What was your turning point for Jehovah?
by Home Page
I was wondering... how did you folks come into the truth? I know
many of the ones local to me, especially the "kids" were born into the truth,
but if so, when did you make the truth your own? What prompted you, deep down, to
dedicate yourself to Jehovah and make your own spiritual advancement, rather than your
parents encouraging you to do so?
As a start, here's my story...
I was born into the truth. BUT, wasn't in it for most of my
childhood. My parents were both Witnesses, but in August 1970, shortly after my 5th
birthday, my mother died from heart failure. She was around 29. A few months
after that, my dad was disfellowshipped (he was out for 30 years... reinstated October
2000). We went to live with my paternal grandmother.
For several years during the mid 1970's to early 1980's, a couple who were
in the Dover (North, now English) congregation studied with our family (me, my 2 younger
sisters, my grandmother and uncle) and I tolerated it... but tried to apply what I could.
In 1986, after my 21st birthday, I got drunk... really bad... I got home
and as soon as I got out of the car I was really sick... the next day I had the first and
only hangover I ever had. I looked at this system of things and saw a brick wall and
knew I had to serve Jehovah. I knew all about the new systerm and resuurection... I
looked forward to it all my life, but knew I had to serve Jehovah to get there...
I worked with a sister and two brothers from the Towaco Congregation (they
were there at the time... now we're all elsewhere) and approached the sister, Tracy, about
wanting to serve Jehovah. It was her I approached since we worked the same shift and
we knew each other. I knew she was a Witness, I didn't know Matt or Tom at the time.
She was going to be in pioneer school for the next two weeks, but gave me a stack
of magazines, brochures, a Live Forever book and Creation book (At least she had a good
service report with placements). That night I read the Live Forever book cover to
cover. I couldn't wait for her to get back so I could get to meetings again.
After she got back from school, I started attending the Towaco meetings, she
arranged a Bible study for me with a brother (His family had a book study in his home, so
after the book study we had our study). I said off the bat, no service... I am not
going to do that...
So I was going to 3 of the 5 meetings.. Tracy mentioned the TMS and
Service Meeting... the first TMS I went to there was the written review... ugh... I did
okay though... and kept going...
The MAJOR point in my progress was the first circuit assmbly I went to...
it was like a month or two after I started studying again. I was so impressed, but I
think the Stanley Theater was distracting me from the program. No matter... I knew
at that point that I wanted to get baptized... I wanted to go out in service, to pioneer,
to serve the friends and serve Jehovah... that was about November 1986...
By January 1987 I was an "approved associate" as unbaptized
publishers were called then. I was then putting in between 25 to 40 hours per month
is service. I got baptized in August 1987 and started auxillary pioneering in
Septermber... that was the start of my theocratic life....
Now... how about YOU?
AI Summary
37 Comments
whew when you were out getting drunk.. i was still poopin' in my diaper and saying stuff like " not the mommy " and hitting my dad with a pot.
Well, I got drunk ONCE!!! That was more than enough for me... but you don't LOOK like baby dinosaur...
sounds like a story out of the yearbook
Actually, I would like to write my life story like it is from the magazines... everything up til now...
the stanley theater is bar none the best convention hall the witnesses own. i love that thing so much. i wish we were assigned there but it is very distracting.
I had to go there last year to see a friend of mine get baptized..and I hadn't been there in so long. It's perfect
i go there all the time.. seeing as how i'm assigned there.. i can't see going anywhere else. it's nice.
Yea, I've been going there since I was like, 2 years old. I love it. It's great. But I'm starting to boycott the star show at the end.
the star show? eh?
Yea...have you ever been there for it?
The star show is AWESOME!!!! Don't boycott it!
I just can't take seeing it every time we go there...Seeing it 3 or 4 times is enough...Seeing it over 40 times, is way more than I need.
I've been there at least 10 times and I haven't seen it yet somehow!
You have to go the last day of the assembly, and its at the very end after they say the closing prayer
no miss. you're wrong. it's on SPECIAL ASSMEBLY days..not 2 or 3 day. Just special one days now.
ummm...WRONG! Because we just had a 2-day assembly (we never have 3 day assemblies) and we had the star show at the end.
interesting. i like cookies.
