Posts by MMXIV

9

AGM Favoured Few

by IMHO in

jw
friends

what is the point of a 'favoured few' being invited to assembly halls to hear a recording of the agm on sunday.. why couldn't they just play the recording at the kh for all to hear.. or are not the 'others' worth??

?.

MMXIV

This is elitest JW world at it's best and the JW class system personified.

OK to clarify... Elder / wife, ms/wife, pioner (does that incude the dirty 30?), in the truth with good standing for 40+ years.

This is a super big deal to JW's to get their golden ticket. It's willie wonka massive. They are already full of reasons why they have got a golden ticket and full of reasons why they havent.

How does any commercial organisation create hype... exclusivity. A million+ dull AGM's happen every year but in JW world this like invitation to the oscars.

Yawn

mmxiv

3

JWN member now famous comedian

by MMXIV in

jwn member "matahari" deborah frances-white is a stand-up comedian, corporate speaker, screenwriter and executive coach.. http://www.deborahfrances-white.com/.

deborah was raised in australia, became a jehovah's witness as a teenager, left her religion and family to come to london with a one way ticket, has worked as an interpreter in both sign language and japanese, read english at the university of oxford, and has lived in a number of countries including america and israel.. not the first time she has been mentioned on jwn.. it seems she wasn't content to fulfil her potential in the truth of being a quiet subservient sister using her skills to repeat ungrammatical verses of the watchtower but instead developed herself into an admired motivator and comedian.. maybe a jwn meet-up at one of her gigs?.

mmxiv.

MMXIV

JWN member "Matahari" Deborah Frances-White is a stand-up comedian, corporate speaker, screenwriter and executive coach.

http://www.deborahfrances-white.com/

Deborah was raised in Australia, became a Jehovah's Witness as a teenager, left her religion and family to come to London with a one way ticket, has worked as an interpreter in both sign language and Japanese, read English at The University of Oxford, and has lived in a number of countries including America and Israel.

Not the first time she has been mentioned on JWN.

It seems she wasn't content to fulfil her potential in the truth of being a quiet subservient sister using her skills to repeat ungrammatical verses of the watchtower but instead developed herself into an admired motivator and comedian.

Maybe a JWN meet-up at one of her gigs?

mmxiv

21

In 10 words or less express your joy at being free from JW prison.

by Wasanelder Once in

jw
friends

i love and enjoy life as never before!.

MMXIV

Relief at no more pretence, excited by people and life

46

What gives you away as a (former) JW?

by perfect1 in

jw
friends

these days my jw past stay safely under wraps from nearly everyone.. i dont dig it up- and i see no need to talk about it with anyone.. sometimes i feel as if my past is a large and terrible secret, and i will be found out eventually.

people can sense i am different.

i never talk about my family.. i guess people chalk it up to being a private person or let me be a mystery.. however, there is one thing that i feel completely reveals me as having been raised a jehovahs witness:.

MMXIV

Very little - I became an expert at hiding my religion and now I don't have to lie when birthdays / xmas topics come up. I was viewed as mysterious as I said very little about myself - it seemed to give me kudos.

However another ex-jw might notice my lack of knowledge of xmas songs. Or when at an xmas lunch the question of "what xmas family traditions do you still have?" - everyone round the table answered with personal things that even my inventive imagination would never have conjured up. I was silent on the topic. It would have been a powerful moment to let people know the sh1t my parents put me through but I didn't want to spoil the merry mood.

mmxiv

11

How Does BLONDIE Do It?

by JWdaughter in

MMXIV

She's atomic

29

"It's Demonic" - What's the stupidest thing you've ever heard a JW say?

by schnare in

i was at a amusement park here in calgary today.

my jw mother and my young brother came to visit for a week,so me and my sister thought it would a nice idea to take them to do something fun.

i guess they had a part of it called hallo street and my mom was getting all sketched out from all the halloween decorations around.

MMXIV

In a community where stupid is the norm it's now hard to think of a standout comment. I've written dozens of examples and deleted as i've thought of an even more clearly stupid belief. I think "if you read this magazine and tell others about it you will never grow old and live forever" was a winner for me.

21

EX Jehovah's Witness on BBC WM in the United Kingdom

by uk_ex_jw in

worth a listen on the podcast.

talking on the issues of his life as a jehovah's witness and the child abuse issues.. plus a backlash afterwards by a few jw sympathisers.. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01ffl21.

MMXIV

good interview - especially the second part about the BBC Panarama programme, the two witness rule and safety to the public. Listeners to that will think - yup - just what I thought - a bunch of wierd people who i don't want to join and now I don't even want to open the front door to them.

You can't beat a personal experience

I also liked how understated Richard's tone was - not sensational - matter of fact.

mmxiv

123

1969 "fact": You will never grow old in this present system of things

by Ding in

awake!

"if you are a young person, you also need to face the fact that you will never grow old in this present system of things.

because all the evidence in fulfillment of bible prophecy indicates that this corrupt system is due to end in a few years... therefore, as a young person, you will never fulfill any career that this system offers.

MMXIV

excellent points everyone and especially Ding for posting this! I was one of the kids who grew up in the wake of 75 being told by parents that I'd never grow old.

48

What's the weirdest health advice given by a JW?

by Julia Orwell in

jw
friends

from radio biola to a sister who said you can treat autism and ptsd with scented oils, jws have had some weird some weird ideas about medicine.

what gems have you heard?.

MMXIV

This might be a little obscure and sound somewhat crazy but I can honestly vouch that I was told if I was in a car accident and suffered a massive bleed to say "no blood" and I'd receive much better health care. Who'd actually believe such advice?!!

mmxiv

43

Fading ... and Feeling Lost

by What Now? in

prior to that we had been in a new congregation for about 9 months, and we were just irregular.

my husband rarely went, and i would go occasionally with our toddler son just enough to show our faces and keep the elders off our backs, and for the sake of some friendships in our old hall.

all of the reasons i had for going were just no longer important.

MMXIV

Hi What Now?

Intense relationships that we have become used to in "the truth" where near strangers can feel ok to ask the most personal questions are not quite the same when you're out IMHO. Leaving is a big step. The truth is designed to make that step terrifying when in and painful when out. Unless you're seeing a lot of people frequently it won't feel the same - a world of love bombers where you're routinely expected to openly share will not be an experience readily repeated in another environment. That's a good thing.

You will make friends, you'll need to be proactive and they just may not be so intensive at first. Great advice on this thread. These are the tough days - it gets better, much better.

mmxiv