lately i been sifting though my many emotions after being here on this site.
i feel ive been all over the map just trying to come to grips with the information.
but through all this i feel i'm shunned here as of late due to my (all over the place =-ness).
Hi Caves,
I understand feeling 'lost' I am the same. I'm struggling to move on and I am envious of those that can seemingly leave it all behind them and move on happily.
It feels like we've been let out of our JW cage but the outside is unfamiliar and a bit scary.
We now have to deal with so many emotions, perhaps even grieving over a life wasted.
Just take your time and hang on in there. Everyone says it will get better and easier.
Xx
i just wanted to give a brief intro.
i was born into jw world and left it in 2015 along with my husband and 2 little children.
looking forward to reading the posts and interaction with you.
Welcome Kathy! Look forward to hearing from you.
Xx
well, i've been lurking for a bit.
first out of cautious curiosity, then, though feeling a bit more comfortable to post, got caught in the confirmation email anomaly, and left unable to post or participate.
so i remained lurking, reading and researching.
Hello and welcome!
I too lurked in the shadows for awhile until I felt brave enough to post something. I have had amazing support from this forum and made many new friends and you will too. I look forward to hearing more from you.
Xx
in a nutshell.
a group of about 6 women who have been friends practically their whole lives that i personally know are leaving there jw husbands.
my understanding is they're starting to see the hypocrisy of the .org.
I knew a sister who left her abusive elder husband. He was awful to her for decades and she developed many health issues. Finally, when the kids grew up she left him and moved congregations. The elders accepted she’d left and we’re okay with it but she had massive restrictions. She couldn’t pioneer, volunteer at conventions, answer up in meetings etc but she could go out in ministry. Once she left him her health problems cleared up and was quite happy in her new life but wasn’t it unfair to punish her for putting up with years of abuse?
of course they talk about all the really wacky ones everyone knows about, jones town, charles mason, heaven's gate and branch dravidian.
however if you add up all the unnecessary deaths these cults have contributed too (a thousand and fifty people) it pales in comparison to the number of people who have been directly or indirectly killed my the jehovah's witnesses.
by the way all of the cults mention above are no more, except for the watchtower bible and truck society.. the little ones seem to get all the attention and the big ones just slide on by.. .
I'm in the UK and currently watching a TV series about cults. Tonight's show was about the The Children of God now known as The Family International and wow, were they ever dangerous? Child abuse was rampant!
But as you say, they probably pale by comparison to the damage WT has done.
i tend to think that many jws who joined the religion in their later years feel foolish or are embarrassed by their decision to become one of jehovah’s witnesses.
.
i’m not embarrassed by my years “in the truth “ because i was raised from infancy to believe everything was god’s word and who are we to question jehovah and his organization?
I was born in but my husband came in aged 28.
He was a real believer in God before he converted and had already read the bible twice. He was impressed by seeing a quick build near his home and got called on and the rest is history.
Interestingly, having now left the JWs he avidly reads his bible, prays and still believes very much in God. While i struggle to make sense of anything and have more questions than answers.
there's a preview note on one of the articles in this newly released watchtower.
the note can be found on an article titled "part 1 of 4 love and justice in ancient israel".the note states -.
this article is the first in a series of four that will discuss why we can be sure that jehovah cares about us.
'Jehovah wants all to receive protection and justice'
I got neither. I got a 'sorry mate, it's his word against yours, nothing we can do.'
I take some cold comfort from the fact this article might just put the wind up my brother (abuser) as clearly he assumes from his lofty elder position that he can get away with it.
Needless to say, all JWs will lap this up as proof the organization is 'hot on abuse' (as I was told by one sister) but in reality it's just an exercise in keeping victims in the congregations quiet.
quite a few years ago there was a poster here that left the religion because he knew it was simply not true.
however, he returned to jws because he wanted to be with his family.
i don’t know how he is doing but gumby was his name.
My JW friend left for 15 years and then went back!
Now she's riddled with guilt that during those 15 years all her kids went out the 'truth' and it's all her fault.
i was 5 years old when my mother was baptised.
we went from celebrating xmas to no presents or decorations.
we would still go to my unbelieving aunty's house on xmas day, all of my cousins would be playing with their new toys and would wonder why i didn't have any.
JWs brag about raising kids in the truth and having a 'happy family life' but so many of us can say that is definitely not true.
My childhood was desperately unhappy a lot of the time. Domestic abuse. Sexual abuse. No celebrations. Guilted into everything for fear Armageddon would come and I'd die a horrific death. All this from very devout JW parents who couldn't have been more hypocritical if they tried!
Nope. It was a dreadful childhood.
We went on to raise our own kids as JWs and although we stopped them having birthdays/Xmas we didn't stop them having a good education or playing sports for the school/taking school trips etc. Now I have left I have since apologised to all our kids for trying to raise them as witnesses.
Luckily, none of them became JWs...so we dodged a bullet, but I do feel so guilty that we stopped them having birthdays etc.
just thought i'd relate this story for any lurkers out there.. here in the north west of england there's an elder called george ashton.
the ashton's are a big family, most of the men are appointed as elders or at least min servants.
george owns a used car dealership and almost all jws in liverpool looking for a car have heard of him.
This happens regularly. I've seen elders take advantage of people not just in business but privately too.
Elders over charging for work or making the person they are working for feel so bad that they give them extra.
My JW dad said he would NEVER do business with witnesses.
