i've been visiting this forum everyday, reading and waiting patiently for approval to post.
i've never been a jw.
my husband and daughter are.
Welcome to the board. So sad to hear you're going through this. My family has also severy suffered from the "theocratic" rules of the WT. Though it was my mom who was the "crazy one". Just hang in there and keep coming here for support and with any questions you might have. We're all here to help.
Jedi Master
bloodguilt a doctrine that really annoyed me when i was in.
like i was responsible for who jehovah destroyed..
1. Only JW will be saved, everyone else destroyed. 2. The way "wrongdoing" is handleld, ie. Judicial comittees, DF, confessing, yadda yadda yadda. 3. Unswerving obedience to the GB. 4. The whole "privileges" thing.
JediMaster
two elders were just here an hour ago.
i'm afraid i lost my temper with them, and even my neighbours heard me .
let me just take it from the top.
Gee, that's a hard one. I'm not sure how the whole "invitation" works. I know they do have to notify you of place and time for the comittee to take place. In my case for instance they sent a letter, but I was out of town, after that they just dropped the matter. Any (ex) elders know if it has to be in writing??
Then he told me: that is not up to you to decide, Jehovah will decide that!
I think my blood rose when I read this. Very infuriating, specially if the elder is as annoying as you say. Such disregard for people's feelings. I probably would have lost it too. So if Jehovah is to decide, then why are they the ones in the comittee?? Really sorry you're going through this. Hang in there. Keep venting here if that's all you've got for now.
Jedi Master
my family is still fixated on the 1914 date, simply because world war i started that year.. i told them i will agree it is a significant year in world history, but that the 1914 date as presented by jw's is based on lies and charlatanry.. i said "i think the wt really lucked out with 1914 with wwi starting that year - it keeps most jw's stuck on that date" .
the standard answer is "well, that was the year everything went haywire"...... let the circular reasoning continue .
.
I personally believe the Evil One orchestrated the events of 1914.
JW will attribute other religious groups' "gifts" as belonging to the Devil. So, technically, were they to be wrong, Snowbird would be right.
Way to come back and bite them in the butt Syl...
Jedi Master
everytime my family goes out in service now, its seems its for a new "special campaign".
already this year has been:.
1) memorial invitations.
According to my mom. It's the intensifying of the preaching work right before the end. Funny thing is.....I don't hear any preaching.....
Jedi Master
so as you da'd, were df'd, faded, or just mentally let go of everything you believed for so long, did you experience this weird transition phase of an "identitylessness"?
i think this might only apply to people who were "strong" in the faith.
as a strong witness, im sure those of us who were really took to heart and mind the things that we learned and counsel that the society produced.
Everyday of my life. Some days you feel like you can overcome it, some days it's unbearable, some days you don't eventhink about it. It'll take you a while to decide what you really want to do and how best to fill that void. One thing that I still struggle with is the fact that God does love me no matter what. So, when I can I try to at least find some comfort on that fact.
Jedi Master
i like this site (aside from the fact that we have the jw experience in common) because i have come to realize that all of you are very creative, interesting & courageous.
it takes a special person to exit the jw's.
we all of course are also very different & thats good because we can learn from each other.
Cheers to that Nace!!! Outlaw: Keep 'em coming.....
Jedi Master
ok, so i finally picked up coc from my local library last night.
and started reading it like crazy.
i think i read about 70 pages which brought me close to the end of the second chapter: "governing body".
Primate, I don't know, this book has been such a cause of turmoil and confusion and shock and seems to be the one thing that finally made so many leave the JW, that I don't thought it wouldn bee a little bit more the kind of "apostate" material that the society warns about. I guess when I said "not really what I expected", I wasn't trying to sound disappointed, more so SURPRISED!!! I'm enjoying the book and will keep reading. Thanks for your comments.
Jedi Master
ok, so i finally picked up coc from my local library last night.
and started reading it like crazy.
i think i read about 70 pages which brought me close to the end of the second chapter: "governing body".
But realizing that such thinking can get you DF'd, doesn't that tell you anything already?.....the big problems came more so from the notions of absolute authority and how that authority was used.
sd-7: This is probably the first thing that set off a whole bunch of red flags and alarms for me. However, it wouldn't really be the first time this happens with God's people. And this in now way would discredit the JW as being "the truth". It happens all the time when people get to power, in this case they forget that they're supposed to guide people to God, not make all the rules that should be obeyed without question. And I guess that's something both God's servants in the past and in the present have learned to deal with and sometimes work around. Like when he says after his ressignation, brother Swingle (I think, don't have the book with me), came back and said to go back to the restrictions imposed on "approved sexual practices", they didn't have such a big turn up of people coming forward to confess.
"In time, the suffering of your people will persuade you to see our point of view."
We can learn not only from our mistakes, but also from the mistakes of others. In this case, the GB can make mistakes, and we'd rather be responsible before God for making the decision ourselves and not for letting someone else do it for us.
Jedi Master
ok, so i finally picked up coc from my local library last night.
and started reading it like crazy.
i think i read about 70 pages which brought me close to the end of the second chapter: "governing body".
They could see many facts but decided to reject the facts; that was his disappointment, not the lack of 'pats.
Thank you Gayle, that's exactly what I meant by the "pats", the frustration and disappointment he felt at the apathy of other memebers not too see the things the way there really were.
Undercover: I agree with the fact that he doesn't seem to act rebellious or trying to start his own movement. Specially aprreciated his candor and how well he expresses his confusion and feelings. And like another poster said, no bitterness. Drew Sagan,mentioned how it helped him decosntruct some of the myths, I guess just because of my own experiences and connections I already have a pretty good idea of how the organization works. So I guess I just have to keep reading and see what else I can find.
JediMaster
