Posts by Preston

25

How many ex-JWs out there?

by EXJWBrit in

ok, i'm really green.

i heard about this site because of a link on the bbc website due to the paedophile stuff.

i'm a little confused.

Preston

Let me try to answer your questions, one by one:

Are you all ex JWs like me? It varies, some are active, some aren't, some are teetering on the brink of inactivity....

Are we what the still-practising JWs would call apostates? Yes.

Are we in the wrong? Good heavens, no. Ask yourself why you are here.

Are we fulfilling prophecy or are we just a little bitter about being f***ed by the Society? I guess the f****king bit is a bit more in tune to reality than that prophesy stuff....

Is it a religion for the rich? No, but it is a religion for the peevish, the insecure, the lonely, the vindictive...oh..wait a sec....I think I just described Jehovah God....bad boy....silly me! That's another thing, a lot of us don't care too whits about Bible-God, so expect mucho blasphemy!

I'm angry about what happened to me but also a little comforted by the fact that there are so many others who have similar stories to me! Good

How many are we and how many active JWs are there? Who the heck knows!

32

WHAT DID YOU HATE about being an elder, m.s.,pione

by minimus in

.

i hated all the elders who thought they had to tell someone what had to be done and they themselves weren't doing it.

what about you?

Preston

My problem with being a ministerial servant didn't necessarily have to do with all the work that was involved, it just felt like I wasn't going anywhere, the same as if you were joe publisher. We were all Jehovah's Witnesses for a reason, whether we like to admit it or not. Personally, being a Ministerial Servant was merely a stepping stone in my spiritual search, and now it's over. Once you become a ministerial servant, your life from then on out is predetermined based upon everyone's expectations of you. You were expected to volunteer at conventions, possibly pioneer, become an elder, serve at Bethel.....and die faithful to God. The problem is, I don't want to know how it all ends. I like mystery. It just takes away the mystique away from an indvidual's search for God. And that's exactly what the governing body doesn't want. Imagine if the next Gilead missionary class, on the day before they are expected to leave for their prospective assignments, as a group, suddenly received an collective epiphany that this wasn't right for them and suddenly left to go back to their prospective congregations. They would be branded as failures rather than doing what they felt to be right. And that's the problem with any sort of position in the congregation. We all second guess ourselves to the point where, even if something feels right or doesn't feel right to us, then it's automatically viewed as sin, rather than growth. Maybe one of these days the Governing Body will step out of the cave and recognize the individual as well as the collective. When I became a ministerial servant, I had no idea that in the future I would have my Bachelor's Degree, that I would be dating someone of the same sex, or that I would not be attending meetings anymore. But it happened. And there's nothing anyone can do about it.....Stay curious....

3

The Powerpuff Girls movie!

by Preston in

omg, like nobody is talking about the powepuff girls movie.

it's like, only the most fun i've had watching a movie all year!

i haven't even seen an episode of the t.v.

Preston

I went with my boyfreind to see the movie. Since it was my firest time exposed to anything powerpuff, it was all new to me. My favorite moment: all the different monkeys....

3

The Powerpuff Girls movie!

by Preston in

omg, like nobody is talking about the powepuff girls movie.

it's like, only the most fun i've had watching a movie all year!

i haven't even seen an episode of the t.v.

Preston

OMG, like nobody is talking about the Powepuff Girls movie. It's like, only the most fun I've had watching a movie all year! I haven't even seen an episode of the T.V. show, and it still rocked! Equal parts action, and substance. It's one of the few American creations that is both gleeful pop culture and exquisite high art. It's Kurosowa with a wry sense of humor, and Bergman with a penchant for a good pickle joke.

Bad Mojo!

preston.

43

NEARLY 17 YEAR OLD BOY IS MINISTERIAL SERVANT

by minimus in

jw
friends

things must be getting pretty desperate.

i just heard some wonderful news of another boy being appointed a ministerial servant.

the comment was that even though he is young, he is very mature.another person, speaking of a different boy being appointed said that he had the added advantage of being home schooled and that really helped him to mature.

Preston

I knew a kid in my old congregation who was appointed a M.S. by the time he turned 18. He pioneered by the time he left high school, gave his first public talk the same year I think, and last I heard is now serving at Bethel. When I was an active J.W., he hinted that I was an atheist and though I was distributing anti-JW propaganda in the congregation (actually a copy of a talk giving by a member of the governing body). Does anyone hear know Jeff Grieg? His dad was one of the anointed, I wouldn't be surprised if he became a missionary...

