Posts by core

135

My theory about the behavior and obsession of some ex-JWs

by Simon in

jw
friends

i've had this theory for some time and alluded to it occassionally but have never explored it in detail.. it is of course a huge generalisation so no, not everyone will fit into the boxes and i'd like people's opinion.

i don't know everyone's circumstances so it's based on a small sample of some of those i do know something about.

it could be completely wrong, it's just an idea.. basically, i have seen a difference between some of those ex-jws who walked out vs those who were kicked out.. the most bitter and obsessive seem to be the kicked out and, i must add, those who were legitimately kicked out.

core

As a generalisation I agree with Simons view - I have not posted much here but have noted others postings and have seen some examples of self-justification by those whom I would not want to know - have also seen heart-rending accounts of abuse of power/trust by elders.

Also, for the first time, I have looked this week at other forums and been frankly completely appalled at the content - one site appearing to be nothing but an anti-Simon rant.

Why people have the time or energy to rave ant rant about forum rules, when alternatives exist, baffles me, why it is necessary to stoop to the level of gross personal abuse (incidentally libel in my view in uk law) - IF YOU DONT LIKE THE RULES LEAVE, sadly it seems that we are all leaving as the mindless number who enjoy slagging off Simon have pushed him over the edge - and yes - he has moved on and now must put his family first.

What has been apparent in the last couple of years in the "clique" of posters who appear to have full-time jobs posting here and have - in my view - put off simple souls who look for a refuge and not anbother storm.

If I take one thing as a memory from JWD (apart from the Caspian saga which still amuses me) it is that there are a lot of decent souls who are trying to rebuild shredded lives after leaving the WT, and my memory is that this board has provided at least a temporary refuge whilst people readjust to life outside. And that is what faces us all now as we are weened away from JWD and left to stand on our own two feet, thanks SImon and all your assistants, (even Englishman in the past who always provised a touch of humour, Hilary Step for logic, Blondie for mind numbing detail and on and on.....Thanks everyone

6

...we miss you..please come back to the Truth...............

by core in

jw
friends

had to call at a store late today to collect some items whe i was approached by an earnest young woman who i vaguely remembered.she had the earnest appearance of a cult member with glowing smile and earnest almost boring eyes.

she chatted generally about my family and then started to pat my arm and said "just try and come back...we miss you so much, you must miss the truth in your life", .

frankly i felt nauseous and for reasons of courtesy (or cowardice) did not reply words to the effect of get lost.

core

Had to call at a store late today to collect some items whe I was approached by an earnest young woman who I vaguely remembered.She had the earnest appearance of a cult member with glowing smile and earnest almost boring eyes.
She chatted generally about my family and then started to pat my arm and said "just try and come back...we miss you so much, you must miss the truth in your life",
Frankly I felt nauseous and for reasons of courtesy (or cowardice) did not reply words to the effect of get lost. I smiled at her and said I was very happy, mt family was very happy and I hoped she was.
Tried to leave at that but she held my arm and pleaded almost "please make room in your life for the Truth" - at this I smiled - pulled away from her and left
My question is - why did this bother me after so many years away from the lunatic asylum - should I have been prepared and told her in short order to get lost as she was lost already in "the Truth" or what - why am I worried about how I handled this - do we ever escape?

15

JW parents hide the body of dead baby for days

by outofthebox in

link in spanish: http://www.cadenaglobal.com/noticias/default.asp?not=185269&sec=12.

summary: in venezuela, the police found a dead baby body in a room.

the parents said they were praying to see if god will resurrect him.

core

Very sad for the parents...not mine to criticise them, the mother and father must have been under severe emotional pressure at the death so dont feel I can disapprove - very sad and hopefully thre partents will recover

9

JW Elder steals money from family and nothing is done - Anglesey UK

by Sirona in

jw
friends

this whole scenario is typical of the jw organisation sticking up for elders who do horrible things.. an elder from the anglesey congregation - one of 9 siblings - decided to join forces with one other sibling to make sure that the other siblings didn't get their inheritance.

