found these gems in this edition:.
- keep in expectation!- prepare now for life in the new worldthe passing of time should not cause us to lose hope thatkingdom blessings will be realized.
there are solid reasonsto keep our scriptural expectations alive.
I found this quote disturbing...living as a JW is definitely living under duress!!
"It is not a matter of servitude under duress just so that we can pass through the great tribulation. It is the way we are designed to live, the way that yields the greatest joy."
I can't possibly read anymore. This is probably the second or third time I have ever visited JW.org and the nonsense is just too overwhelming for my logical thinking process...
dear friends,.
i would like to hear your comments or suggestions on the following:.
a little background info.. i managed to fade completely.
Prayer before a meal was standard practice growing up and my dad always said the same thing. Now my parents are the only ones still in. My sisters and their families and me and my daughter are out. My mom even knows I am an atheist but he still always prays before all family meals. He even prayed when they visited my home with my boyfriend present. I have no idea how to approach it either since they have accepted that we don't believe anymore but treat us normally. I don't want to mess that up.
My whole family will be coming for my daughter's graduation and I will have non witnesses there including my "not really boyfriend", my df'd friend (with whom they have associated with in the past) and some of my daughter's old friends from before who aren't baptized and some of her school friends...about 20 people. I do not want my dad to pray before the meal I am preparing in my own home but I too have no idea how to avoid it.
When I am at their house it's their rules but I kind of want to keep my house jehovah-free. My daughter is attending a church now and is not able to be influenced so that isn't a worry. I guess I just want my house...My rules.
I shall be keeping up with this topic to glean info for myself as well. I wish I could offer some advice!!
I burned or shredded 99% of what I had but saved my pioneer book (for the messages), some specific original magazines with unchanged wording, the NWT (green, reference and new gray) and the last volume of notes from the assemblies where I was waking up and making notes to myself with lots of "????'s" and "!!!!!'s" and the oldest cd ROMs.
I went back and looked and the class I was in ranged in age from a 12 year old girl to a couple in their 80's. Including the elderly couple, at least 6 out of 45 are dead, 4 DA'd and 2 were DF'd. And some of them are still going strong as my parents are still in and they give me updates at times.
i gotta say that having the Greek CO as an instructor made for some great food at lunch!!! I still remember all the food the Greek congregations brought in...tons of it!
long time lurker (2009-ish), first time poster.
first of all, i want to say thank you everyone who contributes to these boards and provokes stimulating conversations and thought processes.
all the opinions and different perspectives are very enlightening.
Yes. It was a lot of wasted time...something I have had to come to terms with. I was born-in and knew no other way nor could I imagine it was possible that I would ever become a happy atheist. At pioneer school I was engaged and ecstatically happy so I can still feel the memories of the fleeting joy I had in that moment in time. I'm 42 now and happier than I have ever been. I learned so much the hard way in my 30's. Sadly some of those people from pioneer school that left never escaped the clutches of mind control as I did. They are "out" but harbor a bit of fear that perhaps the witnesses are right after all.
40's is my do-over :)
i have always been a very rational and thoughtful person.
there where always questions i had growing up regarding things i was taught.
of course asking questions while being a jw is a big no no!
I always thought the same thing about Jesus' sacrifice. I never saw it as a compelling piece of evidence that it meant God had love for mankind. I have had discussions about it with various people of different faiths yet 3 days is apparently long enough for them. Yes his manner of death was bad but how can it be a real sacrifice if he didn't permanently give his life in payment of the so-called ransom? No offense to those here who continue to have faith, but I feel so much more at peace as an atheist...
All those other questions are just the witnesses' attempt at standing out as "different" and showing they alone are god's "true" chosen ones.
http://www.revealnews.org/article/california-court-guts-child-abuse-ruling-against-jehovahs-witnesses/.
california court guts child abuse ruling against jehovahs witnesses.
topics: religion / religion and government .
this is my first year i will not attend memorial.
to be honest if it wasn't for my husband i would probably be going still.
he says what's the point, don't be one of those people who doesn't give a sh** but just shows there face once a year.
Much to my chagrin I found out from my best friend who knows TTATT and has been inactive for years who has family still in that an elder who I haven't heard from in 3.5 years is trying to find my new address and phone number to invite me. This elder even traveled 30 minutes to another county to check at one of my old houses which has long since been sold (5 yrs ago).
I have been next to elders and others in line at stores and am ignored although I am not DA or DF. No idea why now...doesn't matter. IF they find me which would be rather difficult, I will make sure they know that any sneaky means of tracking me down are unacceptable and that I will contact them if I ever want assistance from them. They need no information except "no thank you...ever."
So no Memorial again for me. Missed Memorial #4!!!!
this weeks service meeting part (week starting march 23, 2015) in the our kingdom ministry under the heading meetings for field service that accomplish.
their purpose includes a little sub-article entitled when a sister must conduct.
the direct link is: http://www.jw.org/en/publications/kingdom-ministry/ click the little document download button under the one labeled km15 03-e us and then choose a format (pdf looks best)..
20 plus years ago during my first stretch of pioneering, I was assigned on the board by the elders to conduct 3 specific days per week. No brother was ever out and they wanted to be sure we were prepared and had proper head coverings ( not the paper towel from the bathroom that some had resorted to lol) I'll never forget the time my good friend who was reproved at the time came in late and to his embarrassment I said "oh, a brother is here!!" and went to move as he tried to discreetly wave for me to ignore him. I only remembered his predicament as I was making the broadcast. All it did was embarrass everyone in attendance and I was quite capable at handling the group.
Even years later during stretch #2, I was the only "sister" to receive her own special territory for the big "religions end near" to organize each day because I always got it done.
I think my strong, independent attitude while I was in has kept them at bay for the last 4 years I have been out. I even stood right behind one of the elders that is quite the arrogant person in line at the pharmacy a few weeks ago. He was always competing with me for some reason because I had a nicer home than he and he didn't like that. He looked right through me. My daughter and I had quite a laugh over that one!!
Women as a second class citizen was a rule I always fought one way or another lol. So far it has served me well :)
