human blood, long famous for it's almost miraculous life-saving qualities when used in component form is today in the field hospitals of afghanistan finding new life, pardon the pun, in saving the lives of people with major trauma and blood loss.
onward, christian soldiers:.
<snip>.
"saline was used to keep blood pressure up, but that seeped into the respiratory system, causing a deadly ailment known as Danang Lung."
So here we were, these poorly informed JW's accepting that Saline was ok to use, should the need arise without any draw backs!!! I cant believe for one that we were so hoodwinked - I find it unbelievable that we never thought to question the admistration of Saline and whether it had any complications of its own .....
I feel so gormless
before i begin my introductory post, i would like to mention that a number of my initial comments here may be viewed by several of you as watchtower apologist or as sympathetic to the views of the jehovahs witnesses.
the last thing i want to do is incite a flame war regarding my legitimacy or intentions in joining this forum.
mostly, i would describe myself as on the fence.
Hi Dontplaceliterature...
Welcome to the board... This is my longest post, so I hope its a good one :)
I have read all of your posts & the rest of this thread, so I have a feel for what questions you have raised. Im probably going to get out of my depth here in trying to offer my 2 pence worth, but I will give it a go & will apologise if Im incoherant due to this late hour ! ... :) I quote you in saying:
Are the doctrinal issues within the organization a result of a false pretense that the GB/Anointed Class is not actually under Jehoavh’s direction? I don’t really have my mind made up on that. I will say this, and maybe it’s a typical reply from someone like me, and hopefully doesn’t sound too naive.
The very thing that brought me into the then said 'Truth' was the prophecies and its the VERY same thing that made me leave .... Now I say this because when I came into the so called Truth back in 1989, I was categorically told that 'This Generation Will By No Means Pass Away before the end Will Come'... This generation being those from 1914 becoming 70 - 80 years old....
Well when it changed again recently in the : April 15th WT 2010... I found out that this Understanding of Generation teaching had been changed repeatedly over the last 100 years... (please see how by viewing this link into your web browser):
http://freeminds.org/images/articles/generationjw.jpg
I witnessed first hand many underhand practices within the congregation, way too many to document, but I will offer you one of my first experiences that stands out like a sore thumb ..
A brother was adamant that he was of the anointed, but the Elders said that there was NO way that he could be because the numbers were sealed back in 1935. Since this brother refused to accept what they had to say & was adamant about taking the emblems, they disfellowshipped him. He lived directly across my road which meant his house faced mine (a distance of 20 yards) & we were no longer able to speak to him let alone look at him. Now that the WBTS has decided that 1935 is no longer accurate, where does it leave this brother (Victor Witlock)? Should he not be reinstated automatically? Why was he treated so badly? ....
You may remember an article back in the mid 1990's, but if your a youngish brother then you may not.. The article was in the Awake, it had a picture of a man on it with one side of his face all beautifully groomed, whilst the other side of the face was very unkempt. The article discussed how this man had been imprisioned during his life for GBH, Armed Robbery etc.. He was portrayed as the most charasmatic loving brother who had now a fantastic wife & step-daughter... What upsets me to this day is that this article was a real brother from within my own congregation. To all intents and purposes he came across as a loving super spiritual family man (a Ministerial Servant), but EVERYONE in the congregation knew that he had a temper & was violent towards his step-daughter. When she didnt conform to his standards (and his standards were VERY HIGH) he would whip her with a bicycle chain. She suffered with years of mental abuse. If she answered up during the meeting honestly in such a way that he felt was inappropriate, she would cop out & everyone knew it. What really gets me about this is that the congregation knew this about the brother (Steve Haymar) and yet the elders happily submitted his lifes story to the Society to say how such a fantastic man he was. This wasnt right & if Jehovah was spirit directing things then this wouldnt / shouldnt have happened. (I will add that when the step-daughter was old enough to do so, she upped & left and a court case was ensued to bring his actions to justice)...
Now getting back to your question... I feel that the organisation used unscriptual & distorted doctrinal teachings to suck me in, only to change these teachings under the pretense that they had recieved new light !!!... Now if the Faithful & Discreet Slave were providing Food At The Proper Time then my question to you would be :
I feel this answers one of your questions regarding whether you feel the Anointed Class are under Jehovahs Direction....
Up until I allowed my eyes to be opened ,I couldnt have been more super spiritual during my JW years if I had tried... I emotionally woke up to the Lies about the Truth October 2009... and to this forum & exjw-reunited .co.uk I am truly grateful.
My relatives are just waking up the fact that Im not going to meetings any more and accordingly they have called me a Reprobate. This shows to me how unloving JW's can be when you no longer subject yourself to their control..
Reprobate translated means that I am apparently:
This is the thing you see. Now that Im on the outside I can see just how judgemental and two faced that they are. I have been happily married for over 20 years. I have & continue to live a very clean life (by JW standards). I have raised 4 beautiful children & happily help anyone regardless of religion, culture or values.... This to me is a true Christian, just as Jesus would have wanted....
