http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/21/us/some-mormons-search-the-web-and-find-doubt.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0.
when fellow believers in sweden first began coming to him with information from the internet that contradicted the churchs history and teachings, he dismissed it as anti-mormon propaganda, the whisperings of lucifer.
he asked his superiors for help in responding to the members doubts, and when they seemed to only sidestep the questions, mr. mattsson began his own investigation.. but when he discovered credible evidence that the churchs founder, joseph smith, was a polygamist and that thebook of mormon and other scriptures were rife with historical anomalies, mr. mattsson said he felt that the foundation on which he had built his life began to crumble.. around the world and in the united states, where the faith was founded, the mormon church is grappling with a wave of doubt and disillusionment among members who encountered information on the internet that sabotaged what they were taught about their faith, according to interviews with dozens of mormons and those who study the church.. i felt like i had an earthquake under my feet, said mr. mattsson, now an emeritus area authority.
I encourage everyone to read the comments of others who have viewd this Video. (the example below says it all, for me)
“I was just in a bubble, and we felt so happy,”
hope all if you are well.
just a couple if updates i don't post much, but i constantly read.
i am now disfellowshipped and i am seperated from my wife and rebuilding from the bottom.
I was also thinking about the whole "sales" aspect of being a JW. Then I remembered how they had an "offer for the month" and the "Magazine Subscription" campaigns. They had demos. on how to fill out the yellow and blue subscription forms, how to lead the householder into not only accepting the latest magazines but also signing up for a years subscription of BOTH Wt and Awake magazines. I never could bring myself to ask anyone if they wanted one. I couldn't understand why they thought a non JW would want to read let alone have a subscription to the Watchtower which is full of "inside" subjects, terms and training and instruction in congregational matters.
My JW friend once jokingly said "There are people out there who would buy a white washed grave if you came to their door with it " In a way he was right, like all sales, it's a numbers game, the more people they get out there pushing the product, the more chances there are that someone will go for it, no matter what it is.
anybody heard from hairyhegoat since he and his family moved to austrailia 5 months ago?
i wonder how they are making out ?.
Thanks Bigmac. I was on Vacation in OZ just about the time they arrived there. Too bad things didn't work out for them. It would be interesting to hear the story of their adventure though. I'm sure I'm not the only one who wondered how things went.
anybody heard from hairyhegoat since he and his family moved to austrailia 5 months ago?
i wonder how they are making out ?.
Anybody heard from Hairyhegoat since he and his family moved to Austrailia 5 months ago? I wonder how they are making out ?
jw should put humility high on their list.
therefore i will let them do this test after a small talk:.
.
The humility the Watchtower Organization calls for is one where you put your own thoughts and or doubts aside and totally believe whatever they tell you. Humility comes into play again when later they change their teachings and you are required to humbly forget what they said was true before and accept the new truth and never bring it up again.
this is the main series playlist:.
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=plynx0om_bmgbfmnapjr_v5fe9_pf8sqa1.
this is the accompanying video appendix:.
marked for later reference.
sorry to keep dragging this on ... but this is really the only place to vent right?
so basically it's going on 4 months now that we've had zero meeting attendance, and for the last 2 months we have not reported any service time (prior to that, when our service group overseer would send a text asking for our time, we would report 4 hours each, for our "family study").
in my last post, i talked about how we were having a really difficult time beginning a new life outside the organization.
What Now?
Yep...I know what you're going through and you have my sympathy.To me it's much like the feeling one gets when eating all alone in a restaurant and everyone else is chatting away and you don't know what to do except pretend you're intently interested in reading the label on the ketchup bottle. It's like coming back from a great vacation and not having anyone to share the photos with when you get home. Something's missing...you feel like you were invited over for drinks,only to find out everyone else is staying for dinner.
I think this is what one can expect to feel when one exits a cult or extremely insular(unhealthy) social setting such as what we were all part of. A lot of us have a major case of arrested development going on. We never developed the social skills needed to make friends that weren't already prequalified for us. We are unsure how to act when there isn't a script to go by. Like it or not, I think you are going to experience this feeling one way or the other. You can deal with it now or deal with it in a decade or two like many of us are.
