respectful_observer

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Posts by respectful_observer

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  51

  I lied to the elders

  by atacrossroads in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i stopped attending meetings all together in january 2015. before that my attendance was irregular at best.

  my husband followed suit a few months ago after months of research, agony, and indecision on his part.

  from the very beginning i laid low and did not share with anyone what i found out about the witnesses because i did not want to be df'd.

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  respectful_observer

  Personally I converted from CofE, my parents were disappointed because they thought (rightly) that jws were a cult, but they continued to support me and my jw husband emotionally for over 20 years. My husband converted from Catholicism, again his family were confused, disappointed, but they continue to love, support and communicate with him to this day.

  My parents were ranting one day about not speaking to someone who they consider apostate (this person is, but was smart enough to fade years ago). I reminded them both that, by definition, they were apostates from Catholicism, having written formal letters of disassociation. I then asked them how they would feel if both of their families had completely cut them off, refusing to even speak with them. It was comical to see them make excuse after excuse that "it was different because we have 'the Truth'".
  
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  8

  Will the GB ever do this?

  by why144000 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  hi, not sure if this has been covered.. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-11-13/peter-hollingworth-says-sorry-to-victims-child-abuse-brisbane/6939804.

  i don't have much time for peter hollingworth.

  he has always acted like a pompous prick when i have met him or seen him on tv however he humbled himself and made an apology for his actions and the actions of the church.. any bets on if the gb would ever do this?.

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  respectful_observer

  

  
  
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  17

  Reinstated and Still Shuned!

  by new boy in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i was at a wedding the summer before i left the jws and i met an old friend.

  he had been reinstated for 6 months, he was dfed for 4 years.

  so it took him 3 1/2 years before they would let him back in.

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  respectful_observer

  As a person who is physically ill may be restricted from eating certain foods or from engaging in certain activities until his condition shows marked improvement, so a person who is spiritually weak may be relieved of certain responsibilities in the congregation until there is evidence of his regaining spiritual strength.

  So apparently "certain responsibilities" includes commenting at the meeting? So let me get this straight-- Sr. Pioneer's female Bible study who openly has a live-in boyfriend, finishes her cigarette before entering the KH, and who wears pants to the meeting (horrors!) is free to comment during the meeting. Of course she does not qualify for the ministry because of her personal conduct,

  BUT..........

  ...the baptized sister who is "on reproof" is not permitted to raise her hand and comment during the meeting due to her personal conduct, yet she is still expected to be active in the ministry.

  Sure, that logic makes sense.
  
  
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  14

  Watchtower Farms

  by Lostandfound in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  with the ending of large scale catering at all bethels what has happened to the farms?.

  i may have missed this but cannot find any reference to them.

  or are they producing delicacies for the private kitchens serving the elite?.

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  respectful_observer

  I was recently talking to a couple of Bethelites and they were raving about the work being done at Warwick and how important it was to support it financially. I asked, "If they had all that extra unused land at Walkill and Patterson, why did they need to spend all that money on Warwick and, yet again, only use a small percentage of that land they purchased for 7-8 figures? Why not build it on the hundreds/thousands of open acres of land they already own in NY State?" They got a really confused look on their faces and quickly changed the subject.
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  61

  Jehovah's Witnesses Latest Music video advice picking a marriage mate

  by Watchtower-Free in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ay5of0nxm44.

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  respectful_observer

  What they forgot to include is a clip from their first "date", when Sister Chaperone is watching the whole time from the backseat.

  
  
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  61

  Jehovah's Witnesses Latest Music video advice picking a marriage mate

  by Watchtower-Free in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ay5of0nxm44.

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  respectful_observer

  Not a JW here BUT at 150 is he and she not in a rather Professional Career environment? I so thought that this was NOT the Jehovah Witness way. The preach one thing then put something else in their video how confusing is this?

  Being a nurse is okay, because that only takes 2 years of college. Becoming doctor is what would cause everyone to question her spirituality. Of course once she's actually a doctor, suddenly the WT would ask her if she'd like to donate her time to treat Bethelites for free.
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  126

  FEB 2016 broadcast

  by Grey Goose in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  it might be the craziest one yet..

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  respectful_observer

  His 2 waiters, His Teaching Helpers, just think, if they were all Mormons they would all be wearing the extra special protective underwear, dreaming of the time they get their own planet.

  It was so strange that he felt the need to clarify that those two guys were not, in fact, "real Bethel waiters", but actually "secretaries in the Office of the Teaching Committee" (surprised he didn't announce how long each had been in full time service).

  Then they just stood there at attention for an awkward long pause in their burgundy cummerbunds and bow ties like some bizarre "service a la russe" moment.
  
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  49

  "If I wasn't born a JW, I would never have become one."

  by OneEyedJoe in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i've seen it mentioned by a few on the forum that at some point there was a realization that had they not been born a jw, they never would've converted no matter how many times the jws tried to study with them.

  this was my experience too, and i'm wondering how universal it is for those that were born-in but eventually left.

  i think i started having this thought (more specifically that if i were not born a jw, i would surely have become an atheist by now) in my late teens.

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  respectful_observer

  2nd Gen here. Me and all my siblings (and our spouses) have all openly said in the past that we'd never have become JWs on our own, and that the only reason we were today is because our parents joined. This even applies to my sibling who's been serving in a full-time assignment for decades.

  Wow...strange to step back as an adult and think about that.
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  20

  My First CLAM Meeting

  by The Searcher in

  1. social
  2. humour

  i carried out my monthly "cover" visit to the k.h.

  tonight.

  as previously discussed on this forum, the clam meeting is just a rehashed, recycled, reshuffled, & rebranded ministry school and service meeting.

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  respectful_observer

  I was in one congregation where no one was answering and the conductor threatened to call on people who didn't have their hands up....and he did. The attendance was lower the next meeting. Then someone clued him in that he was not succeeding.

  I would stand, in silence for what seemed an age after reading the set question . It was a battle of wills and eventually they won. I was replaced with an elder who would either answer it himself or read a scripture instead...

  Back when the Book Study still existed I was attending a rather large group held in the KH. Although there was typically 20-30 people there, the participation was awful. On one even-worse-than-usual night, the poor brother conducting was getting NO help. After having to drag comments out during the first few paragraphs, the next one was read and he asked the question. Zero hands went up. He calmly gazed at the audience and said: "No comments? Okay, let's just move on to the next paragraph then. Paragraph 5, Br. Reader." I just about died.

  
  
  
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  65

  How do I handle this situation?

  by BarelyThere in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  hey everyone.

  i'm sorry that this isn't a very thought provoking post but i could really use some advice on how to handle this.

  there isn't anyone else in my life i can ask right now because, being dfed, all of my friends are "worldly" and don't know how witnesses function.

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  respectful_observer

  To the op, look, it seems like you were in a crappy marriage and wanted out. Who wants to stay miserable forever? I hope you can let go of what happened and move on.
  Ok, to comment on your question. If it were me, I'd switch halls, get reinstated, then print the emails, highlight the nasty things that were said, and have a mtg with them with copies for them and all the elders. Look them straight in their eyes and make them answer for it....

  What cognac said.
  

  First, you never know what other exchanges he may have connected to your email account between now and then. This could end up being one of just many.

  Second, running to the elders now would only make them thing you're just being vengeful.

  Similar to cognac, one option is to wait until you're reinstated, and when you notify them you're moving congregations, explain why, let them try to convince you not too, and then hand over printed copies to the elders, telling them you've also cc:d the C.O. Just let them all deal with it and never mention it, or dwell on it, again.