Posts by exwhyzee

133

The new service meeting

by John Aquila in

i wanted to relate an experience that happened this morning.

it is regarding the new format for the meeting on thursdays in my area.

its not word for word but im summarizing what i heard, the best i can remember.

exwhyzee

Bow Wow....I guess I'm part of the Dog Pack as well but am open to straying from said pack when I realize or I'm shown that I've been wrong.

I enjoy John's posts nevertheless and apologize for being skeptical about them if they are in fact 100% true. I think it's just that a lot of us here were trusting in a big way for so long and were duped big time and are consequently hyper vigilant about not letting it happen again. At one time it became a "fact" in my own head, that JW's had the truth and nothing could convince me otherwise. Now the opposite has happened and I have to be careful that I don't automatically believe every negative bit of information or anecdote I come across no matter how much they confirm my pre existing biases against JW's.

I'm with Magnum when he says in so many words, that he depends on the information here being accurate and dependable rather than entertaining. Many here are making or continuing on with big life decisions based on the information they get on sites like this and then combine with their own life experience and current situation. They can't afford to waste anymore of their lives, on recovering from JW's.

Having said that, good for you John if everything went down as you said it did.....no real harm done I suppose, if it didn't.

39

Best Christmas Song?

by snugglebunny in

jw
friends

a catchy little number this one!

curiously, this little known christmas song by perry como was actually the theme tune to the odessa file movie back in the 70's.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5l1uddoh-yu.

so what have you got?.

exwhyzee

These ladies..I mean this song gets me every time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6zrdQUvSjA

25

Hello

by Lost and adrift in

.just plucking up the courage to introduce myself....living in ireland but from the uk originally.

..drifted away due to depression (from all things truth related lol and bereavements and my m.s husband cheating on me and leaving !!

) few years ago but they recently hunted me down (they contacted me the day my other half was diagnosed with cancer!

exwhyzee

Hi Lost,

I'm from Ireland originally but have been in the west coast U.S most of my life. Most of my extended family is in Mayo, Carlow, Killaloe, Sligo as well as in the UK and Wales. Unlike my Mother, they were smart enough to dodge the JW bullet when it came their way (when they saw crazy commin'....they crossed the street).

My 24 year old Son was diagnosed with Cancer a few weeks after he was unfairly DF'd and we were shunned as well because we assisted him during his surgery and Chemo. He survived thankfully, however I lost my Dad due to the blood issue and a complication during his surgery. I know what it is to be without a friend and have the people you trust betray you when facing a crisis and have them thinking all the while that they have divine backing to do so.

I can't imaging having been hunted down as you were and I'm sorry you are going through this. I'm here to tell you that you can get through it but if I had to do it all again, I'd like to have known how to better deal with the circumstances one faces as a former JW, so as to avoid any unnecessary burning of bridges and inflicting of further damage on ones personal life than absolutely necessary. Looking back, I was still rather naive and trusting of them and could/should have played the game with a better strategy.

I'd focus on the medical issues at hand first and foremost of course but as you are able, be sure to to take advantage of the "search" option at the top of the page, typing in key words or topics that are applicable to your situation. There is a wealth of information and experience to be had on this site that will help you navigate your way through the circumstance you've found yourself in, without having to re-invent the wheel.

A lot of former JW's have residual guilt and doubt at first about their choice to leave the organization/cult. An examination of JW doctrine and history from non JW sources often gives them the final confirmation that JW's aren't "THE TRUTH" and if nothing else, give them the courage of their conviction that serves them well as they face this big life change.

Be sure and send me a private message if you think I might be able to help. (see private message envelope icon at top of page)

Best regards -Exwhyzee

59

$1.2 billion coming, still 12 properties to go

by the girl next door in

but still, they ask for more at every opportunity.

send in that ice cream money kids!.

http://www.brooklyneagle.com/articles/2015/12/4/sales-watchtower-headquarters-and-two-other-jehovah%e2%80%99s-witnesses-properties-could.

exwhyzee

Some of that could already be spent if they have taken out construction loans for their current building in Warwick and other places.

I agree and who knows if they used a good part of the equity in these properties just to tide themselves over these past 5-to-10 years. Sam Herd certainly seemed worried about something in the last broadcast where he was talking finances.

