Posts by TMS

I spent thirty years as an elder in Arkansas. I met a few crusty old elders who were openly racist and a few younger ones more subtle in their racism. There were contradictions all over the place. Even racist JW's didn't mind field service in black areas. It sort of reinforced their superiority to see the run-down housing, etc. I knew a couple of prominent elders who scrambled like crazy to prevent their daughters from marrying black brothers.

Generally, JW's work hard to overcome any appearance of prejudice.

I spent a few years as well on the Texas-Mexico border. The relationship between the "English" and "Spanish" congregations is curious. Both groups tend to do their own thing, despite worshipping the same god.

tms

45

Here it is: my da letter

by BlackSwan of Memphis in

i sent it out nov 14. my bday.

thought that i would finally share it with you guys.

in the end, that story is just not that important now.

TMS

Black Swan,

Well done. Your carefully distilled JW history, contradictions and failures contained not one unnecessary word. Unfortunately, the typical witness would mentally shut down twenty words in. A witness mom or dad might gloss over the entire letter looking for the faintest hope of your "return."

Your profile indicates you are in your thirties. If so, you have an opportunity to steer your life more productively. Although my wife and I are enjoying retirement, we would trade chronological places with you in a heartbeat and do so many things differently.

tms

33

Hi ~ new here...

by Riverwatcher in

jw
friends

i'm so happy to have found this site.

i'm not a j/w, but my son is.

several years ago, he became involved with a j/w, although she was being shunned at the time.

TMS

{QUOTE}"Go to the hall with him. He will just be ecstatic! Meet the folks at the hall. Ask them about their personal lives. Don't let them put you in a charicature. He will try to get you to start a study, try to avoid that!{/QUOTE}

Riverwatcher,

The above is very good advice, although difficult to pull off. If you were able to make an appearance at the Kingdom Hall without divulging your true feelings, it would enhance your position immeasurably. The elders and others of the young couples' peer group would have difficulty painting you as evil. Someone viewed as a potential convert gets the very best from Jehovah's Witnesses.

You are just buying time for your son to wake up of his own volition. There is no other way for him to do that. No rational argument, threat of disinheritance, criticism of his choice of spouse and her parents, etc. will do nothing but solidify his stance.

It's going to be a long haul. Good luck!

tms

14

What have Jehovah's Witnesses made known?

by joelbear in

jw
friends

after a century of preaching and selling literaturature what do people know about the jw's message.

they don't take blood transfusions.

they don't celebrate birthdays.

TMS

They have made known that God's name is Jehovah or something similar in an individual language. Of course, the exact pronunciation of the name is lost. What matters, though, is that we use a name for God, something common in one's language. This makes us a "people for his name."

Does that make any sense at all?

tms

33

Anyone from Seattle Here?

by NiecyMe in

jw
friends

would love to meet some people in the area...or know were everyone is hanging out.

it would be nice to meet some people that share my past life as a jw.

i am enjoying hearing about all the stories.

TMS

I was born in Renton, finished school in Kent. Although, I left the area many, many years ago, I still have many JW relatives in the Seattle area.

tms

34

My last meeting

by PoppyR in

jw
friends

so last night we had the last book study at our house, next week all the congregations change around and i asked for it to be moved.

so i sat in on it, and afterwards we had a bit of a 'party'.

felt quite emotional really, although i haven't answered for a long time i put my hand up to read a scripture just so i could mark the last time i did this.

TMS

"Feel like I have pulled one of my last suckers away from the JWs, I'm never going to another meeting."

What a huge relief when one finally comes to this conclusion!

tms

50

Over 160,000 Simply Left The "Truth" Last Year

by minimus in

jw
friends

that was the comment that a former elder made at the local meeting today in his comment.

evidently, he and his wife heard a bethel speaker's comment during his talk say that (i believe the figure was) 167,000 people did not get disfellowshipped but simply left.

the ex-elder made it a point to say that the elders should be watching to help out the flock before they up and leave.

TMS

Would the governing body be concerned enough to do an exit poll? If they would actually listen to the genuine concerns of those who have left and not simply dismiss it as "crazy talk", much could be learned.

Honestly, though, the GB lacks the humility to actually listen to those who depart. It's much easier to label them as "not of our sort."

As someone said above, internal ministry would, at this point, be far more productive than the "field ministry" JW's engage in. The organization is just too insensitive to see it.

tms

35

OMG - Part 18 of my exit story EXPLODES !!!

by Amazing1914 in

jw
friends

i am in the middle of publishing my book on my exit from the jws.

it is still hosted on freeminds, but is undergoing revision to clean up grammar, spelling, split a couple of chapters and add a couple of chapters.

i will also be adding an appendix of correspondence with the watchtower society.

