http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5748191/woman-blamed-sexual-abuse-ostracism-jehovahs-witness-reasons-killing-suicide.html.
revealed: ex-jehovah's witness turned model, 45, left a video and suicide note blaming childhood sex abuse and exclusion from her religion for killing her husband and children.
lauren stuart of keego harbor, michigan had been researching suicide methods on youtube and videos on how to use a glock for weeks .
So rather than helping two people whom they claim are mentally ill, plus the two children they have together, they reject them, refuse to speak to them or have any contact with them.
“By this all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love among yourselves.” - John 13:35
i heard laurel and the wife heard yanny.
maybe someone can post the spoken word..
I've heard it both ways, actually.
so last night at around 11 while me and the wife were watching netflix and my cellphone rings.
i didn't make it in time and saw it was my mother who never speaks to me.
i decided to call back fearing something happened with my dad.
So she calls you, *twice*, clearly with the intention of scolding you and yelling at you, over a promise you made to a complete stranger when you were in high school? And then she tells your brother that you upset her???
If I could diagnose that $h!t, I'd say your mother has bipolar disorder.
The thing is, if you do as your brother asks and cease communication, they control the narrative of the relationship. "Silentbuddha doesn't call us, doesn't speak to us anymore." All this behind your back and turns you into the bad guy.
If only for your own peace of mind, maybe write a letter to your mom/dad/brother about why the "promise" you made under duress (in a room with other people who had expectations of you to answer the way you did) as a high schooler is not valid. You weren't old enough to drive, vote, get married, get a job, buy or drink alcohol, *enter a contract* (promise), etc. and the law exempts you from those *adult* things because you are still considered to be a child, without the benefit of full brain development. There's science behind that.
You were in an unfair situation. The adults in the room took advantage of you. That was not okay. It's not okay now for your mother to give you $h!t over it. She's likely more upset because she believes that Fred Franz thinks less of her and her parenting.
look at the dogs face, i can't stop laughing at this!!
and he's peeing right into the holder part of the literature, so they are going to have manually wash that out haha.
.
I want to know why she's wearing tap dancing shoes.
the first part was all about the the evils of higher education.
i couldn't stand it and left.
was anybody there today?
Guess what?
The WTS has been railing against Higher Education™ for over half a century. They bullied me out of it on my first go at learning a vocation after high school.
Twelve years later I went back to college, against cries of "But Armageddon™ is Right Around the Corner™!" and three years following that, I graduated with Honours. In a few weeks' time I will have graduated 20 years ago.
Armageddon™ is not coming. There is no New System™. Everyone is going to grow old and die. I don't say that to be discouraging, but to emphasize that THIS is the ONLY LIFE we have, and it's up to each person to make the most of the life they have. If you have talent, develop it. If you have a thirst for knowledge and a drive to achieve goals and a career, then GO FOR IT.
The only reason the WTS has been successful at getting people to delay or forfeit their education and career and even marriage and family, is because they've convinced their followers that there's plenty of time for all that in the New System™. They're LYING. It's what they do.
They've convinced people to live as though they'll never die, which makes people believe they can put things off indefinitely. Living with the certainty of death helps people set goals for themselves, to do or try things when they have the opportunity, because those opportunities may not come again. Plan for your future, because the one the WTS offers is a worthless pile of crap.
do you remember the first time you found out "the truth about the truth"?.
yes, it was confronting, shocking and life altering.
yes it was hard to deal with.. but, along with that, many have said that they experienced a sense of thrill, euphoria, or joy when realising the facts about the religion that held us captive mentally and physically for so long.. it was liberating to learn some of the controversial teachings etc.
I don't remember it being much of a "high".
I was angry about being lied to for almost my whole life, angry at my parents for getting involved, and scared that I would lose my husband and kids if we didn't leave as a family.
I was angry that I refused a blood transfusion after a postpartum haemorrhage when my firstborn came along, and spent months trying to recover from that.