26

Why doesn't God need a creator, while the Universe does?

by Bloody Hotdogs! in

i asked this question of a jw that called on me yesterday: "if the universe requires a creator, why doesn't god?

if the universe must have a beginning, why doesn't god?

he claims to have an answer, but it must wait for next time he calls.. i'm hoping you guys can give me a heads-up as to what he will say.

exwhyzee

He claims to have an answer, but it must wait for next time he calls.

Which is code for ,"I've gotta' run home and do some major research and/or ask the Elders".

56

JW Threatened me with Violence Today :)

by cofty in

i popped into the supermarket for a few things after work today and found myself walking up an aisle alongside a couple who used to be in my tuesday group.

i see them reasonably often and always say hello much to their obvious annoyance.

i noticed that ian was sporting a shaggy beard.

exwhyzee

Hilarious post...JW's can get so serious about themselves.

Pete we are much less litigious this side of the pond.

Pete...I understood your comment the first time. Not sure what provoked the sarcasm and the "litigious" comment however. I'm sure that if you punch someone in the nose in England, there are legal consequences just like there are over here.

69

Why Me?

by John Aquila in

do you ever wonder why out of all the witnesses, you are the one that woke up?

i wonder many times why me.

i know many men and women that are much, much better persons than me; either they are much smarter, more humble, kinder, more successful, or just better persons all around.

exwhyzee

Do you ever wonder why out of all the Witnesses, you are the one that woke up?

Or go one step further, why was I the one who wound up in the religion in the first place, when millions immediately saw it for what it was and ran ?

I wonder many times why me. I know many men and women that are much, much better persons than me; either they are much smarter, more humble, kinder, more successful, or just better persons all around.

JW's will tell you that it was your (our) lack of humility that was your(our) downfall out of "the truth". They'll tell you that it's the good and humble ones who are still hanging in there and accepting the things they don't particularly like or understand about the religion. Sheep follow, they stay with the flock....they don't lead or go off on their own.

They often mistake humility with lack of courage.

No, truly I am amazed that so many more don't wake up.

In my opinion, the JW religion serves a purpose for some people and then they outgrow it and need to move on. It's when they stick with it in order to avoid personal repercussions that happen when one leaves, is when the trouble begins. I think it's safe to say that each of the 8 million current JW's around today, personally knows or is related to at least one former JW. That being the case, there at least as many, (if not more) former JW's as there are active JW's and that's not even counting all of those who left decades ago.

221

Day 4 Looks to Be Live at Any Moment - Link...and Upcoming Witness List!

by LostGeneration in

https://www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/case-study/636f01a5-50db-4b59-a35e-a24ae07fb0ad/case-study-29,-july-2015,-sydney.

anyone know who this monty baker is?

i'm sure this guy will be able to tell the rc how things work behind the scenes without all the evasiveness, being that he is an "apostate".

exwhyzee

I'm sure the good Doctor is wishing she'd never heard of Jehovah's Witnesses at this point. She's beginning to realize that she based her findings on the idealistic writings of those cloistered men in Bethel, rather than upon what happens in the real world.

The Aussie Commission is on point and are well aware of the flaws in the JW's policy. They are systematically slogging through her indefensible arguments one by one, point by point using the Watchtowers own publications to do so.

This is unprecedented.....they (the org.) have always been able to go about their way unchecked and we the trusting "Publishers" could only hear their version of the story when anything happened to them legally. Gone are the days when Jehovah's Witnesses are kept in the dark (unless they choose to be) and when victims of this organization will simply disappear without having had their say, publicly .

116

You Tube Video Ex-Betheliite Ex-Walkill Worker Layed Off!

by cha ching in

i am not sure if this guy is really from bethel, or walkill, but if he is....this poor guy really tells it like it is from the heart.

he was surprised.. at the 'oh so fast, pack your bags, get your stuff outta here' layoff !.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uk1xh1egjcu

exwhyzee

I don't have time right now to read all the posts but as a former Bethelite I believe every word of the guys story and it makes my blood boil.

I had all of my money stolen out of my room while I was a Bethelite and I had my first rude awakening about the supposedly loving organization I had been raised in. I had gone through twelve years of public school and had not so much as one conflict with anyone or anything stolen from me. Within months of being a Bethelite, mixed among some nice well meaning young guys, I met more misfits and mean people that I'd ever known before. Here I was at Bethel, "Gods headquarters" robbed of all my money and flat broke.

