Posts by Newly Enlightened

73

New Member...

by sosoconfused in

jw
friends

hello everyone, just wanted to say hi and introduce myself.. i am a mid 30's just stepped aside elder, who just couldn't handle it anymore.. i am a 3rd generation born-in and former pioneer and bethelite.

it has been a log somewhat confusing ride for me, but i am finally settling in to realizing that i need to really look at what me and my family are doing.. .

its funny though what really got me here... it wasn't the 40 year old men telling me they were looking at boobies on the computer and hoping not to get in trouble, it wasn't the watching young people bail left and right, it wasn't the ever changing new light etc... but a simple thought.. .

Newly Enlightened

Welcome aboard! I am also fairly new here and as my post name says newly enlightened. I have been a JW my entire life [49 yrs] and yes, I'm from the 1975 debacle, I mean generation.

Being a woman myself, i can understand how your wife might be feeling. I didn't want to lose my family who are all JW's. I kept saying to myself 'What if I'm wrong and this really is God's organization? So I would pray for guidance and truth and continue my research and just kept finding more and more scandals & lies. The Reasoning book pg 89 was a big one for me. The missing [...] from the quotation from the Imperial Bible Dictionary was pointed out to me by a dear friend. I put the link below so that you can calmly show your wife what the reference book REALLY says. It's very much pro-cross and the WTS took the information out of context and fabricated a lie.

Zoom in so that you can see the actual wording used: http://archive.org/stream/theimperialbible01unknuoft#page/376/mode/1up

This got my husband and I both to thinking, "If they lied about this, then what else have they lied about?" 2 Th 2:11 "So that is why God lets an operation of error go to them, that they get to believing the lie" [NWT]

Wish you & your family the best on your journey. It will be difficult at first but you will feel freer than you ever have. Let what Jesus taught in the gospels and prayer be your anchor

21

Newbies

by Ding in

jwn is getting a lot of newbies.. if you are a newbie, what was it that started you posting here?.

was it the "new light" on the "faithful and discreet slave" or something else?.

Newly Enlightened

The missing [...] in the Reasoning book under the subheading 'Cross' I got that page from the Imperial Bible Dictionary and realized that the book the WTS was quoting from was misquoted and that they were actually PRO cross! I was shocked that if they could lie about that, what else have they lied about?

98

New Member-Active Elder

by Promitheas in

jw
friends

i'm a new member & i'd like to say hi to everyone, intoducing myself.. i am a 3rd generation born-in at mid 50's & an active elder.. english is not my mother language, so pls ignore any grammatical errors.

i live in a small country in europe.. i'd like to thank you for all information posted.

some of them have rally helped me to understand and examine again my beliefs.. last new light concerning f&ds=gb has verified the idea that they are popes in the position op pope.. i still believe in god & in his son jesus christ but not in the gb..

Newly Enlightened

Welcome. Glad to hear that you've been researching. Wish you the best on your journey back to God & Christ.

103

New here and just sick!

by msconcerned in

jw
friends

hello, i am new and i feel soooo wrong about being here.

anyway i am an m.s and have been disillusioned ever since the new understanding that came out in october.

i have read many things on this board that i have and also have not thought about.

Newly Enlightened

WELCOME MS! I am also a current JW and fairly new here to this site. i know how you feel. I had a knot in my stomach the first time I came here & it took me 4 months before i dared to start posting. I also had several questions and thanks to this site, jwfacts, jwstruggle, jwsurvey I've been able to figure quite alot of things out. Give yourself time. i do not like the term 'apostate' myself, because I am staying loyal to God & Jesus [i don't like to use the name Jehovah anymore because of the research I have done] I've put the link below that you might find interesting: http://www.catholic.com/quickquestions/is-gods-name-yahweh-or-jehovah Here's a thought from my husband who served as an MS for 8 yrs and a regular pioneer for 2- As you do your research, eventually you will discover under the theory 'New light' how many things have been changed, flip-flopped,& reversed thru the years, at some point 2 Tim 3:7 has to be considered. "Always learning, yet never able to come to an accurate knowledge of truth" Pray for wisdom and truth. Happy journey, and remember this...If a man/woman does not hold true to their conscience then truly, they have NO conscience. Sooner or later my brother the allusion will meet up with reality. Then your reality will change just like ours. Shalom

50

Revelation 14:3 Who sings the new song???????

by label licker in

in society's revelation book chapter 29 verse 10 on page 201 states the 24 elders are 144,000 and all are singing the same song, how can that be?

in their bible the only ones that can master that song is the 144,000. not the four living creatures nor the elders.

this 144,000 group is standing before the 24 elders.

Newly Enlightened

Then when you read the WTS explanation, it's the most ridiculous sounding thing ever. This puzzled me for years. How can the 24 elders possibly be the 144,000 only in a different viewpoint? Wouldn't they still know the song? Doesn't make much sense to me.

25

WTBTS and the Red Cross?

by The Song Remains The Same in

hi all, i'm new but have read an awful lot here plus jwfacts and jwsurvey over the past months, also the coc book.. i'm not a jw (and never will be) but have a wife who is a 'want-to-be' jw.

this is quite a challenge for me as i already had an idea on some of the points jws stick to, but now with everything i have learned about the high-control methods, the changing doctrines, and the cover-ups, it's a real concern.... anyway, i was putting forward the notion that jw's don't help anyone in disaster zones, except jws, or by giving out wt tracts or magazines (which would be really useful to homeless, hungry and cold families).

she didn't know, and doubted it, so i told her to ask an elder if the wt provides assistance at all anywhere.. she reported back that the elder said the wt does contribute to the red cross.

