Hapgood

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Posts by Hapgood

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  25

  Comments You Will Not Hear at the 8-17-03 WT Study

  by blondie in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  comments you will not hear at the 8-17-03 wt study

  reviewer comments are in black and parentheses ().

  wt quotes are in red and quotes ""

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  Hapgood

  Blondie, I really enjoy your Watchtower reviews, thank you for taking the time and effort in doing this.

  This study seems to be a "feel good article" (on the surface) for the rank and file. Instead of beating the sheep this week with doing more, they get a little salve for their wounds.

  A quote from paragraph 9 states:

  "The fact is that Satan the Devil is eager for us to believe that Jehovah neither loves us nor values us. On the other hand, no matter how unlovable or worthless we may think we are, Jehovah assures us that each of his faithful servants is of value to him."

  That's how I felt when I was a JW, that I was unlovable and worthless to Jehovah. I was considered "spiritually weak" so I was basically ignored by the loving shepherds and most of the "spiritually mature" ones. Therefore, because of this treatment I felt unloved and worthless to God. It's interesting how the Watchtower equates this feeling of worthless and feeling unloved by God to Satan the Devil, when that's how so very many of us have felt at the hands of these "loving shepherds."

  I liked your quote, Blondie. "The Watchtower should listen up their words and make application."

  Isn't that the truth! The Watchtower seems so loving and concerned for the welfare of the sheep, making it seem that they are loved by God, when in reality they are just wolfs in sheeps clothing.

  Hapgood
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  21

  Witnessing: Turning the Tables on Them

  by cruzanheart in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  a couple of weeks ago i started an irritable thread about the girl at work who gave out my home phone number -- from the firm's confidential internal phone list -- to an old friend i hadn't talked to in about 20 years.

  i smelled a set-up and made a stink at work about it.

  as far as i know, she was "talked to" and the subject was briefly mentioned at a staff meeting that i missed due to being out of town.. well, i thought about it for a few days and decided to give the old friend a call anyway.

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  Hapgood

  Great post, Nina! "Let's get out there and be a threat to people. Tell it like it is." Amen to that sister.

  When people would ask me why I wasn't attending meetings anymore, I would usually be vague and say something like "I wouldn't want to stumble you with my reasons" and I would quickly change the subject.

  Like you I'm getting fed up with hiding and not telling the witnesses the real reason why I left. I've nothing to be ashamed of, and I'm tired of feeling that way. Maybe if we did speak out others would say "yes I feel the same" and it might get them to think. This organization wants us to be silent, that's how they hide the injustices. They thrive on our silence and fear.

  The next time that I meet a jw and they ask me why I don't attend meetings anymore, I'll tell them I left because my conscience wouldn't let me support an organization that mistreats people so bad. If they want me to go into detail, I will. I'm tired of hiding, the jws are sure in our faces it's about time that we get into theirs.

  Hapgood
  
  
  
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  42

  Are you posting while you are supposed to be working?

  by Elsewhere in

  1. jw
  2. friends

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  yeah... i do it all the time... sitting at work... but instead of working i'm reading and posting here.. anyone else guilty of this?

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  Hapgood

  I don't have a job, I'm a stay at home grandmother chasing after my very active 2 year old grandson all day. The only time I can come here to read and post is when he is napping.

  Hapgood
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  21

  Ozzie's Weekend Poll #58

  by ozziepost in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  how's your weekend going?

  fine weather here in oz with bright blue skies and very cool nights - it's mid-winter.

  mrs ozzie and i have been feeling a bit jaded as a good friend and colleague died last week and the funeral was on friday.

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  Hapgood

  We were invited out on the average about once every 3 months. Although when I became less spiritual (not selling enough Watchtowers), the invites dried up, just when I really could have used some encouragement.

  Hapgood
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  45

  What Did You HATE Most About Being a Jehovah's Witness?

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  when you look back at it, what irked you most about being a jw?

