WinstonSmith

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Posts by WinstonSmith

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  336

  The New Diary of Winston Smith

  by WinstonSmith in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  we had to go off grid for a time, time and half a time as we thought we had been outed.

  fortunately it was a false alarm, but it was a stressful time.

  i asked for my original diary thread to be deleted in case there could be anything on there to identlfy mrs smith and i. i am always very careful when posting, and am sure there was nothing on there, but felt it best to have it removed in order to be as cautious as a dove.

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  WinstonSmith

  So Mrs Smith and I were just chatting over a cuppa tea and she told me about something she heard today.

  She met up with a friend from a neighbouring congregation and had coffee. In the course of the conversation, the friend says 'Do you know Sister X?" Sister X was in our congregation and recently moved to the friends congregation. 'Yes' said Mr Smith, 'I know her, why?'

  'Well' says the friend 'Recently I spent some time with Brother B and his wife (an elder in our congregation), and they said that they were glad she moved because she was a moaner and a troublemaker.'

  Here is an elder, speaking to a publisher in another congregation about his personal opinion of a sister who has recently moved. A fine example of a loving shepherd dontcha reckon? Regardless of our personal feelings (this sister is a bit of a pain, but is the classic, unmarried in her late 40s waaah everyone hates me type) a kind elder should never talk to a publisher about another publisher like this. What a douche-bag.

  Sure, some might say, there are some big mouth people out there in the world, so why do you judge this guy so harshly? Well yes, there are people like this in the world. I even work with a couple of people like that. I know some worldy people who are worse.

  But there is one big difference.

  None of those people claim to be appointed by Holy Spirit.
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  336

  The New Diary of Winston Smith

  by WinstonSmith in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  we had to go off grid for a time, time and half a time as we thought we had been outed.

  fortunately it was a false alarm, but it was a stressful time.

  i asked for my original diary thread to be deleted in case there could be anything on there to identlfy mrs smith and i. i am always very careful when posting, and am sure there was nothing on there, but felt it best to have it removed in order to be as cautious as a dove.

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  WinstonSmith

  Hi Joe, thanks for checking in, always good to hear from you mate!

  It is indeed very uncomfortable to get talking with a householder who clearly knows his stuff, and to which you know you don't have the answers to their probing questions. Most will fall back into repeating some tripe from a WT ad nauseum, or the good old trick of "I will need to go and do some research and come back with an answer" and then never coming back!

  We used to live in a territory with a heavy Mormon population. I always found a lot of them pretty good to talk to. I have a real good workmate who is a Mormon. I'm not personally aware of targeted field service based on the threat of poachers, but I would love to see a face off between JWs and Mormons on the street. How would it go down? I envisage something like that scene in Anchorman where the guys from the rival channels get into a rumble.

  "Did you have a trident?"

  "I think I killed a guy"

  "Yeah man, I think you're gonna need to lay low for a while"

  :-D
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  115

  My brother died tonight

  by poppers in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  just got word that my youngest brother died of pancreatic cancer.

  he was diagnosed in early august.

  this has been really tough for me and my family..

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  WinstonSmith

  Poppers, sad to hear your news. Please know you and your family have our sympathy and understanding of what a difficult time this must be.

  Lots of love.

  Mr and Mrs Smith
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  16

  Video proof that the Governing Body was appointed FDS direcly by Jehovah

  by Badfish in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ued0olrd54.

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  WinstonSmith

  AM3 is creepier than ever!
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  336

  The New Diary of Winston Smith

  by WinstonSmith in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  we had to go off grid for a time, time and half a time as we thought we had been outed.

  fortunately it was a false alarm, but it was a stressful time.

  i asked for my original diary thread to be deleted in case there could be anything on there to identlfy mrs smith and i. i am always very careful when posting, and am sure there was nothing on there, but felt it best to have it removed in order to be as cautious as a dove.

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  WinstonSmith

  BluesBrother: I still remember the moment clearly when I clicked on it. I was doing one of the big no-nos, what was going to happen? Would Jehovah make everything 'openly exposed?' I remember logging out of FaceBook and Gmail and everything else, just in case, somehow something autoposted info on what I was looking at. LOL. The things this cult does to the logical mind never ceases to amaze me.

  00DAD: I love how the WTS freely quotes the OT to edict WTS law, in some cases but ignores it in others. Don't get a tattoo because the OT says so. Don't worry, you don't need to marry your rapist, that's the old law and does not apply. Control baby, CONTROL!

  Knowsnothing: You got what I was getting at. There is not a lot of logic to the stance they take. They quite happily condemn certain pagan practices, but don't bat an eyelid at others. I believe the party line is something like "It all depends on how the custom is viewed by people in the time and place they live now." Last birthday party I heard about at work, people went around saying 'how does it feel to be old?' 'You're an old fart' and not 'Thank you <insert pagan god name> for blessing <insert name> with life and fertility' etc etc.

  Indeed.
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  40

  My Near Death Experience

  by Dogpatch in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  hi y'all, just wanted to let you know i was out for a stroll on my bicycle for exercise last week and got hit by a car 100 yards from my house.

  it was a hit and run.

  i got up with only minor bruises but felt really dizzy and asked one of my roommates to take me to the hospital as i was dizzy and felt i was going to pass out on the spot in the middle of the street.

