Definitely a cumulative thing. I lingered on for a decade past my first huge doubts about the truth.
In 1995, they changed their doctrine about "generation." For my short time in the religion, coming in at 1988, they had changed very little up until then. I was past the crazy days of 1975 and the fallout of Ray Franz so I knew nothing about all that.
The change bothered me hugely, but I learned to live with it. Afterall, this was "the truth."
But I was a brand new elder at that point. I continued to see problems. There was the double standards of overlooking the "sins" of elders where other members would be required to have restrictions from a judicial committee put upon them.
There were judicial decisions that seemed different for those that had "elder" relatives and those that did not.
There was a huge amount of money problems, primarily for me- the way they figured out how to make money on natural disasters, but also the way funding was done at the circuit level for assemblies.
So 10 years past 1995, 10 years after becoming an elder, I realized I was afraid to simply google "Jehovah's Witnesses" and read what outsiders said, so I decided to do just that. I was strong, I would be able to read whatever I found and it would not hurt my spirituality. I was floored by things I did not know- joining the United Nations for the library card, disfellowshipping a former Governing Body member and having changed their shunning policy before I joined to keep these people silent, so many things in their past that involved failed prophecy and certainly their never really accepting responsibility for the failed 1975 sayings.
I was shortly later outta there.
OnTheWayOut
JoinedPosts by OnTheWayOut
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52
What Made You Decide To Finally Leave The Organization?
by minimus inwas there one certain event or was it more a cumulative thing?.
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OnTheWayOut
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34
Strange
by Jrjw ina couple of times at the meetings this year we've been told that in the future we might get some strange directions from the society that might not make any sense to us.
then they've said will we show our loyalty to jehovah by still obeying?
seems a rather unusual thing to say.
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OnTheWayOut
- Watchtower, November 2013 Study Edition, “Seven Shepherds, Eight Dukes,” paragraph 17
I think this was mainly put out to allow them to do what seems like improper financial decisions- taking money away, taking Kingdom Halls away, shutting down congregations, etc.
But as long as they already put it out there, they are going to use this kind of loyalty test over and over, not for the actual test of loyalty, but rather to introduce self-serving even more bizarre sounding decisions/doctrines. -
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Israel (Is Real?)
by TerryWalstrom inevery nation is a kind of weird intellectual construct.
when we say: china--all of us get some kind of fictional mental snapshot in our head.
sure, there is a country called "china".we just don't really know a soul living there.
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OnTheWayOut
Maybe an old-school 70-something year old Texan who doesn't travel much unless he can get there on a bicycle thinks like you do. The rest of us, whether we know anyone in China or not understand that's where all the socks and eye glasses and tons of other stuff come from and we know it's pretty important in our lives.
We don't talk much about places until it's in the news. That much is true.
What Trump has done is bring this issue to the forefront. Virtually nobody was aware of the controversy. Now they are (if they wanna be). And they will learn more as the process causes uproar in the region. It will be too much to put that embassy there- too much drama and literal explosions. It'll be another "wall" that doesn't get built. -
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Work Colleague Went To a JW Funeral - His Experience
by pale.emperor inso the guy in my office on the desk next to me has just got back from the funeral of his wifes sister.
this was his first time in a kh and full on exposure to jwdom.. bit of background: the deceased jw was not a born in, she was a convert when she was in her teens.
she died last week at the age of 82. the poor old dear was still zealously knocking on doors while in ill health.
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OnTheWayOut
Anyway, so my colleague tells me, her will stated that she be buried rather than cremated due to "the resurrection".
My guess is your colleague heard it wrong or perhaps there was an inside joke in the congregation about this lady's thoughts on that. They teach that the body is nothing once you die.
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What if the crucifixion never took place..
by Jayk ini googled it and pretty much my understanding is the same as what i imagine.
no one really knows, your guess is as good as the next.
interesting thought to consider imo..
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OnTheWayOut
What if the crucifixion never took place..
