Posts by nmthinker

29

Pioneers, Prayers and Pills

looking back on my two decades as a jehovah’s witness, i’ve come to realize how the constant theme of endurance is playing a detrimental role on the individual's psyche.. jehovah’s witnesses have become far too good at keeping going.

they’re experts at surrendering to the demands of the watchtower, living up to what’s expected of them, and getting on with the priorities that those in power have defined and imposed upon them.

they keep showing up, presenting themselves a dutiful pioneer or ministerial servant.

nmthinker

I woke up a year after stopping drinking. I drank so much as a JW I think I was honestly trying to kill myself and disappear.

17

Has Anyone Read Barbara Anderson's New Book?

by Room 215 in

barbara has written an autographical book detailing her experiences at brooklyn bethel : "barbara anderson uncensored - eyewitness to deceit" have any of you folks read it?.

nmthinker

Just bought the Kindle version.

26

Struggling to Live a Lie

by Addison0998 in

jw
friends

it’s been very difficult, much more than i first anticipated to live a lie, (be pimo and a regular active member) i still live with my parents but i plan on moving out at the end of the year, so i really need to keep it together.

but i think people are starting to get suspicious that something is up.

i’ve stopped commenting, going on service all the time, talking at the door, and occasionally voicing something, such as a question that no one has a good answer for, that makes people think, but ahah, thinking is dangerous and wrong so that is suspicious of course.

nmthinker

Just tell people you are depressed, always worked for me. When I was still PIMO I knew I wouldn't last more than a year. So I set a date in my head when I would stop going to meetings. That light at the end of tunnel kept me alive till it was time to cut off the J-dub experience (tm)

14

They Offered Their Son Willingly—To Bethelite Brothers

by betterdaze in

they offered themselves willingly—in new yorkricky, a construction project manager in hawaii, was invited to serve as a commuter bethelite to assist with the warwick project.

his wife, kendra, wanted him to accept the invitation.

however, they had a legitimate concern: the welfare of their 11-year-old son, jacob.

nmthinker

I was a "fatherless boy" being raised by a single mom in the 90's. My mom and the elders handed me over to a married 50 year old man who ended up molesting me. It was considered a good thing that I was making friends with the older mature ones. Talk about brainless and the elders couldn't care less.

60

Marc & Cora on YouTube causing unnecessary divisions

by jambon1 in

jw
friends

what is it with this pair?

why do they have to constantly have a bitch about guys like john cedars?

a very recent video of them shows them calling him a 'village idiot' and making other disparaging claims.

nmthinker

His ego is huge...

To be fair that is problem with most J-dubs, especially men. I am Cedars age and was born into the religion. I have this problem too. You are raised to feel like you're better than everyone else and you have an innate sense of being right when everyone else is wrong. The effects of this can last a lifetime.

22

I need some serious help

by bulldogg1877 in

jw
friends

i grew up a jw kid until the age of twelve.

since then i have lived a worldly life.

i have enjoyed alot of my life experiences, but i now feel like i am lost.

nmthinker

You would be better off going to AA or a local church. JW's claim to have a spiritual program but they will just rope you into serving them, they will be a drain on you for the rest of your life.

41

Sheep and the Goats - The Light Gets Brighter

by nmthinker in

perhaps some of you remember a new understanding of the sheep and the goats in the epic march 2015 wt study edition - specifically the article "loyally supporting christ's brothers".. while this article was studied many months ago, it was instrumental in helping me wake up.

during my study of the 2015 article i recalled that we had just revised our understanding of the sheep and the goats a few years ago and this caused me to research the real progression of the jw understanding of this parable.

i put the results of my research in an excel spreadsheet.. .

nmthinker

@Fisherman

Fisherman2 days ago
how the judging of the sheep and the goats pivoted from mankind as a whole to a focus exclusively on JW's.
The article that you refer to does not say that but something that you have concluded on your own.