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  WinstonSmith

  Hi Randy, thanks for the update. Man, what an awful few months for you bro.

  Glad to hear you are on the mend. They build 'em tough in California. Must be all that surfing!

  I'm not a professional, but I do a lot of proofreading as part of my job. Both my work, and the work of others. I also ghost write for managers from time to time. Happy to help with Freeminds if you think either of those things might be of use.

  Take care mate!

  WS
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  29

  Notes from Safeguard Your Mind assembly - day 1

  by raxxxx in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  it was an entertaining and incredibly sad experience... anyway!

  here are some notes i have managed to take in between all of the crying and laughing as well as occasional mental breakdown.

  enjoy!

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  WinstonSmith

  Thanks for 'taking one for the team' raxxxx. It can be draining sitting through it all. Notes from meetings and assemblies and conventions are good to post for a couple of reasons:

  • They help those who are out see what the most recent level of crazy is.
  • They help those who are fading and who might have purposely missed the event read up and speak with some sound bites of knowledge. Just enough to keep others from suspecting they weren't there.

  Keep up the great work! Grit your teeth :-D
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  336

  The New Diary of Winston Smith

  by WinstonSmith in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  we had to go off grid for a time, time and half a time as we thought we had been outed.

  fortunately it was a false alarm, but it was a stressful time.

  i asked for my original diary thread to be deleted in case there could be anything on there to identlfy mrs smith and i. i am always very careful when posting, and am sure there was nothing on there, but felt it best to have it removed in order to be as cautious as a dove.

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  WinstonSmith

  @Awake

  Mate, if there are two things that really get my goat, it is the no beard policy, and the reporting of field service time.

  In fact, not so much the reporting of time, more so having to put your name on it and then having that number used to determine whether you are worthy of certain 'priveliges' in the congregation. As an elder it was utterly distasteful to hear when, during the meeting held before the CO visit to discuss who could be put up for appointment, the first question was always 'how are his field service hours?' followed by 'They're good? Okay lets look at Timothy to check his spiritual qualifications'.

  Yuck.

  I really don't get the beard thing. There is nothing specific in any publications, just 'experiences' of people who turned up at a meeting with a beard and everyone thought they were dodgy. There is certainly no scripture for it. The closest they can get is dress and grooming, being well arranged etc. In fact I am sure that there is a scripture that says you should have a beard. But that was in the Hebrew Scriptures, so doesn't count right?
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  336

  The New Diary of Winston Smith

  by WinstonSmith in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  we had to go off grid for a time, time and half a time as we thought we had been outed.

  fortunately it was a false alarm, but it was a stressful time.

  i asked for my original diary thread to be deleted in case there could be anything on there to identlfy mrs smith and i. i am always very careful when posting, and am sure there was nothing on there, but felt it best to have it removed in order to be as cautious as a dove.

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  WinstonSmith

  Hello Honeybucket,

  Thankyou for taking the time to share your situation. I know from experience that the limbo period is crap. You have my sympathy and understanding. It can be tough not knowing what to do, especially when you get shut down with every attempt, however small. I'm no expert, and can only speak from my personal experience, but I hope that any suggestions I make might be of some help.

  There are actually some positives things that you have mentioned. One, you are able to speak with him about your doubts, and from what I read, he has not turned you into the elders. Two, he has said that he is okay with you not being a witness. This is excellent and you can use this to your advantage. These are indicators to me that there is a good level of respect and communication between you - maybe not in all things, but indeed in a general sense. I say keep talking. Not about JW things, but about everything else. Have fun, enjoy your marriage and the relationship you have. Never miss a chance to say how much you love him. Show him through your actions that your feelings toward him have not changed, just your feelings about JWs.

  Some JWs (most in fact) are deep in the matrix. So deep that they simply cannot fathom any other way of life. It is synonymous with who they are. For them to admit that all is not well in the WT house, would open a pandoras box of family strife, loss of friends and a life turned on its head. This can be too much to even contemplate and so the protective walls go up, and everything gets blocked out.

  It takes guts, but try and take things down a gear, enjoy being hubby and wife, and don't allow the situation to control you. Sometimes a change in circumstances, like you moving out of his mum's place can be the things that gets the spark going. The WTS likes to tell us that a change in circumstances can be the thing that brings a family member to the truth. This applies to those on the way out too! When the time is right, gently prod on something that is close to his heart. Instead of saying "This thing iswrong! JWs have been tricked!" I found the "Help me to understand this point" method more effective. Appeal instead of accuse.

  Gently, gently does it.

  It's not much, but I hope there might be something useful in there for you. We are here as a netowrk to support you, so never be afraid to ask for help.

  Take care, and hang in there. We are all cheering for you.
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  336

  The New Diary of Winston Smith

  by WinstonSmith in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  we had to go off grid for a time, time and half a time as we thought we had been outed.

  fortunately it was a false alarm, but it was a stressful time.

  i asked for my original diary thread to be deleted in case there could be anything on there to identlfy mrs smith and i. i am always very careful when posting, and am sure there was nothing on there, but felt it best to have it removed in order to be as cautious as a dove.

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  WinstonSmith

  Just read through this and enjoyed it, so thought I'd share. It is a non-JW relate article about what the bible really teaches regarding disfellowshipping:

  http://www.servantsnews.com/docs/disfel01.htm