GetMeOutofHere

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Posts by GetMeOutofHere

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  33

  Motivations for Watchtower leadership

  by GetMeOutofHere in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i’ve struggled for some time with this question.

  why would the elders, cos, branch committee, helpers to gb and the gb themselves devote their lives to progressing in the organization, if the whole thing is one big sham?

  i have 3 ideas so far.. 1) money.

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  GetMeOutofHere

  Thanks dozy,

  i seriously need to read Ray Franz
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  33

  Motivations for Watchtower leadership

  by GetMeOutofHere in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i’ve struggled for some time with this question.

  why would the elders, cos, branch committee, helpers to gb and the gb themselves devote their lives to progressing in the organization, if the whole thing is one big sham?

  i have 3 ideas so far.. 1) money.

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  GetMeOutofHere

  I’ve struggled for some time with this question. Why would the elders, COs, branch committee, helpers to gb and the gb themselves devote their lives to progressing in the organization, if the whole thing is one big sham? I have 3 ideas so far.

  1) Money. This really only applies to ‘special full-time’ servants. They appear to live a comfortable lifestyle without the stress and anxiety that people on the outside have. They have nice bethel rooms; a maid; meals provided for etc. The higher up you go then you also get trips paid for and many gifts I’m sure. However, it is hardly a life of luxury. I’ve seen their lifestyle up close and they do live as they preach - a very simple life. The houses in London (up for sale) are not as they seem - they were not modernized like you see in the photos when bethelites lived in them and they would have 8 people living in a 3 bedroom house. If you wanted to be rich then I can think of much better ideas than being a WT leader.

  2) Power. When I would give a talk I used to feel something that we were taught was Holy Spirit. No it was not. It was my ego being inflated and massaged as I had 100 people listening to me and for those 30 minutes, I was in effect, but not officially, the channel of communication from god. It feels incredible to be in authority in that way and to be one of the few people on earth considered righteous. The higher you go up, the more powerful you get. A CO walks into the congregation and they all stop, stare and kiss ass. The gb are now officially the faithful slave and so they, in the eyes of 7 million are the most powerful men on earth. Although they act humble, I have started to see that in many cases that is a facade - have you seen them on JW TV??

  3) They actually believe it. I wonder if every leader in the organization actually believes the script. I find this a difficult question. I know from my experience, once you start to progress in their hierarchy then the easiest thing is to simply go with it. Why resist when you have so much to lose? And when you are with them it’s so easy to be swept away by the mind conditioning and love bombing. They do not think critically and are constantly fed with Watchtower ideology through their printed material. Decades of underlining watchtower articles can’t be good for you.

  It’s important that we try and understand their motivations because this can refute the argument that even though they are an imperfect organization with imperfect men, they are men that love Jehovah and are used by him.

  Although I find the question difficult, it becomes clearer when you look at other religious leaders. What motivates the pope or the Mormon leaders? They might sincerely believe their belief, or it might be for money or power. Whatever the case, they can’t all be right. And so motivation should not be an indicator of truth. Even if JW leaders 100 percent love god and sincerely love the brothers, it does not equate with them being right. Tony Morris might actually believe he is one day going to kill people as an angel. The gb might actually believe they are protecting children in child abuse cases. The reality is that their motivations good or bad, noble or disingenuous, have no bearing on truth.

  Im starting to think there might be combinations of all 3 reasons that I have outlined above. If there is anything I have missed then I would be open to reconsidering.
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  19

  Personal story of bethel, sexual abuse and child baptism

  by GetMeOutofHere in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  born into a strong jw family in the early 80s.

  my father died when i was 4 and that left a huge emotional scar on my tender mind.

  with my mother, i went to live with family members and was sexually abused between 4 and 10. he was an ms but when elders later found out, all that happened was he got his privileges removed.

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  GetMeOutofHere

  Diogenesister

  I feel like you know me so well and yes I did study with The Open University although I took a Literature qualification.

  I honestly feel more genuine compassion from people on here than i have ever felt at the Kingdom Hall.
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  19

  Personal story of bethel, sexual abuse and child baptism

  by GetMeOutofHere in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  born into a strong jw family in the early 80s.

  my father died when i was 4 and that left a huge emotional scar on my tender mind.

  with my mother, i went to live with family members and was sexually abused between 4 and 10. he was an ms but when elders later found out, all that happened was he got his privileges removed.