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  Hapgood

  Minimus that is so true "to be a good jw you have to learn to do things that are unnatural"

  An Elder brought out in one of his talks how JWs that were extroverts had an easier time being a JW. At the time I was thinking why would Jehovah have a religion that favored people that were of the outgoing type, it hardly seems fair when our lives are at stake. The religion doesn't take into account (or even wants, it seems) people with a timid type of personality that can't adapt. I was never able to adapt, so I figured I was destined to be bird food at Armageddon because of the personality I was born with. Quite a heavy load to carry.

  Hapgood
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  7

  Today was our Granddaughters first birthday...

  by jaded in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  we are having her party tomorrow.

  we love this baby so very much.

  she is our precious little angel.

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  Hapgood

  Happy Birthday to your precious little Granddaughter, Jaded!

  Yes, I agree, it's great to have a second chance with our Grandchildren. That's one thing I could never understand while I was a jw, why we couldn't celebrate birthdays, I just thought I was a little thick because I didn't get it.

  My Grandson just turned two in July. When all of us sang Happy Birthday to him, his little face just beamed with happiness, his grin went from ear to ear. These are the moments in life to cherish, and I'm so thankful that I can now experience them.

  Enjoy the party!

  Hapgood
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  45

  What Did You HATE Most About Being a Jehovah's Witness?

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  when you look back at it, what irked you most about being a jw?

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  Hapgood

  I would have to say going out in field service, commenting at meetings, and the TMS. I'm a shy person by nature, knocking on peoples doors was sheer torture for me. I have trouble with speaking in front of an audience so the TMS was bad news for me. When I get nervous I tend to hyper-ventilate, didn't sound real pretty going over the sound system (hey, somebody get that sister a bag). I guess I didn't make a good salesman publisher.

  Hapgood
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  57

  I Just Don't "Fit" Anywhere!

  by pettygrudger in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i'm sitting at work today, listening to all the different "cliques" around me, typing here on these boards a bit (don't tell), and it occurred to me again that i just don't fit.. .

  it seems like i don't "fit" anywhere.

  i'm always on the outskirts of alot of "groups", always on the fringe, but never inside.

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  Hapgood

  (((Pettygrundger))) I've always enjoyed your posts!

  From all the responses to your post there is alot of us in the same boat. All my life I've always felt like a square peg trying to fit in a round hole. I'm kind of a loner. Now that I left the jws, I don't have one friend. I still have my family (non jws), for which I am so thankful.

  Your lucky that you have your husband and kids. My husband is still a JW, well we just aren't as close anymore, it's almost that he looks at me in disdain for having left the JWs.

  (((Hugs to all us oddballs)))

  Hapgood
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  8

  Did your kids wise up before you did?

  by GentlyFeral in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  ....don't really know how to phrase my question any better than that.. see, i left when my daughter was 12 and my son was 19. but they were both ready to leave years before that!.

  at 17, my son heard a talk about conforming to the borg.

  "don't put any energy into being different," the speaker said.

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  Hapgood

  My daughter left the lie "truth" when she was 18, she was never baptized. At first I was devastated, she was going to die at Armageddon, or so I thought at the time. But it was her treatment that got me to look into this so called religion. Not one of the "loving shepherds" (elders) even inquired about her, it was like she never existed to them. To me her leaving the jws was worse then death, but the treatment (or non treatment) that she got hurt me so much. No one cared! That's what hurt so bad, sure some of the "friends" asked about her, but no one offered to come and talk to her. Their lack of love actually did me a favor, I really with all my heart believed it was the "truth", even though I was very unhappy being a jw.

  Hapgood
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  58

  How old were you when you got Baptised?

  by El Kabong in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i was 13 at the time.

  i wanted to get baptised before the end came in 1975. .

  back then, 13 was borderline young for baptism, but from what i've been reading, some are now getting baptised as young as 9 or 10. .

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  Hapgood

  19

  I was not born a jw, I willingly joined, but didn't really understand what I was getting into to.