Posts by gabcol

3

Special talk/Memorial (Trigger warning maybe?!?)

by gabcol in

first off, you all are amazing.

though i don't comment much on here, it is nice to read all of your posts and see our shared knowledge/experiences.

thank you for everything.. so, here in australia, we just had the special talk and tonight was the memorial.

gabcol

Hi everyone. First off, you all are amazing. Though I don't comment much on here, it is nice to read all of your posts and see our shared knowledge/experiences. Thank you for everything.

So, here in Australia, we just had the special talk and tonight was the memorial. I was brave (or stupid) enough to go to both and these are some of the things I have noticed.

1.) Beards- some of the brothers have really taken advantage of this rule change, It was strange to walk in and see so many sporting a beard ( especially ones giving talks). This was interesting to me as when I was a teenager, I got into trouble for attempting to grow a mustache.

2.) Apparently there were 20 million individuals who went to the memorial last year.

3.)The brother on stage tonight made a comment that it was 'nice to see so many people using hard copy bibles tonight' .

4. One thing I got a kick out of tonight at the memorial, was that a lady in her 30's sitting next to me took the bread from the bowl. Her husband started nibbling on it. The look on the brothers' faces were priceless.

Lastly, one thing I realised is that I'm tired.. although I strongly disagree with the Watchtower society and their beliefs, I have noted that I don't have the fight or hatred in me as I had ages ago. I have come to just accept what it is and mind my own business. Hope all of you are doing well.. and again, thank you for being my 'family'.

19

Zoom Memorial

by gabcol in

well i did it.. i attended the zoom memorial ( in respect for my mum).

it was very strange to say the least.

everyone had bread and wine at their houses.

gabcol

Well I did it.. I attended the Zoom memorial ( in respect for my mum). It was very strange to say the least. Everyone had bread and wine at their houses. For those who didn't, the speaker held the emblems in front of the camera. Needless to say, I had my camera off. To be honest, I can't really put into words how I'm feeling at the moment ( 1 hour after it has finished). I was so nervous to the point where I almost passed out and yet I also felt empty inside. I looked at them and thought," These are my enemies"...and yet looking at them I kind of felt like they were long lost family.

Someone asked me once if there was anything I missed about being a JW. Instantly, I said it was the sense of brotherhood. I always felt like no matter where I went in the world, if I went to a meeting I felt like they were my family... and now when I attended, I felt like an outsider... Sorry if this is a ramble, I'm just trying to sort out my feelings.

43

When You Were A Witness Did You Believe Everything Taught?

by minimus in

jw
friends

obviously at some point you stopped believing the witnesses had the truth or else you wouldn’t be here.

.

but for the most part, were you a true believer or were you typically a rebel or a doubter?

gabcol

I believed everything.. never questioned any of the beliefs, no matter how odd they were. I even believed that everything and that happened was due to demons.. any odd noise was a demon. I once thought I had a demon attack because I was naughty enough to be reading a Stephen King book at the time ( I threw it out instantly). It turns out I had sleep paralysis.

The other belief that I still try to shake off is life after death/armegeddon. I have a big phobia of death because of the witnesses. I don't know what lies on the other side, and once in awhile I still worry about what happens if armegeddon comes and destroys me forever.

What woke me up was an elderly brother who I used to read the 'proclaimers' book to. He was a devoted brother for decades. Went through the ban on Jehovah's Witnesses in Canada, and one of the nicest, kindest, softest people you will ever meet. When he died, it threw me a curve ball. He spent 8 decades telling people god's kingdom is coming. He believed the end was just around the corner... and he of all people , never got to see that day. That was a " aha" moment and my heart became cold.

55

Ban on Independent Meetings

by lssjr in

source - march 2021 announcements - - https://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/5085868283920384/2021-march-147-english-german-announcements-reminders.

this is a sobering reminder of what happened some 40 years ago when raymond franz and others were literally kicked out from the jehovah's witnesses for having pre-arranged private spiritual discussions.lesson: paragraph 7 is another example of the i and t in dr. steven hassan's bite model of the 21st century cult - information and thought control at its best!!!!

