Posts by Watchtower-Free

16

Disfellowshipping - Why the Governing Body can not ease up on dissenters.

by mindnumbed in

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlbwnjglymu.

World of Jehovahs Witnesses setting for intriguing novel

by Watchtower-Free in

http://www.dailyheraldtribune.com/2013/11/28/world-of-jehovahs-witnesses-setting-for-intriguing-novel.

by alexis kienlen, off the shelf.

thursday, november 28, 2013 12:26:38 mst pm.

Watchtower-Free

http://www.dailyheraldtribune.com/2013/11/28/world-of-jehovahs-witnesses-setting-for-intriguing-novel

By Alexis Kienlen, Off the Shelf

Thursday, November 28, 2013 12:26:38 MST PM

When I first heard about Watch How We Walk, I knew I had to read it. I was intrigued for a number of reasons.

First of all, it’s a debut novel written by a Canadian poet. Secondly, the book was set in the complex world of Jehovah’s Witnesses.

I finally managed to get a copy of the book, and I wasn’t disappointed as author Jennifer LoveGrove draws on her own experiences as a Jehovah’s Witness to create a rich and disturbing story.

LoveGrove, an Ontario- based writer, was raised as a Jehovah until she was 14 years old. In interviews, LoveGrove has said that the story is not autobiographical, but the setting is familiar to her. Jehovah’s Witnesses are tremendously insular and isolated, which is part of what makes this novel so intriguing.

Because of her experiences growing up within the Church, LoveGrove is able to provide the reader a glimpse into this strange and unfamiliar world. The book’s story revolves around a young Jehovah’s Witness named Emily. Emily has been raised within the Church and knows little else.

Her mother is a reluctant Jehovah, and her father aspires to rise through the ranks of the Church. Emily’s sister Lenora is a teenager, and she’s having her own difficulties with the religion. She becomes increasingly secretive and is spending time with “worldly” people; those not in the Church.

The story of Emily as a young girl is told in the third person. These sections contrast with other chapters of the book which told by a 20-something Emily in the first person. The older Emily is scarred and broken. The reader suspects that something happened to Emily when she was a child, but the secret is not revealed until later in the book.

The unique, non-linear structure of the book helps make the story more haunting and disturbing. By including the voice of the older Emily, LoveGrove is able to make the reader see just how the oppressive religion has affected Emily and her mental health. The juxtaposition of the two time periods makes the reader wonder what has happened in between, and what has led the young Emily to the fragile state she inhabits in her 20s.

LoveGrove is skilled at blending the details of life with the religious details. It is this blend that helps bring her novel to life. Her skills as a poet serve her well, and her use of language helps flesh out the story.

Watch How We Walk has drawn comparisons to the themes addressed in Miriam Toews’ A Complicated Kindness. Both books have young narrators trapped in religious structures that are limiting and controlling. Through LoveGrove’s story, the reader learns more details about the religion and its beliefs and how oppressive religion can damaging. When members of the Church fail to follow the religious guidelines, they are excommunicated and set adrift. Family members are forced to pretend that their relatives no longer exist.

I knew that I was caught up in the story when I gasped out loud while reading it. When I finished the book, I felt satisfied and contemplative. I knew I’d been on a journey to an unfamiliar world. Watch How We Walk is dark, but the story LoveGrove shares illuminates a shadowed culture and offers readers a glimpse into a world that they would normally never get to see.

Questions or suggestions? Email me at [email protected]

23

XJW meets with 140 Jehovahs Witnesses

by Watchtower-Free in

xjw.

tracy metcalfe https://www.facebook.com/tracy.metcalfe.100?hc_location=streamof ex-jehovah's witness recovery group 3 on facebook.

started a letter writing campaign a few yrs ago to congregations.

Watchtower-Free

I just saw this on Facebook and passed it on .

Some of the critical questions about this I believe have merit .

As far as me being Terry . No . I'm white collar in appearance and very bald.

23

XJW meets with 140 Jehovahs Witnesses

by Watchtower-Free in

xjw.

tracy metcalfe https://www.facebook.com/tracy.metcalfe.100?hc_location=streamof ex-jehovah's witness recovery group 3 on facebook.

started a letter writing campaign a few yrs ago to congregations.

Watchtower-Free

http://tracymetcalfe.blogspot.fr/

23

XJW meets with 140 Jehovahs Witnesses

by Watchtower-Free in

xjw.

tracy metcalfe https://www.facebook.com/tracy.metcalfe.100?hc_location=streamof ex-jehovah's witness recovery group 3 on facebook.

started a letter writing campaign a few yrs ago to congregations.

Watchtower-Free

Update 11-26-2013 interview

Skype Interview: Tracy Metcalfe's Letter Writing Campaign And Activism

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQjrsV9p2J0&feature=youtube_gdata_player

59

Letter I wrote to the person the caused me to be disfellowshipped

by jwfacts in

a thread on another forum reminded me of a letter i wrote to the person that went to the elders and started the proceedings to have me disfellowshipped.

i stopped believing in the religion when i was 25 but continued going for about ten years.

i finally started to fade at 35, but about 6 months after i had stopped going to meetings, a person wrote a letter to the elders about my website, which at the time was anonymous.

Watchtower-Free

Well done. Your website has helped myriads .

Now when a JW leaves a housholder that person goes right to the web .

31

USA, Oklahoma | Jehovah's Witness church elder Ronald Lawrence arrested over sex abuse claims dating back to 1980s

by jwleaks in

usa, oklahoma | jehovah's witness church elder ronald lawrence arrested over sex abuse claims dating back to the 1980's.

a 76-year-old mcalester man was arrested tuesday on 19 counts of sexual abuse after police received claims he molested several children while in a position of authority more than 30 years ago.. mcalester police detectives were alerted to the alleged sexual crimes conducted by ronald lawrence back in august when his first accuser reported abuse at the hands of a jehovah's witness church leader.. a woman now in her 40s told detectives lawrence, an elder at mcalester's kingdom hall of jehovah's witnesses, abused her when she was just eight years old, inviting her to his home, where he fondled her and raped her in his bathtub, according to her testimony found in lawrence's arrest warrant, which was issued tuesday.. two other accusers, also in their 40s, then came forward with similar stories of abuse.

both said they were very young, with one telling investigators the molestation took place from the time she was 10 until she was 13 years old.

Watchtower-Free

bttt

50

How Jehovah's Witnesses benefit those humble enough to study the Bible with them.

by Stand for Pure Worship in

jw
friends

excellent material can be found within the reasoning book, page 328, para.2, 3. occasionally, i see posters make presumptuous comments like, "all you need is the bible", or, "i'm born-again, so there's no need for spiritual assistance from another christian", or,"i'm saved", or my favorite, "jesus talks to me directly.

" on one hand, i can't be overly critical of such ones because they do attempt to read and understand the bible on their own.

(acts 17:11) not to mention they're generally peaceable folks, just self-misguided when erroneously believing that they can go it alone.