Posted by Tantalus [Tantalus] on November 27, 1999 at 12:33:02 {nwG7wj0NI.5mhrmu9.YkAJToxO4pJo}:
Hello all,
While many of you were celebrating with friends and family and giving thanks for the good we enjoy as well as the company mentioned, many across the country were being tormented by relatives and a false religion's desire to be different. Many normal (and abnormal!) families have their various celebrations and holidays spoiled by Witness family members that refuse to take part, shun some present, and in every way possible highlight their differences and attribute them to God. They suffer and cause suffering as a part of their "not being a part of the world" and "separating" and "getting out of the unclean thing." These witnesses think they show their faith in a favorable light by doing this, and they think also that Jehovah sees and approves. It is sickening to me to think of all the innocent parents and others who are cut so deeply by this kind of behavior. I put up a post on here by a person calling herself Kokono who was telling of how she had shunned not only her daughter but her grand daughter even at assemblies because of the daughter until the daughter broke and returned to the Kingdom Hall. The one below is from a "sister" who isolates herself during the Thanksgiving meal. She has written before that none of her fleshly family are witnesses and that the people at Wit.net are her "real" family. I guess you have to have had a close family member treat you like this to fully appreciate how cruel it is. I imagine how the family felt with this girl shutting herself up in her room during the Thanksgiving meal. The few days reference is to the changes made in the format at wit.net while another poster was away from the board for a few days.
Few days only away for a few hours! I'm the only one in the truth and I live with my parents so they are celebrating the holiday I am here in my room where it is somewhat quiet.
This next one is from one who has gone home for the final days of her mother's life and then refused to attend the funeral. This one kind of hit home for me because my daughter is shunning me and as my wife and I are a package deal this means she never gets to see her mother either. I probably phrased that wrong, her mother doesn't get to see her either. She had the gall in a letter she wrote to tell my wife the estrangement from me "Hasn't effected my relationship with you at all, we can still stay close through cards and letters." Assuming of course that it was all up to her, and that she would know if any damage was done and that cards and letters are all a mom needs to stay close to a daughter an hour away.. If she could have heard her mother saying, "If she won't come see me while I am alive and ill, I don't want her at my funeral if I die." She might not have been so certain that no damage had been done. My wife was and is a great mom, and is having some health problems that are very frightening to both of us though I don't think they are life threatening. My wife was never a witness and had to suffer with me while I was in and now with my daughter. There is no justice in this world. Anyway, I told her our daughter wouldn't come to the funeral anyway as it would be in a church. I probably shouldn't have told her that, but we were discussing our wills and funerals and such and I thought she needed to know the truth about it. As verified by this woman from wit.net:
When my Mother died, much to my family's dismay, I stayed behind while the family attended the funeral at my Mother's church (the one I used to attend before finding the Truth). I have a large family so the pressure to attend the funeral was on.
While alone at my Mother's home while my family gathered at the church, I pleaded with Jehovah to be with my spiritual family... to hear the prayer of one of our brothers on my behalf. No sooner had I prayed then a car group of friends (who I had never met and who drove at least 30 minutes to get to me) came by my Mother's home. They stayed with me the entire time of the funeral, so I wasn't alone. And at the end of our visit, the brother prayed to Jehovah on my behalf. It brought tears to my eyes for there is nothing more beautiful than to hear the prayer of a brother. It gave me strength to endure a little longer.
It is typical that at this time of loss for her and her family this girl didn't pray for her real family but for the witnesses who had not lost a mother or had a sister, daughter, grandchild, whatever insult the mother's memory and the present family by not even attending her own mom's funeral. It really is a selfish love, hoping to kiss up to god to get eternal life I guess, at the expense of hurting her family now. The last witness prayer I heard, the guy said Jehovah so many times it was took a lot away by being so redundant. For those who visit this board and are not Witnesses I just wanted to share some of the blessings of having these loving Christians as part of your family. If we are to identify Christians by their fruits or by their love, then these guys are closer to being rats than Christians.
Tantalus