Posts by joker

18

JWs Like to Take Away Hope...

by JW_Rogue in

i think the worst thing about jws is that they like to take away peoples realistic hopes for a happy life now and replace it with false hope for the future.

tell a jw you want to go college and get a good career and they'll tell you that college is a waste of time, that you'll end up in debt or that the economy is so bad there are no jobs.

tell a jw about how scientists have discovered a new technology that could improve millions of lives and they'll tell you that scientists and technology have "ruined the earth" and cannot be trusted.

joker

Yes I totally agree with you.

in HS I really wanted to go to school to become a veterinarian.My boss ( who was a vet) was going to help me out financially.

but having family and friends who were witnesses, EVERY SINGLE TIME I spoke about my plans to the witnesses I got "your wasting your time", " it takes so long to become licensed, your time would be better spent working for the kingdom" and other mindless crap along those lines.

Here I am, left the jw's ten years ago, (I'm 56 now) and everyday I could just kick myself in the rear end for not following what I Wanted to do with my life.

10

Witnesses desperate for news to feel good about themselves

by joker in

jw
friends

i have a relative who is a "dyed in the wool true blue jw" and yesterday he sent me this link with the jw method of evaluating the news " more to come !.

sounds like they're grasping at straws now to put meat on their failed prophecy bones.. http://www.freep.com/story/money/business/michigan/2017/02/23/family-christian-stores-close/98310234/.

joker

I have a relative who is a "dyed in the wool true blue jw" and yesterday he sent me this link with the jw method of evaluating the news " more to come !

sounds like they're grasping at straws now to put meat on their failed prophecy bones.

http://www.freep.com/story/money/business/michigan/2017/02/23/family-christian-stores-close/98310234/

53

Best statement a householder made to get you to leave them alone.

by Esse quam videri in

knocked on a door on a saturday morning.

a window opened on the floor above me.

a grizzled old man stuck his head out and said, " we're all heathens here!

joker

We were doing service one morning during a snowstorm and after driving down a long driveway the house owner opens the door with a rifle in his hands. " we're not interested " he says. VERY effective way to get us off of his property.

how absolutely ridiculous of me to go to the door, during a snowstorm, with my five year old son and have that happen😨

19

Craziest thing you ever did during intermission at a Circuit Assembly

by Esse quam videri in

1970 - there was a local drag strip a few miles away from the hall rented for the circuit assembly.

i was 18 , tim o. was 16 and wayne d. was 18. wayne had a 1955 chevy 4 door, 6 cylinder and fresh paint job.

tim had his dad'ss 1965 chevy half ton.

joker

We attended Hawthorne race track in Chicago. And before becoming a witness I worked PT at the neighboring track, Sportsmans.

Well, at intermission I would always take my two sons and several of their friends over to Sportsmans in the area behind the track where the horses were kept. We always had a great time seeing the horses, and sometimes finding a horseshoe .

we would return to the assembly halfway through the afternoon session, it was a great time !

52

My families shunning has gone to a whole new level

by pale.emperor in

8 months df'd.

loving a life of freedom.

however, my family are all shunning me.

joker

31

Occupations that will disappear

by joker in

jw
friends

while growing up in the cult one thing that always bothered me was the way witnesses could forecast jobs/occupations that we're going to vanish in their new world.. for example, we would usually discuss at saturday night wt studies how doctors, nurses, funeral directors, and soldiers would go the way of the dodo.

i always found discussions like that just so strange.. in hs, i mounted an unsuccessful effort to enter veterinary sciences, the big answer was always "why" it won't be needed after armageddon 😝😜.

does anyone have their own story about professions that the witnesses believe will not be needed after the big a ?.

joker

While growing up in the cult one thing that always bothered me was the way witnesses could forecast jobs/occupations that we're going to vanish in their new world.

For example, we would usually discuss at Saturday night wt studies how doctors, nurses, funeral directors, and soldiers would go the way of the dodo. I always found discussions like that just so strange.

In HS, I mounted an unsuccessful effort to enter veterinary sciences, the big answer was always "why" it won't be needed after Armageddon 😝😜

does anyone have their own story about professions that the witnesses believe will not be needed after the big A ?

