Posts by ambersun

The WTS was absolutely obsessed with all things sexual in the 1960s and 70s, nearly every other talk seemed to be on the subject and I used to dread sitting there with my parents and little sisters all in a row. The eyes of the congregation always turned to the teenagers during those talks to check we were listening attentively. There was a boy I liked sitting close by and I think both our faces must have been as red as a beetroot during that drama. I felt so sorry for you and all the others having such cringeworthy lines to say in front of thousands of people. Well done for surviving the ordeal!!

I had a walk on part in the Esther drama which I think was a year or two before that International Assembly if I remember rightly. Thankfully, all I had to do was refuse to bow down in front of King Nebuchadnezzar and not declare to the entire audience what I was or wasn't doing sexually

12

Celebrate Good Times: Come On!

by headisspinning in

jw
friends

today marks our two years free.

my now husband was df'd on september 13, 2009 and i was officially canned on september 15, 2009!.

it has been a long road and if any of you remember, we initially came on this board looking for help to get reinstated.that is a huge laugh now, hey!

ambersun

Congratulations!!

I also raise a glass to all of you free and happy people. It's lovely to know you all

42

Did YOU Change In Your Personality After You Left The Organization?

by minimus in

jw
friends

we knock a lot of things about the witnesses.

i wonder if we're really all that much different in our personalities as exjws.. .

ambersun

I can relate to so much that has been written here.

I have experienced two personality changes in my life. The first happened gradually between the ages of 14 and 18 when my family was converted and I was forced to change from a normal, confident, outgoing girl with the intention of going to uni and getting a good career, to an anxious, subservient wimp with no prospects other than to knock doors and take my place at the lower end of the pecking order in the congregation, along with all the other single sisters until we married and could then look forward to 'supporting' our husbands like good little JW wives should do.

I lived for so long with a 'masked' personality that by the time we left I had a breakdown as I did not know how to be myself.

That was over 20 years ago and I am still working on getting my real personality back and trying to be more confident and assertive.

14

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6wyVrxX1hE

by Clint Bussey in

ambersun

When I was a dub I can distinctly remember that we had to abstain from any work or recreation based activity that was even remotely connected with politics or religion even by association, such as an art class or mother and baby group held in a church hall for instance. It did not matter that it was just a venue and there was no actual religion involved.

So, in my book, an NGO would still be connected with the UN and therefore wrong however the WTS try to explain it.

6

25 years have passed since UR Lovedd one has passed....ARE U ANGRY???

by itscrap&theyknowit! in

jw
friends

just an honest question?

what are your thoughts?

you know, "the new order is right around the corner.

ambersun

I can still picture myself standing next to my lovely dad at the KH singing "Keep your Eyes on the Prize" back in the pre-1975 days when we were being warned on a weekly basis how very, very close the end was and the urgency to go out and preach, preach, preach because within a matter of months if not sooner, armageddon would have happened. Back in the 1960s it was almost a frenzy in our congregation, people giving up jobs and houses in order to pioneer. Our minds, hearts and very souls were conditioned by the WTS into believing we would all be living forever in the New System very, very soon.

I lost my dad to cancer about 20 years later. No sign of armageddon then and still no sign today as we have had to say goodbye to many more loved ones. I watch my elderly mother become more and more frail and still struggling to go out knocking doors and attending all the meetings she can possibly get to, even though the effort causes her pain and makes her weaker.

Oh yeah, sure, we will see all our departed loved ones in 2 years! Oh look there goes another flying pig!!

Anger is not a strong enough word for the way I feel.

19

2 more teens leave the WBT$ slaveholdery! CELEBRATION TIME C'MON!

by punkofnice in

jw
friends

sonofnice was happy to tell me that 2 of his jdub friends have told their parents: 'that's it, i quit!'.

whereas i do feel sorry for the parents i also celebrate the freedom of these kids who have taken control of their lives and not committed themselves to 7 paedophile protectors in crooklyn.. .

long may it continue!!

ambersun

That is certainly good news

One of the reasons we are so keen to maintain regular contact with our JW families is so we can be there for any of the young ones who will need help getting out. One or two of my nephews and nieces are already showing signs of being restless and unhappy.

Fortunately, I am fairly confident none of the adult JWs in our family would actually throw any of their children out if they were df'd or da'd but we hope they know they can come to us any time for support should they need it.

57

I am officially sick of hearing the WBT$'s brand name for god = Jehovah!

by punkofnice in

jw
friends

it's that simple.

i'm sick up to here (guestures to above head), of hearing the dubs trot out their brand name for their imaginary sky friend who is so loving they're petrified he'll murder them soon!!!!!.

the other week i heard a conversation between 2 dubs that ended with the cliche: 'jehovah will sort it out!

ambersun

Re: I am officially sick of hearing the WBT$'s brand name for god = Jehovah!

ME TOO!!!

The average JW conversation consists of Jehovah this, Jehovah that blah blah yadda yadda Jehovah Jehovah. AAAHHHH!!!

Me and hubby were at a family gathering recently and the topics of conversation had been refreshingly neutral until someone produced some photos of a recent vacation. Among the photos was one of a plaque with the tetragrammaton, taken from inside a well known cathedral. The usual smug comments ensued. "There it is, Jehovah for all to see. They can't say they don't know Jehovah's name when it is there in front of them"

In case anyone is wondering, no we did not bother pointing out these were just four consonants with no vowels which almost certainly would not have been pronounced "Jehovah", as it is something that is totally inconceivable to them and there would have been absolutely no point other than to upset them which we did not want to do.

49

What Turns The Average "Worldly" Person Away From The Witnesses?

by minimus in

jw
friends

is it their door-to-door incessant preaching?

is it their view on blood?

is it that the religion itself is simply often misunderstood?.

ambersun

When I was a dub, I found the issues that bothered most worldly people were connected with children, i.e. how we could allow a child to die for want of a blood transfusion, and how cruel it was to prevent a child from celebrating birthdays and Christmas.

I am amazed how many people I speak to have absolutely no idea about the fundamental beliefs of JWs. Despite being contacted by JWs many times over the years, they still think JWs believe the end of the world is coming and they are going to heaven. They have no idea about an earthly hope.

Many of the issues that worldly people had when I was a dub, and still seem to have, were totally inaccurate things such as thinking JWs are not allowed to accept any form of medical treatment. Also, as already mentioned, that JWs don't believe in Jesus (due to not celebrating Christmas).

So much for the world wide preaching work!

44

Does your product contain blood? 1960/70's twottery!!

by punkofnice in

back in the 1960's early 70's i remember my congregation going on a witch hunt and making a list of products, ice creams, confectionary or anything that might contain blood!.

i remember one zealous brother asking an ice cream vendor if the ice cream contained blood.

the vendor just looked gone out!.

ambersun

Ooh this thread brings back some memories which still makes me blush with shame!!

I can remember at the age of 15 on a family vacation, reaching the front of a queue for ice cream and asking the obligatory question "excuse me, but can you assure me your ices do not contain any blood?" The look of stunned bewilderment on the face of the vendor and the chuckles from the queue behind me still makes me cringe with embarrassment

We had to check all our food packets and tins for ingredients. Anything with lecithin, or words we couldn't understand and therefore could mean blood, were chucked out. Absolutely no red or pink sweets were allowed, so every packet of smarties had to be tipped out and sorted through before being given to the little ones to eat!

There was actually a rumour going round our congregation that plans were in motion to inject every food product, even fresh fruit, with blood so that JWs would be forced to eat blood or starve. I was absolutely scared to death!!!

It's no wonder I developed hypertension at an early age