What I appreciate most about your commentary on JW issues is your sincerity and nuance. Your don't portray JWs as caricatures and you never lose track of the human aspect of it all.
Thank you Lloyd for sharing these intimate moments with your audience. It's so moving to see all these photos, I feel like I see myself in some photos, we were formatted to live the same things. That's when I tell myself despite all the good times that I would never want to return to the world of the Watchtower. NEVER. Once we have opened our eyes, it is impossible to close them again. TOTALLY IMPOSSIBLE.
Yes, almost like a case of Invasion Of The Body Snatchers where once you're taken over, you become part of the collective and become a totally different person than what you were before...in other words, a pod person.
Thank you Lloyd, we knew many good people , after all, we didn’t realize we were in a cult. We are or were all victims! Thank you for sharing, it brings back memories for me as well!
Lloyd, I have never been a JW, but your content has taught me much about life. I’ve been with your channel and a big fan from the start. Your videos during Covid helped me navigate that time. Thank you for all you do!🤗
It's only been a year, but it already feels foreign and distant. I lived in East TN, where the Governing Body was friends with a wealthy elder, so we always had a visitor from the Governing Body giving talks at our conventions. I remember one of the things that always struck me as weird, Stephen Jackson in maybe 2017 or 2018 was giving a talk, and he was saying how the devil would use persecution, and he gave a strange example, he said if the Governing Body members end up arrested directly for their faith, no one would lose confidence in them, but he really really pushed this idea of "What if Satan puts out false claims about (them) in the media?" And he specifically went on for what felt like a little too long about "What if the news says we've been arrested for embezzling donated funds" which I wouldn't accuse them of, but it certainly felt like a preemptive hedge. I was about 17, and it was one of the things that officially sent me down the path of not being sure about the men I was listening to
@treybonnot5448, Since the Watchtower Society isn't transparent about its funds and doesn't have to pay taxes in so many countries, we have no way of knowing what they do with the donated funds that they receive.
Thanks for sharing your memories with us Lloyd. Its nice to see bits of your life outside of your channel. It just seems to make you more 'real' to some of us. I enjoyed this, please do another photo album segment.
Ah Lloyd thank you for sharing the old memories of life as JW cult member.. We are all glad you are out and helping others to escape JW. Some congregations will not let young ones have fun at this time. My old congregation in the US did a lot of dinner parties.
I never went to a party or had fun because my parents considered that this was bad and putting me in situations of temptation. They hated seeing a bunch of young jw having fun. They were always assuming that I was going to come back pregnant So no hiking, no party, no sport, no dancing, no music, no going to the beach, no alcohol, no fancy dress
Hi there, I relate to your experience and wanted to reach out. Enjoy now that you have a bit more freedom. I used to love Pokemon games as a kid but as a JW my mom would throw my games away. ( I used to work jobs in the summer as a student to buy my own games ). Now that I am an adult I have rebought the games I loved as a kid and I even had the pleasant surprise to find one of my old games lying around my uncle's house. It's never too late to do the things we love the most. Warm greetings from Tecate Baja California Mexico.
@@josecarlosrodriguez9876 , I love the sentiment about it never being too late to do the things that you love the most. It's sad to know that your mother threw out so many of those POKEMON video games that you had to have worked so hard to buy as teen.
I often think back to characters and friends I had when I was a JW. Sadly, I don't have any photos. Often, I wish I could meet some of them just to see how they are doing and to chew the fat but, of course, that would never happen because of the shunning policy. I absolutely do not miss being a JW; but I had some very close and dear friends that, because of my disfellowshipping, I was immediately cut off from. Either way, it's great to walk back down memory lane every now and again. Thanks for sharing.
You had a lot more 'freedom' then I did. The congregation i was forced to attend was a no party, no socialising and definitely no fancy dress one. It was so cruel to force that mindset on younger people with no choice or way of escape.
