Posts by eyesthatsee

80

Was You a Bethelite, Elder,CO, DO, GB, Publisher, Missionary,Ministerial Servant or Pioneer class?????

by Scott77 in

when still in the watchtower, i used to be an assistant ministerial servant.

true, there is no such title but its there unofficially for those one step to being a ministerial servant.

been with it for about three years.

eyesthatsee

- pioneer

- MS

- Elder 20 years (last 5 years as PO) SHAME ON ME!

- Regular DC & CA talks

- stayed in longer than wanted to help children get out (1 down and 1 to go)

- faded away over last 2 years

ETS

54

For born ins- what tipped you off it was wrong

by teela(2) in

jw
friends

at a young age i remember watching tv and commenting why is the red cross always helping people and we don't.

the second big one is if the witnesses only started up in 1890 - 1900 did jehovah not have anyone else doing the preaching work?.

as a child i don't think we think about theological problems so what tipped you off?

eyesthatsee

Top 10 JW Issues as a 'Born-in'

(1) Writing their own Bible

(2) Hypocrisy of 'question your religious heritage' - unless it's us

(3) Laughable mis-quotes of scientists to support their own story of creation

(4) Killing men, women and children with a man-made set of rules on blood

(5) False prophet and then spinning their own theocratic history - dishonesty and more lies

(6) The shame of chairing judicial commitees that ruined peoples' lives, using man's rules and forgetting about the love of Jesus

(7) Mushroom religion - keep the dubs in the dark (on pain of DF) and sh*t on them (generation changes etc.........)

(8) Deprive children of the basic human right of an education

(9) Brainwashing techniques, including baptism of children (it is a lie when they say they don't)

(10) Protect the organisation first and foremost (paedophiles, instruction to contact Society 1st if accident on ministry etc etc)

ETS

41

The trouble with fading as your leaving strategy

by eyesthatsee in

whatever your chosen strategy for leaving jws, the fundamental truth is that there is no clean / simple exit.

the mind control, the manipulation of normal family relationships etc will make any strategy very difficult at times.

the key issue is to know this ahead of time and be prepared, as best you can.. we've all chosen leaving strategies acording to our personal circumstances, preferences and learning from others.

eyesthatsee

Thanks for sharing your experiences and advice - good stuff and it helps alot.

I knew of a former elder who half-way through a public talk explained that he couldn't believe such lies anymore - walked off the platform, out of the KH and never came back.

Relatively young, no family ties in the cult and he started his new life quickly, without wasting his life - good for him.

Most of us have far more complex situations and numerous family ties with 'brain-washed' dubs - I don't mean to be rude by using that phrase, since I was exactly that a few years ago.

Therefore, careful planning and taking some time seems to be the best option for many - it is hard to bite your tongue when you hear the same lies over and over.

However, if my fade takes too long then I'm just wasting my life - throwing years away by passively supporting a global publishing corporation.

For me, one of the most positive things I have is an education. Even though a 3rd generation JW, I was able to get to university (after pioneering!) and eventually got a science degree and doctorate (what I could say about the creation book!). My heart goes out to all those who missed a proper education (a basic human right) because of this cult.

In my job, identifying the best strategy, planning the way forward and implementing is exactly what I do. I need to apply this rigor and logic to my painful exit from this malicious religion. I have a milestone in my life of when my daughter leaves school (not too far off). When she does, then that's it - I stop the pretense and avoid the lot of them. I believe that my wife's love is entirely conditional on my being a JW, so we will probably separate when she knows I'm never coming back to the KH. A previous poster said that you need to be prepared in your mind to lose everything - your children, your partner, your so-called friends, your house etc - if you can face all that (i.e. the worst situation possible) and know that you can cope with it, then and only then put your plans into action. I'm less than a year away from putting my plans into action. I'm prepared to lose everything to break away from this religion. I hope to keep a relationship with my children, but know that my wife will do her best to make this difficult. So be it.

Will keep you posted. Kind regards. ETS

41

The trouble with fading as your leaving strategy

by eyesthatsee in

whatever your chosen strategy for leaving jws, the fundamental truth is that there is no clean / simple exit.

the mind control, the manipulation of normal family relationships etc will make any strategy very difficult at times.

the key issue is to know this ahead of time and be prepared, as best you can.. we've all chosen leaving strategies acording to our personal circumstances, preferences and learning from others.

eyesthatsee

Whatever your chosen strategy for leaving JWs, the fundamental truth is that there is no clean / simple exit. The mind control, the manipulation of normal family relationships etc will make any strategy very difficult at times. The key issue is to know this ahead of time and be prepared, as best you can.

