Posts by Daniel1555

46

Mark Sanderson wears an Apple Watch at regional convention

by Edison Trent in

last weekend was regional convention and mark sanderson was the bethel speaker for the last talks every day.

his talks were video streamed from zurich to other cities in switzerland, austria and germany.

one interesting point was that he wore an apple watch, stainless steel edition (link).

Who Owns the Copyright to Crisis of Conscience?

by Hold Me-Thrill Me in

jw
friends

recently there was a thread where someone asked if there was a copy of crisis of conscience they could purchase.

raymond franz it seems had limited resources yet he was able to provide crisis of conscience in printed form to what?

thousands?

Daniel1555

There were sone threads on this forum about the copyright holder of coc.

It's a woman named Dykstra. She promised to make it available legally, but nothing really happened.

Here are some threads:

https://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/5690164928053248/availability-crisis-conscience

https://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/5754137698369536/this-right-cedars-threatens-what-say-you?page=1&size=20

75

I came here three years ago for support and to make friends

by KateWild in

jw
friends

this site is such a great and valuable resource and simon is to be commended for running it for so long.

when i first came i was in such a bad state and really needed support and friendship.

so many posters commented on my threads and showed genuine care some are real life friends, some are facebook friends, some i talk to on the phone and some are forum friends.. i have just realised though that everyone online is not your friend.

Daniel1555

Hi Kate

I know your threads and posts from the beginning.

I comment on some of your threads and I know your story and also listened to your jc meeting.

I like very much how you welcome new posters and I also share some of your views.

Just a little advice I can give:

If somebody comments critically you can think of the points made if they were honest and genuine. By the way that's what you made on this thread by the things Simon said. It can be very hard to analize and even accept these things but it can be also good.

Don't take it too seriously. If someone dislikes you or speaks against you; ignore it. Don't be upset and offended here in the forum (in real life it might be a different story). Especially if you post controversial topics like if there is a god or creator or if evolution is guided by a higher power you know that there will be many posters who are full blown atheists and speak against any idea or belief indicating that there might be a god. But that's ok; it's a matter of personal faith (by the way i personally believe too that god or a higher power is behind evolution and the universe).

And one important thing. I know of your family tragedy and I feel your pain being separate of your children or your son. I myself feel this pain as I see my son every second weekend.

I like it that your son wants you in his life. Children need both parents. Even if he choses to be with you, he also needs some time with his dad, even though he will tell him jw things. Your son is old enough to make his own decisions about religion. I think he will love you even more, if he lives with you and if you speak positively about his dad. If he hurt you very much it would be good if you can forgive him and that your son knows you forgave him. If that's hard you could view him as a victim of the jw indoctrination.

And one important advice:

DON'T POST PICTURES OF YOUR SON IN THE FORUM.

He has the right to decide if his picture is posted in social networks especially in a forum like this. I understand that you were so happy at that moment. But it could backlash especially if your dad knows that you post his picture in a an "apostate" forum.

I wish you from my heart all the best in your life and that the relationship between you and your children will always be full of love.

You are a good and courageous example of someone who had a lot of struggles to leave this cult.

I love that you try your best to help others who are also in this difficult situation.

22

Yoga. Evil practice?

by Darkknight757 in

as our fade continues, the wife and i have decided to take up "the forbidden practice of.......yoga"!!!!😱.

i was quite skeptical at first but so far it has really de-stressed our life in quite a spectacular way!!

not to mention the physical benefits.. anyone else try yoga or a similar discipline?

Daniel1555

My mum is very much in and a devout JW.

However she doesn't shun me, her disfellowshipped son and she goes to Yoga courses too.

60

New Here ... Just woke up

by Sevan in

jw
friends

hey all, .

this is my first post.

i haven't been out in service or to a meeting in over a month.. i realize now that i've been having serious questions for years and many articles and talks have greatly disturbed me over the years.

Daniel1555

Hi Sevan

A very touching intro. Welcome.

