Mum

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Posts by Mum

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  34

  The JW life is good!

  by Julia Orwell in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  for some people.

  i think of the old man who has no family and lives in a nursing home, and the only time he gets out is when he's picked up for the meetings.

  he lives solely for that.. or people who love routine and busy-ness, people who need to be led.. george orwell wrote that the party is best able to impose its worldview on those least likely to understand what it is that's being asked of them: orthodoxy is unconsciousness.. i believe a lot of jws swallow the party line and it passes through them unharmed, like a seed pooped out by a bird.

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  Mum

  What I liked:

  At the beginning, I enjoyed the company of the family who conducted our Bible study. They were genuine, good folks. They gave me a place to go to get some respite from my crazy, wacko, weird family. I thought they seemed sophisticated and well-educated, and they were in comparison to my family. I enjoyed going to assemblies because I had not been able to travel and had never stayed in a hotel or motel before becoming a JW. At first, being a JW actually opened my world and broadened my perspective.

  What I did not like:

  I am an introvert, so field service was hard on me. I didn't like the witnesses' attitude about the Kennedy assassination, which happened shortly after I started "publishing." I loved President Kennedy and was heartbroken, but a sister at the KH said to me something like, "and look at the way they're taking on over Kennedy. What are they going to do when Armageddon comes?"

  I missed my friends, but I still hung out with my best high school friend. Her grandmother was a JW, so there was a connection of sorts. I certainly regret marrying a JW, except for the fact that I have my beautiful daughter as a result.

  My daughter has no relationship with her father now. She was never baptized, but he wants nothing to do with her. That's the main thing I hate - the WT's unbelievable ability to destroy natural family affection.
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  4

  Problems with my tax return, need help.

  by jam in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i received my tax return for 2012 back from the irs.. it puzzles me!!.

  they questioning how many dependents i claimed.. i guess it was because of my response to the question, list.

  all dependents?".

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  Mum
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  25

  They just won't stop

  by Anony Mous in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  so ~2 years ago i left the jw cult, i had an exit talk with the elders with the reasons why and they couldn't find a reason to df me.

  been happy ever since even though i went through a difficult custody and now divorce proceedings.

  now all of a sudden they want to df me.

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  Mum

  You're handling things very well. I love what Billy the Ex-Bethelite said, too.

  Keep us posted.
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  14

  INTIMIDATION by threat

  by Terry in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  what would happen if somebody pointed a gun at you and told you what to do?.

  an implied threat would motivate almost every person to do as they were told.. what about in a religious context?

  what if a "gun" were pointed at members of a religion?.

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  Mum

  brinjen: I read Clan of the Cave Bear some years ago, and it also reminded me of the way the witnesses deal with anyone who is somewhat different or has an intellect, talent or skill that makes them feel uncomfortable.
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  23

  Baptism of a chid and an elder's response to my objection

  by never a jw in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i just learned that an 11 year old kid is taking the questions for baptism.

  as soon as his father finished tellig me this, i told him that he should make his son wait, but he responded that he couldn't go against jehovah' spirit.

  i gave the guy a break because he is the uneducated and naive immigrant who puts his heart, not his mind, into the religion.

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  Mum

  never a jw: You, thank God (or whatever you believe in), are there for your children if they ever decide they want to be who-they-really-are and live healthy, happy and fulfilling lives. Your children are the lucky ones. Think of all the kids whose parents are both JW's. I'm very sorry your children have been brainwashed.
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  29

  Apostacitis

  by Rufus T. Firefly in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  apostacitis is a term denoting a condition with which the watchtower society has become thoroughly infected, particularly since the year 1981 when sincere christians who merely resigned from the organization over principled differences in belief became viewed the same as unrepentant wrongdoers (1 cor.

  5:11) and as those rejecting the good news about the christ (2 john 9-11).

  there was a time when news of one becoming an apostate was so rare among witnesses that it sent shockwaves throughout the organization.

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  Mum

  Welcome, Rufus! I sometimes have a keen desire to get roaring drunk and maim a few GB members. Is this apostate thinking. Am I okay if I only fantasize about it?
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  30

  Do You Ever Give Thought To A "Great Tribulation"?

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  my mother asked me if i was thinking about it and how bad it will be in the near future.

  i said i didn't give it a thought.. is it something you ever think about, now?.

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  Mum

  There have been many great tribulations throughout history - the '30's and '40's in Germany, the '60's and '70's in Vietnam, etc.

  Many of us have been through personal great tribulations as well - such as escaping the clutches of the Watchtower B&TS.

  I'm sure there are more to come. Many human beings are still bat-crap crazy.
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  37

  Another elder came and told me I'm not an apostate and no-one can judge me.

  by Julia Orwell in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i'll call him bear, like teddy bear because he's big and nice.

  bear's the coboe, an intelligent but jittery man who suffers from a host of anxiety disorders.

  he 'just happened' to be driving down my street after the group, and 'just happened' to notice i was at home, tending to some animals.

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  Mum

  He sounds wonderful, and I hope he is. Just be aware that they could be playing good cop-bad cop.

  Sorry if I sound cynical. Life turned me this way.
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  41

  Having children is bad

  by dissonance_resolved in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  went to the weeknight meeting this week for the first time in a long while.

  the study was all about how having children was ill-advised in this time of the end- the comments dwelled on what a burden children are, how you can spend more time in the ministry without children, and look what they did in jerusalem- they cannabilized their own children!

  it's going to be so horrible to watch our children suffer during the great tribulation!

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  Mum

  If they're going to talk this way about children, they could at least have an area for children to go and be at peace instead of making them feel they're not welcome. No wonder JW kids get so screwed up!
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  20

  Got an interview

  by LouBelle in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  as some of you know, i had no job last year, then finally got something in an industry that i know nothing about.

  the environment and people haven't been the best, but i had to stick it out and hope that things would improve.

  i have kept my eye and ears open for opportunities more in my field of expertise - which is print advertising.. i sent through my cv for a job i saw advertised in the newspaper for an advertising sales rep - applied and now i have an interview to go too tomorrow.. i've learnt not to get my hopes up - i am glad for the interview and i hope it goes well..

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  Mum

  You interview them, too. It would be terrible to get into another situation like the one you're in now.

  Best wishes; good luck!