Posts by smiddy3

59

A Little Direction Please

by Brian J in

i'm an active elder, cobe, just got home from the meeting where i handled the treasures part and concluded by announcing a friend of mine has been d/f,.....blah blah blah...and over the last year have woken up.

i simply cannot spill my guts to my wife and children as it would be family suicide.

i have zero desire to bash, spread my feelings, or become an "apostate".

smiddy3

As everybody says here slow and steady is the key.And asking questions but not giving your answers is a good point.

Quote C.T Russell when he said they would never beg for money,contrast it with appeals for money in the congregation and at Assembly and Conventions ,how is it there always in the red.with a deficit ,even when they own the buildings, and show the real Estate sales made in Brooklyn these past couple of years of Millions of $$$$.

The latest one just a couple of days ago of approx.$200 million The Tower Hotel complex.

Don`t hit her with all of this in one go of course but piece by piece over time.

By the way welcome to the forum Brian J we look forward to what progress you might make with your wife and family.

Take care

38

October 31, 2017 TO SELECTED BOEs IN THE US BRANCH TERRITORY Re: Discontinuation of the Funds-on-Deposit Arrangement

by wifibandit in

october 31, 2017 to selected bodies of elders in the united states branch territory re: discontinuation of the funds-on-deposit arrangement.

smiddy3

Maybe joe-blow JW is aware of the $millions WT is making with the sale of their Brooklyn properties and reasons they are making all of this profit in real estate sales so why do I need to contribute my measly $$$`s anymore.

Could it possibly be that more JW`s are waking up ? to their money grabbing schemes ?

The religious organization founded by C.T.Russell who said words to the effect "that they would never beg for money ,that when the faithful stop giving willingly ,then that`s when Jehovah says it`s enough ?"

Does that sound like the WTB&TS of today ? or do they continually remind the faithful to contribute to meet expenses (real or unreal )

17

Lawyer from Canada Bethel turns whistleblower

by krismalone in

lawyer from canada watchtower branch reveals how the watchtower protects pedophiles.

he had the courage to speak up against the evil policies that protect pedophiles.

this video needs to go viral.

smiddy3

Huh? How do you know that? How do you know he still hides his identity?

Well has he revealed his identity here ?

And besides, you (and me, and everyone else) know nothing about this man's personal life. Nothing. Nobody is in the position to judge why this man has chosen (14 years ago) to keep his identity protected.

point taken ,I just think after 14 years this man could be more open about why he would go on a TV show as an expose of the WT religion to the whole world so to speak and after all these years still not reveal himself to be be a more credible whistleblower ?

10

If Elders and Ministerial Servants did what Michael Fallon has done, few would remain

by Isambard Crater in

over the years i have seen plenty of elders and ministerial servants touch other j.w's knees, thighs, give very long and intimate hugs, blah, blah, blah.

i know of other sisters who have felt really uncomfortable with such behaviour, but the brothers have just explained that they're being loving as caring christian friends, so they get away with it.

it angers me that no j.w's will speak out about historic or ongoing inappropriate touching for fear of being disfellowshipped or losing the hope of paradise..

smiddy3

This is an interesting thread I.C. And i can quite believe it but how do you go about complaining about such inappropriate touching ?

As you suggest without saying it the "boys club" will protect their own .And sisters will be looked down as though they were the the ones that encouraged /led the brothers on. Or as you suggest the "brothers" were only trying to give support .

Yeah right.

It wouldn`t have to do with "brothers" not getting enough at home and getting their jollies hugging another female would it .?

Fantasticising about another partner ?

9

In 1923 I Almost Died

by TerryWalstrom in

jw
friends

in 1923 i almost died.. don't get me wrong, i wouldn't even exist for another 44 years.. for a few seconds, on top a building, my grandfather stood with tears running down his cheeks and a small caliber pistol in his right hand.

if he had pulled the trigger, not just one man--one very depressed and hopeless man--would die; he'd take with him the four children his wife would never carry, their children (including me) and so on.

all of my children and grandchildren would never exist stretching off into the darkness of eternity itself.. it was on the way back from seagoville, near dallas, my grandfather told me about it the day he drove out to the prison where i was to be released on parole.____.

smiddy3

Aren`t we all just an accident of birth ? An accident of where we were born ? Do or did married couples years ago really plan births ?