You are mentally free now, to live according to your conscience. You are very courageous and honest, also that your husband knows about it. I hope he has some doubts himself.

It's very brave and good that you are so determined, to never set a foot into a KH.

I wish you all the best.

51

Dallas Texas 5 Police Officers dead & 6 wounded ?

by smiddy in

and it is still ongoing ?.

obviously sparked off by the 2 afro american citizens gunned down by police officers these past few days.?.

when is this sort of violence going to end ?.

Daniel1555

A sniper shooting 10 police men. Where is this? Iraq? Afghanistan?

It makes me very sad for the police officers and for the 2 who were shot by the police and all of their families.

1 of these men was shot in a traffic control, as one of his rear lights didn't work. How crazy.

How crazy a situation when police officers are so afraid of their life that they shoot when the controlled person just makes a suspicious move.

One of the main factors to this craziness is, that there are way too much guns around. There are so much guns around that the danger for police officers is so horrific that they shoot too fast. There are so much guns around, that every few weeks we hear of a toddler shooting his mum (and that's only the cases who make it to the media).

In Switzerland and Germany where I live and all other European countries I don't need to be afraid to get shot, when the rear light of my car is not working.

20

Happy birthday to me

by azor in

jw
friends

i just turned 41 today.

last year was my first celebration at 40. half my life is lost to this cult and i celebrate by almost losing my job.

one of the only things i have left.

Daniel1555

Happy Birthday Azor...

You are still young... how great to be free for the rest of your life....

And those 41 years were not lost.... these were all experiences who made you courageous and strong...

15

Do witness children have to be obediant to their disfellowshipped parent if the parents are separated.

by agnosticnow in

hi.i am disfellowshipped and separated from my jehovahs witness wife and i am having custody problems with my 13 year old daughter.she has been advised by her mother that she does not have to listen to me and so she dictates to me when she comes to stay.it seems i have lost any fatherly authority and my ex wife has given my daughter the ability to go against my wishes in regards to custody arrangements.having grown up a witness i understand that even though a parent is disfellowshipped the child must still obey the biblical command to be obedient to there parents.it also teaches that the wife must support her ex husband in regards to parenting.i am trying to find any watchtower/awake articles that support this.in any case i would appreciate any links ,information or advice.. regards pat..

Daniel1555

I am in the same situation, however my son is soon 4 years old.

Do everything you can to keep contact and have a loving relationship with her. Love between father and daughter is the best way of breaking the indoctrination.

Send a message to "Driving Force". He has a teenage daughter too and wonderful advice how to go about it.

I copy paste a thread of him:

Driving Force

I have raised two kids, both girls. The oldest who is now 29 decided when she was 14 that she did not want to go to meetings etc. That was her choice and my wife tried everything to get her to do all the JW stuff etc., I personally never pressured her, after all she was my step daughter and I followed the WT advice and leave discipline to the natural parent. I can tell you, this advice does not work. The step parent should get involved. Anyway that is not the issue here, that was just to give you a little background information.

When I learned TTATT and started my fade I needed some support and went and got professional help, much of our discussions were on how to keep my daughter, who is now 15, from becoming a JW.

Things not to do:

1. Never demand loyalty from your child. A child naturally loves both parents, even an abusive parent, because the child has no way to make comparisons, life's experience is very limited.

2. Never talk TTATT to the child, he will not understand and if he goes to meetings with his mother then there is the indoctrination to deal with and will only lead to alienation, and quickly bring up the subject (in the child's mind) about loyalty. "If I stop going to meetings I will upset mom, if I keep going I will upset dad." No child, and a 14 year is still a child, can mentally solve this dilemma, and this will lead to physical symptoms like stomach ache and headache, and even worse. I experienced this with my child, she frequently had headaches and my wife took her to many doctors, and many tests were done. Now that it is clearly defined no more JW stuff for my daughter the headaches have stopped. But reaching that stage was a difficult process for me.

