When I was attending meetings without Lenny there were elders that were really concerned for me and would try to help me stay with the Borg. They had known us both for a long time so they knew some of the sh*t we had been through. Then, I moved to a new congregation in a rural area. Most of the people in that hall didn't know me or Lenny but there was one elder there that only had one thing on his mind. Find out why Lenny wasn't coming. He didn't have much to say to me but would always ask, can I call Lenny? or visit him? I knew Lenny was not coming back, he had found his way out reading Ray's books & discovering the truth about the wt. The rest of the elders there were just country men. Just following the cult without really helping anyone. The jerk elder is an ex bethelite.
LennyinBluemont
JoinedPosts by LennyinBluemont
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33
How Were The Elders In Your Hall?
by minimus inwere they pretty decent men?.
liberals or extremists??.
did they try to be "good shepherds" or were they real assh@les?.
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33
How Were The Elders In Your Hall?
by minimus inwere they pretty decent men?.
liberals or extremists??.
did they try to be "good shepherds" or were they real assh@les?.
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LennyinBluemont
When I was attending meetings without Lenny there were elders that were really concerned for me and would try to help me stay with the Borg. They had known us both for a long time so they knew some of the sh*t we had been through. Then, I moved to a new congregation in a rural area. Most of the people in that hall didn't know me or Lenny but there was one elder there that only had one thing on his mind. Find out why Lenny wasn't coming. He didn't have much to say to me but would always ask, can I call Lenny? or visit him? I knew Lenny was not coming back, he had found his way out reading Ray's books & discovering the truth about the wt. The rest of the elders there were just country men. Just following the cult without really helping anyone. The jerk elder is an ex bethelite. Karen in Bluemont
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10
Fairport Convention
by LennyinBluemont inanybody else into this truly wonderful british folk-rock group?
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LennyinBluemont
Hey, thanks for chiming in, folks. Yes, I love Steeleye and Pentangle. Have seen Steeleye a few times and Fairport more times than I can remember. Never saw Pentangle, but have seen John Renbourne and Jacqui Macshee (sp) perform together a few times. Richard Thompson, in my opinion, was a fantastic member of the group, great songwriter and guitarist, but I haven't cared as much for him solo. I've been to see him a few times and have bought several of his CDs. Anybody been to the Cropredy Festival they have every year? I've still got quite a few of the original Fairport vinyls, but prefer the CDs to the pops and hisses. Sandy Denny's voice on the early recordings is positively celestial. But then, Maddy Prior can belt it out pretty good herself. Hey, anybody remember Dando Shaft?
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LennyinBluemont
My parents, elderly and sickly, are still in. They still believe, and I am shunned. As are my husband, grown children and grandchildren, that they have never met.
Too sad for words. This is the true fruitage of Jehovah's Witnesses. The way families are destroyed and forever broken up. How is this any different, in effect, from what the Nazis did to families, other than not physically torturing them and killing them? And all for what purpose? To sustain the illegitimate authority and power of 12 or so weak-minded old men and their supporters. The major regret of my life is having supported such a system zealously for almost three decades. Lisa, you've had pain that no person should ever have to endure. I salute you for coming through it all. Did you come out as a teenager? It must have sickened your parents, but it had to be the best decision you ever made.
Note to lurkers who are still "in": Every day you remain a part of this colossal farce is one more day you have stolen from your life. Take my word for it, you will never get it back.
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10
Fairport Convention
by LennyinBluemont inanybody else into this truly wonderful british folk-rock group?
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LennyinBluemont
Anybody else into this truly wonderful British folk-rock group?
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LennyinBluemont
It's great that the internet allows us to keep all this stuff out there, easily accessible. Makes it so much harder for them to hide behind statements like, "Oh, some brothers just read too much into it. It really wasn't that big a deal." What BS!
Lisa, thank you so much for adding the picture. It really says it all. Your parents were demonstrating the attitude that "God's organization" encouraged everyone to have. They were very zealous. We admired such people, as the WT encouraged us to do. We saw people like your parents as the real, hard-core followers of Christ. We started studying in 73 (22 years old), got baptized in 74 (just under the wire). After 75 came and went, there was a strange spirit among the witnesses. Many left. It should have been a wake-up call to us all, but the fact that the vast majority stayed in is a testimony to the power of the mind control. However, the spirit of those who stayed was definitely dampened and field service stats took a nose dive. Being contrarian, I kept thinking, "Jesus said that at the time you don't think it to be, that's when it will happen." So I concluded, we are definitely not expecting it now, 75 came and went. It must be really close. So I started regular auxiliary pioneering in 76, going out most of the time by myself. One thing you cannot take away from your parents is they were true to what they believed. They poured their whole heart into it. Are they still in? All four of you really lived in that tiny box?
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Great Canadian music
by Guest with Questions inwhat is your favourite?
heres just a few of mine.
because im in a mellow mood tonight i will play more of that kind of music.. neil young: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywlmewen1l8.
