Because I was more concerned about pleasing others than I was about my own emotional and mental health.
Why were you baptized?
by bluecanary 57 Replies latest jw experiences
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The Berean
I was concerned with pleasing others ... never gave God a thought.
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shopaholic
Just in case it was all true and my younger siblings had already gotten baptized...so the pressure was on. I wasn't even "dedicated" when I was baptized, simply answered a bunch of questions and was dunked.
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homeschool
darkl1ght3r.... that is a VERY good observation. You didnt even know how to get a girl preggers & yet they allowed you commit your life. Do we rEALLY know what we want at that age? I was 16 and I REALLY wanted to be with someone who I'm SOooOOOOOoooO glad I didnt end up with. And I wanted to get my driver's license. I didn't even have my driver's license & they allowed me to devote forever to them. Hmph.
Lucky Calamity, Thank you for the tears and the friendship hugs! Other than my little rants every so often on here, I really am quite happy . I'm glad I'm out too!
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Black Sheep
My father said enough things that didn't quite make sense to make me a little wary. I knew the consequenses of not believing EVERYTHING and not obeying ALL of the rules.
I thought that if there was a true religion, that the WT was probably it, but I didn't want to have to submit to the rules and beliefs. I decided that when Armageddon came, Jehovah could kill me. Suicide with an unloaded gun. At seventeen I put my suitcase out of my window, had breakfast, said goodbye, picked up my suitcase and disappeared.
It was going to be another 35 years before I discovered I had made the right decision.
Six years ago, I started studying the Watchtower in earnest, and now my family hides them from me.
I don't think I will be getting baptised any time soon.
Cheers
Chris
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happpyexjw
Low hanging fruit. Things were not good at home and the witnesses really love-bombed me when I started going to meetings with my Mom at age 9. I was a very outgoing precocious kid and commented at my very first meeting, which really wowed them. I got all the strokes I wasn't getting at home there and I was hooked.
Over time, I also became a true believer and tried hard to meet the standards set out by the WTS. When I was 12 I got baptized, Dec. 16, 1961. I thought I knew what I was doing, but I sure didn't. Biggest mistake of my life.
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PSacramento
So, people bascially were baptized because they felt they had to, or to fit in, or because they felt it was right.
Sounds like why most get confirmed or whatever right of passage fits in at that time period of one's life within a religious organization.
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gailh
I can honestly say I thought I was pleasing God. I even dedicated myself privately beforehand. I was sixteen and didn't realize I was actually being baptized into an organization! Duh!
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NewYork44M
I was baptized at 15. I wanted to pioneer before the Great Tribulation started.
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PSacramento
From what I have seen in most Chrstian religions, Baptizim is the most abused of all practices.
It is used to intimidate to threaten even, people end up believing that without being baptized they are doomed, one wonders if they have ever read Paul's view on the importance ( and lack thereof) of baptizim to him.