penguin

Not to be a downer...

But I do remember the high school students being told to be involved in community volunteering and school activities because it would look good on scholarship applications.

Hey all,

Well I wasn't really referring to people teaching their personal experiences. What I was referring to was if you happened to mention a personal experience to a fellow twit or leader&$*# and how your experience would be blown off.

The only valid experience in twi was "I learned this in the class and it helped my life or I started giving more $$ and now I have more abundance type of crap."

Thanks for being so gracious Chaz--I am the someone that made the "know-it-all" comment. I am sorry--I should only have spoken for myself not others in that department. I am still "decompressing" as you put it and am rather ashamed of how I have acted while in twi. For me personally, I definitely thought I knew everything and had everything in its own good or bad, black or white box. I am just starting to realize how I was and how I had classified everything.

Please be patient with me! I haven't been out long and am just beginning in my re-evaluation of my beliefs/theology. I know I still have plenty of bad personality traits that were cultivated during my time in twi that were not there before. In all honesty I have a tendency right now to run fast if anything resembles twi because of my fear of being sucked in all over again.

I have found that there are plenty of Christians out there who do love God and some know more about Him than I do. :o

I have learned that things in life are not as cut and dry as twi said. I am sorry to have ever acted like a spoiled, demanding little brat in my prayer time with our Father. (Like I know more than He does about what I really need!) I am learning to trust Him to take care of the big picture instead of telling Him what to do all the time.

Shaz,

Very good point! I hadn't thought of it from that aspect. We always had to be such know-it-alls while innies didn't we? Black and white, cut and dry.

John that was one aspect of experience that we know from the Word would not be true while being innies since the dead are dead---so the area of apparitions is not really what I was referring to. I think there is plenty of room for God to work with us within the realms of what other people in the Bible experienced and/or at least things that would not contradict the Word.

I was always told not to trust or expect any experiences on personal level. For the most part, only what God showed me while reading the Bible was valid-but even then could be shot down quickly by leadership. We really learned how to stifle and quench the holy spirit by putting God in such a tiny box.

I was thinking about something last night...and recalled how we used to tell people that any "personal experiences" of God couldn't be trusted, but only what the Bible said could be trusted and called true. (This was mostly 90's thinking)

I don't want to debate the above statement--just want to ask you if you remember this being said (or something similar) and why you think twi would say it.

What was ironic about the statement was the fact it was still taught that VPW heard an audible voice from God. (Something that couldn't be guaranteed by the Word to happen, but since it was vpw it was okay.) It would not have been acceptable for any of us peons to have this happen.

Do you think twi taught this so they wouldn't have to explain people's experiences? Or maybe it was a way to prevent us from really been able to establish a true relationship with God? Maybe another way to keep our emotions out of the picture? Or maybe a way to prevent us from hearing the still small voice?

Well I thought I would give my 2-bit response. Got a lot of re-evaluating going on here. Is there room on one of the couches? I have a couple of boxes of girl scout cookies!

I took the PFAL class knowing about SIT in the 12th session. In fact, wanting to SIT was THE only real reason I took the class. No one would teach me anything about SIT and told me I would have to take the class. (Granted that I was a high school student and could only take a class they could put together in the summer--it took a year and a half before I could take PFAL.)

The irony of it was that I was so shy and petrified to stand up and SIT in front of anyone that I read and re-read the holy spirit book as well as volume 2 of collaterals while taking the class. I spoke in tongues by myself in my room after session 5 or 6---to make sure I could do it before session 12!

The only good thing about it was that I really understood a lot of that material so could lead others into SIT if they wanted--I never made them wait for the class!

On the day of Pentecost, some of the crowd responded and asked Peter what should we do?

In Acts 2:38 He answers:Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

I believe the key word is REPENT-defined by Strongs as:

1.to change one's mind, i.e. to repent

2.to change one's mind for better, heartily to amend with abhorrence of one's past sins

(emphasis mine)

We have to turn away from and abhor (dislike strongly) all the behaviors at the beginning of this thread. If we really abhor them we will not continue doing them. Jesus said to repent (same Greek root word) because the kingdom of heaven was near. If we really make Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior--we are supposed to be a new creature-not stay in the same old sins. I think Jesus as Lord means more than an intellectual mental assent (Yes I used a twi term!)

