Topics Started by TMS
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5
Older Ex-JW Attending Mass in Historic U.S. Basilicas
by TMS ini still remember the first time i commented on this board with nervous fingers barely able to press the keys.
what triggered my entry into the forbidden was the orchestrated disfellowshipping of my then 21 year old son.. well, he's now 51, with a supportive wife, two genius sons who will never see the inside of a kingdom hall.. my first wife of 49.5 years, loyal and supportive to a fault, passed away 5 years ago.. in 2019 i married a young filipina, 33 years my junior, a nominal catholic.
my life with her has simply been amazing and i treasure every moment.
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26
Avoiding Temptation As a Young Elder
by TMS init was the summer of '72.
i was 24 but had been the presiding overseer or congregation servant of a small congregation in the county seat of an arkansas county for about 3 years.. my regular pioneer wife of nearly four years was big and pregnant, with our attempts at birth control unsuccessful.. one of my wife's several bible studies was with a young woman named brenda whom my wife had encountered in door to door work.. brenda had two young children she could barely handle and was married to a very countryfied arkie named henry who worked as a chicken catcher, one of the most difficult jobs at the local chicken plant.. brenda eventually revealed that she'd been raised as a jw, but was never baptized, having left home to marry henry at age 14. she spoke of her family in texas, mentioning her mother and two older sisters, all jws she said.. one morning, just before the meeting for field service, we noticed a small car in kingdom hall parking lot.
my wife and i were parked to one side of the hall in our aluminum nashua house trailer.. two young women got out of the car and soon joined us for the meeting for service, identifying themselves as brenda's sisters from texas.. the two girls, ages 17 and 20, were distractingly beautiful, with the eldest decked out like a magnificent southern belle including hat and heels, her high-end clothing accentuating her very obvious curves.. with no one else showing up for field service, it ended up just the four of us in the car group with the two texas girls in the back seat.. starting our time at a not-at-home, the 20 year old asked if she could accompany me to "hear my presentation.
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31
How the Circuit Overseer Manipulates the Body of Elders
by TMS inthe relationship between local elders and the circuit overseer has fluctuated over the years.
in the sixties, .
the circuit overseer simply appointed all the servants.
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9
My Thanksgiving Tradition As One of Jehovah's Witnesses
by TMS inthe jw prohibition of celebrating holidays includes the american celebration of thanksgiving, a sort of innocuous harvest festival, where thanks is given for the year's blessings.
a typical family eats a large meal together, including turkey and all the trimmings.
in recent decades, nfl football, always involving the dallas cowboys and detroit lions, has become part of the routine, as well as drinking beer.. every year or so, the "awake!
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Women's Place In Jehovah's Arrangement
by TMS in"i do not permit a woman to teach or to exercize authority over a man, but to be in silence.
" these inspired words are frequently quoted to help define the role of women among jehovah's witnesses.
then eve.
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3
The Elder's Choice~"Care for his Own" or Save Face and Retain Congregation Privileges?
by TMS in"but if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.
" 1 timothy 5:8, kjv.
the scriptural principle above is not followed by jehovah's witnesses if a child's presence in the home is a threat to retaining congregation privileges.
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14
Could Joel Osteen Bring the JWs Out of Their Doldrums?
by TMS inrussell had some charisma, as did the alcoholic womanizer, j.f.
rutherford.
n.h. knorr, not so much.
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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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That Most Uneven of Judicial Procedures~The Gradual Lifting of Restriction After Reinstatement
by TMS inthose with substantial experience as jws will likely agree that judicial matters are handled with considerable inconsistency.
elders certainly vary in skill level, understanding, compassion or even knowledge of the talmudlike watchtower rules.
the punishment and, it is actually punishment, for similar offenses can result in anything from private or public reproof to disfellowshipping or sometimes an elder will choose to simply offer private counsel without even bringing the matter before the body of elders.
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36
Brother & Sister-in-Law Return to Kingdom Hall After Two Decades, Quickly Get Stumbled
by TMS init was a mild surprise, learning that a brother and sister-in-law had began re-associating with jehovah's witnesses after at least 25 years of being away.
the couple, of hispanic ethnicity, are in their early 60's, with their five children all grown and independent.
the family had been considered nominal jws, infrequently attending meetings, rarely in field service, but using the annual convention as their family vacation.