Thank you Lloyd for sharing your moments while in your former religion. It brought back memories of us serving in the foreign language in South America…those were strange days, but we keep the good moments my husband and I shared together. We love your show..❤😊🥰
This video takes me back to my time as a JW. Yes we had great times although my late wife and I were always a little rebellious. I refused to wear a tie and we both had principle objections against the monthly reports so we didn't do the reports. The elders didn't like because they knew we had 5 biblestudies. But I do miss the great times we had during get togethers. Thank you for sharing your past.
I never thought I’d volunteer to sit through someone’s photo album, but... here I am, some 50 minutes later! 😄 Many of the photo-experiences were so relatable! (Except for the fancy dress parties and coloured shirts - both were _verboten_ in my JW-life.*) Ah, the “privileges” and the “schools”; and the privileges of schools; the privileges of rehearsing for consecutive weekends, to utter responses or demonstrate “Christian life” in a ‘spontaneous’ tone. Your photo-journey raised an old memory of being invited to the Bethel (the old Bethel) for high tea, by a resident friend-of-a-friend, and of feeling duly impressed by the orderliness... and the delicious array of cakes, scones, fresh jams and a cold meat smörgåsbord (all produced by Bethel’s farmers). Thanks for the Memory Lane excursion @Lloyd Evans. *My penchant for fancy dress could not be denied, so - like a true fan - I quirkily incorporated elements of some of my favourite characters into my day-to-day attire: on some days of the week, I was an appropriately dressed, full-time pioneer, which righteously offset the other days... when I was a university student😱, wearing a sable-coloured Fedora (nod to Indiana Jones) and a brown, distressed-leather jacket, or maybe some Doctor Who-reminiscent attire. 😁
Thank you so much!born in,back in 1967,now living close to LA, delighted to to have met you,in 2019,hope you will return. This video was very informative,for people who don't understand the PIMO,and also the weirdness about the witnesses on the inside will not invite ,ex witnesses who have voted with heir feet,eventhough ,they are dong things,non religious. Brings hope that othe practicing JW ,similar to your caliber , will one day wake up.❤
Some familiar faces in those pictures, and actually the District Conventions at M.E.N were a particular point of pride for my family, as we were on the cleaning team! We would sometimes stay til 6 or 7 at night scrubbing the steps of the auditorium to make sure that neon yellow paint job really shone through!
Lloyd... our paths have crossed...I attended northerden assembly hall.... Paul and Jayne whiteman were quite close to our family....it was shortly after one of his visits I was appointed a ministerial servant...I'm out and awake now... mostly thanks to you.
Jane brought me into the 'Truth' in the 80s. She and Paul were good friends of mine at the time. He was an elder when I came out. Not surprised he became a CO. Such a waste of a lovely man.
Great, really good and hope you will do Part II. Many of us feel resonance with you on the aspect of taking it all seriously, and being eager to do the right thing whilst we were members. They are on the whole such a nice group of people, so it's very sad that they are hooked into something that is corrupt & deceitful.
