slimboyfat

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Posts by slimboyfat

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  31

  Availability Crisis of Conscience.

  by Ben131895 in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  most of us are desperately waiting for the availability of a legal crisis of conscience.

  deborah dykstra provided us with two updates.

  on december 12, 2015 there was a clear statement about the copyright which stopped all illegal activity in spreading electronic versions & prints.. finally, she promised a new update by or before may 6.. so far no new update.

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  slimboyfat

  I wish they'd say how much they'd be willing to sell the copyright for and people could consider making them an offer.

  They'd get some money, the book would be back in circulation. Everyone happy.
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  95

  slimboyfat joins the Mormons!

  by slimboyfat in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i know that some people on the board have experience of being mormons, so i would be interested in your feedback.

  at church this afternoon it was an uncanny experience.

  in the past i've read a lot about mormons, so i thought i was prepared in general for what it would be like.

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  slimboyfat

  Witness My Fury you're such a pessimist. I'd like to think I know a lot less now than 12 years ago. One day I may know nothing at all!

  Thanks to 2+2=5 for the best answer. Dumb dumb dumb, da dumb. It is catchy.

  I really was hoping for more Mormon feedback though. Is my initiation typical? I thought there were more Mormons on here.
  
  
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  17

  Successful Leaver

  by 2True in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i was raised in the cult, a 'golden boy' in jw about 15 years ago.

  regular pioneer, went to pioneer school and then mts.

  my dad is a gilead graduate and is still a serving elder.

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  slimboyfat

  I like the poem.

  And the message.

  I don't know how you'd define a successful leaver, but they do say if you have got one big enough you can move the world from its axis.
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  26

  Do you still believe in the concept of absolute truth?

  by JW_Rogue in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  jws very much believe that there is an absolute truth and of course, they are the only ones who have it lol.

  how about now though do you still believe that absolute truths exist?

  or is everything subjective?

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  slimboyfat

  The anti-wormism on this forum is utterly appalling.
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  26

  Do you still believe in the concept of absolute truth?

  by JW_Rogue in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  jws very much believe that there is an absolute truth and of course, they are the only ones who have it lol.

  how about now though do you still believe that absolute truths exist?

  or is everything subjective?

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  slimboyfat

  I think there's uncertainty about everything, it's just some things we're not clear yet where the uncertainty lies.
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  26

  Do you still believe in the concept of absolute truth?

  by JW_Rogue in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  jws very much believe that there is an absolute truth and of course, they are the only ones who have it lol.

  how about now though do you still believe that absolute truths exist?

  or is everything subjective?

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  slimboyfat

  Is there absolute truth to a worm?
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  38

  Should I just tell my parents

  by BlackWolf in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  lately i've been feeling just so fed up with this stupid religion i really can't take it anymore!

  i'm starting to think that maybe i should just tell my parents how i really feel.

  if they treat me too badly or kick me out i could probably stay with my non jw aunt.. ive just reached my breaking point, i don't really care what people think of me anymore.

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  slimboyfat

  Every situation is different. But in general, if in doubt, I wouldn't risk being completely honest with your parents about wanting to leave. If the options are 1) make excuses for not going and drift away gradually and keep relationship, and 2) tell them what you think and stop going abruptly and they cut you off. I'd say it's probably worth doing 1) if those are the options, depending on how much you value the relationship. You need to weigh up what their reactions are likely to be and how many meetings you can endure and how important it is for you that you say what you are really thinking.
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  26

  Do you still believe in the concept of absolute truth?

  by JW_Rogue in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  jws very much believe that there is an absolute truth and of course, they are the only ones who have it lol.

  how about now though do you still believe that absolute truths exist?

  or is everything subjective?

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  slimboyfat

  Whether there is absolute truth, I think, depends on your perspective.
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  95

  slimboyfat joins the Mormons!

  by slimboyfat in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i know that some people on the board have experience of being mormons, so i would be interested in your feedback.

  at church this afternoon it was an uncanny experience.

  in the past i've read a lot about mormons, so i thought i was prepared in general for what it would be like.

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  slimboyfat

  I know that some people on the board have experience of being Mormons, so I would be interested in your feedback.

  At church this afternoon it was an uncanny experience. In the past I've read a lot about Mormons, so I thought I was prepared in general for what it would be like. But there are so many differences from being in the Kingdom Hall that took me by surprise. Some of the differences listed in no order of importance.

  1. First striking thing was that a woman got up and said the opening prayer!

  2. And when it came to the first hymn a woman got up in front of the church and led the congregation in song, gesticulating and smiling widely.

