this was the first time in almost eight years i have had a conversation with a jw .
we were on vacation last week at my son and daughter in laws home .
one morning the doorbell rang and as i went to answer it my daughter in law said she thought it was witnesses .
I think you most definitely planted or at least watered the seed of doubt in the one that was quiet during the presentation. It's crazy to reflect on how we previously (as the ladies did) would so easily shoot down anything that made a remote amount of sense because nothing God's organization teaches us is "wrong."
Thanks for sharing and for keeping your cool, it must have been supremely difficult.
since some time i post here on this forum... i am always willing to help people or to express my opinion if it helps someone.... i have already posted something about myself but i haven't told much about my history.. i am married with a nice wife and i have three kids (two of my own and a stephdaughter).
since a year i do not go to meetings and i unofficially stopped with the "truth".
i had a meeting with some elders expressing my concerns with the teachings and with the slave.
You're not alone, a lot if not most of us are in the process of losing or have already lost those we love. Thank you for sharing with us and I hope only to lift your spirits by letting you know that there's always light at the the end of the tunnel.
No matter how rough things get you will eventually see brighter days- it is inevitable.
was just talking to a jw who just got back from oklahoma doing relief work for jws who had their homes damaged.
i didn't know this, but he said that the process goes like this.
the homeowner usually has a payout from the insurance company in hand.
OMG! I never knew this!!!!!
It really is all about the benjamins huh? It's funny because I recall being taught something along the lines of "brotherly love" as the excuse for running to help those affected by disasters.
i've been officially accused of "thinking too much".. i've tried to quit thinking, but i'm hoplessly addicted to it.i just can't seem to turn my brain off.. at times duing my school years i was accused of not thinking enough.
now i'm guilty of thinking too much!.
the brother even went on to say "could you imagine what the witness organisation if everyone was thinking independently like you do"?
It's funny how Jehovah gave us a mind and the free will to do with it whatever we wanted but milennia after he changes his mind and decides that a bunch of men in New York can do all the thinking for us. Our function is mainly as "doers" not creative and innovative lifeforms that use reason to ask analytical questions when doubts or worries arise.
Being a robot isn't as fun as most would think.
prior to that we had been in a new congregation for about 9 months, and we were just irregular.
my husband rarely went, and i would go occasionally with our toddler son just enough to show our faces and keep the elders off our backs, and for the sake of some friendships in our old hall.
all of the reasons i had for going were just no longer important.
Maybe you should try playing a sport, going to the gym, joining a club, or taking a class to expose yourself to situations where making new friends will be easy. I understand the difficulty of isolation and hope you cope with the fact that something was off about where you were and now there can only be progress. Excelsior.
Best wishes.
were you one of the witnesses that tattled and tried to find people doing "wrong"?.
or did you ever tattle on someone and regretted it later?
would you take it back?.
I was never a snooper or tattler but there were definitely two sitautions where I acted on command (as I'd been programmed) that I regret to this day.
1. Minor- A large group of teens (myself included) got together at a brother's house for a movie night. I remember our host going for the films and going through his collection sounding off whatever he came across. He picked a movie and the populous was thrilled to watch it but I, being the great big star of a witness that I was- told them that we all knew better than to watch an R-rated movie. Everyone just looked at me and gave me this look like, "who the hell invited this douche?" I was señor NO FUN.
2. Major- My best friend, who I loved as much as my younger brother, started to see a "worldly" girl and decided to keep it a secret. After a while things got serious with the gal and he decided to prudently cease his theocratic activities. Once I found out- again riding my high horse of SPIRITUAL ARROGANCE- I told him that I could no longer be his friend. His reaction still haunts me, the way his voice dropped digesting my betrayal, the silence on the other line as he sat pensive realizing everyone he cared for would be reacting the same way. After a multitude of great times, love, and respect it became zero because I had to stand for what was right. Well what was right is bull shit and I hope to one day find him to somehow atone for my betrayal.
Never a snooper or tattler but definitely an obedient drone ready to stab anyone in the back if it meant making the sovereign of the universe proud.
so our dc is coming up and my level of anxiety and depression is through the roof.
i've been fading and have noticed that when i don't go the meetings, i'm happy, calm and positive, but when i do go, it takes at least a week to recover.
so the prospect of three straight days has me in an absolute panic.
Oh I just posted a similar recommendation on another thread but you can maybe take your i-pod or audio device and listen to whatever you want pretending you're tuned into the FM frequency of the program.
with the changes in doctrine being fully unveiled at the dc this year, i expected many to wake up.
the dcs have been going on for a month now, i fully expected to be welcoming new members by now!
am i just being impatient?
I am a new member and did "lurk" for a few weeks as I browsed the different topics available on the site. I have to say I never felt awakened as much as I felt b#%$h slapped when I heard/read about sex abuse in the organization.
Captain the truth is that there must be tons of people still inside who feel disconcerted and disconnected but fear keeps them from acting on any doubt or suspicion that arises. They, like many of us did at one time or another, believe that this is God's chosen channel with mankind and if they leave well then they're boned.
Fear will always be the best way to keep people in check.
i haven't had my dc yet and after reading about what's being said on saturday i was thinking about not going in protest as they are not being christ like.
will this be a good technique for my kids or should i go and endure the crap and then say a few things to my children while they're listening to this garbage?.
I wouldn't and this is why: as soon as you take your seat after the opening song and prayer your mind will start bugging you about why it was you decided to come. I know this from experience and can tell you that three days sitting through the pretty picture they paint is hard to stomach when you and the rest of us know what's really going on.
But
I can understand the need to be close to friends and family- and wouldn't we all go to the moon and back for anyone we love? So, ultimately you decide.... oh and if you go maybe try what I did, take your headset or i-pod and listen to music- a bunch of people are plugged in listening to the FM broadcast of the program but using your device to listen to something you like will at least make the days go by faster.
many of us were members of the theocratic ministry school for many years.
some say it helped them with public speaking, and maybe it did for some.. but, when you look back at the quality of student it turned out, was it really any good ?.
most elders are crap public speakers, most r&f bros are crap at reading aloud, most jw's are crap at selling their religion at the door, most jw's have scant real knowledge of the bible.. there are reasons for this, quite often the tms overeer hasn't a clue how to teach a person to progress.
I have to honestly say I feel like the TMS did help me in a few aspects as it exposes you to an audience and the public speaking environment. It definitely helped me to get over (or at least cope) with my terror of speaking in front of others and helped me to at least read moderately-well in three languages.
What I never understood was how I'd pass a lesson and then be reassigned the same one within a few months. But you do have very valid points that cannot be refuted, some of us learned something while most of us dreaded our assignment and couldn't wait for it to be over.
