Posts by joannadandy

75

Does Watchtower Society monitor this board?

by Quotes in

i've seen it mentioned many times in many threads: "the society monitors jwd, don't post anything you don't want them to know etc.

i have even made that point myself in the past.. my question is this: does the wtbts monitor this discussion board?.

or have we all been propagating our own xjw urban myth?.

joannadandy

I agree, they probably do watch...but it's most likely not nearly as formal as people would believe.

As for this whole "I know names and dates and places-but I'll never tell"(best if read in a Britney Murphy voice from Don't Say a Word)...

I dunno I hate things like that. I realize that some of you may have really good reasons for not giving any of that out, and I realize that it's not really what was requested. Substantial proof was all that was requested not a list. I am inclined to want that too. As of now there is a lot more speculation and hearsay than fact, tho I did appreciate those quotes.

Again like I said I understand people not wanting to give out specifics, but maybe you shouldn't even say 'I know something that you don't'-of course people are going to want more info and even want to beat it out of the person who said it.

In the end does it really matter?

If you want your annonymity it's easy enough to not give out personal information.

29

non-jw family might hire jw nanny--r we crazy?

by fred in

we are a non-jw family with 2 kids under 5 thinking about hiring a jw live in nanny.

she is in her 30's, active jw.

we all have talked about mutual respect for each others religions, and all agreed to a hands off policy.

joannadandy

With all due respect, I don't think she will try to convert the kids, nor that the pedophile-scandal is a concern. If you said a hands off policy she will respect that. Yes she is a witness, but she is also a nanny, and if she does her job with any type of professionalism she will respect your views and not push her own.

Edited by - joannadandy on 11 June 2002 14:4:21

18

My Mother Might Get Called B4 a JC!!!

by teenyuck in

jw
friends

my mother just called me...she is really upset.

her plumber, brother c. came by to fix a pipe today and told her that the elders are discussing my mother!!

because she is going to have my dfd sister visit this week.

joannadandy

No puff, it's not just her congregation. They still say "for conduct unbecoming a christian" when df-ing in my kingdom hall.

Also, they give talks the following week about "local needs". They do this when someone is on public reproof too. So exactly like you said, pretty much everyone in the congregation puts two and two together. By the way--to your orginal post about having your df'd sister over, what the hell business is it of theirs? I'm sorry, but issues of Df-ing, public, and private reproof, and Da-ing was a big reason I left. Hearing stuff like this kind of brings it all back, so good luck to you and your mom!

25

What is our major life decision?

by Bleep in

in modern times, the term "proselytism" has been used to mean forcible conversion of one kind or another.

the bible does not support such a practice.

rather, it teaches that men were created as free moral agents with the privilege and responsibility to choose how they will live their lives.

joannadandy

Mackin-I couldn't agree more!

That was the whole point of my first post in this thread, thank you for stating it better than I...

4

Different view on DF vs. DA?

by starfish422 in

jw
friends

i da'd myself in 1993; i had left in june and by october, after several jc meetings, i was told to either write a letter or else i'd be df'd within the week.

taking the view of having control over my own destiny, i wrote a letter.

my parents then disowned me, because i had stated that i did not want to be associated with jws.

joannadandy

I agree, Df'd or Da'd they'd disown you either way.

The only difference is if you are Df'd maybe they would try to get you to repent, but I think they might try that even if you were Da'd.

I am sorry to hear about it either way. It makes me sad all over again when hear of another family who thinks "Jehovah" is more important than family, even tho they tout that "Jehovah lovingly gave us the family insitiution"

25

What is our major life decision?

by Bleep in

in modern times, the term "proselytism" has been used to mean forcible conversion of one kind or another.

the bible does not support such a practice.

rather, it teaches that men were created as free moral agents with the privilege and responsibility to choose how they will live their lives.

joannadandy

Yes, Witnesses tell you they want you to "make the truth your own".

It was this idea of not being handed a religion that really appealed to me. Always lusting for knowledge and research, and a real love of what the Bible had to say, I was convinced this had to be "the truth" because they were so straight forward and honest, and it was so easy to open your Bible and read it for yourself.

However, when you start to realize you are only getting one side of the story, and start asking questions, and told that it's your "lack of faith" that keeps you from understanding, you study even harder. When you begin to realize that the lens you have been given to read the Bible with, is only one of many and you still ask questions, then you decided maybe this isn't "the truth--what is truth?"

