Tempest in a Teacup

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Posts by Tempest in a Teacup

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  33

  If you are a current active JW, What rules do you deliberately break?

  by Truthexplorer in

  1. social
  2. humour

  do the lottery.

  celebrate my child's birthday.

  sign workmates birthday cards.

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  Tempest in a Teacup

  Oh yeah, and higher education. GUILTY!
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  4

  "You don't go to the platform to say nonsense."

  by Tempest in a Teacup in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  second in a series of reminiscing disappointments that cut me off this religion one string at a time.... actually, i had a one week break which i spent quite poorly: not sleeping at night, so i could catch up on my favorite shows, eating crappy foods the whole day, booze and hangovers.

  i'm an introvert and really, this for me is an ideal holiday :).

  but...all the above, coupled with having too much free time has brought back some demons who had been sleeping...and snoring.. back to the topic.. in my former congregation, there's one wannabe-elder-no-education-hates-his-job-envies-others-mysogynist-ministerial servant.

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  Tempest in a Teacup

  Second in a series of reminiscing disappointments that cut me off this religion one string at a time...

  Actually, I had a one week break which I spent quite poorly: not sleeping at night, so I could catch up on my favorite shows, eating crappy foods the whole day, booze and hangovers. I'm an introvert and really, this for me is an ideal holiday :)

  But...all the above, coupled with having too much free time has brought back some demons who had been sleeping...and snoring.

  Back to the topic.

  In my former congregation, there's one wannabe-elder-no-education-hates-his-job-envies-others-mysogynist-ministerial servant. I'll simply call him brother Frustration. He didn't like me and I didn't like him either. We couldn't just click.

  He happened to be the one who shares the slips with assignment (part) info. Around that time, they had already started the 'no-slip, check the board to know if you have a part' craze. This brother continued to share the slips but decided to apply the rules to ME. I wasn't a fan of reading the announcement board ( I mean, what is it?). This incident happened the very first time he decided not to give me the slip.

  3 days before the service meeting, bro Frustration called me in the night to graciously 'remind' me about the part I had on the meeting. I told him that I knew nothing about it since I didn't receive any slip. He triumphantly announced to me that he was no longer bound to do that and that as a publisher, it was my responsibility now to check such info on the board...

  So I had 48 hours to put something together and present a part. I could have refused to do it, but I knew that's what they wanted and I simply didn't want to give them that satisfaction.

  Since it was a foreign language congregation, I had to get as partner someone who had the language as first language, in order to minimize the time needed to prepare. I had few options. Among those, there was an elder's pioneer wife I used to look up to. She was one person I secretly admired for no particular reason. I'll call her sis BigDisappointment.

  So I called her, fully hoping that she was going to understand the situation and accept my request to second me for the part. I'm not even the type of sister who will involve my partners in the 'research' stage of the preparation. I hated that! So I called her, and contrary to my expectations, the conversation went aw-ry!

  She scolded me for accepting a part with the date so close and her tone of voice made me wonder if that was the first time in her life that she was hearing about a last minute preparation for a part in a meeting. She acted all shocked, scolding me and criticizing the brother, and advised me to tell bro frustration that I wasn't going to do the part because of the short time limit; and then she dropped the line of the title. Twice.

  I was shocked. Here I had a zealous pioneer whose life was all dedicated to God's service, refusing to second me on a last minute part and inciting me to refuse doing it altogether. I was never able to get those few words out of my mind.

  I eventually got a sister (after several unsuccessful attempts) who reluctantly accepted to do the 'dirty job' with me. At the end of the meeting, sis BigDisappointment walks up to me, and told me how beautifully I had done the part and that nothing in the way it was done showed that it was a last minute thing.

  I wonder what was the big deal?! Copy a few sentences from a book, read 2 or 3 verses, get up and leave the chairs? Was that the big deal?

  Mind you...suppose I had refused to do the assignment...bro Frustration would have called sis BigDisappointment to the rescue, and sis BigDisappointment would have quickly accepted to do the part of that higher-education-full-time-job-materialistic-too-busy-making -money-to-devote-her-time to spiritual matters sister who had the guts to refuse her part. The school overseer would have announced from the platform how sis BigDisappointment had accepted to do a last minute part in lieu of the one who couldn't do it (though she was present at the meeting)... and he would have graciously thanked her for such exemplary benevolence.

  It was just another day with the witnesses.
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  33

  If you are a current active JW, What rules do you deliberately break?

  by Truthexplorer in

  1. social
  2. humour

  do the lottery.

  celebrate my child's birthday.

  sign workmates birthday cards.

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  Tempest in a Teacup

  Masturbation. What else?
• 
  3

  "I'm feeling down, I'm not faring well; I need help, please help me."

  by Tempest in a Teacup in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  today i remembered one of my disillusionment episodes, when i was going from rejection to rejection, and i was discovering the wide gap between spewing beautiful words and actually translating them into actions.. a few years ago, in my darkest hours of depression, it occurred to me to send the following sms to one of my closest friends in the congregation.

  i truly believed in her friendship and thought i could count on her.

  it was one of the very rare moments in which i was ready to put myself completely out there and pour my heart out to someone.

