according to the wt, the wine is passed around, once a year, to all those who have been "chosen".
they believe that this is a requirement, set out in the holy scriptures and is proof that they are of the anointed class.. has anyone any idea what happened during the time of prohibition in the us, when it was against the law of the land to purchase alcohol?
did they use a substitute?.
According to the WT, the wine is passed around, once a year, to all those who have been "chosen". They believe that this is a requirement, set out in the Holy Scriptures and is proof that they are of the anointed class.
Has anyone any idea what happened during the time of Prohibition in the US, when it was against the law of the land to purchase alcohol? Did they use a substitute?
KT
on randy's freeminds site my personal story: my life in jehovah's service appears.
it is sad that you publish information on jehovah's witnesses.. you even title it, my life in jehovah's service.. but you know nothing about what it means to be one of jehovah's witnesses.. .
so you should get your information from people, like me, who know.
Terry,
We have just been onto the Freeminds site and read your story. We found it to be very sad, but so pleased that sanity has prevailed. Although we have never had to suffer the hardships of prison and all that that may have brought, we have certainly had to suffer the total disallusionment and brain washing of the Org. All of those wasted years!, that is something that we find hard to come to terms with. My wife's parents (not JWs) are still alive and she is able to try to repair all the damage done over thirty years (birthdays, family get-togethers etc.) whereas in my case, My parents died before I saw the WT for what it really is (a mind-controlling cult) and Disassociated because of the UN involvement etc. You have put into words the way that we have felt since coming out of the Org. and we can relate to many of the things that you have mentioned.
We find all of your topics interesting and very well thought out, it seems that you have been able to put your life back into some order. Thanks for sharing with us on this Forum.
Kaytee and Twinkletoes
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http://home.c2i.net/norman/changes.htm
read this well-written description of watchtower hypocrites applying one standard to others it won't apply to itself.. .
Thanks Terry
A very interesting and thought-provoking article, written with some wit, but with serious overtones. I don't know who Norm is but he gets top marks!
KT
i think witness often confuse the subject of "organized" or "order" with human concepts of these words.
for instance a forest might look highly random in it's placement of trees.
on the other hand, the trees are placed according to very hard and certain rules that decide where a tree can receive enough water, light, and nutrients to survive.
John the Baptist wasn't Organised, he couldn't even organise a square meal for himself, but lived off honey and locusts, but we can hardly say he wasn't successful could we?
KT
we were always lead to believe, when we belonged to the jws, that jesus died on a "stake".
was this really true or did he die on a cross as all other religions appear to believe.
if it was a cross, what on earth did the jws get out of saying otherwise.
Thank you all for all the amazing information and research, that you have all done on this subject. I know in the overall scheme of things, it is perhaps somewhat unimportant. but it was interesting to see whether this was yet another "untruth" coming from the org. I am staggered at the depth of knowledge that you have on these subjects and I am gratefully thankful for all of the answers.
KT
my exit from the jws, was roughly as follows-
our final letter to the congregation was in the form of a resignation.
we made at least 15 to 20 copies and sent the majority of them to so-called friends, 2 days later we sent the original to the body of elders.
Many thanks for all of your upbuilding replies. You all certainly display the qualities that they never showed. Two of our friends from the same congregation, came out around the same time (after reading Crisis of Conscience) and they are now happy in the Salvation Army, but although we have never been to the SA meetings, they do not shun us for that! and neither do we shun them. We are still good friends after 25 years.
KT
mike davis, firefighter.
bank one forest park (3:05 p.m.): it may be less than a foot square, but mike davis and fellow forest park firefighter julie stanley work the smoldering patch of mulch as if it could turn into a full-fledged fire.
they till soil around the tree and douse it with water until the smoke stops.. it's a non-emergency response for engine 42. with no sirens or flashing lights, it's excruciatingly routine.
When I was in the Org. I understood that the only job that was acceptable was "window cleaning" Higher Education was frowned upon. Now I've got nothing against window cleaning, but isn't it a good job for the Org. that they didn't all finish up as window cleaners, otherwise they would have no-one to work in their High-Tech/Computer depts.
This was their way of answering whether or not we should pursue a "worldly or spiritual" career. I personally, think that both can be done, after all no-one had a greater "job" than Jesus but he took on the role of Higher Education, when he was taught to be a carpenter, by his father Joseph.
KT
every time i went to a meeting, book study, or whatever, the great majority of people looked as if they were truly happy to be a jw.
their smiles looked genuine.
they seemed to love talking to each other.. i, on the other hand, wasn't really happy to be at the meetings.
Looking back at 30 yrs of life within the Org. it really was unreal to think how unhappy one can be and still carry on. One of the first occasions I felt like this - I went by car to Switzerland for a holiday, unfortunately with another family of witnesses, (husband was an elder). There was a convention in Zurich, where the brothers spoke only in German for 8 hours day. (I dont understand or speak German and neither did this elder) on leaving the convention the brother turned to me and said. "Did you feel the Holy Spirit?" Now I thought that Holy Spirit was an understanding of something said and I certainly could not feel ANYTHING, as I couldn't understand ANYTHING! This elder wanted to go to the convention EVERY DAY, when we only had one week's holiday - I refused.
When trying to understand the authenticity of the Bible and the personality of Jehovah, I could not get my head round their inconsistent teachings, this greatly troubled me. But when I questioned "last month's understanding" compared to the latest thinking, they could not or as usual would not give me a clear answer.
So the answer to your question is NO - I was terribly unhappy, but unfortunately I am only able to say that looking back on matters.
KT
in the last congregation that i frequented, on two separate occasions, and two different elders, i was told to do what they said, whether they were right or wrong!
this brought some ridicule in answer, from my lips.
the elders said to do otherwise is to go against jehovah.
In the last congregation that I frequented, on two separate occasions, and two different elders, I was told to do what they said, whether they were right or wrong! This brought some ridicule in answer, from my lips. The Elders said to do otherwise is to go against Jehovah. I persisted in not accepting their actions when they were blatantly wrong. But they made you feel as if you were going against Jehovah (a very clever ploy that they use on many occasions).
One instance from the Bible that answered this nonsense, was the time that David was in the tent, when King Saul was asleep, David stole his drinking vessel and spear, he then shouted down from the nearest hilltop, what he had done and ridiculed Saul in the sight of his followers, eventhough he knew that Saul was anointed by Jehovah, this must have been humilating for Saul as he was the "Utimate Elder" But we do not see in the Bible, any counsel directed at David for these actions. David certainly didn't take notice of Saul (Jehovah's anointed) on ALL occasions!
I wonder how many others have come across this sort of reasoning from Elders (or as some refer to themselves as Glorious Ones)
KT
i just returned from ontario, where a family member died, i was reading the obit, and i know its been said millions of times, but this really blew me away.
"a private family burial at ______ cemetery.
a memorial service will be held at the kingdom hall of jehovah's witnesses on saturday august 13, 2005 at 2:00 p.m. as expressions of sympathy, please send donations to world wide work of jehovah's witnesses.".
I would never, never send this CULT money, they had the last of my monies a few years ago. I would prefer to send flowers, at least one thing is for certain, that the flowers are destroyed either by burial or weeks later are sure to die, Whereas donating money to this cult, will only ensure their survival.
KT
