choosing life

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Posts by choosing life

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  16

  Melaleuca anyone?

  by buffalosrfree in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i have recently been the recipient of a 30 plus minute presentation via phone of the melaleuca home based business opportunity.

  what i would like to know is there anyone who uses the board that has any experience with them.

  they are based out of idaho falls, idaho and before i even contemplate getting involved i intend to do some heavy researching all you comments to this effect would be greatly appreciated.

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  choosing life

  I personally hate multi-level marketing. It is all about using other people to make money for yourself. I have seen witnesses lie openly about "miracle" cures and how they've been helped, just to make a sale. And the sales meetings are all about greed. They have people come and tell how they have become millionaires selling these products.

  There is a lot of these schemes going on in congregations, ranging from publishers to CO and DO schemes where they use their position in the congregation to set up businesses for themselves or their families. Melaleuca is multi-level marketing. The prices of their products are greatly inflated as are all such products in these schemes. They are making money only for those at the top, not the little man. And they are ripping off poor widows and sick ones who are desperate for relief from their ailments by selling them products that will not take away anything except their money.

  Spoken by one who has been ripped off more than once-shame on me.
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  30

  Congregations Closing Down

  by choosing life in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i recently heard about a congregation that was "diabanded".

  the publishers were reassigned to other congregations.

  is this happening elsewhere or just a local thing?

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  choosing life

  I recently heard about a congregation that was "diabanded". The publishers were reassigned to other congregations. Is this happening elsewhere or just a local thing? They closed because of loss of publishers.
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  36

  Did you go to meetings while on vacation?

  by LovesDubs in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  ugh...i did.

  im so damn spiritual id leave well oiled spots on your suit if you rubbed up against me.

  yeah...i packed kingdom hall clothes and service bags to go on vacation.

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  choosing life

  We usually went to 1 meeting at least when on vacation. I never wanted to, but had to "follow my head". There were times that we met nice people who invited us to lunch. but we never really kept up any friendships. We went in field service too.

  Now I am very happy to relax on vacation and never consider dressing up now. We did meet one family that we became friends with, I forgot. Mostly about our kids playing together and them trying to get us to move there so they could have some friends, as most of their small congregation was elderly.
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  46

  DO YOU STILL HAVE PERSONAL INTEGRITY?

  by juni in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  for most all of us here we have had association with the jehovah's witnesses in some way or another.

  there are many man-made "rules" within the organization.

  that fact we all agree on.

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  choosing life

  I came into the witnesses with personal integrity and I left with the same personal integrity. I do have problems with trying to hold to man made rules that I never really agreed with. I remember an elder saying that he would never have stayed with his wife, if he wasn't a witness. I felt sorry for his wife.

  A person that has moral integrity will not hurt others needlessly. Many of the things that I changed to become a witness were external showy things that don't amount to a hill of beans, such as cursing. They tend to look at the outside of a person and hide the inside. I really only changed those forced external things when I left. The real me has and always will be the same,with allowance for growth through experience in life. So I only left behind their man made rules which aren't even based on the Bible. And I am able to enjoy people so much more, without the us and them restriction.

  I
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  39

  My story

  by FreeGirl2006 in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i was raised "in the faith" for most of my life.

  my mother married an elder when i was 1 1/2 years old.

  he came from a family of pedophiles (also jw's) and i was a pet project.

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  choosing life

  You have been through so much suffering. And to never have it be validated must have been mind numbing. If you have found some good friends, that is a blessing. Don't worry what others think about them. You know who has been a true friend to you and who should have been, but wasn't.

  Welcome and thanks for being brave enough to share your story. I am so shocked when I hear that the organization puts up with pediphelia. Have you read about the judgement in California that may start to break through their protection ring?

  To disfellowship a suicidal person is about as far away from Jesus' teachings of love that one could get. And I know that physical pain is destructive of body and mind. You need to take credit for the inner strength that you have shown to make it through all of these things and basically without the help your family and husband should have given you.

  I know the congregation desires to throw away anyone that can't keep in step with what they consider important. I have seen them ignore and throw away many who were ill or just elderly and no longer able to attend meetings. I hope things begin to get better for you now. There are a lot of supportive people here as you can see from the responses you have gotten. Take care of yourself and keep in touch here.
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  40

  Major OCTOBER 2006 SURPRISE: court says open ped files per silentlambs.org

  by majornewsin2006 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  california court tells watchtower society to make public the silentlambs files revealing who among jehovahs witness are pedophiles etc:.

  http://silentlambs.org/newsletter/newsletteritem.cfm?sendoutid=489.

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  choosing life

  It is about time. I hope this opens the whole mess they have created to the public. To protect a pedophile rather than an innocent child is shameless, and they will not do it with one penny of my money. Any religion that has to constantly defend their actions in court is doing something wrong. Two witnesses to molestation-what could be more blatently insane. Will this just be in California or will it have a broader application?
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  57

  Finally time to introduce myself!

  by ZIL in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i have been a loooong time lurker on this board.

  i want to get in on the action now!!

  i was a jw for nearly 25 years.

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  choosing life

  Welcome. It is great that you have your whole family out with you. When you are able, I would love to know how you managed to all come out together. I wish you the best in your new life. I too had doubts the entire time i was in -30 years. I wish I had acted on them earlier for my kid's sake. Looking forward to reading your story.
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  9

  Doublethink: to hold two contradictory beliefs simultaneously

  by sass_my_frass in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  it's been a while since the last orwell thread.

  we went to a great play of 1984 last night.

  poor winston, surrounded by insanity, forcing himself to learn that two plus two could be four, or five, or three, or all of them at once; whatever big brother says, to be allowed to live.

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  choosing life

  I recently read 1984. Hadn't read it in 30 years. I was shocked how similar it was to the indocrination process and treatment of witnesses.Things like crimethought, doublespeak, erasing history are so applicable. Also shows how human nature struggles to overcome such oppression. Felt defeated when Winston was brainwashed for good. I certainly didn't get as much out of it when I read it as a kid in highschool, before my experiences with the witnesses.
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  20

  Why did the WT change their stance on taking blood fractions?

  by Bonnie_Clyde in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  if memory servces me, it was about 1978 when the questions from readers stated that blood fractions were a conscience matter.

  i remember being slightly shocked, and made the statement to my husband that it seems like taking a fraction however small would be akin to giving a "pinch of incense to the emporor.

  " i would never change my stance, or so i stated.

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  choosing life

  (Balsam)

  I noted you said that packed red blood cells are allowed in Nov KM. Do you have a scan or quote of the text? Or can you point me to another link that does? This would be a major change because most transfusions are of packed red blood cells.
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  18

  What Factors led you to Write your Letter of Disassociation?

  by The wanderer in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  <!-- .style1 { font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; } .style2 {color: #ffa042} .style3 {color: #000000} --> what factors led you to write your letter of disassociation?quite a number of disassociation letters can be found .

  on the internet.

  some are lengthy, others get right to .

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  choosing life

  I feel that I owe them nothing. They gave me nothing but lies and deception. I only want to be left alone and find peace in my life now. No letters from me.