Anyone else hear about this. As all j-dubs know, whenever someone complains about how long the "new system" is taking too arrive, they use the excuse that Jehovah works on his own time. Quite a few times during the public talks, I've heard speakers say the phrase "1000 years to us is only one day to Jehovah" (my parents never stop talking about this). I don't recall seeing this in any literature. Whenever I ask other witnesses, some have heard it, but many have not. Have any of you seen or heard this? Where did that particular number come from (because others have said it's only 100)?
Posts by Sorry
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311000 Years is Like 1 Day?
by Sorry inanyone else hear about this.
as all j-dubs know, whenever someone complains about how long the "new system" is taking too arrive, they use the excuse that jehovah works on his own time.
quite a few times during the public talks, i've heard speakers say the phrase "1000 years to us is only one day to jehovah" (my parents never stop talking about this).
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My Story
by SamTheGinge inso, 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.
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Sorry
Welcome! You are not alone, I feel or stories are similar (wanting to impress parents, baptised for wrong reasons).
It sounds you've made peace with everything, started thinking for yourself and have become much happier as a result. I wish you all the best.
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With up to 70% of young ones leaving what's the future of the jw's?
by karter inthey wlll always have new people coming in but the majority of the congro's are getting older particularly the inner city ones were it is expensive to live.
they are struggling to get men to be elders and m.s's and this can only get worse as very few young ones stay around.
karter..
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Sorry
Honestly, I think they won't necessarily care since, as previously mentioned, their real estate ventures are thriving. However, if they care about their numbers dwindling, they have 2 options (unlikely they'll do it).
1) They can change much of the doctrines and claim it as "new light" and line it up with better, more accepted interpretations (they won't do this because then they lose their special snowflake status)
2) utilise the benefits of social media, get involved with more charities and programs and expand beyond the door to door ministry (they won't do it because goes against "preaching is the only meaningful work" schtick)
The Org is definitely going to keep taking hits with the power of the internet however...
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Let's Be Honest - You or One of Your Ancestors Was an Idiot
by Simon inwhy were we ever a jw?
were we mad?
we must have been .... well, my excuse is that i knew nothing else.
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Sorry
My dad was the offspring of idiots, sad to say.
My mom grew in a Pentecostal household. Her mom was a fancy hat wearing church lady to a T. Every Wednesday and Sunday, there front in center. The first thing she did every morning was read her Bible. She was quite a nice, loving sassy grandmother. Despite the fact that many of her kids (my mom included) became disillusioned with the church, she remained loving, and made an earnest effort to be in all of our lives. Not one day passed when Grammy would call my mom and her grandkids, reminding us that no matter what we said or did, she'd always love us. Even when my mom became a witness, that didn't deter her from keeping a relationship with her even if my mom more or less avoided her.
My dad is quite a different story. He was raised in 'the truth'. At first his mother became a witness, then persuaded his father. To my understanding, my grandfather wasn't always the nicest. He was incredibly strict and corporate punishment was the norm (he once shoved his daughter down a flight of stairs because he caught her kissing a boy). My father and grandfather had a tumultuous relationship due to my father's heavy resistance to authority. Finally, my grandfather violently confronted my dad, and said he can either go to the meetings, or get out. My father left his house and became homeless (this was in '80 when shunning became heavily enforced).
Fast forward to 2007, when we move close to my grandparents. My dad and grandfather hadn't spoken much in those 27 years. My dad always had a chip on his shoulder about that, thinking his father hated him and thought he was a failure. My mother was heavily disillusioned with church and had to adjust to not working anymore. By this time, my grandfather developed into a softer, gentler man and he was quite kind to his grandkids. He introduced us to his JW congregation and we loved all the nice people. Still, he'd make snide comments to my dad I didn't quite understand, like "The Prodigal Son finally returns, ready to make something of your life?" My mom liked that JW has answers she was looking for (like what happens after death), and my dad saw a way to finally get my grandfather's approval. Just as my dad was making progress, my grandfather died. My father was devastated and thought his father died thinking he was a 'Prodigal Son'. Then the witnesses taught him he'd see his father again in the new system, beaming with joy his son accepted the truth. The rest was history...
So I wouldn't call them idiots, is just say they were vulnerable (my mom wanted to serve God, my dad wanted the love and admiration of his father).
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An old Kingdom hall now a church?
by HereIgo inhave any of you heard of anything like this.
i remember an ex jw from ohio taking video of a former kingdom hall that is now a church.
apparently the society sold it to the church.
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Sorry
Oh yes, there was one that was 30 minutes from our house when we first moved into town (I didn't remember it cause it was years ago). When me and another sister visited a congregation in another city, she pointed out that the Baptist Church was once a Kingdom Hall. I pointedly said "So we sold our building to Christendom? Isn't that pretty much taking Satan's blood money?" I was just joking and told her that, but then I could tell she got agitated and asked me "Does it really matter?" Then I said, "It does since Jehovah's organization is contributing to the spread of the false religion they claim they're against." Then she proceeded to go on a long diatribe about how our elders and GB know best because they're being guided by Jehovah. Then she finished saying "Since you're pretty young, I'm going to assume you are know any better. Don't you know defying the organization is like Satan defying Jehovah? And we all know what happened to him..."