We've all chosen leaving strategies acording to our personal circumstances, preferences and learning from others. My choice was to fade over time - primarily because I still have a zealous JW wife, still have a young child going to meetings and was a long serving elder.

The trouble with fading for me is that even after more than a year out, there is still a question in the BoE and congregations' mind about whether I will return. I still get invites out for meals with the family, still get the odd phone call and other contacts from my former elder colleagues. I know it's over - I know I can never go back after seeing the lies of the organisation, yet the continual contact and overtures made through familiy connections is hard.

For some, DA'd or a quick and definitive exit, leaving no room for doubt in the minds of others, may be the best option. I wonder sometimes whether the slow burn of fading is best. In the end, I think the only reason for a long fade is trying to minimise damage to your children and keeping your communication route open to them (closed if you're DA'd or DF's) to help them leave.

How did it go for you when you decided to fade? Appreciate any views and experiences.

Regards and affection to all out there going through the same hardship. ETS

55

BOE on Disfellowshiped Relatives

by JWFreak in

jw
friends

again...please do not request a pdf scan these are interbranch copies not the same ones sent to the congregations.

jwf.. january 21, 2010 .

to all bodies of elders .

eyesthatsee

Lesson for all parents that love their children is don't let them get baptised. Delay, delay, delay and it may never happen.

As an ex-elder (resigned, not DF'd or DA'd) who resigned because of exactly this kind of malicious manipulation, I agree that this letter is authentic - almost word for word with similar letters I've seen over the last few years.

Oh by the way, almost all of the grey men in suits who write this drivel don't have children, have never experienced normal familiy life and are institutionalised.

My advice is don't be bitter, just laugh at their cultish musings. They have no power over those who use their God-given thinking ability and get out.

Difficult when we still have family still in the cult, but still much better than living by these evil man-made rules.

ETS

25

How do you cope with a zealous JW wife?

by eyesthatsee in

jw
friends

i've been out for a little while now - fading was my chosen strategy.

before then, elder for around 20 years - all the usual stuff.. why leave?

(1) reading other material and thinking for yourself - never too late (2) couldn't stomach any more judicial committees where i had to preside over handing out edicts that were going to wreck peoples' lives (3) final realisation that i'm not going to let my children die because of the false 'blood' interpretation (4) nail in the coffin, which opened my eyes to the 'rotteness at the core' of the organisation, was the deliberate mis-quoting of scientists and others, to make a lie seem like truth.. anyway, my wife (both pioneered together) is as zealous as ever - more so now.

eyesthatsee

Many thanks for all your good advice- it does help to know that many have been or are going through this now.

There's no way I'll ever go back - when I eventually opened my eyes and saw the evil manipulation of this cult, I knew then that, whatever the consequences, freedom is the most important thing.

Will give an update soon.

ETS

25

How do you cope with a zealous JW wife?

by eyesthatsee in

jw
friends

i've been out for a little while now - fading was my chosen strategy.

before then, elder for around 20 years - all the usual stuff.. why leave?

(1) reading other material and thinking for yourself - never too late (2) couldn't stomach any more judicial committees where i had to preside over handing out edicts that were going to wreck peoples' lives (3) final realisation that i'm not going to let my children die because of the false 'blood' interpretation (4) nail in the coffin, which opened my eyes to the 'rotteness at the core' of the organisation, was the deliberate mis-quoting of scientists and others, to make a lie seem like truth.. anyway, my wife (both pioneered together) is as zealous as ever - more so now.

eyesthatsee

I've been out for a little while now - fading was my chosen strategy. Before then, elder for around 20 years - all the usual stuff.

Why leave? (1) Reading other material and thinking for yourself - never too late (2) Couldn't stomach any more judicial committees where I had to preside over handing out edicts that were going to wreck peoples' lives (3) Final realisation that I'm not going to let my children die because of the false 'blood' interpretation (4) Nail in the coffin, which opened my eyes to the 'rotteness at the core' of the organisation, was the deliberate mis-quoting of scientists and others, to make a lie seem like truth.

Anyway, my wife (both pioneered together) is as zealous as ever - more so now. She flips from rage / anger / bitter words to grief and sobbing. When angry, she accuses me of disloyalty, breaking up the family, throwing away everything we ever had etc etc. When upset, she cries who will look after her, she's so lonely, I'm breaking her and the childrens' hearts etc.

