Posts by flipper

21

What steps did you take to free yourself from the cult? mentally or physically?

by HereIgo in

first i ignored all of the elders phone calls to send my recommendation letter to my new congregation, truth is i had already started my fade and moved across town and didn't have a new congregation.

i deleted all jw friends on facebook.

i also threw away all of my public talks recorded on cd, all literature, even my book bag and my bible.

flipper

HEREIGO- Great thread topic. Thanks for posting it,

Initially back in 2003 I stopped attending meetings cold turkey- totally stopped. That really stopped the WT indoctrination process in it's tracks- thus freeing my mind up. I too like yourself refused to answer the elders phone calls . Then physically I moved about 45 miles away for a couple years, then moved about 60 - 70 miles away a couple years later and that really helped- although after being out for 3 years my former elders STILL tried to hunt me down. ( Long story - I'll tell you on the phone sometime )

Also like On The Way Out I read all of Steve Hassan's books on cult mind control , both of Ray Franz's books, read George Orwell's 1984 which exposes a society that is very similar to the control measures used by the WT Society's publications. Read lots of psychology books that dealt with control and how people abuse power in groups, individual relationships, and organizations - either religious or political.

Also I got heavily involved in becoming a singer/songwriter/guitarist back in late 2011 and I'm almost ready to release my 3rd album of music emphasizing social freedoms and singing about injustices, climate change, various subjects, etc. So that activity has kept me busy and expanded my mind beyond the JW cult for sure. Also am learning to play the banjo and mandolin a little bit. So it's been LOTS of fun pursuing the music. music is a universal healer for all of us.

My wife and me read a lot of history especially about the horrific treatment of Native Americans on the American continent discovering the real history that made this country " free " for the White Europeans. I'm heavily involved in Ancestry.com which I've researched my mom and dad's family back about 500 or more years now. And the fascinating history you learn from those middle age years is very educational. Also enjoy hiking in the forest and mountains getting back to nature in the back country gives me peace of mind. So there are many activities we can engage in to truly free our mind and bodies from this criminal organization the JW's. I keep busy for sure in my business as well

15

Governing Body Member Gerrit Lösch - What The Near Future Holds

by pale.emperor in

another talk from my channel.. gerrit lösch - what the near future holds.

apparently, jehovah god has "revealed" the future to us... unfortunately in 2008 when this talk was given he didnt reveal to them the mass downsizing of bethel staff and buildings, the child molestation payouts and many many changes to doctrine.. https://youtu.be/d8pvnrv5s94.

flipper

" What happened to him ? At one point he seemed like a very prominent GB member , but now he seems very much in the background. "

I'm pretty sure he is in the background BY DESIGN or on purpose. Remember HE was the GB member who refused to testify at the Gilbert Campos San Diego child abuse trial and the WT Society refused to allow him to testify or he refused to testify himself- or both. WT Society got fined millions $$$ for not giving the courts documentation on their child abuse policies or handing over the 22,000 JW pedophile list to courts from their database. And so too- WT Society stood in contempt of court by Losch refusing to testify.

So do you think they want Losch to stay in the background now ? Yep. I'm guessing that's the reason. What's the old expression ? " Out of sight , out of mind " ? Peace out, mr. Flipper

24

Hello - New Member

by NotAnointed in

jw
friends

i just wanted to intoroduce myself.

i have been lurking for some time and finally decided to register and hopefully contribute to this great forum.. i am in my mid 30s and have never been in the truth.

my wife became a jw several years ago and since she is a (mostly) stay at home mom my two boys are also jws.

flipper

NOTANOINTED- Welcome to the board. None of us are cut out with a cookie cutter telling us we are " religious " or not. Lots of beautiful religious AND non-religious people here who are happy in their lives . No need to feel sad for those who don't believe in God or the Bible- we all respectfully have our own beliefs- and hey guess what ? We are still good, honest people ! Surprise , surprise !

Lots of various good people here to support you. Take care, Peace out, Mr. Flipper

24

This may be a crazy question, but it popped in my head and won't leave. . So I gotta ask. . .

by Miss Worldly in

jw
friends

ok, this probably applies to most faith systems that believe in any sort of afterlife, but i would like to know what sort of explanation the jw's would come up with for this little problem, you know, after armageddon on earthly paradise.

sorry if i sound dumb, but it's been nagging at me for a few weeks and have to ask.. so, what if a young married jw couple are living their life, waiting for the big a, knowing they will be together in the earthly paradise, then very sadly one of them dies.

from what i know, if a jw dies, that's it.

flipper

MISS WORLDLY- There is NO rational explanation for it because what you are talking about is an unreality. There is NO such thing as " Armageddon " - there is NO such thing as a " resurrection " - so basically you have nothing to worry about. You are fretting over an unreality that the WT Society uses to keep JW's fearful and under the influence of mind control. So go live your life in the here and now and be happy

25

My Story

by HereIgo in

my story: i am a 27 year old ex jw.

former ms and regular pioneer at age 19. i was very active and had many "privileges" including district assembly and circuit assembly parts etc.

as an example for young people.

flipper

HERELGO- So nice to have you here ! My wife welcomed you , but I wanted to get in on the fun too ! You are among people here who understand - many of us were raised in the JW organization from birth ( myself included ) and escaped to gain freedom of mind .

