Posts by Phoebe

9

How the Governing Body breaks people

by krismalone in

we all have likely heard the expression "to break a person" and usually it's in relation to kidnappers, bullies, pimps, human traffickers and cult leaders.. when a person is broken, their spirit, goals, aspirations, pursuits, self esteem, critical thinking and dreams are taken away.

what fills that vacuum is despair, depression, low self esteem, lack of self confidence and individuality.

the victim now believes that they are not worthy of enjoying life and following their dreams and personal satisfaction through personal achievements.

Phoebe

I was never made to feel as if I was part of a 'special people' but I was constantly made to feel inadequate and inferior. It didn't help that I had a domineering father who was always comparing my pioneering to others. 'You're not half the pioneer **** is' was a regular statement in my home. Even though I worked really hard in the ministry and once had 7 bible studies, I was never good enough.

This was reinforced at the meetings right until last year, when I would take everything the WT said to heart and beat myself up because I wasn't 'good enough. I was a failure. A terrible JW'

I am a fairly strong person I've coped with a lot in my life but in the end it broke me and depression, anxiety, panic attacks and PTSD were the end result.

86

Do You Know Any “Gay” Jehovah’s Witnesses?

by minimus in

jw
friends

of course the religion condemns homosexuality but did you know any gay witnesses?

i knew some bethelites that were very effeminate and i remember 4 women who were suspected of being lesbians by many in the congregation.

they eventually moved away and were very vocal against males, especially elders..

Phoebe

I knew an elder when I was a young woman who was clearly gay. I guess he must have struggled for years in the organization because when I went back home to visit meany years later I found out they had DF him for being homosexual . He was a lovely man. So kind.

26

Generation

by Jrjw in

please could someone explain to me what the generation thing i keep seeing in people's threads was that had lots of people leave the wts coz it was way before i became a witness.

Phoebe

So if it's possible the 'over lapping generation' has until 2074+ then why is the end 'imminent'?

I do not know one single witness that understands the generation teaching. Yet no one questions it. No one.

I used to be wholly comforted by the fact the end would come before the 1914 generation died out. As young women, me and my friends loved the thought we wouldn't grow old. We totally believed and totally trusted the WT.

Isn't it cruel to play with peoples lives, like that? I have so much anger towards them and myself for being such an idiot as to believe them.

20

Whatever happened to the "written review"?

by pale.emperor in

does anyone know why the written review was stopped?

i relished the half hour silence they'd give you to "write down your answers", time i spend doodling or thinking up cool song lyrics..

Phoebe

I remember my mum saying she had to hand in her review to be marked and how much she hated it.

When I was a teenager, two of my older friends did their review in shorthand so no one could read their answers!

66

Since leaving the JW Organization, who is believing?

by Issa in

jw
friends

i left the jw organization last year during summer.

maybe some of you can relate.

who of you are agnostic or an atheist?

Phoebe

Reading all the posts, I guess I shouldn't be here really then because I do still believe in God. I try very hard to look at things without my JW eyes so to speak but nevertheless, I do still believe in God. Someone said here this isn't the place for faith but I have faith and I do believe this life isn't all there is. I don't know what else there is but I believe there is something.

I will never become involved in an organized religion ever again though. At the moment I am just praying a lot and reading my bible. Sorry, but it's just how I feel. You can all shoot me now hahahaha

10

Eavesdropping on a home Bible Study

by doubtfull1799 in

my mil held a bible study round to our place today and i was home so was interested to listen in from the next room to see what the quality of the study was like.

and whether the new clam meetings are helping jw’s to be better teachers at all.. .

participants:.

Phoebe

I got invited to sit in on a study a couple of years ago and every time the student raised an issue she didn't understand for example: 'I don't believe there is a devil.' She was told to 'put it on a shelf in her mind and we'll come back to it.'

I don't think they ever went back to that shelf.

35

Local elder dies of starvation

by Steel in

well , not really.. our hall recently had a secret collection for our head elder who is almost on the verge of becoming homeless.

i guess he lost some cleaning contracts because his clients were just sick of his no shows because of his pioneer work.

there is always something more important to do than earn a living.. this is the same assholes he is always shaming people to not doing enough.

Phoebe

redpilltwice

I was in a very poor congregation and horses are not cheap, but everyone was pressurized to contribute. As someone who has suffered from depression myself, I felt for the poor lady but to me, it wasn't right pressurizing people to help pay for it. It never did anything to help her depression, either, and in fact, some years later people were actually asked to contribute towards a second horse for her as she wanted to sell the first and get a better horse That's when a lot of people drew the line.

I think it's great for people to help those that are in need, but it has to be for everyone not just 'elder's and their wives'

22

Things society interferes with

by Jrjw in

i was just lying here thinking about mind control and thought it'd write a list just to see how much the wts does try to control every aspect of people's lives.

some of the things i've come up with are:.

xmas,.

Phoebe

Day Dreaming!

We had a talk saying day dreaming was wrong as we should be meditating on spiritual matters not day dreaming!

I have always been a day dreamer. Because my childhood was so awful, I would disappear into my own little world in order to cope. I created an alternative me, who was happy with a loving family. I had a good imagination and later on I actually wrote some fiction for women's magazines, albeit it under a pen name so no one knew.

And what man hasn't listening to rock music and imagined himself as the lead guitarist or imagined himself scoring the winning goal in a football match.

But then we had the talk telling us how very, very, very wrong this was!

I went home from that meeting and I felt so guilty. I'd spent half my life day dreaming about one thing or another. I asked Jehovah for forgiveness and said I wouldn't do it again.

Now my eyes are wide open, I see how utterly stupid I was! How much under their control I was and how much they actually controlled us.

I am so happy to be free of that constant guilt that I'm doing something - thinking something - the organization disproves of.

35

Local elder dies of starvation

by Steel in

well , not really.. our hall recently had a secret collection for our head elder who is almost on the verge of becoming homeless.

i guess he lost some cleaning contracts because his clients were just sick of his no shows because of his pioneer work.

there is always something more important to do than earn a living.. this is the same assholes he is always shaming people to not doing enough.

Phoebe

When we hit hard times and were living on cheap soup, we were told we needed to put our trust in Jehovah and he would provide. No one helped us - ever. There were other people like us, too. One sister had 5 kids and an empty fridge - always. No one ever helped her.

But when an elder's wife started suffering from depression, her brother, who was also an elder, said 'I know what she needs to cheer her up - a horse!' And, I kid you not, there was a collection and they bought her one!

19

Prophecy question as hysteria sets in

by Isambard Crater in

a load of j.w's in my family and the congregation i attend as a pimo have been saying the end is very close because the anglo american world superpower is clearly still the king of the south, and russia is now clearly king of the north due to persecuting and banning the religion there and seizing property.. i've forgot what the religion used to teach and maybe still does, about the timing of all this king of north + south stuff, the attack on all religion by the u.n and then the attack on j.w's who will be left standing.

i mean, i thought jehovah was going to put it into the u.n's minds to ban or attack all other religions, then the attack on j.w's, but witnesses seem to think the end is so, so close because russia has banned them.. it's sad, as some dubs i know have sold their homes and made other big decisions so they can pioneer in these 'very last of the last days'..

Phoebe

It's imminent the GB say. But how does this work with the 'coming as a thief in the night' and 'concerning the day or the hour no one knows, not even the angels or the son himself'?

It's been imminent my whole life and I'm mid 60s now.

I've heard people say 'we can practically hear Jesus sharpening his sword.'