Posts by Anne Marie 1925

43

Is there no hope? (daughter getting baptized)

by camicia in

i'm really distraught about the fact my 23 year old daughter is ready to abandon a potential career in writing where her talent lies, and become a jehovah's witness.

i banned the study being held in our home, but it only hurt my relationship with my daughter, who screamed at me "i pay to live here and i'm not hiding, you're sabotaging my relationship with god!

" so i gave in.

Anne Marie 1925

Dear concerned Mom,

You are absolutely right to be concerned!! The Watchtower Organization is a very powerful one!! It learned subltle mind control techniques, which were practiced and refined on the German brothers back in the 1930s before these tactics where implemented on the rank and file in America.

Watchtower members of today are still subjected to a continuing program of subliminal hypnotic programming; that is why they must get to the meetings or else they almost have a "panic" in their gut; it's like a "fix" that they have to have. That is why even if they don't want to go, the closer meeting time gets, the more the sense of urgency to get there.

The Watchtower atttracts many intelligent people, especialy those with open minds who are logical. It's because the Watchtower has such subtle and clever reasoning and logical wording that takes a student down that yellow brick road all the way to OZ, only they never know until it's too late that it is run by an old man behind the curtain.

Those most vulnerable to the Watchtower's recruiting tactis are those who tend to be co-dependent, have a need for approval, or who may be insecure or feel that "something is missing" in their life. But though it all seems so great in the beginning, once one is baptized, the "Honeymoon" is over; Watchtower members now expect you to "grow up" and do your part in the recruiting work, and they don't hold back on their criticism any longer; the gossip starts and it never, ever, ends!!!

The Watchtower has SO much to hide...especially on the internet, which has so much information on the TRUTH about "The Truth." Just have your daugher look on YouTube under Jehovha's Witnesses+1975.

Another great resource for information is www.freeminds.org It is run by Randall Watters who served at Bethel as a floor supervisor on the publishing floor. He has been helping Jehovah's Witnesses, and those who have left, for over thirty years.

Also, there is a great site with a well of information, and with answers to the most common questions one may have on the Watchtower, and many stories told by ex members who know what they are talking about at www.4jehovah.org

The Watchtower is masterful at blaming anything that they don't like on "Satan." They use him to blame for everything!! Everything is "demonized," and it could even be YOU!! That's why they tell members to "watch out for the internet"!! SATAN runs the internet!! But what's really going on is that the Watchtower is well aware of the information that is out there for anyone to find...information that exposes them for what they are: a cult, pure and simple.

If the Watchtower is TRULY "The Truth," then doing some research on their history should only prove them to be what they claim to be, but if they are not, then research should expose them for what they are.

Truth has nothing to fear from lies; it is only lies that fear the truth. Try to reason with your daughter on THAT one!!

One more thought: If the Watchtower was REALLY "God's" organization, then why have so many THOUSANDS upon THOUSANDS left after discovering the truth about the Watchtower?? Are they are really just "wicked" people?? Then why did they join the organization in the first place? Why did most of these who left faithfully serve for many years? And why is it that a large number of those who left elders, circuit overseers, district overseers, and pioneers, and even those who served at Bethel??

A little research can go a long way, and as I've said, if the Watchtower is REALLY "God's" organization, then there should be nothing to fear from researching them...

15

WT scars that run deep

by man in black in

my son who is 26 yrs.

old recently confided in my wife and myself that he is having a rough time moving on past the jw mindset.. he was associated with the witnesses for the first 24 years of his life, and he really tried to do the whole witness thing correctly, yet he was and still is a shy person.

now that he has been out for two years, he is having a lot of anger toward people who believe in god.

Anne Marie 1925

My oldest son was so full of anger, and he was spewing such negatively and just plain nastiness that many times I just could not listen to him, but when there is a deep infection, one that has been festering for a long time, it is going to take a long time for that poison to drain out.

The depth of the damage of trying to come to terms with your life having been a lie, and to try to recover from the "programming" of being in a cult, AND to try to figure out who you REALLY are, while also trying to figure out how to live a normal life is something that we must understand can be very difficult for many...

I would say to just be supportive, and express that though you "get" where he's coming from, there is only so much you can listen to. He has to work through this himself, and all you can do is love him through it.

My son still refuses to believe in God; he's burned out on anything to do with God, or religion, or prayer or even looking at a Bible, because it is all connected to that "cult" prison time of his life, and all the lies and pain that went with it.

