Your Dedication™ - if it was made prior to 1985 - was between you and Jehovah. The way it currently reads, the Dedication™ binds an acolyte to the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society.
There was no "dotted line" upon which to sign. Ever.
Posts by Scully
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17Breach of contract
by PYRAMIDSCHEME inas my journey to leave the wbts was in its infancy i was speaking to an old friend who had always been a surrogate mom to me.
i had pioneered with both her sons (one of which is now an elder, the other is gay).
i was addressing some of my concerns re: the wts.
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29
I Hate My Sister and Am Becoming "Seething and Hateful" Like She Says! Help!
by CrimsonBleu inthis isnt the first time i have posted about problems with one or more of my sisters.
but i need resolve:.
i am disassociated, and have been free for over 25 years.
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Scully
First, you need to have a conversation with your mother about her finances and the control she has given your older sister over her money. You want to know whether she is happy with that arrangement. Does it suit her current needs and her anticipated future needs? Does she have the amount of control she would like to have, or does she feel that your sister has "taken over" in something that your mother is perfectly capable of handling herself? Is the financial control a power-of-attorney situation, or is it more like mom has your sister as a joint owner of her bank account, which allows her to sign cheques and pay her bills? (Either of those is revokable at your mother's request, by the way.) Does your mom not want a confrontation with your older sister? (If not, that would be a warning sign of elder abuse for me.)
Could your sons drive your mother to her appointments to relieve your sister of that responsibility? If your mother wishes to revoke or modify your older sister's access to her finances, would you be able to make a trip (by taxi or having a neigbhour drive you) to her bank and/or lawyers office to complete the paperwork? My feeling would be to execute that action BEFORE informing the older sister, so she cannot withdraw money to spite you and your mother for cutting her out of the equation.
Is your mother aware of the malicious gossip that your older sister is concocting in order to drive a wedge between you and your other sister?
I think your reaction to your older sister's attempt at creating a rift between you and the other sister is a natural reaction to being hurt and betrayed and manipulated. However, I also think that deep down, you really don't "hate" your older sister - you "hate" the manipulation and the other injurious behaviour she has chosen. It seems to me that your older sister enjoys the ability to control your mother's finances without accountability, in addition to attempting to control your mother, your other sister and you, plus your sons. It also seems that your older sister harbours a lot of insecurities or self-doubts about (giving her the benefit of the doubt) or she does not want to be caught doing something illegal (giving her no benefit of the doubt) in the way she is managing your mother's money, otherwise she would not feel the need to put you and your other sister at odds.
Any discussion with your mother and/or sisters needs to take place with you in a TOTALLY calm, emotionally controlled state of mind. You will need to confront the older sister about the manipulative tactics she has employed, and state your expectations to be treated with respect and fairness, if for no other reason than to diminish the stress on your mother. You also need to state your objective clearly: that you want to share the responsibility equally with your sisters, in order to be fair, and in order to dispell any hard feelings regarding one person taking on the lion's share of caring for your mother and also to avoid the potential for squabbles in asking for transparency and accountability for your mother's financial affairs.
I like the suggestion of dividing the financial responsibility between all three sisters, and ONLY in the event that your mother cannot manage them herself. Your mother needs to consult a lawyer to do this properly - where there would be money in trust for her care, with receipts submitted regularly by each sister for reimbursement of expenses toward your mother's care or funds paid in to help cover larger expenses toward your mother's care. For instance, if the trustee deems that $100/week is an appropriate reimbursement toward room and board that you provide for her, the other sisters would be expected to contribute a share. If your older sister provides all transportation for her, then she needs to keep records of mileage and vehicle expenses so that you and the other sister can contribute your share of that. If your mother needs medication or glasses, etc. the trust fund would reimburse for that expense... and so on. Having to be accountable and transparent for the use of your mother's money is going to be really important for the three of you to learn to work together for the common best interests of your mother's well being. It will also require all of you to work together instead of being at odds with each other.
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61
Why Would YOU Never Go Back To The Witnesses?
by minimus ini think my mains reasons would be i don't believe they have "truth".
and i refuse to allow them control over me..
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Scully
I don't want to be the poster child for the-dog-that-returns-to-its-vomit scripture.
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13
Great video on atheism vs. agnosticism
by SweetBabyCheezits indan, this is primarily for you after the true christian thread broke down (or got blocked), which happened after the discussion diverted into the parallel topics of true agnosticism and true atheism.. this guy's communication skills are incredible.. .
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sndzb0ktjdk.
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Scully
*like*
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73
My Labrador died can anyone please help me. I can't stand the pain.
by Witness 007 inmy wife recovered from depression just 14 months ago and things have been going well.....so much so that i started a buisness for her and we are two weeks into it.
my labby was ill vomiting abit of discomfort, i thought great, you ate something bad again!
the vet gave him a shot and sent us home.
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Scully
I'm so sorry for your loss.
