We lost a very wonderful friend to some mishandled medical treatment after an accident. Part of me knows what Steve2 and LisaRose have said is true and that this untimely death is causing me to reflect on things but I sometimes wonder if it would be better to go back and not take it all so seriously and just reap the benefits of being around people who are trying their best to be decent and good. There are less meetings now, they are shorter and the whole thing seems much more user friendly. We walked away back in 2008. It would only be a matter of easing back into a few meetings now and then.
exwhyzee
JoinedPosts by exwhyzee
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14
Encinitas Congregation Encinitas CA.
by exwhyzee inanyone from that hall?.
we attended a memorial for a long time friend there this past weekend.
it was my first time in a kingdom hall since memorial 2008. as per usual, the people were lovely but the message had gaps and left me feeling somewhat blank and cold.
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How do you overcome this JW excuse?
by EdenOne induring one of those meetings that took place before my jc, one of the elders, who was a good friend of mine back then and used to come up with a few outlandish personal views about some teachings, attempted to counter one of my arguments like this:.
eden - "well, if the truth doesn't change, why is it that what we teach as 'truth' has changed over the years (several examples given)?
how can we dogmatically claim at any given moment that we have 'the truth' if our teachings keep changing?".
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exwhyzee
Elder - " The truth never changes. It's our perspective on The truth that may change, but The truth has always been The same".
So the Societies "perspective" of Jehovah's commandments regarding abstaing from blood has changed enough so that blood fractons are now allowable. Do you think it was Jehovah's intention to allow certain JW's to die unnecessarily while waiting for that "perspective" to change? How would you answer this question if you had a child or loved one die 10 or 15 years ago before this new "perspective" came to pass?
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Encinitas Congregation Encinitas CA.
by exwhyzee inanyone from that hall?.
we attended a memorial for a long time friend there this past weekend.
it was my first time in a kingdom hall since memorial 2008. as per usual, the people were lovely but the message had gaps and left me feeling somewhat blank and cold.
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exwhyzee
Anyone from that Hall?
We attended a memorial for a long time friend there this past weekend. It was my first time in a Kingdom Hall since Memorial 2008. As per usual, the people were lovely but the message had gaps and left me feeling somewhat blank and cold. The association afterward was easy and natural and reminded me of the way it used to be when all was well for us and JWdom. Maybe that in itself should be enough for a person ?
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Helping Grandma Move.
by exwhyzee inwe helped my wife's 83 year old mother move this weekend (30year regular pioneer).
she's having memory issues now and is moving into a nice little apartment built off the back of her (elder) son's house.
among a lifetime of memories, kids report cards, black and white photos of long dead swans etc., i found stacks of old society publications from as far back as the 1920's including bound volumes and rutherford books.
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exwhyzee
You should get as much of that old stuff you can and that brochure about old people give their money to the Borg should be copied and uploaded here.
I know... I'll have to figure out a way to scan it and upload it here without having to dismantle the brochure.
I take comfort in the fact that all of my children have awakened to TTATT and can live their lives without being enslaved to Borgland.
I have one Son (and his wife) who still attend meetings and my Brother. I don't mind that they still do, if that's what they want, so long as they know it's not the absolute truth in the world and not to make any long term plans around their predictions for the future, take any of their medical advice, or think that they need to shun the rest of us who don't believe it anymore. So far I'm pretty sure they just view it as a social outlet and a way of life that happens to be working for them at the moment.
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Helping Grandma Move.
by exwhyzee inwe helped my wife's 83 year old mother move this weekend (30year regular pioneer).
she's having memory issues now and is moving into a nice little apartment built off the back of her (elder) son's house.
among a lifetime of memories, kids report cards, black and white photos of long dead swans etc., i found stacks of old society publications from as far back as the 1920's including bound volumes and rutherford books.