Take care of yourself, and know that your son is suffering in a way that you cannot understand...that is why unconditional love is so important; it can't be based upon what WE think or feel one should be like or do. He is working through his lonely pain and personal anger of hurt and betrayal as best he can.

And a loving hug goes a long way...

Anne Marie

41

Elder Just Told His Son I Am Sick Of This Religion !! And Reveals His Secret

by Hairyhegoat in

jw
friends

this was a very moving story just posted on another ex jw site please read it's good .

elder reveals his secretjanuary 28th, 2011. by shadow elder, jr.. a few weeks ago, my father and i were out working together in the door-to-door preaching work.

that morning only four of us showed up at the kingdom hall my dad and i, and a married brother and sister.

Anne Marie 1925

I haven't been on this site in SO long!! Wish I had more energy as I used to; I'm getting too old for this!! (smile) I will try to be more consistant!!

138

July 15th WT out - Coming out Swinging at Apostates Hard

by LostGeneration in

this is one of the most aggressive watchtowers i think i have ever read.. four study articles on not "following the crowd" not following unrealities(page 13) not following false teachers, meaning apostates of course(p 15).

avoiding false teachers means "refusing to read their literature, watch tv programs that feature them, examine their web sites, or add comments to their blogs.

(para 7, pg 16).

Anne Marie 1925

I admit it. I committed the unforgivable sin. I became a Christian, and worse, I have the audacity to talk openly about it.

Is it any wonder the Watchtower hates Christians?? If the rank-and-file really knew for a fact that they had nothing to fear from Armageddon, and that the information that they so diligently keep from their members is what could destroy their power and control over them, they would leave in even bigger droves than they have been...

29

What drove you? Love or Fear?

by fade_away in

this has probably been discussed here before, but i'm new so sue me.. i think the religion of jehovah's witnesses has been an amazing but tragic social experiment proving that the mind is most vulnerable to brainwashing when it's in an unhealthy state.

it seems to attract the bipolar, schizophrenic, depressive, and the paranoid.

it preys on negative emotions like sorrow and fear.

Anne Marie 1925

Wow...GREAT post!!! I am SO glad that you brought this one up, "Fade Away"!! Most JWs (or "Watchtowerites") simply don't "get" this very important point: that they are in the religion, frantically "loyal" to it, because THEY ARE AFRAID. And I would bet that most don't know it.

I left the organization at age fifteen, resigned to the "fact" that Jehovah God was going to DESTROY me because I knew I just couldn't live up to the "Watchtower Script"; as just another "robot," "clone" Jehovah's Witness. I thought God was a big hypocrite because He was "a God of LOVE" who hated me, and was going to kill me...oh, well.

My mother (afraid for my life) sent the witnesses to warn me of the impending Armageddon in early 1975, but I told them I refused to have anything to do with a "God of love" who was a monster. Then they used the "Blood-Guilt" trip on me, pointing to my babies playing on the floor and asked, "Are you really prepared to have Jehovah destroy your children? Do you really want their blood on your hands just because YOU don't want to take a stand for Jehovah?" So what did I do?? I busted my butt (and my children's, too) to be the best, most obedient JW I could, and for what?? Now I am an "evil apostate" just because I was stupid enough to fall for what turned out to be lies...

Regarding the comment about the emotional or mental state of converts to the Watchtower message...it's true. It's all too true.

When the witnesses came to see me, I was a competent and intelligent twenty-year-old. I had been through a lot in my life, and I knew I needed to get counseling. But the witnesses told me what they told everyone who thought that they needed a therapist, that "Jehovah will take care of everything," and that "Satan uses psychologists and psychiatrists to stumble people..." and provided Watchtower literature for "proof."

I used to see a Homeopathic doctor, and I used to "witness" to him at each and every appointment. The last time I saw him, I began my "Watchtower Doctrine Spewing," and he put up his hand and asked me to stop. "Please," he said. "Please stop. I know all about your religion, and I've been to your Kingdom Hall; I know all about your beliefs; believe me. But I have to tell you that as a psychiatrist, they are some of the sickest people I've ever seen. When one suffers from an emotional disorder that they don't want to deal with, they look for something to make them feel like they're "okay." And especially when someone is co-dependent, they will either become a work-aholic, an alcoholic, or they'll find religion...or they may become an addict of more than one, but they will become addicted to at least one of them."

He went on to explain that those most vulnerable emotionally are the ones quickest to "grab hold of" the Watchtower's "good news" because it's like a life-line; the people at their door are "so nice," and they "paint such a pretty picture" of the idea of having all their problems solved by just joining the Watchtower...

