I think apostates have over-egged the YMCA thing over the years. It may well be "official" policy but it's not a biggie down on the ground. Back in the 90s as a regular dub in good standing I regularly performed at the YMCA with my band, all of whom were JWs. A couple of people made comments but some from the cong used to come and see us perform including an elder. To be honest more people were "stumbled" at the fact we played at another larger venue which had a gay landlord.
krejames
JoinedPosts by krejames
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171
New to The Jehovahs Witness Faith and need some help
by jnjburkett inhello there i am new to the faith and have been studying for about a month.
i am very excited and hungry for the truth and have not missed a meeting or study since the memorial.
we do about 2 bible studies a week.
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What song or line from a song bests describes your time as a JW?????
by karter inwaisted days and waisted nites.. freddy fender..
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First Post - Emotionally Torn
by scaredtospeak ini haven't been on here long but i found this site a couple days ago and quickly realised it had a lot of posts by people going through similar experiences as me.
i read some of the answers and it helped relieve some inner anguish i've been carrying since everything i came clean to my parents about everything i've been reading about.. .
i just have been going through a rough patch right now; that might be an under or overstatement depending on your own personal experiences with this kind of stuff.
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krejames
Hey Scaredtospeak. I can't say I have perso ally had the same experience as you but I can (and many others will) relate to the guilt you're made to feel for deciding tHe WTS doesn't have "the truth". Yes it does become like an elephant in the room. But your parents will come to terms with your decision in time (I'm assuming you're not baptised, right?). One thing that has helped me is to realise that I have no control over the way my family feels about my life choices. It is their choice to feel and react the way they do. Don't feel guilty. Be strong. It will get better.
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krejames
I couple of older sisters in my cong write to me now and again with news and to invite me to eat out with them etc. I don't reply because, although I think it's really sweet of them, I actually think it's important to keep my distance given my situation. My best "friend" in the congregation who stuck by me during my first fade, stopped socialising with me when she realised I was in a gay relationship. She just sends a text once in a blue moon "to check I'm ok" (I find this quite patronising and offensive actually, given that she used to be at my place all the time). I think the elders might have finally given up trying to contact me as it's been a while. So the only JWs I'm still in touch with now are my immediate family.
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Smoking
by FL_Panthers ini heard that the witnesses used to smoke back in the day.
is this true?
if so, what was the reasoning behind this?.
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Smoking
by FL_Panthers ini heard that the witnesses used to smoke back in the day.
is this true?
if so, what was the reasoning behind this?.
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krejames
It's worth clarifying that the custom of not approving beards is not an organisation-wide ban as smoking is. It does seem to depend on local customs and attitudes within the congregation, based on the fact that assembly speakers are not allowed to have facial hair. I was a MS and had a beard at the time I was appointed and never shaved it off. And there are still plenty of elders in this part of the UK with beards. Regular smoking on the other hand is considered a gross sin and a disfellowshipping offence.
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Smoking
by FL_Panthers ini heard that the witnesses used to smoke back in the day.
is this true?
if so, what was the reasoning behind this?.
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krejames
American scientists didn't widely accept smoking was bad for health until 1964, i believe. WTS being an American religion probably didn't take much notice of earlier reports from british scientists in the 50s. So I should imagine once it was confirmed it was bad for health and linked to cancer, this might have been understood by WTS to be a "defilement of the flesh" and contributed to the "you must give up by...X date" in the early 70s.
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We thought it might be Armageddon when...
by cultBgone inwere there ever specific occurrences which you or those around you thought might be the start of "armageddon"?.
i remember 9/11 being such a day as it happened right as the meeting for field service ended.
it was the week of the c.o.
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krejames
I remember the UK riots in 2011. Really thought "this is it!" I had faded but still was mentally captive. The riots followed uprisings in several other countries and were really scary for us sheltered Brits who accept unrest in other countries but panic that the world is ending when it's on our own doorstep. I remember thinking it was exactly as depicted in WT illustrations.
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Our throw-away society
by zound incheck out this video if you have 20 minutes to spare - it really is awesome.
anyone want to add their thoughts on how to change societys throwaway mentality?.
the story of stuff.
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Looking Back, Are You Embarrassed By Your Attitudes, Speech, Actions as a JW?
by minimus ini think of how judgmental we were as witnesses.
"worldly ones" were almost as bad as disfellowshipped ones but not as bad as "apostates"..
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krejames
Totally! i remember going to a disco (!) with a sister and she ended up snogging some "worldly" guy and i told her to tell her dad about it (who was an elder). Actually i had forgotten about that until I met up with her recently and she reminded me (she's out of WTS now too). The hypocrisy of it (on my part!). Amazingly we stayed very good friends and probably will be for life.
Another time my sister and I went to a house party and there was some heavy(ish) alcohol consumption so we left early. Then the next day we went self-righteously round to their house and sat down in their living room with the hosts and their parents and told them why we left early and why we thought their party was out of order. I'm going red thinking about it!
All i can say in my defence is I was young and niaive. What a prick!
