.

However that being said your home is your home and if they turn up announced then state that further visits are unwelcome unless they are expressly invited since they have not respected your wishes. You are aware of their concern and know where they are so will contact them if you have need of their assistance and encouragement. Then say goodbye and shut the door. How polite you choose to be will depend on you and your circumstances. They only have the power over them we choose to give them.

35

What to say if JW tells you the big A is coming very soon, Jehovah's day will come here like a thief? etc..

by Iamallcool in

jw
friends

i like terry's topic about noah's day not being armageddon enough.

.

nugget

Didn't you hear it's been here since 1975, I'm sorry you didn't make the cut.

45

Disgusted with JW Funeral Today!

by time2keepmoving in

my son grew up with one of the young brothers in the kingdom and after graduation both him and my son left the kh.

the young man who left the hall fell into the wrong crowd and i mean a really dangerous crowd and as a result of him getting involved in illegal activity he was murdered.

i really feel for this young man, because he was a decent kid.

nugget

I went to my uncle's funeral this week, my first non JW funeral since leaving. I have attended many JW funerals and was often dismayed at how little respect was given to the deceased. In contrast my Uncle's funeral service was truly moving and my Dad gave a lovely eulogy in which he described the day his brother was born and their early life together. He talked about how close they were and how truly special he was and how much he meant to him. The vicar was sensitive to the family and the hymns were appropriate, uplifting and moving.

The best bit was meeting all my great cousins and extended family, and reminising about my Uncle and feeling how much they wanted to be there for him and my Dad. We all had a small wake with tea, sandwiches and cake and just talked. Funnily enough it was the first time the funeral service served a purpose and was cathartic we felt my Uncle had a good send off, we were there for him. We all had a chance to say goodbye and feel the loss and accept that there was nothing more we could do for him in this life.

No JWs were in attendance

25

Oh, wise one, answer me THIS!

by stillin in

i bought a large container of strawberries.

my daughter is disfellowshipped.

may i consider it "necessary family business" to give her some of them to share with my grandchildren?

nugget

no in JW world unless they are starving strawberries are a privilege shared only with the faithful.

36

Trying to handle my JW mom

by KatyMomof2 in

jw
friends

my mom is a recent widow.

she, being a jw does not have means to support herself and does not seek higher education ( because that would take from her studies ).

so, she is living ( sponging off of ) me.

nugget

Your mum is an adult and as such must bear a degree of responsibility for herself. Unless you are extremly wealthy you cannot sustain keeping her indefinitely and she needs to make some effort to pay her way. She needs to know what she is entitled to and she also needs to know how to earn her own money. Studying is what you do between work and chores if she wants to study full time she can become a nun. It sounds harsh but if anything were to happen to you she would not have the life skills to cope.

On the other issue she has the right to believe whatever she likes but she does not have the right to terrify your children. As a JW she thinks she is teaching them the truth and will not be able to help herself. You can explain to your children that people believe in many strange things and granny too has some funny ideas. Sadly some can be a little scary so if granny tries to talk about religion then say I'm sorry but that is not something I want to talk about. Reinforce to your mother that religion is off limits and remind her that to continue to live together she needs to respect your wishes.

I would investigate housing in any case and look if there is any alternative accommodation and move her towards the goal of independent living if this is achievable otherwise there is a distinct possibility that your current arrangement will crash and burn.

17

How was it possible for Adam to name All the animals in one day?

by jam in

jw
friends

some have argued, genesis 1:24 bring forth the living.

creature according to it,s kind.

so this will cut down on the.

nugget

As it is a story and not fact Adam could have done anything he wanted. The genesis account is vague as to the animals that were created and certainly there is no record of Adam going out to sea to name the great sea creatures so it is just a device to move the story on.

After all if Adam named the animals why did people have to invent names when they discovered new ones?

38

Has the feared and much anticipated,'Jehovah Witness Great Tribulation', now started in earnest during this year of 2013?

by Sol Reform in

the watchtower states that the great tribulation.... will start when the united nations attacks babylon the great.

it appears individual states of the usa are starting to get that ball rolling right now.. .

with the world wide child sexual abuse cover-ups across the globe getting special attention from the media.. legislators across the usa seem to have lost the fear of getting the nod of disapproval of 'clergy', especially from the younger members.. law professor marci a. hamilton writes, "across the country, the movement for justice for child-sex-abuse victims is finding that conversations that used to begin with a discussion of the catholic bishops' opposition (and then often ended abruptly) are now started by a member's saying, "they don't deserve deference on this issue.

nugget

If a crack down on child abuses is seen as a sign that the fall of Babylon the great then why are jws so gleeful. They are being dragged through the courts in the USA and Australia and their own failings are being exposed along with their arrogance to do nothing. They are as corrupt as all the rest and worse than some.

112

So tired of life

by LouBelle in

jw
friends

i am so tired of waking up without hope.

so tired of fighting one more day...i just want it to end as painless as possible.

i truly don't have the willpower or strength anymore..

nugget

LouBelle I am so sorry to hear that you are feeling so low. You have been through so much and come through it all with dignity. The world needs insightful and special people like you.

71

MIL letter to my wife

by AggieNostic in

background: my wife and i are inactive, we stopped attending in 2005. raised as jws, were pioneers, i was elder etc... .

our kids are in college, also inactive but are baptised.

my wife went back to college, getting her degree this month at age 48!

nugget

The letter shows all the manipulation you would expect. You have to make changes, they are feeling rejected by you and they are being forced to exclude you from one of the most important days of their lives.

Despite the protestations of love it comes across as very cold. If you feel the need to respond than make it clear that you have not rejected them as they suggest but that their decision not to associate with you is theirs alone. E.G.

We all love you very much and cherish the importance of family in our lives. As a family we share experience and upbringing and have a unique bond that is not easily broken or lightly cast aside. This means that we still love and respect you and appreciate all you have done for us. Our love for you is not conditional on what you believe, who you associate with or how you chose to live your life we are always available to you. We will not reject you or exclude you because you are that important to us.

You are right that we all have choices and we choose to love you always just as we love all our family.

However bear in mind that any response is likely to fall on deaf ears they will not be open to reason. With this in mind sometimes it is better to ignore the manipulation rather than fuel the fanaticism.

54

AUSTRALIA | TRANSCRIPT of Child Abuse Inquiry into Jehovah's Witnesses and Watchtower Society - April 2013

by jwleaks in

jw leaks has published the 17 page official transcript of the appearance by watchtower bible and tract society of australia and jehovah's witnesses before the "inquiry into the handling of child abuse by religious and other organisations" conducted on 11 april 2013 in victoria, australia.. http://jwleaks.org/australia/.

quote from rachel van witsen, legal counsel for watchtower bible and tract society of australia and jehovah's witnesses, in reply to who is responsible for reporting child abuse within the religion of jehovah's witnesses... .

ms van witsen at the moment, because there is no mandatory reporting for ministers of religion in victoria, then the victim, who has very often had their dignity removed, is then put in the drivers seat.. .

nugget

Just finished reading this. Their secret seems to be not to give a direct answer to any question. I cannot believe there are only 2 cases of child abuse in Victoria in 40 years. '(Even if they mean elders and MS's). They neglected to give the number of cases overall. I suppose this is spiritual warfare but it is also dishonest.

Time and again it is stressed that the victim can report to authorities but they see no reason for elders to report independently.

I found it extremely disheartening that procedure counts for more than proactive protection of children. I also found it upseting that they think that they are doing enough, there is no drive to change. The committee didn't even go into the area of warning parents of risk but I get the feeling that they found the whole thing very frustrating.