Posts by Martinelli

38

William Osbeck-The CO that helped me get out of the borg.

by Sadie5 in

jw
friends

after reading cruzenheart's post on the letter about her father, and the treatment he received from the co, william osbeck, and the elders of his congregation, it brought back my own memories of this particular co and his treatment of people.

it was 1995 and one of the hardest years of my life.

in february of that year, i learned i was pregnant with our fifth child.

Martinelli

Hello, this is only my second day as a member in the forum, however, I have been emancipated from the organization for nearly 20 years. I find it so intriguing that almost every person I have ever communicated with who left the org. has the same story! That fact, in and of itself, is evidence beyond a shadow of a doubt that Satan is helping to fulfill the Scripture in Revelation 2 in which Jesus is telling John about the seven (7) churches, meaning church ages. In verse 8 of chapter 2, Jesus is addressing the church of Smyrna. Here he has against them the sin of misrepresentation, the blasphemy of those who call themselves Jews but are not. I believe that Christ is referring to apostasy here insofar as some so-called believers will pass themselves off as the nation of Israel, i.e., the organization claims to be "spiritual Israel" and continues to claim Israel's promises as its own. These JWs, this cult, this archetype of Smyrna, furthermore places its members in bondage through old, Phariseic legalism, taunting their consciences and rendering them trapped. That is why I believe we all share VERY similar stories. Their methods and tools are executed in the same manner for all of us. Thus as verse 9 says, these are of the syngagogue of Satan who mislead and instill fear into those who longingly seek truth.

Like many of you, my stories of the Kingdom Hall and the "truth" are quite horrific and practically incredulous, yet they are true. Isn't it a gracious thing that God, in His mercy, freed us and opened our eyes? Now what can we do to help those we love and open their eyes. Ironically, my brother and father truly believe that I am the apostate. My sin is that I read the Bible myself and I have purchased scholarly and theocratic literature and Bible commentaries written by pastors and individual authors, not by the Governing Body. I really do not believe God damns us for that. In fact, it is comforting to know that the Jehovah I prayed to as a child, the God who answered my many prayers, and even spared me from getting a spanking once, IS THE SAME Jehovah I continue to pray to and converse with today. He is unchanging, the Alpha and the Omega!! Now that's something to celebrate. Imagine that! The God you and I worshipped while we attended the Kingdom Hall, went door-door, attended assemblies, gave talks during the ministerial meetings, etc, is the same God we talk to now. He has never changed....He has freed us from the clutches of Satan's powerhouse organization. That just amazes me sometimes. He is not mad at me for worshipping Him the "wrong" way when I was younger. He understands. Now I am allowing Him to tell me Himself how He wants me to worship Him. Such freedom. Jesus DID say that is burden was light and it really is. No more recording hours, placing books, magazines, shunning people I actually like, etc. It's not hard to follow God. That's what we should be praising Him for....

79

What's the worst sin that you knew a JW commited? Espec. Elders, Bethelites

by FreeofGuilt in

the po of my congregation was screwing another elders wife- i have more, but i wanna hear yours!

kristine

Martinelli

It is certainly not my place or my intention to preach or give a lecture on "sin". The Bible is pretty clear that we all have fallen short and that is precisely why Christ had to die on the cross. None of us is without sin and God knows how black my sins are so while I may have a fun time pointing out other people's sins, especially of JWs who harmed me and members of my family, I have to remember that Christ died for them too and is waiting for their repentance as well. There is no one righteous, not one, according to Paul when exhorting the Romans. He said in Romans 3:9-12 that we (Jews and Gentiles) are all under sin; no one is righteous; we are all unprofitable; no one does good; all fall short. The good news is that we have the Blood of Jesus to save us and that goes for all who will come. It profits us nothing to point at and dwell upon the evil of the JWs. Indeed it only fosters an attitude of unforgiveness. Forgiven people ought to be forGIVING people. How are we any different from those who have transgressed against us is if transgress right back by speaking ill of those who continue to deceive and create treachery, like the JWs. Jesus even said that he came, not for the righteous, but for the unrighteous ( Matthew 9:13). He came to save those who need repentance and grace.

I can count the sins of many in the organization who wronged me and damned me, and it has taken years to forgive. I still harbor resentment and uneasiness when I think of them. However, I know that my Heavenly Father did much, much more than forgive me. He forgave sins past, present, and future. I deserve hell; we all do. But by grace we are saved, not by works that anyone should boast, as Paul says. But that grace applies to ALL people regardless of what they have done. God's mercy and grace are infinite and He says that our sins are as far removed as the east is from the west! (Psalms 103:12). Imagine that! We can't. It's as if He pressed the "delete" button on the heavenly keyboard and erased our sins for us. These Biblical references keep me humble and in a forgiving mindset when I think about the JWs. I have to remind myself of what God did for me and I force myself to remember all the terrible things He forgave and I am humbled.

It is my hope that my father and brother will escape the web of lies and deceit they have been living in for 30 years. I escaped at the age of 19 when I was disfellowshipped. Then feeling shamed and outcast, I was reinstated only to be betrayed and then disfellowshipped again. I was wronged in a terrible way and I can tell you stories about it; it's tempting, believe me, but I won't. Did they sin? Yes. Have I? Yes. Finally, at the age of 40, I can try to reformulate my feelings about the incident that occurred, the way my brother and father were stolen from me, the way my mother died, but alas, Christ has helped me. I alone do not have the strength to forgive these people, but I can do anything through Christ who strengthens me (Phillipians 4:13). Telling stories would do nothing to edify the body of Christ. That was an exhortation Paul did give. All that we do and say should be for the edification of the Body. We do know that many JWs log on to this website and I'm sure that they know that if they were caught, they would suffer consequences. I would like to think of this forum as a "ministry" of sorts. A small means of conveying truth to those JWs who may be crying for help but feel trapped. This may be the only forum in which they can actually ponder and think through the Scriptures themselves. Telling stories that don't edify or inspire encouragement, can only deflect them from us. I would like to see them escape. Let's give them a reason to re-think their teachings, not by recounting incidents of sin, but by the Word, the Sword, the Bible.