Posts by LostintheFog1999

19

A City Having Real Foundations.

by LostintheFog1999 in

someone asked me recently when did i start to have doubts as an elder about what i was teaching from the platform.. i have given it a lot of thought and i can say that it was when i was delivering a public talk about the book of hebrews.

so i paused and read it again.. i looked at the audience and said to them let's look at the cross-reference for this verse which is hebrews 12:22 and i read that verse.

after which i remember saying "and this is how the outline puts it.... " and i read from the outline verbatim.. abraham was not looking forward to an earthly kingdom hope.

LostintheFog1999

Someone asked me recently when did I start to have doubts as an elder about what I was teaching from the platform.

I have given it a lot of thought and I can say that it was when I was delivering a Public Talk about the book of Hebrews. I had delivered the outline before and parroted off what was on the page in front of me many times before.

However on this occasion I was reading Hebrews 11:10 from the platform of a neighbouring KH to my own, a verse which says that Abraham was awaiting the city having real foundations - at which point the outline said something along the lines of he was looking forward to life on a paradise earth under God's heavenly kingdom - when my brain said to me "Hold on, that's not what the verse says, read it again". So I paused and read it again.

I looked at the audience and said to them let's look at the cross-reference for this verse which is Hebrews 12:22 and I read that verse. After which I remember saying "and this is how the outline puts it.... " and I read from the outline verbatim.

Abraham was NOT looking forward to an earthly kingdom hope. It was as clear as a flash of brilliant lightning to me in that moment. However I went on with the printed material and finished the PT getting my usual applause at the end.

That was definitely the starting point of my questioning things that the organisation wanted me to tell people in public talks that made little sense to me from a well researched Bible study.

It didn't take me too long to latch on to John 6:53-59 and begin to understand that everything pointed to a heavenly hope, the very same one that Abraham was looking forward to (through his many one-to-one conversations with Jehovah and/or Jehovah's angels) as recorded in Hebrews.

I believe that PT was my 'road to Damascus moment' when I stood up there realising that I was 'blind' to the real truth. I can still relive the feelings I experienced then as I write about it now.

Since becoming POMO I have come a very long distance both in time and belief. I recently bumped into a person who used to go to JW meetings but no longer does, and John said that my PT in his hall made him start to question. He added that he's been disfellowshipped now because of his return to smoking but that he's pleased that myself and others are still talking to him and treating him as normal (his words) not as an outcast.

I said that anyone treating others as outcasts was added proof that they were in a cult not a Christian church because Jesus our Lord had no issues with eating and fellowshipping with anyone be it Pharisees, prostitutes, tax collectors or "sinners". Witnesses set themselves up as "holier than thou" pre-judgers. A far cry from Jesus's example.

I still use Jehovah's name when I privately talk to God, I have a deep personal faith in Jesus. But, Praise the Lord, I am not one of those Jehovah's Witnesses anymore. And I am awaiting the city having REAL foundations, whose architect and builder is God.

Additionally, I want to wish all of you POMO and PIMO friends a very Happy New Year 2024.

2

Do you know him?

by LostintheFog1999 in

hi all.. i have recently started following larchwood on x (formerly twitter).

he (i'm assuming it is a 'he') posts some brilliant stuff and great links.

i don't think he's on this site.. well worth checking it out in my opinion..

LostintheFog1999

Hi all.

I have recently started following Larchwood on X (formerly Twitter). He (I'm assuming it is a 'he') posts some brilliant stuff and great links. I don't think he's on this site.

Well worth checking it out in my opinion.

22

What is worse: 1914 or Beard change

by Gorb in

jw
friends

what is worse for jw's: changing the 1914 doctrine or allowing beards without the right to say what their opinion is?.

g..

LostintheFog1999

Does anyone else think that the GB are following the discussions on apostate websites and deciding whether to agree or not with the gripes of the dissatisfied ex-jws?

Reporting time, aren't we Christian 24/7 - what does the table think? Will we scrap it? Vote 3 to 7, okay we'll scrap it for the publishers but keep it for the pios and above. Vote, all in favour. Passed.

Now, what about beards?

27

Pornography in the Marriage

by LostintheFog1999 in

the magazine that they are studying in the congregation this month has an article at the back about how pornography in a marriage could damage the relationship.. there's one piece of advice that sounds rather scary, the wt suggests that the couple should "consider asking an elder with whom you are both comfortable to sit in and guide your discussions for a time.".

how many of you would want an elder present in your home while you and your partner discussed your personal sexual cravings and the type of porn videos being watched?.

LostintheFog1999

The magazine that they are studying in the congregation this month has an article at the back about how pornography in a marriage could damage the relationship.

There's one piece of advice that sounds rather scary, the WT suggests that the couple should "consider asking an elder with whom you are both comfortable to sit in and guide your discussions for a time."

How many of you would want an elder present in your home while you and your partner discussed your personal sexual cravings and the type of porn videos being watched?

