Multiple lobbyist groups and legislators at town hall meetings have stated that the single most impactful way they know how the public stands on a bill is by having people state their position to a committee holding a hearing on the legislation.
By signing in as "Pro" on SB 5375, we can make sure the WA House joins the Senate in passing this bill to make clergy mandatory reporters of child abuse. https://app.leg.wa.gov/csi/Testifier/Add?chamber=House&mId=32997&aId=165392&caId=26271&tId=3
You do not need to be from WA in order to participate.
Your name will appear on the committee agenda web page and be part of the official record.
I am hopeful the House will pass this bill as it matches a bill they passed in 2023 by a vote of 75/20. Use your voice to ask them to do the right thing.
TLDR: We don't want this sub to be a political space + we already have rules in place around social media that revolve around doxxing, low effort posts, and brigading and have nothing to do with politics We've been considering Twitter and TikTok for unrelated reasons for some time but haven't decided. I'm posting some rationale to get a pulse on things. Also, stop doomscrolling and go do things IRL because tech companies are making money from keeping you scared , divided, and engaged. Edit: We allow anonymized screenshots from social media even if we disallow direct links.
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Welp, it happened again. So here we are, folks, and the big old topic of what to do with Twitter has come up in this post. Which I have locked, because people just couldn't resist getting political. So I figured why not make this its own thread and start fresh so that we can redirect the dialogue a bit. Reposting my pinned comment below, with like, one word changed. (I added political activism, and changed two words in my TLDR)
First, we do not intend or ever want to allow this sub to become focused around politics, political activism, and arguing over politics, regardless of what's happening out there. We will occasionally allow space for political debate if it's something that's really weighing on people (like our recent election series), but overall I've found political debate in this online space, like all virtual spaces, quickly degenerates, which creates both emotional labor for both the community to absorb it... and for the mods to contain it. It also divides people in real life, which we don't need more of. That said, the entire team (including myself) feel that learning to discuss these broader issues is an important part of integrating into secular life, so try to allow it up to a small degree, purely for the purposes of helping EXJWs learn how to talk about difficult things by learning from others like them who have picked up those skills along their exit. We are hoping that the more reasonable and well adjusted of us can model some skills for civil debate to others, and maybe teach them some interesting facts along the way. Most of the time the community doesn't disappoint, but you know... it can still get a little weird in here. (It's okay, we're all learning) I'm going to be cleaning up this thread in the meantime, since it's getting a little hairy.
Anyway... the sub already has a 10 year old automod configuration which doesn't allow direct links from Facebook or Instagram. This dates toyears before the current mod team.We've been discussing including Twitter and TikTok for a hot minute now but we do not get a large volume of posts and therefore haven't been too proactive about including these platforms in syntax, but we've been talking about it. Edit: Why not throw Snapchat in here, too.
WHAT?! WHY!? DARE US CENSOR THEE!? WHY WAS THIS eVeR PUT INTO PLaCe YOU FILTHY MOD ELDER FREE SPEECH HATERS WHO HATE FREEDOM AND EXPRESSion AND FREEDOM?! (There, I said it myself before you can hurl slurs at me),
I will tell you. It's way more mundane than you think, and has ZERO to do with politics, actually. Because of how people generally behave on Reddit, and the specific types of adverse experiences people have had on this sub, allowing direct links from social media encourages:
Doxxing/Privacy violations. Those of you who have posted other people's faces or social media links before have most likely gotten a cute note from one of us to blur out profiles and faces to protect their privacy. Reddit does not allow personally identifying information to be shared on this platform, and mods are directed to remove it when they see it. If our sub is found to be encouraging doxxing we will be shut down, period. We've also taken the additional step of not allowing photos of minors on this sub in any way, shape or form, so if you see that, report immediately. On a more philosophical note, much of the IG content we see here is from people's personal profiles, sometimes even private profiles. We get that many of us are angry at the WT and JWs and maybe even the whole world, but that doesn't mean that it's okay to go and bully a person or violate their privacy in that way.
Low effort posting and low effort engagement, which detracts from content which is well thought out, and heartfelt. It's a lot easier to copy/paste some IG link for people to gossip over discuss or click the upvote button for a meme... than it is to write a well thought out post on something of substance, or have an authentic conversation in the comments. And that's not a good thing. We want this to be a space where people can connect, get support, and heal, NOT farm karma/dopamine or share perpetual ragebait. We want to make it harder for people to impulsively share things like an irritating IG or FB post without thinking about how it impacts other people; and having to 5 mins take/edit a screenshot might just help with that.
