Posts by venetian

31

How much money did you give the Watchtower?

by Emery in

jw
friends

when you were a believer did you give large donations to the society?

if so how much did you give?

i know an elder who's a chiropractor and he generously gives $400-800 a month to the society.

A new DVD for 2013: The Return of the Prodigal Son

by Oubliette in

in another thread, what's new for 2013 - lo nuevo de 2013, jwn member, oppostate, posted news of dc releases at this year's district conventions.

among the releases was this: .

a new dvd for 2013: the return of the prodigal son.

Mormons getting hollowed out: The tipping point has occurred.

by Qcmbr in

ever since mitt romney turned the spotlight on the lds church a growing tsunami of disaffection has been accelerated and brought to a head.. the lds core faithful members are leaving in increasing numbers such that growth has not simply stagnated in the west but it has actively reversed.

to their credit the church is responding aggressively but not only is it too late, it is an impossible task.

you can only paint sh*t so many ways.

venetian

Lol! Now I know why there was a huge advert on the side of a London bus last week. If I remember it had a picture of a normal woman with the caption "I'm a Mormon" on the side. With this message it looks like the LDS church is trying to ditch the cult image it has and normalise itself. Fat chance.

70

WT August 15, 2013 QFR - Sitting next to a disfellowshipped child at meetings

by Designer Stubble in

page 8 of the latest wt (insider version) has a whole page dedicated to the question whether it is appropriate to sit next to a disfellowshipped child at meetings.. not sure how to paste this in, but check jw.org.

perhaps someone can do this for me.. horrible, no words really on how pharisee like their cult grip and control has become!.

first of all, without any shame they are talking about disfellowshipped minors.

venetian

The whole article is ridiculous. Can't believe they even made this a subject for print! Oh hang on, yes I can

226

The Advocates for Awareness of Watchtower Abuses (AAWA) [WARNING]

by Simon in

uncensored discussions and information for anyone interested in the advocates for awareness of watchtower abuses or 'aawa' http://aawa.co/ (previously known as "the association of anti-watchtower activists http://jwactivists.org/) and how it's handled and responded to privacy issues and put people at risk:.

aawa is here!!

(the association of anti-watchtower activists)an invitation to a new effort- aawawhy when i logged onto aawa did it go to facebook ?in regards to aawaaawa - every generation needs a new revolution - thomas jeffersonnotice how the introduction of the aawa has brought out the loonies lately?will aawa become another cult?

venetian

Simon, I'm not going to get into another war on words with you, suffice it to say that I certainly don't think you helped calm things, in fact I think your initial approach was heavily confrontational followed by a continued self-justification of that approach. Anyway, thats just my opinion, and I know how much that's worth on here.

aawa has explained why they didn't act quickly enough when the facebook issue was first realised, and they have unreservedly apologised for that error and corrected it.

226

The Advocates for Awareness of Watchtower Abuses (AAWA) [WARNING]

by Simon in

uncensored discussions and information for anyone interested in the advocates for awareness of watchtower abuses or 'aawa' http://aawa.co/ (previously known as "the association of anti-watchtower activists http://jwactivists.org/) and how it's handled and responded to privacy issues and put people at risk:.

aawa is here!!

(the association of anti-watchtower activists)an invitation to a new effort- aawawhy when i logged onto aawa did it go to facebook ?in regards to aawaaawa - every generation needs a new revolution - thomas jeffersonnotice how the introduction of the aawa has brought out the loonies lately?will aawa become another cult?

venetian

Time will tell with AAWA and there's no point continuing to go on about rookie errors on facebook. Move on.

Yet if JWN was a more forgiving and understanding board, aawa could benefit from the pooled knowledge and wisdom still here. If aawa had responded more quickly to the initial facebook problem, many on here would have been less vitriolic in their condemnation. So there are faults on both sides.