6

I took a drugged-out raging schizo to memorial

by raven101 in

i laugh about it now, but at the time i was mortified beyond words.

one of my sisters reminded me of it the other night.

ho ho ha ha we both laughed sooo hard!.

Preston

A. (as I'll refer to him) began to mumble in an undertone, seemingly in response to the speaker. His dialogue got progressively louder and it became horrifyingly apparent that he was responding to the speaker, very clearly and succinctly, and in the most appallingly abusive and pornographic language imaginable!!

I respond the same way whenever I read the Awake! or Watchtwer! Dirty stinkin' b#&$&rds! Who comes up with this B.S.! So don't be surprised, I can relate to A in a huge way, in fact he's more honest than most J-dub's! LOL!

Edited by - Preston on 6 July 2002 17:4:22

22

JW's that are smarter than you

by Preston in

what, did i disturb your concentration with the above statement, "wha!

no, it can't be, i know what they believe in is a bunch of b.s.!

" well, guess what, it's true, and no, it isn't an oxymoron.

Preston

What, did I disturb your concentration with the above statement, "Wha! No, it can't be, I know what they believe in is a bunch of B.S.!" Well, guess what, It's true, and no, it isn't an oxymoron. We get so use to criticising Jehovah's Witlesses we never stop to consider all the intelligent JW's there are in the organization. And believe me there are JW's with genius I.Q.'s who have been able to utilize their intelligence like you would not believe. I know, I've met many who were able to do cartwheels around me using reasoning and steel cold logic. And as for the statement that all JW's work menial labor, I personally knew many JW's who were programmers, financial analysts, lawyers, scientists, application developers, engineers, etc, etc, etc.... In fact, when I was going to Arizona State University I knew a JW who got into Harvey Mudd (some companies can't pay their graduates enough to work for them). To be fair this was fairly recently,but right now there are many, (let me repeat that), MANY JW's who are going to Stanford, Harvard, Oxford, you name it... It just makes me wonder how they can be religiously duped, hmmmm, strange....

Let the finger wagging begin!

Disclaimer: the above statements are in no way an endorsement of the organization. There is no way I would ever want to portray the Borg in a good light...

10

What kind of dreams did you have as a JW?

by Preston in

i've been doing some research on dream interpretation lately and as i would like to know if you ever had any strange or recurring dreams when you were a jw.

for instance, if you often had dreams of being chased by the police or some type of powerful entity, it could represent your struggle with the quthority that the organization often represented itself to be.

i think it's an interesting topic, just thought i'd see if you guys had anything to add.... .

Preston

Some info I found: If you dreamed of killing someone, whether intentionally or by accident, it signifies a period of severe emotional stress during which you must make a heroic effort to control your temper. As a rule, fathers represent authority, and you will have to figure out the meaning of your dream by correlating the action with your parental attitude and other elements of the dream.

10

What kind of dreams did you have as a JW?

by Preston in

i've been doing some research on dream interpretation lately and as i would like to know if you ever had any strange or recurring dreams when you were a jw.

for instance, if you often had dreams of being chased by the police or some type of powerful entity, it could represent your struggle with the quthority that the organization often represented itself to be.

i think it's an interesting topic, just thought i'd see if you guys had anything to add.... .

Preston

I read that teeth often represent the confidence we have in ourselves as well as our physical beauty. When we have dreams of our teeth falling out it often represents the insecurities we have, and are trying to deal with. In terms of physical beauty, they are one of the prime aspects of our physical beauty. When people see us, one of the first things they see when we speak is our teeth. I know when I was in the Borg I was VERY insecure, and had a tremendous lack of confidence in myself. Just my thoughts...

10

What kind of dreams did you have as a JW?

by Preston in

i've been doing some research on dream interpretation lately and as i would like to know if you ever had any strange or recurring dreams when you were a jw.

for instance, if you often had dreams of being chased by the police or some type of powerful entity, it could represent your struggle with the quthority that the organization often represented itself to be.

i think it's an interesting topic, just thought i'd see if you guys had anything to add.... .

Preston

I've been doing some research on dream interpretation lately and as I would like to know if you ever had any strange or recurring dreams when you were a JW. For instance, if you often had dreams of being chased by the police or some type of powerful entity, it could represent your struggle with the quthority that the Organization often represented itself to be. I think it's an interesting topic, just thought I'd see if you guys had anything to add...

edited for bad spelling...bad Preston, bad Preston!

Edited by - Preston on 2 July 2002 15:25:19