Mum

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Posts by Mum

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  53

  Why elders' wives are such gossipers...

  by Calebs Airplane in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  i have a theory as to why elders' wives gossip so much.

  i believe a big part of it has to do with the conversation running dry (between themselves and their elder husbands) after so many years of marriage.

  since they don't get to spend too much "quality time" together (because of the elder husband's hamster wheel schedule), when they do have some intimate time alone, the elder's wives will invaribly attempt to engage their husbands in any kind of interchange.

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  Mum

  There was always some very dramatic event in my last congregation. It would have been hard to ignore them all and just go on as if everything was all sweetness and light, as we were supposed to. These are all true, but you guys probably won't be shocked. After all, you've been dubs, too.

  An elder's son fell in love with the wife who was half of a couple who just moved to our congregation. Eventually, she divorced her new husband and married the elder's son.

  At an assembly at a school, a couple of adolescents went into a closet and closed the door, locking themselves in. I think a school official had to be called to find a solution and set them free.

  A sister's (unbelieving) husband had an affair with her (fleshly and "spiritual") sister while his wife was in the hospital having a baby.

  The wife of a "Jonadab" left him because, allegedly, he wouldn't buy furniture and other household necessities.

  A brother was asked by a householder if he would like something to drink. He asked for a beer.

  A family who was not approved for baptism because, apparently, they could not answer the baptismal questions, moved to another state and notified the congregation that they had been baptized in a regular church.

  A congregation couple's pregnant non-JW daughter who had been living in another state moved back in with her parents. A pioneer brother fell in love with her and married her.

  I could go on, but you get the picture.
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  33

  JW Grammar is...

  by jw07 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  *we are all from different cultural and educational backgrounds, we all experience different circumstances in life, and i don't mean to offend anyone on this forum in any way.*.

  with that said here are my observations, and i want to know what you have observed.. in my experience i have noticed a trend: zealous witnessestend to exhibit the worst grammar when compared to non-witnesses!.

  i want you to think back, or check it out for yourself if you haven't noticed it.. on social networks: compare comments on anything by jws (especially the uber-zealous ones) with those of your atheist or other religiously affiliated friends.

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  Mum

  When I was in high school, I was one of the top English students. I started attending the KH in my sophomore year. The congregtion I attended was comprised of much better educated people than average dubs. It was in the most exclusive part of town. I did not live in that part of town, but the people who studied with me did. I never found any grammatical or spelling errors in any Watchtower literature, but it was written on about a fifth-grade level. Even in that congregation there were some who could use the English language about as well as an elementary school pupil.

  When I moved to other locations, the language skills of the dubs were, overall, much worse. It was obvious that some of the men could not really understand the talk outlines and would interpret them in strange ways. The readers at the Watchtower study would mispronounce common words. The elder that I married was semi-literate at best, but still felt he was given to me by Jehovah to explain the world and everything else to me.

  To be fair, I have met a lot of non-JW's who were just as handicapped with language skills. I have worked with many people and attended college classes with many people who did not understand when to use an apostrophe, or understand what a run-on sentence or a fragment was.

  Surely it's easier to deceive people who don't understand the nuances of language, so JW's have an advantage with such people and draw them in.
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  6

  Narcissistic personality disorder

  by Xanthippe in

  1. social
  2. humour

  so i was having lunch with my inlaws and my fil was sounding off as usual about the economy, scottish devolution, the shortcomings of county councils etc etc.

  he said to me well don't you think that (whatever it was) would be a better way of doing things ( in other words - his way ) myself, being extremely relaxed - in vino veritas - said no i think it's narcissistic personality disorder.. note to self really shouldn't drink so much when talking to fil, but it is my birthday.. he said what's narcissistic personality disorder.

  so i explained to him about narcissus in greek mythology, the youth who looked into a pool, saw his own reflection and fell in love with himself.

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  Mum

  Narcissists are suave. A few years ago I was working with a narcissist who had to teach me my job. Her instructions changed from day to day, and she yelled about everything I did (except some of the things she was not capable of understanding or did not have the patience to deal with). For example, my inbox was not placed where she thought it should be, I made the print too large on labels, the word processor put codes that she did not understand in documents I prepared. I ended up in therapy. Everyone at work knew how she was, so I was not without support.

  I had never heard of NPD at that time. A therapist told me that's what it sounded like when I described behaviors. Then I looked it up online and found a list of traits of narcissists. I realized that my dad was a narcissist as well. The therapist told me that having a narcissist in my immediate family turned off my radar, that most people would have run away immediately, but the sirens did not go off in my head. I'm always on guard now, especially when someone is too glib and charming.