Brigading. Re-posting a person's socials or their cringe content usually causes people to go find that person's profile on other platforms and interact with it, often negatively, which is not allowed on Reddit and will get our sub banned. Also, it's kind of a douchey thing to do to another human being, even if you don't like their religion
And that's my spiel. But on a parting note... let's not forget that the only ones who win when you go aggravate yourself on the internet are the almighty algorithm, big corporate advertisers, and Tech CEOs. They make money whether you are on the right or wrong side of history. So, do yourself a favor and don't indulge in the BS cycle of social media outrage; these companies know you're doing it and they're making money off of keeping you afraid, distracted and scrolling. More importantly, there's a profit incentive for keeping you divided from everyone else. Do with that what you will, but I recommend you metaphorically go touch some grass instead.
Leaving this here for the community to discuss; I am hoping to redirect the conversation away from the political implications of banning these links, and more toward how this type of ragebait/content affects the culture of our community. And I'd like to hear what you people have to say about that, in particular.
The gist of it was....can you find the truth...yes...we have it...trust us when we say we have it....oh and by the way we're definitely not a cult!
I was surprised to hear the word cult mentioned in a talk aimed 100% at the public and "interested ones" to drum up interest for the worldwide counting day.....I mean memorial next weekend.
Growing up as a Jehovah’s Witness was, frankly, traumatic. For years I didn’t realise just how much it had affected me — the fear, the guilt, the sense of never being good enough. The looming dread of Armageddon. The sense of isolation from “the world.” The conditional love. The crushing pressure to conform while pretending it was all joyful.
I was a good JW kid. Too good. Obedient, terrified, emotionally stunted. I took it all in and never questioned anything… until one day I couldn’t stop questioning. What followed was years of deconstruction, doubt, pain — you know the story.
These days, the only way I seem able to look back on my JW childhood without completely breaking down is to laugh at it. To parody it. To treat it like the bizarre, Orwellian theatre it really was. The melodramatic talks, the smug Watchtower illustrations, the endless, mind-numbing meetings with “encouraging” reminders of how utterly hopeless we were without Jehovah. It’s a goldmine for dark comedy — and thank god for that.
When I read posts here, I see echoes of my own life again and again. And it’s both heartbreaking and strangely comforting. So many of us were raised in what was essentially a psychological pressure cooker. It twisted our sense of identity, warped our families, and left us with trauma that still flickers in the background of our lives.
But here’s the thing: reading your stories has helped me feel less alone. I’m not some one-off case. The cult did a number on all of us — and somehow, we’re still here, piecing ourselves back together, one thread at a time. Sometimes with therapy. Sometimes with tears. Sometimes with rage. And sometimes with satire and sick jokes that only another ex-JW would get.
So if you’re one of those people who, like me, gets through it by making fun of the nonsense — I see you. I hear you. And I’m glad you’re here.
I’ve seen on other jw forums the mention of 5 years this system can only last (roughly)
I’ve heard from 3 different elders in my hall on different occasions give the same estimate of 5 years, was there something released in the letters? Or at the KMS school for elders?
At the time I was traumatized but looking back I’m surprised people didn’t burst out laughing at the insanity of what happened. So I was six or seven and this was on the last talk of our circuit overseer’s visit, he was going on about how great paradise would be. Out of nowhere he started to talk about this “experience” he’d had, he said he was at a sister’s house and she was telling him how excited she was for the “new world” and she couldn’t wait to play with her little pet dog and have the time of her life. All good right? WRONG
For some reason this dude could NOT get past this poor old lady’s version of a happy paradise so he instead chose to biblically berate her (and later on include that in a public talk) and tell her that “no, actually your dog is not going to be resurrected” and then he told us (the audience) “yeah she was a little sad, but it had to be done”, you’d think you would’ve stopped there, right? It didn’t. After reading us two more texts about how only HUMANS and only good humans would earn god’s paradise his closing phrase was as follows “so my brothers and sisters I need you to keep in mind that your beloved pet WILL DIE THEY WILL WILL DIE” (he repeated the dying thing quite a few times)
… when I tell you, this guy had the wildest look on his eyes, and people still clapped T-T I don’t know where he is now, but I hope his hate for pets has been cured or something.
