JakeM2012

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Posts by JakeM2012

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  18

  Today I received my first ever birthday gift!

  by NVR2L8 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i received a parcel at work from my daughter and her boyfriend.

  it contained a birthday card in the shape of a motorcycle leather jacket and a book on rides you can take using the back roads in my part of the world!

  my eyes filled with tears as i was reading the card.

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  JakeM2012

  NVR, happy birthday, please be careful riding those scenic routes in your part of the world. I totalled my bike this year and at 50, it's hard to heal up physically. Uhg
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  20

  Do You Think Anyone Looks Down On People Who Commit "Fornication"?

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i think only in strict religious circles, is it considered taboo.. does someone's "fornicating" bother you?.

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  JakeM2012

  Let's take this discussion a step further, does anyone look down on someone committing adultery? What are the current standards that you see?
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  13

  making connections

  by losingit in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  one of the thing i appreciate most about this site is reading other people's experiences while in and out of the cult.

  when i read other people's stories, it helps to validate my own experiences.

  i rarely talked to anyone else besides my husband concerning my doubts, and so for the entire time that i was in i thought i was the only one having these negative experiences with the brothers in the kingdom hall.

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  JakeM2012

  Jen 1, welcome to the forum. I understand what you are going through as I have suffered similar health issues and symptoms, and difficult situations in the congregation. You can find support here, it does take time to heal though. I particularly can identify with your comments about elders wives. I have not figured out why JW congregations are so prone to one or two elders wives believing it is their mission in life to run the congregation.

  I am seriously working on trying to cut the final emotional strings so that I can put the witness life behind me and move on, hopefully, with the previous life slowly forgotten in the rear view mirror.

  Welcome again, if you wish to post an introductory post and tell us about yourself we would certainly be interested.
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  22

  WT Study March 15 on jw.org

  by Gayle in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  only scanned,,couple articles on necessary on having a old-age long-term plan now.

  reality is hitting them more than ever.. also, australia showed "publisher" amount.

  i assume it was the "peak" stat.

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  JakeM2012

  Just scanned through the articles, yes they set it up well. First article, Be content sacrificing even further, (second article) maintain a positive attitude about being screwed, then they lower the boom on responsibility of the elder Jw parents resting not only on the family,

  but if members of the elderly are in Bethel or in full time service then they provide a wonderful guilt trip for the congregation to accept the responsibility of taking care of the elderly so the grown children can remain in Bethel service or pioneer.

  "Evidently", WTBTDS wants their cake and eat it too. Basically, the message is, as I take it, whoever is not in full time service take care of these old people that are getting in our (GB's) way.
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  32

  New here

  by Brainfloss in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  well,i have been lurking here for a couple of years.

  i was babtized at 16 for all of the wrong reasons and when i moved out after highschool i really never looked back, although i suppose i always thought it was the truth.

  at 36 i met the love of my life.

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  JakeM2012

  Welcome to the forum. I can sympathize with you about the family shunning.
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  7

  Disfunctional families of JW's

  by JakeM2012 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  this past summer has been rewarding and distressful, as some would say, it has been bitter sweet.

  my wife finished her degree and is now working at a hospital, (as a janitor cleaning windows), lol.

  oh, we also live in a van down by the river!.

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  JakeM2012

  Aroq, says, "Why do you owe it to anyone to DF or DA? What good will that do for you? not much I presume. The only thing it will do is give other's a reason to behave a certain way. Why should you make that decision for them on how they treat you? Isn't that for them to decide based on their own morals and beliefs?"

  Aroq, you bring up great points, and thanks for the encouragement, really, I shouldn't feel compelled to play by their rules. (edited)
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  7

  Disfunctional families of JW's

  by JakeM2012 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  this past summer has been rewarding and distressful, as some would say, it has been bitter sweet.

  my wife finished her degree and is now working at a hospital, (as a janitor cleaning windows), lol.

  oh, we also live in a van down by the river!.

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  JakeM2012

  This past summer has been rewarding and distressful, as some would say, it has been bitter sweet. My wife finished her degree and is now working at a hospital, (as a janitor cleaning windows), LoL. Oh, we also live in a van down by the river!

  Earlier this year I finished my last course and will soon have a bachelors degree in Business Administration. My original goal 30+ years ago was in engineering. Wifee, has said that once she is earning the "big" bucks, she would work while I get the degree I wanted. All I can say, is "What a wife"! For her to even mention returning the favor It must be love.

  I left my home town nearly a decade ago, like the cowboy slowing riding into the sunset, and hopefully I have been forgotten. I am not disassociated nor disfellowshipped. I moved away and did a radical fade.

  Recently my anxiety is family slowly finding out that me nor my family are doing anything about the "truth". Recently, I told you all about a conversation I had with a relative going on a motorcycle trip. He took everything alright, and has been in close association pretty much (for someone living in another town.) I think I may have an unconditional friend.?? To recall, I mentioned the many dates that ended up with no armeggedon, including in my lifetime 1975, the generation of 1914, and WTBTS's involvement with the United Nations being an NGO for over 10 years.

