Posts by Faithful Witness

32

Lies on the JW.org FAQ section

by EndofMysteries in

it's riddled with lies.

here are a few, "are you an american sect?

all of our teachings are based on the bible, not on the writings of some religious leader in the united states.1 thessalonians 2:13.. we follow jesus christ, not any human leader.matthew 23:8-10.. .

Faithful Witness

I asked my JW friend if they follow Jesus or the 8 men in NY? She denied that there were 8 men in NY.

33

Should I reconnect with my Bible students? What do you think?

by KateWild in

i reprted 5 studies the month i was df'd.

more than a year has passed since i have seen any of my students.

i got on so well with many of them, we became friends.. did i do the right thing?

As a "Bible student" myself, I can tell you I would be thrilled to hear from anyone at the KH, on a social level. I contacted one of my good "friends" over the summer, but was sadly disappointed to see her with my eyes open. I think it's a fabulous idea. You've already made connections with them, and it woiuld be interesting to hear what they have heard about you.

How many Bible students become baptized? From what I've heard and observed, not many. I asked my mom about this (the fruits of their service). She admitted that since she had started going to the KH 5 years ago, no one new had been recruited from the door to door ministry.

Go for it! I'm sure they will be pleasantly surprised to see your real persona.

I had 4 separate teachers, but they were all born-in JW's. I would love to have any one of them as a friend today. All I have now, is the fun of seeing them in public and discussing their reactions to me with my children. They sure must be blind... I have to practically knock them over, to get them to notice me.

Good for you, Kate! I hope it goes well today.

31

Epic FAIL! :( My sister is gone from me.

by Faithful Witness in

got this email from my sister today.

there is a lot of back story, and this isn't a surprise.

it will be interesting to see how it affects the rest of the family, if they hear about it or not.

Faithful Witness

I'm afraid she is so far gone right now, that I am pretty much done trying to actively reach her or maintain a relationship. I will see her at the family reunion in August (she will be late, because they do their field service and Bible study before making the 2 hour drive to the party). I may run into her occasionally at my parents' house, but she usually leaves shortly after I arrive. I will keep my word, and be loving and kind to her, when I do see her. I make a point to say hello and "I love you" to each member of their family at the reunion. The reaction from my brother in law (turns stiff as a stone while I hug him in front of others) makes it all worth the effort.

I have been honest with her, and I do not expect her to reply or explain herself. My sister has washed her hands of me.

I am going to mention this to my mother, who I should have the opportunity to see this week. She was recently hospitalized for a chronic illness/infection that she has to monitor and treat regularly. I have noticed that my mom has been more actively texting and emailing me, and we have had some good conversations on the phone. I'm taking advantage of this opening, to try to rebuild some of the lost connection with her. I used to be very close to my mom, but she now has a dual personality. Lately though, her natural persona has been showing itself, and I have enjoyed a few good visits with her. My kids have had a good experience with all this, and I am pursuing it as much as I can. I will not bring up any more JW stuff with her, unless she does.

When the issue comes up about the way my sister and brother in law are shunning me, I simply tell my parents that all is forgiven. I am not the one who has a problem. I say, "They are just trying to do what they believe is right. I forgive them." The stunned look I get from my dad when I say this, is very telling. (Does Satan forgive JW's ...??)

My niece (12 years old) saw me last week, when I visited my mom at the hospital. She was there with her dad, my brother in law, who would not make eye contact with me. He was bizarrely familiar with my kids, however, and seemed surprised that they were afraid to talk to him. My niece kept looking at me, and smiling at me. I think she knows what is going on, and I have heard murmurings about her being "rebellious." She is not yet baptized.

My mom is a very weak JW, who made the statement to me recently, "Maybe I should not have gone ahead and been baptized." (!!!!) I think all the characters are being put into place, and prepared for the eventual rescue of this family from the WTS. Either that, or we will have front row seats, when they all follow "the instructions that do make sense from a human standpoint." (November 2013 Watchtower) Time will tell.

24

New Year Resolution: A new recipe every week

by Simon in

jw
friends

we decided we don't cook enough and are pretty bored of what we usually eat (whether home-made or eating out).. so .... our new years resolution for 2014 is to try a new recipe every week.. so far we've done some jamie olivers roasted vegetables and right now we're making cornish-like pasties.

apparently, people are very militant about exactly what a cornish pastie is so our's are cornish-like because dammit, we wanted peas and carrots and whatever seasoning we wanted to stick in there too!.

smells delicious and can't wait to eat them.. i also invented a new dish using a leftover half-tin of garden peas and a slice of bread.

