Noni1974

No I left almost 10 years ago.

Thanks Waysider I had never heard of the site before.I'll look to see what I can find there.

Hi Ham :) I love squirrels.

I think being born into a cult is different than joining as an adult.As children we have no voice to say we don't want to be a JW or Way member.We grow up with the expectations of our forbears ingrained in us from infancy.We have no choice in the matter.We do what were told because that's all we know.We have no other frame of reference in our lives.The only thing we know is what our parents tell us we should know or believe. I was born a JW as was my mother before me and her father before her.That makes me a 4th generation JW.All the way back to my great grandparents.All of my mothers family is JW with about 4 exceptions from my generation who have left.My whole life revolved around being a JW.Even in school I "was no part of the world".In other words I wasn't allowed to have non JW friends even in school.I was expected to tow the line by not celebrating holidays or birthdays.I wasn't allowed to salute the flag.I always had to " give a good witness".I also could not be friends with spiritually weak members of my own faith.I didn't have a choice in the matter. I've been wondering if it was similar for other people born and raised inside cults.

I would love to go to midnight mass on Christmas.My only problem is I drive a taxi for a living and Christmas Eve is one of our biggest nights of the year.I got to go to a wedding in a church earlier this year and I enjoyed it very much.I had never been to a catholic church before.I'm very curious about other religions.

I have a feeling this is going to be my best Christmas ever. I have a ton of presents under my tree and more are coming.I have to go to the post office to pick up one tomorrow from a friend in Canada.

I'm not what you would call a Christan.I don't celebrate for the religious aspect of the holiday.I celebrate for the feeling of giving and love of the season. Thanks for the ideas. :D

I adopted a kitten a month or so ago.I found him on the streets.He was so little and cold and sweet.He wakes me up every night with kisses.

I see on TV family's making Christmas cookies together.I like to bake but I'm not real artsy so the decorating of the cookies wouldn't be great.I would love to try to do it anyway. I don't know what kind of cookies they are making.How do you wrap them to give away??Does the icing have to dry before you wrap them up??I want them to look nice. A lot of EX JW's don't know how to do Christmas.I put my tree up and wrap the gifts I bought for myself and my friends under my tree. I have friends from all over the world I sent cards to and they sent cards to me.I don't know how to display them.I keep the in a pile on my printer.How do you all display your cards??I've gotten cards from England and Canada and as far away as Trinidad. I know I sound crazy for buying and wrapping gifts for myself.I have this issue with feeling like I'm forgotten about.I buy my own gifts and wrap them because I feel really left out when it comes to Christmas and it's my way of joining in on all the fun I've missed out on because of all my years of being born and raised a JW.At least if I buy myself something I have a present to open on Christmas morning. How do you all feel about telling people what to buy you??I've had people ask me and for me it really is the thought that counts not the actual present it's self.I feel uncomfortable telling people what to buy for me.

Hi everyone it's been a long time since I posted.As I've posted before that I am an EX JW and I wasn't raised to celebrate Christmas. Since I left the JW's it's brought great joy to my life to celebrate the holidays.However I don't really have any traditions to fall back on.No one in my family celebrates so I end up buying myself presents and wrapping them up myself.I also end up opening them alone.Very sad I know. This year will be a little different because I'm going to a friends house the Saturday after Christmas to celebrate.I'm bringing presents for the host and her daughter. I was wondering if you could share a Christmas tradition your family enjoys since I don't have any myself.I'm really curious to see if I do it right or not. I have a really pretty tree all decorated.I have gifts I send out to some of my EX JW friends.I do secret santa on an EX JW board I belong to.I did a card exchange this year and got tons of cards. Every year I try to make it special for myself.So any good ideas would be helpful.

LOL I got C.Not bad for an undereducated EX JW.

Nope he didn't.It's a early spring this year.LOL :biglaugh:

Sorry dear but things extracted from blood are blood products.A Non blood product would come from other sources like chemicals and medical compounds.Not blood.

Are you counting time trying to convert these people to the JW's?I can tell you it won't work your wasting your time.These people already know what it's like being in a cult they don't need or want another one. Why don't you try talking instead of linking back the the bOrg information.Try telling them why you believe what you do. Also ask your elders if it's ok for you to be posting on a web site filled with born again Christans.And a few EX JW's.

Thanks it's my sandcastle kitty!!!

Hi Dmiller.I saw Roy's post at JWO and came right over.

I know this because I was a JW.Born and raised in the cult.My Uncle died a year and a half ago from loss of blood.He lost 75% of his blood due to a bleed in his colon.He died because he refused blood and blood based products.He could have been saved by accepting one of these products now allowed by the JW's own Governing Body.He died at 56 years old.

