Reopened Mind

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Posts by Reopened Mind

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  25

  What 'hooked' you... and what made you leave?

  by s0rt3d in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i wasn't born in.

  i got hooked in as a teenager.

  was going through a tough time, wondered why we exist, why god wasn't doing anything to solve man's problems, if there was a true religion and, hey-presto, a jw classmate showed up with book that not only asked the questions i was asking but answered them too!.

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  Reopened Mind

  WHAT GOT ME HOOKED:

  A classmate gave me the book "Did Man Get Here by Evolution or by Creation?". We debated for a long time as I at the time believed in evolution. After I read her book I became convinced that creation was right. I was about 14 or 15. I read some pro evolution books trying to disprove what she was telling me. Because in the science texts at the time (mid sixties) there were many gaps in the fossil record and Piltdown Man had been shown to be a hoax, her arguments sounded convincing. So I began to change my beliefs. She then invited me to the Kingdom Hall and introduced me to the new publication "The Truth That Leads to Eternal Life" which she studied with me. My parents opposed the study but by then their persecution was "proof" of God's approval.

  WHAT MADE ME LEAVE:

  Fast forward to 2007, 40 years later. I read an article in our local newspaper referencing Kerry Louderback-Wood and her opposition to the JW teaching regarding refusal of blood transfusions. In the article was a link to www.ajwrb.org. I investigated. Not only did I read everything on that site, but I followed the links and kept reading and reading. A big part of that reading was lurking here on JWN. Everything I had been taught from the WT began to unravel. But I had a problem. My husband was the PO. And he was a born in. How could I start telling him that I no longer thought the Society was God's channel? I kept it strictly to myself for awhile. Then he started bringing up how he couldn't accept the story of a global flood. So I started researching information on the Biblical flood. Soon I felt comfortable enough to bring up other concerns as did he. While we have not officially left the organization we are planning our fade.

  Reopened Mind
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  50

  How do you view the people you left behind?

  by sabastious in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i had a lot of anger towards them for a good amount of time.

  but now, i like to think about the good times we had.

  i like to think about their attributes i admired.

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  Reopened Mind

  I had (believe I still have, at least until the big announcement) one very good JW friend. I had confided in her so much that I gave her a magnet that said, "You'll always be my best friend, you know too much." We have not been in the same congregation for several years but have always kept in touch. I last saw her about six months ago. She is still thoroughly indoctrinated. She doesn't have a clue about my fading. I would love to share with her what I have learned, but realize that everyone must reach their own conclusions in their own time.

  Most of the others I can either take or leave. Many are genuinely good people who are just under the influence of a mind-controlled cult.

  Meantime my and my husband's fading must proceed slowly so we don't leave behind our sons and their families.

  FlyingHighNow: Loved the Lost in Space clip. It was one of my favorite shows in my preJW years.

  Reopened Mind
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  103

  Jan. 15th WT- Go to Meetings to Fight the Blues- Eliminate other Activities

  by flipper in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  our jw contact sent us the " witness only " wt's again and i just had to make a thread on this mind numbing article.

  starting on pg.22 in the jan.15th it deals with " coping with discouragement ".

  it seems lots of jw's are under intense stress these days ( can you blame them ?

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  Reopened Mind

  Flipper you really nailed this one.

  I remember the circuit assembly TotallyADD is talking about. I was on the same part as Super Elder. My experience seemed insignificant compared to his. I, too, felt discouraged as I felt I was doing all I could to pioneer, make all the meetings and raise our 2 boys.

  As an aside, if God was going to let us know that Armageddon was "close" or "soon", why is it close on his time schedule and not on ours? After all we only live 70 or 80 years on average. "Soon" to us would not be 130 years or more. When we promise our five year old a trip to the park we don't mean when he turns 50!
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  19

  My Story not for the weak of heart

  by TotallyADD in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  a year after my parents were baptized i was born in 1954. that same year my father was appointed presiding overseer and remained in that position until the early sixties despite the fact he was still smoking.

  he gained the position by default because he was the only baptized man who could read.

  thus began my life course of abuse, neglect and cult thinking.

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  Reopened Mind

  One month before my eighth birthday a friend close to my age was visiting from out of town and came over to play with me. Things were going well when suddenly I could not find him. I ran over to the PO's trailer. Without knocking I walked in. I caught this man standing over my friend stark naked. The man started screaming at me not to move as he was fumbling to put his pants on. Just before he was able to grab me I ran out of the trailer. He chased me. Just before I got to the back door of our house he grabbed me and threw me to the ground, jumped on top of me and started strangling me. I was not able to breathe and I thought I was going to die. He must have realized what he was doing and he stopped choking me. At this point he told me I'd better not say anything to my parents or anybody else because he only lived a few feet from our house and he could come in at night and kill me. I remember picking myself up off the ground, dragging myself to my bedroom, and sitting on the the edge of my bed shaking and wondering why Jehovah hated me and I knew he was going to kill me soon at armageddon.

