Mum

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Posts by Mum

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  18

  My prediction coming true

  by Foolednomore in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  while back, not here on this net i don't remember.

  i predicted that watchtower would allow you to buy your way into the kingdumb.

  does anyone find this interesting?.

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  Mum

  No doubt that prediction came true. Do you also think they're moving toward televangelism?
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  24

  Becoming a JW

  by Mum in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i rarely post here, but i often check in.

  i used to post on h2o as well.

  i think i once posted some of this on h2o, but there are many new ones who have joined since then.. i first encountered jw's at the age of 9. it wasn't in the door-to-door work, however.

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  Mum

  Nathan Natas: I was in Lexington, KY during the 1950's, and I only met people who came to the Shriner's Hospital. Interesting that your name is Nathan. When I attended my first assembly in New York in 1963, a child named Nathan, who was only about 5 or 6 years old at the time, for some reason latched onto me and saw me every day at the assembly. I think his last name started with a G. I don't know if he was from New York or where.
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  21

  question for those who either aux pioneered pioneered

  by enoughisenough in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  how many of you would have spent the hours "pioneering" if it weren't for the pats on the back and being looked up to as someone special in the congregation?

  i will admit that back in late 1970's i attempted to aux pioneer during a campaign because it was promoted and seemed the right thing to do,but i didn't get the hours and it was stressful trying to...and i didn't feel like a cheerful giver.

  i never attempted it again.

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  Mum

  I remember when it was called "vacation pioneering," but was changed to "auxiliary pioneering," probably so they could get people to do it even if not on vacation.

  I auxiliary pioneered sometimes, probably because I was an elder's wife and felt obligated to meet certain expectations. I remember putting the word "Caucasian" in the blank on the application that asked my race. I didn't question the reason why they had to know your race. Anyway, one of the (ignorant) elders obviously had never seen the word "Caucasian" before, and brought my application to me, pointed at the word, and looked at me like I must be from Mars. He didn't say a word, just gave me a very quizzical look and pointed at the word. I just said, "That's right" and turned away.
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  24

  Becoming a JW

  by Mum in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i rarely post here, but i often check in.

  i used to post on h2o as well.

  i think i once posted some of this on h2o, but there are many new ones who have joined since then.. i first encountered jw's at the age of 9. it wasn't in the door-to-door work, however.

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  Mum

  smiddy3: I think they predicted the end in 1874, 1914, 1918, and 1925. If I am wrong, somebody correct me.

  Biahi: I don't remember the Franz finger shaking incident at the assembly. It could be because I wasn't paying much attention anymore at that point. The elders where I was just thought that date could be a few years off, but still expected Armageddon any time. I hung in there until 1979, but, after that, I could not endure my life and was losing my mind, and knew I had to do something.
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  24

  Becoming a JW

  by Mum in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i rarely post here, but i often check in.

  i used to post on h2o as well.

  i think i once posted some of this on h2o, but there are many new ones who have joined since then.. i first encountered jw's at the age of 9. it wasn't in the door-to-door work, however.

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  Mum

  Ozzie, We would have the world almost cleaned up in the new system by now if they had been telling the truth!

  Yes, it aches literally and figuratively!
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  24

  Becoming a JW

  by Mum in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i rarely post here, but i often check in.

  i used to post on h2o as well.

  i think i once posted some of this on h2o, but there are many new ones who have joined since then.. i first encountered jw's at the age of 9. it wasn't in the door-to-door work, however.

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  Mum

  Biahi, I have been married twice, but both husbands are deceased now. My second husband was not a JW. My JW elder husband shunned me sometimes, but not always. He liked my family.

  new boy: I will be 74 on November 1, 2022, almost 80.
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  24

  Becoming a JW

  by Mum in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i rarely post here, but i often check in.

  i used to post on h2o as well.

  i think i once posted some of this on h2o, but there are many new ones who have joined since then.. i first encountered jw's at the age of 9. it wasn't in the door-to-door work, however.

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  Mum

  LongHairGal,

  Yes, I've been very lucky in many ways. Believe it or not, my mom became a JW near the end of her life -- after she became a bilateral amputee and couldn't go from door to door. However, to her credit, she never shunned me even though she knew I was an "apostate." She never told any of her JW friends that I was an apostate either. My daughter spoke to her about some of the issues of the Watchtower society, but her response was, "I'd ask them about it, but they'd take it the wrong way." My sister says her conversion was really about social interaction. My mom had great social skills, and the JW's would visit her often, send her flowers and gifts and food. Amazing!

  I am just the opposite of my mom. I have poor social skills and blurt out what I see as truth a little to bluntly to be well-liked. That's okay because I enjoy my alone time.
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  26

  More money and meeting with 3 elders

  by Foolednomore in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  so, we had this meeting with 3 elders ( larry, moe and curly) my uncle who is the lawyer sat in the room and stayed quiet, and fact for 40 minutes we let them talk.

  we would just sit there.

  they went into along winded monolog about how the world is in bad shape and getting worst.

