Posts by Freeandclear

23

12 signs you are a modern day Pharisee

by Zoos in

i was reading through this list and was struck by how accurately it describes the watchtower royalty class.

not exactly a professional doing the writing but i think he captures it pretty well.. http://frankpowell.me/12-signs-you-are-modern-day-pharisee.

for those who cannot access the link:.

Freeandclear

The more I learn about my former religion and it's leaders the clearer it becomes to me that they are indeed nothing more than modern day Pharisees. Incredible that I never saw this before..... What a waste of time.

37

My experience with the people in my hall

by Freeandclear in

i've been awake now for about 6 months i'd guess and a member here for a couple of weeks.

it's been eye opening to read other peoples experiences on here and i appreciate all of you.

i've noticed in many, seemingly most, of your comments that you were not treated well at your hall or you have had very negative experiences in the "org" so i thought i'd like to share mine.. in all my time as a jw i have to say for the most part i always loved the people.

Freeandclear

I appreciate all of the replies. I agree, I was never an MS or elder, so in reality I don't know what it's like to be in those positions of "authority" and have no real clue what goes on in their "meetings" I'm sure there is a whole different side to things that I have not seen.

This site and all of the experiences you've had is very eye opening. For me though the matter is settled. There is simply too much evidence against this organization to show it is not under God's direction. This leaves me searching for the real truth, if it exists at all. I still pray but now not to Jehovah or even through Christ, I simply pray to God and I've been making my concerns known to him and have told him that I'm open to whatever he may want to share with me. Through all that I've determined to be open minded to what answers may come and that I will continue to be a good person and mostly be good to others. I think this is the crux of all human life and to be truly Godly we can do no better than to treat all other humans well with dignity and respect and kindness. Until they show us a reason not to give them respect of course, some people are just truly "bad" in my eyes. But most I can find some good in and I try to do that for the most part. I'm getting off track here.....

Again, simply, thanks for all of you. And hopefully we all will find out what the truth really is. I've been reading a lot and researching a lot of other beliefs and it's simply mind boggling......

37

My experience with the people in my hall

by Freeandclear in

i've been awake now for about 6 months i'd guess and a member here for a couple of weeks.

it's been eye opening to read other peoples experiences on here and i appreciate all of you.

i've noticed in many, seemingly most, of your comments that you were not treated well at your hall or you have had very negative experiences in the "org" so i thought i'd like to share mine.. in all my time as a jw i have to say for the most part i always loved the people.

Freeandclear

Hi everyone. I've been awake now for about 6 months I'd guess and a member here for a couple of weeks. It's been eye opening to read other peoples experiences on here and I appreciate all of you.

I've noticed in many, seemingly most, of your comments that you were not treated well at your hall or you have had very negative experiences in the "org" so I thought I'd like to share mine.

In all my time as a JW I have to say for the most part I always loved the people. I was treated very well and I treated others well. I had a lot of very good friends and there was much love in my congregation.

I will admit I was a very naive person and didn't know all the gossip and back stories and all that stuff as I never payed any attention to any of it. Not out of fear but just because that's not how I was raised. I preferred to look for the good in people and so I did.

All in all my experiences were positive with regards to other people and with elders. All of my local elders were good men who were trying very hard to shepherd the flock in their care and to be loving people. I can't honestly say a bad word about any of them. Even when I got DF'd back in April of 2015 I felt they had made the right decision and they handled it with genuine love.

Sure there were people who were odd, or even mental, but even those I could see as having genuine motives behind their speech and craziness, so I never thought of them negatively.

As a youth my best friend and I would often visit other nearby congregations looking for our potential wives lol and there was only one time I remember feeling something strange. Most congregations were very warm and loving especially to visiting brothers but this one time it was just cold and dead and when he and I left we both said the same thing "There was no Holy Spirit in that hall!" we both felt it, it was very different from our other visits to other halls. But besides that one experience I always felt at home in a hall, wherever in the world or country it was.

One of my best experiences in life was the 2006 District Assembly. I got to go as a delegate to Prague to be at their big international assembly and it was amazing. The feeling of love was overwhelming and it really changed me as a person and at the time really made me feel like this was God's love in action. Not sure how to feel about it now, but I still think back on that time with joy and appreciation.

I'm sorry that so many of you have had negative experiences with the JW religion. Mine were never people based but rather internal. The guilt, the constant not feeling good enough, etc..... And I've since come to realize that with all the false prophecy, and all the blatant lying the org has done over the years and always pointing the finger at the members for their "false" ideas that there is no way this could be an organization directed by God.

But suffice it to say I always felt and still do that the people themselves for the most part are very sincere and only want to do what they think is right and what God wants of them.

It's sad really.....

55

College and EX-JW Discontent....Questions and Stats

by teenyuck in

jw
friends

*many* ex-jws say that they were robbed of an education due to the wtbts and as a result, they feel that their families and the wt screwed up their life by depriving them of the opportunity to go to college and therefore, earn a high salary at a job they love.

here is a link to the us census which shows that approximately 26% of the us population graduates college.

page 5, towards the bottom, shows the college graduation stats.

