Posts by ambersun

49

Are we all bitter?

by LouBelle in

jw
friends

i posted a link on fb that lead to a topic here.

i then had one of my 'friends' start having a go about how bitter everyone is here....fact he said.

(he used to be a jw elder but left a while back, not sure why he left or if he has even researched the faith since leaving) the more i tried to reason with him that actually it is a support forum, the more he lashed out that everyone here bad mouths the jw's and only attack the jw's.

ambersun

He gave me Nelson Mandela as a shining example - Mandela spent 27 years in prison as a terrorist - he was put there because he rose up against those that would oppress him.

Fair enough. Nobody could dispute that, but is it a fair comparison? Mandela fought for what he passionately believed in and he has never wavered from that belief.

It is completely different to waking up to the TTATT, that your life has been a lie. A con. To become conscious of the fact that you have been thoroughly deceived by a cult skilled in brainwashing techniques to fill your head with false hopes and dreams in order to use you as free labour for their own ends, regardless of the consequences.

How many victims of con artists are seen to just forgive and move on, putting it down to life's experience without a trace of bitterness? Not many I would imagine!

19

My decision about "family shunning"

by Gojira_101 in

since i've been off work this week because of spring break, i've really been missing my grandma.

when i have left wt (i'm fading and april will be 6 months) and i told her about january, she has been shunning me.

i told myself "i will respect her wishes/decision..etc" this morning i woke up and said "to hell with shunning!

ambersun

Gojira_101, I would suggest just buying your grandma a nice "thinking of you" card with a pretty picture on the front and write a few simple words letting her know you are OK and hope she is too. Sign it with love and kisses and post it.

No long letters at this stage, and certainly no mention of WT doctrines or any mention of the "shunning" word. Just a short and sweet sentiment sent with love. I don't see how anyone could take offence at that.

Good luck and let us know how you get on

35

Do you blame Jehovah, Yahweh, God, Jesus, etc. for the corruption of the borg?

by Fading Begins in

jw
friends

do you hold god accountable for the corruption of the borg?

i've noticed there seems to be a bitterness, by some, that includes "god" in the equation, when discussing the borg and their policies, the governing body, elders actions, etc.

do the borg's transgressions originate with god, or does he feel the same disgust as we do?

ambersun

If an organisation is set up and run by corrupt men then how could the blame be put on any one else other than the corrupt men in control?

As punkofnice said, there are corrupt men at the top filtering down. It is how it always was, and always will be for as long as it can keep going.

God, Jesus, Satan, Santa Claus - you would have to believe in any of them before you could start blaming them. In my case, I don't.

Edited to say, maybe I am being a bit hard on CTR as I think he was pretty genuine even though he had some wacky ideas. It was JR that began all the corruption in my opinion.

27

Why does my family still interact with me?

by stillstuckcruz in

jw
friends

here was my story posted originally about 2 years ago.

http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/watchtower/beliefs/205854/1/as-a-witness-what-view-of-the-world-did-you-have-heres-my-story.

and my extended story on jwrecovery:.

ambersun

Hi stillstuckcruz. I am so glad to hear your family have not shunned you and sincerely hope it stays that way.

Roberta, I can understand why you might feel that way after reading some of the heartbreaking stories here on JWN. The things some members have had to endure are often unbelievably awful while others in comparison appear to have hardly suffered at all, but we are all different.

Please try to understand that there are many, many reasons to be here. We have all suffered in different ways and I am sure stillstuckcruz is no exception. I am lucky not to have been shunned by my family, but I struggled for nearly 20 years to come to terms with deep seated anger and resentment towards the organisation who robbed me of a proper education and a career (amongst other things). I found this site by chance and it has helped me so much.

Just to be able to interact with other ex JWs who understand what it is like to be raised in the stiffling confines of the WTS but have managed to escape its clutches is very reassuring and I have learned so much from the wealth of knowledge many of the JWN members have been kind enough to share with us all.

46

Jehovah's Witnesses Shunning at it's very best! SHOCKING Jw.Org

by BlindersOff1 in

found this on youtube fyi.

.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cw8yu-r8g-8.

ambersun

I agree Quandry . It is such a shame that those horrible comments are on this thread. I wish they could be deleted just in case she reads them. As if she hasn't been through enough already!!

I think she is really pretty and would love to have her looks!!

104

Yet another "Shunning is good for you, honest!" quote in the June 15th 2013 Watchtower

by cedars in

hi folks.

that's right, the new june 15th 2013 study edition is out now on this link.... http://download.jw.org/files/media_magazines/28/w_e_20130615.pdf.

the following quote caught my eye, from the final study article on page 28.... .

ambersun

So let's get this straight. Andre Robert is really pleased that his family totally shunned him for 16 years. He had no problem with the fact that he had been thrown out into a world he was totally unprepared for, having been kept totally seperate from it for all of his earlier life with no friends or contacts to turn to and a family that totally rejected him. His family and congregation's complete lack of concern for his personal safety and well being while he was cast out with no support was perfectly acceptable to him.

