exwhyzee

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Posts by exwhyzee

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  38

  Bullet list of major (recent) changes

  by RN in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  it is with great interest that i recently read ceders article on the decline of the wts.

  his article along with many of the comments really drives home just how many major changes there have been in a fairly short peroid of time.. somewhere in the recent past i could swear that someone had posted a bullet list of major changes with the corresponding year.

  when i saw this (or something like it) my first thought was that this simple list made it all the more shocking; and since i have searched and cannot find anything like it.. so i dug around and started one of my own, please feel free to add/corrects events.

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  exwhyzee

  What year was it in the 90's that the Awake magazines masthead was changed to eliminate the year 1914 ?
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  12

  Memories of Fred Franz

  by Sic Semper Tyrannis in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i've only met the man properly three times, and all of them through my uncle who was the district convention overseer.

  however, there was another time when i ran into him by chance that was amusing.

  we were all staying at the marriott.

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  exwhyzee

  I used to sit at the Governing Body table at Bethel in the late 70's. and every few weeks Fred Franz would conduct the "morning worship" which of course was not really worship but an opportunity for more indoctrination. Fred always had on a 1940' style suit and tie. Although dated, he looked pretty sharp for an old guy. He seemed pretty nice but a bit in a world of his own. I got the impression he came to Bethel from the outside world at a young age as so many of those there did and then stopped progressing...was sort of frozen in time somewhat. He was nearly blind by then so that probably had something to do with it. He sort of gazed off into the middle distance with milky blue eyes and just listened to those around him. At this particular meal we were to have ice cream for desert and he mentioned something about not having any because he needed to watch his Cholesterol. I told him that I had heard on the radio that day that garlic was thought to combat high cholesterol, to which he replied. "yes....but it also combats your friends"

  (this anecdote was in no way intended to insulate any twisted apostate ideas against those taking the lead in what is sometimes mistakenly referred to as Jehovah's organization)
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  9

  Would David be DF today?

  by jam in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i think david broke all the commandments in his day.. murder, beheading of goliath, that,s a little to much.. murder of the philistine and taking their foreskins, ok thats,.

  sadistic even if it ment marry saul daughter.. he became freinds with unbeleivers (he accepts the town.

  of ziklag from the philistine king.. adultery (bathsheba) and killed her old man.. and he coveted his neighbor,s wife.. when i was a elder and someone was being df,.

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  exwhyzee

  I don't think he'd be disfellowshipped but he wouldn't be allowed to be a parking lot attendant or handle the roving microphones for at least 6 months.
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  45

  Introduction Bio

  by JakeM2012 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  hi everyone, i would like to introduce myself and tell my story.

  from the standpoint of being one of jehovahs witnesses, my whole family is deeply involved as i was the 5th generation of witness and any children that my brothers or sister have will be the sixth generation.

  as some of my brothers and sisters are grandparents, i guess that makes their grandchildren a potential 7th generation.

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  exwhyzee

  Hi JakeM Thanks for taking time to post your story. I sent you a private message. (In case you don't know it yet, you can send and receive messages via the small blue envelope icon at the top right corner of this page.)

  Thanks !

  -exwhyzee
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  39

  my DF-ing letter - opinions

  by raxxxx in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  to the body of elders in xxxxx.. .

  i no longer wish to recognised as one of the jehovah's witnesses due to the fact that i no longer believe that this 'organisation' is truly representing him because :.

  i have experienced greater and unconditional love/friendship with the people i am supposed to hate 'worldly people' than i did in this congregation.

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  exwhyzee

  I understand the desire to write a DA letter and how theraputic it would be but to me it says,

  A )You view them as someone with actual authority. In your letter you stated in so many words that you don't believe they represent God nor do they have the truth so why do you feel it necessary to explain anything to them especially anything as personal as your relationship with God.

  B) You care what they think. You've explained that they are spreaders of untruths and that you have received more love from non JW's than from those in the Congregation so why bother with them? Most of the time in life we just walk away from or distance ourselves from people we don't trust or those who seem like they don't care about us. To announe it to them beforehand seems childish and needy....even sort of "drama" based. "You're not nice so I'm never going to speak to you again"

  C)You want or expect them to take the next step in the process which is Disfellowshiping you. When you write a letter like this you are drawing a line in the sand for them to step over. As legalistic as they are, they will have no problem exercising their "in house" self appointed authority. You've made it easy for them. They don't have to do any homework or gather any facts to find out what is going on with you. You've spelled it all out for them and you've put it all in writing, nice and legal like for them to file away for anyone to dredge up in the future.

  As much as you'd like to give them a piece of your mind, what you're really doing is burning bridges behind you. You sound pretty young and it's easy to be impetuous when one is young. You are giving them the power to yet again have some sort of say in your life and to have an impact on it forever. There is no where in the Bible that says that you must write a letter to anyone explaining your beliefs and your actions. This is their little custom. If you don't acknowledge it....it doesn't exist.

  Have a little mystery about yourself....let them wonder about you...give them nothing.
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  13

  Changed my Last Will and Testament

  by time2keepmoving in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i had to change my will and insurance policy and remove my relative who is still a witnesses as a beneficiary of my life insurance policy and exclude them from receiving any of my assets.

  i hated to do it but i did not want them giving any of my money to the wts if i pass away.

  i know if i left them anything they would look at it as a 'blessing from jehovah' and would definitely take any monies i left them and put some of it in the contribution box.

