Posts by Bibbitybobbityboo

13

"Lord Lord did we not prophesy in your name and expel demons in your name?"

by truthseeker in

jw
friends

i would like to know if anyone can help me with this question.

presumably in the last days when jesus arrives as judge and executioner, he says the famous scripture, "many will say to me in that day, lord, lord, did we not prophesy in your name and expel demons in your name and perform many powerful works in your name?

and then i will confess to them, 'i never knew you, get away from me you workers of lawlessness'".

Bibbitybobbityboo

I really believe that means that even though they expelled demons in his name and did other works, they did those works absent sincere love for truth, beauty and goodness...just like the WTBTS acts today.

I agree wholeheartedly! JW's are fantastic at works but suck at love.

I can picture a JW saying to Jesus: "Lord, did I not put in 90 hours a month preaching, place 25 magazines a week and attend all the meetings in your name?" ... I see Jesus looking over at the poor and lonely sheep that were cast off, uncared for by the WTS and saying "What does that matter to me? I told you to love one another."

Real Christian works are manifestations of love to further Jesus' interests. JW works are hollow methods to further the society's interests.

35

The PO and CO visit me....new light!!??

by truman in

jw
friends

i am just going to have to start keeping my front door closed.

today, i had it open, and there was no way to pretend i wasn't home when the two 'brothers' rang my door bell.

actually, they had been by last saturday, too, but the door was closed that day, and i didn't answer it.

Bibbitybobbityboo

He stressed the terrorist angle as being the impetus for the political powers to turn on religion, and said that most people would not protest, since few consider attendance to church vital and they will sacrifice liberties like this for personal security if necessary.

Ummmmm, okay. While I used to believe this kind of tripe - now that I've had opportunity to actually get to know people of other faiths, I find it incredibly hard to believe that the majority of Christians, Jews or mainstream Muslims will just roll over and play dead when it comes to their freedom to worship. National security or not!

Or in the highly unlikely chance that the terrorists take over our nation (and other democratic societies) that every single person of faith will convert to Islam rather than face execution, all except those JW's who will be the only ones protesting. Yeah right! The Watchtower heavily underestimates the power that belief in Jesus Christ has in people's lives and what they would sacrifice for Him with or without church attendance. On the other hand, without direction from the watchtower society, most J-dumbs would be lost as to what to do with themselves.

IMO - for whatever it's worth!!

29

What was the funniest counsel/encouragement you rec'd from an elder ???

by run dont walk in

jw
friends

kind of similiar to minimus question, this one got me thinking.. the funniest for me has to be the elders telling me i should buy a 4-door car for field service and not to buy a camaro.

i almost believed them.

telling me in would not be proper to drive that in field service.

Bibbitybobbityboo

This wasn't directed to me personally but a friend of mine was counseled because you could see the outline of thong underwear under her skirt. I guess it was a cream colored skirt and her undies were a darker color. Another sister was offended (I think it was because her husband couldn't take his eyes off my friends ass) and took it to the elders who pulled my friend in the backroom over it.

I also remember a local needs talk about doing aerobics. They said sisters should be careful because a lot of the exercises put them in sexually suggestive positions or some sort of nonsense like that. The same brother who gave that talk once commented that sisters shouldn't wear tight sweaters because it gave the brothers 'ideas'. I think he was eventually disfellowshipped for adultery... Must have been the fault of those sisters doing aerobics in tight sweaters!!

37

What's The Worst "Encouragement" That You've Recieved From The Brothers?

by minimus in

jw
friends

after reading nina and sadie's experience, i couldn't help but appreciate hearing how the brothers are always trying to "encourage" ones.

how did they try to encourage you?

Bibbitybobbityboo

WOW, Bibbity, Those people really sucked at giving you "encouragement"

LOL! Well, they were great at encouraging me to leave the borg!!

I think it just comes down to the fact that most JW's just don't know how to love & encourage like Jesus taught. The GB beats it out of them. I remember feeling guilty for helping an elderly sister with her housework because she wasn't coming to the meetings regularly. Someone told me that if I really wanted to help her I should 'encourage' her to come to the meetings - then help her around the house if she comes. Emotional blackmail. JW's are masters at that.

