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Post by thecitizen on Jun 30, 2022 18:23:02 GMT
Like many religions that control every aspect of your life, growing up as a Jehovah's Witness was no different. We went to the Kingdom Hall twice a week and had Bible Study once a week as well as field service Saturday mornings where we distributed those magazines and pamphlets. We were not allowed to go to other churches, pray with people who were not Jehovah's Witnesses or Celebrate any holidays. Not even our birthdays. We were discouraged from going to college and encouraged to get married as soon as we graduated from high school. We could not pledge allegiance to the flag or sing any patriotic songs. When I was 13 me and my 16 year old sister decided that we did not want to be apart of this religion anymore. We told our mother and she was heart broken. We did get support from our father who was never a part of the religion and our older siblings who had already left the religion and felt that it had ruined their lives. My older sister got a scholarship to college, but did not go because the elders in the religion convinced her not to. In turn, she got married to one of the members. It was a terrible marriage which ended 3 years later. She left the marriage with two children and had to start her life all over. Jehovah Witnesses do not beleive in the holy trinity. Their prayers are to Jehovah God, never in the name of Jesus Christ. When my grandfather died, my mother and her sisters did not go to the funeral because the funeral was in a church. Many of my cousins are still Witnesses which makes it difficult for us to have family gatherings. One of my cousins died and we decided that instead of having it in a church (so that the entire family could attend) we had it in a furneral home. But since her preacher was a pastor of a church, when he gave the Elegy, all of the Witnesses left the funeral home and waited outside.
I truly beleive that no religion should have so much control over anyone's life. My father would always tell my mother that she belonged to a cult.
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Post by Mercy for All on Jun 30, 2022 18:47:14 GMT
Like many religions that control every aspect of your life, growing up as a Jehovah's Witness was no different. We went to the Kingdom Hall twice a week and had Bible Study once a week as well as field service Saturday mornings where we distributed those magazines and pamphlets. We were not allowed to go to other churches, pray with people who were not Jehovah's Witnesses or Celebrate any holidays. Not even our birthdays. We were discouraged from going to college and encouraged to get married as soon as we graduated from high school. We could not pledge allegiance to the flag or sing any patriotic songs. When I was 13 me and my 16 year old sister decided that we did not want to be apart of this religion anymore. We told our mother and she was heart broken. We did get support from our father who was never a part of the religion and our older siblings who had already left the religion and felt that it had ruined their lives. My older sister got a scholarship to college, but did not go because the elders in the religion convinced her not to. In turn, she got married to one of the members. It was a terrible marriage which ended 3 years later. She left the marriage with two children and had to start her life all over. Jehovah Witnesses do not beleive in the holy trinity. Their prayers are to Jehovah God, never in the name of Jesus Christ. When my grandfather died, my mother and her sisters did not go to the funeral because the funeral was in a church. Many of my cousins are still Witnesses which makes it difficult for us to have family gatherings. One of my cousins died and we decided that instead of having it in a church (so that the entire family could attend) we had it in a furneral home. But since her preacher was a pastor of a church, when he gave the Elegy, all of the Witnesses left the funeral home and waited outside. I truly beleive that no religion should have so much control over anyone's life. My father would always tell my mother that she belonged to a cult. Thanks for sharing. I agree with you about that kind of control over someone else's life. I have also heard people joke about "getting Jehovah's Witnesses off your doorstep" that you just need to start praying with them and they'll leave... |
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thor
Legend
Posts: 20,411
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Post by thor on Jun 30, 2022 23:48:18 GMT
Like many religions that control every aspect of your life, growing up as a Jehovah's Witness was no different. We went to the Kingdom Hall twice a week and had Bible Study once a week as well as field service Saturday mornings where we distributed those magazines and pamphlets. We were not allowed to go to other churches, pray with people who were not Jehovah's Witnesses or Celebrate any holidays. Not even our birthdays. We were discouraged from going to college and encouraged to get married as soon as we graduated from high school. We could not pledge allegiance to the flag or sing any patriotic songs. When I was 13 me and my 16 year old sister decided that we did not want to be apart of this religion anymore. We told our mother and she was heart broken. We did get support from our father who was never a part of the religion and our older siblings who had already left the religion and felt that it had ruined their lives. My older sister got a scholarship to college, but did not go because the elders in the religion convinced her not to. In turn, she got married to one of the members. It was a terrible marriage which ended 3 years later. She left the marriage with two children and had to start her life all over. Jehovah Witnesses do not beleive in the holy trinity. Their prayers are to Jehovah God, never in the name of Jesus Christ. When my grandfather died, my mother and her sisters did not go to the funeral because the funeral was in a church. Many of my cousins are still Witnesses which makes it difficult for us to have family gatherings. One of my cousins died and we decided that instead of having it in a church (so that the entire family could attend) we had it in a furneral home. But since her preacher was a pastor of a church, when he gave the Elegy, all of the Witnesses left the funeral home and waited outside. I truly beleive that no religion should have so much control over anyone's life. My father would always tell my mother that she belonged to a cult. Thanks for sharing. I agree with you about that kind of control over someone else's life. I have also heard people joke about "getting Jehovah's Witnesses off your doorstep" that you just need to start praying with them and they'll leave... It's not really THAT hard.  Given where I live, we have folks going door-to-door every now and then, including JWs. I still think if someone comes to your home unobnoxiously proselytizing, you don't need to be an ass and slam the door in their faces. Most people will take a simple, 'No, thanks', and be on their way. I WAS feeling snarky once and told the folks that my wife and I were 'Recovering Catholics' and that got the message across. HOWEVER (and it has happened), if someone goes all out with the 'Jesus is Lard' fire and brimstone stuff, they are told (not asked) to depart immediately. That kind of thing has only happened to us once, though. One funny story I will relate: A couple of Mormons came by. I said 'Guys, do you even know what state you are in? This is Baptist Country.' They said 'Yeah, the church sends us where it will.' I said 'Didn't get the Paris gig Mitt Romney got, eh?' They laughed. It was hot, so I gave them a couple of bottles of water, had a brief discussion of how I know about the LDS, and told them there are a fair number of Mormons where I grew up (HI), and they even had a satellite of BYU there (BYUH). It ended on a nice not, and I told them I wasn't interested, and off they went. |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 1, 2022 16:07:08 GMT
I can say only one thing about them, they have no sense of humor whatsoever, at least the ones who came to my door.
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Odysseus
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Trump = Disaster
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Post by Odysseus on Oct 10, 2022 8:22:37 GMT
Back in the 1980's I lived across the street from an elementary school in a college town.
We used to get all sorts of religious door knockers, including Jehovah's Witnesses. Usually I'd just tell them, "Sorry, not interested" and they'd just continue on their way. Usually they made me take some pamphlet first, though.
Around the same time I did some business in Utah and of course got to know some Mormons fairly well. They were mostly nice people and didn't try to convert me. But I don't think I'd be too happy living in Utah. Too fucking conservative.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Oct 12, 2022 9:01:12 GMT
The worst of the worst are the scientologists. You can tell they have been indoctrinated, hard!
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Post by william on Dec 31, 2022 0:08:00 GMT
I can say only one thing about them, they have no sense of humor whatsoever, at least the ones who came to my door. Years ago they would knock on my door almost monthly. I tried to get them to stop, but nothing worked until one day a couple with 5 or 6 kids in tow they came by with their pamphlets. I opened the door and directed my message directly at the kids, telling them to get an education and get away from this fake religion their parents were hung up in. I must be on a list, because they still cross to the other side of the street when canvassing my neighborhood. Yep, no sense of humor at all. |
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