HOTB

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Posts by HOTB

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  2

  Is there a new rule regarding disfellowshipped people?

  by HOTB in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  does anyone have any information about a relaxing of the rules regarding family reaching out to disfellowshipped members?.

  i've heard of an elder being openly in touch with a long time disfellowshipped family member.

  apparently the term 'compassionate view' had been bandied about.. i can't find anything relating to this.. i'd be interested what the new rule is in when came into play.. hotb .

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  HOTB

  Thank you Blondie,

  It certainly made very interesting reading and shows the unscriptural and hypocritical way the org has acted over many, many years.

  To think that now they change terminology to deal with the laws of the land is laughable.

  The recording of the girl asking to be reinstated was a prime example of how judgemental and ludicrous the elders behave. What ridiculous questions. Such a lack of care.

  Isn't it strange that people who have been following the org for years can suddenly go along with whatever is dished out through the Watchtower as true - even though its is a 180 on what was previously taught? They take it on board and accept it as gospel.

  I shake my head and the craziness of it all - especially when I was just like them for so many years.

  Much as stepping away and losing all the ones who I loved has been difficult - twenty years on I appreciate the freedom of no longer being a hypocrite and having to 'act' to keep friends and stay in a position of respect. JW's offer only conditional love. Looking back - what I thought were been bonds that were unbreakable - crumbled and blew away. I realised they did not love me - they loved what I represented, my position, my kindness, my hospitality...but not me.

  There loss.

  Thanks for the information - it was insightful.

  HOTB
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  2

  Is there a new rule regarding disfellowshipped people?

  by HOTB in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  does anyone have any information about a relaxing of the rules regarding family reaching out to disfellowshipped members?.

  i've heard of an elder being openly in touch with a long time disfellowshipped family member.

  apparently the term 'compassionate view' had been bandied about.. i can't find anything relating to this.. i'd be interested what the new rule is in when came into play.. hotb .

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  HOTB

  Does anyone have any information about a relaxing of the rules regarding family reaching out to disfellowshipped members?

  I've heard of an elder being openly in touch with a long time disfellowshipped family member. Apparently the term 'compassionate view' had been bandied about.

  I can't find anything relating to this.

  I'd be interested what the new rule is in when came into play.

  HOTB
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  10

  Petra!****Request**Circuit Overseer Training Videos!

  by Atlantis in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  email request from shelly:.

  dear petra, are there any circuit overseer training videos that you know of?

  and could you send them over to larchwood?.

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  HOTB

  WOW! Nice to see Solnechnoye as it used to be. I know three of the folks in the photos - all lovely people. I wonder what they are doing now and if the problems they have faced has helped them leave or made them more determined to stay. The former I hope
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  An intro to my experience

  by drippee in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  good evening,.

  i had an old account a few years back but since then have had a lot happen to me.

  i grew up in the faith, pioneered, did everything i could to keep my parents and peers off of my back, but nothing seemed to be enough to satisfy them.

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  HOTB

  Sadly there is no such thing as 'real' friends when it comes to JW's. When you choose to leave the cult you lose your 'friends' too.

  No matter how long you were in and no matter how long you had your 'friends' they are conditioned to view you as 'worldly'. Yes, they may try to either get you back on - or conversely, may try to trip you up so they have evidence that you are really out - then judicial action will be taken.

  You have chosen freedom. Enjoy it.

  Build a new life for yourself. Those past nice times with the JW's will not be recoverable unless you give up your freedom and toe the party line again.

  It may not be easy. You will have moments of longing for the old days. The best way to deal with it is to remember with fondness as part of your life experience but don't let it be what conditions or controls you.

  If you wish for a non hypocritical life make sure the way you choose to life is 'your' choice. The middle ground would be a non palatable one.

  Enjoy what you have and grow upon it. Make new friends and soon the old ones will fade to where they should be - a memory of what once was.

  I wish you all the best and hope you find peace and happiness with no regrets. Don't let others pull your heart strings.
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  24

  1974 and all that

  by Number 6 in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xznh9icm1os.

  i came across this footage recently whilst searching for something completely unrelated and it blew me away!.

  it's from the august 1974 convention at murrayfield, edinburgh and you can clearly see the stage set up still keeping the 6000 years and 1975 mantra going.. what makes this very personal for me is that i was here.

