New Member...

by sosoconfused 73 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  Darth Rutherford

  Welcome Sosoconfused! I was an elder as well (book study overseer, School overseer, WT conductor, blah, blah, blah). Like many others, I'm a 3rd gener. Your OP is so similar to a conversation I had with one of my closest friends a few years ago. I remember when Michael Jackson died, I was like: so, he's going to make it into the New System via resurrection, and I might die if I don't put enough hours in FS or watch all my P's and Q's? WTH?! My friend said it would be far kinder for us to go door-to-door and just shoot each householder, then they'd certainly make it into paradise. He wasn't serious, but he was illustrating just how poor the logic is that the organization has fostered. It's actually a little scary when you consider what some in the congregation might do if they finally just snapped.

  Anyway, it's funny how a little logic will topple the whole WT house of cards! You have a marvelous brain, and you're going to enjoy using it without the WT filter... so many things you're about to discover!

  You're among friends... and many of us were elders who can relate to the things you saw behind the curtain.
• 

  Gojira_101

  Welcome soso! I pray for God to help you on your journey. It's a hard one and you experience the whole range of emotions. New Enlightened is actually my mother and her and my father were so scared to talk to me and my husband, but I am so thankful they did because I've been having my doubts for years and what they showed me were actually things I doubted. It's hard when you still have family in. My husband was very sick in the beginning, but now we feel so free under the yolk of Jesus, he really was right in saying that about taking his yolk...you do feel free. I never felt free having to get xx number of hours in service. Even as a regular pioneer, I still felt like I was going to die at Big A...I just say take your time and some people wake up right away and some people need time to wake up. What I've come to realize is most JW's have questions and doubts but they are so afraid to talk about it because of fear of losing their family, being DF...etc. Maybe just starting asking your family some personal questions or pay attention to things they say and you might be able to pick up on something you can use to wake them. You have time on your side, so use it. I honestly believe Jesus is seperating the sheep from the goats right now because people are not just leaving the WT right now. Just this past week 5 different people I know have said they are leaving their church. Did not Jesus say he would call his sheep and they listen his voice (or something around those lines, I'm still waking up this morning :), I think Jesus is calling his sheep right now. I pray for you and your family soso. It's a hard journey, but you will find the answers if you pray and read the bible :) Also jwfacts is an interesting place. I find it funny that the WT is so afraid of the internet and these so-called apostate sites. I've always believe the "REAL TRUTH" would stand up to lies and scrutiny and the more I reseached the WT, their "truth" crumbled away and I realized the the "real truth" is the bible. Just remember who your real shephard is and you will know his voice :) G
• 

  problemaddict

  Welcome,

  Most of the elders I knew that were worth a dime, ended up not remaining elders. As a well meaning MS, pioneer, need-greater, regional builder, and all around numb nut, I thought if I stood up for things I saw that were wrong i could effect change. i thought I had a "voice". Well that came crashing down.

  Fortunately, it was the final straw since I had already started to wake up over the blood doctrine. The teaching of Jehovah prefering you die over accepting blood, and the communal shunning that occurs if you act with your conscience to the contrary, is the single most indefensible teaching of the faith.

  Like you, I am fairly new out, and the big dogs are starting to sniff. I am fairly well known, so as it gets out there slowly that I am not going to meetings anymore, I know there will be reprocusions that I have no yet considered. We have almost identical situations with you and your wife. My wife smells the BS, but it is her only support group, her only friends, and all of her family. She just can't do it. So that is making it interesting. We will see eventually. We have a very young child, and I have made it clear that even if we don't celebrate Christmas or something (which I honestly don't care about), he will not learn that following 8 dudes in Brooklyn as though they speak for God, is what God would ever want him to do.

  Hang in there. Glad to have you around.
• 

  problemaddict

  Forgot to mention, you really want a Beth Sarim vacation, just come on down. Its in my neck of the woods.