Reopened Mind

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Posts by Reopened Mind

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  65

  JW Expressions We Hate

  by Socrateswannabe in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i was browsing through stuff on jw.org recently and ran across some expressions that really grate on my nerves: loyal love, loving-care, and loving-kindness, as in: "please exercise loving-kindness toward your servant.

  " who talks like that?

  they must be relics of the fred franz era.

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  Reopened Mind

  undeserved kindness---who doesn't deserve kindness?

  privileges---you know it's something you're expected to do

  good for nothing slave---another way to control and destroy one's self esteem

  elder---when addressing someone in their 20s

  soon---how long is that?

  Bible study when referring to a person---first of all it should be "Bible student", but more correctly it is a student of the Watchtower.

  worldly---a term used to elevate oneself while putting down everyone who wasn't a JW

  hurting Jehovah---going against the governing body

  new light---the governing body can change what we are supposed to believe on a moment's notice even if a belief has been in place for many years

  Reopened Mind
  
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  44

  Fishing and JW's???

  by lurkernomore in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  so i was just reading a thread and came across a completely new jw 'rule', that of not being allowed to go fishing!..

  at least it's new to me as i always enjoyed fishing as did others in my old congregation.

  anyone else heard of this or had this imposed on them in they're jw lives?.

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  Reopened Mind

  My father-in-law, a staunch elder, loved to go fishing in the Gulf of Mexico. He would go every Monday for as long as he was able. He named his boat "Field Service" so if anyone asked where he was, he would answer, "I was out in field service". Although everyone in the hall knew he loved to fish as he often would use fishing illustrations in his talks.

  Reopened Mind
  
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  44

  Are Jehovah's Witnesses marriages even legit?

  by Joliette in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i ask this because of the circumstances behind why they get married and who they get married by.

  i know people say that they are really in love, they love jehovah, etc, but are these marriages even legit.

  i've talked to older jw's sister who are now widowed, some of them say that they were trapped in a marriages.

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  Reopened Mind

  Like Ucantnome I married in 1974 after just having been baptized in 1973 to have someone to go through Armageddon with, which was supposed to happen in 1975. My husband was a born-in and I was newly converted. As time went on I felt like one of those that Cangie mentioned; ie., I would not remarry if something happened to my husband. After 41 years of marriage I am very happy to be married to this man. I feel a great deal of compassion for him and for he has had to endure because of his JW upbringing. He was humble enough to go for counseling for himself and our marriage. It was getting counseling, ironically from a sister who was a Witness, that was the beginning of his waking up. Now I am more in love with him than ever and I can't imagine my life without him.

  Reopened Mind
  
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  211

  Where are you from?

  by BeautifulMind in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i know we are all anonymous for our own personal reasons, so i understand if you would rather not say.

  but if you don't mind sharing that would be cool.

  i currently live in georgia, usa.

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  Reopened Mind

  My husband and I spent most of our time in the organization in Pasco County, Florida. Then we moved for a short while to Starke in north central Florida. To make a clean break from the cult, among other reasons, we moved a thousand miles north to northwest Pennsylvania.

  Reopened Mind
  
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  11

  Question - thoughts on explaining your fading to teachers?

  by elderINewton in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  weird/odd question, but with our family fading, and our daughter in school how or should one approach teachers with this?

  our child is a little too young to understand why we are fading, but it proves challenging in school as they have been, well brainwashed, to say i shouldn't do that etc... .

  i don't like explaining anything to teachers about the fade, etc.

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  Reopened Mind

  A word of caution:

  My fully indoctrinated daughter-in-law is a second grade teacher. Generally Witnesses who are nurses, teachers, etc., have no qualms about breaking a confidence of this nature. They put loyalty to the Watchtower above their job. Please be careful.

  Reopened MInd
  
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  46

  I had breakfast with 50+ JWs on Sunday

  by zimunzucz in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  we pulled into a hotel parking lot saturday around 6pm on the return leg of a wonderful family vacation to new england - an then fate stepped in---a man in a suit got out of a car with the rest of a picture perfect family.

  i immediately noticed all the name tags--- and my blood pressure spiked 50pts- damn!!

  i was booked in a 4 story hotel full of jws-- the only time they took off the name tags was in the swimming pool- they were so proud of themselves.. at 6:30 am the hot water went cold in the wife's shower- what do you expect on the 4th floor when a herd of jws is trying to get ready at the same time?

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  Reopened Mind

  Wow, just wow!! One of the best experiences of witnessing I've ever heard! It is my hope that someday soon one of those in your audience will log on here and relate how they learned "the truth about the truth" from someone they heard talk at a hotel. Perhaps that 12 year old boy.