I’m currently at the meetings. I have the privilege to read the WT article. I’ve been PIMO for 4 months now. I was appointed as an elder in 2023. This week’s article’s paragraphs 11 and 12 show how wicked the old men in NY are!
The emotional manipulation is insane!
They capitalize on every single fear these poor people have to promote their joke of a new world by encouraging them to sacrifice everything they want, have or love.
Fuck the governing body for all the pain they are inflicting on their followers!
I usually hold my husband in high esteem despite his PIMI-ness, but I need advice here.
We had our baby a week ago and since then, my husband is losing it. He knows about me not believing anymore and I thought we still had a good relationship. However, the second our baby was born, it‘s like he‘s switched. He has no empathy for me (I‘ve had kind of a traumatic birth), he‘s acting like he has a stick up his butt and he‘s been talking about the troof way more. I told him I feel neglected by him during these vulnerable times. He‘s saying he can‘t be a good husband if we don‘t practice jw faith and I‘m saying how not-Christlike his stance is as he should treat me well despite faith related differences. But he‘s not seeing that- instead, he tries to blame my lack of faith in the borg for treating me poorly postpartum. He also turned to his PIMI family more and even talked shit about me behind my back with them. I feel so betrayed.
We‘ve had a talk where he said he wants us as a family to go to meetings regularly and that he wants me to join him preaching occasionally, even if only he does the talking. I told him I know jw is a part of his life and that I can‘t erase it but that I want our kid to have holidays and insight into other religions as well, to which he agreed in the end. I also told him I want to really talk about all the things I see wrong with the borg with him- if he uses my vulnerable position to make demands, I want to at least show him why I don’t believe anymore. He (kinda) agreed although we didn‘t specify when we‘ll have these talks.
I don‘t know why he suddenly had this shift. As I‘ve said, I feel like he has no empathy for me and uses my dependancy on him against me. I don’t have family where we live and I can’t just run away. I really don‘t recognize him right now… Does anyone have advice on how I could proceed? Anyone with a similar experience? Or any talking points I could use when faith comes up again?
My husband and I are separated, but still live together. He’s also unemployed, and has been since August. Since I’ve started waking up, he’s started digging in even harder in the Borg. He even aux pioneered in January, I can’t remember him ever doing that. He’s never been an MS, despite being in his 40’s.
Last month, he told me that he and my son are going to New York on April 1st. Me, trying to play it cool, said something to my son about it later. I said “I hear you’re going to New York!” He said he didn’t think that was true, that he’s not going. So then I asked him about it a couple days before April 1st. He still knew nothing about it.
But I did find out they went; and as I suspected, they went to bethel. We’ve never gone before, never went as a family. We might have mentioned it once or twice through the years, but clearly never had the motivation. I guess he found the motivation.
I don’t even know how to feel. Slighted? Scared for my son (he’s 17, but not baptized) because of his dad’s newfound interest in the Borg. And also frustrated as fuck because my husband has checked out in every other aspect of life. He leaves during the day, despite not having a job. He’s just gone before anyone wakes up. Doesn’t tell his son where he’s going. Yes, he’s 17, so is self sufficient, but he’s still a minor and is supposed to be doing homeschooling. I travel for work so when I am home, I have to pick up the pieces and do driving lessons with him, etc, since the husband isn’t doing any of it.
But he can spend our money going to bethel?? It pisses me off. I just needed to vent. Feel free to share your experiences, stories, frustrations.
The famous story that Charles Taze Russell declared “the Gentile times have ended” on October 2, 1914, is not supported by any contemporary evidence.
The quote wasn’t attributed to Russell until 1922— six years after his death, and eight years after the supposed event.
Watch Tower publications from 1914 until 1922 do not mention any such announcement.
In 1975 the date of the announcement was changed from October 1 to October 2, 1914 based on a 1957 book which was not published by Watchtower.
The fact that the first account of the alleged event is published in 1922 when Rutherford was pushing the 1914 narrative is suspicious.
If, like me, you were one of Jehovah’s Witnesses for any length of time, you would undoubtedly have heard about the iconic moment when Charles Taze Russell, the founder of the Watch Tower Society, announced that “the Gentile times have ended and their kings have had their day” on October 2, 1914.
