last convention before global attack on witnesses

by Phoebe 52 Replies latest jw friends

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  Alive!

  Hi Phoebe,

  I'm guessing you must be in your 60s at least, given your 50 yrs of baptised activity.

  How brqve you have been to pull away from the organisation, to question all those things that felt so wrong.

  Dear lady, your post really resonated with some of my experiences in the past few years.

  The witnesses aren't trained to think carefully about the timing or impact of their 'missiles of warning'....how many emotionally or mentally fragile folk did we disturb with our frighteningly illustrated tracts or publications....leaving them in the loneliness of their lives to read and look at pictures which were frightening to view and didn't need to be realised in an illustration.

  I can imagine your anxiety, the process of upturning your whole life is anxious making enough....without loveless emails that took just a few minutes to dash off.

  I've kept my life in hope, hope in our universal creator. I grew ever weary of 'speaking on his behalf' the twisted judgemental thinking of those (aka the FDS) who demonstrated a poor grasp of scriptural understanding over years and years of foolishness. And now, they use emotional manipulation more then ever through videos, short movies. No to that.

  Try not to read any social media or emails in the wee hours...definitely not helpful to your emotional state.

  Take care, breathe through each hour.

  And if you can, speak in your heart to the One you trusted all these years.

  The nature of whom you measured against the nature of these 'men' and found them entirely out of synch.
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  mrquik

  "Armageddon cars". Hadn't heard that phrase since going out in service in 1965. The elder we rode with had a 1964 Ford sedan that was his "Armageddon car". He's gone as well as all his cars. Take a deep breath & repeat after me: "It's a cult, it's a cult, it's a cult, it's a cult......" After 50 years in, I've been out about 8. It gets easier every year. Here's a new goal for you. Repeat it to yourself every day. " Live Well...Enjoy Life..."
  
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  rebel8

  Can anyone share their personal experience to help me?

  Sharing of personal experiences can definitely be therapeutic. It makes you realize you are not alone. There are no doubt many in active and inactive threads on this forum.

  I left with severe doubts but more along the lines of, "I don't know if they actually have the truth or not, but I know for sure I would rather be killed at Armageddon (coming any day now) than to live forever with jws." I knew for sure I didn't want to worship a god who called them his people.

  And that's where I started. I let myself feel what I needed to feel. I exposed myself to opposing points of view--a thing dubs didn't do back then--and then put them into perspective.

  I had anxious discomfort continuously for quite a while as I sorted out beliefs vs. reality. They fell away one by one, and honestly it was painful.
  

  Years later, I started to work as a counselor and just happened to have some jw clients. I noticed they went through the same sorts of things I went through (this). It is a grief process the same as any major loss.
  

  My advice is to focus mostly on personal wellness and getting well/happy emotionally first. Be a good person. Enjoy the 'gift' of life in a positive way.

  If there is a god/goddess/gods worth worshiping, and they someday check in on you, you're in good standing because you have made good things from the 'gift' of life. If there is no god, then great, you have still done the right thing and become happy along the way.

  Doctrinal stuff comes later. You will have to figure that out, but there is no hurry. Let them float by as though you are watching boats pass you on a river. Pick one to pay attention to at a time and take breaks in between. When you pay attention to one, start with the evidence and be courageous as you ask yourself tough questions about what is really true. Example: Are earthquakes getting worse?
  
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  Finkelstein

  Some people are saying this is out last convention before a global attack on witnesses.

  Fear is very much a catalyst the WTS exploits to not only draw attention to their published literature but also to use to control people thoughts, and emotions.
  

  The WTS in its fear mongering indoctrination does make people mentally off balanced.

  I'm sure the banning in Russia has been exploited out as " this is it Persecution phobia syndrome. "
  
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  Chook

  The GB are guilty of fortune telling, they read tea leaves on Wednesdays , I would love to have an IQ test on each GB member. I can tell you which will be their last convention it's the one they can't pay the rent for. The continuous lawsuits will drain the JWs swamp. But with the continuing selling of halls and the old sisters with no one to leave the inheritance to due to no children, just maybe the rent for conventions won't dry up yet. But who am I to out prophesy Mr Sanderson. The black book is to cryptic even for the clowns at head office to interprete . I just can't believe they changed bible colour to silver when everyone on the planet knows in movies it's always black, but god directed them once to make it green . Hang in there Phoebe the boogeyman has no cloths.
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  Pete Zahut

  Hi Phoebe,

  It's no fun having difficulty with anxiety and I'm sure there's part of you that believes it will never go away. Let me tell you that if I can overcome the anxiety difficulties I had, then anyone can.

  Once a person has been anxious for a time, there are automatic thoughts that need to be unlearned and brain circuits that need to be re-routed. There are many cognitive therapy strategies out there that can be learned but typically an anxious person views them as too simplistic or mild to take care of their problem (I sure did) but it works if you keep at it.

  In the meantime, it may help you to remember that millions of people down through the last hundred years, have been victims of the JW end times predictions. (note the dates in the photos below) It was all very real to them, just as it was to us. Many, like you and me, were affected badly by the worrisome forecast for the future that was thrust upon us by people we had come to trust. Take comfort in knowing that these predictions were made by people who knew how to play on basic human fears to get what they wanted. It's the oldest trick in the book and their victims (current JW's who are damaged themselves), are (as we once did) unwittingly perpetrating the damage that was started by those early JW Charlatans and snake oil salesman.
  

  The good news is, you are in control of what you think about and your fears are only as real as you let them be. Don't allow them to rob you of your peace of mind. If there is a God, he surely knows what you are going through and if there is to be a life after this one, there's no reason you shouldn't be a part of it as well !
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  
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  mikeflood

  You could say, for example: the trip to the Middle East by Mr. Trump is gonna bring the "peace & security" and then.....but remember, Earth has been here a long time, dinosaurs went extinct 65 million years ago. Remember, you could put a spin in anything, no worries.
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  Wasanelder Once

  Outlaw said it best.
  
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  GLTirebiter

  It`s like the Cher "Farewell Tour" on Steroids..

  I was thinking more like Keith Richards...there is no good reason either he or the WTBTS should have survived so much self-inflicted damage!
  
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  steve2

  This WILL be the last convention - just like all the others. Here's why:

  For me, the last convention was in 1982, for my now deceased JW mother, in 2011 and my now deceased JW father, 1994, and for my mother's now deceased parents, 1972 and 1976 and my father's now deceased parents, 1966 and 1981.

  Sanderson may be more correct than his snake-charmery suggests: For untold numbers of JWs the world over, the 2017 convention WILL be their last. Death is way more certain than any end-times prophecy. Oh, death and taxes.

  Phoebe, look forward to the night when you can read an email such as the one that churned you up and heartily laugh it off with the knowledge of a now empowered woman who has been once bitten and is now twice shy.