Posts by Reopened Mind

16

out but not out

by focariedu21 in

jw
friends

from australia very difficult life in the truth always fighting for the young ones as they had it very tough in the italian cong and i being a ms was always repramanded for it.

been in the truth for over 30 years together with my sibblings and mother.

mum passed away last year with parkinsons desease.

So sorry forcariedu21 for what you have had to go through with your JW family. WT is constantly demanding our loyalty even to the point of interfering with the care of family. Years ago the Watchtower harped on how there was no natural affection in the world any more. Yet they themselves have completely removed natural affection from the equation when it takes away from serving them. They stick their noses in family in all aspects of you life if you let them. You have commedably kept them at bay when it comes to the loving issue of caring for your aged parents. Your conscience is clear. A hearty pat on the back for doing the right and loving thing regardless of what your other JW family chose.

My husband and I are on the other side of the world from you in the US. Still we have a very similar scenario playing out here as a result of WT policy and abuse.

Hugs to you. There is a light at the end of the proverbial tunnel.

Reopened Mind

31

my story....

by losecontrol in

well i am new to this, and i must admit that at first i was very opposed to this site.

i grew up being a witness and was warned about looking into apostate things, which is exactly what this site would be that they are referring to.

i always tried to live my life the best that i could under the societys control, and never really got to have any life experiance at all.

Reopened Mind

WELCOME TO THE BOARD LOSECONTROL

I agree with OnTheWayOut. Show your wife what you have written here. You wouldn't have come here let alone posted if you weren't serious about saving your marriage and questioning WT doctrine.

My husband and I started tiptoeing around each other about 3 years ago with doubts we each had about JW teachings. We are currently fading together. This has been a slow process for us because we have grown children and grandchildren still in. It sounds like you and your wife are poised to leave together. Having each other's support will make the process so much easier.

Please, please, please stay with us. You will learn so much and get a lot of support on your journey.

The number one book you both should read is Crisis of Conscience by Ray Franz. He shows in a nonjudgmental way what the inner workings of the Governing Body is really like. Also explore freeminds.org and jwfacts.com.

Looking forward to more of your posts.

Reopened Mind

ps. My husband posts here as TotallyADD

26

whats everybody doing this weekend?

by deservingone26 in

whats everybody doing this weekend?

i have no plans tryin to figure out what im gonna do tired of doing what i usually do which is go out and drink .

Reopened Mind

Cleaning, sorting, packing. Hubby and I are getting ready to move at the end of this month so we can come out of the "WT closet".

Reopened Mind

17

Three years ago TODAY !

by wobble in

jw
friends

it's my anniversary !!!.

i just realised that three years ago, on 25th march 2008, i walked out of the kingdom hall and thought, "i can never go back".

it was a strange and worrying feeling that night, i knew (or thought) i was heading for being df'd, i had been in for 58 years, all my extended family were in, all my life-long friends were in, all my social circle were in, and as i walked away , i knew jw life was at an end, and i would have to start a new life from scratch... it is the most wonderful decision i have ever made in my life, second only to when i impulsively asked my girlfriend of a few months to marry me, she did, the fool, and we are still together after 40 years.. i have enjoyed immensely the feeling of relief, freedom and excitement that has been with me since i left, my journey since leaving has been a fascinating one of exploring ideas and visiting different religion's services, learning about evolution, philosophy, critical thinking, etc.etc.. three years well spent, and the rest of my life in freedom !!

Reopened Mind

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY WOBBLE

And many more.

Reopened Mind

27

When do you begin counting time?

by pubtruth in

jw
friends

for those who were in or still are.. when do/did you begin counting time?

as you left for the house group, or after the meeting was over?

did you count the car trip to and from?

Reopened Mind

When I pioneered I would I would start my time by calling a RV to go over the day's text before heading out to the meeting for field service.

When I had a study come to the meetings I would count the time from when that person arrived at the hall (if I picked her up, even better) until the time she left. Of course I would sit next to her and explain things during the meeting.

There were trailer parks and apartment complexes in our territory where we couldn't get in to witness so we counted time driving through copying addresses. Then I counted time writing out by hand the form letters.

I could also add another 4 hours a month studying with my unbaptised children. When we had unbaptised children with us in our car group we kept our time going from the time we formed the group until we stopped for the day.

So many useless rules on time.

Reopened Mind

164

looky looky - A 'real' J-dub forum! (are they becoming normal???)

by Reality79 in

jw
friends

so did the 'da society' give these dub internet savvies permission to start a forum?

because last i checked, the ole boys in their oversized brooklyn bunker didn't want their members on the internet unless it was to view their own official websites.

i thought maybe it was an apostate forum until i read their long winded, typically condescending jdub style membership guidelines:.

Reopened Mind

From Outlaw:

"We seek to maintain an upbuilding, entertaining, safe, open, and intellectually stimulating environment, where mature Christians can exercise their 'God given' freeness of speech."

Upbuilding: for a clone

Entertaining: OK, I'll give them this one

Safe: Are there pedophiles on the board?

Open: To post on the board you have to be one of Jehovah's Witnesses who is an active publisher. Sounds like a very closed board to me as opposed to here where anyone can sign up.

Intellectually stimulating environment: There can be no intellectual conversations when membership is limited to a very narrow "yes man" group.

Reopened Mind

33

My cat

by imconfused in

this is probably the stupidest thing to ever be wriiten on here, but i need to just talk/type it out.. my cat got run over last night & killed, i am a complete mess.

my hubby has gone away with work today for a few days today so im on my own & i cant cope.

i know loads of you will think, it was just a cat get over it, but dam i hurt so much.

Reopened Mind

It doesn't matter whether your cat was 2 or 12, it hurts like heck. Allow yourself time to grieve. I've lost several dogs & cats over the years and Outlaw's right---it doesn't get easier.

Infpalex said to get another cat right away. I would suggest instead that you wait before rushing out to replace her. There will never be another cat that can take the place of one

you lost. In time, your own time, when you decide to let another kitty into your life you will be able to enjoy the new addition for its own sake. One more suggestion if I may, choose

another animal that doesn't remind you too much of the one you lost.

Deepest sympathies,

Reopened Mind

20

This is the anniversary of when we drew the line in the sand

by nugget in

today is my daughter's 11th birthday and she is super excited.

and today i baked her a boston blackout cake just as i did last year.

the smell of it baking reminded me that this was when we made our first stand for our children and was a significant step as we exited.

Reopened Mind

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HEATHER! The best present your parents could give you is freedom to think for yourself. Use it well.

Reopened Mind

47

A lightning fast POLL: Two questions about CONVERSION

by Terry in

1. were you yourself converted from a religion other than jw to becoming a jw by door to door work?.

2.did you succeed in converting somebody in your own door to door work causing them to change religions to the point of baptism?.

quick answers, please.. .

Reopened Mind

1. No. I was contacted by schoolmates who studied with me until I was baptised 6 years later.

2. Yes. Husband & wife. They were not really my call but since I was with the sister on the initial call I was invited to share the study.

I have been baptised for 38 years, regular in service until 2007. I auxiliary pioneered for 2 years (60hr per month requirement) and regular pioneered for 2 years (90hr per month requirement).

23

Elder's Manual Question

by satinka in

my youngest brother is the family jw patriarch, and an elder, maybe even the po in a small northern town.

in an email i asked him if he ever hears from my kids.

i happen to know he lives in the same small town as my son, who might very well be an elder, too...by now.

Reopened Mind

santinka,

Thank you for fixing my formatting. I copied and pasted directly from the WT CD. Perhaps I should have copied to word or notepad first. Other posts copied from these programs have been successful.

Reopened Mind