Posts by laverite

127

Anyone else an Ex Bethel "volunteer"

by BackseatDevil in

i was wondering if there were any other ex-bethelites on here.

i personally regularly went for temporary work at brooklyn then was assigned to the farm for a year and a half.

it was... one of the most bizaare experiences of my life.. so i wrote it all down (finally, after some 15 years) so i won't bore anyone on here with the details of the story - because bethel doesn't show up until chapter 15... and for you straight folks, it gets a bit gay in two places... but nothing gross.

laverite

Backseat - if it's ok, I'd like to share an experience with you. I have visited Bethel many times, as I am from a very zealous family. I've eaten at Bethel. I've visited the Farm. We've had close family friends at Bethel. Bethel was part of my childhood (or at least a portion of it, especially the teenage years). But here's my last experience:

After I came out as gay in college, I visited NYC with my college boyfriend. We were both "college age" and he wanted to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge. I was like "oh man, I know what's on the other side!" Anyway, after we got across the bridge, and as we walked into WTBTS terriroty, he wanted to hold hands. I thought, "oh why the heck not?" There were so many Bethelites on the streets. SO many of them had not just disgusted looks on their faces, but also made fun of us and called us terrible names. At a certain point, I actually felt it was dangerous and we could be attacked by the "brothers." It wound up being a very scary experience. That was in the 90s.

127

Anyone else an Ex Bethel "volunteer"

by BackseatDevil in

i was wondering if there were any other ex-bethelites on here.

i personally regularly went for temporary work at brooklyn then was assigned to the farm for a year and a half.

it was... one of the most bizaare experiences of my life.. so i wrote it all down (finally, after some 15 years) so i won't bore anyone on here with the details of the story - because bethel doesn't show up until chapter 15... and for you straight folks, it gets a bit gay in two places... but nothing gross.

laverite

Backseat - Can you keep us updated? I want my own copy. Hugs to you for your amazing work.

34

Post 7: Hopefully the last letter I recieve

by sosoconfused in

i think my mother has lost it.

i really do and i am in fear that she is literally losing touch with reality to some degree.. even my father is telling me that her responses to me are growing weirded:.

the scriptures tell us that we can be wrathful.......but don't sin.

laverite

It's sad. But it's very unhealthy and I hope you can get away from these letters and find some peace. Sending good thoughts your way sosoconfused.

34

Post 7: Hopefully the last letter I recieve

by sosoconfused in

i think my mother has lost it.

i really do and i am in fear that she is literally losing touch with reality to some degree.. even my father is telling me that her responses to me are growing weirded:.

the scriptures tell us that we can be wrathful.......but don't sin.

laverite

My goodness. She should look into medication that may help her. She's lost it.

15

Let's lighten things up a little

by JeffJ in

since many of us in the us are watching the clock before a holiday i thought i would resurrect a topic that has been dealt with in the forums in the past but not for a couple years.

pranks.. i spend a large amount of time thinking up pranks for revenge or just for the heck of it to amuse myself.

i will post the ones i remember to hopefully make everyone's day brighter.. first off, one of the concrete bases anchoring a fence in my back yard started crumbling and the fence post started to lean.

laverite

There are some funny pranks on youtube (and some pretty crappy ones as well). Has anyone seen anything good online recently?

63

Who from JWN would you most like to have dinner with?

by laverite in

jw
friends

if you could pick anyone from jwn to meet in real life to meet and have dinner with, who would that be?

let's exclude all those who you are already friends with, who you know and love from jwn in real life.

so or me, that excludes my friend ann and also curious butterfly.

laverite

I do think Mouthy deserves that honor, Billy. She's very special. I'd love to treat Mouthy to a crazy expensive fancy dinner at a restaurant of her choice.

I also like Simon's idea -- it can be fun to just grab some wings and have a bit of a picnic. That reminds me of the large picnic gatherings we used to have as JWs that aren't allowed any more. Would be lovely to have a large Apostate JW Picnic.

14

Policing the Flock: Does it vary from country to country?

by Londo111 in

so many stories ive read on jwn shows that the policing the flock is alive and well.

elders come after faders, especially if they are suspected of the dreaded a-word, the jw scarlet letter, a for apostasy.

if elders are gunning for a person, they will do whatever it takes.. .

laverite

How in the world did/do these guys ever have time for that kind of policing? What about their children? Their wives? What about their jobs? The idea of an elder following another into a gay bar to catch him holding hands with a guy is just so disturbing. I feel so bad for the one who was followed. It's so wrong. BUT it sounds like it was only ONE witness in that case. Not two!! I seriously hope the victim denied everything, while winking and making blow job signals to the private investigator/elder when everyone else's backs were turned.

16

How do the Dubbies Handle No Soliciting Signs Now?

by laverite in

i get too many callers in my neighborhood, and i need to invest in a no soliciting sign for the front door.

i do not appreciate uninvited callers, unless they are there to tell me there's an immediate need to evacuate.

i absolutely won't buy anything at the door.

laverite

Thanks for the continued feedback. We are kind of the first real neighborhood from a sort-of rural kingdom hall, so although not "near" per se, nearish. Maybe that's why. They hit on our neighborhood first!

Honesty - it's not about fearing the JWs at all. We have a very large house. I spend most of my time when at home quite a distance from the front door. The route to the front door is quite a bit of a journey, and involves stairs. It's an inconvenience to get all the way to the door to find JWs. I have let them know I know about their 100% failure rate of false prophecies and have no interest in what they have to say as they have no credibility. An occassional visit is no big deal. But it's regular, and a hassle. Also, when the door opens, the cat tries to run out, and the dog tries to escape as well. The kids are usually running around screaming, and I can't focus on them either. It's a moment of chaos that helps no one.

11

Has the WT ever tried to explain all the misquotes?

by suavojr in

with all the misquotes the wt has publish in over 100 years!

have they ever tried to explain it in any of the publications..

laverite

Wachtower Corp does not take any responsibility for any mistakes it makes. Whenever there is fault ot assign, everything is the fault of the rank and file.

22

Bible printing, a loss of money for the WTS

by oppostate in

so i brought this up in another thread... but i think it needs its own discussion.. having had one of the new grey leatherette and silver edged bibles with the new appendixes in my hand.

i immediately thought of all the custom covered nwt bibles you see some publishers sporting at meetings.

also the fact that the co's and wives who'd been given one had to turn it back in seemed very off-putting.. .

laverite

The NWT is available on the jw.org website. I wonder if it's available in e-book format for Kindles, iPads, etc? Will there be a continuing need to publish physical Bibles especially if they lose money on them? They don't place much emphasis on the Bible anyway. It's all about the GB and the Watchtower's views on the Bible. Not that the NWT actually counts as a proper Bible...but still...