Posts by Ex-Jo Ho

34

Bombshell--Canada sexually assaulted in field service!

by Atlantis in

posting this for danny because he has used up his two posts.. *************************************************************************.

canada-jehovah's witnesses elder pedophile criminal assaultdiary leads to sex assault chargeincidents are alleged to have occurred during jehovah's witness visitsdianne wood [email protected] on [email protected]@therecord.comletters to editordiary leads to sex assault charge.

waterloo record, canada - 17 minutes ago.

Ex-Jo Ho

This is sick....I grew up very close to Kitchener....things weren't much different in my congregation but no one wants to believe it when it is happening right under their noses. It makes me nauseaus.

Josie

43

another new guy

by Art Vandelay in

jw
friends

actually, i'm new to the whole forum thing in general.

i guess i should say something about myself...

i'm 23, born and raised in the organization.

Ex-Jo Ho

Welcome! I'm a newbie as well and this forum has been like a healing for me in the last few days.

So welcome! You will like it here.

Josie

17

Did any of you ever have "overzealous"parents?

by Ex-Jo Ho in

this may have been discussed before but did any of you have crazy strict parents...i mean did they have even more strict ideas than what the religion already had put restrictions on?.

my stepfather had been a crazy drug/alcohol addict before dragging my family into the "truth"...then it seemed he became obsessed with the religion.

honestly...i don't know which was worse!

Ex-Jo Ho

Ha ha...surprisingly...no! Are you kidding...if I didn't attend school then I couldn't "witness" on the playground and save all of my classmates! I think the most humiliating thing my stepfather did was write: DON'T FORGET TO PRAY...and...JEHOVAH IS ALWAYS WATCHING...on my lunch bag in permenant marker. It was awful! No I was forced into the religion at the age of 9 so I had already been in school...who knows if I'd been born into it...then it may have been home school for me!

Josie

17

Did any of you ever have "overzealous"parents?

by Ex-Jo Ho in

this may have been discussed before but did any of you have crazy strict parents...i mean did they have even more strict ideas than what the religion already had put restrictions on?.

my stepfather had been a crazy drug/alcohol addict before dragging my family into the "truth"...then it seemed he became obsessed with the religion.

honestly...i don't know which was worse!

Ex-Jo Ho

This may have been discussed before but did any of you have crazy strict parents...I mean did they have even more strict ideas than what the religion already had put restrictions on?

My stepfather had been a crazy drug/alcohol addict before dragging my family into the "truth"...then it seemed he became obsessed with the religion. Honestly...I don't know which was worse! He became strict about everything....no tv...no radio...no worldy books...a few toys....he even felt that most of the young people in the KH were bad association so forget about having friends. It was tough being an only child in that setting...all I was allowed to do was study....he felt that playing was a privelege so I wasn't allowed to play everyday. Anyone else go through that too? I'm sure I can't be the only one!

I would appreciate your experiences,

Josie

P.S. My mother had talked to the elders about this once....they basically excused it as him being "overzealous" which was actually admirable!

25

did you listen to the kingdom songs on CD?

by dobbie in

jw
friends

just wondering if anyone else had the collection of kingdom melodies on tape or cd and if you ever listened to them?i ordered the whole set of 9 cds 2 yrs ago and donated over 100.00 for them!

!was just thinking i could have bought a nice winter coat with that!i used to play them at home all the time, even in the car or when we had the group meeting at our house.i used to love one particular song cos it had a full orchestra and would play it over and over again.some of them were pretty cheesy though - one song was sung in opera style but not the words she she 'ahd' it all the way through - horrible!was anyone else as sad as me and did you actually pay for them?i regret it now cos they're all in the attic and can't bear to use them ever again..