I was angry that I was bullied out of my first run at education after high school.
I was angry at all the normal stuff I missed out on growing up, and being a socially awkward person as a result of being fearful of Worldly™ people.
As time went on, though, I channelled that anger into making up for lost time. Going back to school and graduating with honours. Getting my dream job. Being financially comfortable for the first time ever. Not worrying about whether I was doing enough, because I stopped giving my power to people who didn't deserve it.
Then, I discovered this place. Finding people just like me who had figured out the WTS and its lies, its game, its bullshittery and who had found ways to deal with the lost years and lost friendships.
Surprise, surprise, I was able to help some people along the way too.
in therapy, i was told i should write a letter of grievances to each of my parents.
i really do not have any for my mother, except for things that directly relate to being raised as a jehovah's witness.
upon reflection, my childhood was hell because of the religion and its pernicious corruption of a normal childhood.
"I was very angry at you when finally remembered in therapy and told you about Elder DD molesting me when I was a child. I told you about it, and you were matter of fact about it and not angry. Then when he died, you were sad and tried to tell me how wonderful he was. That hurt me considering my history with him."
then a bit later, you say:
"Through thick and thin I could count on you."
I hate to break it to you, JRK, but your mother was definitely NOT there for you when you needed her to defend you against a child molester, in fact, she idealized him to your detriment. She put other children at risk because she thought this child molester was "wonderful". Who knows how many other kids were molested by this man because she made a choice to throw you under the bus to keep in good stead with this Brother™ and the rest of the Congregation™.
I'm sorry you went through that, and I understand what that feels like because it happened to me too. I still can't get my parents to realize the betrayal I felt when I tried to stand up to the molester and told him to keep his hands to himself. He turned it around on me, saying I misconstrued what he did and concluded that I was the one with a dirty mind, and both my mother and others in attendance at the Book Study™ in our home agreed with him, and scolded me for being preoccupied with sexual thoughts and for disrespecting a Brother™. Sometimes I get nightmares about it and it wasn't the molestation that damaged me, as much as the fact that my own mother threw me under the bus and took the molester's side.
The Elders™ in our Congregation™ played a role in his being assigned to the Book Study™ in our home too. They protected their own daughters by keeping him out of their homes, and sent him our way, because my dad was a Ministerial Servant™, and therefore not privy to the disciplinary actions against this so-called Brother™ who was DFd, not once, but twice (and later a third time) for molesting his own daughters.
Not one of them sees the problem with their actions (or lack thereof), but they insist that I should be Forgiving™. How can you forgive anyone who glosses over their wrongdoing, blames you for causing the problem, and carries on their merry way, as if it was no big deal? I don't get it.
i bought a book that was published by one brother in our area.
the title, if only, the brother didnt change his name he is, alex bogdanov, to support this brother i bought his book.
it is fiction about couples and i didnt think nothing of it, but after reading a few chapters one of the characters is an ex jw, i don’t think this character is disfellowshipped in the book, but she is definitely not active.
You mentioned that the book is a work of fiction.
All the publications of the Watchtower are works of fiction too.
I'd say that if you're reading Watchtower fiction, then any other kind of fiction is fine.
it's that time of year again.. trying to decide if i should or shouldn't.
:-).
You could always pre-drink. Then you can act like you partook, but nobody witnessed it. LOL
elders arranged a sort of informal visit by a more capable elder accompanied by another brother who is more qualified than me from academic background.
their purpose was to reason with me as a last resort to avoid a jc.. during the two-hour discussion, i could make my point clear to them: “i don’t think any one particular religion has the whole truth.
it may be existing as bits and piece in all religions and schools of thought.
"they want to reason with you so as to avoid a JC"
Which means, when translated, "they want to confirm your Apostate™ tendencies so they can announce that you are No Longer One of Jehovah's Witnesses™ at the very next Meeting™."
It seems they've done just that. By saying "This is a sign of apostasy", they've confirmed that they can go ahead and make the announcement. No JC required.