Wrong JW do accept Blood fractions.They can except all the parts of blood just not the whole blood. From Wikipedia The following are examples of medical procedures and products not prohibited: * Blood donation strictly for purpose of further fractionation of red cells, white cells, platelets or plasma for either allogeneic or autologous transfusion.[16][17] * Transfusions of autologous blood part of a “current therapy” .[18] * Hemodilution, a modified technique in which equipment is arranged in a circuit that is constantly linked to the patient's circulatory system. .[19] * Intraoperative blood salvage (autologous) or cell-saver scavenging, a method of picking up blood that has spilled from the circulatory system into an open wound, cleaning and re-infusing it.[20] * Heart-Lung Machine, a method in which blood is diverted to an artificial heart-lung machine and directed back into the patient.[21] * Dialysis, blood circulates through a machine that filters and cleans it then returns it to the patient.[22] * Epidural Blood Patch, a small amount of the patient's blood is injected into the membrane surrounding the spinal cord.[23] * Plasmapheresis, blood is withdrawn filtered, plasma removed, substituted added and returned to the patient.[24] * Labeling or Tagging, blood is withdrawn, mixed with medicine, and then transfused to the patient.[25] * Platelet Gel, blood is withdrawn and put into a solution rich in platelets and white blood cells.[26] * Fractions from red blood cell * o Hemoglobin, the content of red blood cells. Also see blood substitutes * Fractions from white blood cells.[27] * o Interferons o Interleukins * Fractions from platelets[28] * o Platelet factor 4 * Fractions from blood plasma.[29] * o Albumin o Globulins o Clotting factors, including Factor VIII and Factor IX derived from large quantities of stored blood o Wound healing factor * Erythropoietin (EPO).[30] * PolyHeme, a blood substitute solution of chemically modified human hemoglobin.[31] * Hemopure, a blood substitute solution of chemically stabilized bovine hemoglobin derived from cow's blood.[32] Blood Products Allowed by JW's

As some of you know I'm an EX Jehovahs Witness.I've been a member of a message board / chat site called Thom's Chat for a while now.Well Thom had decided to make it open to any former cult member who wants to join.So he has extended an invitation to those EX TWI who would like to join.It's a modderated board.All of the people currantly on the board are EX JW or have been related to JW's or in relationships with JW's.All are welcome now.This is not like JWO.It's not a free for all.I know some had bad experiances with JWO.But I can promisse you no one will attack you. Here's the link if you would like to check it out. Thom's chat I should have put this in the open fourm.Can someone move it???Thanks.

I'm not a big fan either.I have one of course but I don't really like it.People forget they are in public and talk about anything.I wish people would learn to keep their voices down. I was waiting for the bus today and on the other side of the street was a man yelling.I couldn't tell if he was talking to himself or on the phone.

Thank you.I've been out of my cage for 9 years now and I love my freedom more everyday.It's not always easy to be alone.But I have my parents and my friends when I need suport.I would love to reconnect with my other family who shunn me but I value my freedom more.I would never go back to being a JW. Good news is I called one of my Aunts who has shunned me monday to get a phone number and she talked to me like a normal person.She told me about her daughters getting married.She told me about the man my cousins marrying.She told me she looks forward to seeing me at my family reuion satuerday.I told her I was bring my Boyfriend and she said she looks forward to meeting him.We had a real conversation that did not center around anything JW related.I'm in shock.I'm wondering if my family relationship is going to finally be about family and not about being a JW.I hope so.But I know I can't put any hope or faith in them until I see it .

I don't want you guys to think I've forgotten about you or your replys.I work weekends and I won't be able to read or reply in full until monday or tuesday.

Thanks everyone for the warm welcome. I'll tell you all a little more about my life.I'm a taxi driver from Cleveland, Oh.I was born in Dover, Oh.I grew up poor.My family has lived in cock roach infested trailers in Florida.My Mom is in a nursing home at the moment.Doing well I'm glad to say.I have 27 first cousins all of them shunn me.I have 2 aunts and 1 uncle bye blood still alive.All shunn me.I have 3 aunts and 1 uncle bye marraige all shunn me.My grandfather is still alive he shunns me.I have 2 uncles and 1 aunt and my grandma who have passed on. I have my Mom and Dad thats about it.I have a really close friend who I call my sister.I really think of her as family.I helped her get off drugs and the streets.I'm not religious which is normal for EX JW's.My life was so controlled before I don't want to even think about religion.JW's only talk to other JW's so I was told who I could have as a freind and who I couldn't.I was told what to wear.How to style my hair.What music I could listen to.Where I could go.But I have to say my family weren't the worst bye any means.Other parents were way more controlling than mine.I at least was allowed to go to public school.Most JW kids now are not allowed to go to public school now.Most are home schooled.I was not allowed to join clubs at school or go to most school events.I was not allowed to joing sports teams or compete with anyone.I was made to go to 5 meetings a week it's only three days a week but the have two diffrant meeting on the same day.Lke Snday would be the Public talk and the Watchtower study then Tuesdaywould be the Bookstudy that one was an hour long meeting studing one of the WTS many books.Thursday would be the service meeting and someting eles but I for the life of me can't remeber what it was.But it was two hours total long. Then of course there was the feild service.You had to put in an avarage of 15 hours a month.If you didn't you were considered spiritually weak and not shunned but not invited to go places like partys or picinics. Got to go for now!!!!!!

When I went to the Kindom Hall they had a whole meeting devoted to door to door techniques.What to say.How to bring up scripture.How to show them from there bible.It was called the service meeting.Woman practiced talking to one another in public at these meetings.Men usually gave longer speaches because men are allowed to teach and women aren't allowed to teach men.It's a headship thing.Men being the head and women being under men.you actually have to sign up for this it was called the Ministry School. Heres another question for anyone who wants to answer it.What do pfal classes teach?How much do they cost?And were you required to take them?

I've gotten the feeling that TWI was a Born Again Christian off shoot.Could someone please explain what Born Again really means.As a JW we were never really told what it meant just that Born Agains are into things like speaking in tounges.I don't eaxctly know what that really is either.I've never seen it for myself and I don't know anybody who does it.I don't really know anyone who would say they were Born Again either so if you have a website or something I would very much like to know for myself what it means. JW's have a dislike for Born Agains and I have no real clue as to why.I personally don't have the same dislike because when I left the JW's I left all that type of thinking behind.I hate being ignorant of something so I feel like I should hear it from those who practice it.