Ex-Jo Ho

ha ha Yes!!! The Kingdom Melodies!!! That's so funny...I had forgotten. My family had the tapes....we had a piano player in our hall....it was funny no one in the cong knew how to carry a tune. Whenever she was sick, they'd break out the tapes and we actually sang them in harmony. Urgh! I've got a few of those damn songs stuck in my head right now!!!! Thanks a lot!!! ha ha

Josie

54

Hypothetical ? for u. What if armageddon really did come...

by *jeremiah* in

ok, here's a hypothetical that i'm curious about.. what if armageddon really did happen?

not necessarily according to jw terms or timetable, but at some point it happens in your lifetime.

would any of you return to the jws?.

Ex-Jo Ho

I used to worry about that. Not anymore. I found comfort in thinking that if there is a God(honestly I am left conflicted on all religious beliefs at the moment...I'm open...just cautious) He would be able to read my heart and know I am a good person....despite whatever imperfections...and that I couldn't stay in an organization that didn't make sense to me anymore. I have my beliefs, perhaps with some old Jo Ho attributes here and there, but I don't think God will be out to get me if that day arrived.

Josie

90

Who is DF/DA or Fader???

by mama1119 in

jw
friends

i was just wondering, how many dfed to we have on here compared to da or faders??

?

Ex-Jo Ho

Wellll.....I just left suddenly...literally. I still can't believe it. Not something I would ever do. I was always one to really care what other people thought...I didn't have an opinion even when a JW could...I was considered someone in good standing. When I was a teenager other kids would tell their parents that they were hanging out with me and then no questions would be asked. Well, I was really starting to get sick of things...and question things...it happened on a Thursday night. One of my best friends was DF'd...I was shocked....I got up right after the announcement and walked out...slamming the door VERY loudly. I never went back. (Ha ha...after that exit I was scared to go back even if I'd ever had second thoughts....which I didn't...phew!)

Oh...and my friend's crime? He had gone skinny dipping! Well it was more of a dare....some of our friends dared him to jump off of a cliff into the water at the cottage they were staying at...they jokingly said to do it commando. He did! It was funny! He was a funny guy! Honestly...you couldn't even see his private parts from that height and there wasn't even any females present at this event. Crazy, eh? Oh and he was like 15! Anyways...I thought it was crazy when I knew of a billion other things going on that were corrupt at our KH and this is what the elders considered to be it! Maybe getting PR'd but DF'd! Still boggles my mind!

Josie

62

Um..hi...I'm new too!

by Ex-Jo Ho in

wow!

i came across this site and i felt a huge weight come off of my shoulders!

someone understands!

Ex-Jo Ho

Thank-you ssssssssooooooo much for the warm welcome...seriously I'm just so excited to have a place to listen, to talk, to vent, to laugh...maybe cry *sniff*,sorry...once I get more comfortable I will share my story. Whether you're in, you're out, you're fading, you never personally were a "Jo Ho", it doesn't matter to me....you all seem like great people from what I've read in here and I'm so grateful to be here among friends.

Thank-you again. Truly.

Josie

62

Um..hi...I'm new too!

by Ex-Jo Ho in

wow!

i came across this site and i felt a huge weight come off of my shoulders!

someone understands!

Ex-Jo Ho

Wow! I came across this site and I felt a huge weight come off of my shoulders! I'm not alone! Someone understands! I was scared at first to post...it's funny..I left about 8 years ago yet the "fear" and guilt still linger. Anyways, so glad that I found you guys!

Thanks for having me,

~ Josie

51

What planted the seed of doubt that lead you to leave or think of leaving?

by NanaR in

i've been thinking of this a lot lately.

the following experience ties my first doubt in with my present life.

as a backdrop to this, you should know that i was a 5th generation "raised in the truth" jw through my mother (her great-grandfather got "the truth" from pastor russell).

Ex-Jo Ho

I remember sitting in my "Society, Challenge and Change" class in Grade 11....my teacher started talking about cults....it really freaked me out and made me really start to question things even more. It was like this door was opened and a flood of light poured in and I could finally see for myself. Sounds cheesey, but it's true.

Hi...I'm new here...I'm so glad I found you guys! It's been lonely at times trying to figure things out, if you know what I mean. It's been like 8 years now since I left but it sometimes feels just like yesterday.

~ Jo