i was on the phone speaking with verne thoren, presiding overseer of the willow springs, nc congregation of jehovah's witnesses.
he tells me he knows of my possesssion of the flock book.
he knows of my involvement on this site.
Richie,
You are brave, courageous and very strong. If you're ever in Georgia, you'll always have a place to stay, you're in our thoughts and prayers. You're not alone, we're all with you in spirit and we're proud of you. Regardless of what they say, heaven is cheering you on! - Love & God bless you, V Sky.
hi, friends ---.
just a note to let you know ian has had a setback.
there is a problem with his kidneys and he had to have a catheter inserted.
Ian, you and your family are in our warmest thoughts and prayers. Love, V Sky
.
lets say an elder that knows his bible very well, and a priest or any high ranking person of any other christian religion who also knows his bible very well, would get together and each with a bible in their hand.....who would come out victorious?.
Interesting. My pastor would spank any JW just by focusing on what they don't have. They don't have a relationship with Jesus yet they claim to be Christians. Most are not happy yet they claim to be the happiest people on the planet. The org is blood guilty on many counts. The org is unloving. Last but not least, they don't have the freedom of the children of God. The Pastor/Priest or Christian just needs to know what they lack and how to talk to them. In my church, we have classes (taught by ex-Jws) for Christians on how to talk to JWs. We encourage them to stay away from dotrinal debate. I think that's a great distraction. When I was pioneering, I felt smug in my 'accurate knowledge'. No matter what was said at the door, I always felt as if we had the truth, we won and if we didn't, we'll win in the end. The only time I got stumped was when an 'apostate' asked me if I was truly happy. There is no quick scriptural come back for that. They don't teach you that response in the reasoning book or the kingdom ministry. Are you happy? I couldn't tell him no, I'm miserable, it's 200 degrees out here and I'm sweating at your door, I'd much rather be home with the a/c blasting and a good book. So for those here who go to a church, I encourage you to get something started that will educate Christians on how to help and talk to JWs, what they will respond to and what they won't. Who better to teach them than you?
i'm just wondering if any df'd or da'd here have gone to the kingdom hall to attend a memorial or funeral service for a jw parent or on the other hand decided not to attened.
do you regret going / not going?
how were you treated?.
It is very difficult. I too swore I'd never step foot in a KH again but for my uncle's funeral, I did. I felt I had to support my aunt and cousin, it meant a lot to them that I was there. Now, I'm not df'ed or da'd yet I was still treated coldly by most. As someone else here mentioned, there were those few who were warm regardless of the borg rules. My non JW family made an interesting observation. They noticed that only our JW family members were getting condolences. The 'brothers' hardly said a word to the rest of us. They couldn't believe how cold the 'brothers' were. The talk was nauseating. My husband and I had a signal for whenever the 'brother' would say something full of crap. We'd squeeze each other's hand twice. Needless to say, that happened throughout the so called memorial talk. The entire thing hardly had anything personal about my uncle, his life, hopes or dreams. It was all about 'what he believed as an elder/pioneer as a member of god's spirit annointed organization'. Yeah, they're lead by spirit all right but don't insult God by saying it's his. Death does not stop the witnesses from being their judgmental, cold selves. Their lack of love lives on. But I don't regret going, I went for my family out love and I will go again out of love whether they show it to me or not 'cause that's what Jesus would freakin' do! - V Sky
we watched the tv show, 'the amazing race' (the couple i didn't like finally got the boot), ate take out chinese food, and had a relaxing night.
my mom, aunts and inlaws all went, poor souls, we prayed for them.
We watched the tv show, 'The Amazing Race' (the couple I didn't like finally got the boot), ate take out Chinese food, and had a relaxing night. My mom, aunts and inlaws all went, poor souls, we prayed for them.
i can't believe it, but i missed my first memorial!!!.
i wasn't sure what was going to happen, until it was past the time to get ready and leave.
i left it up to my husband, and he made no effort to get ready and go.
It's a milestone but you did it! This is our 3rd one missed. Instead of the boring message of: 'half the bible doesn't really apply to you of the live on earth class', Jesus died for us of the highly annointed class not you, and you'll die unless you obey us and only us' We're going to our 3rd Easter and the message is - Jesus lives and loves everyone! Hope you enjoyed your night. There is life, a good life beyond the borg.
this is my first post.
i've been reading for a while and can relate to a lot of the other post.
been associated with the witnesses for over 30 years now, been disfellowshipped twice but now reinstated.
Tan,
Welcome! You'll find true, unconditional friends here. I'm sorry about what you went through with your step, I wish you healing of past wounds and future happiness. - V Sky.
i am definatly not a jw anymore.
but what am i. my husband wants to find a church home, but everytime he talks about it the hair on the back of my neck stands up.
i would rather have my teeth drilled.
Poodle, I know how you feel. I felt sick at the thought of going to a church. The perception of the oily preacher with his hand out for money kept flashing through my mind. Also, I didn't know what to expect. Would it be more of the same, unloving, judgmental people like the dubs or would it be different bad or different good? The gb planted so much fear in me over the years that I was shaking the first time I went to church. I was invited by a co-worker, I told her I'm not interested in any organized religion because I had a bad experience (understatement of the year!) She said, try it just once. It was a Calvary Chapel and I loved it! Fast forward 2 years later and the Christian freedom is unlike anything I've ever experienced. It's the freedom to do good and enjoy every second of life. There is no dogmatic, we're right, every one else will die at Armg. I encourage you to listen to Christian music - like Chris Tomlin, Michael W. Smith, Third Day and Casting Crowns - you'll love it. If you have kids they will enjoy Calvary Chapel too, the children's ministries are wonderful for them. Sorry to ramble, but I love it. I actually want to go instead of forcing myself like I did at the kg hall. Obviously, it's your choice and you have to be comfortable regardless of what church it is. Keep praying and God Bless - V Sky
well, things are getting ugly around here!!
just got a call from my best friend, who her and her husband have been fading for some time.
apparently her husband arived at work (he owns his own business) only to be dropped in on by a relative "elder"!
It's like Jack said in "A Few Good Men" yelling, 'you can't handle the truth'. I think a lot of JWs don't want to know if what they believe is really true or not. It's easier never to question, it's easier to have all the answers and not have to think for yourself. For people who've been in it 30 plus years, I don't know if it's kinder to let them have their delusions. For me personally, I needed to know. I pray everyday for my family to get out. It was traumatic enough for me to leave and I was raised a dub, imagine someone who has made choices based on the religion like let their loved one die over the blood issue or they didn't marry someone they really loved 'cause the elders told them too - for them, it better be the truth after sacrifices like that. Those are the ones I feel sorry for.
my friend was counseled for having a bad attitude because he wore white socks w/ his suit.
Where do I begin?
An elder said I asked too many questions about the Bible - I was 14.
For going to see Jurrasic Park after the meeting with another JW - The elder said it showed gross disrespect for spritiual things to go to a worldly movie right after being 'fed' by the FDS!
3 elders pulled me in the back room for eating and still living with my df'ed mom - I was 18.
For going to college - and I had the nerve to graduate.
For listening to Def Leppard - the elder said the music has demonic overtones - whatever.
For offending an elder's wife because my dress wasn't 2 inches below the knee, so I wore it again, was counseled again.
For crying when a friend was df'ed, they said for crying I had a bad attitude about Jehovah's 'loving' df'ing arrangement.
Happy to be free - V Sky
