Welcome Sam. Your story sounds very familiar. By your avatar im guessing you're in Lancashire? Im in Liverpool myself.
(Also, scouting for girls in the convention was a sport when i was 18-24.)
so, i joined just yesterday after coming across this forum looking at beth sarim, and i though that i would share my story with you.
it will no doubt be very similar to a lot of others, but it's a way of getting to know me at least.. i was brought up as witness from the age of 4 years old, my dad picked up the 'truth' from one of his friends in the pub and it seemed to go from there, he would quickly get baptised and progress to becoming a ministerial servant and then an elder.
from a young age i wanted to be like my dad and become a pioneer, a ministerial servant and then an elder... perhaps even becoming a co. the world, spiritually speaking, was my oyster.
Welcome Sam. Your story sounds very familiar. By your avatar im guessing you're in Lancashire? Im in Liverpool myself.
(Also, scouting for girls in the convention was a sport when i was 18-24.)
i thought it would be fun to get to know each other's background a little better.. what brought you into the "truth"?
were you born in?.
what caused you to have doubts?.
Born in. Im from a large family and my uncles, aunts, cousins were witnesses too. Those who wern't were dead to us so to this day i dont know who/where they are.
Baptized at 19 because you couldn't get a girl if you wern't baptized. Believed it but still thought there must be more to it that will become apparent later.
Doubts came when i was 20, they were quashed by my mum and family digging out Watchtower articles from yester-year and asking that old question "where would you go without the truth?"
Major doubts came in my late 20s when i saw first hand the social cliques, elders not giving a damn, the ever changing rules and i couldn't marry up 1914, blood and non-birthdays with any bible verses. Plus i genuinely believed we should be loving to everyone, no matter of their religion or sexual orientation.
Started my fade at age 30, my "apostate views" were discovered and i was disfellowshipped. Best thing that ever happened to me.
the statement in the article "who is leading gods people today?
" in the feb 17th study edition of the wt is very interesting.. it states: ""the g.b.
is neither inspired nor infallible" ..we can err .in doctrinal matters....".
Before my disfellowshipping was announced and my family were still speaking to me i told them all "things will change, they have to if this religion is to continue". They all said "no, no, the bible doesn't change" they didn't see the distinction.
Im guessing the GB are pondering how they can scrap the 1914 teaching while keeping their power. They may play the humble card. "The GB humbly admits that they were wrong in their interpretation" but quickly come out with a new prophecy which will create a happy buzz in the congregations.
It's by belief that when this GB are all dead, the new younger GB will scrap A LOT of the controversial rules and blame the deaths and broken families on the old GB.
so if the gb changed its "bible based beliefs" on some teaching, would witnesses all of a sudden change their individual beliefs too?.
witnesses like to claim that "their bible trained hearts and minds" make them believe as they do, but we know that the reality is that all witnesses hold their "deep seated beliefs" according to what they have been told to believe.. so what would cause the average witness to question those that dictate their "personal convictions"??.
thoughts?.
When i was in i blindely followed whatever was spewed up from Brooklyn. Who was i to think i knew better than Gods chosen channel?
my wife just asked me this.
my answer, in no uncertain terms, is no.
we both grew up in the dub religion.
My sister said a similar thing before she cut me off entirely. "I want my kids to marry people who have high morals and no STDs" of course there's only the JW's that are moral and STD free isnt there?
several years ago, i was introduced to a "wonderful" company called fortune hi tech marketing by a brother and his wife.
they had been introduced by a former sheriff who claims he had researched the company and found no leins or judgments, and that former sheriff had been brought in by a pastor.
you can read what happened with fhtm on wikipedia if you so desire.. this whole new idea of multilevel marketing had my brain reeling, though, and soon enough, i actually signed up with none other than prepaid legal.
I almost got took in by one a few years ago. The fact that my recruiter would ring me at all hours of the day trying to get me to sign up made me pull the phone out of the socket and research properly. Glad i did.
The ones i know of here in the UK are Kleeneze, Herbalife
i went to my midweek meeting this week.
very interesting....couple of things i noticed in the god's rule book, this week finishing up "the kingdom is born in heaven".
there was a footnote that read:for many years the watch tower was intended mainly for members of the little flock for their personal edification.
Cummon guys, when we were "in" what did we do for most of the convention? Pale Emperor was sketching, writing stories, reading more interesting bible bits with lots of killing and waiting for the lunch break so he could meet girls.
according to german april issue of our kingdom ministry, the watchtower logo must be removed from all kingdom halls:.
it sais that the watchtower logo - a stylised watchtower or a watchtower with a bible - is used by the watchtower society.
thus, it should not be used by congregations or private persons, neither on kingdom halls, stationary or anything else.
Kirkby Kingdom Hall in Liverpool, UK has the Watchtower Logo build into the brickwork. Different coloured bricks make the logo.
#FAIL #FACEPALM #RUNNINGAHEADOFTHECARIOT
due to the holidays fast approaching, i was curious about your thoughts and plans for the holidays.
i have been celebrating them now for the past couple of years and ill be honest it still feels weird to celebrate, mainly christmas and halloween.
thanksgiving seems normal because growing up as a jw we always celebrated it anyway (well the day after, but that's another thread) anyway, has it become the norm for you to celebrate now or are you used to not celebrating?.
This will be my first xmas. I do feel a little wierd about celebrating it. But if im gonna do Dec 25th im gonna do it properly. Im celebrating Yule instead. No baby Jesus, no "3 wise men", just some Germanic Paganism with my friends and little girl.
I think Christmas is much to commercialized and there is too much emphasis on that aspect of it. I know of "worldly" people who went deeply into debt every year for Christmas and were paying it off for the next 12 months, just to do it all over again.
I know what you mean, i actually never missed it but i loved xmas time because people seemed excited and there were great bargains the week after xmas. I wont be going silly and buying people crap just for the hell of it.
november 1, 2016 to all bodies of elders re: using and maintaining kingdom halls.
table of contents.
ownership .........................................................................................pars.
Few things here (and it was a very boring letter by the way):
Ownership: Each Kingdom Hall is dedicated to the worship of Jehovah. Whether the property title, or deed, is held in the name of a local corporation or trustee arrangement or it is held in the name of a legal entity managed by the branch office, no congregation should conclude that it “owns” the Kingdom Hall. However, it is the responsibility of the congregations using the property to care for it and see that it is used in harmony with Kingdom interests.
1. Im no lawyer but are they seriously saying that lets say The Artist Formally Known As "Prince", for example, personally paid for a KH to be built on his own land, that the WT would still own it? Am i reading that right?
2. Of course no sister is mentioned as being qualified to handle the cleaning schedule. But she's more than qualified to get scrubbing like everyone else. How many women out there run their own cleaning businesses? I know of at least three from my old JW days.
3. Cleaning co-ordinator? Really? They just love their titles dont they?