my lifelong mental illnesses, fuelled significantly by the borg, are very bad at the moment and result in me missing lots of midweek meetings, but i haven't missed a sunday in years except the occasional vacation.. the nature of my mental and emotional illnesses mean that i, as a physically in and mentally out pimo, take to heart very painfully admonishment from the platform to never miss meetings, preach all i can, and so on.. okay, i report 3 hours each month on average and no elder has ever said anything, but when they make comments on the platform, i feel such great guilt and shame, but also anger, as they do not understand my illnesses and when i do mention my situation to elders, they kind of minimise and joke about it.. some other sisters in my congregation started "officially" not attending midweek meetings a few year's ago because of their own health circumstances, but i know for a fact that some elders look down on them for this reason, not showing real understanding deep down even if they do on the surface.. i have reached the point where i want to hand in a da letter as a cry for help, or more like a clear indicator to them that when i say i'm not well enough to attend midweek, i really mean it and it's not just an excuse.
sure, i'm only 42, but i can still be too fragile to go out at night with a 30 minute drive both ways..
Hello Isambard,
In my humble opinion, I would not recommend the DA route simply to end the pressure, as you will just be transferring even more power to them. Have you actually decided within yourself that this is not the truth? on your own? once you have reached this point, you will feel less guilt as you by then realized that this is nothing more than a man-made organization who can not judge you, unless you allow them.
i posted this thread sometime last year but thought i would revive it due to the new ones on the board, and to change things up a bit.
my favorite?
bro murikami, from hawaii, very humble, kind bro.
I posted this thread sometime last year but thought I would revive it due to the new ones on the board, and to change things up a bit. My favorite? Bro Murikami, from Hawaii, very humble, kind Bro. Served in Phoenix, AZ area around 2003-2006. The worst was D. Allen Phegley 2007-2010, Phoenix, AZ. He was the most cocky, arrogant, company man you could ever know. Excellent speaker though. CO David Schroeder 2010-...extremely boring, dry and a company man. DO Chuck Wahler, Southern CA and Phoenix, AZ area, very humble and didn't strike me as much of a company man. Your thoughts? Go!
so i've been thinking a lot about why i stayed a jw for so long even though i had always had doubts about the doctrines.
i was born into the religion, left and came back as an adult for another decade.
some of the things that come to mind (besides the threat of shunning-and this isn't to minimize that very real threat) was:.
Besides the obvious threat of losing my family and being shunned, it was being told how scary the world is and how i would never succeed without the organization.
watching rated r movies?
maybe a little gambling in vegas?
when i was in high school i went to the mall with my friend at the time, who happened to be a female.
Watching Rated R movies? Maybe a little gambling in Vegas? When I was in High School I went to the mall with my friend at the time, who happened to be a female. I was scared shitless that I would run into someone from the congregation even though it was completely innocent. Then I look back as an adult and realize I was part of a cult lol. Thoughts?
one of the most frustrating things.
when you confront jw's about what they believe they will often deny it.
such as "if your child is disfellowshipped then you can't have contact with them ever again".
So true! My JW family's famous response to anything that is pointed out as wrong or unchristian - " but that is the arrangement". Arrangement according to who? men? so annoying.
shortly before i left the "troof" a co had given a talk during his visit.
at the time there was a scandal going on in the congregation where 2 couples basically swapped spouses with each other.
it was quite the scandal.
Shortly before I left the "troof" a CO had given a talk during his visit. At the time there was a scandal going on in the congregation where 2 couples basically swapped spouses with each other. It was quite the scandal. Anyway, from the platform the CO stated " Don't think you can just cheat on your spouse and come back in a year, you will be DF for 7 years!" (he might as well have mentioned them by name from the stage) This was just further evidence that this whole religion is ran by men. Does the CO really have the power to decide when someone can be reinstated?
i remember a brother making the above statement in regards to an elderly sister who had passed.
he stated we don't mourn or even visit grave sites because we have a hope that jah will resurrect the dead.
it seemed really creepy at the time, hell, even jesus wept when lazarus died.
I remember a brother making the above statement in regards to an elderly sister who had passed. He stated we don't mourn or even visit grave sites because we have a hope that Jah will resurrect the dead. It seemed really creepy at the time, hell, even Jesus wept when Lazarus died. Is there some unwritten rule that Jw's don't visit grave sites or what?
i was a jw for 11 years , came to know ttatt and wrote my disassociation letter 5 years ago.
since then i had been an atheist and trying all i can to spread awareness for “still in” members.
my wife and mom are still jws and i do get along with them perfectly.
If it were me, I would just let it go. You mentioned that they are still fervent so its unlikely that you will get through. However, if they initiated conversation with you and inquired why you left, I think it would be appropriate to politely tell them why. Just my 2 cents.
i did!
even when i was in junior high school i would go to the library and look for anything that was about charles taze russell or millenial dawn or jehovah's witnesses..... maybe i was an "apostate " in the making..
I can't recall sneaking to read any apostate material while I was in, as I was already an adult when I left the Org. However, as a teen, I remember curiously reading the apostate signs outside of the district conventions that said " read the Bible, not the watchtower" as my Mother scolded me to look away. I thought to myself " they have a point".
alright.... so in another thread, most of us have been counseled for some lame stuff, and the responses range from funny to shocking.. now, let's focus on you giving counsel to others.
come on, don't be shy!.
i'll begin:.
I can't say that I have counseled anyone, but when I was an MS, reaching out, I encouraged plenty of young teenage brothers to reach out and climb the ladder and leave all worldly things alone. Now look at me lol But hey, I didn't know any better.