Here's an example of good old JW Christian love - I stopped by a garage sale being given by a pioneer relative of mine and an elder / so- called anointed brother. A tiny, old lady came and bought a large basket. Too large for her to carry comfortably. She was struggling to carry it home, kept dropping it. My relative and the brother were giggling watching her struggle. I walked away from the two of them and offered to carry the basket home for her. She was so grateful that tears came to her eyes. When we got to her tiny apartment she made me stay for some tea and conversation. Poor thing was so lonely. Here from another country and her only relative had died recently. When I finally made it back to the garage sale I got a guilty cold shoulder. My relative told me that she actually didn't mean to sell that basket and was hoping that the old lady would give up and give it back. Nice. And honestly, these were the 'pillars' of the congregation.

91

It's so simple -- Matthew 24

by cruzanheart in

so here i was this evening, reading the old familiar matthew 24 with the kids before bedtime, but i was reading out of our very nice contemporary parallel new testament, specifically the message version, and i had this sudden realization: jesus didn't give us a really complicated, mysterious prophecy that had different types and antitypes -- he was simply continuing his original message (love your neighbor, love god).

remember verse 12 about the love of the many cooling off?

the verse right after that talks about enduring to the end.

Bibbitybobbityboo

....and they took no note until the flood came and swept them away....
Don't blame God if you miss the boat. You were TOLD.

Ugh! Does anyone have a barf-bag handy?

37

What's The Worst "Encouragement" That You've Recieved From The Brothers?

by minimus in

jw
friends

after reading nina and sadie's experience, i couldn't help but appreciate hearing how the brothers are always trying to "encourage" ones.

how did they try to encourage you?

Bibbitybobbityboo

A couple of incidents come to mind...

One was actually from from a CO's wife. I had recently stopped pioneering to work full time because I simply could not go on any longer without medical benefits. I had pioneered and served where the need was great for 5 years. I gave it my all. There came a point where I was too tired to work full time and regular pioneer. However, I was still a good publisher and contributing member of the congregation. Out in service one day the CO's wife asked me why I wasn't a pioneer and I told her about needing medical benefits (had some health issues to deal with) etc. She asked me if I wanted to get married someday. I said yes of course - then she proceeded to tell me that a spiritual man would only marry a spiritual woman. And a spiritual woman would be a regular pioneer. If I didn't fit that bill I would end up alone. Ummmm, gee, thanks for the encouragement - woman who's never had to support herself in her life. No mention of 'sorry you've been sick' or, thank you for what you contribute anyway. I wanted to tell her about my friend the pioneer who went to clubs and got drunk on the weekends. Or the young elder & wife that liked to watch a dirty movie every now and then. Yes, having a title automatically makes you spiritual right? -NOT! Of course, I'm no tattletale!! Just an unspiritual, non-pioneerin', lazy 25 hour a month publisher with a full time job, JW loser I guess!!!

Worst spiritual abuse for me was yet to come...

Not too long before I jumped ship for good I got involved in a relationship with a 'worldly' man from work. It was a big mistake for me personally, not just because of the JW thing but because he wasn't who I thought he was and I was devastated to find out the jackass was married. I was young & naive and thought I'd found 'the one'. Anyway, no one knew about it but my conscience got the best of me and I confessed to the elders. I came to them broken in spirit because I thought I'd failed Jehovah and I wanted to make it right. So of course a committee is formed, yada yada yada. The elder in charge told me that even though they weren't going to disfellowship me that because he was a married man (who seduced me, by the way) that Jehovah might not forgive me and I'd just have to 'wait and see' if I survive Armageddon to find out if I'm forgiven. Ummmm, hello? That is soooo not scriptural but sooo typical. I was CRUSHED in spirit even more. It was the beginning of the JW end for me. I'm actually thankful now - it opened me up to hear the real gospel of Jesus from a Christian relative, based on grace & forgiveness. I would have never listened before. It probably saved my life too because I was getting so depressed at that point feeling I could never measure up to Jehovah's unrealistic standards, who knows what would have become of me.