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  exwhyzee

  Funny thing is .... your relative abandoned you at the say so of the Orginazation but would probably take your "evil apostate" money without batting an eye. I think you did them a favor....now they won't be in a position to compromise their principals.
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  24

  out of the closet

  by so confused in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  so this week was stressful and emotional.

  my husband's witness family found out that we where not attending meeting anymore.

  she stated if "i keep talking like i am i'm going to get myself disfellowshiped.

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  exwhyzee

  I agree with Clarity....you owe no one an explaination regarding your relationship with God. JW's think they have the market cornered in that area and always take an authoritarian position in any discussion on the matter. I'd not offer them any excuses, apologies or explainations.The more you explain yourself to them the more of a position of defense you place yourself in. Let them discover for themselves the truth about their own religion. Don't give them any ammunition to use against you. Sometimes those who've recently left the TRUTH are as off putting to their friends and family as those who have just become JW's because they are too fervent about their new discoveries. No matter what you say, you'll be branded an Apostate (their term for anyone who doesn't agree with THEM...not just God) ....Keep it to yourself as much as possible.
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  1

  Show this to your favorite JW

  by exwhyzee in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  in case some of you haven't seen this, i thought i'd share a list of questions that i ran across that i thought would be appropriate to print out and leave with family members who are still caught up in the "organization" or to have on hand should they call at my door.

  http://www.evangelicaloutreach.org/jwquestions.htm.

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  exwhyzee

  In case some of you haven't seen this, I thought I'd share a list of questions that I ran across that I thought would be appropriate to print out and leave with family members who are still caught up in the "Organization" or to have on hand should they call at my door. http://www.evangelicaloutreach.org/jwquestions.htm
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  18

  What has helped you avoid the doctrine roundabout and forever chasing your tail?

  by Fernando in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  i was a third generation born-in with no alternative reality, reference points or framework.. for more than forty years i was taught that the highest stakes (eternal life) main game is played on the doctrine playing field (supremacist ethnocentrism).

  my eternal future apparently depended on which side of the trinity, hellfire and immortal soul doctrines i played.. apparently if i believed the watchtower way, even if it changed, i was in "the faith" and "the truth".

  the same for legalism (supremacist self-righteousness attained by following the supposedly "right" but ever changing and inconsistent rules).. around 6 years ago, and for the first time in my life, one person asked me to explain what "the gospel" is in one word.

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  exwhyzee

  After growing up in the TRUTH, I was fully convinced by Jehovah's Witnesses(without really checking) that other religions were totally wrong and were hated by God. Now that I've left the TRUTH, I no longer want anything to do with God, Religion or Religious People. I am calmer and more peaceful than I've ever been. If there is a God, I will do whatever it is he wants me to do, but he has to be clear about what he wants and I must be sure it's actually him that is instructing me and it's him that I'm serving. I almost can not bear to read some of the posts on here if they get too much into doctrine. I am fed up with discussing the Bible after a lifetime of agonizing over the significane or implied meaning of this or that scripture, are my sideburns too long, did I place enough magazines, am I whole souled enough, is the end right around the corner etc. I question everything I was ever taught about God and have re-evaluated my stand on just about every issue. I never had a chance to ask, How did we get here ... Why do we grow old and die etc. It was all force fed to me with one sided information that I wasn't allowed to question. Believe this or you're gonna' die kid.

  Maybe the reason God (if he exists) isn't clear about the big picture is because it's none of our business to know what the future holds for man or maybe we couldn't handle such information. All I know is that if there is a God, Jehovah's Witnesses as an organization will have a lot to answer for in terms of turning people away from him, harming individuals with their self imposed authority,breaking up families and condemning the faith of others and wasting peoples time as well as their lives.
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  23

  Anyone been to a meeting after a drink...or three?

  by MMXIV in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i recall going to the second half of a thursday night meeting after what was meant to be a cheeky after work beer (three strong beers downed quickly on an empty stomach).

  i would have been ok had a caring elder not decided to grab me for some encouragement afterwards.. i hoped the faint odor of smoke on my clothes (smoking in pubs was still the done thing in those days) wouldn't be noticed but hard to hide alcohol on the breath.

  i tried to say very little and talk in a way that avoided me beathing over him.

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  exwhyzee

  I'm not a drinker at all but toward the last months of my Career as a JW, I'd have to hide a container of Beer in the car due to the panic and anxiety I'd started suffering toward the last. I'd gotten to the point of only being able to attend Sunday meetings, it was too much to attend the evening meetings after work. I didn't have the juice to endure the anxiety that meetings invoked. On Sundays I'd go out to the car during the break between the talk and the WT study and have a couple of mouthfuls just to calm the flip flops in my stomach. It really helped. I almost came to think of it as "merciful liquid from Jehovah" It's so pathetic to look back now and think that that's what it took for me to be able to get through a meeting. As soon as I made my mind up never to attend another meeting the panic and anxiety instantly went away and hasn't returned. I can easily see how someone could become dependant on alcohol if they kept that kind of behaviour up for any length of time.