What if our mother had aborted us ? what if our mother was influenced/threatened by our father to abort us ?

their are so many scenarios that could have happened as to whether we were born at all or whether we were conceived in this country or that country

Or if we were ever going to be born at all.

It`s just quite possible we may never had an existence at all except for the fact we are here despite all the odds against it happening.

9

Updated Recommended Reading List

by doubtfull1799 in

not long after i joined here i posted a reading list of books that helped me wake up, but since then i've read so many more that i've found invaluable in furthering and refining my new worldview, plus giving me a more in-depth well read perspective on theological and scientific issues.

so i thought i'd post an updated comprehensive list for other voracious readers like me who are always looking for good books to read.

how jesus became god - bart d. ehrman.

smiddy3

I would need another lifetime to read all those books doubtful is their any chance you could list the top 3 you would recommend ?

I have read the two COC`s ,I wonder if that was a coincidence?

Captives Of a Concept ,and Crisis of Conscience , and of course 1984 and a few other books that have convinced me all their is to know about religion and God.

Thanks for the list.

12

Facing My Mortality And Becoming A Donor

by pale.emperor in

this thread is quite morbid so i apologize in advance.. a few days ago i was having a conversation with my girlfriend in which she mentioned in passing that she's signed up to donate her organs after her death.

i was quite surprised because she mentioned it like it was no big deal.

i asked her which organs.

smiddy3

I became an organ donor a number of years ago pe and i too donated everything .

Maybe my penis will get a lot more action then than it has in this life ? (just joking )

19

Alternative witnessing

by Zyron in

jw
friends

those of us still attending meeting are actively encouraged to use out tablets or smartphones to direct people to jw.org.

how about, after doing the standard presentation casually say to householder, you can also look at this forum to read of experiences of life as a jw as well as the official version?.

obviously you need to be working by yourself or with a pimo jw..

smiddy3

I find it hard to comprehend an awakened adult JW to the TTATT still going from D2D "witnessing" to people about the religion.?

Is it just me?

OK I can understand it happening with young people still living at home and under their parents control but adults ?

17

Lawyer from Canada Bethel turns whistleblower

by krismalone in

lawyer from canada watchtower branch reveals how the watchtower protects pedophiles.

he had the courage to speak up against the evil policies that protect pedophiles.

this video needs to go viral.

smiddy3

The OP video is a short excerpt from CBC's The Fifth Estate's "Spiritual Shepherds" that was originally broadcast on January 29, 2003.

OK that was now 14 years ago and this whistleblower is still hiding his identity ? in the year 2017 ?

BluesBrothera day agoa day ago

At least Barbara Anderson was prepared to stand up and be identified, and face the music. That is a real whistleblower who has my respect

I agree wholeheartedlyBB

Protecting the identity of whistle blowers is a fairly standard practice. And more common than not when a television expose is done on sensitive material concerning a large corporation and/or religion.

Maybe so but a person who puts their money where their mouth is ,is going to gain a lot more respect and believabillity than someone who doesn`t put their name to an allegation and hides there identity .

16

Lunar Eclipses and 607/587 BCE as the date of Jerusalem´s Fall

by ILoveTTATT2 in

jw
friends

i am doing a very extensive document, it is a work in progress, that details how to know, just using a list of eclipses in the 6th and 7th century bce, excel, and knowing how to read lunar eclipse graphs and maps, that jerusalem fell in 587 b.c.e., and not 607 b.c.e.

as the watchtower states.currently it is in spanish, but i intend to translate it to english later.for those who speak spanish, here it is:.

https://sites.google.com/site/laverdadtj2/los-eclipses-lunares-y-la-watchtower.

smiddy3

I`m just curious zeb as to why you would refer IloveTTATT2 to read "The Gentile Times Reconsidered" x Jonsson.

What relationship has one to do with the other ? Do they cover the same ground and /or compliment each other ?

I must confess I have never read Jonsson`s book and I look forward to TTATT2`s English work.

A definitive answer that would satisfy a JW as to what date either 587B.C.E. or 607B.C.E. would be a dream.