117

2017 Yearbook released

by bohm in

jw
friends

i saw this on reddit:.

https://www.reddit.com/r/exjw/comments/5mlgsm/2017_yearbook_of_jehovahs_witnesses/.

overall the numbers are better than last year (1.8% growth compared to 1.5% last year -- as i predicted ;-) ) with an increase in all major figures including 1300 more congregations (i assume this is not physical kingdom halls?).

joker

When I was attending ( ten years ago) there was an elderly man who believed with all his heart that he was one of the anointed and was going to heaven. He actually made a poster sized chart showing how the amount of people eating at the memorial has steadily gone down from 1910 to the current time. It was pretty convincing, but seeing the amount of partakers today is just so laughable and it makes me sad that I bought the jw line for so long.

6

Bad Association: what were your experiences with being labeled this as a young JW?

by Jason Melita in

please share your experiences with being labeled as "bad association".

i was labelled with limted and distasteful association after i was caught smoking pot at school with some of my friends ( i am not condoning drug taking as a teenager, drug experimentation if possible should be kept until after you have finished developing into adulthood) thanks and look forward to your stories........

joker

In my old hall there was a group of teenage pioneers and all around do-gooders who referred to their group as "the unholies". They did pretty much everything, dating/smoking/drinking/porn/etc. When I became a teenager and tried to fit in it took several months before I was accepted. Since my parents were recent converts I believe that the group did not trust me. But in time I fit in pretty good ! But then one time several of the pioneers were busted for under aged drinking, and since I was the low man on the totem pole I was thrown under the bus in order to save their parents reputations.

its funny how corrupt I became AFTER studying with the jw's. And getting involved with the kids at the hall. Not a very nice time,

4

Crystal Lake, Illinois, Goodbye, and Good Luck

by Phaedra in

i spent the majority of my growing years in the crystal lake area, with a watchful eye under the tutleledge of the grownups whom i thought had it all figured out.

milkovetch, penkava, redman, gordon, and sterne, before the congregations split into 2 in the late 90s, i was already enamored into the truth with total belief and readying for the revelation book persecution.

then your families crumbled with red letters surfacing all around.. during and after a storm of controversies, scandals, and the like, i realized all people are people and prone to bad decisions and mistakes.

joker

I was part of this hall for several decades.

Did you know the elder fool named Renfroe ? he was known by the young people in the circuit as the local perv back in the early 90's. he just loved to counsel the younger girls, and did his best to stay away from any young men who really needed help.

I wonder if he is still an elder ?? More concrete proof that this org. is not directed by God in any way, shape, or form.

29

dealing with religion after leaving the witnesses

by joker in

i’ve noticed many people posting on this site seem to have completely given up on religion/spirituality.. but some have attended services at another religion, or just follow their own heart regarding what to believe.. my question is how does anyone deal after leaving with all of the witness crap that we believed about babylon the great, the great harlot, spiritual prostitute, etc., etc.

i’m finding out that i seem to have built myself a pretty solid wall regarding religion.. some people can just chuck all beliefs into one basket saying that they are all basically garbage,,, and that is ok, no problem i respect that.. but for myself there is a certain part of my personality that needs a spiritual belief not like the witnesses in any way, but something to meditate on, and contemplate.. being a witness taught me how bad it is to actually think of god in any other way besides what the jw’s believe.

and now when i attend any other service, the dark jw side seems to pop out and seriously makes me believe that everything i see/do/say is wrong.

joker

I’ve noticed many people posting on this site seem to have completely given up on religion/spirituality.

But some have attended services at another religion, or just follow their own heart regarding what to believe.

My question is how does anyone deal after leaving with all of the witness crap that we believed about Babylon the Great, the great Harlot, spiritual prostitute, etc., etc.

I’m finding out that I seem to have built myself a pretty solid wall regarding religion.

Some people can just chuck all beliefs into one basket saying that they are all basically garbage,,, and that is OK, no problem I respect that.

But for myself there is a certain part of my personality that needs a spiritual belief not like the witnesses in any way, but something to meditate on, and contemplate.

Being a witness taught me how bad it is to actually think of God in any other way besides what the jw’s believe. And now when I attend any other service, the dark jw side seems to pop out and seriously makes me believe that everything I see/do/say is wrong. And it is like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde it just come out. It’s really quite a big drag that keeps me from moving forward in a positive way. I’m not looking to become a self-righteous religious person like before with my jw life, but just looking for something to lean on. Before becoming a witness ( for 15 years before) my parents were religious, but not self-righteous as the jw’s made them out to be later.

Has anyone else dealt with this type of backhanded residual effect after leaving the witnesses?