  Well done.

  Reopened Mind
  
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  26

  Want to share your thoughts on JWs?

  by punkofnice in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  well, it's been a long while since i last visited here.

  i've been doing this and that...you know....lugubrious life and all.. i am interested in collating views from all types of people about jws, albeit non jws, ex jws....anyone associated with jws who wants to share their viewpoint.

  later on i'd like to self publish these collected interviews but cannot offer any money as the project is more about giving people an opportunity to speak, help, whatever, rather than make a best seller.

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  Reopened Mind

  • Name/Pseudonym: Reopened Mind
    

  • Gender: female
    

  • Country: USA
    

  • Were/are you a JW? Pick one.

  Yes I was a JW
  No
  Other (please state)

  
  

  • How were/are you associated with JWs

  Born in
  Interested
  Studying
  Unbaptised
  Joined from personal choice
  Via friend/s I began studying with two girls in school when I was 14/15 years old. That was in the 60s when the "Truth" book had come out. There was the pressure to get baptized after six months of study. But because I was a minor living at home with parents who didn't like JWs they agreed to keep me as a study. I left home and was baptized at 20.
  Other (Please state)

  • How long were you a JW? (If applicable) 38 years
    

  • What drew you to the JWs? Believe it or not that they would change their doctrines. At the time I thought that was because as they realized something was wrong they would correct it. They also projected themselves as one big happy family. Living in a paradise earth with no death, disease, war, or other problems appealed to my idealistic teenage self.
    

  • What do/did you enjoy about being a JW? I enjoyed meeting in small groups for the book study. Afterward we would celebrate couple's anniversaries. So as not to leave out singles and children we would have a special celebration for them too. I enjoyed visiting other congregations when my husband would give the Sunday talk.
    

  • What is your best/fondest memory? For several summers we took our boys camping in the north Georgia mountains. We had time off from our JW routine and were able to bond more as a family. I know that was the only time my elder husband was able to truly relax. We never went to local meetings during our vacation as the WT suggested.
    

  • What is your funniest memory? When a brother gave a tongue lashing to the congregation for not studying the lesson until someone informed him had done the wrong one.
    

  • If alive in 1975 as a JW, do you remember it? What are you memories as a JW? I married in 1974 so I would have someone to go through Armageddon with.
    

  • Can you think of anything positive or good to say about the watchtower organisation? It gives people structure in their lives who cannot think for themselves.

  • Do you believe the JWs have the ‘truth’? no

  Yes
  No
  Partially*
  Other

  * If ‘partially’, which ‘truth/s’ do the JWs have?

  (This is your platform to spill the beans. Go for it!),
  

  • Would you recommend being a JW and why do you answer thus?

  • Please tell us what you want us to know about being a JW
  • If you want an organization to intrude into every aspect of your life, then being a JW is for you. But if you want to make your own decisions and be free create your own life, then stay as far away from this cult.
    
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  75

  Hey I am Back

  by mouthy in

  1. social
  2. current

  did anyone miss me????.

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  Reopened Mind

  mouthy,

  Welcome back! Do tell us what you have been doing since you left.

  Reopened Mind
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  8

  Any Bone fans?

  by Still Totally ADD in

  1. social
  2. entertainment

  my wife and i watch the new season of bones last night and they killed off sweets!!!

  it just a tv show but this is one we have always enjoyed.

  still totally add.

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  Reopened Mind

  blondie,

  I, too, am a stickler for spelling and grammar. But my husband Still Totally ADD

  has a difficult time because he suffers with ADD, dylexia, and PTSD, due a large

  part to his upbringing in the cult, being raised by a fanatically zealous father and

  a paranoid schizophrenic mother whose first language was Lithuanian. Not to

  mention his eardrum was pierced by a parasite when he was in elementary school.

  If I am nearby when he is posting I help him with spelling, but mostly I just let him

  write from his heart.

  I have a great deal of respect for you on this forum. Perhaps you can explain what

  precipitated this little tirade of yours so I can understand you better.

  With love,

  Reopened Mind
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  43

  How old were you when baptized?

  by Coded Logic in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i was baptized at the age of 11. like most of us, my commitment wasnt to honor god but rather i was gang pressed into the service of the wtbts.

  and, at such a young age, it was impossible for me to appreciate the enormity of my actions.

  honestly, how could i possibly have known any better?

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  Reopened Mind

  I was baptized at 20 after studying with some girls I met in junior high school. My parents opposed my association with the Witnesses so I waited until I moved out on my own. I felt I was pleasing God (the WT) rather than men. I was just as ignorant of the workings of the Society as those who were dunked at an earlier age.

  Reopened Mind