  What TotallyADD doesn't say is that it took months of therapy for him to remember this incident. He knew he had buried something as he learned he was suffering from Post Traumatic Stress. He was relieved when it finally came to light and through therapy he gained the tools to deal with it. We walked around and around our neighborhood as he struggled to cope with his past. Not having grown up a Witness I found much of his experience hard to believe. However since after reading many of your experiences here and elsewhere I have come to realize that not only was he not exaggerating, but he probably has not told the half of it.

  Reopened Mind, wife of TotallyADD
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  51

  New Board members within the last 1 year.....

  by stuckinamovement in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i can't believe the amount of new posters this board is getting.

  it seems as if every day there are at least 2 to 3.. if you are a new poster, what made you decide to stop lurking and start posting?

  how many of us are there that have joined in the last year?.

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  Reopened Mind

  NLW's wife.....who is still too scared to get her own account.

  I too was very apprehensive about signing up. I lurked for a long time here. Don't let anyone pressure you. You will join us when you and you alone are comfortable. You do have something grand to add----your experience.

  Franklin Massey: My husband was the PO until recently. He, like you was carrying out the duties of his position and at the same time researching and lurking here. Remember it is the Watchtower that has forced you into playing the hypocrite. If they allowed open discussion you would not be in this uncomfortable position. If you think about it you have just done what we ask all new studies to do, that is make an examination of your religion. Truth stands up to scrutiny. You didn't say if you have any family in the organization. This complicates any decision to leave. Who knows what the future holds? If you're like most others here you will follow your intellect and become an XJW.

  I've reopened my mind and you can too. Best wishes in your journey.
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  9

  Hello to everyone from Totally ADD

  by TotallyADD in

  1. jw
  2. friends
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  Reopened Mind

  Hello ADD!!!

  WELCOME TO THE BOARD. Honey I'm so proud of you signing onto JWN. Yes your first post is TOTALLYADD.

  Reopened Mind
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  51

  New Board members within the last 1 year.....

  by stuckinamovement in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i can't believe the amount of new posters this board is getting.

  it seems as if every day there are at least 2 to 3.. if you are a new poster, what made you decide to stop lurking and start posting?

  how many of us are there that have joined in the last year?.

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  Reopened Mind

  I was a long time lurker before I got up the nerve to register last year. I read postings for three and a half years before I registered, then waited 5 more months before my first post in Nov. Between reading the posts here and following the references I came to realize that not only was I not alone but that I had been under severe mind control. Back when I was studying with the Witnesses they were pushing a 6 month study program in the "Truth" book and then expected the student to get baptised. Well I drug it out for 6 years before taking the plunge. No, I was not a slow student as I studied several more books first. They say hind sight is 20/20. This site has really sharpened my vision. I find this site to be friendly and encouraging. The things I learned here have really reopened my mind.
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  52

  Assembly Day Points by a Member of the Governing Body

  by Reopened Mind in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  a jw friend of mine sent me this email today:.

  assembly day points...... .

  brother morris, (member of the governing body).

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  Reopened Mind

  Incidentally..did you click the link that somebody put higher up the thread? It showed that this talk is at least over a year old....

  Yes, I did BluesBrother. And I thank tryingtoexit for posting it. I did not realize before I posted that it had been put up earlier. Judging by the comments here it was good to have another reminder.
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  19

  Stupid Illustration

  by EmptyInside in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  a witness related an illustration they heard at an assembly.

  and sadly,they thought it was so profound.

  it was brought out how some young people feel the restrictions of the "truth" cage them in.

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  Reopened Mind

  Think of it. It's a perfect illustration. A bird in a cage is totally dependent on the owner of the cage for food, water, cleaning of the cage, etc. There is nothing it is allowed to see except what is set before it.
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  52

  Assembly Day Points by a Member of the Governing Body

  by Reopened Mind in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  a jw friend of mine sent me this email today:.

  assembly day points...... .

  brother morris, (member of the governing body).

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  Reopened Mind

  I agree with Flipper. I fear for my family who are still Witnesses. This kind of stuff sends shivers through my spine.

  tryingtoexit: I went back and read your post from Nov '09. It was almost word for word what I just posted. Some really good comments there. I do agree with the WT on one thing though and that is that we need reminders of how incredulous their rantings are.

  thetrueone: Critical thinking on whats going behind that curtain is where you'll find

  the real Truth.

  I am still working on replacing my WT thinking with critical thinking skills. This may take a while.