he and his brother manipulated the matriarch of the family before she died, whilst she was gravely ill, and made sure that the rest of the family never saw the inheritance that was rightfully theirs.. he went so far as to restrict access to the house she lived in by changing locks etc.

so that her sons and daughters could not see her on her deathbed.. when she finally died, it was revealed that he and his brother had siphoned the money off and took possession of the property so that no other sibling could benefit.. they even had their own wake after the funeral service itself - to which the other siblings were not invited.. when this was reported to the co and congregation elders, they promised to investigate.

core

There are a number of things the relatives could try

First is to ask for a copy of the final Will, if the Executors (the elder presumably who took over the ladys affairs) do not provide one then u can request a copy from the District Probate Registry - just give name and date of eath and a small fee and they will give u a copy.

Second - presumably the "elder" acted whilst the lady was alive with Power of Attorney - write to the Public Guardians Office and ask if a POA was registered.Also ask if it was a new style LASTING Power of Attorney or the older Enduring Power of Attorney (THE NEW STYLE lasting POA only came in last September so probably not that but if it was that is good news as the regulations concerning such are very demanding on the Trustee)

If it was ask them to obtain a full account from the Trustees of the account since registered to the date of death

If it was not registered - first write back to the PGO and ask them for advice - second on this write - not call - write to the "elder" and ask for a copy of the POA he acted with.

Third - if property has changed hands before death - registered by the "elder" from the mother to whoevere - write to the HM Land Registry asking them what proof of the authority of the title holder was given to authorise the transfer - again u can get a copy of the title deeds as they are now from the website for HM Land Registry - small fee - anbout £3

Fourth - all disposessed elatives should write jointly to the "elder" asking for a copy of the POA accounts since granted to death - advise him he must produce these for you within 7 days

If you know of the bank/building society which had the bulk of any funds the relatives cab write to the bank HO giving the name and address and asking for confirmation that transactions were made using a POA and if they were asking them to examine them as you are unhappy at the estates handling before and after death

Fifth - as several are concerned over this ask the next CO why the "elder" serves when not free of accusation - or write to the branch asking that

Sixth - do not take this lying down - actions before death are notoriously difficult to justify but those still living have every right to be informed of the actions of any Trustee or Public Guardian

18

Kudos to the Irish for rejecting the treaty of Lisbon

by jstalin in

kudos to the irish for standing up for their sovereignty!.

.

core

The history of the EU shows clearly why citizens should not trust it one iota - from the start the elite political class has misled the populations about the scope of the - original Community and they still do now with the Union. War has not been prevented by the EUs existence.
The example of Yugoslavia comes to my mind - a disparate group held together (with success) by a dictator until it fragmented away as national groups demanded freedom and independence - and violence followed - I can foresee the EU facing that sort of problem in 50 - 100 years as the unique peoples realise what has been stolen from them and want their independence. The Irish people won independence the hard way and it seems they are waking to the fact that by the back door the EU is stealing it - with national vetos removed - a court with untrammeled authority - well done the Irish! You have every reason to vote NO - no doubt the politicians will ignore this democratic act as they will continue on regardless - the elite will have thier way supported in the main by the press.
In the UK Brown would not dare to hold a vote as it is conceivable that he would be hammered by a resounding NO vote - people want their independence - yes - economic cooperation - but not ever closer political union with the larger states calling the tune.

12

Where Are Those Purged in the Great Bethel Shakeup of 1981?

by Seeker4 in

over the last couple of days i've been re-reading parts of crisis of conscience, and wondering where some of these folks are.

i know that ray and cynthia franz are in georgia and having some health issues, and that ed dunlap passed away.

randy is in ca and often here with us.

core

Marei - Happy Retirement when it comes - hope your pension from the FBI beats what you would habe got from the WTBTS (not difficult to do that!)

