Posts by enlightened

3

Our body is a temple?

by enlightened in

my father was disfellowshiped for smoking.... the whole our bodies are temples, respect for god, being weak, addiction and the rest of the reasons....blah blah blah.

i admit that this is a bad habit, and has side effects... ones that he would have to suffer, but not directly hurting god himself.

so this got me thinking that if people participate in an activity (or lack there-of) and it directly or indirectly causes their temples to be desecrated shouldn't they also suffer repercussions?

My father was disfellowshiped for smoking.... the whole our bodies are temples, respect for God, being weak, addiction and the rest of the reasons....blah blah blah. I admit that this is a bad habit, and has side effects... ones that he would have to suffer, but not directly hurting God Himself. So this got me thinking that if people participate in an activity (or lack there-of) and it directly or indirectly causes their temples to be desecrated shouldn't they also suffer repercussions? Lets see..... what about those that are obese because they over-eat, causing diabetes, heart problems and the like? People that don't bathe on a regular basic, resulting in acne, b.o. and lice (this one affects not only them, but those surrounding them)? Ones that don't practice good oral hygeine and brush their teeth, causing cavaties, bad breath, and receeding gums? And my favorite (because it includes not only myself but half of the people I know) people who cannot go a day without coffee without suffering a headache (this is one of the biggest legal addictions)? I honestly did not mean to offend anyone with the above if you are in any of these catagories. But hese are just a few of the things that come to mind when I think of my Dad living his life thinking he was such a horrible person because he smoked, and then when he was killed he realized that it was all a bunch of crap....fed to him by stinky men hyped up on coffee with bad breath! .......

I feel better now

48

What did you do to keep yourself amused at the KH?

by be wise in

when i was very young about 12 or 13 my brother [he's mad, not much older] sometimes used to do a cheeky magic trick during the watchtower[god, this was the most boring of them all, i think].

he used to put his hands by his side and miraculously the books on his lap would rise all by themselves [yeah, you guessed it ...morning glory], well it made me laugh my head off.

i bet people could see my shoulders bouncing up and down from the back row.

enlightened

Wondering what everyone looked like w/ there clothes off....... wouldn't we be naked in Paradise?

18

Yet another simimilar story.

by enlightened in

i was told about this site from family members that have all survived/overcome being jw's.

i must admit it is wonderful and so disturbing at the same time, to read all of these stories.

it's amazing what a religion/cult can do to you, first by embracing you then completely consuming you.

enlightened

I was told about this site from family members that have all survived/overcome being JW's. I must admit it is wonderful and so disturbing at the same time, to read all of these stories. It's amazing what a religion/cult can do to you, first by embracing you then completely consuming you. When I first realized that I wasn't going to die from not being a part of the 'truth', the one thing I could not get out of my mind was feeling complete sorrow for all of those innocent children being born into the enclosed world of their parents and this religion. What we are all basically looking at when we have the misfortune to start our lives this way, is an 18 year to life sentence, depending when we are able to free our minds enough to think for ourselves.

I don't remember the exact time period that I finally realized that I was trapped... serving out my sentence, it must have been sometime around junior high. Before that I was (sheltered) young enough to not really care what was going on in the 'world' except for an occassional longing around the 'worldly' holidays. When I was younger I was very articulate (good at telling them what they wanted to hear) and constantly being praised by the elders and older brothers and sisters in the congregation. I ended up being baptized at the age of 13, and becoming an A.P.. Then I entered that delicate age of puberty, and the confusion began. I think that there is so many articles on this subject, because it is the time we are most likely to slip through their grasp. I so desperately wanted to have a 'normal/worldly' life, that I did the only thing I knew how to do and tried to talk myself out of it.... looking down on all of my classmates (I really envied them, but couldn't show this for fear that the JW spies at school report me, as was their Christian duty). I even went so far as to humilate myself by preaching to my classmates and having bible studies during lunch break. My face turns red just thinking of it now.

Then a miracle happened. I was thrust into the 'world'! Shipped off across the United States and sent to live with my (wiccan) Mother at the age of 15 (I was raised by my old fashioned/tyrannical grandmother off and on). I was FREE! It was surprising how easliy I could slip right into having a life. Although I did have nightmares about the end of world and dying because of my evil ways, blah blah blah.... don't we all? Yet I did what most JW teenagers do w/ some unsupervised freedom, I had fun..... sex, drugs, and anything else they were always condeming that I wanted to try. I even had the priviledge to actually truly fall in love for the first time. Unfortunately It didn't end with my happily ever after.

Time-laps 2 years (and moving again, not by choice)..... I ended up pregnant, but not with my love. I know you won't be surprised when I tell you it was a guy I met, that ended up being a JW (this story had to have a twist). Thousands of miles and years later, I was trapped again. I was 18, coerced into to a marriage (sound familiar?) with a kid on the way and a man/boy I didn't love, let alone like. We ended up going to meetings again for awhile, seeking some company, some concerned/prying ones put the dates together and realized I got knocked up before we were married. I of course had to be publically reproved (that beautiful/loving shame that they like to disperse) instert more blah blah blah here... it pretty much seems the same to me.

End of story.... I'm sure that it also won't surprise you that my 'marriage' (for lack of better description) didn't last, after the physical fights, cheating and emotinal abuse, (sounds like many witness marriages) it finally ended. Three cheers for that! I became a single parent, and finally and completely severed all ties with JW's. I don't know really what happened to bring me out of my trance, but it did happen, there was truly someone/ something looking out for me.

I am now 27, happily married to a wonderful man, with two beautiful kids. I have come to realize that I am a good person, a loving mother and wife. Organized religion has no appeal to me, but I do understand that some people need structured worship. I do not consider myself religious... I am a spiritual person. I respect life, appreciate goodness and beauty, try to treat others with dignity and love, and live my life the best that I can.

I consider myself a survivor. You should all be proud that you have the knowledge to realize that there is so much to this life, the world can be a beautiful place and so can people.....no matter what their religious or spiritual beliefs may be. Its called being a human being.