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exwhyzee
We helped my Wife's 83 year old Mother move this weekend (30year Regular Pioneer). She's having memory issues now and is moving into a nice little apartment built off the back of her (elder) Son's house. Among a lifetime of memories, kids report cards, black and white photos of long dead swans etc., I found stacks of old Society publications from as far back as the 1920's including bound volumes and Rutherford Books. I also found a manuscript she typed for Albert Schroeder (G.B) for a talk he gave at the District Convention back in 1974. "Pressing Forward Toward the Prize of Everlasting Life" (P.S. he died about 8 years ago).
My Brother in Law (41year old elder) knew about the old literature since childhood but never paid any attention to it until now. As we were packing up the old books I showed him the old drawings of Jesus on the Cross or pointed out some of the crazy old beliefs. I opened the bound volumes up to some of the articles containing the failed predictions and flop flops we've discussed on this site. I casually handed them to my brother in law and had him read certain key paragraphs. I made no comments, just let the literature speak for itself except for once when I showed him how they changed the masthead of the Awake! magazine and dropped the part about the 1914 generation not passing away before this system ended. I said "It would appear they knew back in the 90's that these folks would die off long before Armageddon came and were little by little backing out of their predicition. Funny how they didn't make it official until 2 years ago when 2014 was bearing down on them and there was no way out if it. He said in a vague sort of half joking way " Yep...the light keeps getting brighter". I said in a half joking but sarcastic way "Might have been nice if they'd have let us know this "brighter light" back in the 90's so we'd have had a chance to plan our lives accordingly. A lot of people put off having children, stuck with dead end jobs, put off medical needs or didn't invest in retirement because they were told those, very elderly people would still be alive when Armegeddon came." .
He had sort of a sick far off look on his face as he read some of the stuff I was showing him and said something about donating the books to the Kingdom Hall but then one of the (M.S.) Grandsons came in and he remembered that the Society wanted certiain publications returned to them. I (gently) mentioned that I'd heard that some of this old literature is an embarrasment to them and the reason they want it back is because they are trying to get rid of it so it doesn't keep coming back to haunt them. They both looked like they could see why this would be true.
I also found a full color magazine sized booklet that was sent to her from the Society called "Charitable Planning to Benefit Kingdom Service Worldwide". Has anyone else seen this ? Using Prov 3:9 as its theme " Honoring Jehovah with your valuable things" This publication outlines all the options a JW has for handing over their money, property and valuables to the Society. They also show how you can set up an annuity with the Watchtower and receive an income for life, based on ones life expectancy. It goes on to give examples (with photos) of smiling happy individuals who are participating in this program and furthering Kingdom interest and getting tax benefits because of it. Along with the brochure she had been sent some form to fill out. I didn't want to overwhelm him but when the time is right I'm going to ask my brother in law (who now manages his Mom's money) if he knew that they had sent her this information. I'm guessing he did not. (He's been having trouble with her buying unnecessary things from salesman, loaning or giving away money to family members without telling him) I know it won't sit well with him if they have already convinced her to sign anything over to them.
I kept the "Charitable Planning" brocure and can probably still get my hands on the old literature. I have bro. Shcroeder's talk and was thinking I'd scan it and make it available if anyone is interested. There's lots of bold language in it from back in the day when they were really "out there". Lots of declarative statements with no evidence presented as back up. (see below)
Incidently, last month at Bethel I was talking to some of the fine Brothers about Satan and his Demons. They [ the demons] are all spiritual drop- outs and so they have been going on the decline. But why does Jehovah God, from the Blble, have to execute Satan and the demons and doesn't allow them to go to the full limit or the point of decline? They are not physical, but their hold on life is so powerful that what possibly would be involved here is that it would take hundreds of thousands of years for them to deteriorate to the point where they'd wear out and Jehovah won't wait that long. So the angels and Satan are on death row. They have been sentenced by Jehovah as meriting execution. It's just a matter of tme before they are eliminated from the human scene forever.
This weekend was pretty emotional not only because it's very sad to see my once vibrant mother in law who firmly believed since her youth that she'd live into the new system, declining so rapidly but because it was chock- full of reminders of how deeply entrenched my life is and always will be, in the JW religion.
