Posts by Maria Nieves

17

Are Jehovah Witnesses still trying to bring the good news to others during the pandemic?

by Maria Nieves in

i am no longer a study.

during the onset of the pandemic the person who used to be my bible study teacher began to reach out to me.

initially, i just thought that she wanted to know that i was well.

Maria Nieves

Thank-you LongHairGal for your support.

Matthew 7:7 was presented to me and I spoke of having wanted a master’s degree and having obtained one.

During my graduate school days, I encountered a lot of obstacles and challenges. However, I persisted and finally graduated. During my hardships, I felt that God helped me and I spoke to my previous bible study teacher of my feelings. I was not studying with the Jehovah Witnesses during my graduate school days. I began to study with the Jehovah Witnesses approximately one year after having graduated.

After I shared my feelings, I was asked if I really believed that Jehovah helped me to obtain a master’s degree and I was asked what purpose it had served. The question sounded harsh and this was not the first time that I had been spoken to in such a manner by her. During the time that I was a study, towards the end of my study, I felt overpowered and controlled by my Bible Study Teacher. I believe that she was probably frustrated that I had spent several years studying but was not working towards baptism.

I responded to her by telling her that in the same manner that I had obtained a master’s degree, so had she. Although I did not question her, I questioned how she could judge me for doing something that she herself had done. She is not in favor of higher education. However, she makes a living from her field of study. In addition, if she feels that having obtained higher education is so bad, the door is open for her to walk away from her current employment. But, she doesn’t walk away. Instead, she is working towards retirement. I know that she is working towards retirement because she told me.

The amount of hypocrisy and double standards that I observed when I use to attend The Kingdom Hall is beyond belief. Higher education was discouraged but there was a pioneer at the congregation who was working towards a master’s degree while she continued to preach the good news.

There was also a sister who was married to a financer. Just by looking at them, you would get the impression that they were financially secured. Every meeting, she would come dressed in Gucci and she would have on Christian Louboutin heels. So much for being humble and living a modest life.

17

Are Jehovah Witnesses still trying to bring the good news to others during the pandemic?

by Maria Nieves in

i am no longer a study.

during the onset of the pandemic the person who used to be my bible study teacher began to reach out to me.

initially, i just thought that she wanted to know that i was well.

Maria Nieves

I am no longer a study. During the onset of the pandemic the person who used to be my bible study teacher began to reach out to me. Initially, I just thought that she wanted to know that I was well.

Today, she contacted me and the conversation started out well with her asking how I was. I spoke of my fears of COVID-19 and she provided scriptures that we reviewed.

The conversation quickly became sour when my views did not match hers and when I asked questions. I was spoken to in a way where I felt demeaned and belittle which were the exact same reasons as to why I had ended my bible studies.

What is the purpose of the good news during this time? During a previous conversation that I had with her, she mentioned that she was doing letter witnessing. I thought that Jehovah Witnesses were going to stop preaching the good news because the current system of things had reached its end.

24

Will God resurrect our beloved pets? What do you think?

by Pallbearer in

the watchtower doesn't hold out any hope for us ever seeing our beloved animals again.

i find it very difficult to believe that god -- a god of love -- would refuse to resurrect an animal that we had become so attached to.

over the years i have bonded with no less than four (4) dogs, all of which were/are like family to me.

Maria Nieves

I am very fond of animals especially cats. The question that you asked is one that I would like to know. When I was a study, my study conductor told me that animals do not go to heaven nor will they get to see the new system of things. She stated that once an animal dies, that is the complete end of their existence. Her explanation as to why animals will not see the new system of things is because according to her, they lack the mental capacity to study and put to use what they have studied.

8

Programmed to return

by hoser in

jw
friends

i found out this morning via facebook that someone i know returned to “the truth”.. her elder husband had abused her for years until she had a breakdown and had sex with a non believer.

this happened several years ago.

she now returned to the fold with her newly converted man.

Maria Nieves

I can see why she returned. You stated that she could not see her children or grandchildren. Not seeing her children and grandchildren was probably very difficult for her and something that she could not surpass. Jehovah Witness might have been the only people in her life prior to being disfellowshipped. Once she was disfellowshipped, she was probably isolated from the world. There was a man that was disfellowshipped in the congregation that I used to attend. A study wanted to speak to him after he was disfellowshipped but was told that she could not because he was not repentant. I didn't really understand why the study could not speak to him being that she was a study and not a Witness.

8

Programmed to return

by hoser in

jw
friends

i found out this morning via facebook that someone i know returned to “the truth”.. her elder husband had abused her for years until she had a breakdown and had sex with a non believer.

this happened several years ago.

she now returned to the fold with her newly converted man.

Maria Nieves

Is she returning to the same congregation? Was she reinstated?

30

The Watchtower stole from me and you too

by rickroll in

think of how much time and money the tower stole from any who were in the cult.

think of the vacations as a child you could have taken with your families the memories you could have made instead of sitting in a hot bs week of echo talks and propaganda.

they stole so much from us.

