i came upon the idea for this topic in backward fashion.. not long ago, someone was attributing greatness to one of us .
because of all that one had done to bring about the end of the .
tower.
I am grateful that anyone I studied with never got very far. I was telling an old high school friend I would no longer be a jw and she said, "hey, you tried to make me go!" And I replied, yeah, but now I know better, and I'm sorry about that. So glad she never listened to me.
Pam
she was a fine sister with a history that went back six generations with jehovahs witnesses.
her family boasted well over 1000 jw family members, many of which had high station within the organization.
this proud heritage was marred by another fact in the familys history this sister had not disclosed.
I know how true this is. My step-father was studying when he molested me and my older sister. He didn't get a change to hurt my younger sister because I was always there in the way. He was phyically, mentally and sexually abusive to us for years. I told my mom, who of course went to the elders. They didn't believe us. My step-father told them that it was our fault our clothes were too tight. Mind you, I was 13, who do you think bought my clothes. Basicly it was our fault, not his. and that is what the elders told us. They told my mom to be a better wife, and they also told her not to leave him. So she didn't they are still married, it has been over 30. A total marriage from hell. A few years ago, after I was grown and had a child of my own, the elders decided that he had never been a jw because at the time of his baptizm he was molesting his step-daughters. So that made his baptizm void, like it never happened. I remember thinking at the time, so what? Big deal he hadn't gone to meetings in about 20 years. That didn't hurt him. Now he is an old man, with bad health, I for one don't care if he is sick or not. But no one at the time, was encourage to go to the police, no one would listen to the victims. It is a great thing that you are doing.
Pam
when i married my jw wife i was told that marriage was a very important thing.. i have, however, later learned that:.
1) my sister-in-laws husbands jw brother got divorced because his jw wife fooled around.. 2 - 3) 2 couples were divorced after we got married (212 years ago).
one of them had only been married for a couple of years.
My sister is in a very unhappy marriage. Why? Because when she was 19, she thought she had to get married so that she could leave my mother's house. I asked her why she just didn't get her own place. She said, I can't live by myself, it's not proper. What is this the 1800's? So she married the first guy that would have her. He started sending her gifts, and immediately they were engaged. Witness woman don't just get to date, if you go out to dinner with someone, you have to decide to marry them. In my sister's case, he was so impatient to get married, they kept moving the wedding date up. Finally they went before the judge and had a civil ceremony. He couldn't wait a few months for sex. They do not have a good marriage, and that's what comes from marrying a total stranger.
I know another woman who was conned into marrying a man who didn't even speak English, only Spanish. She spoke no Spanish. I don't know how she is now, but for the first few years she was very unhappy. She was a single mom, and the sisters in the congregation set her up, because she needed to be married.
Another woman was forced to marry a man after he was reinstated, because they had slept together once. She was so happy, he looked so miserable at their Kingdom Hall wedding. Turns out, he was a wife beater, and she finally left him for her own safety. His first wife did find another man, because of the abuse. He was forgiven for sleeping around and beating his wives. The first wife is treated badly by the congregation because she remarried, no one has forgiven her. The second wife moved across the country from him.
I think all the forced marriages in the org. is why people cheat on each other. If you looked at someone of the opposite sex you were expected to marry them.
Pam
on your way out, did you have the 'talk' with an elder?
(or elders?
) the kind of, 'excuse me, brother only-elder-who-i-really-trust, i've been having serious doubts about such-and-such and i would really appreciate it if you could help me see if i'm missing something, i sincerely want to know...'.
no talk just quit going, and no one seemed to notice. The elders did come to my house when they thought I was married and only wanted to know if I had slept with him before I married him. I lied and said no. But really we lived together for 5 months before we got married. The elders never came back, and no one noticed I never went back. Except maybe my mom who thought when I got divorced I would return to the meetings. Fat chance.
Pam
what are some of the results of the short term thinking the wtbts has espoused over the last hundred years.
i know with myself i put off buying or even saving for a house, i put of medical treatment, didnt save for retirement.
i know of kingdom halls that were dangerously built/modified with short-term goals in mind.
Short sightedness is one thing that makes me so angry. My mother lives in a very abusive situation, but she stays because the new order is coming. She says it doesn't matter if I am unhappy now, Jehovah will fix it pretty soon. She has been married to an awful man for over 30 years. But still she waits. It will all be better in the future.
it makes me sick
Pam
the elusive brother some and the watchtower society.. in brooklyn , they have for years been bothered by a shady and very mystical brother.
they usually call him some.
we receive constant reassurances from the watchtower that what is printed in the literature is the truth.
Hi Norm,
What a great post. the "New" light on the 1914 generation was the first thing that made me realize I would never be a jw again. At the time, my mom was pushing real hard about how I was killing her grandbabies, because I refused to go to meetings. But after I found that on the internet, I have never looked back. What does she say when I tell her about the change? (she never realized there was one.) She says "It's no big deal, it didn't change that much.
Always been too independant for my own good.
Pam
bible group trespasses not forgiven.
late-shift worker sues, wins $632 from jehovah's witnesses who woke her.
cleona (ap) -- a lebanon county woman who said she repeatedly told jehovah's witnesses to stay off her property won a $632 judgment against one of them who showed up at her door and woke her up anyway.. 05/04/01.
Sometimes there really is justice in the world.
Pam
ps. had an ex-BIL that used to throw things at jws when they came over. I always thought that was funny.
my mother is coming to visit me next week.
i haven't seen her for over 4 years.
she thinks that somehow i am a completely different person since leaving the organization.
I have always wanted to learn to play an instrument. I haven't yet, but someday I will. I enjoy watching any tive show I want. I like loud music, and dirty jokes. And most of all I like making my own decisions. Not having to ask anyone's permission for what I do.
Pam
my boyfriend and i live together and have been for about 3 years.. he wants me to convert, after research i will not.
(i was raised bapstist) he hasnt went to the hall in two weeks, last nite he went because a "elder" called him, why did they have him in a meeting till.
11 at nite, he came home and told me he confessed and he is in trouble.
Hi Camey,
you are really in a hard place. But it looks like you know what you have to do. You have waited on
boy for 6 years. The question you really need to ask is how much longer are you going to wait.
It is a very sad thing, but the watchtower has broken up more relationships than anyone can count.
Do what you have to do to be happy and healthy. I wish you the best.
Pam
hi everyone.... what is it about this place?
what is it that keeps drawing me back when i have.
all these plans to try to just leave the jw issues alone, behind me and think.
I can understand what you are saying. I lurk on a few boards, but rarely say anything. But for some
reason I keep coming back. I decided to come here and check it out. I am off work, hurt my back,
and am getting tired of being home. But I like what I see, I may just stick around
Pam
