Posts by Thirdson

56

BEATING KIDS IN THE WASHROOM

by Rags in

i am 36 yr old female originally from toronto ontario canada.

was raised jw till i was about 14. has anyone else had this happen in their hall?

the mom's (thank god never mine!

All my siblings and I were raised in the "lie" (I call it what it really is) but none of us were beaten at the Kingdom Hall and we were hardly ever spanked as kids and even then it was a open hand on the backside. I guess we were lucky. Some were not as fortunate and for them it was a regular beating at the Kingdom Hall.

In the 1960s we attended a hall in Birmingham, England that was long and narrow. One family nearly always sat near the front and the son was nearly always beaten. He be taken out by his father. As his dad carried him down the aisle you'd hear, "no daddy!, no daddy!, no daddy!" fading, followed at the end by a loud slap and the wail of the kid.

Sadly, that wasn't the only mistreatment. I found out about this kid's feelings about his JW lifestyle from my first wife who attended the same school as him. He never got baptized and moved away from home as soon as he could. He lives happily in Vancouver now, and I managed to contact him recently after more than 15 years.

Thirdson

50

Greg Stafford's New Book Has Shipped

by AlanF in

jw
friends

today i received greg stafford's new book three dissertations on the teachings of jehovah's witnesses.

for those who don't know, stafford has been a staunch defender of the watchtower society's teachings for at least six years, on the net and in print.

his previous book, jehovah's witnesses defended (1998, 2000), is a milestone in pro-jw literature.. the new book is a radical departure from stafford's previous book in that he strongly questions the society's doctrines about blood transfusions, the basis for the claim of spiritual authority by jw leaders, the necessity for christians to believe the society's 1914 doctrine, and issues of "legalism" including the propriety of requiring "time" in the field ministry to be reported, and even the supposed scriptural basis for the society's ban on celebrating birthdays and christmas.

Thirdson

Thanks Alan for your post on Mr. Stafford's new book.

I ordered a copy this evening. I even listed www.jehovahs-witness.com as the source of where I heard about his web site. I hope I get it before he pulls the plug in an effort to stave off disfellowshipping.

Thirdson

92

Do any of you know each other?

by Lost Diamond in

i was just wondering....how many of you have actually met each other?

i'm new here.

what i mean is, are there regular reunions where one can go and meet other ex-jw's face to face?

Thirdson

I have met several people who post on this and other boards including two very frequent posters here (look up!) and it is fun and good to be able to see the actual person. (They are even nicer in real life too!) What's more you find people who understand the path we have chosen and you have an immediate sense of "family".

Post where you are located, you are likely to find someone who would love to get together with you, even in Minnesota!

Thirdson

12

Awaiting the Death of Old Pharisees

by metatron in

jw
friends

it's hardly a whispered secret anymore.

countless elders.

and publishers are waiting for the deaths of governing.

Thirdson

Here's a question that few JWs can answer? Name the members of the current Governing Body? I know I can't. My source, the Proclaimers book is hopelessly out of date, quite a few have "popped their clogs". Then, there are the new "young" anointed who recently were added.

Will new non-anointed members be added or will the GB die out and leave the religion to be run by a board of directors as it was in the days prior to 1971?

Thirdson

110

Memorial No Shows...Please Check in....

by ISP in

jw
friends

well, i was tempted but i decided not to go to the most bizarre religious ritual of modern times....how about you?.

isp

Thirdson

This is the 4th anniversary of my first no-show, (according to the Jewish calendar as interpreted by JWs in Jerusalem).

Since 1997 (the memorial that year was the last meeting I ever attended) no one has invited me and no one has asked if I would be attending. I guess I made it quite clear to my family that I don't believe enough even to show-up for the yearly event with the old has-beens.

Thirdson

10

Funeral for Grandmother

by Thirdson in

jw
friends

i havent been around much on this board the past week for this reason.

last saturday we received a phone call telling us that mrs thirdsons grandmother was close to death and that we should get over to the residential care facility if we wanted to say our goodbyes.

most of the family had arrived and were keeping vigil.

Thirdson

Thanks everyone for your kind words and support. I have passed them on to S.