Better than birds?
what's the star show??????????
In the Stanley Theater, the whole auditorium is designed to look like an outdoor courtyard in Italy. There are little wires in the ceiling with lights on them, and a cloud machine that rotates so that when the lights are turned off, the stars shine and the clouds are moving, and its supposed to look like you're going under the Rialto Bridge in Venice. It is pretty cool when you think about it (and when you've seen it the first 6 times...but after that...)
really? it is pretty cool, i would get so annoyed when people would take flash pictures though
Oh, they make an announcement before everytime they do it, for people to NOT take pictures, but there are always some there that don't listen and take them anyway.
I wish we would go there... but I do like Buckingham... just too far...
Anyway, isn't ANYONE going to tell us when they made the truth their own???? I need some encouragement, people!!!
i know my definite changing point was when i became really depressed. like i was so mad at myself and the world and people around me. i seriously wanted to die. i contemplated different ways of sucide several times. so when i would sit so depressed and willing to die i felt so stupid. so i figured i should at least talk to one person. so i remember like every night after i would go to sleep i would wake up in the middle of the night and just pray and cry myself back to sleep but after every time i would always feel a little better. i evuantally (and slowly)got better. now i know jehovah will always be there just to help me. i thought this would help some people. letting them know things do get better.
Depression seems to be more common among Jehovah's people than you think... this will shock a few, but I have dealt with it myself in the past, but not to the extent you have... thanks for the comments and I'm sure you have encouraged a few... including me!!!!
thanks. i was really nervous about whether or not i should say anything because not a lot of people know about it.
Same here... but then again, you could be anybody anywhere since your profile is a little vague... but nevertheless it takes a lot to admit the problem
ha that's because i made a seprate name so i could say it.
I don't believe I've had a true turning point, or maybe it just hasn't come yet? Either way, I've had a few little ones. One was when after believing for years that if one person turn aside with satan after he was released after 1000 years we'd all be destroyed. I used to pray every night about it almost crying because it upset me so much. The second one would definetly be when I first really understood Jesus' sacrfice. A lot of information I had in my head fell into place and everything started to make sense and I really started to appreciate the truth then
Yeah, it doesn't have to be one big revelation, a lot of little ones can nudge you toward making the truth your own too..
Hmm..I was brought up in the truth, but a big milestone for me was when I was 12. We moved from the street where Id always lived, I left all my friends there and we moved back to the congregation where my parents had first studied, everyone knew us but I was a baby when we'd left. I hated my parents for moving me. I was used to having people on hand in the street to "play" with, here I didnt and it made me really depressed so I stopped going to the meetings(much to my parents desperation). Then my grandma died, she was the strongest sister Ive ever met, she was amazing I loved her sooo much and I remember thinking that the only way I would ever get to see her again was in the resurrection and the only way I could learn about that was the meetings. So I started, begrudgingly, to go again. It wasnt long before I was invited to a get together at a family's house, they did it every other Friday for the teenagers in the hall, we'd go through the watchtower or the YPA book and then we'd just hang out. I actually started to make friends and got myself a social life. To cut a long story short these friends were better than any Id ever had. They encouraged me to go to the meetings, one brother even went out on service with me every Saturday even though I was too shy to talk on the door. That was the turning point. I realised that not only did we have perfet eternal life in the future and a chance to see the people we love again, but there were immediate benefits. I had REAL friends and an organisation that opened up so many opportunities to travel and serve with people who all want the same thing I do! Plus Im safe! That was it, sorry it was so long, hope it made sense.
Wow, Laura, that is cool... it sounds like the YPA video, but that is drawn from real life experiences... no matter where we are, though, as long as we are associated with Jehovah's people, we are home
I know having friends inside the congregation is always helpful and encouraging. It makes being different from the world that much easier and it makes things a lot of fun sometimes. Like, when Heather poured water on Amanda and I every time we went out in service together. THAT's fun!
hahahahaha, ok linds one time!!
TWO times heather dear..two
stop trying to sound like you can count.
if Big Brother says 2+2=5..2+2=5. If Big Brother says Heather poured water on me twice..she did!