Newly Enlightened

I know that I'm getting 'off' topic but my friend wanted to add something to my comments above that I forgot to add:

The other thing I thought was adding insult to injury was that in the "Hub"- the warehouse where materials were stored, meals served, work groups organized, etc.- they had donation boxes in obvious places! Really? These brothers all paid their own way to get there, took time off of work, paid their own expenses while they were there, etc., and the WT has the audacity to expect them to donate even more!! How much is enough? You know that the "guilt factor" would come into play- hell, even I donated cash when I saw the boxes, felt that, even though I was already doing what I could, if I didn't give more I was being 'selfish'. Oh, and six months of lost work in addition to no insurance/paying my own medical expenses due to the fungal infection I got as a direct result of volunteering my time- I paid for that too.

11

Faith with out FEARS is dead....

by Fed-up in

isn't that the way the scripture goes?

it's more accurate, i think.. one of the comments on one of the threads (sorry, i'd give due credit, but can't find it again) mentions someone finally being able to size up jw's as one would any other religion.

indeed, he that is under fear has not been made perfect in love.

Newly Enlightened

Welcome to the newly enlightened! I was raised a JW [49 yrs] and as my post name says I am newly enlightened also. You're right! I just watched an interesting documentary called 'Marks of a cult:Bibical analysis' by Eric Holmberg. JW's were the first cult they discussed. It's funny tho, how each one of the cults ALL say they are the channel thru God and you cannot understand the bible without THEM! BS! I'm reading the bible anew in a different light [without WTS blinders] and I got myself several other translations and I'm seeing things for what they really say.

May God bless you on your journey. [I personally don't use the name Jehovah anymore since it is an invented name by a Catholic monk]

http://www.catholic.com/quickquestions/is-gods-name-yahweh-or-jehovah

25

WTBTS and the Red Cross?

by The Song Remains The Same in

hi all, i'm new but have read an awful lot here plus jwfacts and jwsurvey over the past months, also the coc book.. i'm not a jw (and never will be) but have a wife who is a 'want-to-be' jw.

this is quite a challenge for me as i already had an idea on some of the points jws stick to, but now with everything i have learned about the high-control methods, the changing doctrines, and the cover-ups, it's a real concern.... anyway, i was putting forward the notion that jw's don't help anyone in disaster zones, except jws, or by giving out wt tracts or magazines (which would be really useful to homeless, hungry and cold families).

she didn't know, and doubted it, so i told her to ask an elder if the wt provides assistance at all anywhere.. she reported back that the elder said the wt does contribute to the red cross.

Newly Enlightened

I've been a JW my entire life [49 yrs] and the only information I can find is that they donate only to their OWN organizations and corporations. They do absolutely nothing to help others in the world. After Katrina, down South. I had a friend of mine donate his time to go down and help fellow JW's clean and fix their homes. He was working on a JW crew that would clean mold out of JW's homes. He heard personally on several occasions that when the crews were done with the brother's homes. The supervisor would tell the homeowner. "Now if we were a 'worldly' business we would have charged you $XX,XXX for the work we did. But since the WTB$ is doing this voluntarily and free of charge, all we ask is that when you get your insurance money, consider donating it to the organization." He also said that almost ALL material was donated by someone ELSE and brothers like him had to pay for all their own expenses. He ended up with a horrible lung fungus that almost killed him. He had to go back home and the elders critisized HIM for missing meetings!

13

When Did You Stop Attending The Memorial At the Hall? Celebrate L.E.M. With Friends Online?

by ÁrbolesdeArabia in

i am still new to the business of fading and once i stop attending the memorial with all the dubs around me, my former friends will definitly put my shepherding call on hold.

i am sure some of the friends faded quick and never turn their back toward the kingdom hall again.

i am curious if others took a longer approach to fading and dropping off completly.

Newly Enlightened

Gojira is correct. After 'observing' only, for 45 years, and after thorough research, Her father & I have come to the conclusion that ALL of Christ disciples should partake. So we will quietly be celebrating at home.

Unleaven Bread recipe:

1 cup Whole wheat flour, 2 Tbls Ex-Virgin Olive Oil, 1/2 cup Water. Mix well. Roll out to 1/8 inch thick. Bake at 350* for 20 minutes

30

Should Jehovah's Witnesses be added to the Wikipedia article on Doomsday Cults?

by jwfacts in

there is discussion of doomsday cults at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/doomsday_cult, and much of it aligns closely with watchtower predictions and behaviour, so i was wondering why jehovah's witnesses are not mentioned.

here are some quotes from the article:.

doomsday cult is an expression used to describe groups who believe in apocalypticism and millenarianism, and can refer both to groups that prophesy catastrophe and destruction, and to those that attempt to bring it about.

Newly Enlightened

Entirely Possible- Just get a Strong's Concordance and look on page 32 of the Hebrew & Chaldee Dictionary towards the back Item/Line # 1942 & 1943 then go to this link:

http://www.catholic.com/quickquestions/is-gods-name-yahweh-or-jehovah

And read where the Name Jehovah came from. IT IS AN INVENTED NAME BY A CATHOLIC MONK IN THE 13TH CENTURY