Phoebe

Joined

• started 33 topics
• posted 442 times   see topics posted on
• send a message

Posts by Phoebe

• 
  49

  Rookie exJW Question

  by Phoebe in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i was wondering if someone could help me with a question.. i am a rookie exjw, i only left the organization 4 months ago and everything i've discovered (un/arc/malawi/mexico etc) i've only discovered in the last few months so you can image it's been a huge shock to me especially after after 50 yrs!.

  every time i think i've heard everything, something else pops up.. now i've come across a youtube video that mention tv evangelizer jimmy swaggart and the watchtower.

  i remember jimmy swaggart from the time i lived in the u.s.a and i remember the scandals with him and prostitutes etc.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Phoebe

  @darkspilver

  I was in the U.K. so we asked for donations. I never liked to ask so I just gave the magazines to people :)
• 
  49

  Rookie exJW Question

  by Phoebe in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i was wondering if someone could help me with a question.. i am a rookie exjw, i only left the organization 4 months ago and everything i've discovered (un/arc/malawi/mexico etc) i've only discovered in the last few months so you can image it's been a huge shock to me especially after after 50 yrs!.

  every time i think i've heard everything, something else pops up.. now i've come across a youtube video that mention tv evangelizer jimmy swaggart and the watchtower.

  i remember jimmy swaggart from the time i lived in the u.s.a and i remember the scandals with him and prostitutes etc.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Phoebe

  @ Splash @ darkspilver

  Thank you both so much. I had absolutely no idea. I and everyone I knew, truly believed it was something directed by Jehovah. Whether it was to get the literature (and therefore the message) into people's hands or as you said above to simplify the work, we all believed it was God behind it.

  I am continually shocked....
• 
  49

  Rookie exJW Question

  by Phoebe in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i was wondering if someone could help me with a question.. i am a rookie exjw, i only left the organization 4 months ago and everything i've discovered (un/arc/malawi/mexico etc) i've only discovered in the last few months so you can image it's been a huge shock to me especially after after 50 yrs!.

  every time i think i've heard everything, something else pops up.. now i've come across a youtube video that mention tv evangelizer jimmy swaggart and the watchtower.

  i remember jimmy swaggart from the time i lived in the u.s.a and i remember the scandals with him and prostitutes etc.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Phoebe

  @Wake Me Up Before You Jo-Ho

  Thank you for that...I didn't know that one.

  i heard it in a Jason Zelda video shared by Mikey and Kim.

  Not only about Jimmy Swaggart but he also spoke of the secret book about child custody cases and a clip of an elder actually lying about that in court.

  I'm only half way through this video and I'm floored already!
• 
  49

  Rookie exJW Question

  by Phoebe in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i was wondering if someone could help me with a question.. i am a rookie exjw, i only left the organization 4 months ago and everything i've discovered (un/arc/malawi/mexico etc) i've only discovered in the last few months so you can image it's been a huge shock to me especially after after 50 yrs!.

  every time i think i've heard everything, something else pops up.. now i've come across a youtube video that mention tv evangelizer jimmy swaggart and the watchtower.

  i remember jimmy swaggart from the time i lived in the u.s.a and i remember the scandals with him and prostitutes etc.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Phoebe

  I was wondering if someone could help me with a question.

  I am a rookie exJW, I only left the organization 4 months ago and everything I've discovered (UN/ARC/Malawi/Mexico etc) I've only discovered in the last few months so you can image it's been a HUGE shock to me especially after after 50 yrs!

  Every time I think I've heard everything, something else pops up.

  Now I've come across a YouTube video that mention TV evangelizer Jimmy Swaggart and the Watchtower. I remember Jimmy Swaggart from the time I lived in the U.S.A and I remember the scandals with him and prostitutes etc. But I did not know he was taken to court for not paying tax and the Watchtower had an invested interested in him winning his case.

  I searched this forum and came across a thread from many years ago and I've been reading it but it's quite complicated to me.

  Can anyone tell me if the Watchtower really did support this person in their court case and was it because they were worried they'd lose their charity status? Because they were charging for the literature? If it's true, this is so shocking to me!

  I remember the days of charging for literature and I remember it coming in that we were to change to donations. We were told it was because it was so very important we got God's word into people's hands we were going to give it to them and just ask for a donation but it didn't matter if they didn't give one.It was viewed as a loving thing the society were doing.

  Most JWs I knew really thought this was actually Jehovah using the authorities to put us right and stop us peddling the word because we were often accused of that in the ministry.

  I honestly, need to lie down sometimes because all these revelations have totally floored me and if this is also true...I wonder what else I am going to discover!

