Posts by mythreesons

44

Those who WERE or ARE Elders (Re: Molestation Coverup)

by dontplaceliterature in

i'd like to hear from those who are currently elders or were formerly elders on your honest feelings about the charges brought against the society and their general policy in handling these matters.

do you think that the society handles child abuse accusations fairly?

or, do you think their policy is abusive?

mythreesons

It's a ridiculous situation!

Tell me this, what happens if a certain family decides they want to be nice to brother 'x' (whom the elders know is a pedophile) and invite him to their house and become close friends with him? They are after all...trying to show love to 'widows, orphans...fatherless boys' in the hall. The family notices that he is very good with their kids and seems to be very affectionate with them. But, because the organization encourages complete trust with only other JWs, the family passes it off that he is simply a great friend and trusts this person to even watch their kids on occasion. This family doesn't know anything about his past and it doesn't even cross their mind that something is amiss.

But, the elders know....and haven't protected anyone but the pedophile....letting him move around the congregation freely without anyone but them knowing. Sure he can't say prayers at the hall, he can't be a M.S. or an Elder, he can never pioneer or run mics...but no one outside the elder circle will ever know his past. He can go out in service freely (90 hours a month if he wants) where he will be with 'sisters' and their kids and be going to peoples homes where kids answer the door. He will comment all the time and look like the perfect example of a single 'brother'. Looks good on the outside, and because of the nature of JWs they don't even bother to check the sex offender list before allowing their kids to be with this person. If they ever thought of it, they would probably talk themselves out of checking, feeling guilty that they even thought to check.

They must trust that everything is ok...after all the shepherds have not warned anyone of anything dangerous.

This situation happens and can only end badly! All because of a policy to NOT bring a bad name on the organization and seemingly to protect the pedophile and NOT the kids...It makes me sick!

Most people (Not JWs) think for themselves and can decide who is good for them and their children...but when there is a situation where the people trust completely and are not used to using their own minds (which is JWs to a tee)...bad things can happen!

44

Those who WERE or ARE Elders (Re: Molestation Coverup)

by dontplaceliterature in

i'd like to hear from those who are currently elders or were formerly elders on your honest feelings about the charges brought against the society and their general policy in handling these matters.

do you think that the society handles child abuse accusations fairly?

or, do you think their policy is abusive?

mythreesons

I was an elder in the 2000's. There was a situation that came up about a man who came forward with some past wrongdoing that 'involved children'. He was removed as a servant, never to hold a position again. He was no longer allowed to 'take the lead' in field service groups, nor say prayers for meetings. The elders were to police the situation. He was 'not supposed' to go to the door by himself or be left in a car group with kids alone. But it was to be kept strictly confidential by the elders. They were the only ones allowed to know.

What really scary is unless the elders were there who would enforce it...and sometimes even them being there didn't even matter. One elder put him with my wife, another woman and my kids on a Saturday morning when I wasn't there. I was working that day. I asked my wife how her day went and she told me about the service group and being with this man. I asked her if they ever went to the door (her and this other woman) and left the kids with him in the car alone. She said 'Yes.' I was mad, and proceeded to tell her that he is never to be alone with any kids. I should have said something sooner, but I was a new elder and I was told not to say anything. Needless to say she put two and two together and she was pissed that the elder (the p.o. at the time) would do that.

See what happens when they try to take care of this stuff themselves.

It was only part of what made me leave, but about a year and a half later we were gone for good. That place is a haven for that sort of thing to happen....because JWs trust other JWs and thats it. That is a bad combination and dangerous if you ask me.

As someone mentioned earlier, we were to neither encourage or discourage anyone going to the police...but we were supposed to get on the batphone right away to the WTS. That was the policy.

24

Sleep Paralysis

by NewChapter in

jw
friends

this subject has come up on several different threads, and i thought it might make an interesting topic.

i've experienced sleep paralysis since i was quite little, but didn't know what it was until i was in my 30's.

since this is often mistaken for demons or alien visits, it sometimes soothes people to know that others experience it and there is a scientific explanation.. when it happens, it is extremely real.

mythreesons

Good idea on the thread. I posted this earlier, but for the sake of keeping it here I'll post it again.

I had no idea of what was going on. I used to thing it was the demons or evil trying to scare me. I remember thinking that I needed to scream out Jehovah, but I couldn't. I was paralyzed, I thought it was paralyzed with fear. Here is my experience with it:

It would always happen just before I actually woke up. I would think I was awake, lying in bed and my eyes would be scanning the room. I would not be able to move. I would start to hear what sounded like a low growl and it would get louder and LOUDER. I would start to get this tingling buzzing feeling all over my body. I couldn't really breathe. It was like someone was sitting on my chest. I would start clinching and grinding my teeth, I would do this so hard that they just shattered in my mouth and I would start spitting them out like they were sunflower seeds. I used to think it was demons or Satan, something evil. That's when I would try to scream out Jehovah's name....I never could. Then I would blink my eyes and I would be awake and could move. My breathing would then be fast and I would be shaking from how scared I was. I thought it was just a dream...but it seemed so real. I know my eyes were actually open.

I just read the wiki article on it and it said that stress could bring this on. The funny thing is (and this could be a coincidence) but since I left the JWs and never went back, I haven't had one more of these experiences. I used to have them on it seemed like a weekly basis and now it's been 2 1/2 years since it has happened. The teeth grinding? It has also stopped since I left.

Stress and how our mind deals with it can be a crazy thing!

Thanks NC for bringing this up!