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LennyinBluemont
James Keelaghan (folk)
Sara McLachlan (what lyrics! what a voice!) "Livin' in a church where you sleep with Voodoo dolls" (Can someone give me the title for that song?)
Neil Young. Yeah. "Tell Me Why" "Heart of Gold"
I'm with Scully. Two thumbs down for Celene.
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Missing friends
by purplesofa inover the years i have made many friends online that are jw's.
when my doubts were such with the organization that i was full on posting here, little by little i withdrew from my jw friends online and in person.
no explanation, i have not responded to emails over time, and just let those friendships die down.. out of respect.......i felt sneaky in my researching the organization and just was not sure where my thoughts and feelings were going to land.. today, i unblocked someone on my messenger to chat with them.
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LennyinBluemont
Hi Leslie. Needless to say, this is one of the things just about all of us here have in common. The longer we were in, the more friends we made. These relationships, which based initially on our mutual association in the organization, in some cases branched out to other areas of life. We had friendships that stretched back literally for decades. I can remember singles and couples we would stay up late at night with, drinking wine, and talking about whatever was in or on our heart. One couple we had an arrangement with every Sunday morning to get together for pastries and coffee. A few we took long vacations with overseas and felt we really bonded. Some because of our common backgrounds pre-JW. We gravitated toward the more down-to-earth folks. To see them all evaporate suddenly, especially late in life, is a most painful thing.
For myself, I felt I owed it to them to write a letter, and many others here have done the same. So I made a list of about 50 or so and wrote quite a few letters over the course of two years which I never mailed. It seemed like I could never get it right. Then when the elders started to home in for the "kill", I realized it was now or never. I felt, if I was really their friend, then I had a responsibility to discharge. I owed it to them to let them know why I wasn't coming back. But there are so many issues, the doctrines, the practices, the policies, the hypocrisies. I felt it best to select just one, and address it comprehensively. In my case, I picked the UN affair, because I felt it was the one issue that was so easy to establish the facts of, so utterly indefensible, and so absolutely hypocritical. Of course, I knew that most would read a paragraph or two and throw it in the wastebasket. But that would be their choice. They could never accuse me of withholding information that was vital to their liberty. To me, it was literally the most loving thing I could think of to do. Of course, most of them, I'm sure, viewed it as hateful.
Decide what you need to do, in order to do right by the ones you love who are still in, Leslie, and then do it. Whether it's an email, a phone call, a letter or a visit. It's not just cathartic. It's probably the right thing to do.
((((((((Leslie))))))))
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Any tips for sore feet?
by Princess Daisy Boo inso i started my new job last week as a decorator at a very upmarket furniture and decor store... i am on my feet for most of the day and i am really battling to cope with the tired legs and sore feet daily... for anyone that works on their feet all day, do you ever really get used to it, or do you just learn to ignore the pain?
what should i be doing to minimise the pain?
any tips and suggestion would be appreciated for this tired princess?.
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LennyinBluemont
After having problems with my feet I went to a foot doctor. He gave me some exercises to help but the best relief was simple. Many on here so far have said much of the same but if you soak your feet in the hottest water possible for 5 minutes then soak them in cold water for 5 minutes. It is really refreshing. It is suggested you do this at least three times a day. I like what Scully said about the peppermint, too. Also, putting them up for at least ten minutes after the soak is great. Wish you well on the new job.
Karen in Bluemont, Lenny's wife.
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A desperate time for JW as realisation inevitable dawns .....
by Gill inin time, slowly and inevitably, a lot of jws will realise that they have been conned.
they may deny it at first but eventually a substantial amount will discover that they have lost their lives, their talents and their potential to of all things, a book publishing company!.
so, what will their reactions be?
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LennyinBluemont
There's an expression in finance about throwing good money after bad. Even though you realize that what you've poured your money into may not pan out, you continue to put more money there, because to do otherwise is to face the fact that the money already gone, is really gone. That's too painful. So you create the fantasy for yourself that feels more comfortable.
Picture the old lady sitting at the slot machine, pumping in coins. Don't even think about using her machine! That's her money in there. She keeps pumping more money in, because she is absolutely confident it will eventually pay off. She can't give up! She pictures the average witness. The money she's pumped in represents the years she's already spent in the org. That's her investment. The money left in her bucket to pump in represents the years of life she has left. She's been told that the casino is closing at midnight, which is only one hour away, which only makes her more desperate to get that pay-off as she furiously pumps more coins in. But the owner of the casino keeps moving the minute hand on the clock back a few minutes, so it never hits midnight. If she thinks it's ten minutes to midnight and her payoff is imminent, what would you be able to say to her to get her to walk away from the machine right now? You will not be able to drag her away with a 20-mule team.
The battle between cognitive dissonance and the shame of being the victim of a con is never-ending for the dub. There is no more fear-filled thought for them than the thought that the WT lied to them. It would mean their whole life has been a lie. Rather than face even the possibility of that thought being true, they hunker down and continue to submit. It's the easier course. Religion is the opium of the people. And the Watchtower's got some really good stuff.