A brother lost privileges of field service in a hall in my area. If he shaves he can go out otherwise no privileges.
So I don't think its accepted at least here, UNLESS they have a medical note (vitiligo or horrid ingrown hairs).
i noticed a young brother with a beard being given more privelages within our hall.
when he first grew his beard, he lost his privelages.
but more and more recently he has been helping out a lot more.. the cobe is old school and a stickler for rules, but with the hall becoming more empty these days, and the need for young brothers, he seems to have relaxed on this particular watchtower/man made rule.
A brother lost privileges of field service in a hall in my area. If he shaves he can go out otherwise no privileges.
So I don't think its accepted at least here, UNLESS they have a medical note (vitiligo or horrid ingrown hairs).
the other day on this site, a lot of topics about the org.
and sexual abuse...now when i come on this site...crickets... what happened ?
it seems everyone is being exposed except the org...oh yes it's mentioned here and there but then it fades away...many celebrities are being exposed....& gov't officials and even our president, but not the org...ummmm.... thoughts ?.
I'm of two minds...
I feel it may be triggering for those who have been abused to continue to discuss and so the topic naturally takes a dive.
AND...
I do not feel it's "mild" compared to the world. I think it is on par with world events and quite frankly gross coming from people who claim to have the "truth" and are trying to hide it after all the WT articles about the Cathloic Church hiding their pedophilia. To me it deserves to be shouted from rooftops honestly.
It's touchy and hard to digest even is one hasn't been touched in any way (literally and figuratively).
*NOTE: I know I'm new and I apologize for disagreeing a bit here but some but thankfully I can "disagree" without fear of being disfellowshipped:)
i know of her father that committed suicide however i wasn't in the congregation at the time.
i know of people she spoke about here 15 years ago or so.
.
I know of her father that committed suicide however I wasn't in the congregation at the time. I know of people she spoke about here 15 years ago or so.
I often wonder how they are doing?
the other day on this site, a lot of topics about the org.
and sexual abuse...now when i come on this site...crickets... what happened ?
it seems everyone is being exposed except the org...oh yes it's mentioned here and there but then it fades away...many celebrities are being exposed....& gov't officials and even our president, but not the org...ummmm.... thoughts ?.
I haven't been on in awhile but I'm wondering if all the talk is "triggering" to victims? Not just org talk but politics/hollywood.
It's hard to escape and I wonder how victims are dealing?
i ask this question out of interest, because as a jehovahs witness for some 26 years, i have always felt that there is an 'all work, no play' culture within the organisation.
the organisation doesn't promote social gatherings.
i could count on one hand each year how many get togethers we have had.
I miss my social life from when I was "in".
We did something socially several times a week. Lunch after Sunday meetings, games, softball, football. There was always a wedding, baby, graduation party to go to. We were originally one hall and broke off into 4 so we had friends from several congregations and always getting invited to some event.
Absent of events we had a close circle of friends that we always socialized with at LEAST once a week.
we all know the gb like to impose rules upon the rules... but did anyone else out there have parents that implemented rules upon those rules?
mine did.
my mum tended to copy whatever the elders wives were doing and took it to the extreme.
Had a struggling single mom so she didn't ban much. BUT I banned my children from:
Watching any TV in the mornings before school.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - because you know ninja's -this included tv shows, clothing and toys
No sports (playing) no watching boxing
Going to "worldly friends" houses
Smurfs cuz I grew up in the 80's
I'm sure there is more. Sorry kids who are adults now:)
my initial pangs of unease and doubt led me to research some things.
well, a lot of things really.
i've never felt comfortable using the bible to try to calculate dates (1914).
I also felt sad at first. It seemed like a waste of time and energy. I felt a little lost like what do I believe now type thing. Now I'm able to look back and be grateful for some of the things I learned like showing love and kindness to all.
I've adopted some of the Buddhist principals like do no harm etc. I'm still a little bummed I'm not gonna live forever and sometimes wish I could un-learn ttatt when it comes to that but I can enjoy my life now. It gets better hang in there.
there are many new posters here, and i'm very interested to learn why you chose your screen names.. .
one book i read, the mists of avalon, was very important to me.
among the main characters was merlin, who in the book, was called "taliesen".
I no longer have faith in religion period.
yes, we could have been born in an alley in calcutta or with the physical deformities associated with thalidomide.
instead, we were born into or introduced to a repressive, american, religious cult, that shielded us from the warmongering game of chess, the militaristic boy scouts, fornication-inducing sock hops, the twist, as well as the hokey pokey.
we heeded the warnings, avoiding the greedy self-worship associated with masturbation, decadent rock 'n roll and anything preceded by the word "extra-curricular.".
I also learned a lot about public speaking and I think the TMS gave me a lot of confidence in that area.
I learned to love people (when "in"I took to heart that preaching was out of love) show kindness and be forgiving and that has translated nicely outside of the "truth".
Oddly I learned acceptance as well. For example I believed with every fiber of my being that being gay was just proof we were closer to the end and these folks couldn't "help" it. I "loved" the people but "hated" the action. Once leaving it was a nice transition to just accepting people for who they are.
I'm grateful that I learned these qualities. Most of my family are harsh uber jw so I know I learned it from being "in the truth" and not by familial environment:).
i was contacted by my ex sister-in-law yesterday.
she asked me if i wanted to spend some time with my niece, while she went to her sister's baby shower.
it turns out my niece can't go because she's about to be disfellowshipped at the ripe old age of 14. .