Here is one retelling in God’s Kingdom Rules, 2014, 2023 printing:
The story goes that Russell made this announcement to the Bethel family at breakfast, signaling the end of the Gentile Times and the beginning of God’s Kingdom. This event is frequently referenced as a defining moment in early Watch Tower history, and it is taught as an absolute fact in Watchtower/JW literature.
There are significant issues with this story. The published details surrounding Russell’s supposed declaration raise questions about its accuracy, and contemporary evidence is completely missing, suggesting it might not have happened at all.
The 1914 Declaration: Where Did It Come From?
In the April 15 1917 edition of The Watch Tower, there is a reference to the Gentile Times ending. However, there is no attribution of the quote to Russell himself. Instead, the words are presented in a general manner as from The Watch Tower, without clearly linking them to the man who was later said to have spoken them, and no mention of an announcement. In fact, the words themselves are different that what Russell is supposed to have said:
THE WATCH TOWER, from time to time, has set forth the proof that the “Times of the Gentiles” have ended; that the monarchs of the earth have had their day…
Earliest Published Account of the Breakfast Story
The first printed version of the breakfast story is not until 1922—EIGHT years after the event and SIX years after Russell died. In this version we see the story of him walking into the dining room on the FIRST day of October, 1914 (take note of the 1st October date). Here it is in the May 1, 1922 eddition of The Watch Tower:
Finally the day arrived, October 1, 1914, and on the morning of that day Charles T. Russell as president of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society announced to the headquarters staff of workers in Brooklyn, New York: ‘The Gentile Times have ended and their kings have had their day.’
This account places the announcement on October 1, 1914, in contrast to the later official date given as October 2, 1914. This discrepancy between the original narrative and later recollection highlights the ambiguity and potential inconsistencies surrounding the event.
Why did it take until 1922?
The End of the Gentile Times was what they were all waiting for, one of the most significant events in mankind's history, certainly significant for the organization. So why would the Watch Tower Society wait until 1922 to tell the story of this huge announcement? The fact that it took eight years even to mention Russell's involvement in such an important, momentous announcement raises suspicions that the breakfast declaration might have been made up after Russell’s death.
Just one month before the breakfast declaration story appears in The Watch Tower of May 1, 1922, an article in the April 15, 1922 edition of The Watch Tower says the Gentile Times ended on August 1, 1914!
Russell never spoke of any announcement in 1914
It’s important to note that Russell himself never explicitly claimed that he made the “Gentile times have ended” announcement. If he had, in fact, made the announcement on October 1 (or 2!), 1914, don’t you think he would have published the event in the Watch Tower magazine soon after? Here is an article from November 1, 1914, where rather than state that the Gentile Times had definitely ended and that Russell had announced this fact at breakfast a month before, it questions whether or not the Gentile times had even ended!
In 1915 Russell gave a lecture which was published in the July 15, 1915 Watch Tower where he talks about the Gentile times having ended but without any reference to a particular day in October or any announcement.
Even up to 1926, at least, there was speculation about the exact date of the End of the Gentile Times: August 1, September 20, and October 1 had all been named at one time or another. If the “Wise and Faithful Servant” had said it himself in 1914, why was there any doubt?
October 1 or 2?
Until 1975, Watchtower were retelling the Russell story with the date as October 1, 1914 as seen in the July 15, 1950 Watchtower:
The May 1, 1967 Watchtower does not reference the story but does state the date of the Gentile Times as ending on October 1, 1914.
The 1973 book God’s Kingdom of a Thousand Years also has the October 1 date for the Russell story.
The August 15, 1974 Watchtower again states the Gentile Times ended on October 1, 1914.
In 1975, something changed. The date of the Russell story changes to October 2 in the 1975 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses. Subsequent retellings in Watchtower literature all claim this date for the story.
Why the change? In 1957, A.H. Macmillan, a prominent figure in the early Watch Tower Society, published a book titled Faith on the March. His recollection of the event does not agree with the May 1, 1922 Watch Tower date of October 1. He claims it was October 2.
