by Aroq 21 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
No don't go and probably never will again, its a lie, a money making scam after 35 years in. Still got family in but they don't live with me.
Life is much more on the calm side now though being shunned, its OK.
P.S. Welcome Aroq. and what about you? if you don't mind.
insot4
I went for about a year total even when I knew they were absolute liars. Its a hellhole if you are tryng to extract yourself from witness ties that may affect your living.
Its a pretty messed up way to live, trying to appease family/friends/employers just for the sake of being in their little religious club. Its also a time for real discovery. It was amazing to see the "deer in the headlights" look when you wander off the reservation just a bit. I would say things like "I'm opening an IRA tomorrow" (type of retirement account for those outside the states) just to see how people would react.
I've read a few threads lately where people talk about having to drink after the meeting just to calm down. That is when you MUST get out, as soon as possible. Some have a much higher bull$hit tolerance, they can go for years in an effort to get some of their family out first. I couldn't do it for that long, no way.
Too fond of the wife (especially) and family to risk leaving alone at my time of life.
If the wife should ever run off with the milk/post/coal man, I would be out like a shot.
George
To keep under the radar, so no one questions me (although I miss quite a few). Family all still in.
For most people I see it is because of family.
How truly sad is it that we have family trapped in and we allow the suffering to drag us down for the sake of our family. We love our family so much it hurts. I cannot say that I am in the same position as most of you, as I have never been a JW. But my family is in. So me leaving makes no difference to them because I never was in. It still hurts though.
I thought I could do the mental switch off, because it was easier to go along with it than to rock the boat. Now I realise I can't. Have been inactive for a couple of months.
Most of our family is "IN".
Certainly the vast majority of our "friendships" were with other JWs.
Since we have quit attending we have only had 2 visits from the Elders. They understand our discouragement over the "things" that have happened to us and our family that caused us to quit attending, so they are being patient and sympathetic (and maybe even supportive).
Often we have really TRIED TO GO BACK to an occasional meeting, just to appease the family and some of our dearest friends, BUT WE JUST CAN'T DO IT now that we know TTATT.
Once you've taken the Red Pill........................there is no going back.
Doc
I continued to go to meetings during the 6 months I was planning my escape, to not tip anyone off. I wanted to leave on my terms, not theirs.
So I would go one Sunday and a week later maybe go to a book study...then miss a week or two at a time...doing it casually , to fade out. Did they
miss me? HA ! It was 5 months before any one even called me on the phone!! Then out of the blue one Sunday after their meeting, 2 ladies came by
to visit and I made it pretty uncomfortable for them. I did not talk scripture or use the word "Truth". They said they came by to encourage me to come
back to meetings...I left them with those last words. My fading out on my terms made it much easier on me.
Am like St Gorge of England: still go to those crappy meetings because i love my wife and she is so IN the WT way of life...
My parents are still in too...
Should those 3 people get out of it , I would leave this religion-cult and never return again in any form of religion...
Both my wife and I are fully awake and know TTATT. We go to keep her mother happy, especially since she's old in age. We've tried fading and saw it slowly depress her mother and we want to avoid it possibly adding to her health problems. So to sum it up, we go out of love for family. Sacrificing our Sunday mornings is worth it, and we still have friends that we can wake up in the process. However, we go when it's convenient for us -- meaning -- we do not sacrifice ANYTHING to attend. Also, we do NOT do service, midweek meetings, conventions, or quickbuilds. We've wasted too much of our time supporting an apocalyptic cult full of pedo bears.