Your comment on the quote, " Thus it appears that we cannot set a specific date for when the calling of Christians to the heavenly hope ends " was really very intuitive and smart of you to notice the discrepancy in the WT view. I mean- how else can we explain the number partaking back in 2007 of about 7,000 jumping to about 15,000 now in 2016 ? LOL. I mean- you probably thought like I used to think- I thought the anointed were gradually supposed to die off, right ? My take on it is the GB made " new rules " about a never ending calling of the anointed so they could keep appointing newer, younger GB members as the years progress without having to explain it to rank & file JW's - so they conveniently make " new light " just to have a fictitious chance of going to heaven as alleged " kings & priests " to rule with Jesus - which ain't gonna happen anyway- because it's an unreality.

Nice to have you here my friend, look forward to hopefully meeting you someday. Take care, Peace out, Mr. Flipper

28

Hello

by UnshackleTheChains in

jw
friends

i decided to join this forum as have been lurking awhile.

there are lots of interesting topics on here that appeal to me.. i have been a witness for almost 3 decades and am very disillusioned with the organisation at this time.

i am beginning to see it in a new light as i am getting older.

flipper

UNSHACKLE the CHAINS- Nice to have you here ! Welcome to freedom of mind and expression ! You are experiencing what many of us experienced as well. I was born into the JW organization from birth- I escaped 13 years ago at age 44. Hang in there , it gets better once we unhinge ourselves from the controlling policies of the WT Society. Believe me- it will feel like a ton of bricks gets lifted off of your shoulders. We are here as a support to you my friend, take care and look forward to hearing from you

4

Crystal Lake, Illinois, Goodbye, and Good Luck

by Phaedra in

i spent the majority of my growing years in the crystal lake area, with a watchful eye under the tutleledge of the grownups whom i thought had it all figured out.

milkovetch, penkava, redman, gordon, and sterne, before the congregations split into 2 in the late 90s, i was already enamored into the truth with total belief and readying for the revelation book persecution.

then your families crumbled with red letters surfacing all around.. during and after a storm of controversies, scandals, and the like, i realized all people are people and prone to bad decisions and mistakes.

flipper

Good point PHAEDRA- We were no better or worse than any of the allegedly " glorious ones " ( elders ) who acted like they were hot shit on a stick. But then again- we were better off and more fortunate to wake up and escape and get ourselves free from a high control organization that wanted to crush and stifle our self esteem.

NOW we can realize our full potential as actualizing human beings pursuing our dreams and interests - and NOT have to feel guilty about doing so. There's no one there to stomp us down - aside from our own impotence and lack of self esteem which we CAN rebuild after exiting the JW cult

21

Catching My Breath (RIP JWD'ers)

by Phaedra in

mouthy.

farkel.

ros.

flipper

I had the privilege to get to know Farkel for a few years before he died. Had lunch with him several times as he lived an hour away from me. A very straightforward, straight shooting kind of a guy- honest and opinionated - yet his opinions carried weight as usually he was right on in his opinions. Very cool, dark sense of humor which I shared in common with him. We hit it off well. He spoke from experience and the school of hard knocks- as many of us have experienced as well. No fakeness or BS about him- he was real - that's what I admired the most in him. I'll be forever indebted to him as he was the first person to recommend I read George Orwell's " 1984 " which I did - and later I thanked him for it.

Farkel- Rest in peace my friend, you may have disgruntled a few unappreciative people who didn't understand your direct style- yet your blatant honesty helped make people think about just how damaging the WT organization was to us and how we needed to wake up and smell the coffee and get on with life after exiting the JW cult. You assisted many- and I count myself lucky to have known you and benefitted from your experiences

25

My Story

by HereIgo in

my story: i am a 27 year old ex jw.

former ms and regular pioneer at age 19. i was very active and had many "privileges" including district assembly and circuit assembly parts etc.

as an example for young people.

flipper

HereIgo - we camp at Richardson the weekend after 4th of July. Next summer will be the 10th annual apostafest. It is a great time - would love to see you there.

Of course your jw family would be welcome to visit our camp. (Could be quite a scene!) We could put away the voodoo dolls and stone idol altars and stuff...

We get a thread going in the winter for anyone who wants to reserve campsites, and we try to get the sites close together. Some stay in hotels, it's not too far to go to Camp Richardson. Some just come for the day. It's totally laid back - everyone does their own thing.

Mrs. Flipper

25

My Story

by HereIgo in

my story: i am a 27 year old ex jw.

former ms and regular pioneer at age 19. i was very active and had many "privileges" including district assembly and circuit assembly parts etc.

as an example for young people.

flipper

Welcome, HereIgo. Have enjoyed your contributions here.

So sorry that your family shuns you. They are missing out.

Seems like you came out of the jws young and with your wits about you, and have a wonderful new family.

Every July there is an "apostafest" campout at South Lake Tahoe - all ages, families with kids. Hope you can make it someday!

Mrs. Flipper