43

Q: How DID Noah get all those animals into the Ark?

by notjustyet in

a: you take the "j" out of "jahs" and the "f" out of "way".

i can't beleive that i did not recognize this 40 years ago!!.

njy.

mythreesons

SBC - you're right that pic by Falcon is ....AWWWESSSOME!

I never understood it either...I even discussed this with a couple of elders. They by the end of the discussion were siding with a fast 'evolution' wow. 1 animal of the main species, the boughs of the tree if you will. Then came all the branches from the one. Kind of how all races of humanity came from Noah. He was kind of like a calico man I guess.

102

My demon experience

by SweetBabyCheezits in

jw
friends

one recent afternoon, me and a buddy were taking a trek around a nearby neighborhood and made our way past a delapidated house that had all the familiar symptoms of being haunted.

he suggested we check it out so, of course, we did.

it looked like it had been abandoned probably 30-40 years earlier but the previous owners had left behind a small coffee table.

mythreesons

LOL mine turned into sunflower seeds! hahaha

Amazing! Thanks, wow...some scientific explanation, that is awesome. ;)

102

My demon experience

by SweetBabyCheezits in

jw
friends

one recent afternoon, me and a buddy were taking a trek around a nearby neighborhood and made our way past a delapidated house that had all the familiar symptoms of being haunted.

he suggested we check it out so, of course, we did.

it looked like it had been abandoned probably 30-40 years earlier but the previous owners had left behind a small coffee table.

mythreesons

Wow, sleep paralysis!

This used to happen to me quite regularly...it hasn't happened in the last 2.5 years. (it hasn't happened since I left the JWs) The wiki article said stress could bring it on. So this makes complete sense, life has been pretty much stress free since my wife, boys and I left.

Here is what I experienced. It would always happen right before I woke up. It was so weird. I couldn't breathe, it was like something was sitting on my chest. I thought I was hearing a loud growling/buzzing (freaked me out) I could look all around but I couldn't move. Sometimes it was like I was actually out of my body and looking down on myself. I thought it was just me! Another side point. In the past I had a problem of grinding my teeth something terrible when I was asleep (this too stopped after I left the JWs). In some of these moments of sleep paralysis (I guess) I thought I was grinding them so hard that they just shattered and started falling out.

Crazy what our minds do! Thank NC for bringing this up.

102

My demon experience

by SweetBabyCheezits in

jw
friends

one recent afternoon, me and a buddy were taking a trek around a nearby neighborhood and made our way past a delapidated house that had all the familiar symptoms of being haunted.

he suggested we check it out so, of course, we did.

it looked like it had been abandoned probably 30-40 years earlier but the previous owners had left behind a small coffee table.

mythreesons

NC...explain this sleep paralysis that you speak of. Please, I think I may have had something similar.

SBC - Awesome dude, you are like 'the chosen one' or something like that! ;)

7

What Percentage Of Family/Friends Do You Miss?

by Bubblegum Apotheosis in

i have not experienced "shunning" yet, i have observed jehovah's witnesses shunning members who are not disfellowshiped, i think this has to do with selfishness inheritant in this religion.

christianity is a religion of giving, jesus wanted his members to share their goods with people who could not return the favor.

he promised his father in heaven would repay generous hearts who looked out for father-less boys and widows.. fine and dandy, but in the real world, quid-pro-qou matters, returning meal for meal, gift for gift and party for party does maintain your social status in the congregation.

mythreesons

I miss my parents, brother, nieces, cousins, grandmothers, aunts, uncles....I miss 100% percent of the ones still controlled by a cult. But, I'm moving on with my life. I have a great wife and wonderful kids...I have new friends who are there no matter what. I have new people who are now adoptive parents, brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, cousins, grandparents, aunts and uncles.

Do I miss them? Yes, but do I miss the drama? Heck no! They like to think the are 'teaching me a lesson'. Well, I'm just a bit stubborn and the lesson is theirs to learn...you live controlled by a cult, you let other people decide what you should do? You lose. You have one life to live, you best not waste it doing the bidding of some strangers living in NYC who don't know you or care one bit about your future.

oops...just a bit of a rant there ;)

78

6/15 WT - WT Society can Run it's Business - but JW's Can't Have their Own

by flipper in

jw
friends

in the typical do as we say , not as we do type mentality - the wt society puts forth in this current wt study article ( jw's only wt ) - that it's not " advisable " or " reasonable " for jehovah's witnesses to seek entering their own business ventures , or further themselves by getting a college education, or even have a career - due to the imminent coming of the alleged " end of the system " or alleged " paradise " .

the guilt and control used here is ridiculous.

in the article titled , " why put jehovah's service first ?

mythreesons

BS detector is going off!!! It's hard to believe that at one time I was dependant on this crap!

Just another way of flexing their muscles on the average JW and seeing who the 'true believers' are! THEY are making life harder on themselves, and yet they will say that this 'world' is making it harder on 'god's people'. Makes me sick to see the manipulation! SMH

34

Those of you in relationships, when your partner gets clingy, is it flattering, irritating? How do you deal with it?

by La Falta Habitacion Por Sr Hor-Hey!! in

jw
friends

i'm just curious as i'm on the outside looking in when it comes to relationships, yet i recall undercover explaining to me a year or so ago on another thread how his wife was clingy one morning before he went to work.

it made me wonder as someone who's single, what do you feel when you need to be somewhere and your significant other is clingy at the moment?

or when your out and about and he/she is clingy, is it flattering, irritating?

mythreesons

I agree because

Clingy could mean 'it's GO time!' ;) or it could mean she doesn't feel good

or....clingy could mean insecure. Depends on the time and place.