The loving arrangement of total shunning and the desperation and loneliness it caused him to experience, drove Andre Robert to return to the wonderful loving organisation again so his family would stop treating him like sh*t and accept him into the fold again. He actually admitted it was not the doctrines he returned to, just a desperation to be with his family! I bet that despite his gratitude for this 'loving arrangement' he is secretly glad that the law of the land prevented them from actually stoning him to death instead of merely shunning him for 16 years.

How heartwarming this story is, a true indication of the warmth and love expressed by followers of the WTS. Indeed, this must be God's Organisation on earth.

I have the sudden urge to rush back into the fold again.

NOT!!!!

34

I need some advice please!!! I'm torn on what to do.

by Gojira_101 in

jw
friends

this morning i woke up thinking about a friend of mine, i will call her sara...here's some of the back story.. we grew up together and have always been good friends, even though we wouldn't stay in touch, we would just pick up where we left off.

sara has always been different, and i never really knew what it was growing up, but i didn't care, she was my friend.

so we lost touch for many years and then about 4 yrs ago when i went back to my home town, we reconnected.

ambersun

The way I see it is that you are both out of the organisation now, albeit for different reasons. Why should a religion that you are no longer part of intrude into your friendship?

My advice is to just reach out to your friend and I would be very surprised if she isn't absolutely delighted to hear from you. All you need to do is ask her if she is OK and let her know how you are, then take it from there. What harm can it do?

46

Jehovah's Witnesses Shunning at it's very best! SHOCKING Jw.Org

by BlindersOff1 in

found this on youtube fyi.

.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cw8yu-r8g-8.

ambersun

Well said Farkel

I felt so sad listening to that sweet young woman talking about the love she had for her mother, right to the end, despite the way she had been cruelly rejected by her.

Why did the mother make sure her daughter knew she had cancer and then totally shun her, knowing the heartache this would cause her? It was just sheer cruelty! How could she fail to respond to her own granddaughter who was trying to hug her, knowing that it would probably be the last time she would ever see her? How hard hearted is that for goodness sake! If this is not an example of cult brainwashing then I don't know what is. Then the brother did not tell his sister their mother had died straight away. As she said, how many others knew of her mother's death before she did? She must have felt so hurt!

She even endured the heartless shunning of other family members at the crematorium. Those "loving Christians" should have been taking care of the bereaved daughter instead of giving her dirty looks and whispering about her, knowing she was watching them doing it. Absolutely disgusting. How can anyone, however indoctrinated they are, think that they are displaying Christian love by behaving in this abominable and heartless manner? Do they think Jesus would have behaved like this??!! Words fail me

If she happens to read this thread I would like to send her a virtual ((((((((hug)))))))). I would be so very proud to have her as my own daughter.

I am worried about her now, and just hope that she is alright

53

Hello

by newdawnfades in

jw
friends

i am a long time lurker who has finally decided to post.

i am still in along with my wife, kids and extended family.

i am in my 40s and was raised in the org.

ambersun

Welcome newdawnfades! I do hope you will find this site as helpful and informative as I have done since I joined a couple or so years ago.

Just take things slowly and enjoy the time you spend researching and learning.

32

They read off the names of those auxilliary pioneering; 75% of them don't work &

by Theocratic Sedition in

jw
friends

half of that 75% get disability and ssi checks.

it was kinda funny sitting there listening to them go down the line, name by name, of the ones auxilliary pioneering since the numbers are dropped to 30 hours for march & april.

as they were doing the names i was saying to myself, "she don't work", "she supposedly can't work", "he hasn't worked in years", "she gets a check", "she's probably gonna lie about the amount of hours she did" etc.. gotta love it.. i don't know if this happens in your congregation or not, but have you ever heard someone remark about someone else behind their back, "she can show up at every gathering, but she can't show up for field service!

ambersun

When I was a pioneer 40 plus years ago, we had to do 100 hours a month and also support ourselves. I had a part time cleaning job earning 50p an hour, and I had to really graft for that money. I was constantly broke and had no money to buy new shoes to replace the ones that were worn out due to the number of miles I had to walk each week, due to the fact I couldn't afford to run a car. I was not on my own, we were nearly all in the same boat and either rode bicycles or walked. I don't know if it was just a rule amongst local congregations at that time, but we were not allowed to pioneer if we were accepting state benefits, we had to work to support ourselves!

Nowadays, whenever I visit JW relatives, there seems to be loads of able bodied young men and women hanging around either meeting up at the house pre service or calling any time during the day for coffee breaks and to use the loo, all suited and booted in lovely clothes, who never break out into a sweat or look in any hurry to leave whatsever. I am quite sure at least some of them are on benefits. All this on top of the fact they only have to do a fraction of the hours WE had to do as well as support ourselves prior to 1975! Yet all that seems to have been conveniently forgotten about. Where has all the urgency gone if we are supposed to be even closer to the end??!

To cap it all, I have had two different sisters confront me and ask me when I am going to "pull my socks up" regarding the "Truth", and another one shout at me for being selfish. I had dropped everything to go and help care for my mother at the time who was ill. None of the loving sisters seemed to be available to help out. They were probably too busy knocking doors and drinking coffee.

It just makes my blood boil.