30

Jehovah's Witness' bid to be excluded from abuse inquiry dismissed

by Tahoe in

link to article.

a legal bid by the jehovah's witness church to get out of being part of the royal commission of inquiry into abuse in care has been dismissed by the high court in wellington.. after nearly three years of behind-the-scenes legal wrangling to avoid scrutiny from the inquiry, the church applied for a judicial review in june.. at a hearing, held earlier this month it argued it was beyond the inquiry's scope because it did not operate institutions that cared for children or vulnerable people and the inquiry had uncovered no evidence of abuse in that context.. lawyers representing the inquiry argued that jehovah's witness elders - equivalent to ministers or pastors - exercised a level of control over the congregation that allowed them access to children.. the inquiry informed abuse survivors who gave evidence to the inquiry in relation to the jehovah's witnesses of the news this afternoon.. "we have received advice from the high court that none of the causes of action brought by the jehovah's witnesses has succeeded and the application for judicial review has been dismissed.

the judge's reasons are not yet available, but are expected in the near future," the email to survivors, seen by rnz, said.. the church was the only faith-based institution in the country to legally challenge its involvement in the inquiry, although it had attempted to challenge its status in other countries where similar inquiries have also been carried out.. the inquiry said, in a statement, that the dismissal "means the royal commission can continue to investigate the jehovah's witnesses, and all other faiths, in accordance with the pastoral care approach we have been applying since 2019".. "reasons for the high court's judgment are not yet available but are expected in the near future.

LostintheFog1999

Doesn't it make them look suspiciously guilty though trying to wrangle their way out of an official investigation before it begins?

I'm sure the commission would be thinking okay what are these people hiding? Was it a delaying tactic to give them time to falsify or delete documents from their files?

26

Can Elders Voluntarily Resign?

by NotFormer in

an elder with half a brain (and they must exist 🧐) is going to see the writing on the wall with the way the wt is manoeuvring them into taking the fall over csa cases.

can an elder in good standing step down with no consequences, official or social?.

LostintheFog1999

I said I wanted to step down for health reasons (that part was true at the time). Two elders didn't visit me to talk it over which the instructions say should happen. I later found out that a member of the service committee who didn't like me drafted up a letter, copied and pasted my signature from a piece of correspondence on file, got the other 2 stooges on the service committee to sign it and it was sent to the Bethel. When I found out about this I asked to see "my letter" but was told that I couldn't.

I was peeved about it for a while but then thought "not my circus not my monkeys" and left them to their in-fighting. I do feel that you become invisible once you are no longer serving because you are out of the insider gossip circle. But hey! You got your own life and can get on with it.

It's easier to step aside and walk away, than to say the wrong thing and get kicked out.

1

Look familiar anyone?

by LostintheFog1999 in

a friend of mine is doing a psychology course and showed me this photograph.. my immediate response was my former jw congregation is being explained on this poster.

does anyone else recognise the organisation here?.

LostintheFog1999

A friend of mine is doing a psychology course and showed me this photograph.

My immediate response was my former JW congregation is being explained on this poster

Does anyone else recognise the organisation here?

4

What caused the 1994 Rwandan genocide?

by LostintheFog1999 in

LostintheFog1999

In case you missed it at the time. Do you know what caused the vicious and violent 1994 Rwandan genocide?

The WT 95 1/1 pp 5-10 revealed the answer.

It was the increase in the number of witnesses getting baptized and sharing in the ministry up to 1993!

Yes, Satan the Devil was so incensed that he caused the Hutus and the Tutsis to slaughter each other in a killing frenzy. It was the Devil's fault!

Can you credit that the world of JWs swallowed that explanation. Delusional or what?

"In 1993, Rwanda, with 2,080 Kingdom publishers, had 4,075 attend the “Divine Teaching” District Convention, and 230 were baptized. Of these, 142 immediately applied for auxiliary pioneer service. Home Bible studies being conducted climbed to 7,655 in 1994—evidently too many for Satan’s liking! Though the great majority of the populace profess to be Christian, intertribal massacres were launched..."

3

Growing up as a child in Closed High-Demand Groups

by LostintheFog1999 in

i came across this fascinating article and thought it was worth sharing it with you.

i grew up in that religion so a lot of it struck a chord with me.. https://www.spiritualabuseresources.com/articles/born-or-raised-in-closed-high-demand-groups-developmental-considerations.

LostintheFog1999

I came across this fascinating article and thought it was worth sharing it with you. I grew up in that religion so a lot of it struck a chord with me.

https://www.spiritualabuseresources.com/articles/born-or-raised-in-closed-high-demand-groups-developmental-considerations

34

If You Can Remember When This Was Displayed in the KH - You Ain't No Spring Chicken!

by mikronboy in

jw
friends

.

LostintheFog1999

Omg. I remember it well.

My dad used to have to complete the figures on the board from the record cards/reports. I spent many a childhood Saturday afternoon gluing the back of the red and black squares to pass to him to stick on the big wooden board. What fun! when all my school chums were out kicking footballs and enjoying the day I was on my knees on the lino of our rented hall gluing tiny squares of paper.