Posts by Phoebe

19

After 10 years do they give up on you (hoping so)

by Spiral in

i think i read somewhere that if you have been inactive for ten years plus, the elders will not try to meet with you and corner you to get you back "in".

is that true?.

i just realized that mr. spiral and i haven't gone to meetings or reported time for over ten years.

Phoebe

It depends on your local elders. For example, in my town we have a young ex brother - faded - lives with his girlfriend, has a baby, smokes, celebrates Xmas etc. They don't bother him or pursue him because he also happens to be the son of one of the most prominent families in my congregation.

Apparently, he is not now 'seen as a JW' so they leave him alone.

The WT say often enough they 'don't hunt people down to DF them'

However, there is also a sister in my congregation who has been DF for smoking. She hasn't attended meetings in years and years no one locally would view her as a JW. Yet, they saw her smoking and DF her.

As Fall Guys says elders will decide if/when to 'attack' you. Always be prepared.

25

UK congregations transferred more than £4 million during 2015-17 to Watchtower HQ

by truthseeker in

jw
friends

*** due to formatting issues when posting, i will be posting stats as a separate replies to this thread ***.

stats as of january 13, 2018. .

england and wales: 1,325 congregations.

Phoebe

This makes for interesting reading...thank you.

By the way, I just checked the link to my brother's congregation, I see he's still alive.

14

Cart Witnesses vs Faith Healing Church

by pale.emperor in

today in liverpool the cart witnesses were in their usual speck in bold street holding out their wafer thin rags and books that they literally can't even give away.

but today the city centre was flooded with some sort of black church handing out their leaflets and little invitations to a "special event" this sunday.

i took a leaflet off them as they handed it to me and they were very smiley and cheerful.

Phoebe

Absolutely true eyeuse2badub

I was guilty of the same but I thought I knew what I was talking about and loved it when people wanted to talk. Now I realize I was just spouting what WT wanted me to say. I now have to reexamine everything as I only left last May so my brain is still in WT mode somewhat.

Now I keep having flashbacks of conversations of people saying things like: WT cherry picked scriptures to suit them or you can get the bible to say anything. There was me staunchly defending WT! Now those old conversations are starting to make sense.

14

Cart Witnesses vs Faith Healing Church

by pale.emperor in

today in liverpool the cart witnesses were in their usual speck in bold street holding out their wafer thin rags and books that they literally can't even give away.

but today the city centre was flooded with some sort of black church handing out their leaflets and little invitations to a "special event" this sunday.

i took a leaflet off them as they handed it to me and they were very smiley and cheerful.

Phoebe

I don't think JWs today know much about the bible at all, so they can't debate. It's just refer everyone to JW.org.

I also used to love it when someone wanted to actually discuss the scriptures.

Great video on YouTube by the way.

40

Older JW: not happy

by Gorbatchov in

jw
friends

this week i visited my sick father in law.. then an old elder from my far away congregation came in for coffee.

did not see him in 15 years.. nice chat.

had a lot to say, is alone, his sick wife disabled and away from home.. he told me: "living alone is so hard.

Phoebe

Well said, LoisLane

you and I are two of many who didn't just have their lives stolen but suffered at the hands of JWs! I am mid 60s and yes, it is a traumatic shock to find out it's a lie. I don't think I'll ever recover from it.

21

Northenden Assembley Hall Of JWs (Manchester, UK) - A Little History

by pale.emperor in

this is the circuit assembly hall i attended since childhood.

if you're a jw and you grew up in liverpool, lancashire or manchester then this is the hall you attended.

when i was little i remember the decor inside being red and cream coloured.

Phoebe

Just mentioned on another post...this was mine, too.

The last assembly I went to was here.

33

Manmade rules

by Jrjw in

i was talking to someone a few years ago and he said in his congregation they have a rail of white shirts prepared in the cloakroom for if a speaker doesn't have a white shirt on.

it was a rule in their hall that all brothers in the platform must wear white shirts when going talks and if the speaker won't comply when asked to change into the shirt they provide an elder in the congregation will do the talk instead.

i have never known any other halls do it so it must be a rule the elders have made up without gb input.

