I'm meeting with my congregation Elders Today HELP PLEASE (page 10)

LennaB

Great replies. I'm learning so much, I never knew about half this stuff. I guess this is another reason the governing body discourages higher education..

Crazyguy

Or going on the internet at all up until 2012

My goodness no wonder this poor girl is utterly confused.. what with those elders, and then many implying there is no God.. others saying there is, others saying you must work in accord with your prayers and some that prayer is pointless.. some quoting the Bible.. others discrediting it..

I'm not sure how such utter conflicting confusion can be helpful except to confuse even further.

disposable hero of hypocrisy

Dis-member you missed my point about working along with your prayers, I wasn't promoting prayer! read it again! And yes, there ARE a lot of differing viewpoints, and it IS confusing coming out of a closed system that is WTland into the real world. It takes time to acclimatise and form your own opinions.

So lennaB, take your time, read a lot, don't make any immediate decisions, don't talk about this to other jw's till you're more confident in what you think . Best of luck matey!

Dis-Member

Was not referring particularly to you Disposable but putting myself in her shoes my head would be spinning from all this conflicting advice. It's true, the support, sympathy and kindness are all invaluable but she really has to work this all out for herself, tough times ahead. Not at all easy.

Coded Logic

I'm not sure how such utter conflicting confusion can be helpful except to confuse even further.

I wouldn't worry too much about it, Lenna clearly has a good head on her shoulders. And confusion is often a natural part of the learning proccess because we only ever learn when we are faced with our missconceptions. It is a good thing that she is being exposed to a wide range of ideas and attitudes - that way she can make up her mind for herself what she wants to believe. And we at this site are not the Borg. We do not all speak in a unified voice telling people what to think. Rather, it is our discord that shows people how to think. It challenges them that not all questions have easy answers. And that if you want to come to knowledge, and rationality, and if you want to be able to build good mental models of how the world works - then you're going to have to do the heavy mental lifting yourself.

Or, if I may use the brutal statement that got the wheels of doubt turning when I was a witness, " There is a huge difference between being " opinionated" vs having an "informed opinion""

Opinionated: conceitedly assertive and dogmatic in one's opinions. Claiming knowledge one does not possess.

Informed Opinion: knowledge of the neccissary facts and a careful consideration of the principles. Making determinations using evidence instead of limited personal experience.

jgnat

I'd like to take on "hope". Where oh where does the WTS get off on claiming that only Witnesses have hope? Not only that, but that everyone must keep up on study, meeting attendance, and field service to maintain that hope? These three tenets; study, attendance, and field service are the reality of the Watchtower society. I dare you to find these three in a single chapter in the bible.

There is nothing better for a man than taking meat and drink, and having delight in his work. This again I saw was from the hand of God - Ecclesiastes 2:24.

34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. 36 I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’ 37 “Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? 39 When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 40 “And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, f you were doing it to me!’ - Matthew 25 (NLT)

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.… - Galatians 5

See? There is no need for meeting attendance, study, and field service. If you enjoy the work that you do, be generous to others, and cultivate goodness, God will recognize you. No laws, no rules, nobody to say you don't belong.

Sure, it's a shock that you just wasted a year of your life. Go give that new husband a hug from me and have a conversation about what kind of life the two of you are going to tackle. Will you travel? How many children? What is it that you really love to do?

tornapart

Lenna, t's so good that you found out all of this before you got baptised. You still have a way out and they won't be able to D/F you and cut you off from people you love. I hope you can rebuild your relationships that you had before. Keep up with asking questions, even if you don't find all the answers. It's good to keep looking and keep searching. You will eventually find a place inside yourself that you feel happy with. Just don't let others manipulate you and tell you what all the answers are. It's something you need to find for yourself and not because someone else told you.

Dis-Member

Good points Coded Logic. When I first came on here I was quite overwhelmed with the entire array of strong opinions, options, suggestions, advice etc. I too had to wade through it all, let it sink in and then see what floated to the top and made sense to me.

I guess regardless of the varied views one thing was apparent.. that many people sincerely cared. And that counts for a lot at the end of the day. It does seem Lenna has a good head and I wish her the very best in working her path out despite how she may be feeling at present.

goingthruthemotions

Listen LennaB......if someone tells you that in the future they say something stupid for you to do and doesn't sound logical....but still do it. Would that make you think.

WTF?

So when you look at the Nov 2013 watchtower study edition it states:

(3) At that time, the lifesaving
direction that we receive from
Jehovah’s organization may not appear
practical from a human standpoint. All
of us must be ready to obey any instructions
we may receive, whether these appear
sound from a strategic or human
standpoint or not.

WTF?

Now look at what Jim Jones states to his followers and about people who did not follow.

“And during a drive down School Street, Jones declared pointedly, in discussing the unfortunate fate of an Indiana member who had failed to heed one of his warnings: “People must learn to obey their spiritual leaders.”

Well, we all know what happened to Jim Jones' followers.

Don't think for a second the GB is not like Jim Jones.

Lick you wounds and run LeenaB..IT'S A FREAKING CULT!!!!!!!!!!!

GTTM

I'm meeting with my congregation Elders Today HELP PLEASE

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