This doctor told me the truth, and he really was a retired practicing psychiatrist who actually worked at a mental hospital, but I was SO ANGRY at him for DARING to "bad mouth" MY Watchtower religion...I was SO "spitting mad"...that I vowed that I'd never see him again. (And what a shame, because he was the only one who knew what was medically wrong with me!! )

If only each and every JW would take the Watchtower's own advice as per their 1968 publication, "The Truth That Leads To Eternal Life," namely, how WHY it is "wise to examine" one's religion; devoting the entire second chapter of the book to just HOW "wise" it is, and if I had only taken that advice, I could have saved my children and myself YEARS of pain and fear and anguish...

23

Social Networks are a threat to the Watchtower Society

by FrankWTower in

in recent months there have been massive protests and demonstrations against autocratic rulers in the middle east and north africa.

many of these were possible in part because the protesters used social media services like facebook, youtube and twitter to get the word out and let the world know what was going on.

these services are so threatening to many governments that they're blocked in order to control their people.

Anne Marie 1925

All in all, and as with everything else, one is responsible to "check out all available information" on any group, club, religion or organization before they join it...especially if that committment involves the rest of your life, and requires that you sacrifice your life, if need be, in order to "prove your loyalty" to it.

Joining the Watchtower is like joining a gang; once you get "dunked in," you're in for life; they own you; your life no longer is yours to choose as all "choices" are dictated to you. There is no "honorable way out" of the Watchtower, so if you should discover the truth about "The Truth," you may be in for a pretty disquieting and emotionally painful "Crisis of Consceince," which is what happened to Raymond Franz, Bethelite member and nephew of Watchtower President, Fred Franz, who was disfellowshiped by the headquarters, along with many other Bethel members, because they had been caught studying the Bible in private...

With so much information and evidence out there on the internet, and with so many informative videos on YouTube, there is no longer any reason for one not to be able to make "an informed decision" in choosing to join the Watchtower...and if you were brought up to believe in the Watchtower being the "only TRUE religion," and if you believe that changing Watchtower doctrine is "God's truth," then you now have a means to "check out the facts," and according to the Watchtower organization, doing this is "good advice."

In the Watchtower's own publication, "The Truth That Leads To Eternal Life," released in the summer of 1968, the entire second chapter is dedicated to pointing out how very important it is to check out your religion and its beliefs and doctrines. This enlightening and informative chapter is entitled, "Why It Is Wise To Examine Your Religion." I find it interesting that the chapter title does not ask, "Why Is It Wise To Examine Your Religion," but that it says, "Why It IS Wise To Examine Your Religion." But, just as with the Watchtower clamoring claims to "freedom of speech," and "freedom to worship" according to one's personal conscience, the aforementioned seems only to apply to those OUTSIDE of the Watchtower.

110

A Concerned Elder Speaks

by Franklin Massey in

jw
friends

a lot of talk has centered around information dispensed at the recent km schools.

many brothers feel there is a "tightening up" taking place.

i had a recent experience that you may find interesting.. after the meeting i was working with our cobe on some congregation tasks when out of nowhere he said, "have you looked up any extra information about higher education since the km school?

Anne Marie 1925

God may "provide," but He gave us each a brain to use and think with, and it is silly to not do what you can to take care of yourself...that's like not going to work because "Jehovah will provide."

All that preaching to the rank and file was poured out on all of us pretty heavily for YEARS, especially after the 1966 Summer Convention that launched the !975 date for Armageddon to come.

JWs were quitting their jobs, cashing in their pensions, (or giving up their pensions by quitting their jobs), cashing in their Life Insurance Policies, and selling their homes, all so that they could spend more time in the preaching work, and so that "Jehovah would find them busy in His work" when Armageddon hit. And boy, were these "examples" praised from the platform at every assembly as "the ones to follow"!!

So the very idea that any parent would even ALLOW their child to attend college, much less actually want to send them to college, was considered to be a demonstration of the grossest lack of faith, practically a declaration that they were not "loyal to Jehovah's Servant," the "Faithful and Discreet Slave," and I can tell you that the very few parents that DID allow their children to attend college were shunned by many of the brothers; it was disgusting.

And even those parents who were openly against their child attending college were shunned as not being "proper spiritual parents" if their child went against their wishes and went on to get a higher education.

And now where are we?? Now MY son, who wasn't even born until 1971, PAYS GOOD MONEY for HIS children to attend special "College Prep" classes so that they can get into a good college...