Phoebe

pale.emperor

that was my assembly hall. It's beautiful

38

Will #metoo have an affect on forcing changing attitudes at Watchtower?

by jwfacts in

despite decades of the feminist movement, watchtower's attitude of woman being inferior has changed little, with pauline sexism justified as inspired, on the basis that women are lesser emotionally, intellectually and physically.

jehovah's witnesses seem to accept this with little resistance.

is there anything about the #metoo movement that may wake followers up?

Phoebe

Simon

The point was when I was a girl 60s/70s you couldn't report it as no one would listen. If you did you were told you were making a fuss, it was only a laugh, what was wrong with you?

At least now, hopefully, women will be listened to and taken seriously.

As for WT -- nothing will change there and to be honest, I did know sisters who delighted in being treated like second class citizens.

I knew one sister who wanted to buy her daughter a small gift when she had a baby and she quite happily said she'd have to get her husband's permission first. Another one, who was very well off in her own right, told me she wanted to buy a tablet for the meetings and 'was in talks with her husband' and when I said, just buy it! She said, 'oh no, we always discuss things first and he has the final say in everything' If he said no, she wouldn't be getting one.

I think they kind of liked to say to other sisters: 'oh look how submissive I am, aren't I just wonderful to be so much in subjection to my husband'

I'm sorry if I sound a rebel but if I wanted to buy my child a small gift - and we could afford it - no way would I go and seek 'permission' from my husband!

18

Brotherly love in action..

by Jrjw in

i'm so upset and angry at the same time.

i move in less than 2 weeks and was supposed to be getting help off "brothers" to move and one of them was driving the van and now the elders have had a meeting and told the brothers they can't help coz i'm separated from my (abusive) jw husband and with moving it puts the chances of reconciliation (of which there was zero chance) even further away.

where are these stupid rules that they come up with.

Phoebe

That's terrible. What a way to treat someone that needs help! So typical. Have you any non JW family/friend's that could help out?

38

Will #metoo have an affect on forcing changing attitudes at Watchtower?

by jwfacts in

despite decades of the feminist movement, watchtower's attitude of woman being inferior has changed little, with pauline sexism justified as inspired, on the basis that women are lesser emotionally, intellectually and physically.

jehovah's witnesses seem to accept this with little resistance.

is there anything about the #metoo movement that may wake followers up?

Phoebe

I'm going to say something on the #metoo movement because I joined it and feel quite strongly about it

I was an incredibly naive little witness pioneer girl. Shy, quiet. So innocent. In my first part time job at 16, I worked in a warehouse and on a daily basis had to fight off the assistant manager who would pounce on me when no one was around with arms like an octopus and a tongue aiming for my mouth It was horrendous. I was terrified of him. I had to quit in the end.

That left me with no job so I prayed and prayed that I would get a new job so I could keep pioneering and eventually one came my way. Part time in an office. Jehovah had answered my prayers! First afternoon I was there, alone in the office, typing, and the next thing I knew the boss (a horrible old man with a hairy face) dragged me from my chair and tried to kiss me. I was devastated. God had answered my prayer like this??

It happened again at another job. I had to fight off the boss's son at that one. It seemed everywhere I went I was fair game and no one on earth could have looked less worldly than me. I was a shy, quiet teenager who wouldn't say boo to a goose and dressed beyond modestly

In my early twenties, I moved to London and was twice exposed to on the train.

I got a job in a big office in London and the men there were completely lecherous. If you complained about their behaviour you were told you were 'frigid' and 'they were only having a laugh'

Yes, this was 60s/70s Britain and women were fair game and these are just some of my experiences.

And were we safe in the K.Hall? You'd think. But guess what? In my congregation in London we had an elder, ugly old git, who would sidle up to me and whisper in my ear 'I wouldn't mind waking up to you in the morning'

I thought I was the only one he did it to, turns out he was doing it to all the young sisters!

Women have had to put up with this kind of behaviour forever and although there is a danger of a witch hunt and every man being classed the same, it's important people realise what some of us have had to deal with in or out of the truth.

The sad thing is, as a woman growing up in the WT, it never occurred to me I had a voice. I always just accepted being poorly treated as if it was part of being a woman.

Rant over :)

xx