"my gosh, there must be a lot of independent meetings these days.

gabcol

This is an interesting topic ( don't get me wrong, a lot of the topics on here are interesting). When I was growing up, I was classed as a " fatherless boy"... my father wasn't one of jehovah's witnesses. Anyway, as kids my 2 sisters and I ( and mum) would go over to an elder and his wife's house to pre-study the watchtower. It was tolerable because after, we would go to Pizza Hut ( back when it was a restaurant). However, because of information coming from above, our pre-Watchtower studies had to stop. My mum tried a couple of times to conduct the family study, but with 3 little kids that couldn't sit still, she eventually gave up and we were left to study as individuals.

4

Profits ,Not For Profit ,and Prophecy ( Profitcy )

by smiddy3 in

jw
friends

i cant get my head around how a religion ,like the jehovah`s witnesses can be a not for profit organization ,that profits $ from wheeling and dealing in real estate ventures $ ,and also profits from being a multi media publishing company $ that in its heyday profited from volunteers selling their literature and now its venturing into the digital age of tv imaging ,video conferencing ,dvd`s and whatever else they can use.$$$.

making $$$ profits from all of these activities while still claiming to be a not for profit religion reaping in the $$$ profits selling prophecy (profitsy $$$).

it`s about time governments woke up to this charade ..

gabcol

I agree with you. When I was in the religion, I had the blinders on. I thought we were helping the world.. but now on the outside looking in, I can see how much of a scam it is.

30

If You Have A Choice To Listen To Any Music, Any Artist —what would you like??

by minimus in

jw
friends

i love rhythm and blues and soul music.

i love funk but i also enjoy music of the 60s and 70s.

just not really into classical or country western although some country is pretty good..

gabcol

I have all kinds of music in my collection from Mozart to Ozzy Osbourne. When I was 15 and 16 while the other kids were listening to Snoop Dog and Eminem, I was cruising the streets listening to the Beegees, Buddy Holly and Joe Cocker and 20 years later, I'm still listening to them.

33

WT Teaching That You Can't Leave Behind

by jhine in

after posting on another thread it became apparent to me that it can be difficult for some ex jws to totally shake off all wt teaching , even after leaving the org.

do you still feel guilty going into a church for a wedding or a funeral .

can you bring yourself to celebrate birthdays or christmas .

gabcol

For me, when I " disappeared" , I felt uncomfortable when people would celebrate christmas or birthdays. After a few years, I became strong enough to say " Merry Christmas" or " Happy Birthday" and now I can party like the rest of them. The hardest to shake is the fear of armegeddon... Anytime I watch the news, I still have that small lingering worry that has been so deeply pushed into my soul... but what will be will be i guess

24

Debate

by gabcol in

back in the day, russell and rutherford would hold debates with other religious leaders.

why has jehovah's witnesses stopped doing that?

i think it would be very interesting to see how they would hold up on a debate now.

gabcol

Back in the day, Russell and Rutherford would hold debates with other religious leaders. Why has Jehovah's Witnesses stopped doing that? I think it would be very interesting to see how they would hold up on a debate now.

41

You might have been a JW if...

by Incognigo Montoya in

jw
friends

... unlike the rest of humanity, you looked forward to mondays because it was a day off from a meeting..

gabcol

Your tuesday night was thursday and thursday night was tuesday when the c.o. arrived and every bump in the night had to be a demon

68

The paranormal.

by Lost in the fog in

i know that a lot of the people on here have turned their backs on the idea of a deity deciding that god does not exist.

but what about the unseen spirit world generally such as poltergeists, jinns, voodoo, etc.

if you have become agnostic, atheist, or just don't care since leaving, do you think that there are spirits out there or have you decided that is also hokum?

gabcol

Growing up as a witness, I placed every "bump in the night" as demons. I remember one time I had gone to my room to study the watchtower. As I was laying in bed, I heard faint voices.. I freaked out and immediately prayed to Jehovah out loud. ( Since even mentioning his name would scare the demons away). After I finished my prayer I listened.. to my surprise, I could still hear the voices. In a panic, I ran downstairs and told my non-witness dad that I could hear voices. After a minute or 2 of laughter ( and seeing fear on my face), he went upstairs to investigate. He listened and sure enough, he could hear voices too.. Was it a demon trying to draw me away from Jehovah??? No, I had my walk-man radio on full volume sitting on my dresser... so it sounded like faint voices.

Now a days, I am very cautious about blaming something on the supernatural. However, like the other poster on here... I work in a nursing home and have seen a few strange things.

truth b known--- i was a big fan of "ghost hunters"