Posts by Pete Zahut

47

Are JWs "mind trained" to be habitual liars?

by nonjwspouse in

i don't mean overly obvious, or otherwise meaning to cause harm, but taught to lie for the purpose of avoidance.

this type of lying can be pervasive in areas of life that are not just to avoid discussions with people who have questions about the jw, etc.

my husband will lie/be deceitful about the silliest, simple things.

Pete Zahut

They are systematically taught to rationalize whatever it is they want to be so.

If they are suddenly confronted by an idea or concept that is new to them or is in direct conflict with what they currently believe, they are adept at finding a way to rationalize away any facts that make them uncomfortable.

I have JW relatives who haven't met their own grandchildren because their grown children left the "truth", yet when confronted, the will tell you that JW's are free to leave the organization without consequences . In their minds, they are telling the truth.

8

We can count our time though right?

by tepidpoultry in

.

Pete Zahut

45

She's here and early! 27 weeks 1day.

by Darkknight757 in

so as of july 2nd my wife delivered by c-section our little one pound, three ounce daughter izabella.

it was a very scary night that started with a decel and turned into multiple decels that greatly concerned the doctors.

by early morning they felt the need to take her for her safety.

Pete Zahut

I have a 6 year old nephew who was in the same situation as Izabella and he's now a head taller than most kids his age, is learning a second language and is generally an all around force to be reckoned with.

Good Vibes coming your way from Washington State.

23

chasing me for a report

by Phoebe in

jw
friends

i'm fairly new on here and i've told a lot of my story but to recap, after 60 odd years i've stopped going to the meetings.

my husband had already left the truth years ago and my children didn't become jws.(phew!).

i had a horrendous childhood growing up as a witness which included sexual assault by a close relative, also a jw.

Pete Zahut

It sounds as if your relative has threatened to sue someone personally if this matter isn't dropped, and or the loving Watchtower Society smells another law suit coming their way so they've commanded your elders to treat you like Typhoid Mary, until you go away. Personally, I hope you will tell them that if this matter isn't dealt with, you will be seeking legal counsel.

As far as turning in time goes, I'm guessing (like the good little JW sister your were taught to be) you're being far to nice. I finally said to the brother that kept calling me for my time, "Look, I know you're just doing your job and I don't mean to be rude but if I have any time to report, I'LL CALL YOU. Until then, DO NOT CALL ME ABOUT THIS, AGAIN."

If they ask you anything about your future as a JW, end the conversation and don't tell them anything further.

That worked for me and I hope that after all those years of carrying such a burden and then this most recent slap in the face, you'll have the energy left to say what needs to be said, just this one last time, simply to get them off your back.

15

Observation of Sam Heard at Regional Convention in Dayton, OH

by LevelThePlayingField in

heard gave 3 talks at the convention.

one thing i noticed rather quickly was how stuck he was to his notes.

he rarely looked up.

Pete Zahut

One thing I noticed rather quickly was how stuck he was to his notes. He rarely looked up. And then I realized that, he was actually reading everything word for word. But he was literally reading everything

One must always stick to ones outline when one is an important figurehead, lest one appear common.

18

How many JWs would offer their young daughters as a bride to a single GB member

by Chook in

i think the bragging rights of parents would rule.

i've seen cos marry girls no older than there own children when their spouse has died..

Pete Zahut

I understand Mark changed his last name to Handerson and has a girlfriend named Palmala. They said he keeps her at his side constantly.

38

"Life is so hard!...tribulation and problems abound!" Persecution complex of witnesses.....

by stuckinarut2 in

the meeting this week is mind-blowing in the way it fuels the crippling "persecution complex" of witnesses!.

paragraph 1 set the theme with this gem:.

does it shock you that you can expect to face many tribulations before you gain the prize of everlasting life?

Pete Zahut

It always struck me odd, how a crowd of full of well dressed, well groomed people, with full bellies, sitting in an air conditioned stadium could be lamenting on about "sighing and crying" and how much they have to "endure".

If only they'd realize, that most of the reason they are sighing and crying and much of what they are enduring, are due to the additional burdens placed upon them by men who have interfered with and complicated their efforts to be followers of Christ.

14

For all in the USA - Happy 4th of July!

by ttdtt in

it's nice to say that:).

i am looking forward to a 4th party with "worldly people" and fireworks!.

Pete Zahut

It will be my Granddaughters 1st Birthday and my 60th on the 4th of July.

Growing up as a JW, the 4th of July was a doubly empty day for me because there were 2 things I couldn't celebrate, happening on the same day. This year, although my Son and his wife still have one ~~foot~~ toe in the JW door, we are going to mark the occasion by doing something special together. A train trip into the city to have dinner, ride the waterfront wheel and watch the fireworks display over the water.

53

The saddest song of all time?

by Bad_Wolf in

i would pick this one https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=th2w6oxx0kq.

i don't know how so many are happy or fine if thinking this life is it.

haven't lost parents yet, but when with them, sometimes i'll think of this song.

Pete Zahut

HappyDad
Don't know how to post the video but Annie Lennox song "Why" is one that always got to me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HG7I4oniOyA&list=RDHG7I4oniOyA#t=26

53

The saddest song of all time?

by Bad_Wolf in

i would pick this one https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=th2w6oxx0kq.

i don't know how so many are happy or fine if thinking this life is it.

haven't lost parents yet, but when with them, sometimes i'll think of this song.

Pete Zahut

This song came out around the time I first started waking up and began experiencing the sad and terrible realization that I had been duped since childhood and everything I had hoped for and believed in was a fraud. At one point I couldn't listen to this song or have it come on the radio without sobbing. It reminds me of growing up as a JW during the turbulent 60's and all the momentous things that happened in history at that time. We thought we had all the answers as to why the things the way they were. It was easy to believe the Vietnam war, Kennedy and Martin Luther King assassinations, race riots etc, were all signs of the end rather than just another part of the worlds history that we happened to be alive during.

This song made me sad for the little boy Pete who was only trying to be a child but was constantly being reminded by the adults around him that the world was going to come to a horrific end at any minute and when it did, God was going to kill my father, teacher, neighbor kids and grandparents because none of them wanted to become Jehovah's witnesses, and if little Pete wasn't a good enough JW, didn't answer enough at meetings, give good enough talks, and didn't go in field service enough, he'd be a goner as well.

Here I am about to turn 60 and none of it happened, not one single thing and there's no way to go back an undo the irreversible damage or to make up for the losses that took place in my family because of the faceless men who made up the entire belief system of the Jehovah's Witness religion. Men who are long gone but the damage they caused, continues.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ekTCh5JiA0