Posts by pale.emperor

12

Brother & Sisters, Aunts and Uncles.....husband and wife

by menrov in

was just thinking about the practice in wt (and i believe some other religions as well) to call your fellow female (baptized) jw a sister, a brother if it is a man.

children call older people aunt or uncle.

so, at home, i can call my wife by her first name etc.

pale.emperor

This is very strange to us here in the UK because we've never done that.

We dont even say "Brother so-and-so" we just call everyone by their first name.

As a kid i called people "uncle" or "aunty" but that was just a respect thing.

34

so, so much has happened in my life over the years and continues to happen, but i won't go into the details as it would take a long time.. i don't really know why, but i returned to "the truth" 15 years ago.

in 2012 when the tv broadcasting station launched, i started to develop doubts.

the australian royal commission and other scandals made me angrier, and i now don't believe most of the core teachings.. the only reason i show up at 5 or 6 meetings each month is to keep in contact with my parents and a few other family members.. but it's killing me, literally.

pale.emperor

Guess what Islambard Crater, ALL of our JW family would choose the org over us. Because their minds are not their own. It's like escaping prison but your family want to stay locked inside because they're "sure" it's safer in prison. Let them go. They may shun you, they may not. Either way you'll be able to deal with the situation and move on from there.

Youre bound to feel depressed when you're living a life that's not in harmony with your values and beliefs. As soon as you stop ALL meeting attendance and stop reading their literature you'll slowly get better. Hell, take a look at my first ever posts. I went through depression when I woke up. I found myself bursting into tears in public, at home and wanting to just die.

But think of it this way, one day we will all die. We'll get older and sick and pass away. So in the meantime why not just live our lives and try to spread joy and kindness?

Please be aware that everyone on here cares about you. We want you to get help. Please speak to a professional and get the support you need.

20

Getting your WT files deleted (UK)

by Splash in

the uk are tightening up their data protection laws to make it easier for individuals to get hold of the information organisations hold on them and to get it deleted.. i think paul grundy (jwfacts) went through this with wt once and found it very time consuming and difficult.. will wt now abide by the law and hand over or permanently delete the records it keeps when requested?it would mean every uk exjw could have their report card info, personal file with age, sex, baptism date, judicial information, appointment/deletion/disfellowshipping dates, letters of disassociation, letters of recommendation when you move, phone number and address permanently removed.

anyone acting for the wt (elders) who retain this information, eg your phone number in their phone or the secretary keeping your historical monthly report details, will be in violation.

failure to comply will incur a fine.. expect a letter to all boe's any time soon explaining why this does not apply to them.. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-40826062.

pale.emperor

I did this. You need to make an "access to information" request to Watchtower in London. Under the Data Protection Act they're required to supply you with any information they hold about you. However, the Act states that they can charge up to £10 to supply you with this information. So of course Watchtower charges you the full amount of £10. I didn't go further because i have never donated to Watchtower in my life and im certainly not going to start now.

6

A Short Life Story - Part 1

by pale.emperor in

in the spirit of some great life stories i've read on here i'd like to share mine.

sitting comfortably?

good, then we shall begin.. i was born into a jw family in 1984. dad, mum, two sisters (twins) and two brothers.

pale.emperor

In the spirit of some great life stories i've read on here i'd like to share mine. Sitting comfortably? Good, then we shall begin.

I was born into a JW family in 1984. Dad, Mum, two sisters (twins) and two brothers. I was the middle child. Wham! Were top of the charts. Margaret Thatcher was Prime Minister and Berlin was still divided. Now, i fit perfectly the definition of middle child syndrome. Namely, that my older brother had a lot of attention due to being the oldest and the fact that he'd get himself into stupid situations for which my dad would have to get him out of. My sisters because they were girls. My younger brother because he was.... well, just a bit odd (in his teens he'd be diagnosed with Aspergers Syndrome and OCD). As if that's not a bad mix of mental faculties, he was also totally adored by our mother. I remember she'd buy him presents almost every week. So he grew up with a sense of entitlement and was quite selfish.

And then there's me. I didn't like sports, i was terribly shy and i just wanted to be left alone with my books. I was 7 years old and 2 years ahead of my class in reading and when i got sick of Dr Seuss or Ladybird books i moved on to something more interesting from the family bookshelf. My Book Of Bible Stories. It was a hardback yellow covered book, i opened it at a random page and saw a great picture of a woman nailing a tent pin into someones head. Lovely. So i started reading from the first story. This book would have a great effect on me. In fact, it was the basis of my entire indoctrination. It taught me the foundations of bible in story form, in order and even now when i think of bible characters i think of that book and what they looked like. After i completed the book i decided to read it again but to look up the bible chapers and verse that were quoted at the bottom. I got a more gory story reading it that way. And just saw Jehovah as quite harsh but, hey, he's god, who am i to question god? Im sure those people deserved it.

