Posts by WinstonSmith

47

Elder and CO just dropped by....

by El_Guapo in

jw
friends

i haven't been to a meeting in over a year, and as you know as soon as you stop attending meetings/fieldservice the "conditional" love becomes more apperant.

the coordinating elder starts off by saying how much he loves and misses me, etc.

i ask him, when was the last time you called or texted me?

WinstonSmith

Apply water to burrrrrn

336

The New Diary of Winston Smith

by WinstonSmith in

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.

WinstonSmith

Here is a link to the original thread that the article was based on:

http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/jw/friends/268443/1/10-Years-out-of-the-JW-Organization-What-Ive-Learned-For-what-its-Worth#.UtAx4HJ76SI

336

The New Diary of Winston Smith

by WinstonSmith in

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.

WinstonSmith

Hello Listener, I agree, there is a lot of truth in that statement. It reminded me of those news reports from a few months (from Europe somewhere) where the JWs were accused of hate speech due to what was said at a convention (?) about apostates and other religions.

In other news, I had an out of the blue message and text chat with mum via Skype during the week. No JW stuff mentioned, just updates on some stuff with them, us and other small talk.

Came across this article yesterday, and thought it was a good read. Mr Flipper makes some great points that I found to be true from my experience.

http://www.jwstruggle.com/2014/01/ten-y ... s-religion

10 years ago I stopped attending Jehovah’s Witness meetings for good. Walked out of the kingdom hall cold turkey never to return based on injustices I observed among others and myself at the hands of elders giving out not God’s counsel but personal opinions as counsel. Some of them weren’t even giving out WT Society counsel- just personal opinions. This alleged “counsel” destroys lives if followed, breaks up families, and the stress from having to live up to “perfect” expectations can drive Witnesses around the bend mentally, emotionally, and physically. Many like myself – at one time or another reach our “breaking point” where we just cannot take the micromanagement of our personal lives anymore. I reached that point at age 44 over 10 years ago after having been born and raised in the JW cult for 44 years.

It wasn’t until AFTER exiting the Jehovah’s Witness organization that I started learning how insane, destructive, and criminal this organization REALLY was as I was under “information control” not allowed to be exposed to outside information to educate my mind and be informed so as to have a fuller, clearer picture of how myself and other JWs were SO deceived and manipulated. These are a few of the points I thought I’d share that I discovered so perhaps newly exiting Witnesses hoping to have freedom of mind will perhaps feel LESS guilt or fear in starting a new life after leaving the Witnesses and WT Society organization.

1.
The thing that puzzled me being raised up a JW was always being told how “special” we were as Witnesses. Phrases were used to control our thinking like “you are a people for special possession” or we were such “privileged people” when compared to allegedly “worldly people” whom Jehovah would destroy at Armageddon because they were “sinful” and not in the Jehovah’s Witness organization. In my opinion I feel that this is one of the main reasons Jehovah’s Witnesses have such an ELITIST attitude about themselves being better than non-Witnesses due to the fact that this “privileged people” thinking is pushed so hard into their psyche by WT leaders and writers from the moment they start reading JW material or listening to talks at kingdom halls. And the ironic thing is that JWs are ONLY considered “special” to Watchtower Society leaders interests based on how much they attend meetings or donate contributions to WT Society interests. In reality- in the REAL world JWs are no more special than ANYBODY else on the planet – except in their own eyes THEY feel more worthy than non-Witnesses. Once a Jehovah’s Witness sees the WT Society for what they are (a money making corporate business disguised as a religion) and exits the religion- they no longer remain a “special person” to ANY former JWs they knew. Including WT leaders. They become expendable.