  Please forgive me for asking, as I say there was a long thread about it years ago but, the thing is, while a lot of things like this may well have been discussed on this forum in the past, there are a lot of us who have only recently left and we have been in the dark about many, many things. All these things are a new discovery.
• 
  54

  JW Kids Bullying My Daughter

  by pale.emperor in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  trying not to type swearwords as i write this so bare with me.. my little 3yo attends meetings with her jw mum (who doesn't believe watchtower anymore but is stuck in because she relies on her family for help).

  my mum (the one who tells people im dead) had a party for her grandchildren.

  that's my 4 nieces and 1 nephew aged from 3yo-11yo.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Phoebe

  @ pale.Emperor

  Hi,

  I felt outraged on your behalf when I read how your little girl was treated. So cruel.But worse, was the grown ups including your mother! How could she?? I honestly want to slap her.

  But, your daughter has the most doting daddy and I know you will more than make up for those awful people and their kids. She doesn't need them.

  I remember once at a convention during the lunch time we went on to the park for our kids to run around and play on the swings and let off steam a bit. They went to go on a slide and two boys said 'is your dad an elder?' Our kids said no (my husband was a reg pioneer/MS) and they said 'well you can't come on here then.'

  I wonder where those brats are now!
• 
  20

  Sunday's W.T angered me + I found an ironic scripture

  by Isambard Crater in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  during the "do you love me more than these" watchtower study on sunday, i got so angry on many occasions, hearing people make comments like "if you enjoy your job, you're an enemy of jehovah" and "the only reason we're here is to preach.

  work and relaxation only exist to help us to preach".. the paragraph talking about the "do more!

  " attitude in the world getting people down really got me down just reading it, as it applies so much to the borg.. i also found the ecclesiastes scripture quoted to be ironic, as the rest of the article tells is that nothing is better or more of a priority than to preach;.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Phoebe

  If the GB drove around in old cars, lived frugally in small rooms (my friend seems to think they live in tiny cell like rooms!) and didn't fly around the world first class, I might have a bit of respect for them and the stuff they sanction for the WT study...like this study.

  I was told get out of school as fast as possible and pioneer, Armageddon is around the corner. 50 years later I am still having to work. No retirement plan.

  As my son said: 'working is a sin in the JW religion' I got a lot of hassle for encouraging my kids to get educated but one is a lawyer, another has a good job in London and the other runs his own business. I did not want them to end up like me.
• 
  10

  CounselIling for Ex Cult Members

  by Disassociated Lady 2 in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i wanted to ask those of you who were born into the jws and eventually left as an adult, whether any of you have had any counselling?

  i know from experience that being programmed by a cult since birth does not give us the social skills and knowledge to function and interact with people in the outside world as we were taught to avoid it.

  those of you that have had counselling, do you feel that it has helped you?

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Phoebe

  @ Disassociated Lady 2

  I am in counseling. I have been for nearly a year. It has helped enormously.

  At first my psychologist didn't quite understand, but as soon as I said the word 'cult' she understood then.

  Talking to a professional and making sense of everything has been the most important step in me leaving the JWs. It's been hard though,I was a born in, too..and it was painful at times. So be patient. I went one step forward and ten back many times. At times I thought it just wasn't working but I stuck at it and in the end it did.

  They don't tell you what to do...as One EyedJoe said, you have to work on things yourself and sometimes you feel discouraged, but keep going.I would say after almost a year, it's only in the last few weeks that I've felt a lot better, a lot calmer.

  For me, going to counseling is one of the best things I've ever done.
• 
  51

  What are your beliefs now, religious/non religious?

  by Jules Saturn in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  what are your convictions now that you are no longer one of jehovah's witnesses?

  are you a born again christian?

  have you joined another denomination of christianity?

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Phoebe

  Thank you @pale.emperor

  Jack Kornfield - that is the very person my new friend from this forum recommended.I will definitely get it. Thank you for the link.
• 
  51

  What are your beliefs now, religious/non religious?

  by Jules Saturn in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  what are your convictions now that you are no longer one of jehovah's witnesses?

  are you a born again christian?

  have you joined another denomination of christianity?

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Phoebe

  I'm just lost....and confused....

  I still believe in God but as for everything else, I really don't know what is truth and what is not, but then I've had nearly 60 years of indoctrination, so no wonder I'm confused.

  There is only one thing I really want and that is an inner calm. A peaceful heart. Finding out all I believed in probably isn't right has sent me into a spin.

  @pale.emperor

  You are the second exJW that has said they have embraced Buddhist philosophy in their life, I wonder if it would help me find some peace?
• 
  8

  Odd things that come to mind when buying something!

  by stuckinarut2 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i was just thinking about the odd things that arise when out shopping.. i saw a bag the other day, and thought "that would be a perfect 'service' bag as it is just the right size for....oh hang on...".

  and when buying nice shoes, the thought is there somewhere..."these will be comfortable when walking around the streets...".

  gotta laugh hey!

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Phoebe

  @stuckinarut2

  This is so true! My husband will still look at a suit or a coat and immediately think, that would be nice for the meetings...and he hasn't been for nearly 20 years, apart from the odd Memorial. It's still in his head!

  As for me, I've just emptied my ministry bag, chucked its contents away and given the bag to the local charity shop. It felt liberating!