It always bugged me when I would hear or read that the only True Friends you would find would be those you made in the organisation - nobody else will really stand by you when you need them. It used to puzzle me when (prior to being disfellowshipped...) my True Friends and my Close Loving Family didn't make contact with me for years, right when I was very deeply depressed and I needed them. Certainly I could have put myself in their lives more pro-actively, but, it's a very effective control tool to tell people not to bother befriending a non-witness; even if they don't damage you spiritually, they will never be as loyal to you as your brothers and sisters.
Just this weekend I worked out why they think that; that you can make the best connections with people when you are sharing some kind of adversity. If you're out on the preach with somebody, and it's not going well at all, at least you're sharing the bad experience and you're there for each other, just like a True Friend would be! Everybody who believes anything at all is going to feel better about it if they have affirmation.
I just wanted to write about it because I spent the weekend on a camp for disabled kids, caring for the most horrid little spawn of satan in town. The best moments were when I'd get a hand from one of the other carers, or we had a minute to hang with each other and assure each other that we'll get through it, we're doing okay. I got exactly the same feeling of cameraderie as I used to get out on the preach; we're all in this together, let's help each other through. We're all there for the same reasons, and we need each other's help.
It's encouraging, that even though I'm starting life from scratch, it's not so hard as I thought. Thanks to everybody here for making me feel normal!