Posts by Scully

39

Being a JW Kid

by Scully in

jw
friends

i've always felt that the adult jws got off pretty easily compared to jw kids.. for instance: .

my dad went to work, and didn't bother his co-workers with jw stuff.

it wasn't allowed.

Scully

144 thousand and one:

One point relating to your initial post in this thread. I'm not sure about the laws of Canada, but in our state and in most of the states of the US, parents have no right to stop their minor children from receiving a blood transfusion if the child's physician deems it necessary to save that child's life.

Actually, in 1995 the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that a child's right to life and medical treatment superceded the parents' right to freedom of worship. However by that time, I was already in my 30's, and had the issue come up while I was a minor under my parents' care, it was quite clear that my parents felt that we children would have been better off dead and "in an approved condition before Jehovah", than to live 'tainted' with someone else's blood in our bodies.

I shudder to think how JW parents treated their children after the courts intervened and gave needed blood transfusions to them. My own parents made comments at the meetings to the effect that blood transfusions were "disgusting", and I know that's how they felt about a neighbour who said she wouldn't be alive had she not received a transfusion. The way they talked about her was on par with the disgust and disdain they felt about prostitution.

I dated a JW fellow for a while who had aplastic anaemia as a child (before he became a JW), and had been treated with blood transfusions and a bone marrow transplant. All of a sudden to my parents' opinion, he went from being potential son-in-law material to scum, and the resulting interference soon wrecked the relationship.

It's pretty pathetic for a group that claims to be the 'true religion' to consider its members better off dead than alive.

Love, Scully

It is not persecution for an informed person
to expose a certain religion as being false. - WT 11/15/63

A religion that teaches lies cannot be true. - WT 12/1/91

39

Being a JW Kid

by Scully in

jw
friends

i've always felt that the adult jws got off pretty easily compared to jw kids.. for instance: .

my dad went to work, and didn't bother his co-workers with jw stuff.

it wasn't allowed.

Scully

I remember so clearly the feelings of exclusion due to being a JW kid. It was awful in grade school, but even worse in high school.

My grades were always very high for as long as I can remember. It was the only thing my parents didn't object to. Of course, if I scored 99% on a test, they'd ask why it wasn't 100%, and that was pretty discouraging too. Because my marks were so good, teachers asked me to tutor other students who needed help, and I would be paid (a whole $2/hour, which seemed like a fortune at the time). When I talked to my parents about it, they pooh-poohed the idea, saying that I'd be doing my classmates a bigger favour by offering them a Bible study. I said "Well, they don't WANT a Bible study, they WANT to graduate!" They said they didn't want me doing any of that "foolish tutoring business", but I did it anyway on lunch breaks. In my last year of high school, we had the opportunity to take Drivers' Ed, and the course was $200. My parents, thinking that I'd never be able to afford it, told me that I had to come up with the money on my own. I had also been babysitting on weekends for the previous year or so (JW kids and the neighbour across the street). Imagine my parents' surprise when I told them I had more than enough to pay for the course myself. My mom offered to write a cheque for the amount of the course provided that I turn the money over to her. I'd been burned before with this game (yeah, my own mom! - she would take my money, give me a cheque, and then "forget" to deposit the money, or would spend it on something else! - but this was the biggest sum to date, and I wasn't going to take ANY chances) and told them that I'd already gone to the Post Office and had a money order for my course.

Anyway, that was just one example... no school dances, no clubs (like orienteering, photography, art, drama or debating), no sports, no leadership development. The leadership development was actually pretty interesting, even though I was never allowed to participate, I was frequently nominated by my classmates, because they knew I was honest, and they knew I could speak well in front of an audience - the Theocratic Ministry School was good for something!

It was a rather dreary existence - even when the congregation organised an event (like a skating party, or a picnic, or a pot-luck dinner) we were seldom allowed to attend; there was always something "not good enough" about someone else attending.

I was actually allowed to be on the Graduation Committee, and I was in charge of arranging the printing of the tickets and organising the sale of the tickets. I was even allowed to attend the dinner but not the dance. In order to make sure that's the way things went, my dad escorted me. I was mortified, but it was the only way I could attend. I'm glad I went, but I was so anxious that I ended up being sick the whole day leading up to the dinner. I was as white as a sheet in the pictures, and we ended up going home immediately after the meal was finished.

The things JW kids have to go through..... I can see now how my parents didn't think they could trust me, and it's no wonder I ended up ill that night. I wonder how many other JW parents were as untrusting as mine were? It's not that I'd done anything to deserve to be distrusted, quite to the contrary. I think they really believed what the WT said about "the desires incidental to youth", "inclination of the heart of a boy [or girl] is bad from his [her] youth up", and that if we had the opportunity to misbehave, then that's exactly what we would do. It's like they expected us to be bad, and it kept them from loosening the apron strings at all.

Pretty sad, when you think about it.