Maria Nieves

Sour Grapes,

What did the Elders say to you when the great tribulation did not happen? When the great tribulation did not happen, what did you think? I am curious to know.

21

What's Tony up to today?

by FatFreek 2005 in

making a jw dot org tv presentation?

making a liquor run for his cronies?

in hiding?

Maria Nieves

Were there any repercussions to Anthony Morris for his actions? I thought that the matter was overlooked.

11

what prevents me from getting baptized?

by road to nowhere in

todays wt what a bunch of hooey.

try: nobody can explain the beliefs from the bible; there are lots of "rules" beyond tdhe ones on morals enforced(beards, movies),.

the "gifts in men" are in the least incompetent overworked well meaning; but others are overbearing power hungry bullies.

Maria Nieves

What prevented me from getting baptized was my belief that the truth was not the truth.

I was a study and when I got to the, "Baptism and Your Relationship with God" in the What Does the Bible Really Teach book, I tried to avoid reviewing the chapter with my bible study conductor for as long as I could. That only lasted one week and when I finally had to review the chapter with her, that was when I ended my studies.

Basically, having a relationship with Jehovah involved consistently being prepared for the studies, attending the Watchtower meeting every week and being prepared for the meetings, commenting at the meetings, attending the weekday meetings, being prepared for the weekday meetings and commenting at the weekday meetings. Also, accepting what was presented to me as truth and not questioning what was presented to me. I did not believe that this was the way to build a relationship with God and this was not how I wanted to build a relationship with God.

17

New Light - I’m applying Job 1:4 today.

by HiddenPimo in

as today is my day and i’m going to celebrate it.. happy 15,330th day to me!

😉.

Maria Nieves

@HiddenPimo, I am so happy that you had an amazing time. I am glad that your friends acknowledged you and made an effort to make you happy.

Reminds me of a few years back before I began to study. I knew that my friends were going to celebrate my birthday. However, when they celebrated my birthday, I was so overwhelmed with emotions that I cried and my friends comforted me. One of my closest friend immediately came over to me and hugged me. I still remember that day.

While I was studying, I stopped celebrating my birthday. However, I would acknowledged those closest to me on their birthday.

There is one female who I particularly have in mind. I don't get the opportunity to acknowledge her throughout the year. The only opportunity that I get to acknowledge her is during Christmas. For every Christmas gift that I have given her, she has been so appreciative. The last Christmas gift that I gave her, she stated that it was one of the best gifts that she had received in her whole life.

19

What your first realization of hypocrisy in this Religion?

by days of future passed in

my mother became a witness when i was five and i believed that every witness followed what was said at the meetings and the instructions given.

my naive belief carried on until maybe i was 10?

at the old conventions, volunteers would come early and pack fruit into net bags so that it could be sold at lunch.

Maria Nieves

I can't recall the first time that I observed hypocrisy within the religion but I repeatedly observed hypocrisy.

I will say that in the congregation that I attended, higher education was discouraged. The reasoning was that higher education would result in an individual devoting less time to Jehovah. However, the congregation had individuals who were Licensed Teachers, Nurses, School Principals, School Assistant Principals, Accountants, Financers and the list goes on. These individuals were proud of their careers. You could tell because they often spoke of the work that they did with pride. There were also individuals in the congregation who were pursuing higher education.

I questioned myself as to who they were to discourage others from getting a higher education when they themselves had obtained a higher education or were actively working an advanced degree such as a graduate degree.

My Bible Study Conductor graduated from graduate school and now works in the field that she studied. She has been working within her current title for 15 years and earns over $90,000 annually. I once asked her as to how she was able to attend graduate school and she got offended by my question. However, I did not ask the question in order to offend her or anyone.

Her response was that if she had to do things over again, she would not have attended school at all. She stated that school was a complete waste of time. The way that I viewed it was, if she really felt that way, then she should have just quit her job. However, I did not tell her this. I quickly learned that I was supposed to listen, take in the information, not question the information and remain quiet.

It shocked me that those individuals who had a dream and got to live out their dreams were now discouraging others from pursuing their dreams. I felt that they had no right.

Another hypocrisy that I saw was two sisters talking about Catholic Priests being investigated for child sex abuse. I do believe that child sex abuse has occurred within the Catholic Church. However, I also believe that child sex abuse has also occurred within the Jehovah Witness religion.

Jehovah Witnesses are not allowed to read anything negative about their religion. If they want any information about their religion, they can only search for information on JW.Org. However, they are allowed to read negative things about other religions and they spend a considerable amount of time criticizing other religions.

One time, the congregation that I belonged to had a gathering at a park. One of the sisters was in charge of setting aside tables for when the members of the congregation arrived. I was with her. The sister approached a mother who was at the park. The mother was there setting up for her daughter's birthday. The sister asked the mother if she could take one of the tables and the mother said yes.

While the mother was celebrating her daughter's birthday, the sister kept approaching the mother and asking her for food and cake.