2.
As Jehovah’s Witnesses we were told that to be considered “spiritual” we had to attend 5 meetings a week, go out in weekly field service, give talks on the podium in the Theocratic Ministry School, raise our hands and comment at meetings, turn our field service time in at the end of each month, clean the kingdom hall restrooms and building, pull weeds in the parking lot, take a “written review” (now it’s an oral review lol) once a month to see what we learned, carry microphones up and down aisles if we “qualified” as male JWs, be parking lot attendants at assemblies, make hoagie sandwiches at assemblies and Kingdom Hall builds, etc. etc. The point I’m making is as long as we performed all these WT “functions” we would be considered “spiritual”. Being “spiritual” had nothing to do with showing love, kindness, mildness, self control, or long suffering the Bible “fruitages of the spirit” – no, not at all – being considered “spiritual” was ONLY performing WT Society functions AS directed by the WT Society whose leaders THEN told you if you were “spiritual” or not by performing WT functions. It had nothing to do with being kind, good as a person, or helping brother or sister older ones giving food, care in their homes, or rides to the store. THOSE things were NOT considered WT Society functions or WT “priorities”.

So what this thinking and mentality created was JW “brothers” being appointed to positions of elder, Circuit Overseer, etc. based on how well they performed WT Society functions – NOT how kind or loving or considerate or Christian they were in their personalities. So think about it: How else can you explain men being appointed as elders who continue as such for years as they perform WT functions well at the kingdom hall, yet they may have beat their wives, children, molested children, or otherwise have been really scumbags in their personalities- yet got away with it for years? Even NOW many of these men serve in these positions and no alleged “holy spirit” has them removed from their positions, which leads me to my 3rd point.

3.
The WT Society leaders and Jehovah’s Witnesses are NOT led by any alleged “holy spirit”. There IS no such thing [in the WT organization]. If there was, a God or “Jehovah” would have exposed it and chosen another organization. And who knows if that has ever happened? It’s a subjective answer and cannot be proven.

4.
I also have learned that YOU and I as exiting Jehovah’s Witnesses ARE special based on WHO we are individually- NOT in association with any particular organization, religion, company we work for or whatever. We are special based on having humanity and what we bring to the table in sharing peaceful relations with others based on sharing our love, life, freedom of thoughts and expressions in order to afford other people the freedom to have their thoughts and expressions. You don’t have to think the same way I do, nor do I have to agree with you. You want to be religious? Fine. Atheist? Fine. Agnostic? Fine. Any of us can and should have the freedom of mind to choose WHO or WHAT we are based on access to information and not be made to feel guilty or in fear because of that.

5.
Last but not least I have learned that I was lied to by an organization that has committed criminal actions towards other humans – and yet- will probably never be held liable in a court of law because WT Society actions have been done in the name of “freedom of religion” by the U.S. constitution. Children and other led to their deaths by refusing blood transfusions, Malawi JWs being killed for not signing a political party card, while the same thing was not required of Mexico JWs. JW children being molested in the thousands by authority figures within Jehovah’s Witness congregations without the molesters going to jail or having to answer for felony child abuse. Adults and minor children committing suicide because of being shunned and kicked out of JW families due to following shunning policies by the WT Society. The WT Society has EXTREME bloodguilt on their heads and it will continue as long as the WT organization carries on it’s criminal policies like it has the last 134 years unabated.

In closing I have learned I CAN and AM happier not being enslaved by an organization that didn’t give a damn about me or others like me. I now have much more enduring friendships, a better non-Witness wife, I have the opportunities to pursue my business more fully unencumbered by pressures to perform “WT functions”. I can pursue fun hobbies like playing music on my guitar, singing, hiking & fishing in the mountains, help others in volunteer work without guilt, and feel really good about myself without having to give ANY credit to “Jehovah’s Organization” for the good that I do. My self esteem has been built up over these last 10 years and my happiness increases more ad more as the years go on.

So that’s about it for my ramblings. If any of you newly exiting are reading this, please realize that in your leaving or exiting the Jehovah’s Witness cult- your life isn’t ending, your whole life is just beginning with positive, new beginnings that will take you places towards freedom and fulfillment. Be patient. It’s tough at first, but in time you WILL succeed in having a happy life free of guilt and fear that the WT Society instilled into us. I raise my glass tonight to all of you who have escaped to freedom of mind! Keep on keeping on, O.K.? We can all do this! Peace out and much love to every last one of you. Peace out, Mr. Flipper

336

The New Diary of Winston Smith

by WinstonSmith in

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.

