Posts by KiddingMe

139

Ever consider joining The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints?

by rawe in

has anyone here left jehovah's witnesses to join the churuch of jesus christ of latter-day saints?

what was your motivation for doing so and how has it worked out?.

if you haven't joined the lds or considered it, as an ex-jw, what is your general view of the lds faith?.

The BEST way to "wake up" a JW

by Phizzy in

we have debated this over many years and in many threads, as all of us have family and/or former friends still in.

it seems that there is no "best" way to wake up a jw, it is as elusive as the "true" religion it seems.. but a comment made by poster "emery" on another thread stood out to me, he/she said :.

"what i have gathered is that most witnesses seem to be in it for emotional reasons.

Ray Franz

by thedog1 in

jw
friends

am reading coc at the moment, about half way through.

just finished reading some of the details of what happened in malawi and mexico years ago.

which reminded me that in the early 80's a very well known elder in the country i was then living in went to new york as he had discovered all the discrepencies between what had happened in malawi and in mexico and wanted to know what the gb had to say about it.

KiddingMe

Thedog1 - reading COC, I was in a roller coaster ride of emotions. Many parts I read in tears. The part about Mexico/Malawi had me sick to my stomach. I'd never heard anything about it before.

The question you ask, "what would be wrong with honesty?", is what's really doing it for me. It tells me that they care about the organization first. It saddens me that like the elder you refer to, when I first started studying, I was told about these evil apostates, picketing and many in Bethel being kicked out. They were all demonized. It came off to me like they were people that brains just snapped one day and satan or some mental illness took control. Like an exorcism or something. Now I know that many were probably just doing what they felt best to bring injustices to light.

Even this was a selling point, "Jehovah" cleans out his organization from the top down. It reinforced to me that this had to be the true religion because there was no favortism unlike the Catholic Church I grew up in, that at the time was going all of the child molestation issues.

There's a pattern of shifting the blame to the victim. When wrongs are admitted, it's due to imperfection or new light. Reading CoC helped me to opened my eyes to seeing the process that goes on and how they may be well aware of issue but choose to ignore them.

by the org forbidding us to read this material it allows them to portray the history of the organization however they want. It's very hurtful that the one organization we thought we could put our trust in, that teaches us to be honest in our dealings, is not honest with its members and allow those that call them on it to hang out to dry for the sake of the org.

53

Experiences: CAA needs to emotionally vomit... catharsis... release ... etc.

by confusedandalone in

ok, so i have been on this journey for about a year or so.

i feel like i am no longer a part of this whacked out religion, however at the same time after spending so many years in it there have been a huge array of things that have happened to me that i feel i need to talk about.

not because they will help anyone who reads them, not because they are the slightest bit interesting, but because i can no longer keep them bottled up and expect to move on.. alot of things i have experienced hurt me deeply... although i was able to move forward with my life these things tend to hang around in my mind because i have never been able to tell anyone outside of my wife.

KiddingMe

I am not finish reading this threat yet but have to chime in.

C & A - you and Mrs C & A need to call Sister Slutface (I love you KateWild!!) and give her a big THANK YOU!! Thank her for being the sneaky conniving deceitful person that she was. If it wasn't for her you both may not be together and have your wonderful children. Thank her for helping to create this experience because the way it was unjustly handled may have unknowingly started you on the road to being open to learning TTATT. It's things like this that don't settle well in the back of our mind even after many years have past.

Oh and LOL at how you "magically" appeared at her job! To funny. The things we do when we are young and in love.

27

Doc says it looks like my cancer is gone! How goes the health of y' all?

by humbled in

jw
friends

i am pleased to announce that i get to retain my bottom intact for the foreseeable future.. .

milestone check-up just done.

i had a stage 3, 4t anal canal cancer for which i underwent chemo and radiation this past spring.

KiddingMe

Great news!! What an awesome way to bring in the new year! The things we take for granted. Thanks for sharing!

25

dannalight - newbie wants to say hi

by besty in

jw
friends

say hi to dannalight here.... she made a post http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/jw/friends/46/12/welcome#4909211 but it made more sense to make a new topic for her....

KiddingMe

Welcome Dannalight! Looking forward to more post from you!

73

this week's wt study

by thedog1 in

i conducted the wt study tonight on higher education.

i wondered what the reaction of the bros and sis would be.

there was no deviation from the idea that a university education is not a good idea.

KiddingMe

Marked

63

The " HIGHER EDUCATION" thread!!!

by DATA-DOG in

jw
friends

alright.

let's have the ultimate discussion on "higher education.

" let's talk about the good, the bad, and the ugly.

KiddingMe

Marked for later

46

Instructions To Elders Re: Pursuing Higher Education

by baldeagle in

jw
friends

underlining is mine.. march 6, 2012 letter.

pursue divine education:some of our brothers are pursuing higher education, feeling that they can acquire a measure of financial security.

as you are aware, the educational system varies from country to country.

KiddingMe

Sloppy Joe says,

...but I was strongly encouraged not to pursue higher education because as always the end was so close. I was told I can't reason that what if it doesn't come in 5 or 10 years, that sort of thinking just wasn't what a true worshiper should do.

I'm not sure how true this is, but a young one told me recently, that the org have paid for some to become lawyers. I've also heard the same as Sloppy Joe stated above. If the end is so close is the rational, how does the org justify investing in paying for some to go to college (even if it's to further kingdom interest)? Not to mention, the unneccessary "bad association" for at least 4 years. How much trust is being put into the end coming soon? How much trust is being put into Jehovah to take care of his only true organization?

Someone starting college now can almost be done by the time the new World Headquarters is complete.

46

Instructions To Elders Re: Pursuing Higher Education

by baldeagle in

jw
friends

underlining is mine.. march 6, 2012 letter.

pursue divine education:some of our brothers are pursuing higher education, feeling that they can acquire a measure of financial security.

as you are aware, the educational system varies from country to country.

KiddingMe

We had a brother, that's a professor at a university. His wife attended and graduated. His children are now attending. He was deleted as an elder after the children started attending. Never heard a complaint from him. It looks like he took it all in stride, traded off about 4-8 years of being an elder in exchange for his children's education. Good for him. He and his wife are still pretty regular, he comments at the meetings (except this past WT study). The children come more during school breaks and weekends, I believe they live on campus. The "friends" in the congregation treat them the same as before but according to this BOE letter, there is a bad light cast upon them. What happens when the children have graduated, will the dad then be eligible to serve as an elder again?

Meanwhile, my oldest who graduated high school with one of his, is working full time and attending the local community college. This is the longer route. His children should be done soon, they could come back and regular pioneer. Mine still have years to go and will have to transfer for the degree they are pursuing. There's no way mine will be able to afford to move on their own anytime soon without a significant increase in income. I'm mad at myself for being so naive.

A big threat to the org appears to be living on campus. That's where lost of control comes in. It's okay to live at home and mix with the "bad association" at your job and the local community college. This past WT is unrealistic when it compares higher education to the highest education (pioneer school). Who's paying the bills of the one with the "highest education"?

I'm not sure of this brother's exact situation, but most of the time the children of professors can attend tuition free. Why wouldn't he utilize all his benefits?

Something else I find interesting is the local announcements asked to meet with bros and sisters that are medically "certified" doctors, nurses, emt etc. to help with the international convention. So, if one of this brother's children is now a certified medical professional (received through university education) the org want to reep the benefits? Or will they only allow those achieved through vocational school? What kind of doctor comes from a vocational school?