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  Mum

  I'm so glad you had your uncle there. Committee meetings are JW hell. I wish everyone hauled before a judicial committee had legal counsel.
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  24

  Becoming a JW

  by Mum in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i rarely post here, but i often check in.

  i used to post on h2o as well.

  i think i once posted some of this on h2o, but there are many new ones who have joined since then.. i first encountered jw's at the age of 9. it wasn't in the door-to-door work, however.

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  Mum

  Ozzie! Glad you're here. Do the JW's still have your children? Life is good, thank you. I found a job with a decent retirement plan, but not until I was 48! Anyway, all's well that ends well, eh?

  Cheers,

  Mum, lover of cognac
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  24

  Becoming a JW

  by Mum in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i rarely post here, but i often check in.

  i used to post on h2o as well.

  i think i once posted some of this on h2o, but there are many new ones who have joined since then.. i first encountered jw's at the age of 9. it wasn't in the door-to-door work, however.

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  Mum

  I rarely post here, but I often check in. I used to post on H2O as well. I think I once posted some of this on H2O, but there are many new ones who have joined since then.

  I first encountered JW's at the age of 9. It wasn't in the door-to-door work, however. My dad's boss was a JW, and my dad ran into him one Saturday as his boss was doing street work ('way before there were carts). My dad was not a person who was interested in spirituality or religion. He was a "good time Charlie." He did, however, understand that "kissing up" to the boss had some value. So, he allowed his boss to start a home Bible study with our family. I was in the Shriners' Hospital for Crippled Children (now the Shriners' Hospital for Children) when this occurred.

  Upon my release from the hospital, my parents came and picked me up. The hospital was in Lexington, KY, and my parents lived in Dayton, OH. My mom told me on the way home that we were going to stop and visit some Jehovah's witnesses. I had heard of JW's, but only bad things. I was puzzled, but I was a quiet child who seldom expressed my feelings.

  We went to the home of my dad's boss, and I was met by the boss's wife and two children (one of whom was my age, and one of whom was a few years older) who jumped from behind their door with gifts for me (a coloring book, crayons, and perhaps some other small item like a puzzle), and yelled "Surprise!" There were certain advantages to me in being a physically handicapped child. We had a nice time chatting with this family, who had the same last name we did.

  In a few days, they came to our apartment and conducted a "Bible" study from the "Let God Be True" book. They were impressed with my reading ability, which was at a higher level than their son's. They were very nice people, and my sister and I would play with their kids while my mom almost always served coffee and dessert after the study. All in all, it was a positive experience for us.

  Fast forward a couple of years, and our family had moved into a house, but my dad had the same job, and the "Bible" study continued from a different book, which I think was called "This Means Everlasting Life," but I'm not sure. My dad's boss didn't see much potential in our becoming Jehovah's witnesses, but he and his sweet wife, and sometimes his kids, continued to study with us. Later on, I was told that I was seen as the only potential convert out of my family.

  Eventually, my dad got a Civil Service job, and no longer had the same boss. So, being the disinterested person he really was, he called off the "Bible" study. No need to kiss that guy's ass any more! :-) So, life went on for about three more years without any JW contact except occasional door-knocking encounters.

  Then, when I was 15, my dad's friend in Tennessee was killed in a coal mine cave-in. My dad claimed to have participated in "James's judgment." My dad had some kind of (drug-induced?) other worldly experience when his friend died, so he decided we should start going to the Baptist Church near our house. I was the most religiously inclined person in our family, and I liked going to church. One evening, at some kind of young people's event, I won a competition answering Bible questions. My Sunday school teacher gave me a New Testament as a prize.

  A few weeks later, there was a revival at the church. The evangelist Jack Van Impe was the featured guest pastor. He chose one evening to preach against Jehovah's witnesses. He thought he had "answers" to their false beliefs. He said some things about them that were not true. I don't remember what he said now, but I knew at the time there were inaccuracies in his tirade. The effect on my 15-year-old brain was devastating. It made me believe JW's were being unfairly persecuted, just like they claimed. It made me believe they must be right! I was all for the underdog when this wealthy semi-famous preacher went on the attack. So I contacted the witnesses who had studied with us and expressed my wish to become a JW. They were delighted.

  Before I became a full-fledged publisher, however, I struggled with worry about whether I could be good enough (already!) One night, I spent almost an entire night in prayer because I was so apprehensive. After hours of praying, I heard an audible voice (where it came from I don't know, maybe from inside of me) say "You do what you need to do." It was not the loving affirmation I was seeking, but it jarred me. I quit praying at that point and decided to go ahead with my plans to become a JW. My Sunday school teacher tried to talk me out of it, but you know how stubborn one can be after being convinced that it's the "truth."

  So, I was a JW from the ages of 15 to 32. Then, after having lived in hopes of "the last day of the last days" and considering the possibility of reaching old age in this "system," I could no longer bear it. I did what I needed to do.