so i posted yesterday.
my boyfriend and i have been living together for a year, and he went to the memorial tonight (sorry if that’s not what it’s called).
i told him i was upset he didn’t invite me but wasn’t going to tell him not to go because he hasn’t talked to his family for over a year.
Best advice; as long as he wants to remain a JW, you will not be considered a long-term prospect if you don't agree to joining his cult. Seriously consider planning your future without him now - because you will not be part of his!
Find someone who's not cult-indoctrinated.
it was pretty mundane for the most part, same songs, same outline.
the only new thing they added was the video at the end, where stephen lett speaks to the visitors and commends them for coming and recommends they go to jwdotorg and also start a bible study.
they also showed a bar graph with figures increasing every year for jws, memorial attendance and memorial partakers.
I won't spoil the story!
page 16, par.
18 carefully follow the latest directions.. do we faithfully follow the latest directions that jehovah has given us?
if so, we will not rely on always doing things the way we have done them in the past.
Berrygerry - the female in the WT illustration is dressed like an Amish compared to an elder's wife in my last congregation.
She was about 32 years old, had the looks and figure of a top model - and she knew it. In warm/hot weather, she'd wear clothing which looked as if it had been painted on - with as little paint as possible.
Likewise, our P.O./CoBE's wife took great delight in wearing very low cut tops in order to exhibit her large cleavage. Elder's wives are a law unto themselves.
feeling pressure to attend the memorial?.
as a former elder i write this response to hopefully help those genuinely feeling “guilt” before their god.
if you are a jehovah’s witness or an “ex-jw” (for example, disfellowshipped or lapsed), then i hope that this will be of help to you.
Fay Dehr - May your well-thought out words resonate with many ex/JW's whose minds are in turmoil at this time of year.
Especially, they should meditate and reason on this passage - "I hope that no one feels obligated to attend a public event when “your Father who looks on in secret” has not asked you to attend."
Then they can ask themselves, "Where in the Bible were non-anointed individuals instructed to attend as voyeurs, the memorial of Christ's death?"
Answer: nowhere. It's a solemn ritual exclusively to be attended by partakers who are members of the New Covenant. Spectators were not to be invited.
page 16, par.
18 carefully follow the latest directions.. do we faithfully follow the latest directions that jehovah has given us?
if so, we will not rely on always doing things the way we have done them in the past.
".....we will not rely on always doing things the way we have done them in the past. .....we will be quick to follow any new direction that Jehovah provides through his organization."
Does anyone else perceive a potential "new organizational arrangement" seed being planted in JW minds here - perhaps to be unveiled at the Annual Meeting?
If so, it's odds-on that it will be cash oriented.
page 16, par.
18 carefully follow the latest directions.. do we faithfully follow the latest directions that jehovah has given us?
if so, we will not rely on always doing things the way we have done them in the past.
Page 16, par. 18 Carefully follow the latest directions.
Do we faithfully follow the latest directions that Jehovah has given us? If so, we will not rely on always doing things the way we have done them in the past. Rather, we will be quick to follow any new direction that Jehovah provides through his organization.
Page 21, par. 19 Never should we forget that Jehovah requires wholehearted obedience and exclusive devotion.
Page 24 – An illustration to show that playing an “air guitar” is not a good way to show you are a JW.
PAGE 25 – An illustration showing a floozie wearing an immodest dress at the KH. Probably an Elder's wife!
Questions from Readers (at HQ!)
If an unmarried couple spend the night together under improper circumstances, would that constitute a sin meriting judicial action? YES!
Two witnesses not
required????????????????
this is something that hit me just relatively recently.. the phrase "make the truth your own" is a very famous catch phrase in jw culture.
it was a pet philosophy of daniel sydlik and has been used and is used in talks, literature and song.
every witness knows this trope.
Yes Bobcat, JW dogma categorically teaches that a person's own death wipes out all the evil they've ever done. Adolf, you've got nothing to worry about!
(Acts 4:12) ".....there is no salvation in anyone else, (especially not yourself!) for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must get saved.”
i see there has already been discussion over lloyd’s new book how to leave the jehovah's witnesses.
this includes discussion around his personality, motives and financial gains.
i have written a foreword for this book, because it is an important topic that has not been covered in such a complete format before.
"....don’t second guess others motives or attack others, when most here are doing their best to move on and help where they can."
Paul - very honest explanation, and sadly, an accurate description of some individuals who frequent sites like this one and are only too ready to berate & ridicule anyone who discusses/expresses a belief.
Attacking the org is justifiable; attacks victims/survivors who seek various forms of help from those who have come through similar situations are no better than the abuse dished out by the org & its elders.
This site attracts newbies with its "friendly, tolerant, and informative environment" statement. Let's attract many, many more.
hi does anyone think that with the rise in abuse cases in the uk and the rest of the world and the w5 video as well as many others exposing the organisation that the society might use the loyalty to the organisation as brainwashing to keep people in?
they might say its all lies and an attack by satan and have to stay loyal and not believe any of it.
i bet quite a few will leave.
The most effective cause of many JW's having their eyes opened initially, (IMO) is when they are personally on the receiving end of maltreatment by their local body of elders. Suddenly the terms "shepherds", "spiritual paradise" and "loving brotherhood" are popped like a bubble and have the same substance - air - and become meaningless.
Then the mind becomes receptive to all sorts of "new lights" regarding the cult. Until then, most JW's will push nagging doubts/serious concerns to the back of their mind.
2018-3-21-boe, special preaching campaign in ireland.https://we.tl/xmf085odd9atlantis!.
Thank you Atlantis. Each time you submit such a letter, you stick a needle in the WTBTS's eye!
