.
whenever i have conversed with one of jehovah's witnesses, i feel that they are 100% convinced that the wbts is "right".. on this forum, we have many people who were once one of jehovah's witnesses, but now totally reject it.. how did you feel witnessing to people whilst you no longer believed in it, or knew you were about to leave?.
spanner.
This is why I never really advanced as an Unbaptized Publisher. I couldn't promote something I didn't believe in myself.
I remember one of the last times I was out on field service. I was in really rotten spirits that day (probably because I was spending the day preaching the bad news). The elder I was working with told me I was doing really well in the truth, and I've been progressing quite well. That really confused the hell out of me.
recently the rock and roll world declared that robert plant is the all time greatest vocalist .
i think i agree with this but i also think guys like elvis and paul mcartney diserve a place in that catagory .
who else do you think would qualify for mention here?
As a vocalist myself, I feel the need to participate in this thread....
Robert Plant WAS a great vocalist. His voice don't sound too good these days. Roy Orbison had an extremely unique voice, which made him an excellent vocalist.
I think that Bruce Dickenson from Iron Maiden deserves some credit as well.
hey boys & girls!
i just had an interview with a reporter that wants to do an article in the houston chronicle on our ex-jw meet up group www.exjw.meetup.com ==== she asked me some questions about my experience & the group & said she wants to do an article about us and take some photos at our next meet - up.
i sure hope we have a good turn out hey houston - i mean u!!!!!!
That's pretty cool!
Been having problems with my city's meetup. There's usually not enough people signing up for it, however this month may be different. I'll have to check my email when I get home.
i remember witnesses in no way partaking in charitible organizations, helping out etc.
not only would they not help with other ones, but in reality there is no form of charity work at all even for fellow witnesses.
you have older ones who have spent their entire life in the wts, only to find themselves practically on the street later.
Agreed. It seems that the WTS just instructs the brothers and sisters to help others in the congregation who are in need. This eliminates the WTS from doing it themselves.
The sad thing is that there are a few JWs who have acknowledged themselves as the less fortunate, and they know how to pull the strings to get others to give them money, paint their house, etc, and they know that they can keep on getting away with it. These are the truly loving & kind people that are associated with God's organization! Let us rejoice!
......and why does my pic only work on Wednesdays?
Edited by - Nosferatu on 22 January 2003 13:45:5
i have only been an active member for a couple of days here, or a newbie as we are affectionatley called.
since i have been here though, on a few occasions, i have been asked about my choice of nicname and what it means or why i chose it.
since there is a reason behind it, and in my mind it stands for something, i thought i would share it's orgins with you all.
Your nick reminds me of that song "Jesus Built My Hotrod" by Ministry ;)
How does that beginning part go again? "Wang-a-dang-dang my Ding-a-long-a-ling-long"? Psalm 69 is super cool. Now I gotta play it when I get home.
.
for those who were witnesses, and passed many years there, do you feel as if you are scarred for life by this experience?.
.
Hard for me to decide on that one. It was enough that my mother was abusive to me. The JW religion added even more to it. I wasn't just getting beaten up at home no more, it was also happening at school. It happened at school because I was taking a stand for Jehovah, and I was supposed to stand out (by wearing ugly clothes). Having been hit by so many people in my life has affected me psychologically. I've been able to fix a lot of it up, however there are some things that still remain from my experience. It's kinda weird that you don't know that they exist, until different people continually point them out to you. I'm much better at dealing with them now than when I first discovered them.
However, I will not go through life with a "poor me" attitude. There's better things to do than trying to make people feel sorry for you.
hello, ive been disfellowshipped for being with my boyfriend who is a witness also, i'm sad and dont know what to do now, so ive been looking around for answers, and found this site.
i don't want to go back because the people i thought i loved, the fellow brothers and sisters , didnt seem to care when i was having problems, and i wondered where the "love" was in the organization.
so there is my problem.
Hello daddy'sgirl!
