Posts by Theonlyoneleft

20

Role Call, Number of Family Members Who Have Shunned You!

by The Bethelite in

jw
friends

just one left, my sister.

i haven't talk to her in over 15 years.

the rest are all dead.. i'm not counting my ex wife and all her family.... .

so if someone puts their life into serving the cult for free at bethel, then say after 25 or 30 years they are not able to for one reason or another such as illness, or family issue or old age, does the cult have any safety net for these people or is it you serve until you can't and when you can't you just go away?

.

Theonlyoneleft

You can check this video out, made by a former bethelite.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=olch0jCBzMg

49

What happens to Bethelites?

by rickroll in

so if someone puts their life into serving the cult for free at bethel, then say after 25 or 30 years they are not able to for one reason or another such as illness, or family issue or old age, does the cult have any safety net for these people or is it you serve until you can't and when you can't you just go away?

.

Theonlyoneleft

If you look on YouTube there’s loads of counts of personal stories of older bethalites treatment.

Some not cared for properly, some asked to leave, some moved around.

you give your whole life to service of a loving god but when you are in need of this unconditional love, the people that are meant to love you show it by discarding of you without a second thought. Not a very loving move is it? Even “worldly people wouldn’t do this”.

20

Role Call, Number of Family Members Who Have Shunned You!

by The Bethelite in

jw
friends

just one left, my sister.

i haven't talk to her in over 15 years.

the rest are all dead.. i'm not counting my ex wife and all her family.... .

Theonlyoneleft

So much sadness, so much pain and so much loss, and for what?

So they can feel righteous?

breaking families, breaking bonds and preventing love among families.

Just stupid.

17

First Xmas? Or older traditions? 🎄

by Theonlyoneleft in

is anyone here doing their first xmas this year?🎄🎄.

i love xmas!

almost around the corner and i’ve started thinking of all the prep needed for family time.

Theonlyoneleft

@pete

firstly thank you for your warm felt thoughts.

I was lucky mum did those little things even under pressure of my older siblings that did asked her to stop, but was her house, her rules and thank goodness she didn’t buckle!

You are one busy grandad ☺️. I’m glad you had your family all around you, memories they will remember with fondness I’m very sure.

I cannot wait for grandchildren... if doesn’t come soon I might be inclined to adopt some. 🤣🤣 I’m still in my 40’s but I feel I’ve waiting for ages!

this is all what Xmas is about, mainly gold treasured moments speckled here and there filled with laughs, silly jokes, some drama(of course) and the rituals added to the mix. I love it. There’s no excuses of... “I’m too tired” or “ I need to meet my friends after work mum” or “I’m watching tv mum.” Nothing of that. Even the cat gets prezzies. 🐱

By my family experiences still in, I know that some witnesses do xtra stuff for their children around the year, but going into school and have to feel ostracised by the lack of is something that all jws kids go through.

My biggest one was my science tests filled with red ink by my teacher. The evolution answers to the questions where just red crossed and given zero points. The word IF in the beginning followed by the answer. My teachers crossed all of it.

I have a niece that stopped studying (yippee thank goodness!!!)

I asked her what made her stop going to meetings as she replied “ they are all liars, they do something in the Kingdom Hall and something else when they don’t go.”

She’s only 16. This year she’s going to be joining us for Xmas and she’s said to be very excited. “My first Xmas ever.”

I’m glad that she’s coming to us and she’s out. Her life is a complicated one and some happy moments that’s all sometimes we need to keep us all going.

thank you for sharing and I wish you extra good memories with all those grandkids.

17

First Xmas? Or older traditions? 🎄

by Theonlyoneleft in

is anyone here doing their first xmas this year?🎄🎄.

i love xmas!

almost around the corner and i’ve started thinking of all the prep needed for family time.

Theonlyoneleft

Snugglebunny, how funny 😂🤣🤣.

The end is near indeed of.... the chip and pin.

Thank goodness for online shopping and for the touch and pay. Phew, Amargedon diverted for another few years.

Funny story, thank you for sharing it.

17

First Xmas? Or older traditions? 🎄

by Theonlyoneleft in

is anyone here doing their first xmas this year?🎄🎄.

i love xmas!

almost around the corner and i’ve started thinking of all the prep needed for family time.

Theonlyoneleft

Thank you for your thoughts, experiences and ideas. It’s good to hear your stories.

Certainly agree that Xmas traditions need to be cultivated during life and maybe if these are not Xmas time doesn’t pull the same emotions if there was family traditions to look forward to.

Agreed too to the commercially side of it, but I enjoy that too. 🤣 The advertising on tv, the stores loaded with things we might not need.... the silliness of Xmas.

Latest years have been more of making gifts that mean much more than bought ones. Keeps me busy over the “don’t have nothing to do hours”.

There was one year when my children were younger that we banned all bought tree decorations. The tree was really bare.