I don't want to leave me wife and family. I've explained that the only issue I have is with the religion, although have never criticised the organisation (I know my wife will report me to the elders for apostasy if I do).

Out of all this, the most difficult thing for me to cope with is the grief, the sobbing, the 'broken my heart' stuff. I can't see a way through this, unless I return to the meetings and ministry. It's been around 2 years now, and it's not getting better - worse if anything.

How do you cope with this? Is it a natural reaction to her loss, or a more definite strategy on her part? Is she being coached by the elders?

Who knows? All I know is that it's very hard and the mind control of this cult is far stronger than any normal family bond.

Thanks for reading. ETS

15

How can they still believe it?

by eyesthatsee in

i've been watching this site for some time now - it's been a real help - but only recently started to post.

part of the journey i suppose.. 3rd generation jw, served as an elder for > 20 years, talks at dc, pioneer etc - started to fade in last 12 months - will post my story sometime.. anyway, occasionally i still go to a meeting to keep my zealous jw wife away from the elders.. at a recent public talk, the speaker referred to 'millions now living will never die', and said:.

although 'premature', this proclamation was made by zealous anointed ones i.e.

eyesthatsee

I've been watching this site for some time now - it's been a real help - but only recently started to post. Part of the journey I suppose.

3rd generation JW, served as an elder for > 20 years, talks at DC, pioneer etc - started to fade in last 12 months - will post my story sometime.

Anyway, occasionally I still go to a meeting to keep my zealous JW wife away from the elders.

At a recent public talk, the speaker referred to 'millions now living will never die', and said:

although 'premature', this proclamation was made by zealous anointed ones i.e. NOT WRONG
must be true today as the end is 'imminent'
end of the world and 'execution' not 'on the horizon' but right in front of us
recent organisational changes prove this

I looked round the KH to see most heads nodding in agreement.

How can they ignore all the false predictions? - 1925 with respect to 'millions ......never die'

How can they keep on accepting the changes and falsehoods, while they all get greyer and older?

Their mind control and suspension of reason is absolute.

Just wanted to share this - helps me laugh at it, rather than get angry or bitter.

ETS

202

CO/DO's in the UK?

by pobthespazz in

can anyone compile a list of as many as possible past and present co/do's from the uk?

eyesthatsee

Thanks jookbeard - I've been watching this forum for quite a while - and finally decided to make a post.

Cantleave - I respect your view of Bill H. Maybe you saw another side of him. I also worked closely with him and saw some positive behaviours, but many negative. I didn't see his care for those in the congregation who had a low profile e.g. elderly sisters, widows etc. Quite the reverse. I've also seen him inspecting video collections of elders and MS's - looking for unsuitable material in his view, so that he could take action. These are facts that I personally witnessed. Maybe that's the old Bill and he's improved with age - hope so for the sake of those under his 'care' now.

202

CO/DO's in the UK?

by pobthespazz in

can anyone compile a list of as many as possible past and present co/do's from the uk?

eyesthatsee

Andrew Searle - newer CO in Durham area now. Nice enough, but a Society man through and through (sell you down the river without a qualm) and a bit of a loser - saw him fall off his chair once in a meeting.

Walter Reekie - CO about 25-30 years ago. Wife was suffering from Anoxeria and would hardly eat a thing. Heard they split up years ago and he left the Borg. Might have come back by now.

Gordon Webb - idiot who liked to play with flight sims. He expected everyone to bow and scrape to his wife (Pussy Gallore - aka Honour). Heard he was taken ill (cancer) and 'retired' - cong elder somewhere

Prize twat award to Tom Lynch. Absolute nutter, drunk with power. Made his own slide shows about creation and science - they were awful and factually incorrect. 99% of the BoE knew he was a tosser, but kept their heads down and waited for the lightening bolt. Heard he was removed as a CO about 10 years ago.

Alan Fisher - liked Alan. Only knew him when he was quite young as a CO, before he was fully assimmilated. Seemed like a nice guy a bit out of his depth. Sorry to hear that he might have had drink problem.

Bill Harris - CO in the South of England somewhere. Always looking for trouble of the JC kind, Had a wife who hardly ever smiled. No wonder living with him. A wannabe Bethel manager who was trying to raise his profile to get the heavenly call to Mill Hill. Will probably never come for him.

'Happy' memories - eyesthatsee