WinstonSmith

Came across this today, thought it was interesting:

Russian Court Declares Jehovah's Witness Brochures Extremist

http://en.ria.ru/russia/20140113/186483 ... emist.html

MOSCOW, January 13 (RIA Novosti) – A Russian court has declared brochures produced by the Jehovah’s Witnesses to be extremist, the Prosecutor General’s Office said Monday.
The court in the southern city of Kurgan ruled that four pamphlets published by the Christian evangelical sect were discriminatory against people who did not belong to the organization.

The booklets were titled “How to Achieve Happiness in Life,” “What Can People Hope For?” “How to Develop a Close Relationship With God,” and “What You Need to Know About God and His Meaning.”

The prosecutor’s office said that analyses by linguistic experts had concluded that the brochures contained propaganda that promoted the superiority of the Jehovah’s Witnesses and denigrated other faiths as false.

Jehovah’s Witnesses claims more than 7 million followers worldwide, including more than 130,000 in Russia. The religious group frequently faces pressure from Russian authorities for its beliefs and has been banned in a number of regions, as well as in some former Soviet republics.

A Moscow court ordered the dissolution of the local branch of the Jehovah’s Witnesses in 2004 and banned its activities amid allegations that the community was brainwashing children and breaking up families through its teachings.

The European Court of Human Rights ruled that the decision was unlawful in 2010 and ordered Russia to pay 70,000 euro ($95,000) in damages.
Russian courts declared numerous publications by Jehovah’s Witnesses to be extremist in 2009.

336

The New Diary of Winston Smith

by WinstonSmith in

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.

WinstonSmith

Hi guys,

Thanks for your comments guys, indeed it has been a good start to the year. In fact, even today I got back in touch with an old friend from way back via Facebook. He was DF'd for apostacy back then, and we haven't spoken since, but within an hour of me sending my friend request, we were chatting like old friends.

:-)

28

WT ain't going out of business.

by joe134cd in

i've heard this said in other posts, so now i'm going to combine it in one post.. the $28 million awarded to conti is only drop in the bucket for what they are worth.. there would have to be 100 s of successful sex abuse law suites before they would feel it.

quite frankly i don't reckon there would be enough with the right circumstances to have a successful case against wt.

having a dozen or so cases isn't going to break the bank.

WinstonSmith

Hey Joe,

I agree, I don't think they will ever totally disappear. Even if they start haemorraging money, the Crazy 8 and the top tier will insulate themselves from it and push it back on the sheep.

What will hurt them in the long run is the internet. It will help those with doubts to see that they are not alone, and that it is possible to get out, and also prevent many from joining up. When it comes to the internet, websites, and Google the Org is one against a thousand and people have inquisitive minds.

336

The New Diary of Winston Smith

by WinstonSmith in

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.

WinstonSmith

So I mentioned that there was another really cool thing that has happened over the last couple of weeks.

A little while back I made some posts in a thread here on JWN that related to this part of the world. A short time after this, I got a PM from another user on JWN saying “Hey man, you mentioned a bunch of names that I am also familiar with, I wonder if we know each other ha ha.” They said where they grew up and a ballpark figure of their age, they offered some names as to who they thought I might have been.

So this got my mind racing! Maybe there is someone out there that I actually know! None of the names of who they thought I was were correct, but I did know all the people they guessed. Before replying I went through all their threads to see if there was any tell-tale info that might give me a clue. Based on the place they said they grew up, I had an idea of who it might have been, but was not convinced.

I replied and said that while none of his guesses were right, the names they had mentioned were most definitely familiar. We went back and forth a couple of times I didn’t give much info away, but the person sent me their Skype name and said “If you feel like it, let’s have a catch up” and as soon as I saw their Skype username, I instantly knew who it was, as it was a nickname that I remember from way back.

Not only do I know this person, but this person is someone I consider a good friend, someone who used to regularly come over and hang out, shoot pool, road trip, and play cricket with.

In other words, a mate.

One of my mates is also on their way out of the organisation! Yyyyyyyeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaahhhh!

They haven’t been to a meeting in more than a year, and much like Mrs Smith and I have been pretty much ignored and left to fade by their hopeless elders. They are hoping to just fade out and be forgotten about instead of having to go down the DA / DF path. I have promised to help them as much as possible.

Pretty frakkin’ awesome eh?