The 1975 Yearbook retells the Russell story but now uses the October 2 date. What happened in 1975 to convince the organization to change the date from October 1 to October 2? Think about it- there was a time period between 1957 and 1975 where there were two dates for the same event - October 1 according to Watchtower, and October 2 according to MacMillan in a non-Watchtower publication. What made Watchtower decide to go with the date from a non-Watchtower book at that time? To this day October 2, 1914 is the officially recognized date for the event as can be seen in the quotes I shared earlier. Isn’t it curious that they don’t stick with the date given in the original telling of the story which was much closer in time to when it supposedly happened and was in a Watchtower publication?
If Russell really declared the date that the gentile times had ended on October 1, 1914, why didn’t Watchtower know the date in subsequent articles?
A huge clue that Russell never made any such announcement in October 1914 can be seen in Watchtower literature published after the alleged event.
If Russell really had made the announcement in October 1914, why just one month after, did the November 1, 1914 Watch Tower state that September 20, 1914 ”probably marked the end of the Gentile Times”
A letter in the March 15, 1919 Watch Tower has a reader speculating about the Gentile Times ending on August 1, 1914:
A Watch Tower article of December 1, 1919 states that the Gentile Times ended in August 1914:
The April 15, 1922 Watch Tower stated that the gentile times ended on August 1, 1914, as did the November 1**,** 1922 Watch Tower:
And the January 1, 1923 Watch Tower:
Conclusion:
So, did Russell really make the famous and momentous October 1 or 2, 1914, announcement? The evidence suggests that this story, as it has been taught to generations of Jehovah’s Witnesses, is at least an exaggeration, if not an outright fabrication. While Macmillan’s 1957 recollection and later Watch Tower publications attribute the statement to Russell, there is no concrete, contemporaneous evidence that Russell himself made any declaration on that particular day. Moreover, the fact that the statement as attributed to Russell did not appear in The Watch Tower until years after Russell’s death raises further doubts about its authenticity. There is no mention of the event in any letters to Watch Tower at any time and no mention of it in the Annual Report of 1914.
(I am limited to 20 images on here but I will post the image of the 1914 Annual Report in the comments)
The introduction of the Russell Gentile Times announcement fits conveniently with Rutherford’s agenda in 1922. The Watch Tower article introducing the anecdote for the first time would have been written by Rutherford himself. (It is known that Rutherford wrote the leader articles at that time.)
1922 was a time of significant transition within the Watch Tower Society. After Russell’s death in 1916, Joseph Rutherford took over as the president, and he was deeply involved in shaping the direction of the organization. During this period, there was a clear effort to solidify the Watch Tower Society’s identity and its claims to divine authority. Attributing the 1914 declaration to Russell may have been part of this process—an attempt to reinforce the organization’s teachings about 1914 and to bolster the idea that the Society was the true representative of God’s Kingdom on earth.
During this time, Rutherford was actively consolidating his leadership and promoting the 1914 teaching as the cornerstone of the movement’s prophetic identity. The Cedar Point Convention in 1922, for example, marked a significant push to reframe the Kingdom message and encourage aggressive public preaching. By promoting the story of Russell’s declaration in 1914, Rutherford sought to strengthen the narrative that Russell had recognized 1914’s significance at the time, aligning with the Watch Tower’s growing emphasis on prophetic fulfilment and divine guidance, reinforcing Rutherford’s leadership and the movement’s renewed sense of purpose. It would have helped his whole advertising campaign ("...advertise, advertise, advertise the King and his Kingdom.")
It is interesting to note that if you look up “Gentile Times” in the book Insight on the Scriptures, you are redirected to “Appointed Times of the Nations”. Do you find the Russell story there? No. Such a defining moment of Watchtower history is not there.
TIMELINE:
Nov 1, 1914 – Watch Tower says September 20, 1914 “probably marked the end of the Gentile Times.” No mention of any announcement by Russell.
June 15, 1915 – Watch Tower- Russell discusses the Gentile Times ending but gives no specific date or reference to a declaration.
Oct 31, 1916 –Charles Taze Russell dies. No published account in his lifetime claiming he made a specific statement.
1917 – Watch Tower mentions the Gentile Times have ended, but attributes the thought to The Watch Tower itself, not to Russell personally.
Mar 15, 1919 – Watch Tower- a reader speculates that the Gentile Times ended August 1, 1914.
Dec 1, 1919 – Watch Tower states the Gentile Times ended August 1, 1914.
Apr 15, 1922 – Watch Tower states the Gentile Times ended August 1, 1914.