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  Tempest in a Teacup

  Today I remembered one of my disillusionment episodes, when I was going from rejection to rejection, and I was discovering the wide gap between spewing beautiful words and actually translating them into actions.

  A few years ago, In my darkest hours of depression, it occurred to me to send the following sms to one of my closest friends in the congregation. I truly believed in her friendship and thought I could count on her. It was one of the very rare moments in which I was ready to put myself completely out there and pour my heart out to someone. I was and felt vulnerable.

  In the midst of tears and suicidal thoughts, I typed this short message and sent it to her.

  Her reaction? NONE. MUTE. M.I.A

  I was most surprised, since I knew that she had also had her down moments and sought help and got it. Numerous times. I was flabbergasted at how anyone would receive THAT sort of sms and not mind the sender.

  About 6 months later, we met at a gathering. I recounted the episode to her and told her how disappointed I felt to be left on my own and to be so cruelly ignored when I actually begged for assistance from a friend, in a moment of emotional breakdown.

  She said that she actually remembered quite distinctly that she did receive such a message a few months ago but she had no idea it was from me because she had lost her phone and all her contacts with it. She thought it was probably a scammer trying to defraud her in someway (because she had heard that scammers sometimes send that type of sms to their prospective victims) and that's why she didn't give it much thought.

  Really?! You could have just called to make sure it wasn't someone you knew , especially because you're not having your contacts! I told her that for me that wasn't a valid excuse and that I was thoroughly disappointed by how she chose to react, and that I feel it was so callous of her to ignore my text with the excuse she was giving me.

  She then asked me to tell her what was wrong because she's now feeling so bad and she wished she could still help.

  I told her that it was 6 months ago and I did not need any help from her anymore.

  Whatever I would have shared with her 6 months later, about my problems would have just fed the gossip machine. I knew that and she knew it as well.
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  11

  I'm looking for the verse that says that shepherds will be like wolves fleecing the fold.

  by Tempest in a Teacup in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i remember reading it in a forum member's post, somewhere last year or so.

  the poster said she (i think it's a she) quoted the scripture to one elder and told him that it applied to him.

  could you please help me with this verse?.

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  Tempest in a Teacup

  Thanks guys!
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  11

  I'm looking for the verse that says that shepherds will be like wolves fleecing the fold.

  by Tempest in a Teacup in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i remember reading it in a forum member's post, somewhere last year or so.

  the poster said she (i think it's a she) quoted the scripture to one elder and told him that it applied to him.

  could you please help me with this verse?.

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  Tempest in a Teacup

  I remember reading it in a forum member's post, somewhere last year or so. The poster said she (I think it's a she) quoted the scripture to one elder and told him that it applied to him. Could you please help me with this verse?

  Many thanks in advance.
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  7

  Jehovah said he will start the cleaning from his own house

  by Tempest in a Teacup in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  this very popular quote came back to my mind today when i was thinking about what jws in the third world country where i live would do if they should hear about the australian abuse story.

  this has been the one explains-it-all, excuses-it-all phrase to respond to nasty things going on in "god's house".. if they should hear about the story, they would just nod, say that phrase and add the sentence that traditionally accompanies it: it is because he is well aware that there are rotten elements in his house, so we shouldn't be surprised...and then they will move on with merrily.

  end of story.

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  Tempest in a Teacup

  This very popular quote came back to my mind today when I was thinking about what jws in the third world country where I live would do if they should hear about the australian abuse story. This has been the one explains-it-all, excuses-it-all phrase to respond to nasty things going on in "God's house".

  if they should hear about the story, they would just nod, say that phrase and add the sentence that traditionally accompanies it: it is because he is well aware that there are rotten elements in his house, SO WE SHOULDN'T BE SURPRISED...And then they will move on with merrily. End of story.
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  31

  and Moses came down the mountain on his....DUCATI

  by snare&racket in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  worst day in the last ten years, was the day i hit 0.00 with one and a half years of university to go.

  nobody to turn to, nobody to ask for help.

  i was 32 and as an ex jw had two family members in contact with me.

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  Tempest in a Teacup

  Refreshing post!
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  7

  What did you think of the ones that married, “Out of the Truth” but would still defend the WT Teaching?

  by John Aquila in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  when i conducted the wt study and the article was on marrying only in the lord, it seemed that the ones who commented the most were persons who married a non-jw.

  in fact, they were the ones that always told the young single jw girls to pioneer and never marry a worldly person.

  "because i know what its like and believe me it's no fun" .

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  Tempest in a Teacup

  I thought that it was what every single jw does: cherry picking. The bad becomes good when I am the one doing it.
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  30

  Some common words that are applicable in practical use with the Jehovah's Witnesses Organization

  by Finkelstein in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i'll start the ball rolling .... .

  coercive.

  pretentious.

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  Tempest in a Teacup

  Obscurantist

  Perfunctory

  Intrusive

  Scurvy

  Overbearing

  Snide

  Toxic

  Niggling

  Backward

  Small-minded

  Picayune

  Shoddy

  Despotic

  Shameless