I arrive at this conclusion simply by following the Watchtower reasoning all the way through. According to the new understanding:

"All the nations" = All non-annointed humans
You will be judged as sheep if you support Christs brothers in preaching, construction, and donating
You will be judged as goat by not doing 2.

You can clearly see that if you are worldly you are a Goat by default. There is no way for you to be a sheep because you don't know who "Christs brothers" are and you cannot go preaching or volunteering at Warwick.

If you ARE JW then you will be judges as a sheep or a goat based on how much you help the GB (AKA "Christs brothers").

The goats on the left side are destroyed forever according to Matthew 25:41

34

Aussie jw girl very sick in US funded by wordly people carity

by sherrie11 in

http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/i-want-to-go-home-13yearold-phelicity-sneesbys-dying-wish-20160130-gmhky4.html.

this article is sad.

but what amazes me is her jw family is accepting donations or has to resort to the very worldly people they look forward to being destroyed.

nmthinker

SkyGreen10 hours ago
If the wt society publicised how much they gave the family then everyone would be onto them about boasting. Cant have a double standard. I dont know exact figures because i wasnt told.

This is crazy logic. As already mentioned in the video they were boasting that they provided assistance, even though Jesus instructs us to give in secret.

There is no way to tell if they backed up all the talk with actual funds. But if they WERE paying all the funds in secret, then why the need for the gofundme campaign? Something doesn't add up.

We see how they are willing to boast about the elaborate and beautiful Warwick construction, and can pocket billions from real estate as proof of God's approval, though. That is clear enough.

19

LEAKED Talk - Depression Is A Part Of This Life

by pale.emperor in

another leak from my collection of talks that i was ordered not to share.

an elder gave me a ton of talks from bethel and special assembleys to put on his ipod.

of course i copied them to my computer and will share them for all of us.. depression is a part of this life by brother nathan fuel.. this talk also touches on the subject of family members being disfellowshipped, feel depressed?

nmthinker

He might as well be reading directly off a transcript. For a talk about coping with depression he is sorely lacking a compassionate voice. And the victim blaming is pathetic.

28

I don't like the person i am becoming...

by SpunkedTeen in

jw
friends

i have not been active here lately just lurking mostly but i have no one to talk to and i need some help i guess.i started working out and became friends with my personal trainer(we went to school together).i started going out with him(lying to my mother about what i was doing,another thing to add to the list of lies,it's becoming too easy!

) and i notice i'm slowly becoming the worldy people that the jw's described.i've become very selfish and rude and very apathetic towards everything and everyone.i always thought the values that jw's taught were really good.if i cut ties with the only friend i have now , i would probably slip into a deep depression and i that is something that i want to avoid at all costs.i start university in january and my plan was to stick it out in the organisation until i got my degree and became fully independant but as of late a elder told me i am being considered to become a m.s and told me what i need to work on and since then the other elders have been nagging me to work on the same things.i'm trying to rid my self of my 'priveleges' in the cong but nothings working...if anyone has experienced a similar situation what advice would you give?

, oh and my mom was always super into the religion having been a pioneer and bethel worker for years but we went to the regional convention two weeks ago and now she is even more exasperating (for example a sister asked my why i was 19 years old and not a ms or serving at bethel yet, which is fine i've learnt how to deal with these questions but when i told my mother whom has always been content with me just being in the religion and never pushed me towards anything asked me if i was happy with what i was and if i would not be happier at bethel or regular pioneering.

nmthinker

Giles Gray is right. It took me a short time to wake up but a much longer time to be accepting of the fact that I wasn't a witness anymore. Since I was born in "the truth" I had internalized all the negative things they say about worldly people and those who leave the organization.

Eventually you come to accept that we are all just people and we ourselves are ultimately accountable for the decisions we make in life. IMO witnesses don't hold themselves accountable but focus on their status in the religion and in the eyes of others. This is why it is so hard for people to leave the organization for good.