  I loved your MIL's comment about the daffodil!

  Happy Birthday!
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  15

  Atheists / Agnostics: do any of you still enjoy going to church/mosque/synagogue?

  by free @ last in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i'm in awe of sacred spaces.

  love stained glass rose windows and gothic architecture.

  i like coral music (who knew).

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  Mum

  I do enjoy high church Episcopal services. Episcopal churches are some of the oldest and most beautiful in many cities and towns in the U.S. I have never attended a Jewish service, but would like to.

  I would also like to attend a Buddhist service. My daughter went to a Buddhist service once, and when she came back home she said the priest there behaved like an evangelical preacher, so I don't think she'll be going back. I'm sure not all Buddhists religious leaders are like that. Buddhists seem more open-minded than other religious adherents, so that appeals to me.

  I like church music. It's stirring and inspirational. My childhood was full of Southern gospel, and I thoroughly enjoy it to this day.
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  50

  If money were no object where would you live?

  by usualusername in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  my money is on tuscany, italy at the moment..

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  Mum

  Islands make me claustrophobic. I might live in Paris. I probably would not stay in one place, not that I think about it.
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  7

  When was the last time a member of the Governing Body had a Q&A session with rank and file?

  by usualusername in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  today the pope gave some impromptu teacdhing sessions and had that followed by a q & a session which got me thinking.... when was the last time a member of the governing body had a q&a session with rank and file?.

  uun.

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  Mum

  That's like asking, "When was the last time a movie star invited you to dinner?" Forget about it!
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  5

  Is "Mother" associating independent thinking with a phobia?

  by I_love_Jeff in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  what happens when jehovah's witnesses think independently?

  what happened to adam when he sinned?

  since when is independent thinking equivalent to disobedience?.

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  Mum

  "Independent" thinking is the only kind of thinking there is. Everything else is conformity.
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  29

  My mother wants to see my kids

  by mrsjones5 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i decided to call my mother more often at the request of my brother (the parental units have been driving him crazy and my calling more hopefully will decrease the craziness my brother has had to deal with).

  so i called her last tuesday and the first thing that pops out of her mouth is she recovering from a weekend of babysitting her "substitute grandchildren" (her exact words and actually my nonjw cousin's children) since she doesn't get to see her own grandchildren.. wonderful .

  there are reasons why i don't take my children to my mother's house.

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  Mum

  This is a sad situation on several fronts.

  First, your children don't have a relationship with their grandparents. In my family, grandparents are important and helpful.

  Second, your parents have tried to put a wedge between you and your husband. What's "Christian" about that?

  Third, your parents ignore your kids, then expect you to just produce them on demand once they want to see them. Do they want to try to indoctrinate them? Why, all of a sudden, do they want to see your kids when they have contributed nothing to the kids' lives?

  I'd be angry. I admire your self-control.
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  15

  my evangelical christian co-worker is extremely "racist" towards Hispanics

  by booker-t in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i am getting so tired of my co-worker who is a "evangelical christian" constantly making racist slurs towards hispanic people.

  i just don't get it and it is making me very uncomfortable because i wonder what he says about "black" people behind my back.

  everyday he makes comments such as "mexicans" are dumb and stupid, "mexicans all can't speak good english", "mexicans have 50 million babies" and "mexicans are all on welfare".

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  Mum

  Does your company have many Hispanic customers or clients? Do the customers or clients hear what you guys are saying sometimes?

  I believe what you're experiencing with your co-worker is all too common. I've been through this before, too. What I would point out to your co-worker is that the things he complains about are not exclusive to any group or ethnicity. There are people who say similar things about eastern Europeans, Appalachian Americans ("hillbillies"), African Americans, and other ethnic groups.

  I usually tell people that everyone is an individual, and it is not right to "paint everyone with the same brush" because they belong to a particular group.
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  41

  What movie did you walk out on when a jw? Have you seen it since? What changed?

  by Wasanelder Once in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  ok i walked out on austin powers because i thought it was so crude and god dishonoring.

  since the fade i think it is very funny, still not a favorite but not the end of the world either.

  any movies that were a big sin are nothing now?

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  Mum

  My JW husband and I went to the drive-in to watch Bob and Carol and Ted and Alice. He left when something sexual (that he actually understood!) was said. A lot of sexual terms had already been used, but he didn't know those big words.