I really enjoyed seeing photos from your past Jw days. It’s funny to think how things can change and photos are great take you back and be able to reflect. Thanks for sharing and I look forward to seeing part 2. Keep up the great work
This was fun. In regard to Witnesses letting their hair down, maybe my upbringing was stricter. My childhood was very happy, but I think that because I grew up around non-JW relatives and we had non-JW friends, most of whom were deeply religious, I kind of grew up with this idea that constantly engaging in religious activities should be a fun and enjoyable experience in itself. Maybe that sounds weird, but I don't know how to really describe it. My mother is a JW, and my dad is a more liberal Seventh-day Adventist. I loved reading classic fairytales as a kid, even as teen, and even now as an adult. And I've always been fascinated by witches and magic, even though I wasn't supposed to be. I was not allowed to watch MGM's "THE WIZARD OF OZ" (1939) -- now one of my all-time favorite movies) whenever it aired on network TV -- this was long ago...long before cable TV, online streaming or physical home media ever existed. But we did watch Cecil B. DeMille's 1956 remake of "THE TEN COMMANDMENTS" and William Wyler's remake "BEN-HUR: A TALE OF THE CHRIST" (1959) whenever we could catch them when they were playing on TV as a family, something that I always loved doing. I'm an atheist, and I still like watching those movies. I know we watched "GONE WITH THE WIND" (1939), probably because it's a classic. I'm Black, and while the film contains racist stereotypes, I still can acknowledge that it is an impressive piece of filmmaking for what it is. I think I saw "CITIZEN KANE" (1941) and "CASABLANCA" (1943) with my parents on TV as a teen. We listened to secular musical groups and singers like THE JACKSON 5 (and I was aware of the kids' Jehovah's Witness upbringing as a child), THE SUPREMES, Diana Ross, GLADYS KNIGHT & THE PIPS, Barbra Streisand, Frank Sinatra etc. That's a bit of what I did in my secular time during my childhood. I never played sports, don't ask me about sports. That's not my thing. I loved fixing up my hair and trying on make-up (and I still do). Maybe I was even more of a girly-girl then (and yes, in case anyone was wondering, I am a cisgender woman). I was also a bit of a bookworm, too, and yet somehow guys never shied away from me. My non-JW husband and I grew up together, and I knew we were meant to be together from a very young age. I went on lunch and dinner dates with JW boys and their parents, but I never dated any of those boys. When I grew up, it wasn't necessarily a cool thing, to be a bookworm, yet I was never really bullied. I certainly didn't want to be a cheerleader in high school, even though I think I was more than pretty enough to pass for one and physically fit enough (my mother wouldn't have allowed me to do any extracurriculars like that anyway). I was a bit of goody-goody two-shoes. Despite always being a doubter, I always had my nose buried in a JW-themed book as a kid -- weird, isn't it? I got along with other Witness kids just fine, but we were never super close. I think when I was a lot younger, I preferred being alone a lot more (though I still like my alone time when I can get it). I can't complain much about my childhood, but would I want to go back to being a JW again? No.
Nice to see your pics, Lloyd! When I was a Jehovah's Witness, I really had a bad time in occasions because my family was generally looked down upon. Despite that fact, I still have some memories inside the religion which I feel fond about, and it's nice to see I'm not the only one. Definitely, do a second part!
Love this, Lloyd ❤ Would love to see more of these albums. It’s true about JWs having fun. ( not all of them 🫤 ) I remember so many good times I had with the witnesses, and it was indeed fun. 😊 Truth be told, I wish I could go back in time and enjoy those fun times again, as I’ve been shunned by my own family and wish I could see my aunts again and other brothers and sisters that were pretty darn nice and fun. ❤ You look great and I’m glad you mentioned that yes, JWs do have fun 😊 This is an awesome trip down memory lane. 🥰 Can’t wait to see more 😊🥰🇨🇦🩷🌸 P.S. Love your pink T. So glad that you’re able to be you, your authetic self, and still have fond memories of being a JW 🩷🌸🇨🇦
That was quite interesting it reminded me of my time being a young JW in the North West of England long before your time . I was always having nagging doubts and I like to think I grew out of the cult .I remember the Jah Jireh home starting up from the beginning.Being young I knew a few young zany brothers and I noticed some hypocrisy etc. However it seems to me that the organisation has gone more and more like a business .Its as though they are now selling life insurance coupled with a Ponzi scheme. I enjoyed looking at the photos. You mentioned going to Mill Hill when I went it was during a convention at Twickenham it must have been organised because there were a few of us on a trip out.I seem to remember the printing place I watched one brother working there I thought well he doesn’t look very happy in the New World society.
@65castle, Being a JW can seem like a Ponzi Pyramid scheme when it comes to making promises about God and the afterlife that they can't even be sure of. I wonder how many in the worldwide Bethel Family aren't truly happy to be there?