As the years progressed i quickly learned that the way to get attention was to be good at something. So i started learning guitar at age 15 and German at 16. I was still very shy but i liked being noticed. So i decided to get good at giving talks. The fact that everyone seemed to be nervous doing talks made me want to be better - to "show them how it's done". I found that if i knew the material or the subject i didn't get nervous at all. So i got better and better and i actually enjoyed them. Eventually i'd be the one they call on last minute if a speaker didn't turn up for their assignment.

Then by age 18 i decided that being nervous wasn't doing my any favors. And i discovered a great incentive to flip that around... girls.

I saw an interview on TV were Freddy Mercury said that he's actually terribly shy, but on stage he's the opposite. And that he forces himself to be extroverted. I could relate to this so much. So i was determined to banish shyness. And i did. I decided to just "do it". Talking to girls, approaching groups of people, being apologetically myself (without being arrogant) and keeping it laid back and funny. And it worked. I soon made friends, some guys didn't like me (but that was ok, i didn't fancy them anyway), and my bible knowledge was quite high. So if there is a god, i'd like to thank him at least for creating tits and asses which inspired me to change my personality.

I was quite the nerd, i used to read and research on the WT Library CD FOR FUN. Can you believe that? At one point i was reading the green insight books as bedtime reading. I was so interested in bible history and why people believe what they believe. Then at age 19 i had a meltdown.

I decided the religion is bullshit. That God cant be in this religion because it's too exclusive. 7 million JWs? (at that time). Why are they updating books? Wasn't it right the first time? Who wrote it then? And why? If they're wrong about this could they be wrong about other stuff? I remember the day quite clearly. I was bitter and had a rant. My mum and my sisters and their husbands piled into my room and they had an answer for everything. My mums answer for everything was (and still is) "talk to the elders". I didnt. Instead i decided to just shut up and go the meetings.

But doubts can only stay buried for so long.

TO BE CONTINUED

40

Post Convention Euphoria

by Phoebe in

jw
friends

there is a plethora of convention photos on my instagram this morning.

(a lot of my jw friends have forgotten i'm on their followers list) .

smiling faces standing next to convention posters with comments like 'nope, i'm not giving up.

pale.emperor

Funny, my ex-wife sent me pictures of our little girl in the convention. EVERY picture was taken during the sessions and on each one she was in the VIP room, in the accounts office or outside... shouldn't her mum be listening to the spiritual food and not giving up???

Not that i care, im glad.

39

DId you ever fall asleep at the meetings, Assemblys??

by karter in

jw
friends

if i'm tierd i fall asleep anywere so the meetings ect were no diffrent my wife would always try to wake me but im a deep sleeper.

karter .

pale.emperor

At the convention my head would always nod. Unfortunately, there was no head rest so no way of falling asleep there. Plus your mum or whoever was next to you would wake you up.

It's simply not possible to listen to talk after talk after talk for 8 hours and stay sharp. The brain doesn't learn that way. Listening and watching WILL make you tired after 1.5 hours even if you're 100% interested. Unfortunately the GB haven't read "worldly" psychology that tells them that people learn more and retain more in 20 minute bursts with a short break between each one.

15

Where else can I go???

by UNCONDITIONAL LOVE in

jw
friends

those are the words of my 2nd generation born in jw mother.

my grandfather died refusing blood.

i've since come to the realization that many jws have no other opportunities or options when it comes to leaving the cult.

pale.emperor

This is why im so grateful i left at 31yo (3rd generation born in). If i were 60+ and realized it was all a lie i'd be very depressed and bitter inside. No way to leave because my kid would be 30+ by then and i'd hate myself for raising her in it.

Where else could you go? A library would be a good start. JWFacts, this site, but most importantly involving oneself in classes, groups and hobbies to force yourself to meet people.

11

similarities of WT and North Koria

by yoko N in

.

pale.emperor

Darkspilver
I've thought this for a long time.
interesting picture cropping you've done their...

I didnt crop anything. The picture i used is here: https://photos.smugmug.com/Asia/North-Korea/Pyongyang/i-nx7fxhm/0/M/2012-06-06-at-07-17-19-M.jpg

11