3. Never stop the child from doing JW stuff with the other parent. This may sound odd, but it is the right thing to do. The child is probably coerced into doing all the JW stuff and will develop an aversion, this happens to us all and makes us feel trapped, and at some point we look for a way out. Your child will look for a way out and he must see you as a way out.

Things to do:

4. Offer your child an alternative. This is something that is not so easy to do. I do not mean an alternative religion, but an alternative life-style. Hobbies are a good thing, do it for you-self, and make sure you really enjoy it and let the whole family know, you are enjoying life. Of course you make the offer to your son that he can join you any time he likes, but again make sure you do not bring him into this loyalty question. If he wants to go along with you make sure this what he wants to do and he is not doing it to please you. Offering your child an alternative may even mean moving out and living alone, but enjoying life afterwards and having regular contact with your son so that he can see there is an alternative to JW life.

5. Offer yourself as an expert on what is correct and not correct regarding JWism.This means that you know TTATT and just letting your child know that if he wants to know why you think the way you do, he just needs to ask. Never volunteer information without it being asked for.

Those are some rules that I worked out with my psychiatrist and applied with my daughter and what are the results?

1. By going to the meetings my child saw/heard how I was referred to in the congregation, as an apostate deserving of death, someone even told her I was mentally diseased, but she saw me everyday. I bought a motorcycle and go out regularly. Took up beer-brewing and enjoy the beer every evening. Beekeeping was a hobby I had anyway, but my daughter clearly saw this brought me pleasure. Admittedly none of these things are typically female hobbies, but they showed my daughter that there is a life after the JWs.

2. A couple of months ago my wife went on holidays with some JW friends for two weeks, I stayed home and my daughter stayed with me. I allowed my daughter to do all the things that a normal 15 year old would do, there were strict rules that she had to follow for her own safety and I explained clearly why these rules were set, that they were not arbitrary. After the two weeks, she now has a boyfriend, a normal thing for a 15 year old. One of the most profound things she said to me later was, that after spending much time with her boyfriends' family is that "Worldly People" are not bad at all, and she realized that what the WT says about "Worldly People" is really not true, they are very nice. The sincerity she showed when she told me that brought tears to my eyes.

3. I decided to move out, see my OP on this. When I told my wife this, she immediately challenged the loyalty of our daughter, "Who do you want to live with?" My daughter decided that she wanted to live with me. Why? Because she does not like the JW way of life.

4. My daughter asked about TTATT, so she is now informed, but that was on here terms, when she was ready she asked.

I am not happy that my marriage has broken because of religion, but I am very happy that my daughter has made an informed decision against the JWs. Maybe what I have written can help you with your son, I hope it can.

22

Disfellowshipping Question

by Elizabeth Thompson in

jw
friends

i have been a baptized witness for about 30 years.

from the time i was a kid.

i've been the only one in my family who is baptized until 15 years later when my mother got baptized.

Daniel1555

I wish you and your husband all the best.

I don't know if you would be disfellowshipped. I'd say probably not, except if you told them that you had sex before marriage.

As others have said, you owe the elders no explanation at all.

It is natural, that you wanna make known to all, that you are happily married.

I am not sure if keeping it secret would be good for you.

One possibility would be to don't care about the others and stick to your husband. Then you would see who is your true friends. If a friend would end the friendship with you it is clearly not a true friend.

And if elders wanna counsel you, just say friendly that you thank them for their concern but that you are fine, and say NO NO NO to further talks about your life.

When you fade away the people in the congregation will have nearly no contact however they are permitted to talk with you. It would be good to make new friends who accept and love you as you are and who will not throw you away just because you change your views about religion.

On the long run it is such a wonderful thing to be free and live your own spirituality and live by your conscience.

3

England out of the Eu and now Euro 2016

by Slidin Fast in

iceland, i mean iceland.

outplayed us in every department.

this country is not a great place to be at present..

Daniel1555

They won 2 times against the Netherlands in the qualification.

So that was not a big surprise.