I can't believe I actually liked looking at your photos! But I did and I think, for me, it made me remember some of the better times seeing my oldest son and his friends together. He died in 2015 in an accident while traveling in the States; he'd left the cult and all those friends disappeared. I have USBs with his travels in building KHs, people he met etc. That sense of community is the one aspect that works well even when you are against the authorities, eg tight pants... So I guess, even though I'm ancient, I'll look at the next photos too and possibly recall some of my own fun times several decades ago.
This was great to watch! It brought back my own memories. It was good to show that we did have fun. I left in 1995. A lot of my close friends left around the same time.
Lloyd, still thinking about this video and the memories are flooding back. I was often at many of these "get togethers", my mother used to arrange many at our house with a lot of the "bethel boys" (as we used to call them) coming round. They really appreciated it as it was like a home away from home for them... I remember being suspicious about the sexuality of 1 or 2...lol . I even remember Paul Gillies when he first came to bethel in London from Scotland .... a spotty faced early 20s lad...lol
Ich habe eine Frage: Ist es möglich die Beträge ins Deutsche zu übersetzen da mein Englisch nicht so gut ist das ich alles verstehen kann. Eine Schwester im Glauben hatte mich auch deshalb schon mal angesprochen da sie überhaupt kein Englisch versteht. Vielen Dank für deine Arbeit die du machst um Menschen aufzuklären. Liebe Grüße Wilfried
Hallo Wilfried, RUclips selbst bietet die Möglichkeit der automatischen Übersetzung - in den Einstellungen (das Zahnrad oben rechts in der Ecke) "Untertitel" anklicken, dort findest du die Option. Das funktioniert eigentlich sehr gut 😊 LG Jutta
Lloyd's reflections on having fun and being whacky reminded me of a little something I did with my brothers in Christ. We regularly would all meet at one brother's house who lived closest to "town", and we'd go over the WT study on Saturday evening before we'd go out. So, we met, blasted through our study, five of us piled into two vehicles and we went to the XXX-rated drive-in movie theatre. :P Twice.
Thank you for sharing Lloyd. That wasnt my experience, so much. But it is interesting to seehow other people lived their time in. The congregation I was in had more of a structure where your status was based on how much money your family had or if your father was an elder. Being included to hang out with the "cool kids" didnt happen often for me unless all of the congregation was invited. And then mostly everyone went directly to their cliques, the very Christian like way unless there were sports or games.
I actually really enjoyed this video and you’re right not all memories of JW life were bad. I also have a lot of fun memories with my brothers and sisters lol. It’s weird how even though I’m American all your pictures and stories seemed so familiar to me. I’m down for a part 2 😎
Yes, Yes, Yes!! More photos, please!!! Very interesting to see these photos and hear your commentary! And I Very Much Appreciate that you are non-bitter...you are honest in saying that we did enjoy many good times with our former, very dear friends! 😊 It wasn't all bad, and there were many positive, social aspects to being in that community. I appreciate your openness and honesty regarding that aspect of JW life. (So much for being the stereotypical "angry, bitter apostate"!!) 😄 Thanks very much for all your work, Lloyd!
Thanks, Lloyd, it was nice looking through your memories. Fancy dress parties were not allowed in our congregation. We had a branch committee member in our congregation, and he was also the PO. I think that is why there was such a high standard.
Love the channel, Lloyd, keep up the good work. To ascend Snowdon in 45 minutes, however, you would have had to have been running! By the shortest route you would have been travelling at 7.5km per hour with 750 metres of ascent. Didn't happen, fella 😜
@@LloydEvans That being the case, you were a total beast and missed your calling as an athlete. I work as a guide on the mountain (and many others in Snowdonia) and even at my fittest I have never made it up there in less than 1hr 30mins. Britain's top fell runner Finlay Wild has done it 36 minutes and I imagine he was pushing hard!
Love this! More please. Paul and Jane stayed with me a few times when on the circuit work. Loved Paul! We had a few fancy dress parties until elders put a stop to them when a sister dressed up as a man, complete with beard! 😅. Oh so controversial!