And when I mention things like this to my JW mother, lamenting to her that "If I had known that I'd live this long, I'd have gone to college, and had a decent career!!" And then I tell her how hard my brothers and I have struggled with just a High School Education, and she says that the Watchtower NEVER talked against going to college; only that one should "be careful," and that my brothers and I could have gone if we'd wanted to. Yeah, RIGHT!!

Just like the entire 1975 scare, the Watchtower keeps getting away with their lies, because the ones that are IN long enough to finally "figure it out" and leave are branded as "wicked," and as "apostates," and the newer, younger ones, who didn't live through the "old days," and who are fed an Orwellian version of Watchtower History, just don't get it.

I don't miss living a lie...

41

Elder Just Told His Son I Am Sick Of This Religion !! And Reveals His Secret

by Hairyhegoat in

jw
friends

this was a very moving story just posted on another ex jw site please read it's good .

elder reveals his secretjanuary 28th, 2011. by shadow elder, jr.. a few weeks ago, my father and i were out working together in the door-to-door preaching work.

that morning only four of us showed up at the kingdom hall my dad and i, and a married brother and sister.

Anne Marie 1925

Thanks, Misery!!

I have had a few Elders tell me how very difficult and painful it can be to serve as an Elder, and I saw the slow decline in my little brother's normally happy and "silly" personality; he became so very somber and serious...

I miss him so much. He used to laugh and joke around. And that breaks my heart.]

Thanks for the "welcome"!! I haven't been here in quite some time!!

Hugs!!!

41

Elder Just Told His Son I Am Sick Of This Religion !! And Reveals His Secret

by Hairyhegoat in

jw
friends

this was a very moving story just posted on another ex jw site please read it's good .

elder reveals his secretjanuary 28th, 2011. by shadow elder, jr.. a few weeks ago, my father and i were out working together in the door-to-door preaching work.

that morning only four of us showed up at the kingdom hall my dad and i, and a married brother and sister.

Anne Marie 1925

This story may be just a "story," but it is most certainly "real" enough. I have met too many ex JW Elders, and a couple of ex JW Circuit Overseers, and even a few Bethel Members, and overall just heard too many stories from ex Elders first-hand to not know that this scenario is not just all too common...in fact, one of the ex JW Elders that I know of was so afraid that he'd be "found out" while he was still in the Watchtower that he'd be "caught" and disfellowshipped before he could try to reach his wife and family with the truth of the Watchtower, and to share with them the truth of God's own Word...

Thankfully, he made it out with his marriage intact, though his wife had a terrible time with her husband's "sudden change," but, she explained fearfully, "though I should have left him, I stayed with him because I love him, and I want to understand what has come over him; I don't want to not be with my husband." Also, he was able to reach his married daughter and her husband, thereby freeing them, also.

41

Elder Just Told His Son I Am Sick Of This Religion !! And Reveals His Secret

by Hairyhegoat in

jw
friends

this was a very moving story just posted on another ex jw site please read it's good .

elder reveals his secretjanuary 28th, 2011. by shadow elder, jr.. a few weeks ago, my father and i were out working together in the door-to-door preaching work.

that morning only four of us showed up at the kingdom hall my dad and i, and a married brother and sister.

Anne Marie 1925

I loved this article!! It is SO well written, and so clearly shows the all too common, but hardly EVER spoken of turmoil that goes on inside the hearts and minds and spirits of so many of the innocent members of the Watchtower that have come to realize that they can't just "go out in service more," or "study," or "pray" away those deep down feelings of "something is very wrong, here"!!

I would beg of you for permission to copy and paste your article (names and identities ommitted, of course!!) for the ministry site I am on, and to share with any JW who I come across who is seeking (anonomously, of course) help for their own inner turmoil.

Jehovah's Witnesses always think that their the only ones that feel the way your father expressed how he felt!! and they suffer in silence, feeling such shame and guilt and depression...and it's especially difficult for those like your father who are in the position of not only being the "spiritual head of the family," but in setting a "good example" to the congregation, and being one Kingdom Hall members can go to for "spiritual upbuiltment"!!

Please say "Yes!" I have 12 members of my family in the Watchtower, and my younger brother was an elder for MANY years...I remember him quietly telling me one day when no one else was around to hear him, "I have no life. If a truck hit me tomorrow, it would be a relief." That made me so sad, because he doesn't know about Jehovah God's Plan of Salvation through Jesus Christ.

Thanks!!!