May 1, 1922 – Watch Tower: First printed version of the famous ‘breakfast announcement’ story. Russell is said to have declared on October 1, 1914: “The Gentile Times have ended and their kings have had their day.”
Nov 1, 1922 – Watch Tower gives the date for the end of the Gentile Times as August 1, 1914.
Jan 1, 1923 – Watch Tower gives the date for the end of the Gentile Times as August 1, 1914.
July 15, 1950 - Watchtower gives Russell’s statement as October 1, 1914
1957 – Faith on the March by A.H. Macmillan gives Russell’s statement date as October 2, 1914 — this is the first time that this date appears.
May 1, 1967- Watchtower states the appointed times of the nations (an alternative way of saying Gentile Times) had ended on October 1, 1914.
1973 – God’s Kingdom of a Thousand Years Has Approached gives Russell’s statement date as October 1, 1914.
August 15, 1974 -Watchtower: states Gentile Times ended on October 1, 1914.
1975 – Yearbook of Jehovah’s Witnesses gives Russell’s statement date as October 2, 1914.
1993 – Proclaimers Book, p. 135 gives Russell’s statement date as October 2, 1914..
2014 / 2023 – God’s Kingdom Rules! gives Russell’s statement date as October 2, 1914.
*I have not included every mention of the Russell story after 1975 but they all recount it as October 2.
Yesterday I had my 4th call from JWs since I moved to this house in 2018. As usual I reminded him I was a do not call and as always, he said he wasn't aware. I said that I know they have territory maps and to mark my house as a do not call. He then proceeded to do this dragged out procedure where he asked for my name [no - you just need the number of the house] and then spent ages getting me to repeat the name of the estate and misspelling it in his phone, even though he had his JW tablet under his arm and was well into the estate so knew the name. What is the thinking behind the delay tactics?
So when your family or friends start asking and poking at why you’re inactive. Here are 3 things I’ve found that help with PIMI friends and family.
No one should be forced to worship in a way that he finds unacceptable or be made to choose between his beliefs and his family. Does study of the Bible lead to family breakup? No.
July 2009 Awake
Therefore, do not let anyone judge you about what you eat and drink or about the observance of a festival or of the new moon or of a sabbath.
Col 2:16
"We do not dedicate ourselves to a religion, nor to a man, nor to an organization. No, we dedicate ourselves to the Supreme Sovereign of the Universe, our Creator, Jehovah God himself. This makes dedication a very personal relationship between us and Jehovah."
Watchtower 1966 Oct 1 pp.603-604
Every time a video or drama depcits Mary, mother of Jesus, she is always a young woman. Late teens, at earliest, to 20-something. Yet we know, and I think even the org acknowledges elsewhere, that based on how things were done at the time that Mary would actually be between 13 and 15 at the time of being selected and giving birth to Jesus.
Yet, as stated, when Mary is part of the discussion her age is never mentioned and she's always depcited as being older. Now, of course, I can understand that reasoning. No one wants to have a 13 year old stand there saying she'll get pregnant.
And now that I think about it... to be fair, I have seen Mary be "aged up" in church art and Christian movies and stuff.
The thing is, I can't help but find it curious that the org, which so often pats itself on the back about accuracy and stuff on other things, is afraid to use teen Mary.
I wouldn't be surprised if a large number of Witnesses believe Mary was like 20 when she had Jesus.
An article recently written and researched by u/Larchington is an in-depth analysis of the 1914 ‘Gentile Times' announcement, highlighting its lack of contemporaneous evidence and later doctrinal reconstruction.
Below is a screenshot of the article, but I recommend reading it all from the link:
To debunk this tall tale, Larchwood used publications from Watchtower, including one reference from 'Faith on the March' by Jehovah's Witness A.H. Macmillian.
This is about receiving d@#$h threats related to the field service.
I can recall 2 examples where I was threatened and it was normalized.
When I was very young under the age of 8 we would go preaching as a family in the rural territories.
I went to a door with my dad and I gave the presentation for the magazines. I was yelled at by the householder and so we turned around and went back to the car. As we were driving out of the yard with the car windows down(no air con in those days) a couple of the people there were yelling at us from the house to never come back and if we did they would sh@@t us.
I was really scared and was crying but my dad minimized the situation saying they didn’t like Jehovah or something like that.
Fast forward ten years or so and I was pioneering in the city.