No one really knows, your guess is as good as the next.Oh no! It is well known. If the crucifixion never took place, then men would have invented the crucifixion and things would be EXACTLY as they are today, with the exact same teaching, the exact same believers and unbelievers.
People would be still be asking "What if the crucifixion never took place?" -
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Charging $150 To Tell Your Stories
by Bangalore inhttps://www.indiegogo.com/projects/how-to-escape-from-jehovah-s-witnesses-religion#/.
for $150: collaboration with the backer so that their story of successfully escaping an abusive belief system (300 words max) features along with others in the final pages of how to escape from jehovah's witnesses.
the text will be written by the author but will include a minimum of one quote worded by the backer.
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OnTheWayOut
pale.emperor
I thought about writing a book on how to leave too but then i didn't because you can sum it up in 19 words:
Stop attending meetings. Don't talk to elders. If they question you about religion say it's a personal matter. Repeat.
You are so right, pale emperor. And that entire post could be your 300 words or less. If I were you, I would send my $150 to Lloyd and have that printed. -
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Do You Feels That Your Life Was Ruined Because of Ypur JW Experience?
by minimus ini know that some are upset because of the time lost because of ever having been a witness.
have you moved on as an ex jw or are you stil devastated because of your past jw lige?.
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OnTheWayOut
While I am out, I am still surrounded by JW family. NO- my life is not ruined. I am doing well at moving on. I have a great career that I love, but I will never 100% move on because of my family. I am a wee bit bitter at the wasted time and their keeping my loved ones captive.
Sorry for the mixed answer. I can't decide how far my pendulum should swing on this one. -
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Charging $150 To Tell Your Stories
by Bangalore inhttps://www.indiegogo.com/projects/how-to-escape-from-jehovah-s-witnesses-religion#/.
for $150: collaboration with the backer so that their story of successfully escaping an abusive belief system (300 words max) features along with others in the final pages of how to escape from jehovah's witnesses.
the text will be written by the author but will include a minimum of one quote worded by the backer.
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OnTheWayOut
I would like to write another book. I have a job and spare time, but to really dedicate myself to it, I would rather you guys fund me. I find that sitting in a beach chair on a tropical beach most inspiring, so I will need quite a bit of money. But trust me, I will be hard at work.
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Is this life all there is?
by Fisherman inwhat do you sincerely think?
do you nurture any hope?.
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OnTheWayOut
Life is chemical/electrical. Every last bit of our life is based on that. When you die, there is no crossing over to "something else." There is nothing that survives like a soul and passes into a spirit world or another body.
Live, love, enjoy.
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178
Charging $150 To Tell Your Stories
by Bangalore inhttps://www.indiegogo.com/projects/how-to-escape-from-jehovah-s-witnesses-religion#/.
for $150: collaboration with the backer so that their story of successfully escaping an abusive belief system (300 words max) features along with others in the final pages of how to escape from jehovah's witnesses.
the text will be written by the author but will include a minimum of one quote worded by the backer.
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OnTheWayOut
This guy guy has become the modern day Charles Taze Russell snake oil salesman.
Barbara Anderson will post your story for free on Watchtowerdocuments . org. Reading is free.
Information from JWFacts is free. So many people have helped others for free. Some make a modest amount of money from their efforts, but what i see is people from Ray Franz on down to Kyria Abrahams who wrote their books and then hoped people will pay for it. I don't know of any of them that got rich, but even if they did somehow, they didn't put the P.T. Barnum act out there.
Lloyd, nobody has a big problem with you writing a book and selling it. Those of us that remember the debacle you stirred up on FB with that group will simply avoid the book. Those that like your videos and don't know what a con you are will buy the book. But I think it has crossed a line to get funded for such a book.
If anyone needs genuine emotional and psychological help getting out, EXITING THE JW CULT by Bonnie Zieman is a great book. Books by Steven Hassan on cults are excellent. They are priced reasonable. You can tell your story here on this forum or at Barbara Anderson's site or on FB without paying a slimy snake oil salesman to do it. If you tell it here, we are kind and don't need to edit it and change it and you can post all the pics you want with it.