In the weekends running up to Xmas we spent hours doing popcorn strings and homemade pom-poms to hang. We had such fun!.... but the mess 🤣🤣🤣🤣

To those doing Xmas first time I would say find something that it becomes a yearly tradition for you and your family. Becomes part of your fabric to be followed by future generations. We have adopted so many things from friends and added our own.

Two years ago around Xmas time I did a collection of food for our local food bank. Went really well. This year I’m still thinking... need to do something new. 😁

Hope that whatever you do over those holidays days is spent doing something you enjoy with those you care about. Happy holidays & happy times. ☺️☺️

17

First Xmas? Or older traditions? 🎄

by Theonlyoneleft in

is anyone here doing their first xmas this year?🎄🎄.

i love xmas!

almost around the corner and i’ve started thinking of all the prep needed for family time.

Theonlyoneleft

Is anyone here doing their first Xmas this year?🎄🎄

I LOVE Xmas! Almost around the corner and I’ve started thinking of all the prep needed for family time.

I don’t care much about the religious side of it... was something that my mum did as I recall some happy memory that I still hold dear. Mum was not a witness, she studied but left... older siblings got baptised and are IN still today.

When I was young-ER Xmas was celebrated with my mum and siblings that “pretended “ not to care much about the Xmas tree or the fantastic Xmas meal as well as the huge table mum laid out in Xmas eve. Yummy.

We were poor, didn’t really have loads of stuff (mum held three jobs to make do) but Xmas was something else!!!....as my mum was a chef and fantastic pastry chef the table would be gleaming of goodies that she spent the day working on...... as extras, of the Xmas customers orders to be able to DO Xmas for us.

My two siblings were baptised witnesses by then and for them there was nothing more revolting than have to sit through dinner.... Xmas dinner!... ah ah ah... And they had to eat it too! Lol 😂

They used to say that this was just a dinner to them, afterwards they would refuse to open presents straight away as trying to make a claim that they were not interested in those shiny wrapped presents. 👀

They would finaly say “Well if someone wants to give you a gift then it’s ok to accept it.”

Last Xmas with mum and siblings this way was in the late 90s. From there on... there was a time that I didn’t bothered with Xmas) (my poor kids!) but I’ve been doing it without fail since 2004.

Yesterday made 15 years that mum passed with cancer..... no one remembered her... siblings all quiet. 😔

I couldn’t help to think of the good times that she tried to bring us all together despite all the jw rules applied by my older sibling (yes!... 😡 implemented shitty rules like the elders were on her shoulders!).

Mum got a tree, I decorated it with younger siblings and we ate like kings. And... we got gifts. I could tell those nasty bullies at school that actually I was not a weirdo... I had a Xmas too just like them. Xmas day 25th was spent with my grandparents, cousins and aunts and uncles. Some more great food followed with socks, underwear and some lavender goods. I hated lavender and couldn’t be bothered with those silly gifts ( I really wanted toys) that my grandma gave me but I how much I miss it all now.

Xmas times for me is a time to get together with my kids... no one else of my family does Xmas. They stay away.

I hear friends plans to visit family, gifts concoctions between them, family travelling in...and makes me so sad that every time I tried to share my holiday plans or traditions the response is just a silent answer over a telephone call or a change of subject. I still shared but awkward! Well... if I can stay quiet and pretend to hear that joh-boh- loh-bah dedication prayer over that visiting meal...( not anymore HAH HAH) then you can hear my tedious plans of Xmas gifts list!

I love Xmas time because I’m building happy memories for my children and traditions for them to have in the future to pass on to their children one day.

is anyone celebrating Xmas first time this year?

If you don’t... what do you normally do over the holidays?

if you did as a kid...what special traditions do you recall?

over to you. 😊

18

Is this something new?

by Butyoucanneverleave in

just heard from a friend who keeps in touch with the jw's.

a person who has been studying found out some things on line about the witnesses and decided to not get baptized and stopped attending the meetings.

she lives with a witness.

Theonlyoneleft

Blondie thank you for the explanation. Really appreciate your comments and wisdom. (Sometimes I wish I could borrow your knowledge for a few hours ☺️)

thank goodness she had the will and wit to look online! Getting out while she hasn’t been affected by this crazy cult.

Disfellowshipping is insane in itself. One day you’re my friend... next day you’re not... then you are again.... 🙄.

Looks to me that the tight message they put out to members the more control they want.

Hopefully this will be the downside of the whole thing and will help many to free themselves of it.

55

Unique JW Phrases 101

by Solzhenitsyn in

what unique to jws phrases do you remember?

something fun for those of us taught to speak an entirely unique and pure language.

there have been posts in the past in this forum but perhaps some have new ones after having kept up with jehovah's chariot as the light gets brighter.

Theonlyoneleft

I think no one can deny that at least this shitty religion has taught us all something.... vocabulary.