Posts by new22day

56

A Mormon becomes a JW in the Feb 2013 Watchtower...

by cedars in

glancing through the feb 2013 "public" watchtower edition, an interesting article appears on page 8.. here is the pdf download link.... http://www.jw.org/download/?fileformat=pdf&issue=20130201&output=html&pub=wp&langwritten=e&option=trgchlzrqvnyvrxf&txtcmslang=e.

it's interesting how, in the story, the young man's jw aunt and uncle switch him from mormonism to the jw faith using third-party material (the nov 8, 1995 awake!

article), and he ends up becoming a jw after confirming on the official mormon website that the claims in the awake!

new22day

A Mormon becomes a Jdub, proving that for some people it's just easier to follow and let others do the thinking.

130

Involved with a JW woman

by jonza in

okay so i'm dating a born-in jw woman, she's younger than me and has no kids.

i'm a christian man whos divorced with 2 kids.

we're in love and seriously want to be together.

new22day

Hello Jonza, I was just driving by the site taking a peek after being away for almost a year and saw your post. I had to share my 2 cents... My first reaction is to scream 'RUUUN!"from the rooftops. I dated a non-practicing JW (he was 'done with all that') for close to 2 years. It was a long frustrating dance related to his double-life and all the lies that went with. Long story short, he was getting reinstated behind my back for months while "sinning" with me behind the KH's back.

I think a double life says a lot about a person's character (appreciate: some JWs have no choice). Double-life is about learning how to live comfortably as a liar, and that involves having a questionable conscience.

I'm glad your GF is questioning so many things. One thing though that surprised me as a non-JW was how pervasive the beliefs are.

It's tough; we all think 'our' relationship will be different. Maybe yours will. My ex was sweet, charming, funny and seemingly so innocent. Great, but once my eyes were opened I saw that he was also a brilliant liar, cunning and very devious. His first love was always the JWs, even though he said otherwise. A year and a half later I'm so much happier without that guy I thought was my dream man.

He texted me recently and I politely wished him the best and suggested he loose my number. He has. That was bliss. Realtionships don't have to be painfully complicated. Some food for thought. All the best to you. <3

21

Are JWs more tight with money than normal people?

by Julia Orwell in

jw
friends

actually, in my experience, i have not found them to be tighter or more generous with money.

i've found them to be about the same with handling money as non-jws, though less likely to invest their money, but unlikely to waste it on cigarettes, pubs/clubs and gambling like many non-jws do.

i certainly don't find them tighter or stingier than normal people though, and slightly more honest.. what are your experiences with jws and money compared to non-jws and money?.

new22day

I can't comment on JWs as a group, but my ex, Ivan, (who is a dub) was so tight he squeaked. If he could save a dime he certainly would and if I would pay, even better. Going out was always embarrassing. Once at a community festival, there was a small beer garden set up to raise money for the organization and he wanted to sneak his own beer in so he could save a few dollars. (Who even thinks like that?)

Years ago, my family owned a hotel and a group of JWs came to town one weekend to build a hall. We negotiated a special reduced group rate with them for all the people involved with the build. After they were done (which impressively only took a few days) the leader of the group started demanding a cheaper rate for everyone because of their good work. I remember my Dad being so angry and disgusted - he did not further reduce the rate. I thought it was unethical and dirty of the JWs and I was just a kid.

32

How Do I Explain To My TalkTherapist That JW's Believe They Will Never Die?

by LoisLane looking for Superman in

jw
friends

i know for us exjw's that have awakened from this religion, it seems incredulous that we ever.

could have believed we were going to live forever and never die.. not just never die, but never die, like i was raised to believe with.

the millions now living will never die, garbage.. i said that to my highly educated professional therapist last week.. her eyes got big, and she said gently as to a child, "loislane, we are all going to die".. yes, i know that now, but that is not what my religion taught and i believed, for 60 years.. any thoughts on how i explain this lunacy to her?.

new22day

Hi Lois Lane, non-dub here... when I hear/read salient points like this from people like you I'm floored. Then I sit back and try to imagine what it might feel like, in this case, to think you would live forever. I can't do it. It's too hard to grasp but it makes me see how a JW's entire world/life view would be so different in so many major fundamental ways. Ugh! and then 'waking up' and realizing you WILL die along with everyone else, - - what a mind screw that would be. Living forever for sure would be a prime feature of the con this cult sells, so don't feel bad for believing it at one time. I wish everyone could wake up -- sigh!