  3. There were two men with longer than shoulder length hair, which not only seemed to be tolerated but they seemed to have minor positions in the church.

  4. But then everyone seems to have a position in this church. Everyone has got a title of some sort. There was a president of the stake and a president of the ward and priests and woman leaders of this and that group.

  5. Everyone had local accents and seemed to be fairly local, the exception being the top man on the occasion, the stake president who had an English accent and had the look and demeanour of of Circuit Overseer.

  6. They talked about Jesus a lot and never mentioned the prophet once as far as I can remember.

  7. On the other hand they quoted the Book of Mormon four times and didn't quote the Bible once, although they alluded to Bible stories a couple of times.

  8. They didn't call it a Bible story, they called it a Bible "account", and used some other similar JW language.

  9. When the speaker read from the Book of Mormon no one looked up the verses and read along. Apart from me. I asked the president why no one followed along and he said in 1980 the prophet said it was not necessary to follow along the text in church.

  10. When they sang they remained seated and the same for the prayer. There were four songs. Three were dirges and one was a very catchy tune. They were all like hymns not Kingdom songs.

  11. The first sermon was about how people could help refugees locally and collect items and money to send to refugees. He said there are 60 million refugees in the world and we should help them. Not the sort of talk you'd get in a Kingdom Hall.

  12. The second talk about about a lapsed member who returned to the church after 20 years. What was keeping him back? The obligation to tithe. But when he returned to church he realised people worse off than himself tithed so he felt moved to meet his obligation. Again not a talk you would hear in a Kingdom Hall.

  13. There were some talks and banter during the service just like you'd get at a Kingdom Hall sometimes. What was different is that they announced a sports competition with a nearby congregation and encouraged people to do their best to beat their local rivals.

  14. The bread and wine was in fact scruffy bread and water. I did not partake this time.

  15. One of those passing round the bread and water was a teenage boy in casual clothes, a hooded jumper and trainer shoes, no suit and tie.

  16. Perhaps the weirdest part of the ceremony was when two men crouched down behind a tablecloth and said a prayer. I was quite unprepared for this.

  17. A pretty girl around 20 years old played the piano for the congregation. She was the sister of one of the men with the long hair, who it turned out was a model and a musician. I avoided them after the service as I avoid good looking people where I don't fit in.

  18. I sat with the missionaries and they had no part on the service which surprised me a bit. It seems their are the bottom of the ladder really despite their "elder" status.

  19. One of the speakers had a spiky haircut you would not get in a Kingdom Hall.

  20. Some of the people at church today were visitors on holiday, making me wonder how small the congregation would have been without them.

  Today I was trying to compare the size of the Mormon congregation to the local JW congregations. I worked out that this one Mormon church covers the same territory as three or four JW congregations. And there were 42 people at the Mormon church today, against what I would estimate an attendance of around 150 JWs in the same area. This confirms my general impression that there are fewer active Mormons in this country than JWs.

  I was talking to the president afterwards who it turns out was/is a member of a moderately famous musical band in this part of the world. He told me he's been a Mormon all his life and it's a good life. He showed me a picture of a famous actress he knows on his phone and said "of course she is a multi millionaire". He also name dropped local politicians he knows. It seems Mormons are much more open to flaunting wealth, position, status and worldly connections than JWs.

  We talked a long time about shunning and whether Mormons do shunning like JWs. He says they don't which surprised me. Excommunicated members can come to church and people talk to them. They just don't take the bread and water for a period of time.

  I said I liked the experience of being at church and singing the songs and would like to give talks and priest president and so on. But I don't think I can believe all the doctrine, is that a problem? Is there room for a liberal interpretation of Mormon history and so on. After all there are different perspectives on things. They don't necessarily rule out evolution entirely for example. For Mormons it's more of a personal revelation and a way of life rather than necessarily "believing" a lot of unbelievable stuff necessarily.

  Feedback especially from Mormons welcome.

  I will need to continue this further because I am being called at the moment.
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  123

  Message from Designer Stubble to the former JWR members

  by Designer Stubble in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  message from designer stubble to the former jwr members.

  first of all i am glad to see that many of you have found your way to this great forum, facilitated by simon.

  i am sure that after the dust of the jwr shutdown has settled, you will find this to be a good new home.. i would like to apologize for the sudden closure of jwr.

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  slimboyfat

  I never read it at all. Was there quality stuff on there like there is in the archives here from Leolaia, AlanF and so on that it would be a shame to lose?