mentallyfree31

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Posts by mentallyfree31

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  15

  You Lie I Lie

  by dearone in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i am still presently 'active' because of family and have recently been hounded by the elder due to low hours in the ministry.

  i have decided though that i now feel that i can lie on my service report because fds has set the perfect example for me to follow.

  yesterday in the watchtower study they were misleading in refering to millions now living may never die, and also used two scriptures to support the need to witness day and night but the scriptures were completly unrealated and taken out of context.

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  mentallyfree31

  In reality, it's hours spent knocking on doors and telling people things that aren't true. So, 5 hours per month versus 10 hours per month - it really doesn't matter. I quickly became comfortable reporting ficticious hours for a brief time. Then I went irregular, and that was a great feeling.
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  23

  Are Jehovah's Witnesses allowed to live in homes made of PLYWOOD? A Watchtower viewpoint from 1964.

  by ThomasCovenant in

  1. watchtower
  2. medical

  while looking up whether jw nurses are allowed to administer blood transfusions i found this little gem from.

  watchtower 15th november 1964 page 681 .

  ''the use of blood in adhesives for manufacturing plywood and other commonly used materials has now come to the attention of christians, and we use plywood as an example.. much plywood is made using blood glue, but some plywood is blood-free.. a christian purchaser or contractor may seek to obtain blood-free plywood if he can do so; however, if he decides to use all types of plywood, it must be left to his conscience.

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  mentallyfree31

  Funny stuff! There is no end to their bizzare ideas!
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  43

  What Actually Helped You Leave The Organization?

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  after seeing some threads about how some think that being direct (like danny hazzard) is the best way to get people out of "the truth" or being very subtle is most effective----i was wondering what exactly made you leave the organization??.

  were you more impressed by websites that were informational?

  what really got you thinking to leave the religion and its mindset?.

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  mentallyfree31

  My brother asked me "Did you realize that WT has predicted Armageddon over 10 times already?" I did not know that.

  That question rolled around in my head for days and weeks. I finally reached the conclusion that "if somebody has predicted something 10 times, and it has always failed, they evdiently know nothing about the subject".

  Then I read Ray Franz's book.

  Now I'm out.
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  11

  Welcome Mentallyfree31

  by Think About It in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  post 1 of mentallyfree31.

  welcome gutted.

  you have been given excellent advice by many of the posters here.

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  mentallyfree31

  Thanks everybody for the comments. I have been buried in reserach and books for months, so I'm just making an entrance to the online world of ex-JWs. Fortunately, I had two brothers who were already OUT, and when the time came where I was ready to look at hards facts, they pointed me to exactly the right books to read.

  It's been quite exhilerating to discover that I was living in a bubble, and that there is a whole wide world out there of knowledge of research and understanding. Just the freedom to consider any/all points of view without fear or guilt is a wonderful feeling.
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  56

  Is the Jehovah’s Witnesses organization really a cult?

  by Etude in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  im sure the question has been brought up before on this board and i imagine that for many of us the answer is patent.

  however, i recently saw a documentary on pbs regarding the mormons and it stated categorically that the church of jesus christ of latter day saints is not a cult.

  given that it has its own set of strangeness and history of revision as has the wtbts, could it also (the jw) be considered a main stream, although minor religion?.

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  mentallyfree31

  If you were to walk up to a JW and tell them that they are in a cult, and that you have all the information that they need to prove it to them, most would refuse to look at the information. Why? Because people in a cult have been indoctrinated to believe that they are not in a cult. They won't even consider hard facts and research of people who are experts in the field of cults and mind control.

  If you walk up to somebody that is not in a cult, and make the same offer - you will likely find that they will gladly consider the facts. They have nothing to lose, and they haven't been indoctrinated with fears and phobias that would make them afraid or hesitant to look at facts.
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  10

  Family Worship Night

  by cantleave in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  the circuit overseer's elders meeting i attended just under a year ago, talked a great deal about the family worship evening.

  one of the things that came out was that each family head should get a visit from an elder, in order to encourage this essential spiritual activity.. as i have since faded i was wondering if the elders really did do this?

  my experience is that shepherding calls are never really done unless someone has done something worthy of a jc.. so here's my question for all you guys and gals that still suffer meetings, have you had a visit from your group overseer, specifically encouraging you to make the most of family worship?.