I truly wish you well in your journey & hope that I have provided you food for thought .... :)
Big Hugs all the way from ENGLAND coz Ya Gonna Need It :)
i'm fully aware that this is a cult, and i was waiting for the social elements to kick in.
so far, i have just been doing the "bible study," discussing doctrine, etc.
however, recently one of the elders said he wants to get together with me to do other activities.
There is a severe shortage of brothers, so if she had the slightest remote bit of interest in you being a potential brother/future boyfriend, she would have been ringing you & chatting with you all about your progress.. As she isnt that way interested, then she has absolutely no romatic interest in you & therefore you are WASTING your time
... RUN...
I wasnt a born in. I started studying at 17 years old. After 6 months I was rapidly included in all the congregational get to gethers and then went out with groups of JW teens my age for 7 months. I practically immediately became romatically attached to a brother for 7 months & only when I'd got baptised could we officially state we were seeing each other. No sooner had we started seeing each other (whilst chaperoned) we were engaged within 12 weeks, & married 1 year later !!!
Believe me when I say you will NEVER have any time alone with this Sister until the day you marry !!!! This no life for any couple...
The only happy ending I have to add to this is that now after 20 years me & my hubby woke up to the JW clap trap & escaped JWdom together with our 4 beautiful children. Dont get yourself sucked in. Please hear us & run. You will look back one day and will see that you had a lucky escape....
i'm fully aware that this is a cult, and i was waiting for the social elements to kick in.
so far, i have just been doing the "bible study," discussing doctrine, etc.
however, recently one of the elders said he wants to get together with me to do other activities.
There is a severe shortage of brothers, so if she had the slightest remote bit of interest in you being a potential brother/future boyfriend, she would have been ringing you & chatting with you all about your progress.. As she isnt that way interested, then she has absolutely no romatic interest in you & therefore you are WASTING your time
... RUN...
I wasnt a born in. I started studying at 17 years old. After 6 months I was rapidly included in all the congregational get to gethers and then went out with groups of JW teens my age for 7 months. I practically immediately became romatically attached to a brother for 7 months & only when I'd got baptised could we officially state we were seeing each other. No sooner had we started seeing each other (whilst chaperoned) we were engaged within 12 weeks, & married 1 year later !!!
Believe me when I say you will NEVER have any time alone with this Sister until the day you marry !!!! This no life for any couple...
The only happy ending I have to add to this is that now after 20 years me & my hubby woke up to the JW clap trap & escaped JWdom together with our 4 beautiful children. Dont get yourself sucked in. Please hear us & run. You will look back one day and will see that you had a lucky escape....
the wt would always say things like "satan knows our weaknesses and how to exploit them".. so if he knew i wouldn't be able to resist a hot chick as a teenager, why wasn't that wily serpent sending them my way by the bucketfuls?.
if he knew i wouldn't be able to resist a job offering me six figures a year, why wasn't that angry lion trying to devour my spirituality with it?.
it was damn disappointing!
Yes I know what you mean. We should have been experiencing more trials especially because he had already got those in the world & all he had to do was to get us to join him too....
I remember thinking what would happen if I did the lottery. Would Satan make me win & every JW would know what I had done!.... What a pilliock I was. Ive done the lotto loads of times now and I'm still no millionaire.....
recently someone asked for a pamphlet to leave with a neighbour that started studying with jws.
i noticed that they was not a lot available, so have put together something.
please let me know your opinion and any errors.
Brilliant - I prefer the A5 one but thats just my personal preference:)
my family was enmeshed with the wtbts for generations before my birth.
i'm certain it has been asked before but i am curious what brings others into the fold?
what was the attraction?
Probably having a Crap Home Life & seeing my Aunts Idyllic loving family looking like the Waltons... I wanted a piece of that so I became one at 17 years old ! - What a Very Stupid girl I was !!!!
mine did and i have not put a suit on since escaping the cult.
the mrs has given all but 1 away to the charity shops and i have loads more room in me wardrobe now.
what items of clothing did you get rid of when you got out of the cult ?
Ive spent the year playing around with different hairstyles, make-up (especially eyeliner) and wore clothes to fit my mood.
I dont think i've worn a single skirt & have lived in either leggings, jeggings or jeans. I had a single (very tiny) piercing to my nostril and after that I felt totally liberated... Now though I will probably spend the next 6 months toning things down, as a lot of the clothes I was wearing were dark. Now I want bright clothes that will express that Im happy & feeling on top of the world !
Has anyone else felt that their clothes were worn to fit in with their moods.... ?
first time poster here but i've been lurking a while.. i have a question that i was hoping some of the watchtower historians might be able to answer.
if a witness was willing to read some of the organisation's older publications, what books would you get them to read and how do i get these books?.
my family are witnesses and my father is an elder.
I find it really interesting that your dad has given you so much of his time to listen to you questioning everything! He either thinks he can win you over or is being super careful just waiting for you to slip up with anything that sounds apostate ... ~Time will tell..
Welcome to this site By The Way :)
lol - funny.... ha ha ha ha
