Mum

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Posts by Mum

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  15

  Im Scared

  by Shytears in

  1. watchtower
  2. medical

  im scared....im trying to think for my self and make my own decisons on the jw religin.but everytime i go to meetings,they scare me with all the armaggendon bull,and makes me feel bad for wanting to date and do"normal things".i mean i want to think for myself,it just seems like they think for you....you have to this and follow that because the wts says so.

  and bullshit to loving and kindness in the congregation could have fooed me!!

  pfft!

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  Mum

  Laura, you need to talk to someone. Talk to your school counselor and see if he or she can help you through this time of turmoil. Being a teenager is stressful enough; being in a JW household at the same time is even more stressful.

  E-mail me if you need to. Don't be scared of the JW's. Their power is over those who give them power. If they "discipline" you, just be polite and tell them you apologize if you did anything that might have given someone the wrong impression. You can hang on one day at a time until you are old enough to be on your own.

  In the meantime, get the perspective of a mature professional. Remember that the reason for behaving in certain ways is not to please the guys at the Kingdom Hall but to be true to yourself and avoid harm to yourself and others. Talk to someone before situations arise that might put you in an awkward position.
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  22

  my story

  by nelly1 in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  .

  well i tried to do this yest and i lost all of it, :( lot of typing lost, but oh well, i would welcome feedback from anyone who has been through similar things to me, i got the truth 13 yrs ago, and i never felt like i was wanted not really, i was with a man and had 3 kids with him when i came into contact with the witnesses, but he was a pedophile so i found out and had been doing things to our kids since they were born, i ditched him, he walked from 2 high court trials, and no one in my cong cared abt me, they didnt want to know.

  said it was in my head, anyway, i struggled for years i hated going to conventions and being ignored by my own cong, it was just me and my daughter on our own all the time trying to serve jehovah, i didnt feel happy but i just wanted to please my god and i just tried my best, i always felt left out and i was never asked to do demos at the hall, its like they were just putting up with me, i was always pulled in for stupid things like the messages i put on my answerphone cuz some stupid stuck up old sister didnt like it.

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  Mum

  Hi, Nelly. It sounds like you're still in the early stages of separation from what is called "the truth" by those who have not discovered the lies spread by those who claim to represent it.

  Reading self-help books and articles really helped me in those early stages. I have been out since 1979, and every year life is better and freer. Dr. Wayne Dyer's book Your Erroneous Zones was the one that got me to thinking outside the box, so to speak. Dr. Dyer offers simple strategies for dealing with guilt, anger, and other negative feelings.

  Remember: No one has any power over you unless you give it to them. Check the internet under terms like "self empowerment," "self esteem," and other terms you can think of to start leading you in a more positive direction. Support groups and psychological counseling are also good resources.

  Don't suffer alone. We're here for you.
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  22

  The things you were not allowed to do as a child..

  by fulano in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i was not allowed to: .

  1. bring worldly kids at home .

  2. play chess (war game.

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  Mum

  "It's never too late to have a happy childhood." - Gloria Steinem
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  27

  The Watchtower - Hustling Pocket Change

  by metatron in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  apparently, at some assembly halls they are removing the pay phones and replacing them with their own phone lines - with a contribution box next to it.. you may already know about district assemblies where they put 'out of order' signs.

  on working vending machines to prevent the rank and file from using them.. how much money do they expect to make from this?

  they are trying to hustle pocket change!.

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  Mum

  I think I've found a retirement career -- putting up a cart with cheap food and drinks outside JW assemblies! It is such a financial struggle for many JW families to make it to those assemblies that if I had the means I might consider passing out free food outside the convention stadium, or using a contribution/what the buyer can afford system.

  Let the JW's give me a "good witness" by finding a scripture that says buying food for their families or accepting food at a reduced cost is "unscriptural."
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  103

  Keeping it in perspective

  by Torn in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i've just joined up to silentlambs.

  basically i still consider myself a jw, although i'm no longer active.

  i do frequent the odd sunday meeting tho, as i still consider 95% of it to be the truth.

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  Mum

  Welcome, Tom. The very reason that we can no longer be JW's or support the organization is that we cannot be a part of an organization that tells others what to think. You are at a very normal phase of leaving the organization. Most of us understand.

  A few years ago I read a book called The Orwellian World of Jehovah's Witnesses by Gary and Heather Botting. In this book, the Bottings point out that very few people wake up one day and decide to leave the organization. Most of us felt or were pushed out.

  I probably still believe 95% of what the JW's profess to believe as well. Having said that, I probably believe 95% of what most other religions profess to believe. The difference is that I can still be a member in good standing of other churches, even with my inability to understand doctrine enough to buy into it without reservation. A God who could be fully understood by us, by definition, would not be God.

  Be patient with yourself. It's hard to let go.
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  15

  Do you feel alienated from your JW family?

  by dins in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  just a general query as today i am feeling, as most sundays, like i want to move to the moon and get away from my jw family...ie, mother and father.

  for years i lived abroad and didn't really think about it much, but now that i am back and in the area, just the very thought of spending too many minutes in their company makes me want to pack up and move away again.

  it's been several years since i left home and the jw organization.

