Reopened Mind

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Posts by Reopened Mind

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  41

  Our Story

  by Auntfancy in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  hi everyone, i have been on here for a little while and haven't introduced myself to you.

  i can't tell you how much all of you have helped me sort many things out in my mind.. i was raised in a very good christian home and married my hs sweetheart.

  i left home and moved half way across the country with a husband and a brand new baby.

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  Reopened Mind

  Aunt Fancy,

  Your story is very similar to mine. My husband was a born-in and I was a convert and we left the organization together. He also served as an elder for many years as well as volunteering on the Regional Building Committee and various local remodeling projects. I see we are about the same age; my husband is 58 and I will be turning 60 next week.

  At the beginning of our fade my husband read "Crisis of Conscience" with the idea of finding something wrong. When he finished he said he could identify with everything Ray wrote.

  Do you have any children or grandchildren? We have two married boys whom we raised in the cult. We are in the process of a slow fade until their families are completely out.

  When you realize that the WT is a multi-billion dollar publishing company you begin to understand why field service is put above everything else. We, too, experienced the lack of love when the man we were taking care of (a brother, by the way) died the week there was a district convention. The response from the "friends"? "Sorry, we are getting ready to go to the convention." Lucky for us my nonJW cousin and her husband came and sat with us and brought us dinners and gave us the support sorely lacking in the cult.

  Best wishes on your recovery from cancer and from the cancerous cult.

  Reopened Mind
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  191

  What is your religious belief now?

  by jwfacts in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i have a new poll at jwfacts.mobi/pollsarchive/ as i am very interested to see what people have moved on to believe.

  as this is considered sensitive by some, you can answer anonymously at the jwfacts.mobi/pollsarchive/, or answer on this thread.

  this is what i have created in the list, but feel free to add comments, corrections, or options i have missed.. .

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  Reopened Mind

  Mostly I call myself Secular Humanist because I believe in the human spirit, not the holy spirit.

  I am a member of the Unitarian Universalist Church. It is a liberal church with folks of all beliefs.

  Like others here I will accept evidence as the basis for what I believe, but that can change as new facts come to light.

  I do not believe in the supernatural, including god, creator, spirits, etc. as there is no concrete evidence to prove their existence.

  Reopened Mind
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  34

  Do Witnesses really want to go to the meetings?

  by BU2B in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  do witnesses really want to go to the meetings?

  or do they just go because they feel they must to get into the new world.

  or is it just peer pressure or pressure of elders?

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  Reopened Mind

  In one of the Halls I attended there was a saying, "If you can go to the mall, you can go to the Hall; if you can go to the beach, you can go out and preach."

  One hard-liner elder even said that unless you are in a coma or dead you should be at the meeting.

  At another Hall one sister took it upon herself to call anyone who missed a meeting to "encourage" that one.

  Did I really want to go to the meetings? I, too, felt relieved when the meeting was called off because of weather. O, and when we went on vacation we never went to a meeting.

  Reopened Mind
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  62

  Hello??

  by franticfran in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i have just joined this website and just wanted to say hello to anyone out there.

  i am so nervous,after thirty odd years in the "truth" i feel as though my husband and i have just walked into a room full of smiling strangers and we are just standing here hoping to god someone will come up and speak to us.

  scared and excited and hoping to wake up one morning and not wonder what we do now???

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  Reopened Mind

  Hello franticfran,

  I am glad you found this discussion board. You will find a lot of help and support here.

  My husband and I left the organization in our mid fifties. He was a born-in and I converted in my teens. He was the PO when he and I began learning "the truth about the truth". We have 2 married boys who also are in the process of leaving. Like you we were baptized in the 70's, my husband in 1970 and I in 1973. We gave our lives to that ungrateful publishing company. But O the feeling of freedom of mind! As others have said it is not too late to start over. Have you read Crisis of Conscience by Ray Franz?

  If you have been visiting here for any length of time you probably know of jwfacts.com, freeminds.org, and the books by Steve Hassan.

  Please share more of your story. We all love to read a good escape story.

  Best wishes to you and your three lovely children.

  Reopened Mind
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  34

  Came clean to the wife and all is good!

  by Comatose in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i have been reading steven hassan's books as well studying like never before.

  my wife has seen the amount studying i am doing, just hasnt known what all subjects instudy.

  over the last few weeks i've slowly shared certain things.

