Posts by rwagoner

12

The sort of person that gets to be an Elder?????

by chuckyy in

.

do you think that the better the job that you have or the higher the social standing you have, makes it more likely that you will be an elder in comparison to those that are less fortunate???

quite a few elders in my old kh even had their own private car plates.. chukky

rwagoner

There was a post not long ago about two types of Elders...I sort of agree with that thinking.

I think there were Elders who got there because of who they knew and/or sucked up to within the org social standing. (These always seemed to be the most successful)

Then I think there was a group that meant well and had a hard time kissing up or faking it and because of that usually were not well liked by the other Elders.

Now I am probably a little biased because my father was an Elder of, in my opinion, type 2. Because of his lack of suckupery skills and also due to my deciding to DA he was "deleated".

I also know that I was being cultivated (fertilized was a better word I think) to serve as an MS because of the social relationship I had with the other young people at the KH but that was way too much of a lie for me to live...just pretending to still believe at that point was getting to be too much.

RandyW

14

Help Finding a Book

by rwagoner in

jw
friends

i am trying to find a copy of the old pink "paradise book".

i remember having one as a kid growing up and seeing some of the pictures in it.

i can't help but think that some of those images started the fear and guilt in me as a child and would like to show my wife (a non jw) so she might better understand how i could have stayed in as long as i did.. she hears me talk now and can't imagine how i could have believed such a pile of bunk or how my parents still can't see how totally crazy some of the "truth" sounds.

rwagoner

I am trying to find a copy of the old pink "Paradise Book". I remember having one as a kid growing up and seeing some of the pictures in it. I can't help but think that some of those images started the fear and guilt in me as a child and would like to show my wife (a non jw) so she might better understand how I could have stayed in as long as I did.

She hears me talk now and can't imagine how I could have believed such a pile of bunk or how my parents still can't see how totally crazy some of the "truth" sounds. I have explained the mind control but I think seeing what I was taught as a child might help.

I have looked on ebay....no luck so far. Any help is appreciated.

RandyW

41

Understanding why people leave

by Qcmbr in

jw
friends

hi all, just thought i'd introduce myself before i make any other posts - i'm lds through and through 'nuff said.

why am i here, well i've been reading the posts here for over a year and i initially enjoyed them in a sneaky rival faction way (i.e.

one in the eye for jw's yehaw..)but of late i've been redaing these posts and using them to critique my own approach to my faith.

rwagoner

Hi Q and welcome !

I have to say that I've enjoyed your posts on this thread and look forward to more. I have a genuine respect for someone who can come on a board like this and stand up calmly, make their points clearly, respectfully and yet with a firm conviction and do it all with a healthy dose of good humor.

Welcome aboard !

RGW

(RandyW)

23

Ozzie's 125th Weekend Poll

by ozziepost in

jw
friends

so how's things?

been really humid in new south these past few days with afternoon storms.

right now the refreshing rain is falling and mrs ozzie and i are enjoying a(nother) box of ferrero rocher chocs.

rwagoner

LOL point taken....

Downhill from their thinking but certainly the best decision I ever made, even though I miss my parents. I just wish, like so many others here, that I could get through to them somehow.

RGW

23

Ozzie's 125th Weekend Poll

by ozziepost in

jw
friends

so how's things?

been really humid in new south these past few days with afternoon storms.

right now the refreshing rain is falling and mrs ozzie and i are enjoying a(nother) box of ferrero rocher chocs.

rwagoner

7. "What the Elders said" I guess.....

I was doing a Bible study with another young person and they asked me a specific question, sadly I don't even recall what the original question was after all these years. I began to research and couldn't find a scriptural answer that matched what I had been taught by the org so I asked one of the Elders.

I was basically told that it was a matter of faith and that I should just take the teaching of the org at face value since the GB was much better equipped to interpret the scriptures. They told me not to spend a great deal of time researching and trying to understand scripture as it would only confuse me.

That is really when I started to question things....

Why couldn't I find the answer in the Bible ? -- Why shouldn't I research my Bible ? -- What were they afraid of me finding ? -- If the org publications didn't match Scriptures why should I put my faith in the org over the Bible ? None of it made sense....

The more I read the more didn't match. I read other versions of the Bible and things were very different, why ? I started seeing actions by Elders and other "strong" witnesses that were contrary to what we had been told was proper conduct. How could they be getting away with it ? How could the jw's be "the truth" if they were doing the same things that the "worldly" churches were doing ? Why should I follow the rules if they didn't ?

Between the doubts and my getting older and rebelling against the mental stranglehold they had on people, young people especially, it was all down hill from there.

RGW

40

Why Do You or Don't You Believe In The Bible?

by minimus in

jw
friends

do you believe in the bible just because you were raised to believe?

are you sure it's "believable"?

