Resignation - not that it matters at all, but .... (page 2)

Pathofthorns

A step in the right direction. At least a step that allows you more freedom to follow your conscience.

I wish you well.

Path

nelly136

i hope it doesnt cause you any problems to have done that
and wish you well whatever you choose to do
luv deb x

ZazuWitts

Old Hippie,

Yes, it truly does matter! I appreciate your letting us know and that you must have thought long and hard about making this decision.

Eventually one comes to a crossroads where it is necessary to make the choice as to what road to take. I think you took the high road, Old Hippie. It may be rough at times, but will open up new avenues to explore and leave you better off for your future.

Frenchy

Hippie:
I don't have to imagine because I know how it feels to step aside. For those of us who served because of a sincere desire to help those in our care the thought of leaving them in unkind hands troubles us. I anguished over the matter for a long time but in the end I realized that my continued presence might be encouragement to stay for others who were also having doubts. Stepping aside gave me a freedom of speech I could not otherwise have. I'm also more at ease with my conscience now. Close to the end I was very hesitant about many of the talks I had been accustomed to giving as well as most of the Service Meeting parts. I ended up assinging out those parts to others because I could not say the words anymore.

Do I miss it? I don't miss the politicking and paranoia and the doubletalk but I do miss my friends. I miss the feeling I once had of actually doing some good and making a difference. Many times I was approached by someone with a problem and it felt good to be able to help them and put their troubled minds at ease about things.

I miss the concept of the truth. I just wish that it had been true!

waiting

Howdy Ol Hip,

As I a 30 yr woman in the WTBTS, unlike Frenchy, I have to imagine how it would feel. I wasn't one of *those.*

But I can imagine.....and I would also imagine that it will be an up/down feeling for quite a while. Hopefully, the feeling of freedom and remaining true to your conscience will help you through it.

Welcome to the world. No pun anti-jw pun intended btw.

waiting

JT

I wish to apologize to you for dogging you awhile back _ you came on in defense of wt many times and i dogged you and i'm sorry

i realize that i need to practice what i preach-

i have often mentioned that each person is at thier own level AND we can't force folks to move faster than they are prepared for-

I understand the challenge that you have faced being an elder

when i left i felt for all the folks my wife and i were leaving behind

while many of my buddies were like James why are you giving up so much - i knew after reading all this stuff on the net that in the end the JOKE was going to be on them- so may of my bst friends are former bethelites who have left bethel and never got real jobs, homes, etc
instead they are pioneering with the hope that they will get that letter from the Service Dept to enter the traveling work
and in the mean time they literally Struggle to make ends meet and stay out of debt- old beat up car, some funky parttime job, etc

so old hippie you will be OK
all i suggest is that you move to the next level

my suggestions are as follows

give you and the wife time to sort thru what you all want to do from a religious standpoint- don't jump into a another religion- like many i know and they are back to the same routine they were in while in wt

take your sat and sundays to do things with family- old relative who may be nonjw- folks on your job, the folks next door

it is so important to start building a new set of friends and you can do it- my wife are now back in touch with old "Worldly" relatives and folks in our HOOD-

it is so nice to take sunday morning and now read the washington post in your drawers- some sundays we lay in bed and around house all day just chilling--
in wt as an elder WELL YOU KNOW THE SCHEDULE smile

welcome to freedom my bro and please email me

james

[email protected]

freeman

Old Hippie,

You have taken a big step, and I’m sure you have your reasons for leaving something so familiar to you. I won’t ask what brought you to this point, but I imagine it has to do with learning some aspect of the truth about the truth.

You are not alone; many of us have walked down this road. Not that you asked for it, but I offer this one piece of advice, don’t let any anger you may feel now or in the future as you investigate the facts about your religion cloud the fact that the Witnesses are basically very good people.

I won’t name names, but I have seen several people, some on this board, let their anger get the better of them and then blame their brothers or former brothers in the faith for their disillusionment. I’ve even caught myself doing this at times.

Remember, every one of us started out just wanting to do the right thing in God’s eyes.
Right now you may be losing your comfort zone, but I’ll bet in the long run you will be a much happier Old Hippie knowing true facts instead of living what many of us have discovered to be a lie. May you find peace on your spiritual journey.

Freeman

JT

Frenchy says:

. Stepping aside gave me a freedom of speech I could not otherwise have. I'm also more at ease with my conscience now. Close to the end I was very hesitant about many of the talks I had been accustomed to giving as well as most of the Service Meeting parts. I ended up assinging out those parts to others because I could not say the words anymore.
------------

i know the feeling - i too had problems giving talks and after awhile i no longer to outside speaking asssignments

in fact i would call up a MS on Friday night and ask him if he could give the talk, then on Sunday morning i would call the speaker coor, let him know i would not be able to make and that we have a MS we can send

then i reached the point where i told the PO not to assign me parts since i didn't know what my work schedule would be and gradually as it became harder and harder i backed away and begin to give up my circuit assignments as well

i recall one fellow elder- one of my boys from the Big House, stopping by one day and asking me james are you starting to doubt the Org

knowing that he too was a dyed in the wool Society Man i thought this is my Boy i can talk to him and let him know the real deal- but i didn't and sure enough he turned another guy in about a month after i spoke to him

aned at THAT TIME i would not have been ready- but NOW -please my wife and i could care less that is why we sent out holiday cards to folks who work with some old jw we know- we could care less

but frenchy you are on the money it is sad to know that we are leaving so many basically good folks in the hands of guys who don't know thier A$$ from a hole in the ground

jaems

Xena

Best Wishes to you and yours Old Hippie...there will no doubt be some tough times ahead...but for us so far it has been well worth it!

Frenchy,

I really enjoyed your post. Especially

I miss the concept of the truth. I just wish that it had been true!

Me too!

Norm

Hi OldHippie

A Happy New Year to you.

I think you have made a wise decision. You simply knew far to much to continue. You can't unlearn what you know. I consider you a very decent person and when you have tried to defend the undefendable I understood why, many of us have done the same. In the end the burden of knowledge becomes to much and one had to face the simple fact that the WT organization isn't by far what it claims to be.

Anyway, you are always welcome to call anytime if you feel like it. It would be fun to "compare notes". If you don't feel like it that's of course all right too.

Take care,

Norm

Resignation - not that it matters at all, but ....

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