by joe134cd 14 Replies latest jw experiences
I guess I can't embed links here at the moment, because the page freezes when I do, so let me type it in old school: http://www.lulu.com/ex-jw
I made a comparison chart of ex-mormons and ex-jws and there are some freaky similarities. I spent time on an ex-mormon page to research it and they didn't realize how similar they are to us, right down to the disparaging nicknames we give to our former organizations.
JOE134CD:
I would tend to think ex-Witnesses are more bitter because they have suffered deprivation because of the religion.
If I'm not mistaken, a Mormon's public ministry is for a short time and not forever ad nauseam like the Witnesses. Mormons believe in higher education and are better off financially...Contrast that with the Witnesses who pursue poverty like it was a virtue and criticize those who don't (meanwhile they look for handouts). Pursuing poverty promotes misery.
I met Mormons when I was in grade school and a relative married a Mormon girl. Their family was friendly and loving and seemed like happy people. Even though I knew nothing about their religion or scandals, I got a good impression. I was a young girl then and never knew any Witnesses but my later unfortunate introduction into the Witness life told me that Witnesses are frequently unhappy and paranoid people.
My experience has been that Mormons are very friendly and associate freely with non-Mormons. I knew of many Mormons in the Navy where they tend to gravitate to the highly technical ratings/specialties or are commissioned officers with college education. Military service to the Mormons is quite acceptable as are government jobs/positions including politics without limitation.
I knew several x-Jws in the Navy and they, by comparison, were quite screwed up on account of the Cult Mind Control conditioning. They were all of the opinion that they'd made the wrong choice in trying to escape the Cult through Naval Service and were looking for a way out of the Navy to return to the Cult. Most of them tried to associate with witness Congregations whenever we were in a port that had any. They seemed to be welcomed to the activities and weren't shunned by the witnesses abroad.
I knew of none (x-Jws that is) who, like myself, were pleased to be out of the Cult and intending to make the Navy a career. Of course I didn't advertise the fact that I was an xJw since I really had no plans to ever rejoin the Cult.
While I was attending language school in Arlington, Virginia and living in Falls Church, Virginia, we were neighbors with a Mormon family and we became very close. My wife and I agreed to their familiarization presentation in our home (sort of a recruiting effort) but there was never any pressure exerted upon us to join them. We were close friends the entire time I was stationed there.
The Mormons do not consume alcohol or caffeinated beverages and make great effort to eat natural and nutritious foods. I was truly impressed with their cleanliness and their very healthy appearances.
Who actually are the ExMo's?
I think the problem is that, for Ex-Jws, I can name the following off the top of my head.....
But ExMo's? Who are they?