A brother that was going to bethel handed over one of his studies to me as a favour. I had one ot two studies with this man and then he ghosted me.
I tried a few more times to get ahold of him and then I came home to a message on my answering machine that he was going to find out where I lived and come and cut my h@ad off.
I told this to the service overseer and he told me to not report it to the police as it would bring reproach on Jehovahs name.
I have so many bad memories in this building. I went to this hall from 1978-1984 and from 1999-2002 when we had a quick build (which then burned down in 2007). My father and grand mother were baptized attending this congregation in 1960.
Watching the video about the girl who said other churches only incorporated a few verses into the sermon but the JW church was all about the Bible and then sitting through a watchtower study that last longer than the talk THAT ONLY INCORPORATED A FEW VERSES FROM THE BIBLE was laughable to say the least.
The caption under the pic says "What blessings in paradise do you look forward to most" The picture reminds me of an ad for Kohl's, or an ad for Wegovy. I can imagine the warning label "Paradise may cause cravings for meat due to vegetarianism, hard labor, endless rules and regulations, preaching, living in an undesirable location, and death if you don't follow the rules"
In casual conversations at gatherings when I was PIMI, sometimes other PIMIs would start talking about what they would’ve done with their lives if not JW. Become a pilot… walk the Camino de Santiago… sail across the pacific… have 4 kids… stuff like that.
Thinking back over the decades I was in, it feels like this came up pretty often among people my age (I’m 46). Was that just me? Maybe some of my friends are actually PIMO?
For context, my husband and I have been PIMO for about a year now. The only thing stopping us from publicly leaving the organization is the fact that we live next door to my in-laws who are ultra PIMIs, they give us a really good deal on rent and my husband and I are currently busy working hard on our education so this is where we’re living for the time being. We are planning to move away some time later this year tho, which is super exciting and long overdue!
Now when it comes to the Memorial, neither one of us wants to attend, obviously, but we definitely feel the pressure from our relatives. For the past month or so, my husband’s parents have been persistently asking us what our plans are for the day of the Memorial (we are in different congregations). They definitely know something’s up with us because we stopped going to the meetings in person about 6 months ago and they noticed. They think we’re still joining on zoom but we’re certainly not lol.
Anyways, they wanted to make it a ‘family occasion’ this year and go to the Memorial all together with our congregation. When I heard that’s what they had in mind I instantly knew I wasn’t willing to do that, so we told them that we were thinking about going to the Memorial in Spanish this year (my mother tongue) which happens to be a language that they don’t understand, all in the hopes that they don’t follow us and we can actually not attend the Memorial this year.
We’re in this weird limbo at the moment where we don’t know for sure if they’ll try to join us last minute but I think chances are they won’t, they’re highly social individuals and they LOVE the association that comes with being part of this cult club, so I don’t think they’ll want to miss out on that lol.
Personally, I have absolutely ZERO respect left for this organization, I am well aware of how deceitful, manipulative and damaging this cult is and I don’t want to support it in any way, on top of that I don’t believe in the Bible anymore and I doubt Jesus ever existed. For me, there’s no reason why we should attend the Memorial but my husband’s worried his family will somehow find out we didn’t attend and that that will give away where we truly stand (which could lead to a series of events that ultimately ends up with us getting kicked out of our apartment or even worse for my husband, his entire family shunning us).
So, how are you guys dealing/coping with all the stress and everything that comes with this time of year? I know every PIMO has their own personal reasons as to why they will or will not attend this year, and nobody should be judged for it. We’ve all been already harshly judged by this organization and its minions in one way or another so let’s not do that here please :)
Anyone have the bullet points of this talk?
Have pimi family coming over tonight and while I really hope it doesn't come up I don't want to expose ourselves that we didn't attend. Anything helps.
24m Pimo. Im off the kms and these 2 try hard elders are begging me to get more involved. Asking "What can we do to help you?". How do you guys deal with getting them off your back? We lack brothers so they are head hunting me. I told them I will start with myself by commenting more just to get them off my back. I need them at bay for some months until I move at the end of summer this year
Yall have got to check out the show Unanswered Oddities!! It makes fun of cults and I think this community would get a kick of one of the main characters Tiggy! It’s an adult swim cartoon but its hilarious and I found myself relating to Tiggy 🤣 he’s like an alien version of an apostate or Exjw lol