336

The New Diary of Winston Smith

by WinstonSmith in

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.

WinstonSmith

So, as mentioned, a couple of really neat things have happened in the last week or so. I will talk about one then the other.

I can't remember if I mentioned it at the time, but when I sent my DA letter and message to my friends on Facebook, I only sent it to our Australia based friends. I figured that eventually word would seep through to NZ. Sure enough, over time the NZ 'friends' have quietly unfriended me too. Not one of bothered to check to see if it was true, or if i was okay - true to form for JWs where there is no such thing as unconditional love, just the icy cold compliance with the rules dictated by the OctoPope.

So the other day I made a post on my blog, and following my usual habit, posted a link to it on Facebook. In it I talked about how Mrs Smith and I had had a fantastic break over the holiday period, and enjoyed not having any pressure to knock on doors, keep up time, or go to meetings, and all the guilt trips that get heaped on you if you miss out on doing those things. I mentioned how it was now so nice to hang out with people who love us for who we are, not for our mutual compliance with the ever changing rules of the overlords.

The next morning my phone beeped with a new Facebook message, and the home screen showed the name of a JW person that I have been friends with since my teens. The first line of the message was showing on my phone screen and it said: "Hey Winston, I read your blog post...."

I thought 'Here goes another one. Probably tell me how much they love me but have to cut me off for my own benefit or something.'

Boy, was I wrong.

The message went thus: Hey Winston, I read your blog post, and I just want to say that I will always be your friend no matter what. We are always told to make time for friends, but with my young family, sometimes life is so busy. If you ever need someone to chat to that is uninvolved I'm only a message away. I'm not saying you need someone - but I'm available anyway.

I am still part of the faith, and take each day as it comes. I keep an open heart and attitude to all my friends and family - as I expect the same in return. You helped us through a really difficult time in the past, and I very positive memories of our times together. Always thinking of you guys, lots of love, Sister Cool.

So I replied to her and expressed how much her message meant to me after having been erased by my mother and sister. I said:

It was a tough decision to leave, it was a big part of my life. But after serving as an elder and seeing how it really works behind the scenes, and knowing how the Society's policies have lead to the abuse of children, and a whole bunch of other things, it got to the point where I just didn't want to do it any more.

There are some things that I just cannot agree on that the Society teaches. Like you, I respect what others believe, and will fight for their right to believe whatever they want. All I ask in return is the same consideration. Unfortunately Mum and my sister don't see it like that, and they have not talked to me for months. The bible says nothing about how to treat family members who leave, yet I have been cast off not only by them, but by all the Witness friends we had here. I understand that they are doing what they think is right, but I have been called some horrible things since making my decision and it is hard for me to see anything in their actions that Jesus would approve of. Love is supposed to cover a multitude of sins right?

I hope we can remain in touch, but understand if you feel like we can't be seen to be friends on FB. My email is always on, feel free to contact me at anytime. I'm always happy to talk about anything. While we may believe different things, we will always, as far as I am concerned, be friends.

Luv ya mate. Stay cool and look after those little munchkins.

I then got a reply that really warmed my heart: Mate! I don't give a rats arse if people see me as your friend on FB. And I will keep in touch.

It made my day to hear her say that. We have been chatting on and off since then as time allows. She has said some interesting things too, like how when her brother was DF'd she stood up for him and defended him against a lot of crap and lies people were saying about him. She still keeps in regular contact with him. She even said about shunning:

it's a reaction that doesn't come naturally, but people are convinced it is correct. U nderstanding and LOVE go a long way. Just like you said treat people with love.

So there it is. A pretty cool way to start the year off.

And if you think that was cool, wait 'til you hear the other thing that has happened...

336

The New Diary of Winston Smith

by WinstonSmith in

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.

WinstonSmith

Ha ha Phizzy, the temperature was above 30 degrees today so nnnneeeeerr!

:-)

336

The New Diary of Winston Smith

by WinstonSmith in

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.

WinstonSmith

Ha ha, sorry about that! I'm back at work after holidays so was a bit tired last night. It is coming, I promise (jeez I sound like the WT).

Unfortunately it does not involve mum. I have had two left-field surprises that have got the year off to a good start.

:-)