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  HOTB

  That was great to see. So many assemblies and memories from Murrayfield :)

  I was there. I was 14 years old.

  I scoured the video for familiar faces and was able to make out just one on the platform.

  I was responsible for costumes and make-up for the drama many years ago. Tam Shepherds was the shop to go to for fake beard material!

  Thanks for sharing :)
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  27

  Jws getting drunk

  by Farmer Jim1 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  has anyone got any good 'jws and alcohol' stories?

  i always found it amazing that so many jws got blind drunk at parties and got away with it!

  i suppose alcohol was the only fun thing we were allowed to partake in....

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  HOTB

  The PO's wife was a drunk. One night at a fellow elders house they had a party - she was absolutely legless. The PO acted as if nothing was amiss and calmly took her home. Needless to say there was much laughter and gossiping but nothing was ever said or done about it. His standing was never questioned and life continued as normal!
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  3

  Bethelites' favourite pop song!

  by BoogerMan in

  1. social
  2. entertainment

  i'll bet the org's "watchers" on this forum will be humming this for the rest of the day!.

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=spgvej4ekww .

  (lyrics at 50 seconds).

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  HOTB

  Great seeing the Comic Relief clip from 2005. I remember being at school and our class having to dance on stage to this (1972). Timeless toe tapping tune. Nothing to do with your reason for posting it I know - but a happy digression nevertheless
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  36

  Did anyone really enjoy assemblies?

  by SydBarrett in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  the twickenham post made me think of this.

  i have a few jw family members on facebook and being summertime, their pics of the convention have shown up in my fb feed.

  along with their comments about "i wished it would never end" or "what a glorious weekend".

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  HOTB

  I liked Assemblies and Conventions. I would take notes and feel guilty if I got too tired or the speakers too boring. I enjoyed the interviews and new releases…and the dramas. Volunteering in food prep was interesting – all potatoes to be wrapped in specially sized bit of tin foil. But the best bit, of course, was socializing and catching up with folks I’d not seen for a year – that was a real high. The sad part though - is that all the highs we got from the lovey socializing was, in retrospect, as valuable and real as melting snow. C’est la vie.
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  40

  Fw: As Bro Sydlick was saying the closing prayer

  by NikL in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i just had to pass this on to you.. it is an e mail that is making the rounds.. what do you think of this.... (beware!

  gagging may be expected).

  the 41,000 friends at the international convention in michigan .

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  HOTB

  Met him at the Berlin convention after the wall came down. I was awe struck by meeting the man in person. He was lovely. I was a young pioneer and very much 'in the zone' at the time. None of the new GB have the same aura of genuine status. There is a huge difference between the GB I grew up with and the ones of today. The org we see now is totally different. The beliefs are different. Hence a very thankful 17 years of freedom from them for me.
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  23

  How did it come to this?

  by New day in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i am now in my early 60’s.

  i was baptized in 1980. i served as a ministerial servant and an elder.

  i gave my all for many years but about eight years ago i started to question many things.

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  HOTB

  Same age and timeline (apart from the MS and Elder bit – females not allowed!). I pioneered, travelled and opened my home to countless JW’s from all over the world. Constantly on assembly programs and on speed dial for last minute talks on the Ministry School. I had ‘friends’ everywhere and was ‘loved’.

  Now, 16 years after leaving I too am a non-entity in JW land BUT have pursued a life that is mine – without controlling men guilting me into obedience. Those men who would take me on shepherding calls, who would ask my advice on problems within the body of elders – those men who claim to be my friends (a few who were closet gays).

  Have I lost anything? Yes. I lost that same feeling of security knowing what the future held. I lost deeply loved friends – many of whom I think about often. I lost a fantastic social network.

  Have I gained anything? Yes. I have gained freedom from an organisation that does not resemble the one I grew up in. I have gained freedom from having to accept that which was obviously not true or reasonable. I have gained the relief of not being a hypocrite.

  It is not easy starting a new life with no friends around. Having grown up in the ‘Truth’ that was all I had. It is not easy when one has avoided further education because it was frowned upon (and then being perplexed by having friends in Bethel who were career lawyers – paid for by the society). It’s not east having your life’s history now viewed, personally, as an empty sham. How many hours in field serving, how many miles walked (my knees can tell you).

  I am sad that in many ways I wasted my JW life. It could have been so different if I had taken a different path and walked away sooner – but I was full ‘in’.

  However, “better late than never”