Some of your excellent and experienced regular posters are already actively supporting aawa. Why do you think that is? This board has been quick to shout their praises when it suits it to do so, so why are you so quick to doubt their decision now? Could it be that they know more about aawa and see its potential than those on this board?

But it shouldn't be an either/or choice. Both sites could benefit.

Simon, you need to stop taking sides. Stay neutral. The title of this thread shows you continued bias. This isn't the playground and its not a "winner takes all" game.

106

WT SHUNNING POLICY: What has it done, or could it do to you?

by flipper in

jw
friends

hi y'all, this is mrs. flipper.

please share your experiences with this, or possible consequences of being outed.. this recent controversy and resulting arguments all stem from people being outed - possibly losing friends and family because most jw's will blindly follow the watchtower's rules to shun them.. among people i know and experiences read here, the grief and loss caused by this is terrible, and maybe now is a good time to put up some experiences here, and put the focus on the worst villians of all - wt policymakers..

venetian

This is a letter I wrote to an elder in 2009 regarding the effects of the shunning on me and my 8 year old son. I've yet to receive any reply. The letter wasnt even acknowledged.

Dear Jerry

I hope you don’t mind me writing to you but I was wondering whether you would be interested to know how the shunning has affected Tim and I at the gates of W***** Primary School over the last 18 months. I apologise if you are not in the least interested, please don’t read any further.

When I disassociated I genuinely thought some would shun me as per the Society’s directive, but I was emotionally unprepared for my close friends who knew me so well, to have almost relished an opportunity to shun, especially those sisters that like to frequent the M&S coffee shop regularly. The lack of love displayed was truly hard to bear.

Initially I was shocked that the sisters at the school gate, namely Lisa, Christine Morgan and Sian, were so cold and uncaring. They seemed to take the shunning to their hearts and applied it to the letter, ignoring Tim as well as I. regardless if I continued saying good morning to them or not.

This surprised me as I genuinely thought they were true friends. Although they would be sad at my leaving, I thought they would understand and still say hello. How very naive of me! The only exception has been a request by Sian for a letter to be passed on to her. I gave her the letter gladly and she has returned to ignoring me as usual. I guess its ok to waive the rules and talk to me when they want something yes?

The hurt and pain in my heart used to ache constantly to the point where Tim and I both dreaded walking up the school driveway morning and afternoon, knowing that we were being treated like pariahs by people be both had known and loved.

My own personal hurt came to a head the day that Lois was waiting for a sister at the front of the school one morning last summer. At that particular time my mum was in the hospital in post surgery having just had the cancer tumour removed from her bowel. She had had a really lousy weekend and had been in terrible pain. I had been at the hospital every possible moment during that time and was physically and emotionally drained seeing her in such pain. On the school driveway that morning I was hopeful that my sisters would talk to me, perhaps ask how mum was doing or even just throw me a smile of understanding. I really needed a friend that day!

Instead I was ignored by Sian and Lisa who were busy chatting together, and as I approached Lois at the base of the driveway, she turned her back on me.

To be honest Jerry, I don’t think I have ever felt as devastated as I did at that moment. To see my dear sister, whom I had been a support to throughout Doug’s bowel cancer illness (Lois's father in law) and a help when Seth (Lois's husband) had his motorbike accident, turn her back on me when I needed her most was the cruellest of hurts. I got back to my car and was almost hysterical with hurt, so much so that I was hyperventilating and could hardly breathe. Even today, 8 months on, when I remember that day, the pain in my heart stabs me through and tears are never far away.

Seth tried to excuse Lois by telling me it was up to her individual conscience to behave that way. To be frank, her behaviour that day showed, not a conscience but a lack of one. It makes me very sad to know that such a caring friend as Lois will allow the “rules” of the Society to come before a show of genuine love and compassion to one who was her friend.

However the affect all this has had on Tim has been more serious. His behaviour in the classroom began to deteriorate and he began to manifest some odd body movements. His anxiety increased markedly with his breathing being fast and shallow and his eating and weight decreasing rapidly.

