Posts by Phoebe

28

Why I lost my religion

by Sour Grapes in

i was a jw for over 50 years and recently just stopped cold turkey going to the meetings.

years of sitting at the meetings with the boredom, the gloom and doom, repetition of doctrine, the gloom and doom, the fake love, the gloom and doom, the end being so close, do more - do more, just got to be too much for me to stomach.

i stopped praying to god and no longer thank god for the food before i eat.

Phoebe

I listened to a Peter Gregerson talk - found the link on here - from years ago. At the end he said the Watchtower was guilty of causing thousands of lives to be lost because of the blood policy, ruining families and smashing peoples faith. That last bit resonated with me.

My husband wasn't a born in, he came into it when he was in his late 20s. He still has faith. He reads the bible and prays and says he feels closer to God.

I was born-in and left last May. I'm 64. I don't know who God is anymore. I have no idea. I can't pray. I don't read the bible. I don't know what to believe. The Watchtower has taken that away from me with their lies.

I know a lot of you don't believe in God. but I would like to. I would like to be comforted by prayer. I would like to have hope. I wish I'd been left alone to find God for myself instead of having it force fed to me and made to feel terrified of God.

23

Leah Remini (Scientology expose' series) "May turn attention to Jehovah's Witnesses next"

by TerryWalstrom in

jw
friends

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-4935392/leah-remini-turn-attention-jehovah-s-witnesses.html.

remini said that she was warned of the jehovah’s witnesses that 'these f----rs are super powerful,' but is not one to cower in fear.. 'are you ready for my response?

'i don’t give a s--- about powerful.

Phoebe

There are enough heart breaking stories in exJW land for Leah to be interested. I've come across many on Facebook and in the comments on Youtube. I just hope if she does it, she'll go to those people. The people that make you cry when you hear how they were treated. They are the testimonies the world should see. Not the celebs.

64

Why is there such a 'high turnover' within the Jehovahs Witnesses?

by UnshackleTheChains in

i happened to come across a time article in 2008. it was basically talking about the high turnover in american faiths.

it mentioned the jdubs and highlighted the following point.. an even more extreme example of what might be called "masked churn" is the relatively tiny jehovah's witnesses, with a turnover rate of about two-thirds.

that means that two-thirds of the people who told pew they were raised jehovah's witnesses no longer are — yet the group attracts roughly the same number of converts.

Phoebe

in my 60+ years most of the kids I grew up with in the 'truth' left. Only the ones who were climbing the theocratic ladder and came from well connected families stayed. As my own kids grew up almost all their friends in the congregation, including them, didn't stay. Born-ins are in it by default, as someone said above, and the pressure to conform and tow the line is so strong, there's no room to develop as a person. Everything is monitored, from the length of your skirt to your hairstyle. No wonder, the minute these kids get away from family they leave. It's only idiots like me, who were terrified into staying. I was too scared to say I didn't want it anymore because I didn't want God to kill me. Even until last May I was still locked into the fear.

I also knew many, many people who came in and went out. We had a brother once on the convention. He'd left his biker life - tattoos etc - to become a witness and was hailed as a success story. I knew him well. After about 5 years him and his family left.

If I sat down and tried to list all the people I knew that had left - born ins and converts - it would take forever. There has been so many.

It's a hard religion to be in and there is so much pressure to tick all the boxes or else. But then you get others that seemingly sail through life as a witness. The well connected people who often get away with all sorts.

Just wish I'd had the courage decades ago to say enough like my friends did.

20

Classic situation at Circuit Assembly Day

by freddo in

jw
friends

so i've just skived off to the car park half way through our assembly day - what a classic morning.. i'm sat right behind an early-teen kid with some sort of special needs (autistic?

) who's sat with what looks like his late-30's harassed single parent mother.

(or married to an unbelieving mate?

Phoebe

freddo

where are you? Can you say? my lot are at the assembly today.

12

Self Intro

by Cimarrona in

i've done a good deal of posting in my brief 24 hours here so far, figured i might as well provide a slightly more in depth narrative.

second generation born-in.

elder's daughter and elders' granddaughter.

Phoebe

Hi. Great to meet you on here and wow, good for you!

21

Shunning: Extreme apathy!

by StephaneLaliberte in

i thought i'd share this one with the group.

many years ago, my mom was disfellowshipped.

then, my sister passed away in a car accident, she was fairly young, as she was in her early 20s.

Phoebe

By their love you will know then. Not.

These experiences are heart breaking but sadly, not rare. My DA nephew was rushed to hospital with a suspected heart attack (he was only in his early 30s) but his father wouldn't visit him in hospital. What if he'd died?

Cold. Heartless. Evil.

The more I hear, the happier I am I finally got out.

41

Things I Cant Stand Since Leaving Watchtower

by pale.emperor in

what a breath a fresh air to be free of watchtower.

now i can finally rant about the things i put up with that i'd never put up with now.. in no particular order:.

little kids in suits.

Phoebe

Wearing a dress or skirt. I haven't worn a dress/skirt since May. I feel liberated!

21

Just Bumped Into My JW Sister And Brother In Town

by pale.emperor in

so im walking through town today on my lunchbreak and spot the unmistakable walk of my younger brother.

this is the one who left watchtower... well it turns out he's returned to the vomit after stupidly turning up to the 2017 convention and a few elders filling his head with seeing our dead dad in paradise and to "wait on jehovah".. a few meters behind him was my sister.

she spotted me first, then hurried up her step to my brother.

Phoebe

This is so, so sad. It disgusts me to see what a religion can do to people.

I just watched 'Spotlight' there was a quote in the movie. The victims did as they were told because the priests were like God and: 'how do you say no to God, right'

Shunning is the same. They obey because they think the Org is God.

I know you are a strong person pale.emperor but I'm so sorry that happened to you.

24

First posting on here..Hello all

by London Underground in

jw
friends

just wanted to say a big hello to everyone, my first post on here was actually yesterday but it was deleted.. so will keep this one short to save my precious time just in case its also deleted or lost.. got fed up with years of persecution from within the congregations.

the lack of genuine friendship & lack of 'christian love'.

having personally seen many a scandalous behaviour i began doing some research online some years ago.

Phoebe

Hi London Underground

Welcome!

Looking forward to hearing your story. This forum is a life saver for many of us.

86

JW Rumor: End of the Traveling Overseer

by Edison Trent in

a friend of mine has contacts to a family with several circuit overseers and special pioneers.

they have good connections to bethel.. he told me that the latest rumor from bethel states that the cos should be abolished in their present form.

they have also recently begun to take cos back to bethel.. over the same channel i have already heard of the car fleet program and that the dos should be abolished.. has anyone else already heard of it?

Phoebe

On our last C.O. visit he brought a 'trainee C.O.' with him, so it would appear in the U.K at least, they are still training them.

However, in the past we have had C.Os not being able to come due to health/family issues and a local super-elder has just done the job for him. My evil brother did temp C.O. work many years ago.