Its weird, even now decades after leaving the witnesses, I still feel a pang of jealousy seeing these photos! If you were in the “in crowd” of the witnesses I suppose maybe you could have friends and do things like start a band or socialise. For me and probably a lot of us, we didn’t have a single friend. It’s not that you can’t have happy memories as a witness, but I have none. It was 20 years learning to be alone and crushed. So with all that, I’m glad you turned out alright Lloyd, and I’m glad some others can too.
Lloyd, it brought back memories for me seeing the Watch Tower House sign. I was a ministerial servant and regular pioneer at the Mill Hill congregation. Our kingdom hall was in part of the bethel building...
I had a family friend show me pictures of my early days as a young JW growing up in this cult. Displaying a fake smile in a business suit at a convention. My over zealous JW mom forced me to take notes in order to keep me awake, even forcing me to "participate" during bible and watchtower studies. I seriously don't miss those days at all. I also remember people crying over their friends and family getting baptized while giving me a stuck up frown look. Thankfully my parents never forced me to get baptized as I implied the scripture," you must serve Jehovah with your whole heart, mind, and soul." What's ironic is that I was more of a "witness" than a portion of the youths that got disfellowshipped at an early age. Remember having a few family members attending the meetings and conventions until life got in the way that caused them legal problems. Former classmates were begging me to explain how the religion works which put a lot of pressure on me. I could barely comprehend the bible at an early age. There's plenty of "bad association" among the religion too depending on the congregation. Proved a lot of those people wrong as I've been doing a whole lot better since my departure than they imagined how I would be in life. You learn more through personal experience outside of the kingdom hall environment where they desperately try so hard to shelter you from. You can't grow as a person chained to a nest while under strict manipulation. My parents continue to practice their religion because it's helped stabilize their marriage and shape them today. They vowed to never force this on me ever again. I encourage them to continue.
Ohhhh, you really were a JW, ha ha ha.. This was so much fun, Lloyd, seeing you suited-up, younger, and so handsome self, living your old JW life,. Showing that yes, there were some fun times. Made me feel a little sad, though, reminding me of all the past friends I had to bid farewell. It also made me especially curious about your wake-up story, wondering if you've shared that story. I'm going to see if I can find that. Thank you for this most interesting segment. It was very entertaining for me.
I never get invited for any social gathering...now that am thinking of it, maybe becos our parents were not examplary.....my time wasn't fun,i have to be struggle to be seen.
Thanks for all your information. 35 years in the cult. I was 19 and searching truth it ruined my life 5 children and a pedfyle husband. The children were not fooled and have hated 😂 everything about it
THAT IS SOOOO TRUE...I REMEMBER HOW IMPORTANT IT WAS FOR EVERYONE TO BE INVITED TO FRIENDS WEDDING RECEPTION. JWs WOULD HAVE A BALL AT THE RECEPTIONS!!!
Hey Lloyd I Did Wonder If You Went To The Same Convention Ground As Me. Do You Remember The Bomb Scare? We All Had To File Out And Bomb Disposal Turned Up To Do A Controlled Explosion On Some Brothers Meeting Bag!!! I’m Pretty Sure The Girl In The Photo On Snowdon (I Won’t Mention Her Name)Ended Up Marrying Someone Who Went To My Pioneer School And Ended Up On The Circuit Work. The Small Sister In The Picture where your wearing The Animal T Shirt I Knew Really Well. She Once Had A House Party Whilst Her Parents Were Away, The Local Elders Got A Tip Off And Raided It As The Music Was Too Loud 😂😂
Even being familiar with all of this, I was shocked by the subtle control the JW had. Your portrayal is cringy, hilarious, and downright terrifying all at once
Fancy dress was a huge NO for us. I remember exactly 2 gatherings (excluding conventions). 1 in a hall with a JW music band and 1 small one in an elder's house. Over 15 or so years
Thanks for sharing those memories and thoughts! This content sorta reminded me of the Random Cedars channel. Any plans regarding getting back to posting videos there? Best regards, Lloyd!