TMS

Thanks Jim

tms

8

Update from Nena: Furniture Stolen By My JW Sister

by TMS in

jw
friends

this is nena, tms' wife.

while we will soon go to small claims court to recover our possessions, i have still been answering questions from my large extended family.

i learned recently that my brother manuel, who is a baptist minister in kansas, had been inquiring about the incident.

TMS

Here is the letter I sent to my younger sister Dina, an active Witness:

Dear Dina,

Why am I writing a letter to you? I've found it difficult to talk to you in person because you seldom make eye contact. Anyway, you're usually around your oldest sister and she dominates any conversation near her, especially when someone tries to talk to you. Also, I have deep feelings and my emotions get the best of me when I try to talk. So, I'm writing my feelings down.

You can't imagine how shocked I was to see you and your family helping to sell my things. Most of the items you were selling out front were gifts to me from my son which I could not put a value on. What kind of a sister would do that? You may have gotten a slight understanding of how I felt when your son sold some of your families' things. What you and your family are selling or stealing are all the things my husband and I have accumulated in 36 years of marriage.

I will never forget your first words to Jim and I yesterday: "You're too late!" Not that that would have excused your actions anyway, but let me explain what you and Teresa did. Teresa sent a certified letter to us. The letter was not delivered since we were not home to sign for it. We picked it up late Monday afternoon at the Rio Hondo Post Office. Here is what the letter said: "THIS SERVES TO NOTIFY YOU THAT YOU 24 HOURS TO GET YOUR BELONGINGS OUT OF MY BACK PORCH. PLEASE CALL FIRST SO THAT WE CAN UNLOCK THE SIDE GATE. TERESA XXXX & FAMILY. PHONE: 956-XXXXXX"

Jim wanted to rent a truck and go down there immediately, but I knew it would be of no use if the gate was locked. I wanted him to call first. We called for two days with no answer. Teresa's excuse for not answering was that she doesn't answer unpublished numbers. What you and she did was similar to the way Jesus was dealt with by Pilate and others. You tried to find a legal way to do badness. What you did was wrong and deep down you know it.

Let me give you another example of the underhanded way you and Teresa operated. Our brother Johnny says he received a call from Teresa with a hypothetical question: "A friend has left some stuff in my house and never picked it up. What should I do?" Do you think he would have responded in the same way if she had told him, the "stuff" was all of his sister's possessions?

We've been trying to negotiate the release of our possessions peacefully for two months. Teresa ordered us off her property and threatened us with a restraining order. We wrote the elders. They chose not to communicate with us, probably because we're no longer witnesses. But there is a humane way to treat witnessses and non-witnesses. Have you ever read how Jesus treated sinners and non-believers?

I really thought Teresa's position would soften when she recalled how much Jim and I had done for her at no cost. We recovered her back yard from years of neglect, repainted and decorated her kitchen and living room. Her bathroom was caked with mold and mildew. Her screened porch was unusable. We redecorated Tere's room, patched a roof leak, etc. Three trips we made to Galveston to take her for treatment. In spite of this, Teresa allowed her neck to harden like Pharoah and the ancient Isrealites.

I screamed out when I saw what you and Teresa had done to the antique boat dresser by leaving it out to ruin in the torrential rains. I bought that thirty-five years ago and have pictures of my work restoring it. It was my son's first dresser. Teresa knew how much this piece meant to me and it simply illustrates her maliciousness that she chose that particular item to throw outside. She chose to keep three other antique dressers in the house because she intended to keep them. This item she had no use for and ruined it. You could have saved it but chose not to.

I want to talk about the lies you and Teresa told to get Jim and I arrested. You know I never hit Teresa. She hit and pushed me, but I never touched her. I yelled and screamed, but I did not get physical and, of course, Jim did not. Lieing becomes a habit and eventually comes easily. Kids hear there parents lie and learn that as acceptable behavior. Let me use this example. Teresa claimed that she enrolled Diedra in a school outside her territory by claiming to be the guardian in whose home Diedra resides. If Teresa represented things accurately, then Diedra is in that school based on a lie and knows it. What does that teach her about telling the truth? Also, if you and your kids lie to the police about what happened yesterday, what example does that set? "He who is faithful in what is least is faithful in much."

One good thing came out of the pain you and Teresa inflicted on us. I thought we were alone in this world, but I was wrong. The love shown to us by Annalee and Janie, Mama and Milo overwhelmed us. They took care of everything. We do have family afterall.

Nena