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  GetMeOutofHere

  Thanks for your supportive comments. Will definitely seek professional counseling at some point. Just writing down some of my thoughts knowing others from a similar position would read was already a start to the therapy process.
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  19

  Personal story of bethel, sexual abuse and child baptism

  by GetMeOutofHere in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  born into a strong jw family in the early 80s.

  my father died when i was 4 and that left a huge emotional scar on my tender mind.

  with my mother, i went to live with family members and was sexually abused between 4 and 10. he was an ms but when elders later found out, all that happened was he got his privileges removed.

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  GetMeOutofHere

  Born into a strong JW family in the early 80s. My father died when I was 4 and that left a huge emotional scar on my tender mind.

  
  

  With my mother, I went to live with family members and was sexually abused between 4 and 10. He was an MS but when elders later found out, all that happened was he got his privileges removed. I was told to tell other brothers and sisters that he was no longer well and so had come off being an appointed man. To my absolute horror looking back, I enjoyed the abuse - I enjoyed the intimacy and I’m ashamed to say, the stimulation - I have never managed to overcome masturbation (I realize now masturbation is normal, but not in JW land)and perverted sexual desires.

  
  

  Racked with guilt but also a strong desire to see my father in the resurrection, I did what a good witness boy should do and get baptized at 10. The ‘love’ and positive reinforcement from the congregation drove me ever forwards.

  
  

  At 16 I entered regular pioneer ministry and at 19 I was accepted into London Bethel.

  
  

  I soon realized that bethel was a factory and it was the congregation where brothers showed love. I reasoned that it had to be like that and if brothers were cold it was because they were heading an organization- no room for emotions.

  
  

  I left Bethel in 2010 and studied an online undergraduate degree. For the first time, I realized that I had never studied anything before. I stumbled across the videos of Christoper Hitchens and began to agree with the arguments he presented. He basically dismantled my faith with reason and logic.

  
  

  It’s horrible to be stuck in a religion when you don’t believe in god anymore. Sitting through assemblies and conventions makes me angry and sad. Then I started to look at the clips of John Cedars and the JW facts website and it became apparent that I, along with the the rest of us, have been treated so badly by an organization whose sole purpose is to acquire power for its own sake. They are an organization driven by position and ‘accurate knowledge’ - knowledge that only comes from them.

  
  

  So I find myself committed to a vow made at 10 which hinges on the promise of seeing my dead father and of wiping away my guilt in being abused. It was an emotional decision made by a vulnerable child. I now come to the reasoned decision as an educated adult that I no longer want anything to do with this organization. However, if I act on that decision, my dear mother as well as my ‘friends’, and most importantly my darling wife will see me as wicked and look for ways to remove themselves from my life.

  
  

  Thank you for reading.
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  16

  Flash mobs

  by zeb in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  housebound by weather.

  been watching flash mobs.

  what a wonderful thing they are..

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  GetMeOutofHere

  smiddy3

  haha! Can you imagine?! The thought of it 🤢
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  49

  How to avoid getting disfellowshipped for having a wordly girlfriend?

  by cookiemaster in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  hey guys, i've been pimo going on full inactive for a very long time, 5+ years.

  pretty happy with the current situation.

  over the years, i've gotten lots of grief from the local elders and cos for my inactivity, attending wordly public events and social media posts.

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  GetMeOutofHere

  You will only be disfellowshipped if they can prove serious sin. However if you’ve been fading for as long as you have then you will not be considered as part of the congregation and so will only face judicial action if you choose to return. Be discreet, unresponsive and do not go back!
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  32

  I saw my mother today for the first time in three years

  by pale.emperor in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i saw my mother today for the first time in three years..

  she was on one of the witnessing carts in town at a station i don’t usually get off at.

  i did today as i was dropping my daughter off somewhere.

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  GetMeOutofHere

  Truly awful.
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  23

  Where now for the UK Society Big Wigs?

  by dozy in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i see top uk jw lawyer richard cook is finally having to move out of his jw "grace & favour" house , currently for sale for a cool £2.75 million.

  https://solicitors.guru/office/3466-richard-cook-solicitors/.

  https://ibsaproperty.com/houses/lowood-house/.

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  GetMeOutofHere

  Richard is a nice guy. I knew him for about 6 years. To think that a top lawyer like him was on £80 per MONTH when I knew him 10 years ago. Such a waste.
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  12

  "2,450 at a convention. Look at the empty seats . Tx...Frisco"

  by Xjw csaSurvivors in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  .

  source :.

  https://twitter.com/jepthahsdaughte/status/1162740218031681542?s=20.

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  GetMeOutofHere

  Pale.emperor

  I initially thought the same but then look at them sitting still. Nobody is walking around and the brothers are clearly sitting attentively.

  I think in other areas they anticipate falling numbers by merging circuits together etc. They clearly failed to organize it well on this occasion. Would have been hilarious to have been there.