  Recently, My wife's mom had written an email about her attending meetings and not leaving Jehovah. Just that little admonition wrecked havoc on my wife's emotional stability for a bit, and I thought for a while that wifee would begin going to the meetings again just to appease her mom.

  Recently, I had a friend call my wife thinking that was my number, (rigggghhhhttttt), and told my wife how my mother was worried about me because she didn't know if I was going to the meetings, Oh, he also mentioned that mom said that I "didn't want anything to do with my mother". My wife corrected him saying that I have tried to call mom several times, but she won't return the call after repeatedly leaving messages on her home phone and cell phone.

  Interesting part of the JW dysfunctional family, is that after Dad died, my older brother has taken emotional and informational control over my mom and she has believed his lies, especially about me and my family. After a decade of being in the bethel environment it's interesting what he took away from that group.....for twently points: How to lie! Yes. His posturing is all for the money the family had, he is unsuccessful in business, basically an ex-bethelite looser, sponging off of mom, living in her house, and probably using most of her social security payments, do I need to say more?

  So in all the lies that were fed to my mom, older brother did a wonderful job of a character assasination of Jake. I never had a problem with my mother before my dad's death, but shortly after Dad's funeral, the relationship with mom went south. It took me four years and my wife standing up for me to the family to figure out that it had been a carefully planned four year character assasination.

  Mom blamed every accumulated bad thing in life on me, I think from 1958, and after SHE blew up on me, enticed the elders to empose a "congregational restraining order". Everyone that knows me knows that I'm pretty even keel easy going guy. As serving as an elder, I never knew the elders had this authority to impose a family restraining order, I must have missed that chapter in the shepperding book. When the elders talked to me about it I was polite and then went and talked to my lawyer, who wrote a butt slapping letter to each elder individually. However, unfortuneatly, and to my regret, I didn't send the letters.

  Instead, I wrote a card telling Mom that I was sorry that our friendship had suffered and that I appologized for any misunderstandings but that we needed to move on, and she responded to me with a note saying that I needed to contact the body of elders to see if THEY felt it was a "good idea" to reconcile. This is from a women that I did all the maintenance on her house, (and it was a hell of a estate and property,) with pools, 5 car garage, acreage, water wells, etc.

  One of the things the lawyer was adamante about was that "religious orders" were supposed to help families reconcile differences, and help them apply "Bible" principles to remediate the problems or difficulties. Churches are not supposed to issue "restraining orders". This "worldly lawyer", who I will say was a friend, was furious with the organization when I originally discussed this problem.

  So now I have a mom throwing rocks at me from over a 1000 miles away that hasn't seen me in nearly a decade and hasn't talked with me in over a year. A sister that tells me that I should go back to the meetings so that I can see Dad (deceased) again. (Motivation by fear and guilt.) A MIL asking about our meeting attendance, and a sister in law asking the same, wondering why.

  While not disfellowshiped or disassociated I sometimes think it would be an answer in a diffinitive way. I just wanted to vent.
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  21

  The Definition of Insanity: LOYALTY TO THE GOVERNING BODY

  by Terry in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  the definition of insanity boils down to expecting success by repeating actions which cause failure.. .

  jehovah's witnesses are expected to prove their loyalty to the organization by believing and practicing what they are told.. does this lead to success or failure?.

  ask the thousands of loyal believers who were led to expect armageddon in 1914, 1925, 1975!.

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  JakeM2012

  Terry, great questions as to why people continue to put trust in the governing body (or watchtower BTS) with the total failure rate that they have sustained for over 130 years. WTBTS has sustained a 130 year snipe hunt! Unbelievable!

  What logical reason is there to put faith in anything they say, print, or even alude to? Their ponzi scheme is greater than Berni Madoff's, but unfortuneately no one is going to jail.
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  45

  Depression amongst JWs

  by tornapart in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  has anyone seen this post on facebook?

  the comments below it are staggering!

  so many suffering from depression... along with the few judgementalists.

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  JakeM2012

  Julia, I couldn't have said it better. One of the last district conventions I went to had three + hours telling you how you could not trust you own thoughts, "the heart is desperate, who can know it" scripture. After hours of telling you this, then they had two and a half days of telling you that you needed to listen to the GB. Unbelievable.

  JO, I appreciate your comments. Your right on.
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  45

  Depression amongst JWs

  by tornapart in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  has anyone seen this post on facebook?

  the comments below it are staggering!

  so many suffering from depression... along with the few judgementalists.

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  JakeM2012

  When I served in different Bethels around the world, a common denominator of the morning worship was that it was never encouraging. You were reminded of how your inner most thoughts were sinful, you weren't ever good enough. If you felt accomplishment in your bethel work, that was a worldly feeling, you are a "good for nothing slave" and you should have done the work anyway. If you felt accomplishment in the local congregation, you weren't sent there to work in the congregation. What ever you did, it was never enough, you were a pathetic slave, who the Branch had to put up with, and you should do more and ask way less, be content with the crapy meals and judgemental attitude.

  Believe me, I saw people depressed while working at different branches, and I'm included. God I'm glad I've left.