I think this is a good idea.

I understand why some people here are having difficulty with this, there was a time when I would have too. I have also been thinking about this, and I know some of that has come from conversations where we've touched on aspects of this dude.

I will say in all honesty that I am not as good of a public speaker as I was when I was a JW. Many of the points in the Theocratic Ministry School book are actually valid speaking pointers you would hear in any public speaking class. Things like gesturing and eye contact with the audience are essential, and were taught to those of us who grew up in it almost as soon as we could read. How many other people got the opportunity to give 5 minute presentations in front of 70 or 80 people when they were children? After appearing successfully on a convention part to tell a grossly exaggerated experience I had in school, I  felt that I could conquer any other stage in the future. 

I saw many JW's take in families that had fallen on hard times. One family of 7 once took in 4 additional people because the husband up and left to Puerto Rico to be with a woman who lived there. I've seen many people from the congregation continue to visit my grandmother despite the fact that she has advanced stages of Alzheimer's disease. These visits and visits from family are about the only thing keeping my grandmother going. JW's will often go beyond normal lengths to be helpful and compassionate to elderly ones who have been faithful. One of my grandmother's aids is a JW who is a retired registered nurse. She gives my grandmother a quick check up every week and listens to the Sunday meeting on the phone with her. She does the check up free of charge. This woman is providing a priceless service to the family at no cost, and at a time when we're going through almost $4,000 of her money a month that's very important.

I understand that this organization has caused many people a lot of pain, it's designed to do that to people who leave and it did it to both me and dude. But you can't look at anything black and white, that is the most valuable thing I have learned from my exit of Jehovah's Witnesses. That being said, a very important milestone in my recovery was realizing that rule included the JW experience.

-Dave

“When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down ‘happy.' They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life.”

- John Lennon
Last Edited By: SwingLifeAway Jul 5 11 7:11 AM. Edited 1 times.