Love, Scully

It is not persecution for an informed person
to expose a certain religion as being false. - WT 11/15/63

A religion that teaches lies cannot be true. - WT 12/1/91

39

Being a JW Kid

by Scully in

jw
friends

i've always felt that the adult jws got off pretty easily compared to jw kids.. for instance: .

my dad went to work, and didn't bother his co-workers with jw stuff.

it wasn't allowed.

Scully

I've always felt that the adult JWs got off pretty easily compared to JW kids.

For instance:

My dad went to work, and didn't bother his co-workers with JW stuff. It wasn't allowed.

My mom stayed at home, and didn't really bother the neighbours with JW stuff unless she was going door-to-door. And even then, we never worked in our own neighbourhood. She was still friendly with the ladies on the street, but she knew enough to not nag them with JW stuff if she wanted their company.

My brothers and I went to school. We had to ask EVERY DAY to be excused from morning exercises when "O Canada" was sung, and the Lord's Prayer was said. We had to take the flack from classmates (kids can be quite mean to you when you're different), we were also subjected to abuse by teachers - one in particular who would not allow me to be excused, and at the time it was expected by JWs that their children would either be excused, or sit quietly during the national anthem, and this teacher would pull me to my feet by the hair on the back of my neck. My parents never did anything to intervene, saying that it was 'persecution' and we should be glad about it.

We were also the ones who had to 'give a defense' at every single holiday and birthday that was observed, and why we couldn't participate in the activities.

I don't think JW parents, unless they were JW kids themselves, fully understand the burden they place on their children. As well, it's the children who have NO SAY when it comes to blood. JW parents refuse to allow their children to have blood transfusions; but what if the child wants to live even though it means "breaking God's laws"?? It's one thing for an adult to make that decision for themselves, but when I think about how my parents talked that they would rather have us die 'faithful to Jehovah' by not taking blood, it reminds me of the scripture where God chastises Israel: And they built the high places of the Ba'al in order burn their sons in the fire as whole burnt offerings to the Ba'al, something that I had not commanded or spoken of, and that had not come up into my heart. (Jeremiah 17:5)

It continues to bewilder me how JWs can put their kids through things like this and think it's a good thing to do. The fact that God stopped Abraham from sacrificing his son, Isaac, should be enough to tell them that it's not what a "real" God would want. The scripture in Jeremiah confirms it. Yet we see time and time again experiences of children being sacrificed over the blood issue.

All I can say is that I'm glad I never had to make that choice and that I'm glad I'm out of that cult!!

Love, Scully

It is not persecution for an informed person
to expose a certain religion as being false. - WT 11/15/63

A religion that teaches lies cannot be true. -WT 12/1/91

22

I'm Becoming a Hypnotherapist!

by FreePeace in

jw
friends

i have always been into self-help, have several websites devoted to it ( http://www.empowerthespirit.com), and even wrote a book on it.. now i'm getting my board certified master of clinical hypnotherapy certification, and i'm excited!

i went to a hypnotherapist in the past, and found it helpful.

i started looking in to it last week and found an excellent place to get my certification, http://www.hypnosiseducation.com/.. now, you are not going to believe this!

Scully

Doug,

I think this is fabulous for you! Way to go!

I'm fascinated by NLP and would love to learn more about it. I work with women going through post-partum depression (in addition to my regular job as a maternal-newborn care nurse) and I think NLP would be extremely helpful to them also.

Things are finally settling down in life to the point where I can devote some extra time to the study of NLP and gaining experience in its use.

Best of Everything to You!
Love, Scully

It is not persecution for an informed person
to expose a certain religion as being false. - WT 11/15/63

A religion that teaches lies cannot be true. -WT 12/1/91

38

Shaving....Legs

by mindfield in

well, since we already have the "taboo" thread of shaving/trimming... down there, why not have the shaved legs thread?.

i ask this, because i'm not sure if i should shave mine or not.

i have naturally hairy legs/lower body, and it would take regular shaving to make the itching stop!

Scully

LB:

Maybe you should have had them WAXED instead.
It lasts longer, and the stubble isn't as bothersome when it grows back in.

just a thought.....

Love, Scully

It is not persecution for an informed person
to expose a certain religion as being false. - WT 11/15/63

A religion that teaches lies cannot be true. -WT 12/1/91

5

The War of The Elders: Dubs & $$$

by Mindchild in

jw
friends

i thought i would take time today to share a true story of what happened in my own jw family as i was growing up as a dub that puts the spot light on what money starved dubs are willing to do when it comes to money issues.. both of my grandparents on both sides and my parents were dubs.

when i was growing up we were never well off financially thanks to the constant harping that armageddon was near at hand and that my father should only work just long enough to make enough money to barely get by as jehovah would provide (yeah, right).

to make ends meet in our large family, my mother used to work by taking in older people who would otherwise need to be spending their last days in a nursing home and we typically had two or three people stay with our family until got to the point where they needed to be in a hospital, and often died soon thereafter.