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  Mum

  (((Diana)))

  Like Blondie, I have walked this road for many years. I felt alienated from my family before I was ever a JW, however. I have learned the hard lessons of the consequences one faces without a family support system, with no one to turn to in times of trouble, and the trouble that is inevitable when a person has internalized the negative messages about herself that were given by people who were supposed to be nurturing and accepting.

  I am sorry, but they're not likely to change their attitude. I try to do the right thing by being there for my family if they are in need, but live to regret it. It's sad to regret doing what you believe to be right and good for others. Once I told my mother off on the advice of my daughter who told me I would feel better if I did. I didn't feel good about it, but she treated me with more respect afterwards. How sad to have to do what I feel is wrong to move someone else to do right.

  They are acting out of fear and insecurity at all times. It is very sad to be so afraid of life that you let a cult control your beliefs, even your affections. Love them the best you can, and go enjoy the rest of your life the best you can. Find some volunteer work, a support group, someting to take your mind off what you are missing.

  Empathetically,

  Sandra
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  24

  Banned church member sues Jehovah's Witnesses

  by izobcenec in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  a normandy resident who was disfellowshipped from jehovah's witnesses is suing the organization for $7 million on grounds the alleged action against her was wrong.

  barbara joanna anderson filed the lawsuit thursday in coffee county circuit court.. she is seeking $2 million in compensatory damages, plus $5 million in punitive damages.. the defendants are listed as:.

  * watchtower bible and tract society of new york inc.. * watchtower bible and tract society of pennsylvania inc.. * watchtower enterprises llc.. * watchtower foundation inc.. * watchtower associates ltd.. * kingdom support services inc.. * christian congregation of jehovah's witnesses.. * religious order of jehovah's witnesses.. * the watchtower group inc.. * manchester congregation of jehovah's witnesses elders.. * lawrence a. seely, gary hobson, dale dormanen, robert e. matthews, david semonian, j.r. brown, and john does no.

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  Mum

  izobcenec,

  Thanks for posting that incredible story! I would have loved to sue the WT and my ex-husband for alienation of my daughter's affection, but reasoned that I could not because I had made a choice to join a religion, and that the state would not interfere. Maybe I was wrong! This is wonderful news. Maybe there is hope for families with bullying JW's.
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  16

  todays Apostate email to my family

  by rwagoner in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  every once in awhile i need to vent to my jw family...it is hardly ever pretty and serve no purpose other than to make me feel better...*lol* .

  i sent this today after re-reading blondies post on the article for todays watchtower study on apostates :-) .

  i also still respect your belief in jehovah but not in the "society".

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  Mum

  rwagoner,

  I know how you feel. I can't help myself from wanting to point out to my family how ridiculous their "reasoning" sounds to regular people who are not brainwashed and who do not put themselves in a position of being remotely controlled by a bunch of insecure old men who refuse to read the handwriting on the wall.

  I don't say much, but my daughter tells them just like you do. Of course, it does no good. They need their security blankie and cannot understand why we think life is better without it.

  Regards,

  Sandra
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  14

  I did something very rewarding today....

  by Marilyn in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i'm visiting hong kong at the moment and i'm on the underground train at 10 am - it's sunday morning.

  sunday is the day off for 200,000 maids (politically correct term is domestic helper).

  they are mostly from the phillipines.

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  Mum

  My friend and I sometimes go for a walk in a city park before work. There is a middle-aged Mexican couple who walk there fairly regularly, too, and I had exchanged greetings with them a few times. One day when this pair were a fair distance ahead of me, I saw a JW get out of a car and intercept them, handing them some magazines. I caught up with them, smiled, greeted them, and pointed to the magazines, saying, "No buena."

  To my delight, both of them agreed with me quite readily. They tossed the magazines into a nearby trash can, told me they were Catholic, and we all went happily on our merry way.

  Yes, Marilyn, it is much more rewarding to "sound the warning" from the other side.

  One of my friends lives next door to the laudromat in an apartment complex. Someone was regularly leaving copies of the Watchtower and Awake! in that laudromat. I went to visit my friend every Saturday morning, picked up the magazines, wrote the Silentlambs web address, the JWD web address and the Freeminds web address on them. The magazines kept showing up anyway.

  So, I picked up the magazines, wrote the web addresses on them, then wrote the toll-free numbers for Silentlambs (1-877-WT-ABUSE) and BRCI (1-800-WHY-1914) under the website addresses.

  There haven't been any WT propaganda publications in that laundry room since.

  Sandra (patting myself on the back)
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  11

  The Silence of Rutherford's son

  by VM44 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  "judge" rutherford had only one son, named malcolm, who appears to have never said anything about his father.

  this is strange.

  one would think that someone would have interviewed malcolm about rutherford, if at least to ask him how he viewed rutherford.

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  Mum

  I never knew about Rutherford's having any children. Is Malcolm a JW? Who is his mother?

  Now I'm curiouser and curiouser.

  Sandra