Posts by undercover

13

UK "JW" Commit Suicide--Despite Outside Help

by blondie in

jw
friends

sometimes, there is nothing you can do to stop people....

http://www.manchesteronline.co.uk/news/s/125/125908_im_sorry_note_of_dadtobe_found_hanged.html

manchester news

undercover

A TALENTED arts graduate hanged himself in the flat he shared with his pregnant girl- friend, an inquest heard.

James Wright, 28, a Jehovah's Witness who worked as a recruitment consultant, wrote a note saying "I'm sorry" before he took his own life.

Right there are some clues that the police and doctors won't catch. The young man was a JW. He shared an apartment with his girlfriend. The girlfriend was pregnant.

The guilt that he must have felt for "living in sin" and then getting her pregnant must have been tremendous. He already had depression issues. Now add the pressure of living in the JWs and the possiblities of either being found out and/or facing DFing. The pressure was too much hor him.

It will go in the books as suicide and technically it is, but the WTS plays a role in the mental make-up of this tortured soul who could only find peace by taking his life. They share a responsibility in how this individual ended up.

The WTS likes to scare it's followers by saying that if they don't share in the preaching work they will be blood-guilty. This situation along with the many others like that happen quite frequently makes the WTS blood-guilty in my book. I had a good friend who took his life because he couldn't meet the standards put in front of him by the WTS and it's propaganda machine. Everytime I read of a similar instance it brings back all those memories and the anger toward the WTS renews itself. May they rot in hell.

8

The special room in high school for JWs

by Nosferatu in

jw
friends

i don't know how many of you went through this, but did you have to go to a special classroom with other jws in it for the national anthem?.

i remember encountering this, and i thought it was weird.

i remember being told not to be in the classroom, but this was a classroom!

undercover

Yea, we had the "special room". Kinda like riding the short bus, huh?

Ours was for all pep rallies, class president assemblies and anything that wasn't classroom teaching related. Out of four years of high school, I only went to the special room once. I always went to the pep rallies and the assemblies. Anything out of class was great to me. Hanging out in a room by the principle's office(which they locked so the kids wouldn't roam the halls. That had to be against the law.) with the other "Jesus freaks" was not my idea of fun. I only did it once when I got caught in the hall on the way to an assembly by a FE(future elder) JW kid. I was too intimidated by this elder's kid to ignore him and go on my way. The principle came in to take a head count and saw me and said, "undercover, what are you doing in here with these religious kids. I know you aren't a JW." The ole double life took a hit that day.

8

JWs and materialism

by YellowLab in

jw
friends

been out of the "truth" for nine years now, with many family members and relatives still in.

while i was in, we were taught to be humble and put jehovah first in your life.

meetings, study and service were the most essential parts of being a jw.

undercover

In the JWs, just as in the real world, there are the haves and havenots. There are those that want more and there are those who are satisfied with their lot in life. There are those who are well-to-do and there are those trying to get out of poverty.

It is interesting, though, to see how people were treated based on their position in the congregation. Elders that had money, nice homes, nice cars never seemed to suffer the guilt trip of being warned about materialism, but let a regular publisher, you know, the guy who gets 8 hours of service a month, misses a handful of meetings a month, doesn't help at quick builds, spends time with worldly family, etc, let this guy come into a little money and get a bigger house or a new car/truck and all of a sudden the elders are anxious to "help" this brother "avoid the snare of materialism".

I know, I'm one of em. We struggled the first few years of our marriage to make ends meet. Not one word of encouragement about how the friends would be there to help if we needed them, but we were admired for always "putting Jehovah first". After a few years, our jobs changed, our incomes changed and we were actually doing pretty good. New house, new cars, new furniture, new toys, etc. Then the friends started looking at us a little different. We were "different" somehow. They didn't seem to trust us. The elders were "concerned" about our new found "wealth" and how it "might" be detrimental. I lost count of how many people made comments about "why did we need THAT car" or "why such a big house" etc.

I used to be a little embarrassed by our good fortune to be able to afford what we have, because of the attitude of so many at the hall. Over time (and as I faded away) I have realized that we have worked hard for what we have and I owe no one an apology for where I live, what I drive or what I do with my money. If a JW, elder or otherwise, questions it, I will be quick to tell them to mind their own business.

32

Once You Start Getting Embarrassed That People Know You're A JW It's 2 Late

by minimus in

jw
friends

for many new witnesses, there was a certain pride associated with being "a jehovah's witness".

they loved telling people they couldn't salute the flag, vote, take blood, have a hangover, have oral sex....you get the idea.

once it dawns on jws how dumb and ridicouolus they sound, it's the beginning of the end.

undercover

I too was always embarassed when people found out I was a dub. Even though I grew up in it, I never felt right being one. Even when I tried to be a good dub, deep down something was wrong. I just didn't want to admit it. My biggest regret is the twenty years I lost trying to be a good dub despite my embarassement at being one.

14

JWs forced to accomidate Apostates at SF DC

by ezekiel3 in

i just got word that protesters have been allowed on the "cow palace" convention center property (near san francisco) with a valid permit.

see the link below for a the happy jw news release on this convention.

http://www.sanmateocountytimes.com/stories/0,1413,87~11268~2309259,00.html

undercover

Parks came up all the way from Los Angeles for the convention and said he has been having a ball catching up with people he has met at previous conventions and musing on the latest in politics.

Huh??