Mt 7 talks about how we will know a good tree by its good fruit. It also has the passage in verse 21-23 that says not everyone who calls Jesus Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven even those who did works in his name. Verse 23 says Jesus will tell some that "I never knew you, depart from me, those who work iniquity"

Belle posted about the free gift we have been given. We don't really receive a gift until we do something with it.

I left right at 20 years. Could've done it sooner if I had openly talked to the spouse!

Hmm Doesnt the quote go, "Choose your rut wisely, you may be there a while?"

Very appropriate I believe. I spent 20 years in my twi rut--never questioning, never looking at any "resources" other than twi publications, tapes and approved "research books"

So the Corpse gets to regurgitate all of the wonderful classes offered by twi AND now also has official study time for the collaterals as well. Oh goody!

Even their special Advanced Class Special on researching the Word only used the collaterals with a few stopovers in a concordance or lexicon that lined up exactly with what the collaterals were saying. There were SOO many REALLY bored people in that room!!

I have purposely avoided KJV because my brain goes on twi tangents. I have been reading (just for enjoyment) the NIV. I have been told the NASB has italics for where words have been added just like the KJV.

Ok everyone ...

"Let's do the Time Warp Again!!!!!"

Every time I attempt to read one of these articles... I want to do this.... and it seems like this starts to happen. I know we have people just waiting to see what goes wrong with us since we left "the household"

In reality, I had missed out on a huge chunk of life since I was so busy obeying twi. I started to neglect that intimate relationship I was supposed to have with God and with Jesus Christ.

Interesting from what I gather anyone living together who wants to get married needs to do a justice of the peace thing....but then twi always makes exceptions if your relatives know the right people in leadership and are good enough at brown-nosing.

Thanks Belle! I had to go ahead and pick the first two rounds--as of this morning I had 10 right and 5 wrong. I think by now more of my picks have lost. I went too safe and went by their seeds and percentages without allowing for any underdogs. I will probably have to pick the next round Monday

Hmm corpse of the nineties.....

In rez started with back to back face meltings....... continued with more face meltings...not wanting to sit in front row of corpse nites or STS due to spittle flying in your direction.....learned to be mean and tough to fellow corpse bros and sis.....no weakness allowed.....and tons of in rez corpse getting kicked out...along with disappearing staff...corpse people being killed in accidents and craig said it was because they 1. changed their schedule 2. were not 2 by 2 ....no questions allowed-just jump!

The only good thing about corpse was I met my honey during my training.

Yep the M*llins are and have been for several years region coordinators again. And gee-as messed up as they supposedly were, they were never actually dropped from corpse!

I dont know how many of you follow college hoops--I don't but I need help picking the winners in each region for a contest. Any suggestions?

Not tempted in the least!! You would have to drag me kicking and screaming!!! And I would have said that while still in and drunk on the Kool Aid!

Well, I am sure that twi believes they are holding off bin laden and his crew as well since they still have an emergency what to have list in case of terrorist attacks. Have since 2001. Don't forget to have plastic covering or pre-cut to cover your windows in case of a chemical attack!!!

It sure is Belle! I think they threw that comment in to distract us from the fact they actually said adultury was wrong! :blink:

Oldies--I like that question--you think we can find an innie to ask it this spring/summer when they run the class again. I wish I would have thought about it!! lol

I too have heard there is no mark and avoid list anymore...but the next sentence was that former way grads that are very outspoken and bitter about twi are on a list to not allow in to fellowship

Seems like the same boring teachings that can put you to sleep even if you've had lots of cups of coffee!

What was expected of you certainly did change. I entered the corpse to be the best twig coordinator I could be. I wanted to help people whichever way I could. I knew corpse twig coordinators that were going back to school and some corpse grads with no assignment. Well, everyone knows now that being a lowly twig coordinator in the 90's meant you were not living up to your salt as corpse because in the 90's and later it was a requirement to be able to handle a branch, limb or region if you wanted to stay active corpse. Course these days there are "branches" with just 2 fellowships!)

Well, the men can post too--I am sure they have observations.

Thanks BB for the quote. I am still suffering from the glass heart and can relate to it.

Think about marching around with wooden spoons--how much did us women have to harden our hearts in order to use that on our sweet liitle ones?