Posts by Aware!

51

JWs say it's my fault I didn't go to university ?!

by ekruks in

like many on here, as a jw trying hard to follow the direction of the gb, i listened to the advice to pioneer and trust in jehovah to provide (mat6.33) instead of going to university.

after struggling for ages in low-paid physically-demanding jobs, i decided to become a student (thanks for the encouragement on here guys!).

i tell a jw i wish i had been to university when i was a teenager, and put all that pioneer time into studying hard for a good grade, get a good job, and if i had wound up tired as i am now, at least i would have been paying into a mortgage on a home and pension.

Aware!

"...I wish I had been to university when I was a teenager, and put all that pioneer time into studying hard for a good grade, get a good job, and if I had wound up tired as I am now, at least I would have been paying into a mortgage on a home and pension."

Ekruks, I forgot to add this in my first reply, but I know what you mean. I have asked older JWs that lived through the 1975 fiasco if they remember anything, and it's as if nothing happened. How does someone forget their past?!

Billy- Yeah, that's what keeps me going so far. Only a year and a half left to finish my bachelor...

problemaddict- I think it's this one: http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/watchtower/bible/223283/1/BOE-March-6-2012

jgnat- Thank you for that comeback. I'll be using it now lol

51

JWs say it's my fault I didn't go to university ?!

by ekruks in

like many on here, as a jw trying hard to follow the direction of the gb, i listened to the advice to pioneer and trust in jehovah to provide (mat6.33) instead of going to university.

after struggling for ages in low-paid physically-demanding jobs, i decided to become a student (thanks for the encouragement on here guys!).

i tell a jw i wish i had been to university when i was a teenager, and put all that pioneer time into studying hard for a good grade, get a good job, and if i had wound up tired as i am now, at least i would have been paying into a mortgage on a home and pension.

Aware!

The few JWs in my Hall going to college are also pioneering (except me!). I guess they're doing it so they won't get reproached (or "lose their spirituality"), and even then I'm the only one going to a four-year college (because two years is a long time?!).

I'm told it's a waste of time and that it's like painting a boat that's about to sink. And if I try to encourage young JWs to go to college, I get rebuked. I could lose my "privileges", so says the BOE letter. Not that I care, but my stepdad is an elder.

33

Do we have an update on how many NEWBIES have joined in 2012 ?

by smiddy in

jw
friends

i think with every year their are more and more newbies that identify with this site , would you like to say " hi ", if you have joined in the last 12 months ?.

does anybody have a graph of the numbers of newbies who have joined in say the last 5 years ?.

i think that would be interesting.

Aware!

Hi!

22

I'm in, and having a hard time biting my tongue sometimes

by noonehome in

jw
friends

i spend allot of time with other young witnesses my age, and am very close to a few of these friends.

my question is, is there any way to safely talk about doubts?

for instance, i've been learning allot about evolution and the science behind the flood (or lack thereof).

Aware!

I can't contain myself sometimes. The other day my non-JW grandma and my sister were talking, when my sister asked her what happened to a girl she knew that was studying with the JWs. My grandma said she quit when she was told or heard that only JWs would survive Armageddon and that her family would not make it. She couldn't contemplate 'everlasting life' without her family. My sister right away 'apologised' and told her that that's not true, and that she probably misunderstood or that the brother lied. I had a WTF!? expression on my face and snapped. I asked my sister why she was lying and didn't know what she believed in (she doesn't, like most JWs). I then looked up the most recent Watchtower that said that only JWs will survive and showed it to her in private later on. Her face turned red when she read it and realised she was wrong, and she then asked me why I was 'against Jehovah'. She accused me of being an apostate. I was dumbfounded. All I did was show her a recent Watchtower (not 'old light')!

"But Jehovah's servants already belong to the only organization that will survive the end of this wicked system of things." Watchtower 2007 Dec 15 p.14

I believe Moshe is right. The only way you can safely discuss doubts is if you're ready to be financially independent. Are you currently going to school or working? I'm also your age if you need someone to talk to.