Instead of going to the Police ( as I should have), naturally I went to the Bethel office to report what happened . They treated me very strangely, I had expected them to be sympathetic and angry that such a thing could have happened at Bethel. During the conversation they grilled me, not about how the crime happened but wanted to how I had spent the money. I suddenly realized that they thought I was lying and that they had no intention of doing anything about the crime that had occurred within their own walls. I began to get angry that they would think that as a Bethelite I'd actually lie about such a thing. I told them that I had no money in the world and couldn't call home and have my non Witness father find out that I was robbed at Bethel. It was only then that they admitted that someone was breaking into the rooms and then they forked over a whole $10.00 for me to buy subway tokens with so that I could go to the meetings by subway for the rest of the month and instructed me not to tell anyone about this. I knew there was something very wrong with these people and bided my time until my year was up and I could return home. In the coming months I realized that the Sister who cleaned our room and her husband were acting strangely toward me. Whenever I saw them in the dining room or in the hallway, they'd turn away quickly and scurry off. I had been thinking that there was a Bethel Burglar so it didn't dawn on me until years later, the he and she may have been the ones who stole my money.

Anyway,when I returned home, I was asked to speak in front of the congregation and at the Circuit Assembly about my experience at Bethel. The brothers were puzzled why I always declined to do so. I'd make excuses and indicate that I didn't want to bring attention to myself but the truth is, I couldn't honestly recommend that anyone go to Bethel like they wanted me to do.

These people are out of touch with the real world and have become heartless and condescending to anyone who finds themselves in a situation that makes them question their own supposedly noble mission. They remind me of the rich religious guy who steps over a homeless guy in the street and instead of wondering how God can allow this to happen to people, he instead thinks to himself how blessed he is and it's must be the homeless guys own fault if God isn't blessing him too.

69

Thinking of Going Full Disclosure With Wife. Sorta

by freemindfade in

jw
friends

soliciting any and all opinions.

as some of you may know, wife is full in pioneer.

my fade has gone from us fighting.

exwhyzee

But coming clean and telling her essentially know this is not gods chosen organization, I know the bible is not gods word, and I know there is no yhwh, would be very final for her.

I heard a Circuit Overseer say one time " Some new ones, when they first learn "the truth", need to be locked in a closet for a while because they want to tell their family members what they've discovered, all at once and they end up driving them away".

I think a very similar thing happens when a JW learns the truth about "The Truth". They feel an urgency to tell everyone what they've discovered and basically save them from themselves. They also want to be vindicated for all the wrongs they may have suffered over the years and for having been duped for so long.

You've seen what has happened so far since you spoke your mind to your family. Are you willing to let the Watchtower take yet another piece of your life away just because you need to be right or are too impatient to wait for your wife to come around on her own?

Be the best husband and father you can be. Let her bring the topic of religion up and when she does bring it up, say as little as possible. Don't draw any lines in the sand, don't burn any bridges. You don't need to explain or defend yourself. You only need to understand what her concern for you is at that very moment and address that concern only, nothing else.

For instance if she chastises you for not going to the meetings and says:

"You need to become regular again at the meetings...the Bible commands us not to forsake the gathering of yourselves together"

Instead of saying : "I can't stand going there anymore. The doctrines they teach from the platform aren't in accordance with the Bible and they keep changing them once time has proven them to have been wrong all along just as I always suspected....for instance what about 1914 etc..."

You could say instead : " I know you are truly concerned for me. I've been attending those very same meetings, since I was a child and I understand how much emphasis is put upon them. You have to trust me when I say that for now, I need to step away from the meetings and find out what it is I truly believe. I know you believe that Jehovah reads our hearts. If that is so, then he knows that the one thing that I do not need to re-evaluate is how I feel about you and the kids and the rest of my family. There are about 168 hours in a week. All we are talking about here is not attending a couple of 2 hour meetings. That leaves us 164 hours when I'm the same guy I always was. Try not to put too much significance on this relatively small slice of time I need."

Anyway, as I said, let her (and other family members) bring up the topic of religion and only address the concern that is motivating them at that moment rather than the whole religion. If discussions about doctrinal issues cannot be avoided, ask them to review with you what their belief or understanding is on the subject. Then ask them lite questions about it...don't make statements....only ask questions that lead them in a direction where they see the flaws on their own.