38

Are we alone?

by Xanthippe in

jw
friends

the title of this thread is the title of a chapter in the book by richard dawkins that i'm really enjoying in spite of or perhaps because of it having been written for young people.

i thought i would share a couple of paragraphs on his theories of the kind of bodies aliens on other planets might have :-.

'let's exercise our imaginations a bit more.

new22day

OMG! Maybe Dawkins is really a Mormon. They believe in aliens too, in fact they're starting up their own planets when they're done here. lol

151

If you don't believe in God where do you get the strength to cope?

by Miss.Fit in

jw
friends

i know there are some here that are going through some tough times.

some of you do not believe in god.

some are not sure.. i was told recently by a friend to pray to god for help and he would comfort me.. my first impulse is to pray.

new22day

Hi Miss Fit, No, you will not be hospitalized for your thoughts. Your thoughts, as painful as they are, are very common for people with depression. I would highly recommend you tell your doctor about them (I know that can be really hard to say out loud but you are not the only one and they hear this all the time).

Your doctor needs to guage the level of your depression so she/he can prescribe the appropriate medication(s) and other support to help you, and also to follow up with you in the initial few weeks you are doing treatment to ensure there are no issues. It's important for your doctor to understand how long you've been feeling depressed and how strong the feelings are. This also helps them with est. treatment timelines etc. Personally, I hesitated with my doctor on initial contact and that only prolonged things for me. The sooner you get help the sooner you can start to feel better - all the best and keep us posted on how you're doing.

151

If you don't believe in God where do you get the strength to cope?

by Miss.Fit in

jw
friends

i know there are some here that are going through some tough times.

some of you do not believe in god.

some are not sure.. i was told recently by a friend to pray to god for help and he would comfort me.. my first impulse is to pray.

new22day

Aw Miss Fit, my heart is SO with you right now. Suicidal thoughts generally mean you have depression and depression is a serious (yet, very treatable) condition - it just takes time. Six months or so I had such a hard time just getting out of bed to go to work. It was awful and I couldn't see a way out of the darkness. Friends and family gave me all kinds of advice - eat healthy, excercise, get out of the house etc. (all good things that help) but I was struggling to just get to work each day and the extra 'to dos' overwhelmed me.

Talk to your doctor candidly like you have with us. She may offer you meds and they can help, though it can take a little time for you to notice the results. A little excercise can really help too if you can find a way to make that happen. The important thing is to do just what you're doing and seek help and talk to people. You are not invisible and you're not alone. People do love and care about you, more than you know!

I had a few more obstacles appear (had a bad accident and injury, which resulted in leaving my job but in the end that has been good for me) -- through all of that I came out of the darkness. I still have blue days but I have the strength to cope again. I shudder to remember how low I felt just a few months ago -- I just want you to understand and believe that it does get better and you will find yourself and happy feelings again. Be easy on yourself and hang in there.

1

Poor Carly Simon

by Hortensia in

she looks so stiff and old next to taylor swift.

geriatric singer/songwriter.

nice to see them sing the song together, though.

new22day

How ironic that Taylor Swift is singing "you're so vain" - does she think the song is about her? Way to steal the spotlight. Carly rocks and is less 'plastic' on a few levels lol!

39

Free today - the book I wish I'd found when I was getting out of JWs.

by AngusOg in

jw
friends

it's called quitting jehovah's witnesses & other cults: how to do it & why you should, and i hope you'll check it out.

i wrote it because other books seemed to focus on personal experiences (boring, irrelevant) or doctrinal discussion of why i should convert to some other religion (boring, irrelevant and insulting).

anyway, it's an ebook, it's free, and it's out today..

new22day

Your audience might largely be ex JWs and non JWs too who want to help loved ones wake up or at least have better discussions. As a non JW, everytime I tried I was pulled down a rabbit hole and so confused.

That said, the FDS thing does confuse me. It's a really fundamental question - how do they "precisely" recieve God's word/direction or whatever. I think I could even ask a door knocker this one wihtout feeling too intimidated to fall down a rabbit hole.