My real friends have remained though our interaction has changed. We are not close but we keep in touch. When I was still active I kept my friends if they went inactive or got disfellowshipped. Some people I've known for decades also look past me. If the friendship was only based on attending the same congregation and nothing deeper it was sure not to last. Being disfellowshipped is much harder to keep JW friends than being inactive because of the penalties they face due to association.
wisdomfrombelow
JoinedPosts by wisdomfrombelow
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39
Since you've left, are you still good friends with your bestest JW buddies?
by Julia Orwell inis it possible that someone has a jw friend who's very active in the congregation, knows you don't believe it anymore, and is still your friend?
i'm at the point where word is getting out that i'm not going to meetings anymore, and friends ask me if they'll be seeing me at the ca and i tell them i'm not going.
they want to know why, and what they can do to encourage me.
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28
Conversation with Substitute CO
by BU2B inso i was talking to a substitute co, he and his wife recently returned from "the school for christian couples" .
anyways this couple has delayed having children in hopes of entering the circuit work, and have been sub coing for a couple years.
they both have well paying, good jobs.
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wisdomfrombelow
They each make a choice and should realize the consequences of their choice. They could say "no thanks" but they won't. All the Society will do is "reduce" your privileges--free work you do for them in return for the adoration of men. Most people don't want to move to where the need is greater--they want to move to where the response is greater. Better they got assigned to some congregation in the same country then being sent to a foreign land and really having problems.
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30
A JW husband emailing his ex-girlfriend after his wife reveals her apostasy
by JimmyPage ina woman i've known for years recently confided in me.
she told me she found out her jw husband had been secretly e-mailing his jw ex-girlfriend.
he was telling his ex about how difficult it had been for him since his wife was now basically an apostate.
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wisdomfrombelow
My advice is to stay out of it. She's a fully grown adult who can make her own decisions and doesn't need anyone on the outside telling her to end her marriage based on the little information you have conveyed. Also, what problemaddict said, consider your relationship with her and why you even have one. Even if 99% of emotional affairs become physical affairs, what about the 1%? People are so quick to judge based on their own experiences. Does being married mean an end to privacy? Think before you give advice...think if you SHOULD give any advice at all.
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marrying younger spouses
by ssn587 inmy wife passed away 2 years ago we had been married over 30 years, i have since remarried and my new wife is younger than 3 of my children from my first marriage.
i just wondering if there are any more like me out there.
i stay in excellent shape for my age, work out almost daily eat good and have absolutely no medical problems or at least none i can do anything about, bad knees, but my vitals are excellent, and i am known as the teenage because of them when i have my yearly medical checkup.. so was wondering if there are others out there like me, and what some may think about it, just for the record i am extremely happy once again, and we have a 18 month boy who delights me, have a whole new outlook on fatherhood and child raising.
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wisdomfrombelow
If they are old enough to get married and do so of their own free will, it's not my concern. People have the right to do things that we choose not to do. Likewise, we have the right to do things others choose not to do.
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Trying to handle my JW mom
by KatyMomof2 inmy mom is a recent widow.
she, being a jw does not have means to support herself and does not seek higher education ( because that would take from her studies ).
so, she is living ( sponging off of ) me.
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wisdomfrombelow
What if your mom had a mental illness? Would you kick her out? How about dementia? I'm just giving you a different way to look at things. You should, by all means, protect and educate your kids about your mom's condition and how she sees things is not how you see things. You should also talk to your mom and let her know that you are raising your kids the way you see fit and she should not interfere or try to subvert them. But in the end it is your decision and they are your kids and she is your mom and you will have to live with the consequences of how you deal with the situation.
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112
So tired of life
by LouBelle ini am so tired of waking up without hope.
so tired of fighting one more day...i just want it to end as painless as possible.
i truly don't have the willpower or strength anymore..
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wisdomfrombelow
I don't know your situation or circumstances but don't give up. Life can always get better but death--it is always the same.
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46
Why do JWs get married at a young age?
by XPeterX inages like 20-25 or younger.i mean damn,a 21 year old guy in my congo got baptised a couple weeks back and now his in a relationship with a jw gal and their getting married soon.any thoughts?.
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wisdomfrombelow
A young age is relative. I would not consider 25 to be young. (You gave the range 20-25). I consider a teenager to be young in the western world. I consider a young marriage to be one where the individual needs parental permission to marry rather than being old enough to do it on his or her own. That being said, there are still a lot of young marriages among JWs and among fundamentalistic christians.
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21
Those who went to University whilst being a JW
by MMXIV ini've read a number of posts in the brief couple of years i've been on jwn of those that were brave enough to go to university whilst being a jw.. clearly this is a small fraction of those that wanted to go but couldn't or had the grades to go but accepted pioneering instead.. for those that did go to uni despite all the advice and pressure, why did you go?
what was the response when you broke the news?
how did it affect your relationships?
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wisdomfrombelow
I think that being educated makes the "simplified" meetings very boring. The educated ones that are still in are almost always in a foreign language group because learning a foreign language keeps their brain active and they can focus on that instead of other things. They can get something of value back from all the hours spent doing busy work in that religion.
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21
Those who went to University whilst being a JW
by MMXIV ini've read a number of posts in the brief couple of years i've been on jwn of those that were brave enough to go to university whilst being a jw.. clearly this is a small fraction of those that wanted to go but couldn't or had the grades to go but accepted pioneering instead.. for those that did go to uni despite all the advice and pressure, why did you go?
what was the response when you broke the news?
how did it affect your relationships?
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wisdomfrombelow
I went to a college and lived on campus and met other JWs there. We had our own clique and were mostly very vocal in favor of higher education. The locals in the hall we attended could do nothing because they didn't know us as children and we just popped up as 18 years olds moving into their congregation. Either they embrace you or they shun you but because you live on campus they have no access to you unless you want them to. For those who were local I believe it was a positive influence because many of them went to college (but didn't announce it). We had nothing to hide because the only reason we were at the congregation was because we were going to college.
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19
Commitee and disfellowshipment
by Freeof1914 ini have only posted on here several times, but i am constantly reading what others post.
i guess i am more of a reader than author.
that being said i am happy to announce i am no longer one of the jehovah's witnesses.
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wisdomfrombelow
My first thoughts are "how is your marriage affected?" Will you stay married? Do you have children because they will be affected by this also. I hope you can ceal with your wife and family on a personal level, regardless of how the congregation will treat you.