I later confessed to a close relative that I was having 'doubts' and she turned around and told everyone that I was an apostate. -sigh- So, eventually, I decided to live up to their judgment of me!!

Best thing I've ever done for my life!

151

Dr. Laura

by AuntieJane in

jw
friends

i listen to her regularly.

i don't always agree w. her but usually have to admit that she is right from a moral standpoint.

god knows we need more of that in this world!.

Bibbitybobbityboo

While I don't agree with everything Dr. Laura dishes, I do have to acknowledge that she usually hits the nail on the head when talking about the stupid things men & women do to mess up their lives. Speaking for women, I've seen so many of my friends make incredibly stupid life decisions based on 'feelings' instead of common sense. They've paid the price for years afterwards too. (So have their children) They would have benefited from a little no-nonsense advice, Dr. Laura style. Sometime just doing what 'feels right' is a recipe for disaster. If she can make a few people stop and think before plunging head on into personal disaster, then good for her.

I also appreciate her unwavering stand for the safety and well-being of children.

JMHO

Gina

55

Are You Afraid That You Will Die at Armageddon?

by minimus in

jw
friends

the watchtower constantly threatens us that we must be on guard or else.

are you afraid that you will die at armageddon??

?

Bibbitybobbityboo

Hi Bibbitybobbityboo, Welcome to the forum!!!!!

Thanks WildHorses! Great to be here!

55

Are You Afraid That You Will Die at Armageddon?

by minimus in

jw
friends

the watchtower constantly threatens us that we must be on guard or else.

are you afraid that you will die at armageddon??

?

Bibbitybobbityboo

Ugh! When I was a kid my mother used to tell us that if we were bad then the birds would eat us up at Armageddon. I pictured ugly black crows chasing me until I was overcome... Nice thoughts for a kid.

To this day my JW relatives threaten my demise by the hand of God. They can't be happy that I'm about to give birth to my first child because pretty soon Jehovah is going to kill me, my husband and my baby because I don't go to meetings.

Sick sick sick people!!! And mean as hell too, if you ask me.

Thankfully I have a new faith in a loving God that does not kill babies or mommies and does not send birds to eat the flesh off naughtly little children.

47

Stereotypical Witnesses

by tazmaniac in

jw
friends

ok....we all had them...perhaps we were one of them....stereotypical witnesses.

there were many stereotypes that proved to be in congregation after congregation.

what stereotypical witnesses do you remember.

Bibbitybobbityboo

Love this topic - it finally brought me out of lurkdom for my first post!!

This was me:

Sister Wastedyouth, Sacrifices her college years to regular pioneer. Keeps her young, healthy body covered from head to toe in JW Burka style (skirts below the knee, blouses baggy enough to always hide the hint of breasts, tan pantyhose and sensible shoes). Shuns attention from the male population because she's going to be AAA (Available after Armageddon). Until she gets close to 30 and realizes that she is completely unfulfilled, has a lame part time job that barely keeps the wolf from the door, wonders what the hell she is doing here when she finds herself at yet another meeting for field service, becomes bitter because the glass ceiling prevents her from advancing in the organization. Bethel doesn't want women unless they've gone to college and have a special skill that they can suck dry but she wasn't allowed to go to college so she feels useless and worthless. She longs for someone to love her and rescue her from this hellish life. Looks around at the available brothers and falls into a deep depression because she realizes that the ones with any potential would rather marry 17 year old, fresh, submissive sisters right from their daddy's laps. The rest are either divorced with children or pigs. Starts to wonder if there is more to life than this. Showing signs of joining the ranks of sisters plagued by mystery illnesses from Depression to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. Realizes her bloom is fading fast and she better do something about it or she'll become mean, bitter and self-righteous just like Sister Fortyfiveyearoldvirgin. Finds out she is one of the few sisters in the congregation that isn't yet on Prozac but is inching towards that everyday. Begins to smile on the outside and scream on the inside...

At this point she either does become mean and bitter or she rescues herself by realizing she holds the key to her own cage. She makes the choice to escape with her life and never look back. Discovers that life can really begin in her 30's and finds real fulfillment and happiness for the first time.