i know this might sound silly but field service did provide a strange type of good feelings after i was done.
i called this the "halo-effect" because i felt so "righteous, obedient and good" for taking the weirdos or "the friends" in my station wagon.
vans and station wagon owners in the congregations often get used hard, pile up seven whacks and your off!
Yeah, I used to feel good because I did what I thought I ought to have done. Then, I could do all the other things I REALLY wanted to do without feeling guilty.
Now, I still have to go out in service and it's torture for me since I've been mentally out but not physically out.
i have been reading ashley judd's 'all things bitter and sweet' autobiography, and it has exhausted me.
she paints a picture of neglect and abuse from early childhood on.
as i sat reading, i realised i was identifying with so much of what she wrote.. why, when having an emotional breakdown as a teenager, major obsessive compulsive disorder, obvious depression symptoms, would you refuse to get medical help for your child?
(((((PaintedToeNail))))) I am so sorry you were put through all that.
more haphazard thougths on the recently concluded elder school..... a big chunk of time was spent on a video which traced a judicial case, all the way from the confession to the elders through the decision to disfellowship the guy.. here is a very brief synopsis of the video:.
tearful late-teen or early-20's publisher confesses to 2 elders that he committed fornication with a "worldly girl" who is now preganant and wants to marry him.
the elders give him some "homework" to do prior to his judcial committee - read psalm 51 and an old wt article.
Thank you, Sir 82, for all of your information! I was curious as to what they discussed at this school. My husband went already and he did mention they used videos and that the information was timely. Sigh. I wish I could get into his brain is see what he is thinking. From outward appearances, it seemed he totally agreed with whatever he heard at the school. I was hoping something there would make him think. Actually, he did mention Steve Lett having a pinky ring on a video and how pretentious that looked to him. He said he had assumed that they didn't have much in the way of money and got the same as the other Bethelites. I commented that they had all their needs taken care of and receive a monthly stipend and no doubt receive monetary gifts as well. Sometimes I can tell his wheels are turning, but I think he's afraid to connect the dots.
you may have heard the expression: "the map is not the territory.
" have you ever thought about how this idea may help you reach your loved ones stuck in a cult?
the phrase has been attributed to polish-american scientist and philosopher alfred korzybski.
Thanks, Cedars!
you may have heard the expression: "the map is not the territory.
" have you ever thought about how this idea may help you reach your loved ones stuck in a cult?
the phrase has been attributed to polish-american scientist and philosopher alfred korzybski.
My husband claims he doesn't have any doubts. I don't necessarily believe that. Although the blood doctrine was never much of an issue for me (weird, I know), I think that it may be something that makes my husband uncomfortable. He still hasn't filled out a DPA and he's an elder. He keep his old blood card in his wallet. I've never asked him why he hasn't. That whole fractions business is what I think he has trouble with. Other clues are that when we see something on TV about a disease affecting the blood (such as leukemia or sickle cell anemia), he always asks me "What would happen to a Witness who had that disease?" We conclude that they'd probably die. Then there's the time when I was expressing my doubts to him (I mentioned that Jehovah had a law about a woman grabbing a man's genitals and losing her hand as punishment. I expressed how barbaric that sounded). He chastised me for expressing my doubts and then made the comment that he could understand if it was the blood doctrine I had trouble understanding. I recently started thinking about all of this and realized maybe I should be working the blood doctrine angle with him.
you may have heard the expression: "the map is not the territory.
" have you ever thought about how this idea may help you reach your loved ones stuck in a cult?
the phrase has been attributed to polish-american scientist and philosopher alfred korzybski.
Jgnat, I think the movie you're referring to is "The Village". My husband and I saw it a few years ago and both really liked it. I don't think I made any connections to JWs as far as I can remember. I was still very much mentally in when I saw it. I don't think most JWs would see the similarities unless they were "awake". Funny you should mention that movie, because my husband and I have it on our DVR and one of these days we'll watch it. I look forward to watching it now with eyes wide open!
you may have heard the expression: "the map is not the territory.