Faithful Witness

I was looking at that curry recipe too. What are curry leaves? That's new to me. Is there another name for that in the US?

I also like your measurements: a good handful, a decent amount. Thanks for sharing this recipe!

Cooking is an art. I have been improving my seasoning skills, which is difficult when trying to please both the palates of 7 year olds and the adults, who actually enjoy food with flavor.

I like www.allrecipes.com

The reviews from other users help me know what to expect, and different variations to try.

12

2014 DC in DETROIT? anymore info ? scan of the "letter"

by ?me? in

jw
friends

so in our area, we have the circuit assemblies going on, so the "letter" about when and where our dc was delayed.

but a local elder let everyone know in their service group, and they let it out of the bag( only to have 30 comments on socal media, and only to be deleted a day later).

not a big deal, right?

Faithful Witness

I have no information about the convention, but wanted to say hello to fellow Michiganders!

Detroit has changed a lot in the past decade.

22

"Peace and Security"!!!! JW.ORGs best and last chance for fulfilment.

by scotoma in

jw
friends

in the old revelation book there was a section on the cry "peace and security.. "14 in recent years, politicians have used the phrase peace and security to describe various.

human schemes.

or was paul referring only to a specific event of such dramatic proportions.

Faithful Witness

My mother informed me a few years ago, that the UN website had "Peace and Security" as their header on their website.

There is a tab there, titled Peace and Security.

http://www.un.org/en/peace/ (website of the "disgusting thing" mentioned in the July Watchtower)

31

Epic FAIL! :( My sister is gone from me.

by Faithful Witness in

got this email from my sister today.

there is a lot of back story, and this isn't a surprise.

it will be interesting to see how it affects the rest of the family, if they hear about it or not.

Faithful Witness

Sorry for the choppy post. For some reason, the paragraphs don't always get recognized from my iPad.

31

Epic FAIL! :( My sister is gone from me.

by Faithful Witness in

got this email from my sister today.

there is a lot of back story, and this isn't a surprise.

it will be interesting to see how it affects the rest of the family, if they hear about it or not.

Faithful Witness

I am replying to my sister's email today. I noticed she replied from a smart phone, which must be a new thing. Here is what I am going to say. There are a lot of words, but since I know she won't talk to me on the phone, but that she will be likely to read at least one more email, I'm going to be as complete as I can.

I can't do a lot more damage. My parents are going to make their own decisions, most likely based on the instructions from the org.

Thank you for your reply. I appreciate your honesty. I have been trying to find a way to respond to your statements.

I do understand that you are trying to do what you feel is best for your children, just as we all are. After careful research, we decided not to join the Watchtower organization. That was the best decision for our family and our children, and I am open to discussing the reasons we came to that conclusion.

I'm not sure what you are referring to, regarding prior encounters, or their affect on your emotions. I can't think of anything I have done or said to you, that has been unloving or unkind toward you or your family. (Last year, we were told you were offended when we did not include you in the plans, or telling that Richard was coming to Wendy's for a Christmas party. This year, you are offended when I send small gifts in December. Did you receive the treats? The Applebee's gift card I sent this summer? I'm confused why you accept certain gifts. If you tell me the criteria, I will try to abide by it. The whole idea of the homemade trade, was created to accommodate JW beliefs. Everyone else has to bend, but you still rigidly reject all attempts at love or generosity toward your family).

I was never a Jehovah's Witness. No, I do not understand your decision. It is cruel to cut off someone who loves you and treats you with nothing but kindness and respect.

I do not understand or agree to abide by their rules. I love you, and I will not stop being kind to you, J, or your kids. You can stop speaking to me. That is your decision. You can not remove me from the family, or from the world. I will still be here, loving you and praying for you, no matter how cruel you are to me. Persecute me for loving you. I forgive you.

I do realize they are telling you how terrible I am, but you have known me your whole life. Remember me? We grew up in the same home. I am fair. I am kind, and I care about the feelings of others. I am a peacemaker. I am open-minded and willing to have reasonable discussions about disagreements. I have always thought the same of you.

Can you please explain to me what I have done wrong? Specific examples, if you have any.

Put yourself in my shoes for a moment... Try to see it from my perspective: My acts of kindness and generosity have resulted in your decision to stop communicating with me? This is offensive. There is no other way to describe it.

I will continue to be kind and loving to you and your family. If you choose not to do the same, that is your decision. I forgive you. I do not live by the rules of an organization, so I will be keeping my heart and arms open for you and your entire family. I am still your sister, and I love you.