7

I think I finally figured out the blood doctrine....I think

by undercover in

this whole blood doctrine thing has got me so confused, but i think i've got it narrowed down to this:.

the wts is trying to get away from the blood doctrine or at least make it less of a doctrinal point than it has been over the years.

the wts now allows fractions, which, if i understand correctly, modern medicine uses fractions more than whole blood anyway.

undercover

This whole blood doctrine thing has got me so confused, but I think I've got it narrowed down to this:

The WTS is trying to get away from the blood doctrine or at least make it less of a doctrinal point than it has been over the years. The WTS now allows fractions, which, if I understand correctly, modern medicine uses fractions more than whole blood anyway. So, what's the big deal, right?

Well, they can't just come out and say, "New light, ya'll. God said blood ain't as big a deal as we thought. It's up to each individual conscience to decide". If they did that, then they would be opening up themselves to lawsuits. So, it's new light, but it isn't new light, it's a clarification of old light, or sumthin like that. The fact that the whole blood doctrine is so confusing shows that the lawyers are writing this crap. They've worded it so that the average dub doesn't know that in actuality the doctrine has changed and is constantly changing and is not the end all be all of JW teachings anymore.

At the same time, the GB, or whoever's running things now, doesn't want to lose face to the dubs by admitting a mistake or misconception. They also don't want to lose control by allowing dubs too much freedom in choosing medical services related to blood. So even though the WTS has made most of the blood doctrine a "conscience matter" they still load the WT articles with wording that tries to subliminally convince dubs to not take blood, not because the WTS told them it was wrong but because their "christian conscience" told them to. This way the dubs don't realize that the WTS is abandoning the blood doctrine(over time), lawsuits won't be levied against the WTS and dubs will still, for the time being, remain loyal to the borg and refuse whole blood and some of them will refuse even the allowed fractions.

God sure does work in mysterious ways.

7

JWS who break the law by running a large/noisey business out of home

by wednesday in

jw
friends

how many of u know jws who operate businesses out of their home, backyard, or garage?

here, in my city, as it is many places, it is against the city law.

u can't do it b/c it generates traffic and downgrades the property in your area.

undercover

I knew several JWs who ran businesses out of garages and shops on their house property. And as you noted, these type of businesses were not allowed there. Carpenter shops, car repair shops, construction offices with trucks coming and going. I remember one brother got busted and had to move his business because the neighbors complained. The neighbors were a church across the street. The noise from the shop was disrupting their services.

35

Anyone know of a Doctor, Lawyer or other "Professional" who is JW?

by wordlywife in

jw
friends

i was just wondering.

since college was (still is?

) discouraged, have any of you known persons of higher education to be in the organization, either by completing it while in or became jw afterwards?

undercover

I think it depends on where you live. Jared mentioned the area where he lives and how it is technology driven. It should be a given that if JWs live and work in an area where a lot of people work in the tech fields then you will see JWs with degrees, make more money and have bigger houses and nicer cars. For the most part, they fit the demographic of the area. Just as JWs in farming communities will fit in with that demographic. Sure there will be some exceptions, but in general I think JWs fit the demographics of their respective areas.

I grew up in the rural South. I remember one elder having a degree(one that he got before becoming a JW). Everyone else worked blue collar jobs, sales or farmed. As I moved around, I got to know dubs in bigger cities like Atlanta and Philly. I noticed right away that the big city dubs were much more materialistic than my homegrown farming dubs were. They had more education, nicer jobs, nicer homes and nicer cars. It was sort of a running joke to me and my friends that the bigger the city, the more "worldly" the witness.

53

Why Would Anyone Defend Jehovah's Witnesses??????????

by minimus in

jw
friends

every so often, i will read on this board, how some people will defend and apologize for what jws do or believe in.....i just don't get it.

undercover

I don't defend JWs. They can do that themselves. But I also don't speak ill of JW followers. I feel pity and sorrow for the honest sincere people among them. The WTS leaders on the other hand are despicable. I have no use for them or their religion. While I don't hate them, I sincerely hope that they are exposed and brought to ruin.

I can't stop looking at the WT picture of Armageddon hoped for. This is one of the despicable acts of this religion to keep its followers in line, using fear. "If you don't follow our religion, this is what is going to happen to you" is the message plain and clear. And they have their followers ready to cheer when it happens. I wonder how many JWs cheered when the twin towers fell, thinking or hoping that Armageddon was starting? Oh, they won't admit it now, but at the first televised pictures, when chaos ruled, what was the first thought through their mind? Did they cheer, thinking that Jehovah was finally exacting justice on the wicked world? I know JWs in my old hall were concerned for my "spirituality" right after it happened. I got elder visits and phone calls trying to get me to come back, because "we don't want to be outside the fold" when the next wave hits, as if 9/11 was a first assault by Jehovah. Show that picture to a non-JW, explain the meaning behind it and then try to defend that religion.

11

Move away or face them?

by JH in

jw
friends

sometimes, the only way to forget about the witnesses and that religion is to move away and not see them anymore.

but sometimes it's impossible to move, because of your job or family, so you're stuck to face them once in a while.

i was just wondering if many of you moved away after leaving the jw's and if that helped you, or would you just stay where you are and face them?

undercover

When was the last time you could openly question the JW religion and press an elder for answers he know he cannot give out loud and see him squirm? I tell you, it's soooo therapeutic to watch an elder squirm for a change!

I'd love to have a couple of dubs that didn't know me come by. But, the only way that's gonna happen is if it's somebody visiting the area or just moved in. Even then, someone else in the car group should know it was my house. If, by chance, someone who didin't know me came by and I blasted away with questions and accusations they would probably take it that I am interested and come back with an MS or elder, all of which know me. That would not be good for someone trying to fade (like me).

To get back to the original question, I would not move. They've already screwed me up enough. I'm not gonna letem run me outa town too. There is a point where you have to stand up and fight. I'll lay low when necessary, but if push comes to shove, I'm gonna stand up for my freedoms and rights.