Scully

Sorry to hear about all this Skipper. I can only imagine how hard that must have been for you to observe, from the viewpoint of a young man with very little or no power to help.

I really hate that things like this happen. It bothers me that someone who has spent their whole lives giving everything they have to the WTS, can be so easily tossed on the garbage heap when they fall ill and become a financial or even an emotional "burden" to the congregation and/or family. It makes me sick.

They are nothing but spiritual vampires, feeding off the living, sucking the life out of you, and when you can't give anymore, you're discarded like a sack of trash, so they can move on to the next happy and willing victim.

<sigh>
Love, Scully

It is not persecution for an informed person
to expose a certain religion as being false. - WT 11/15/63

A religion that teaches lies cannot be true. -WT 12/1/91

83

Special Dub Words That Make You Go YUK!

by Englishman in

jw
friends

for me, the word was "loving".. great "loving" kindness.. great undeserved "loving" kindness!.

disfellowshipping is a "loving" provision.. when the wtbts want their accolytes to swallow another bitter pill, another restriction, another rebuke, another demand on time, the buzz word is "loving".. the "loving" word, is, to the average jw, the same as the mccabe nod is to the salesman.

the mccabe nod is used by salesman all the time to get the prospective customer to agree to something that he doesn't care for too much.

Scully

"fortunate" sends shivers up my spine to this very day

Love, Scully

58

Ignorant Judgemental CO's and DO's

by Scully in

jw
friends

badwillie wrote the following experience about an ignorant comment from a do:.

case in point:.

a friend received a full scholarship from a local college to study to become a veternarian.

Scully

I was also supposed to host the CO and his wife for lunch. I had baked rolls, prepared home-made chicken soup, and arranged some cold-cuts on my best crystal platter. I had cleaned my house to the Nth degree. I was told to expect them for 12 noon, sharp. At 12:10, the CO phoned and advised me that they would not be coming that day, as one of the elders who had been out in service with them had offered to buy lunch for them. Without even apologizing for leaving the cancellation so late, he said he would be at my house the next day instead.

I was so miffed, that I told him I had plans the next day and couldn't (wouldn't) change them, and suggested that maybe the same elder could take them out for lunch again. When my husband came home from work, he was surprised to be getting soup and cold-cuts for supper. I told him to ask the CO about it, and while he was at it, that I was not going to offer hospitality to any CO or DO ever again. They simply do not appreciate the work that goes into the preparation.

This same CO eventually stopped having meals at the JWs homes and took to going out to eat for every meal. When serving at my parents' congregation, the CO submitted receipts for all the meals they'd had in restaurants for the entire week, and the congregation was basically forced to reimburse the expenses. My dad was the accounts servant and mentioned that this particular CO was the most expensive one the congregation had ever hosted. He also had a huge motorhome that they towed to each congregation where he and his wife stayed. They parked it in the KH parking lot and hooked into the KH's water and electricity.

It never ceased to amaze me that although he and his wife were "officially" special pioneers, and according to our tax laws in Canada, were supposed to have 'taken a vow of poverty', how high off the hog he was able to live sponging off the congregations as he went along. We were quite glad when he was reassigned to the London, Ontario circuit.

Love, Scully

It is not persecution for an informed person
to expose a certain religion as being false. - WT 11/15/63

A religion that teaches lies cannot be true. -WT 12/1/91

47

Let's have a baby shower!!!

by Julie in

jw
friends

as most of you know one of our long time posters, "mommy"/wendy, is expecting a baby in the very near future.

as some of you may not know (and i hope she doesn't plot my murder for discussing it) wendy is going through some real tough times.

she could use a few things for the baby considering getting by with two other children is difficult enough!.

Scully

Julie,

What a great idea!! It would be so much fun to get together with everyone and do this kind of thing in person!! But this is good too!

Love, Scully
of the Off to Amazon.com class

26

Dealing with Shunners

by Hairy Harr in

jw
friends

it was kind of fun yesterday when i was in line at the local coffee house.

a "sister" came up and stood in line right next to me.

now, my ex is df'd and i am probably "bad association", but technically they should not shun me because i never got dunked.

Scully

Sadie:

The relationships that JWs have with each other is so conditional. In order for you to be considered "a friend" to a JW, you would need to do the following:

a) attend all the meetings
b) be regular in field service
c) be a baptized JW
d) comment regularly at the Watchtower Study
e) let them take advantage of your hospitality and generosity without complaint
f) not expect hospitality and generosity of them in return
g) participate in the Theocratic Ministry School
h) items a - g applied to your spouse, in addition to being at least a ministerial servant
i) items a - g applied to all of your children

Sad to say, but it's true.

Love, Scully

It is not persecution for an informed person
to expose a certain religion as being false. - WT 11/15/63

A religion that teaches lies cannot be true. -WT 12/1/91