Freeandclear

I was a straight A student in HS, I scored exceptionally high on my ACT test and was an Honor Society member in school and graduated 8th in my class out of 350 students. I was not born in, but rather got the "truth" when I was about 17. I was very naive and completely convinced it was the truth.....needless to say I rejected all ideas of higher education and decided to get baptized and pioneer. I had a full ride offered to me by MIT and I wholly rejected it because of my false beliefs.

As it turned out, I made out okay. I have a good job and my own side business that I made all on my own, so financially I'm fine. But I do regret not having the typical college life and awakenings that most "worldly" people go through and which I feel are a natural part of human development, ie. the social introductions, the parties, the fraternizing freely with the opposite sex, the experimentation, all of it. Due to that I always felt like I missed out on something big, something very important in life. And as such, a couple of years ago when I kind of went off the deep end and decided to finally explore all of that stuff NOW as a full grown adult man. Some would say mid life crisis (I'm 44 now) and in the process I made some really bad mistakes due to my own naivety. I'm okay now but I put myself through a lot of unnecessary pain and misery for a bit, actually I guess due to the lessons learned it may have indeed been necessary but who knows? If I'd had the chance to do these things when I was younger I think my life would have turned out somewhat differently. Perhaps for the better.

I don't actually regret the decisions I made when I was younger, or any decisions I have made, I own them all. They'll all made me who I am today and I like who I've become. Also, all the decisions I made for the "truth" I did out of a pure heart and for all the right reasons so how can I regret that?

6

My Free Book About the Serects of Life and Death and Why We Keep Coming Back

by new boy in

jw
friends

my novel is now free on kindle for the next five days.

albert’s einstein said "reality is merely an illusion albeit a very persistent one!

the buddhist say the same thing.

Freeandclear

I just finished reading your book new boy and I have to heartily recommend it to others. Very easy to read and follow, good story too! and a really nice summation about the overall points. Thought provoking.

61

Jehovah's Witnesses Latest Music video advice picking a marriage mate

by Watchtower-Free in

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ay5of0nxm44.

Freeandclear

Okay here's something I've noticed a lot over the years. The borg mostly imitate the "Worldly" magazines in their videos and magazines. Take this video for example. Everyone in it is good looking. Like well above average. No dumpy ugly sisters or fat bald older brothers, etc..... I'm quite sure none of the "youths" presented in the video would have any trouble finding a marriage mate! haha same in all the magazines, you don't often see pictures of ugly people. Stinks a bit of the world to me.

22

Hey from Ohio

by sissyb in

jw
friends

hello all - i most likely won't post too often but want to introduce myself.

i've read this board for a long time and feel like i know some of you!

i was a third gen born-in (ne ohio), and half-heartedly believed until i was in middle school.

Freeandclear

Hi from NE Ohio as well, Warren/Y-town area.

6

Anyone from NE Ohio ?

by Freeandclear in

jw
friends

hello all, i'm wondering if there are any ex-borg members in here from the north east ohio area?

specifically warren, youngstown, niles, and surrounding areas.. feel free to private message me if you are still "in" and want to remain anonymous.

i personally grew up in the warren tod heights congregation and know a lot of people from this general area, it would be nice to reconnect.

Freeandclear

Hello all, I'm wondering if there are any ex-borg members in here from the North East Ohio area? Specifically Warren, Youngstown, Niles, and surrounding areas.

Feel free to private message me if you are still "in" and want to remain anonymous.

I personally grew up in the Warren Tod Heights Congregation and know a lot of people from this general area, it would be nice to reconnect. I know over the past 25 years of my on again off again association I've seen many many leave or become inactive. I am DF'd and have absolutely no plans to ever associate again due to the overwhelming evidence that this org is NOT being directed by God. I'm 100% convinced of that now. But I would very much be open to any old friends from my former hall or associates.

Thanks!!

22

Governing Body Epic Fails Compilation

by Brokeback Watchtower in

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wabsbzzt7xw

Freeandclear

So powerful. If anyone of the current JW's were to watch this how could it not make them question the claim that God is directing this organization? It's unbelievable. The fear of apostacy is incredible strong.

20

My Story

by Freeandclear in

just thought i'd introduce myself and share my story.

up front, i'm not bitter.

okay now that that's out the way..... i first heard "the truth" when i was about 14 years old from a friends mom who was studying.

Freeandclear

Thanks everyone for all your kind words of support. I really appreciate it. I'm glad so many others have woken up.

For me JWfacts.com was the real turning point. It's such a good place to start, very logical and really shows the hippocracy of the "organization"

There were many times over the years when I was "in" that I'd have a nagging doubt or a thought that "something's not quite right here" and to be honest I was in and out so much that it was very interesting to come back after a couple of years being out to have my friends tell me all the "updates" and all the "new light" It's laughable really.

This Generation - wow, I mean what will they think up next? What will the "new light" be in 20 years on that subject? I have a suspicion that JW will ultimately crack and break apart. There is just too much of their dirt out on the internet now. The new generation of people on the planet have access to all of it, it's normal now to go online and do your own researching. I can't imagine "Bible Studies" working for much longer unless the person is just wired to believe anything or is mentally ill.

This life is all we have. There is no past, there is no future, all that matters is the NOW, each moment, for that is all life really is. My reality right now is sitting here typing away to you fine people, what comes next is anyones guess.

I'm just glad to be at peace and glad to have others I can talk to and rant to when needed.

Thanks again for all of your support.