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  mentallyfree31

  Hoser,

  I did not know that about the mormons. Thats funny. Thanks for the link.
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  10

  Family Worship Night

  by cantleave in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  the circuit overseer's elders meeting i attended just under a year ago, talked a great deal about the family worship evening.

  one of the things that came out was that each family head should get a visit from an elder, in order to encourage this essential spiritual activity.. as i have since faded i was wondering if the elders really did do this?

  my experience is that shepherding calls are never really done unless someone has done something worthy of a jc.. so here's my question for all you guys and gals that still suffer meetings, have you had a visit from your group overseer, specifically encouraging you to make the most of family worship?.

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  mentallyfree31

  The last Ministerial meeting I went to, the CO went around the room and asked each of us what night we did Family Worship night on, and what did we study. I had never had a family worship night, so I just said "Wednesday nights and various topics". This was about a year ago.
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  11

  Welcome Mentallyfree31

  by Think About It in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  post 1 of mentallyfree31.

  welcome gutted.

  you have been given excellent advice by many of the posters here.

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  mentallyfree31

  Thanks for the welcome. I was pretty deep into the Watchtower organization all my life. I had pioneered for several years, served at Bethel doing temp work, and had been a ministerial servant for well over a decade.

  I remember the feelings inside when I was reading Ray's books, Captives of a Concept and Steve Hassan's first book. I absolutely could not believe it. It's amazing that Ray wrote his book so long ago, and it's been available all along, but i never knew anything about it, nor would i have read it if i had seen it.

  But I'm glad to be out. There is no better feeling.
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  122

  Stayed up all night, see it is a cult now.

  by gutted in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i really needed to find a place to write this as i don't believe i can talk with anyone else about my account, perhaps it is similar to a lot of yours.. last night for whatever reason i said i would go online and look up information on jws.

  i have been raised as a jw all my life and baptized the last few years.

  i looked at www.freeminds.org and www.sixscreensofthewatchtower.com and couldn't believe how easily the whole of my lifes teachings were refuted.. i can't stop my brain from running, bs just in regards to theology alone (1914, paradise earth, celebrations etc.

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  mentallyfree31

  Gutted,

  One more excellent book is "Captives of a Concept" by Don Cameron. You can read it in less than 90 minutes, and there will no longer be ANY mystery as to whether this could possibly be God's organization.
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  122

  Stayed up all night, see it is a cult now.

  by gutted in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i really needed to find a place to write this as i don't believe i can talk with anyone else about my account, perhaps it is similar to a lot of yours.. last night for whatever reason i said i would go online and look up information on jws.

  i have been raised as a jw all my life and baptized the last few years.

  i looked at www.freeminds.org and www.sixscreensofthewatchtower.com and couldn't believe how easily the whole of my lifes teachings were refuted.. i can't stop my brain from running, bs just in regards to theology alone (1914, paradise earth, celebrations etc.

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  mentallyfree31

  Welcome Gutted. You have been given excellent advice by many of the posters here. I figured out that WT was a cult on December 19, 2009. I started to fade immediately, but slowly. Now it's four months later, and I have quit going completely, and will never go back. Here are a few suggestions from my experience.

  (1) Read Crisis of Conscience and Steve Hassan's "Combatting Cult Mind Control" immediately, as many others have already suggested.

  (2) When the elders call to encourage, just tell them that you will see them at the next meeting. That usually ends the matter of encouragement right then and there.

  (3) As JWFACTS suggested, do NOT make any decisions hastily. You have been in this cult for a while, so there is no rush. When you first discover these things, you naturally want to react immediately. But take your time. You need several months to deconstruct WT beliefs and process these emotions. Also, visit his website at http://www.jwfacts.com, as there is a ton of valuable information there.

  (4) You may also very likely find yourself waking up thinking "but I know JW is the truth". This is natural, because it was so indoctrinated in us. They have told us this over and over and over at the meetings. It takes time to let go of these fears that have been put inside us.

  (5) Leaving a cult is not easy. But as long as you keep your mouth shut and don't reveal anything to anybody - you remain in control of the situation.

  (6) Focus on the positives - (a) you are leaving a cult (b) you are on a road to gaining your freedom back (c) you are taking back control of your life (d) you are still young, so you may very likely see some of your JW friends eventually figure things out and come knocking at your door wanting to resume a friendship

  (7) Start making friends right away outside the organization. As suggested by others, this will help to make your transition a bit easier.