I was 14 then. To this day she never lets me forget about listening to the GB/elders.
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Question: Can't You Just Ignore A Judicial Committee?
by Sorry inone thing i've never understood is judicial committees.
yes, i understand it's held to see if elders should go through with the disfellowshipping process.
but why give them all the power?
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Sorry
schnell: To elaborate, when she said 'screw it', she meant packing up her stuff, becoming a roommate to her 'worldly' friend and just stop going in fs and meetings. Her parents hate it, but they're just glad they can freely associate with her. I think she's worried because if she's actually df, she loses that (I have similar fears).
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Question: Can't You Just Ignore A Judicial Committee?
by Sorry inone thing i've never understood is judicial committees.
yes, i understand it's held to see if elders should go through with the disfellowshipping process.
but why give them all the power?
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Sorry
One thing I've never understood is judicial committees. Yes, I understand it's held to see if elders should go through with the disfellowshipping process. But why give them all the power? Someone ratted on my cousin for SMOKING (mind you she hasn't been to a meeting in 3 months), so I just told her to ignore it and just keep on doing her own thing (I admire her for just saying 'screw it' and leaving/if you read my previous posts, I don't have that same courage). She said she has to do it.
It you don't show up and ignore their requests, are they still allowed to df you? Will they take it as an admission of guilt or will they just give up and move on?
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So does the Almighty God Jehovah make mistakes, or is the society NOT his spokesman?
by stuckinarut2 inthe society claims to be jehovah gods sole channel on earth - his spokesman.. if any witness disagrees with this claim, they are branded as an apostate and punished.. but the society has made countless errors over the century, and repeatedly changed doctrines and beliefs.
not to mention the appalling foundation teachings of the organisation's teachings!
so a simple question: is god making msistakes and getting things wrong, or is this proof that the society is not guided by god?.
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Sorry
Exactly. But the brothers and sisters always use the excuse 'the light gets brighter' at Proverbs 4:18. First of all, when you look at the rest of Proverbs 4, that scripture is taken out of context. But let's say this was true. The light getting brighter would mean that doctrine is clarified, more understandable. Reversing and going back and forth isn't the light getting brighter. Saying organ transplants are a gift of modern medicine, to say they're cannibalism, then going back and saying is a personal decision proves their decisions aren't 'guided by holy spirit'. Don't even get me started on blood, the worship of Jesus and the meaning of generations.
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Lost and Sad, Then He Found Me...
by Sorry inwell, i got myself in a dilemma.
i'm currently 18, being baptised for a year.
i had my doubts, but due to a variety of reasons (getting subtle flack for not baptised, not having a support system even if i wanted to leave).
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Sorry
Thank you all so much for your replies, especially you Pete Zahut (wicked name btw). I'm trying to take things slowly and not do anything drastic yet (I have no plans on leaving my family's house until I graduate from university, around when I'm 21). I know to them it would seem like I'm choosing a boy over them, but really, if I never met him I most likely would've left eventually. As much I would love to be around my family and keep everyone happy, I can't live a life lying to myself and everyone else (doesn't 'Jehovah' hate liars lol). Whatever happens between me and my boyfriend, I know I can't stay in this religion.
The situation does make me sad, realizing if I had gotten baptised or not my family would still shun me if I left. I've had nights crying thinking I'm never going to see them again. It had affected my studies. Hopefully, I can build a support system with new friends at university to help me out. Thanks again everyone!
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Lost and Sad, Then He Found Me...
by Sorry inwell, i got myself in a dilemma.
i'm currently 18, being baptised for a year.
i had my doubts, but due to a variety of reasons (getting subtle flack for not baptised, not having a support system even if i wanted to leave).
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Sorry
Well, I got myself in a dilemma. I'm currently 18, being baptised for a year. I had my doubts, but due to a variety of reasons (getting subtle flack for not baptised, not having a support system even if I wanted to leave). So I did it hoping my faith would be stronger. And it worked for a while, but I couldn't keep ignoring my doubts. I did more research, and I found this religion isn't true at all. I try to make my family see that, but they offer flimsy excuses for concerns. Considering they're quite strict and I had no one, I just decided to grunt and bear it seeing I couldn't couldn't leave either way...
Until I met my boyfriend. I met him at time where I thought I could be content with faking it the rest of my life. He made me realize I didn't deserve to be completely unhappy just because I wanted to stay close to my family. Throughout our relationship, he's been completely understanding of my situation. Even introduced me to his family, who love me dearly (his own mom said she already considers me family). He isnt in the best place right now, but has made incredible strides since we started dating so, in his words, "we both can get on our feet and support each other." As each day passes, he shows me more and more of his world, a world I very much want to be apart of. Sounds great, right?
Well, except for the fact of my family. Despite having put me through a lot, I love them and don't want to lose them. One friend gave me the advice to just fade as soon as I move out so they won't have to shun me. Another said just disassociate so I can move on fully and not be harassed by the witnesses. I honestly dont know how to go about the situation. I know I'd have he support of my boyfriend and his family, but I'd like to keep my family and friends too. How do you think I should go about my exit plan? Any ideas, similar experiences? Just reply if ya do!