.....have you convinced yourself the bible is just another book?

rwagoner

I still believe in the Bible....

The Bible is NOT the NWT.

I also believe that ORIGINALLY, the bible was the inspired word of God. But I think the problems in the Bible come from the fact that men and man made organizations have translated and interpreted it so many times over the years that some of the original content and meaning has been lost. Each time it was interpreted more stories were incorporated from other beliefs and cultures so the divine message got more and more entagled with fiction.

Personally, I use the Bible as a guidebook if you will for developing my values, and guiding my faith.

RGW

72

Your First Kiss

by Stefanie in

do you remember it?

mine was in the 7th grade by a boy named joe.

it took me by surprise and i was dissapionted, because he tried to swallow my face!

rwagoner

Hmmmmm....without spilling the beans all together since I grew up with a few of you on this board LOL......

First kiss - 4th grade (shouldn't really count since she kissed everyone that year...nice girl, just liked to kiss LOL)

First official kiss - 6th grade...sweet girl in my class - basically because we were dared into "going steady" by our friends. I still see her often and it still makes us laugh.

First kiss that I meant......11th grade (16 years old) I was totally in love with a young sister my age. We spent lots of time together, talked a lot about deep meaningful 16 year old stuff. After one particular day of holding hands, giggling and staring in each others eyes....we leaned in (in typical hollywood movie fashion) and kissed. Wow....I knew right away that I liked that.....but like many here have said..as time passed and things heated up....she got a guilty conscience. She ended up "visitng relatives" for awhile and when she returned she suddenly married a very solid brother (considerably older then she) who had just gone through an approved divorce.

They are both still in the org. I saw her not long ago at my great grandmother's graveside service. She was the only (non family) jw to attend after my gram had dedicated decades of her life to the org. I was the one chosen by my family to speak at the service and afterwards I saw her looking at me and crying. Since I'm "shunned" I was trying to not make her uncomfortable but finally asked if she was ok. She leaned into me crying and said she was sorry...I said something dumb about death and she said no...she was sorry about how everything had turned out between us. She hugged me for a few moments, smiled and kissed me before running to her car. While the gesture was sweet it makes me sad to think that she might not really be happy.

Life is good for me with no regrets....I think it is Garth Brooks who sings that sometimes God's greatest gifts are unanswered prayers. At the time all I wanted was to be with this young sister but if she and I had ended up together I would most likely still be in the org...brainwashed or unhappy. While she will always mean something to me, I am one happy guy. I have a wonderful wife of nearly 15 years, 2 great kids and a productive, meaningful life filled with love, laughter and FREEDOM !

Sorry this was so long...but I am a sap and once I get thinking about things like this I can't stop until I get the the end of the story. LOL GREAT THREAD !!!

RGW

28

Things that make you feel like a Daddy...

by confusedjw in

last night my daughter (8 years old) came down to the bed with a belly ache.

she has a couple of legit issues which cause belly aches beyond the regular kid stuff.

her poor little face grimaces in pain.. so i had her get into bed, got out my iriver mp3 player, put one of my ear-buds in her ear and one in mine and we listened to music and i rubbed her belly and tapped out the songs we were listening to.

rwagoner

We have a 6yo son and a 4 month old daughter.....

Son was 10 week preemie (2 pounds 14 oz) - Daughter was 4 weeks preemie (4 pounds) they were both miracle babies - thank God for good insurance the boy cost over $1 million in medical bills.

Holding my son and reading to him since he was just born and now having him sit and read to me.

Holding my daughter on my lap with my son holding my neck from behind and racing through the grocery store in my power wheelchair while their mom shops.

Knowing they are proud of me and that they see beyond my wheelchair into the heart of their dad.

Being the goofy dad that isn't embarassed to play, be silly, laugh out loud at the wrong times.

Holding them when they are sick.

Rocking them back to sleep, feeling safe, after a bad dream.

I'm just a big sap....

RGW

19

What are you in Chinese astrology?????????

by BLISSISIGNORANCE in

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i'm an 'earth pig'................is better than it sounds.. http://chinese.astrology.com/year/?arrivalsa=1&cobrandref=0&arrival_freqcap=1&pba=adid=14184901.

cheers, bliss..............oink, oink

rwagoner

It says my element is wood.....does that mean that I am a wood dragon....or dragon wood ? LOL

RandyW

19

What are you in Chinese astrology?????????

by BLISSISIGNORANCE in

.

i'm an 'earth pig'................is better than it sounds.. http://chinese.astrology.com/year/?arrivalsa=1&cobrandref=0&arrival_freqcap=1&pba=adid=14184901.

cheers, bliss..............oink, oink

rwagoner

Dragon for me.....