Pets are as much a part of a family as any person is... the unconditional love they offer is truly a gift. Nobody is happier to see me when I walk in the door than my dog. I could be gone for 2 minutes, 2 hours or 2 days... it's as though I'm a long lost love and he bounds toward me, jumps up on me, dances around in circles and is just plain thrilled to see me. I could have had the worst day of my life and a greeting like that just makes it all better.
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98
It might be better to not even have the Internet. April 15th WT
by life is to short inok i was just blown away when i heard this today while driving, at first i thought it was the some old same old but then it went on and it seems like it is on a different level.. the subheading is "guard your heart by exercising self-control.
on page 27 par 17 it says "one way a person could wonder into the foolish course of the "young man in want of heart" is by aimlessly flipping though television channels or surfing the internet.
whether intentionally or not, he might chance upon sexually stimulating scenes.
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Scully
If the WTS hates the internet so much, why does the WTS have its own websites (and presumably website maintenance personnel)?
Do as we say, not as we do.
Hypocrites.
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39
HELP Why dont we hear God/Angels
by frigginconfused inive heard time and time again that the gb does its best because "as we all know" god doesnt talk to us anymore.. so my question is this...is there and scriptual evidence that god has said he will be cutting off all communication to us.
all prophecy is done and the bible is the end all be all?.
unless the bible specificly states that god and the angels are silent then thats a huge game changer.. how is the food gonna be fed to us at the propper time unless we get new communication..
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Scully
Perry:
this is a prime example of the atheist narcisism that the Oxford professor wrote about in the link above. Because atheists must assume their own omniscience (something they know isn't true) to support their position as truth
I've never claimed omniscience. Ever. And my position is based on my experience, so it is my truth. For what it's worth, I did spend more than 3 decades of my life willing myself to have faith, trying to believe, wanting to believe, and sometimes even begging to believe. As hard as I tried, it didn't "click". I thought it was a failing on my part - surely if god was there all the effort I put into belief would have had some results, but eventually it occurred to me that I did my best and it was time to call it a day and stop trying to please god because it was interfering with my quality of life, and the quality of my family's life. I said "Enough".
It doesn't mean that I stopped being a good person - it just means that I made a conscious decision that I was going to be a good person just because. I didn't need a rubric that included god, eternal salvation or eternal damnation to motivate me to be who I am at heart. I don't need to live forever. I don't want to live forever. I do want to live the life I have, however many days, weeks, months or years that is.
Whatever peace or comfort your faith brings you, Perry, I wish you well. But I won't argue with you. I'm saying "Enough".
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15
spoke to an old ex-jw friend , damaged goods ?
by man in black inwhen i was a witness i was good friends with a recently baptized guy who was always trying to reach out to help, run the microphones, work behind the counter with the literature, attendant at the assemblies, etc.. the big problem here was that he is a police office, has been one for over 30 years, so the org.
would not allow him to do anything exept clean the toilets during assemblies .
his wife and him divoriced ten years ago and he was df'ed.
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Scully
Every police officer who has died in my jurisdiction seems to get a TON of people attending their funeral, more than the average person at least.
I wonder why he wouldn't attend a church that his children would go to? At least then he'd have the people he loves the most, along with his colleagues, in attendance. I also have to wonder why on earth is he concerned about his funeral... does he know something that he isn't talking about?
Personally, when I go, I will be cremated and there will not be announcements or a lot of fanfare. I have not been one to seek out being the centre of attention and I don't want to be the centre of attention when I die.
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97
On Jerkhovas Witlesses, Kingdumb Hells, Filthful & Discreet Slavebugger and Pio-sneering . .
by nicolaou ini detest this type of posting.
it's only my opinion of course and so long as forum rules aren't breached we're all free to express ourselves as we see fit.
doesn't mean i have to like it though.. honestly, can't you make your point without this kind of infantile name calling?
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Scully
Those terms definitely indicate extreme contempt for the belief system and those who practice it. While not my cup of tea, as I feel it can have a thought-stopping [Code Red! *siren*] effect on active Witnesses who visit the site, I also feel that people who use those terms will eventually overcome the contempt and develop some compassion for people who have unknowingly been indoctrinated into a cult.
Whether born-in or recruited to the JWs, all of them are subjects of mind control and manipulation by the WT leaders. Taking up pejorative language to describe the JWs and JW culture activities only heightens the persecution complex that the leaders have planted in the JWs' minds.
It's also important to have a safe place to vent anger that might otherwise be directed to JWs IRL. If that's helping prevent IRL harm, then it's beneficial to a degree.
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7
Fred Franz Draft Registration Documents
by Marvin Shilmer infred franz draft registration documents .
i have loaded two documents onto my blog.
they are the draft registration cards for fred franz for wwi and wwii.
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Scully
Marvin,
Thank you for these documents. The first one though is very difficult to read. Do you have access to a better scan to make a more readable image?