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  Reopened Mind

  Comatose,

  Glad to hear your success story! Please keep us posted on how this progresses.

  My husband and I also exited together. We tip-toed around each other for a while as we built the courage to share our doubts with each other. Sites like JWN, freeminds.org, jwfacts.com and books by Steve Hassan and Ray Franz made our journey a no-brainer. Now that we know "the truth about the truth" there is no going back. By the way we were in our mid fifties when we began questioning the organization and had children and grandchildren who were in. All are out or on their way out now. I hope you and your wife are waking up earlier in life than we did.

  All the best,

  Reopened Mind
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  20

  Newbie Again (Kinda Sorta)

  by lostinnj83 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i made my first post (which i have attached) more than 2.5 years ago.. sad to say i am still in the same situation.

  still "physically in" but have mentally been gone for years.

  i am still in my marriage and unfortunatly things have not gotten any better as far as me being able to help him see the light as far as the organization.. i am at a serious crossroad though because i am almost 30 years old, with no children.

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  Reopened Mind

  lostinnj83,

  Sounds like you are in a rut if nothing's changed in 21/2 years.

  What is it you want to achieve?

  Do you want to exit the cult?

  Do you want to stay in your marriage?

  Do you want to maintain a relationship with your parents and others in the congretaion?

  Are you willing to accept the consequences of moving on with your life?

  My husband and I exited together. We were in our mid fifties with grown children whom we raised in the cult and grandchildren. My husband was the PO when we began discussing our doubts. He could not see how the flood of Noah's day could have been a global event. I offered to research the subject for him. As I think you've found, discussing WT beliefs just causes the person to dig in their heels so as not to lose face. I second ABible Student's suggestion to read Steve Hassan's books. It is commendable that you are seeing a therapist. Is this someone who understands the mind control tactics of cults? Some experience with Jehovah's Witnesses would be even better.

  When I had been married for only 7 years I thought we were not a good match either. I'm sure it was the organization that kept us together. Now I feel we are a perfect fit. Next month we will be celebrating 38 years together.

  We were able to fade by moving 1000 miles away from Florida to Pennsylvania. Our two boys are in the process of fading themselves. Be patient. Time is on your side.

  Reopened Mind
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  3

  Anyone here from western new york?

  by BU2B in

  1. jw
  2. friends
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  Reopened Mind

  I'm in NW PA
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  21

  Talked to Phone Witnessing JWs

  by jamiebowers in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i usually can't hear someone knocking on the door of our enclosed porch, so i haven't spoken to a jw in person in the ten years that we've been at this house.

  and being that the temperatures are currently very cold in northeast ohio, i suppose the jws are doing telephone witnessing.

  so, today i had the opportunity to talk to two real live jws.

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  Reopened Mind

  SUPER JOB JAMIE!!! I certainly hope that Travis has not had to experience pedophilia first hand. Your quick thinking just may have saved him from the clutches of the WT if he takes your advice. Perhaps we will be able to greet him here on JWN.

  I can't say I've personally been the victim of a pedophile but some members of my family have.

  It's cold here in NW Pennsylvania too.

  Reopened Mind
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  37

  What do you put in your hot tea if you do not like the taste?

  by Iamallcool in

  1. jw
  2. friends
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  Reopened Mind

  Love Earl Grey, drink it straight. I add a teaspoon of honey and a few drops of vanilla extract to my rooibos.

  Reopened Mind
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  23

  mother rejects her son

  by Aussie Oz in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  had a phone call from my son today.... he rang his jw mother to give her some news and found out the school his little half siblings go to was having an end of year play.

  he was pretty excited apparently and asked if he could come along and this is how it went.... "no, it is for family.

  for our family not for children who never speak or visit us.".

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  Reopened Mind

  Wow! Just WOW! Aussie. What a stark contrast between a thoroughly indoctrinated cult member and those who are normal. Lucky for him he is 19 and able to start a NORMAL family and have a NORMAL life. On the other hand I feel so sorry for his mom for replacing her son with a cult. So sad for your family. But one normal parent is better than none.

  Reopened Mind

  ps; Wish your son and his girlfriend a Merry Christmas