Topics Started by TMS
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How the Need for An Elder to "Preside Over His Household in a Fine Manner" Forces Kids Out
by TMS intwelve years ago, i submitted this comment to the jwd board, relating to the practice of disfellowshipping young people from the congregation:.
"i am angry at the way jehovah's witnesses treat their most precious endowment; their young, developing, stumbling, exasperating, questioning, experimenting, growing offspring.. at the very most urgent time in their young lives; when they need the most reassurance, nurturing, patience, understanding and forgiveness, witness parents, under the direction of their congregation elders and governing body, toss thousands of these young ones out into the cold, cruel world, allowing them to virtually self-destruct.. many of these castaways are still in their teens.. there is no excuse, biblical, human, parental or otherwise to shut off all the guidance resources these young ones have ever known.
the human wreckage of this disgusting practice is astronomical.
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OMG, My 18 Nephews & Nieces Are Such Creative Double Life JWs
by TMS into briefly state this: we were hardcore jws, my siblings, my wife and her two sisters.
we have 18 nieces and nephews among us from late 20's to 55. only one is a card-carrying, practicing jw and he's had his problems.. what's hilarious, is that most of the 18 in the next generation would still identify themselves as jws to the rest of the family, but all are leading double lives extraordinaire, doing exactly what they want to do.
most would be honest with me and have been.
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An Odd Request from Our Ex-JW Son
by TMS inmy wife and i, both out of the religion for nearly twenty years, live in the same border town as our 44 year old only son.
we have scant contact with our numerous jw relatives, although a handful of clever "double life" nieces and nephews socialize with our son.. we care for our six year old grandson weekdays while our single parent son makes a living.
we've been infinitely better grandparents than we were parents, primarily because of our exit from a high control cult, but also because of life experience.
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One of the Most Obscene Phrases in Any Language; the Judicial Committee
by TMS ina tribunal of religious, if not spiritual, men, whose decision can alter lives, disrupt, no, destroy, families, ruin young lives, create angst, pain, depression, hopelessness, sorrow, despair can be the job for three typically unqualified men known in jw land as the judicial committee.. my first judicial experience as a kid of 18 serving on the jc involved disfellowshipping an elderly sister for apostacy when she would not promise to quit frequenting a neighborhood christian science reading room for personal study.
my second big case involved a baptized 12 year old who allegedly stole a hot wheel from k-mart.
he admitted to nothing, answering every question with "i dunno" and was put on probation, the 60's equivalent of reproof.. in subsequent years, i "served" on committees judging accused adulterers, fornicators, thieves, gamblers, non-providers, taking up boxing, slanderers and yes, apostates, sitting also on so-called appeal committees as well.
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My Pseudo-Education Hasn't Hurt Me None, I Can Still Read the Writing on King Belshazzar's Wall~Part III
by TMS inbefore i go to extreme south texas, let me acknowledge an early influence that gave me self-worth, self-assurance, self-esteem and the feeling that i was as good as any damn person on this planet.. larry ranch, my congregation servant in renton, washington(home of boeing aircraft), was on my dad's judicial committee.
my dad had sexually molested my sister, sandy, repeatedly.
my dad got probation from the judicial committee.
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"Where Is Jehovah In All of This?" My Wife, July of '93
by TMS inthe title above is a question asked by my wife seemingly hundreds of times in 1993, the year our only child was disfellowshipped.
the entire story exceeds the reasonable limits of this forum and i have to suppress the urge to write it.
instead, i will give little snippets, what a certain elder said at this or that point, how jehovah's organization treated us, how we handled our gradual awakening to, yes, "the truth about the truth.
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My Pseudo-Education Hasn't Hurt Me None, I Can Still Read the Writing on King Belshazzar's Wall~Part II
by TMS inwhat a risk; installing part ii before determining if anyone ever cares for part i. .
joe b. barnett, a cool, charismatic jw, married my aunt doris.
he sold his '55 orange and white chevy convertible, bought a vw bug and pioneered.
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My Pseudo-Education Hasn't Hurt Me None, I Can Still Read the Writing on King Belshazzar's Wall~Part I
by TMS inmy maternal grandfather, adolph joseph deman, was in his mother's womb as the family crossed the ocean from east flander, belgium.
he was the first to be born in the u.s. in 1885. his father's death in 1888 contributed to his departure from school and work as a lad in the iron mines of republic, michigan.
the house he later built on a homestead in maple valley, washington, near kent, was a substantial pillar in my unstable early life as a precocious jw child in a dysfunctional home.
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Embracing, Not Running From, My Repressive JW Heritage, Finding A Few Things Worth Salvaging
by TMS inyes, we could have been born in an alley in calcutta or with the physical deformities associated with thalidomide.
instead, we were born into or introduced to a repressive, american, religious cult, that shielded us from the warmongering game of chess, the militaristic boy scouts, fornication-inducing sock hops, the twist, as well as the hokey pokey.
we heeded the warnings, avoiding the greedy self-worship associated with masturbation, decadent rock 'n roll and anything preceded by the word "extra-curricular.".
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Would Prince Rogers Nelson Have Been A More Effective Spokesperson for JWs Than Stephen Lett?
by TMS inhearing about governing body member stephen lett, i had to check him out on you tube.
in short, were i still a jw, i would be embarrassed to be represented by this mouth-agape, cornpone, dufus.
he would be the kind of public speaker the local congregation might appreciate, but who you would not send out to another congregation.. in contrast, the last few weeks i took the opportunity to play every video on you tube where the late prince rogers nelson explained his beliefs as a jw.