I understand that when a person has problems, and they turn to the elders, brothers, etc, they just seem to try and throw a blanket of Watchtower articles over the problems, often critisizing (in a kind and loving way) what you have done. This in effect makes the person feel much worse. And if you don't fix your problems up the way the WT outlines, you get cast out.
The problem with this method of problem solving, is that it doesn't get to the root of the problems. It doesn't help the person properly deal with the problems. The WT works on making you think that your problems were the cause of being in "Satan's wicked system of things". This excuse will result with the person never properly dealing with the problems, and having to suffer with them for the rest of their lives. Yeah, armageddon will fix all that, but wasn't armageddon suppose to come before the 1914 generation dies? Or was it 1975?
The best way to look at this situation is to start a new and exciting adventure, being able to discover things that you have never been able to.
Just curious, what's the status of your bf? How does he feel about the whole situation?
i was reading something bout bashing the org unfairly...i disagree with doing it to a degree but did you get an unfair bashing by jws after you left?
i was accused of marrying a sister (who i helped to leave at the same time as me), she was twice my senoir and had sons the same age as me...pure lies and gossip.
and i was accused of smoking some drug, and thats why i disassed.
The thing is, I believe that the rumors start when you're still in good standing. If a witness sees you have an argument with your mate, you may automatically be having marriage trouble.
You complain about how stressful your job can be sometimes, so you become stressed out.
You mention that you still get cravings for a cigarette once in a while (even though you quit 10 years ago), and you become marked as still suffering from withdrawl.
These little innocent things that you mention or the JWs notice about you surface when you get DFed, and the stories get exaggerated, and they spread. The own individual witness's thoughts about the DFed one will affect the story. "She had a bottle of wine in her fridge when I went to visit her once. I'm guessing she turned into an alcoholic". Then another person adds to the story, "Well, alcoholism and drugs go hand in hand".
The sad thing about being DFed, you're automatically marked as captured by Satan the devil. I remember the cold chill that used to go down my spine whenever someone's name was announced from the platform as being DFed.
Myself? I've probably turned to Satan Worshipping from listening to bands such as Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, Blue Oyster Cult, Kiss, Guns N Roses, etc. However, I've never heard about any rumors circulating about me.
when you went out in service with a group, did you alternate whose call it was, with each house?
or did you have to keep knocking until you found someone at home, then move on to the next person in the group?.
we did it the former way; and thank goodness for rural territories!!
I used to always pretend I was too shy or too nervous to speak at the doors, no matter how much preparation me and an elder and/or brother did. Occasionally, I'd take a door all by myself just to throw everyone into a loop that I was making progress. Then I would go back into my shell next time I went back out in the FS. This strategy worked very well for me.
any tips on how to get thru convention meetings as painless as possible?
i have the most awful time doing nothing for 4 hours straight.
last time i resorted to doodling in my "note" book, but i got it taken away.
Enbalmed, I truly feel your pain. I was once in your shoes.
One thing that was mentioned earlier was perfecting the art of daydreaming. Think of something you're interested in, and how you could improve on it, make big plans for it, etc. It takes a bit, but daydreaming will help the conventions go a bit faster.
You might also want to try getting very little sleep the night before, and learn how to fall asleep sitting up. That will pass the time very quickly.
Here's another suggestion: I'm guessing you're parents are expecting you to get good grades in school, right? (What parent doesn't?) Fake having tons of homework on meeting nights. One thing that I did to make this work for me was to start keeping a journal. I would write for hours, and fill pages of it. This one works like a charm.
A part time job on the weekend is also a good idea. Just tell them that you feel the need to have some independance in your life, and you feel a PT job is the way to go.
However, you'll still have to throw in some time for meetings and field service, but you'll have much less to do. Hang in there, it's all worth it when you turn 18. However, that's when you'll be facing yet a different battle - dealing with your parent's reaction to your decision to leave the "truth"
Feel free to email me, and we'll chat about all the sneaky things we've done to get out of doing "God's Work" ;)
Edited by - Nosferatu on 20 January 2003 16:32:10