" have you ever thought about how this idea may help you reach your loved ones stuck in a cult?
the phrase has been attributed to polish-american scientist and philosopher alfred korzybski.
This subject really interests me. I think looking at different things from another perspective is what helped me to wake up. Once I started, I couldn't stop and I started seeing inconsistencies everywhere. It is weird how it doesn't really work for everyone. I had a discussion with a service group about Mormons and their weird beliefs and someone mentioned how they heard of a Mormon becoming a Witness and they were shunned by their family! Everyone seemed to see the wrongness of the Mormon being shunned by their family but failed to see how hypocritical it is for Witnesses to do the exact same thing and it's considered the right thing to do!
I've been thinking of ways to get my husband to see things from a different perspective. He is a VERY black and white thinker. He fails to see the subtle nuances of situations. His saving grace is that he tends to empathize with people very well. The account of David that notjustyet mentioned is what I often think of as a great example of how a person can be helped to see things more clearly when seen from another perspective. I've been trying to come up with a situation that I can use to help my husband think. If only a movie would come on that would show a cult (not an extreme one like Jim Jones, but maybe like the Moonies) and their methods. We did once see a special on the Moonies' mass marriage ceremony, but it didn't really go into the methods they use to recruit or anything like that. I don't think my husband could relate it at all to Witnesses.
There is no magic pill, unfortunately.
i had been studying with the jehovah's witnesses for the last couple years.
they have been interesting study sessions and have learned quite a bit about them and their beliefs.
much of what they teach is what i had learned through personal bible study.. growing up was normal.
Welcome to the forum! There are some that left the organization who are bitter and hate-filled and make it their life's mission to bring down WTS. They actually help the WT's cause because they fulfill exactly what the organization says about them. You'll find on this forum all kinds of people who have left, are currently JWs (like myself), or have family involved in the WTS. "Apostates" are not all the same - we are different people with different experiences and feelings like everyone else. Of course there are good things about Jehovah's Witnesses and there are many wonderful people in the organization. But you yourself said you've been turned off by the blood issue and the shunning. Those are major issues and something that the Governing Body has not been willing to bend on.
I am afraid of my family and friends shunning me if they find out I don't except all Witness teachings. I come onto this forum to talk with people who understand what I'm going through. I cannot talk to anyone about my feelings because as soon as I do I'll be asked if I believe we have "the truth". If I answer negatively, all hell will break loose. Everyone I love will immediately distrust me and shun me. Trust me. I've seen it happen with my own eyes. AS A BAPTIZED WITNESS, YOU CANNOT QUESTION THE GOVERNING BODY. You will be labelled. There will be consequences. The group think is intense and they are terrified of anything that even remotely resembles independent thinking. As someone who is not yet baptized, you're seeing all the good aspects of the group and of course, you won't be exposed to as much of the close-minded mentality since you are an interested one and they want you to come "into the truth". I love the vast majority of my brothers and sisters, but I've come to recognize that this organization has some major problems and has covered up a lot to portray themselves as God's spokesmen on earth.
Do your due diligence. By all means, look at all the evidence. Ask yourself, are all these people who "apostasized" really on the Devil's side or is there more to the story? There is much more to the story than meets the eye. If you find that becoming a Witness makes you happy, go for it. One day, though, you might realize that you feel like you're running on a hamster wheel of theocratic activity with no honorable way to get off.
so, there is a bit of a fight going on in our hall between our pioneer sisters and our magazine servant.
since the new magazines are boxed with two issues together, there is a bit of work to be done separating them.
our magazine servant stacked them on the counter as usual, right out of the box.
Our congregation has been instructed to make sure to separate them when we pick up our magazines so as not to place two at a time.
...according to a letter to all boes dated 11/11/2012.. there is nothing new or different (or interesting!
) in the letter.
same stuff as has been covered over the past 20+ years.. .
Dang it! I was hoping for one less day that I'll have to sit through!