31

Epic FAIL! :( My sister is gone from me.

by Faithful Witness in

got this email from my sister today.

there is a lot of back story, and this isn't a surprise.

it will be interesting to see how it affects the rest of the family, if they hear about it or not.

Faithful Witness

She has never been one to express her emotions, so I'm really not certain what she means in that regard.

My suspicion is that I make her doubt her decisions. I am the oldest and she is the youngest daughter, so that part of our history definitely has some power over her.

She (in the past) claimed she had to protect her children from apostasy and idolatry, and this was the reason she could no longer bring them to my HOUSE. I didn't really understand that one either. "I don't know how to explain things to my kids."

I think she has come to realize that I know things about the WTS that she does not want to have to think about, or have to explain to her children. (I have NOT been confronting her with any TTATT or arguments against the JW's. I have been doing enough research, to keep up with current issues, but we do not discuss them. I think my sincere questions have actually made her think, and that scares her).

There was a lot more peace in our family last year, when she was secretly doing her mini-shun, refusing to come to my house, thus making it impossible to get the whole family together (because of distance). When my dad got into the act, claiming that he was just too old to travel to my house for the homemade trade party, I called him out on his lie, and all heck broke loose. I was chastised for telling everyone about the issue (their private business, that they tried to say everyone already knew about, and acted like I was trying to embarrass and humiliate them for being JW's). I was effectively silenced and controlled, because I was still trying to please them all. My dad sent a mass email to the family, informing us that his new top priority in life was to "be a good Jehovah's Witness." He followed that with a "secret" message to me, informing me that he would always feel closest to my JW sister, even if I ever did become a JW now. They go to the same hall, after all! And "don't you dare tell anyone what I'm telling you. I don't want to hurt their feelings." I questioned whether he was serving Jehovah God or and organization, and I never got another email again from him. That was a year ago. He acts normal to my face, but does not acknowledge or reply to any attempts I make at communicating with him.

At least my sister is telling me she is shunning me. Even though she is wrong, she is honest. I give her credit for that much. Poor lost soul.

None of this is meant to offend anyone, of course. I was asked to keep the private stuff between us, private.

Now I feel like I'm not supposed to say anything to any family members about it, and like I'm the one making things worse. It's like they think they can just put me in the corner, and expect me to sit here quietly and not tell Mom about it. My mother has her own issues, and is such a weak JW, that I fear telling her will have the potential of thrusting her deeper into the organization, thus cutting off my children along with me.

I just feel like a crazy person, every time I talk about my family. There is a big part of me that just wants to walk away from the whole lot of them. I would not tolerate this kind of treatment from a friend.

I walked away from the JW's once, but I think that this turmoil had to come and shake my family tree, in order for me to take notice. Thanks for taking the time to read and respond to my posts. I get too dramatic at times, and I am definitely making a lot of mistakes in dealing with my JW family.

I have not yet replied to my sister. I do plan to respond. I like some of the suggestions made here. They are very helpful. I know she has a hard time deciding what to do. She and her husband are honestly trying to do what they believe is best for their children, or at least that is what they are telling themselves.

They have to make choices (we all do). I am having a hard time understanding why treating your family with love, is not an acceptable choice for them.

Oh I just better stop ranting about it. Thanks for this forum. I know I will never please these people.

31

Epic FAIL! :( My sister is gone from me.

by Faithful Witness in

got this email from my sister today.

there is a lot of back story, and this isn't a surprise.

it will be interesting to see how it affects the rest of the family, if they hear about it or not.

Faithful Witness

Got this email from my sister today. There is a lot of back story, and this isn't a surprise. It will be interesting to see how it affects the rest of the family, if they hear about it or not. If I tell anyone about it, I will be reprimanded.

I need to clarify that I was NEVER a JW, and I never agreed to follow their rules. I will not stop being kind to my sister or my niece and nephew.

The peacemaker in me will tread even lighter now. I'm afraid my mother will get pressure to join this movement against me. My kids will really be sad if Grandma makes this same decision.

I posted more about what led up to this in the Friends section ("I got my money back")

http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/jw/friends/269058/1/I-got-my-money-back#.UsjwoTK9KSM

While I appreciate the thought, please do not send us gifts.

Our kids are not missing out on anything other than things we try to protect them from.

At this time, based on prior encounters and their affect on me emotionally, I think it would be best if we didn't communicate.

I hope you can understand my decision and the fact that it is not meant to offend anyone.

Sent from my Kyocera Hydro