my hairdresser warned me that he had taken on a jw apprentice and asked me what i thought.
she attends the kh that disfellowhipped me.
i told him that i would have to be careful about what i said concerning my personal life as she would report back anything she heard to the elders.
Perhaps this young lady is seeking her own way out of the Orgs clutches and a job is one of the steps for her.
I remember putting up Christmas decorations for my boss once also. I didnt want to get found out but I didnt mind the actual doing of it.
They are two different things!
i feel like everything that comes out of my mothers mouth is something negative and cringe worthy.
all she seems to talk about with me is how terrible and demonic our disfellowshipped relatives are, how horrible the world and holidays are, or how she is so much better and "holier than thou".
it really makes me sick sometimes.
Hugs to you Blackwolf. Life is scary when your 18 (or almost) even when everything with your parents is great. Its a lot to think about being on the threshold of an adult life.
I dont usually give advice but I would say get all the education you can.
That seems to be the thing people regret most if they dont.
Hopefully your parents will help you with that.
so, i am around 50,4th gen born in- christmas.
strange thing this christmas thing.
i've been watching people this year, really watching them.
Very eloquent post notalone.
Whether its Christmas or another avenue (you mentioned politics) that veers away from the narrow hallway of JW thinking, the mindset that it dooms a person is very pervasive. Very.
All cultures, tribes and peoples have holidays and celebrations. It is inherent to human nature to do so.
Even the Jews were told in Deuteronomy that at their festival they were to be "nothing but joyful".
Where did that go? Modern day JWs are still locked in to the Puritan standards of their modern day founders.
So sad really.
firstly thanks to cofty & smiddy for the kind words on my " final post" .
this post is simply to say over two months have passed since my last post and since then i have with my wife and son seen elton john live, visited stockholm, berlin, and most importantly appreciated " the natural beauty of my neighbourhood" with out even thinking about the watchtower.
i have also attended 3 watford football matches with my son and made better relationships with my parents, discovered harvey's draught beer and made new friends in my local pub.
Thank you The Rebel for being you,
Your musings on life and my being able to come here and read them are "one of those liittle things that really are the big things" for me.
i bet most witnesses could not explain their blood policy, their understanding of the slave, and even simple biblical doctrines....they are an embarrassment to any old timer..
Everything above is so very sadly true....
theres not even a Reasoning Book in sight. Now its just point to the website on your mobile device.
Similar to the old Victrola playing at a door in the beginning days.
So they have come full circle.
Another way to say theyve gone no where.
i attended a sunday meeting today after missing a couple due to a bout of chronic apathy.
out of 74 publishers we had a grand total of 33. wonderful.
for those that attend, how are you finding the numbers?.
nakanozzi
Hi, Darkknight757.
May I ask you a question?
What does COBE stand for?
Chairman of the Body of Elders.
That is the new term for the head elder in a congregation. It used to be "Presiding Overseer" (PO) and now it is COBE - Chairman of the Body of Elders.
Apologies to Darkknight if I intruded!
i was born in four gen, been d.f.d.
for about eight years now.
my father had always been a true company man, although more times than i can count, he's always been floppy.
Every family has its "thing" MTsman. This is yours.
Since you are not dealing with your authentic parents but rather with the "firewall" the Org has placed around them, dont do or not do anything based on their actions. Do what is best for yourself since you are the authentic functioning person in your relationship with them.
I like all the answers above because they demonstrate that a variety of approaches can be correct.
For me, I always like to think "act dont react"
10 response of the jehovah’s witness organisation to the sexual abuse of children.
having regard to the various matters we have discussed in this report, we have reached a number of general conclusions on the jehovah’s witness organisation’s response to the sexual abuse of children.
we do not consider the jehovah’s witness organisation to be an organisation which responds adequately to child sexual abuse.
Thanks Steve. That is very helpful to read.
I was glad to see that this quote from Jackson made it in to the report:
When asked if the Governing Body members saw themselves as ‘Jehovah God’s spokespeople on earth’, Mr Geoffrey Jackson answered that it ‘would seem to be quite presumptuous to say that we are the only spokesperson that God is using’.
link to pdf:.
http://www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/getattachment/c2d1f1f5-a1f2-4241-82fb-978d072734bd/report-of-case-study-no-29.
reading it now...no comment yet.
When asked if the Governing Body members saw themselves as ‘Jehovah God’s spokespeople on earth’, Mr Geoffrey Jackson answered that it ‘would seem to be quite presumptuous to say that we are the only spokesperson that God is using’.
Glad the above little "gem" made it in to the official report.
although i haven't called myself a witness in almost 15 years, i'm still married to one (which has it's own set of challenges and is fodder for a completely different post).
i haven't spent a lot of time on forums with other ex-jws either, but thought i would throw this question out to you all because it's something i still struggle with.... particularly for those of you who were raised in or were in the religion for many years - what has it been like for you to navigate the work world?
i would be a 3rd generation jw on one side of my family and a 4th generation on the other side -- the hardest thing for me has been just knowing how to act and behave, especially among co-workers.
Hi Minerva,
For what it is worth, you sound like a gentle, introspective person.
For me. I am finding as I age that I am realizing that authenticity is easier and easier.
Perhaps we just get more comfortable in our own skin with age?
Or maybe it has to do with the narrowing of options society offers (childbearing being one that comes to mind) as one goes through life stages as a woman?
Whatever it is I can tell the dross is falling away and I like myself better. Take me or leave me.
The strange effect of that is the people who "like" you are just the kind of people you want!
I am SO glad I am going through life now without all the constraints imposed by the Org.
I dont know how womwn age in an authentic way inside the Org/ I really dont.
It is nice to meet you!
