Hi, I'm new here. I have a daughter and son-in-law who are in a j.w. Bible study, thanks to my sister-in-law. I have been researching the W.T. now for a good 2 years, and with all my info. on the W.T., I can't get them to see the "new light". I even had a two hour talk with them, showing all the inconsistencies in doctrine, plus all the other material on it. They said they would check it out, but I don't think they will. She has her aunt to fall back on, when she has any doubts. Thanks in advance for any advice.
How can I get my daughter, who's in j.w. Bible study, to look at this forum
by hubert 29 Replies latest watchtower bible
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XQsThaiPoes
[deleted because of violation of Posting Guideline #1]
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Fe2O3Girl
From what you have said, it seems you already have the information that shows that the Watchtower Society is not teaching the truth. You have already shared this information with your daughter and son-in-law, without success.
If it was as simple as showing people the information, there would be no Jehovah's Witnesses. Intelligent and well-meaning people become JWs and stay JWs because it provides something that they feel is lacking in their lives. That will be something different for everyone - maybe a feeling of superiority or specialness, maybe a sense of community, maybe having a source of guidance that will tell them what to do in any situation (including what to wear and where to be), or maybe the reassurance that everything will be OK very soon (Real Soon Now, in fact).
Criticism or confrontation in any form will only drive your daughter deeper into the JW organisation. I think you need to ascertain what exactly she and her husband are getting out of their association with the JWs, and act to provide their needs elsewhere.
All the best - it won't be easy!
Rachel
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Elsewhere
You have to be careful... one of the first things the JWs have taught her is that she is to expect opposition from Satan because she is learning "the truth".
If you go at her with any opposition, she will get all excited and scared and run to the JWs and report that the opposition has started just as predicted. *** Score one for the JWs in her mind ***
The trick is to not directly attack the organization. Something I like to talk to JWs about is freedom of religion, conscience and speech.
JWs must *publicly* say that they support these freedoms because they are constantly winning court cases about their right to preach door to door and other things related to their unique teachings. What they are very resistant to saying publicly is that they think they are the one and only true religion and that all other religions are from Satan. They also teach that anyone who is not a JW in good standing will be killed by god at Armageddon. If needed I can provide you with references to JW literature where this is said.
Your daughter can only agree with you that everyone has the right to freedom on religion and conscience because such things are at the core of a person's being and their happiness. But then ask her if she would ever try to punish or avoid someone for believing different from what she believes? This is a preemptive strike to what the JWs will try to teach her about avoiding "bad association".... you and the rest of her family and her "worldly" (non-JW) friends.
You could also ask her how she would respond to anyone trying to teach her things and not giving her the option of questioning the teachings... or even out right disagreeing. Ask her how she would feel if the JWs were to insist that she believe certain things and threaten to shun her if she did not.
Another primary tactic JWs use is they insist on doing one-on-one bible studies... this is how they start the control. Ask your daughter if she would be willing to put aside the one-on-one bible study and just attend meetings and study on her own. The JWs will resist this at ever step, and hopefully your daughter will see their behavior. A person is also less likely to adopt JW teachings on their own... this is why the one-on-one study is so important... the person conducting the study can influence the conclusions of the person studying. If you take away that one-on-one study, a great deal of their influence will go away. They JWs will in time start to smug your daughter for not being "humble".
Good luck!
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blondie
Elsewhere is right about not attacking the organization. This same advice is given by Steve Hassan in this book "Releasing the Bonds." You might find it helpful to read that book and "Combatting Cult Mind Control." He has much to say about communication strategies for phone calls, letter writing and visits.
It would be helpful to find out what attracted them to the JW message. Many people have hit a low spot in their lives, a death in the family, divorce or marriage problems, economic problems, etc. JWs are trained to exploit this.
Blondie
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dorothy
Many, many, many JWs don't care if what the organization is teaching is wrong. They just want to belong to the exclusive religious group, with members who love bomb them constantly.
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TallTexan
Well, who love bomb them at first. Then, when they get you in their 'clutches', if you step out of line even a little, that 'love' is gone. But by then, the person has already been mentally 'trained' to think that it's their fault that they lost that 'love', rather than the fault of a a controlling organization who uses loss of friends and family as a way to keep control over it's members.....
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Yerusalyim
Ray Franz has two books, Crisis of Conscience and In Search of Christian Freedom. Get Crisis and let them read it.
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desib77
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Ignore that comment. I'm sure you will find lots of help here. By the way, Welcome!
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kls
XQS, that was totally out of line , this forum is to help people that come here . You came here not so long ago and am sure you were treated with respect.