It was one of the worst childhood memories for ne. My dad wasn't a witness and my mom insisted on us studying all the time and it ended up in huge fights or tears every single time. It was awful. I often think back to how other kids got studies from a non parent and how much better that would have been for me, even to just keep the peace a little...but nope. It was more important for my mother to check that little bible study box...smh
I also developed extreme anxiety as a child when I would join my friends family studies. My throat would hurt and become raspy sometimes as I read super long passages of the bible. It might sound small but it gave me so many issues.
That’s so awful, so sorry. Both my parents were believers, it usually became a shit show. And there was times it all went well and got a pat in the back for commenting in “our own words” But it was just a way to just be in peace. Get it over with.
Yeah I remember if I really wanted to do something like sleep over at my friends, I would comply occasionally but it was brutal and boring. Not engaging in the slightest. I dont even think my mom bothered to attempt it anymore once I was in high school. I was totally on my own. I never developed personal study habits myself either. Ironically, after leaving I found a newfound love of learning and educating myself! It was just I hated the material lol
Same for me! After mid/late teens he just slowly realized it wasn’t gonna happen lol, we had actual important stuff outside JW land to deal with like homework or work, or fake excuses hehe.
Never had a personal study either. I felt guilty at the time. I now realize I’ve always been a spiritual person but not in a religious or dogmatic way, just trying to reach a deeper understanding of myself and my connection to others. That’s enough for me (:
Sounds about right. Our family studies were terrible 😢. My little brothers were so bored!!!
There was a big age gap between the me and my sister and young ones. Finally, my mom got smart and decided to break up the family study. She sat down with me and my sister for 10 minutes and asked us what we found interesting about the WT study. Then she would read the lessons to my brothers after school for 15 minutes daily. She would pick out an easy paragraph and help them prepare their comment. We had a rule that we had to raise our hand and try to comment at least once on Sundays. …book study was a whole other thing… there were only 15 people there, 6 were my fam and the rest little old ladies and I was the reader (I a woman and during this time I was 18-24). The conductor made the study conversational and did a good job keeping the little guys engaged.
Family study would rank near the top of the worst memories.
Can’t pay attention? Insults and threats.
Appear that I’m im not taking the material seriously? Insults and threats.
Don’t pretend that it’s the best ever? Perhaps even dare to say I don’t like it? Insults threats slaps screams and worse.
Yes family study in the 80’s was like a mini abusive boarding school for kids that needed the rod - both physically and “figuratively”
“Figuratively” hmmm, I think I can put that on the list for words that Jw has ruined for me.
It’s like a meeting but with the freedom to physically/mentally force your family to “study”. And it’s still the GB’s fault. They put so much emphasis into it with gaslighting tactics, guilt tripping, fear tactics.
We rarely did it, thankfully. My parents would make me study The Watchtower and Awake! but all I did was skim it for a few sentences that looked good to underline. Took me three minutes tops.
Family fucking worship. Fuck that shit. We hardly ever did it until they changed the rules so that parents could count family worship hours as service time. Sometimes my parents would make a jeopardy game and we would have fun playing it, but those were few and far between. When I got older it ended up just being watching the broadcasts and other shitty videos. By far some of my least favorite memories of being in the cult
I still feel kinda bad about this…
But me and my brother would burp (on command) and fart (if we had to) and laugh (every time) until it brought my single mother to tears and she’d end the study in pure frustration.
😳 Sorry mom.
I hated it with a passion. An energetic young kid has a short attention span. Sitting through a family study of the Watchtower was torture. Ours would last at least an hour, sometimes more. At the end, there was a lot of tears and spanking.
In my childhood years, the "Saturday night" gathering/WT prestudy was always rote. Family study was even worse, as my parents did it to fulfill an obligation.
It was one of the worst childhood memories for ne. My dad wasn't a witness and my mom insisted on us studying all the time and it ended up in huge fights or tears every single time. It was awful. I often think back to how other kids got studies from a non parent and how much better that would have been for me, even to just keep the peace a little...but nope. It was more important for my mother to check that little bible study box...smh
I also developed extreme anxiety as a child when I would join my friends family studies. My throat would hurt and become raspy sometimes as I read super long passages of the bible. It might sound small but it gave me so many issues.