57

Anyone with Happy Memories from being a JW born in, please post here....

by SkyGreen in

first up, happy new year .

hi everyone, ok i guess this is controversial, but im doing it as therapy for me - so im not bitter about the way i was raised.

plus i want to see if i can be the op of an "epic thread"!!.

Aware!

I guess legalism also protected me as well. I was also scared of having sex and getting an STD (still am). That's pretty much it. Hated meetings and field service, especially talking to people. I can never recover all those lost Saturdays and Sundays of not sleeping in. Never liked being forced to comment; I thought it was stupid because we were either summarising what was in the paragraph, or reading directly.

17

Any successful methods to discreetly reach out to someone who is studying?

by sseveninches in

my father had me go with him to do a study, and the guy looked like he's a pretty smart guy, and he was asking legitimate questions that i had my own answers to, but of course i couldn't say them.. i'm wondering if anyone has successfully been able to convince/warn anyone that they're getting sucked into a cult.

i wanted to just secretly slip him a note, but i'm always scared to do that from fear of the person throwing me under the bus.

then i got the idea of sending him a text message from a number that can't be traced back to me.

Aware!

I like Fernando's idea of writing a letter and signing it " from a concerned neighbour who noticed JWs calling and visiting". But before that, try to find out what was used to bait him in the first place.

31

What did you do with your books?

by mamamo in

jw
friends

i was in an used bookstore this weekend and saw a new world translation and some other society publications.

this made me think, what did others do with their books?

i gave mine to my mother, 22 years ago.

Aware!

I'm going to try and sell what I can online because I live in a rural city. The rest will go in a recycle bin, with the litterature defaced.

23

The Emphatic Diaglott, still being published by the WTB&TS for the benefit of ... NOT JWs but for Christadelphians, Church of God Holiness and Abrahamic Faith folks.

by illoowy in

jw
friends

there are english speaking denominations that actively use the emphatic diaglott.

the wtb&ts is the only publisher providing new printings of this nt interlinear.

the r&f jehovah's witness doesn't use the diaglott (not even the jw version of it "kingdom interlinear translation" that supplanted it).

Aware!

I don't know why the Watchtower doesn't offer it anymore, but anybody can buy the reprint version being printed by Kessinger Publishing, LLC. And for some reason, it is being offered in two parts. Maybe it has to do with the paper thickness?

Part 1: http://www.amazon.com/The-Emphatic-Diaglott-Containing-Testament/dp/1162916842/ref=pd_sim_sbs_b_3

Part 2: http://www.amazon.com/The-Emphatic-Diaglott-Containing-Testament/dp/1169336884/ref=tmm_hrd_title_0

96

What's The Main Reason You Do Not Believe That The Witnesses Are The Best Religion?

by minimus in

jw
friends

some people leave because they are fed up with the elders.

others have personality issues.

some have doctrinal and prophecy reasons.

Aware!

The two-witness rule that allows pedophiles a free pass in Kingdom Halls and blood transfusions, plus all the academic dishonesty.

50

New Here! So many questions! :)

by TeenageInsider in

jw
friends

hey everyone!

i'm so happy that i finnally joined i just turned 17 and i have so many questions about the org.. i've been lurking around the site for months, and love reading experiences about bethel, and all the hypocricy that the wtbts spews out.. so i finally joined in and hope to make some great friends.. a little about me:.

im male, 17, and i am a born-in, so this is all i know... i was baptised at age 13 i beleive.... my gramma, and grampa and mom , and sisters and brothers, are all jw's.

Aware!

You won't be able to stand the cult for a lot longer, so be prepared to get out on your own and be an independent person in life.

I'm 20 and I woke up early July of this year and I can't stand meetings or field service any longer. I have about a year and a half to two years left to finish my degree and get a job. It has been suggested to me that I get a job at a hospital and move out, but I see how my classmates that have a job struggle with the school workload and it makes me nervous. I won't move out until then.

Make sure to make good [positive] 'worldly' friends to help keep your sanity. None of mine understand what I'm going through, and at times they probably think I'm exaggerating (e.g., like my parents not talking to me when I leave the JWs), but at least I can safely talk to them without them ratting me out to elders.