22

Sitting on the terraces at Hillsborough / Maine Road eating Hellas bars

by Simon in

jw
friends

the topic on assembly meals hot food at the dcs past...what was it like?

made me think of the days sat on the terraces at district conventions.

they were originally 4 day affairs but ended up just friday and the weekend (maybe they are just the weekend now?)..

core

Hellas Bars - now theres a blast from the past - we even had them at Circuit Assemblies when the Society had taken over the menu -Danish Pastries (frozen) NO Ice Cream from the '99' machine and frozen Dinners which were dreadful - Kershaws I think - seen them in the cheap Frozen Food shops at 99p even today - seem to recall a hot meal at CO with these was about £4 - so a big markup.
Maine Road was very uncomfortable - toilets were rank - Hillsborough was good with the terraces where u could set up a camp - and it always rained (nearly always)
We had Oldham FC once - even as we were sat there the roof girders above us were being painted! lots of ruined suits that year - also - in those days - the hot meals were not prepacked so were cooked in huge containers - they tried a Pork Casserole once - cooked the day before and it all went off - stank to high heaven. The lot went down the drain. Paul Presland in charge of that I think.
The Society had huge deliveries of Hellas Bars made to East of Pennines Assy Hall and they had the assemblies collect them from there.
Derek Carter (overseer at Manchester Assy Hall went over to collect them regularly - whatever happened to him - seem to recall the society "dumped" him for a more pliable character - sad as he was a hard worker and had moved from London to set up first UK Hall in Manchester - he was designated to manage the London Assy Hall but that fell thru so he was directed North - had a semi-detached house at rear of Hall which the Society forced to be sold some years later and moved Derek into a flat over the stage of the Hall (and another flat for the DO)
Memories - not all bad - unlike the Hellas Bar which the Kids all laughed about as the Devil logo was so unlike what u would think HO would approve of. Just been reminded that Hellas confectionery came from Greece.

75

How the new "generation" study went down in the meeting today

by slimboyfat in

i made a big effort to get to the watchtower study today.

i have not been to the meetings much for months, but i figured this was a pretty historic "study" and i wanted to see reactions and how it would go down locally.

well a few things struck me as a bit odd in the study itself, and in the audience response as well.

core

I took the WT study back in 95 when they changed generation that time - looking out over a sea of faces who neither cared nor were concerned about the content - people parroted answers from each paragraph, I pushed the point of this as a "change" - you could see that the vast majority had no idea how the rug had just been pulled from under them - talking to some after the study it was obvious that the confusing way the WT said what it did, they did not feel cheated, lied to or misled - they just had no idea what had happened

Thankfully I neither took now was anywhere near a WT study this Sunday though I bet that the majority again just listened and had no comprehension of the fraud being perpetrated on them - many present in 1995 at that study are now dead - their lives or living as it should be - stolen from them with no return - yes message from the top of the WT is again sell Watchtowers or die - you might as well die because you will not see the Great Tribulation - the latest one card trick has shuffled that card to the back of the pack

61

Poor old Trevor

by mouthy in

jw
friends

http://www.thisisderbyshire.co.uk/displaynode.jsp?nodeid=131596&command=displaycontent&sourcenode=124371&contentpk=20069600&folderpk=55129&pnodeid.

he broke his ankle ....

true!!!

core

Surprised that no mention is made of compensation lawyers suing the Derbyshire Council for the "pot hole" which caused this accident....must be worth a few thousand at least...

27

Just another meeting - the lack of "occasion" and "grief" at JW funeral

by truthseeker in

jw
friends

i recently attended the witness funeral of a sister who lost her mother.

she lived to a good age.. most of the congregation were there.. if the truth be told, it was one of the most disrespectful funerals i have ever been too.

no one did anything wrong, but everyone was happy - a little too happy.. it was just another meeting to the dubs who attended.

core

"

They're even trying to convert us here."

How very true - witness weddings as well - at Funerals - forget the deceased Sell Watchtowers - at Weddings - forget the Bride & Groom - Sell Watchtowers - insensitive and revealing of the lack of humanity involved.

Recently attended an engagement celebration for a Jain friends daughter - what a difference to KH marketing - a marvellous and happy time focusing on the young couple AND their families - a joy to attend - got talking to a person there (a Jain) - we talked about celebrations, and got to funerals - his comments were that the funeral is an opportunity to salute and celebrate the deceased - a time for the family - sadly witness funerals are a time for the ORGANISATION