You go to the meetings and hear parts from the platforms to new ones that "your family may not understand your choice to become a Witness, they may even threaten to disown you--but clearly the love of Jehovah and everlasting life is more important--plus you will have a whole new family to love and cherish you, the important thing is to be understanding of your families feelings, they obviously had different hopes for you, but eventually if they are reasonable they will come to respect your choice to become a Witness" -- You think to yourself, what a loving organization! They will accept anyone. And surely if they realize how hard it so for children to choose something different from their parents, if I were to choose something different, eventually they too would come to understand.

When you kindly explain to your family, and friends you have had since birth who really do feel like your brothers and sisters, that you can't make this "your truth". You've tried, you want to--oh you want to so badly! "Everyone else believes it, why can't I?" slowly pounds in your head. You doubt your heart, your faith, your intellect--everything. Well then, that's when the verbal beatings begin. You've made the wrong choice! You've been told all your life the choice is yours to make, but no one ever told you there was a wrong answer, it was always implied, but you put your faith in them, that if you tried your best, and came to your own decision they would except it, well you are in for a serious wake-up call.

Your family will threaten to disown you. Your friends will no longer speak to you. You will be "dead" in everyones eyes. A failure. A lost soul who die in Armegedon because you lacked faith and commitment.

This is no longer searching for "the truth", this is not "making the truth your own"--this is conforming, and being handed your religion which is something you thought you were trying to avoid.

21

A Sister Speaks Out!

by silentlambs in

jw
friends

the following is a letter i recieved to day on the silentlambs email.

it seems brothers and sisters are becoming more willing to speak out on this matter.

silentlambs

joannadandy

I am glad!

I am also glad she pointed out there were lots of things she didn't agree with but she kept silent, "waiting on Jehovah" I think a lot of us who were in the borg felt the same way several times over lots of things. She hit her breaking point like so many of us already have. I applaud her for writting them a formal letter announcing it to them that she was sick of them.

I wish I had done the same.

39

Where were you in 1975?

by dins in

jw
friends

i have a vivid memory of 1975 even though i was only 6 years old.

i remember the whispers and the fervor surrounding the year.

i even had an uncle who marked his calendar every day with big red xs proclaiming that he couldn't wait for "this evil system of things to end.".

joannadandy

Not born yet.

However, even after that, growing up in the 80's, I recall being told not to plan ahead, not to worry about college, even discussing with my little friends that we were all going to wait and have kids in the "new system" so it wouldn't hurt so bad. What a joke. (Needless to say most of them got married at 19 and are now baby making machines in "this old system of things".)

I do remember the Revelation book coming out, and that convention in the back of my mind because the pictures in the book scared me. Can anyone who knows tell me, wasn't 1989 supposed to be another year where something was supposed to happen? I recall it wasn't as hyped, and a lot of talk about not letting everyone get carried away like they did "before" and how "predicting the end" was frowned upon, but people still were. Am I remembering this totally wrong?

9

to those that lived thru the "end" fa...

by scootergirl in

jw
friends

i was reading the thread about 2015 being the "new" end of the times and had a question to those that were in the borg around 1975 when the end was to come then.

i was only 7 and new to the borg, so i don't remember, but what exactly was everyone expecting?

fire and brimstone?

joannadandy

Thanks for this post...

I was not born in 75, but I recall the same emotions being raised a witness even in the 80's, that eventually the end would come, etc. As I got older, my parents and other congregation members told me to not worry about college, I wouldn't need to go because the paradise would be here by then. I also recall the afore mentioned "nervousness" I used to cry as a kid thinking about nuclear war. I was inconsolable a few times, crying myself to sleep cuz I didn't think it was fair that everyone would die, even if a paradise came later.

Also, my parents were both in "the truth" in 75, and neither one of them set up retirement plans...who needs to when armegedon is just around the corner. Meanwhile after my father retired a few years ago he had to take another job because he and my mother did not prepare like people should...

It's all so sad, and thinking about all the things you let pass you by for a better reward is just really sickening.

Edited by - joannadandy on 10 June 2002 16:59:16

4

New Light on Armaggedon?

by tdogg in

jw
friends

so i had a discussion with my jw father .

i was pointing out the fact that we were taught that only those who follow the watchtower would survive the end.

he told me that there is now a small period of time at the end that those who were not jw could be 'pardoned'.

joannadandy

Nathan-

I know why the dub would stick with it...don't you know it's all about how many magazines you place, how many hours you put in, if you were a regular pioneer, or just an auxilary a few times? It's all about self-righteousness. These will have to take it upon themselves to save the damned.