It seems to me you have two choices.
1. Stick with the JW organization and view it as a means to an end. Have the best of both worlds, have your cake and eat it too. Go to the meetings with the intent of gleaning from them what you can but don't veiw them as the supposedly life sustaining banquets they claim they are. This way they'll be mildly amusing rather than annoying and dissapointing. Do as much or as little as you choose or are able. Do as well as you can with the established beliefs but draw your own conclusions where the beliefs conflict with your own sense of what's real. Keep your personal thoughts about life's big picture to yourself. It's nobody's business what you feel personally about everything. I call this the "JW My Way" Plan. This is what my Brother does. I envy his ability to go throught the motions without any mental discomfort. He has a ton of friends all over the country and world really. He doesn't believe JW's are the one and only truth out there yet he is able to take from it what he needs. If you are able to do this you'll get the social interaction you desire and you'll get to be around some basically nice folks who are trying to do what they think is right. Your child and you will have a built in framework of people to choose friends from especially if there are a number of other K. Halls nearby which is helpful if you're assigned to a "Dud" Hall. Being a JW is what you already know so you still have the option of going back to your comfort zone and will be able to concentrate on being a Mom rather than having to rebuild your life while simultaneously raising a child.
2. You can tough it out now realizing that sooner or later you'll probably have to face this same situation anyway. You'll have to trust that like anything in life, if you hang in there long enough you'll get the hang of it and your efforts will build one upon the other until have something to show for yourself. It's nice that you can be part of certain activities because of your child but It might be easier if you make friends based on your own merit. Chances are you'll click with people better that way. Your child will have no trouble making his own friends especially if his Parents are doing the same and are socially well adjusted themselves. You can take steps toward gaining new friends by getting to know neighbors you've seen around but didn't bother with when you were a JW. You may have to stick your neck out and form activities of your own and invite people over . It may flop a few times but it's a learning experience right? Make up an excuse to happen by your neighbors houses when they are out in the yard working and introduce yourself. Maybe you can join a book or book clubs where you can actually discuss the topic at hand without being sensored.Maybe you'll decide to take a crochet or knitting class or become part of a knitting group so that you can knit your child and new baby a blanket of their own. From those groups you meet with regularly, friendships may develop. Place yourself in situations where you will see the same person or persons regularly such as at a gym or Yoga class for example. Basically that's what happened when you were a JW. You probably never discussed religion with JW's, you just kept seeing them 3 times a week so naturally you gravitated toward certain ones you clicked with. It had nothing to do with the beliefs being true or not.
Whatever the case, one thing is for sure, you came to the right place to vent and have a listening ear from those of us in various stages of the same process.
just curious as to who on here still regularly attends meetings and goes out in service?
as i sit at the district convention i can't help but think who else out in the crowd is just like me.
doesn't believe what they hear, but are still here..
who else out in the crowd is just like me. Doesn't believe what they hear, but are still here.
That must be a living nightmare. It's difficult enough to participate in these activities when you believe it, but doing it when you know it's a crock...well that's gotta' mess with your head.
awake!
"if you are a young person, you also need to face the fact that you will never grow old in this present system of things.
because all the evidence in fulfillment of bible prophecy indicates that this corrupt system is due to end in a few years... therefore, as a young person, you will never fulfill any career that this system offers.
Does anyone know how to get a copy of this magazine or download it somewhere.
I'd like to have it in the bookcase near my front door when JW's call.
ever notice how completely out of touch some (most?
) public speakers are?.
last week we had a speaker ramble on for fully 1/3, maybe 1/2, of his 30 minute talk on the evils of "rap music".. i don't believe the term "rap music" has been uttered by anyone under the age of 40 for at least 20-25 years.. this week we got another "older gentleman" warning us about the pervasive dangers of "internet chat rooms".. again - didn't "chat rooms" die out about the same time as dialing up to connect to aol?.
They had a talk just before the summer District Convention reminding the "friends" not to "Bogart" the paper towels when they washed their hands in the restrooms at the assembly grounds.