His sleeping patterns became poor and his temper extremely volatile with regular head banging on classroom desks and walls. This continued for all his time in year 3.

His teachers and I were extremely worried about this change of behaviour and he was sent for an assessment at Oak House in N****** to be seen by a team of child psychologists. Their initial assessment concluded that Tim was autistic and they recommended a course of behavioural therapy that would help him cope.

All this time I suspected that a lot of Tim’s problems were due to the shunning at school but this suggestion wasn’t taken seriously by the healthcare team or teachers. They didn’t seem to grasp the seriousness of the emotional bullying Tim and I were enduring.

His teachers began to help him in class, but it wasn’t until I regularly began to take him to school through the rear entrance, avoiding the driveway and the sisters wherever possible, that we began to see real improvement. As he entered year 4, virtually all his anxiety symptoms have eased and he is my happy, normal little boy again.

A follow-up consultation with the child psychology team have since concluded that he is not autistic after all, but his symptoms were indeed the result of stress caused by the shunning at the school.

Whilst I am pleased to see Tim well and to have the autistic diagnosis changed, this does not mean that I am happy about what has transpired here. I am very angry, as any parent would be. It’s truly disgusting to shun an adult, but to shun a child is despicable. I am appalled by the behaviour of the sisters at school and I thank Jehovah every day that I am no longer part of such a group of people that can behave so cruelly in His name. Yet I also know just how bad a witness has been given by this action. Many scores of people at the school, at my place of work and at my husband's work colleagues have observed how Tim and I have been treated and are disgusted by the Witnesses. I eagerly look forward to the day when Tim no longer attends W****** Primary and I would have readily changed schools sooner if he hadn’t started to improve.

To this course I am writing a letter to the head teachers and child health professionals in the district outlining the adverse mental health reactions that have befallen us as a family and the many thousands in the wider ex witness community. I feel very strongly that such adverse reactions are often hidden from the mental healthcare teams and teachers due to the benevolent front the witnesses like to portray. I feel something needs to be said to redress the balance so that these professionals are able to understand the stresses of being a witness (or ex-witness) and therefore assist in the care they can offer. No doubt many will interpret this as “beating the brothers”, but this is not my motive. On the contrary, if the professionals can draw on my experience to assist other brothers in need of their services then that can only be a good thing.

Hoping that you and all the family are keeping well.

50

WITH LADY LEE IN, A NEWLY REBRANDED AWAA IS GETTING BETTER EACH DAY

by Scott77 in

looks like the awaa people are here to stay.

i sense they have withered the rentless criticism and now have been refined for the long haul.

they have been washed in the previous blood of jesus christ and declared fit to the fine fight.

venetian

Lol Scott!! Not sure about the biblical reference there meboy, but regarding Lady Lee, JWN will miss her. AAWA however has a good one.

31

How to Take Down the AAWA! (For those that have been hurt by that org)

by HintOfLime in

(if you're tired of aawa threads, please be aware, this is an aawa thread.).

sadly - there are people who have been negatively affected by the aawa, and like other organizations, the aawa made protecting it's name and reputation a priority over helping and protecting the people it should have been trying to help.

like other organizations, they won't discuss the issues publicly with the community, insisting instead on discussions behind closed doors and "getting the names" of people expressing concerns.. .

venetian

yeah...whatever.

31

How to Take Down the AAWA! (For those that have been hurt by that org)

by HintOfLime in

(if you're tired of aawa threads, please be aware, this is an aawa thread.).

sadly - there are people who have been negatively affected by the aawa, and like other organizations, the aawa made protecting it's name and reputation a priority over helping and protecting the people it should have been trying to help.

like other organizations, they won't discuss the issues publicly with the community, insisting instead on discussions behind closed doors and "getting the names" of people expressing concerns.. .

venetian

DilemmaGF