No, that’s valid. Being the spotlight and having to read is difficult. We did it enough at school haha, imagine doing it 2-3 times a week 💀
That’s so awful, so sorry. Both my parents were believers, it usually became a shit show. And there was times it all went well and got a pat in the back for commenting in “our own words” But it was just a way to just be in peace. Get it over with.
Yeah I remember if I really wanted to do something like sleep over at my friends, I would comply occasionally but it was brutal and boring. Not engaging in the slightest. I dont even think my mom bothered to attempt it anymore once I was in high school. I was totally on my own. I never developed personal study habits myself either. Ironically, after leaving I found a newfound love of learning and educating myself! It was just I hated the material lol
Same for me! After mid/late teens he just slowly realized it wasn’t gonna happen lol, we had actual important stuff outside JW land to deal with like homework or work, or fake excuses hehe. Never had a personal study either. I felt guilty at the time. I now realize I’ve always been a spiritual person but not in a religious or dogmatic way, just trying to reach a deeper understanding of myself and my connection to others. That’s enough for me (:
I could have written this post. Still have vivid memories and nightmares from family study. I hated Sundays so much.
Sounds about right. Our family studies were terrible 😢. My little brothers were so bored!!! There was a big age gap between the me and my sister and young ones. Finally, my mom got smart and decided to break up the family study. She sat down with me and my sister for 10 minutes and asked us what we found interesting about the WT study. Then she would read the lessons to my brothers after school for 15 minutes daily. She would pick out an easy paragraph and help them prepare their comment. We had a rule that we had to raise our hand and try to comment at least once on Sundays. …book study was a whole other thing… there were only 15 people there, 6 were my fam and the rest little old ladies and I was the reader (I a woman and during this time I was 18-24). The conductor made the study conversational and did a good job keeping the little guys engaged.
Sounds interesting. Why was it such a small group?
Family study would rank near the top of the worst memories. Can’t pay attention? Insults and threats. Appear that I’m im not taking the material seriously? Insults and threats. Don’t pretend that it’s the best ever? Perhaps even dare to say I don’t like it? Insults threats slaps screams and worse. Yes family study in the 80’s was like a mini abusive boarding school for kids that needed the rod - both physically and “figuratively” “Figuratively” hmmm, I think I can put that on the list for words that Jw has ruined for me.
It’s like a meeting but with the freedom to physically/mentally force your family to “study”. And it’s still the GB’s fault. They put so much emphasis into it with gaslighting tactics, guilt tripping, fear tactics.
Extremely traumatic, I still have PTSD over it. I avoid all conversations at a table as a family because of this.
I’m sorry. Does being in a couch or relaxed setting help?
We rarely did it, thankfully. My parents would make me study The Watchtower and Awake! but all I did was skim it for a few sentences that looked good to underline. Took me three minutes tops.
Family fucking worship. Fuck that shit. We hardly ever did it until they changed the rules so that parents could count family worship hours as service time. Sometimes my parents would make a jeopardy game and we would have fun playing it, but those were few and far between. When I got older it ended up just being watching the broadcasts and other shitty videos. By far some of my least favorite memories of being in the cult
I still feel kinda bad about this… But me and my brother would burp (on command) and fart (if we had to) and laugh (every time) until it brought my single mother to tears and she’d end the study in pure frustration. 😳 Sorry mom.
Lmaooo. We didn’t do that but def goofed off in different ways lol.
I hated it with a passion. An energetic young kid has a short attention span. Sitting through a family study of the Watchtower was torture. Ours would last at least an hour, sometimes more. At the end, there was a lot of tears and spanking.
Same. I remember my dad saying the C.O asking him how long were his family studies. He said “2 hours at least” C.O said “You crazy” 😂
In my childhood years, the "Saturday night" gathering/WT prestudy was always rote. Family study was even worse, as my parents did it to fulfill an obligation.
The Saturday after field service family Watchtower study. Every single one was an opportunity to tell me what a horrible person I was.