Thirdson

21

TURN YOUR LETTER OF DA INTO THE LOCAL NEWSPAPER !

by new boy in

jw
friends

instead of turning in your letter of disassociation to the local kingdom hall you wrote and turned your letter in to the local newspaper.

why play my their rules?

besides you made a public baptism, why not make a public unbaptism?

Thirdson

Farkel is right, like he is about nearly everything Borg related.

No one cares what a minor relgion does and who leaves or joins. No ones knows what their message is despite a billion hours spent walking between houses, sitting in cars and chatting in coffee shops. The only people who think the Watchtower is important is the people who attend the Kingdom Hall...OK, some of the people who attend the Kingdom Hall. To them the seven trumpet blasts in Revelation really were resolutions at International Bible Student conventions in the 1920s. International Bible Who's? I hear 6 billion people asking!

Thirdson

24

Telephone call with elder today

by simplesally in

i got a call today on my cell phone today from an elder (i am disfellowshipped)... said i hadn't been seen in a while at the kh.

i said yes, thats true, that the most recent incident regarding his daughter's treatment of my daughter has caused me to not come.

it was the last straw.. "are you going to take it out on jehovah?

Thirdson

Sally,

You are waking up to the fact that the JW religion is not good and includes some pretty evil practices. There is more to life and more to truth than the version of life and "truth" taught by the Watchtower. Just because you converted doesn't mean you can't take stock and examine all your choices again. You can and now is the time.

You are right to vent on this board. There are a number of successful people, living happy, fulfilling lives, posting on this board who have been through similar experiences to yours. If the practice of disfellowshipping is showing that JWs really do lack love and forgiveness and don't display the attitude of their claimed leader Christ then it is time to seriously examine why you want to be involved with such a controling group.

We are here to help and to tell you it is going to be alright. Believe me, six years ago I could not accept a life outside of the Watchtower. Now I am totally convinced I lived a lie for 35 years.

Thirdson

(A second generation JW and former JW elder)

10

Funeral for Grandmother

by Thirdson in

jw
friends

i havent been around much on this board the past week for this reason.

last saturday we received a phone call telling us that mrs thirdsons grandmother was close to death and that we should get over to the residential care facility if we wanted to say our goodbyes.

most of the family had arrived and were keeping vigil.

Thirdson

I haven’t been around much on this board the past week for this reason.

Last Saturday we received a phone call telling us that Mrs Thirdson’s grandmother was close to death and that we should get over to the residential care facility if we wanted to say our goodbyes. Most of the family had arrived and were keeping vigil. We spent much of the weekend at the home and grandmother died on Monday. It was not unexpected as she had cancer in addition to Alzheimer’s . In the end death came swift. One day she was able to get around by herself, the next hardly conscious of what was happening to her.

The memorial service was held yesterday (Saturday). It was a small family event, with perhaps 40 people attending. The service was conducted by three pastors, (one retired) from grandmother’s church. She had been a long time member of the church and still attended each Sunday until a few months ago when she moved out of her assisted living facility. Up until she died, she had received a least a weekly visit from one of the pastor’s of the church.

The service was a celebration of her life, about what she had achieved and the legacy she leaves. The pastors spoke warmly about grandmother, read scriptures and prayed. We sang several hymns including “Amazing Grace.”

I never knew grandmother. When I met Mrs Thirdson a little under 4 years ago Grandmother’s Alzheimer’s was already having a noticeable affect. The grandmother we buried yesterday had left a good while back. Perhaps because of this death was not seen as such a great enemy but more of a release and it softened the sadness of losing her.

We leave her in God’s care now.

Thirdson

55

Bryant Memorial Service Report

by seven006 in

jw
friends

it is hard for me to transcibe certain feelings into written words especially since i'm not what you would consider to be a real emotional person.

i have also mastered the art of rarely showing any outward emotional expression.

i will try and do my best to give you some of the feelings i experienced today through my eyes, so please bare with me.. i drove the hour to mcminnville which is a small town about forty miles south of portland.

Thirdson

Dave,

Thanks for attending, for representing all of us and for sharing this with us. I appreciate it.

Thirdson