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Are you afraid something horrible will happen to you now you have left the Wt.
by Still Totally ADD ini remember many years ago we would talk about those who leave the org.
something bad will happen to them.
because god was mad at them for turning away from the wt.
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exwhyzee
I used to have a "what if they're right" feeling when I first walked away. I worried that things would go wrong in my life. Instead, a bunch of unusually good things happened which made me worried that Satan may be trying to make it seem like I had done the right thing and then would trick me somehow when I least expected it.
A short time later, a plane with several JW's who were heading to serve where the need is greater, crashed and everyone perished. I decided not to be so superstitious and self absorbed so as to think my being or not being a JW made a bit of difference to anything or anyone, anywhere.
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Mental Disorders among JW's
by Blackfalcon98 inhi everyone, im begining to notice patterns of mental issues in the congregations and among the witnesses as a group.
do you think this is a trend in the entire world or is it exagerated in this organization?.
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exwhyzee
I remember when the issue of how so many JW's were "depressed souls" **Exekiel 9:4 was often sited as the reason for this. It was more than a suggestion, that those who were sheeplike would be the ones who recognized the wickedness of the world and yearned for righteousness and thus were attracted to THE TRUTH.
**4 And Jehovah said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry over all the abominations that are done in the midst thereof.
Use of this scripture seemed to be a way to gloss over or explain away, serious mental issues that needed to be addressed by highly trained professionals. Those who were suffering anxiety and depression were often told by well meaning but untrained Elders, to pray more or attend meetings more ,read and dwell on the truths of the Bible or those found in the publications. Often those with serious issues not based in environmental factors found no relief whatsoever in following this advice and often felt this was because Jehovah didn't care about them or they were unworthy of his help.
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TARGETED ( A story featured on THE MOTH)
by exwhyzee inhi guys,.
have a listen to this short story and if you're so inclined, say what line or lines of this story resonated with you in regard to your jw experience.. i linked this story 3 ways in hopes one of them will work for you.. thanks !
xyz.
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exwhyzee
Hi Guys,
Have a listen to this short story by Jen Lee called TARGETED. Hope you enjoy listening to it and if you're so inclined, say what line or lines of this story resonated with you in regard to your JW experience.
Thanks ! XYZ
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The Americans are back!
by Xanthippe intoday will be the third time this year there were american tourists at my local national trust stately home calke abbey, derbyshire.
nice to see they are coming back to visit the uk.
haven't been many around in my part of britain in the last few years.
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exwhyzee
I told him we could go when he graduates from High School. That's only 5 years away. I'd better start saving!
...and for goodness sake, make sure he knows better than to make any comment or ask any question that hasn't been thoroughly thought out, in advance. LOL
Not quite the same thing but here in Seattle people ask if we ever seen or have met Bill Gates or know any actual Indians. When I lived in California I was often asked when traveling, if I knew any movie stars even though I was 1,200 miles away from Hollywood, or had I met then Governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger (saw him out and about with Maria and kids twice...much shorter than you'd have thought).
Silly questions for sure but I'm always glad when people want to talk to me. LOL !
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The Americans are back!
by Xanthippe intoday will be the third time this year there were american tourists at my local national trust stately home calke abbey, derbyshire.
nice to see they are coming back to visit the uk.
haven't been many around in my part of britain in the last few years.
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exwhyzee
Sorry....my mistake, I did misread what you said. (Shouldn't read these posts on a phone). That did seem a bit strange/scary that the royals would be on a commercial flight but we've been hearing a lot about how they are trying to live a regular normal life as much as possible. With enough body guards in tow, who knows what that might entail?
Anyway, my experience as a visitor and someone who see's a good number or British visitors, is the same, however it could be myself that misunderstands the communication style of some (and very few)British folks. Just an observation that came to mind when trying to understand why you were perplexed enough by your conversation with those tourist to included it in your post here on this site. It seemed like a simple off hand comment on their part.