What I appreciate most about your commentary on JW issues is your sincerity and nuance. Your don't portray JWs as caricatures and you never lose track of the human aspect of it all.
That's very much the goal, thank you! 🙂
For sure. 💯 😊
Well put
Thank you Lloyd for sharing these intimate moments with your audience. It's so moving to see all these photos, I feel like I see myself in some photos, we were formatted to live the same things. That's when I tell myself despite all the good times that I would never want to return to the world of the Watchtower. NEVER. Once we have opened our eyes, it is impossible to close them again. TOTALLY IMPOSSIBLE.
Trust ❤
That’s a great description; we were all FORMATED
Übersetzung Deutsch
It's good to see that most JW's are kind, normal people who have been "taken over" by this cult and why it can be so hard to leave 😮
Yes, almost like a case of Invasion Of The Body Snatchers where once you're taken over, you become part of the collective and become a totally different person than what you were before...in other words, a pod person.
Any photos of when you were in the band toto. I loved that hit you all had, africa.
Thank you Lloyd, we knew many good people , after all, we didn’t realize we were in a cult. We are or were all victims! Thank you for sharing, it brings back memories for me as well!
I like seeing the photos of your past, Lloyd. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you for sharing your photos with us viewers. Awesome.
Thanks Jeannie!
Lloyd, I have never been a JW, but your content has taught me much about life. I’ve been with your channel and a big fan from the start. Your videos during Covid helped me navigate that time. Thank you for all you do!🤗
It's only been a year, but it already feels foreign and distant. I lived in East TN, where the Governing Body was friends with a wealthy elder, so we always had a visitor from the Governing Body giving talks at our conventions. I remember one of the things that always struck me as weird, Stephen Jackson in maybe 2017 or 2018 was giving a talk, and he was saying how the devil would use persecution, and he gave a strange example, he said if the Governing Body members end up arrested directly for their faith, no one would lose confidence in them, but he really really pushed this idea of "What if Satan puts out false claims about (them) in the media?" And he specifically went on for what felt like a little too long about "What if the news says we've been arrested for embezzling donated funds" which I wouldn't accuse them of, but it certainly felt like a preemptive hedge. I was about 17, and it was one of the things that officially sent me down the path of not being sure about the men I was listening to
@treybonnot5448,
Since the Watchtower Society isn't transparent about its funds and doesn't have to pay taxes in so many countries, we have no way of knowing what they do with the donated funds that they receive.
Great to see Lloyd!
Thanks Derek! 🙂
Thanks for sharing your memories with us Lloyd. Its nice to see bits of your life outside of your channel. It just seems to make you more 'real' to some of us. I enjoyed this, please do another photo album segment.
Definitely fun getting to know more about you Lloyd.
Thanks Emily!
who is this?
@@BenQotsa?????
I just finished reading your book "The Reluctant Apostate"; it was one of the best books I have ever read.
I need to reread the book 📚 again. It was one of the best books I've read.
I enjoyed this, Lloyd. I love looking at old photographs, and I loved hearing about your life and the history behind your photographs.
Great way to reclaim your past life . Very interesting to enter this world . Thank you for sharing these memories
You’re a sweetheart Lloyd we love you and your channel. Thanks for all you have done for the ex jw community ❤
Ah Lloyd thank you for sharing the old memories of life as JW cult member.. We are all glad you are out and helping others to escape JW. Some congregations will not let young ones have fun at this time. My old congregation in the US did a lot of dinner parties.
THANK YOU for sharing photo album from your days as a Jehovah's Witness .. More, more, more PLEASE!!!!
I never went to a party or had fun because my parents considered that this was bad and putting me in situations of temptation. They hated seeing a bunch of young jw having fun. They were always assuming that I was going to come back pregnant
So no hiking, no party, no sport, no dancing, no music, no going to the beach, no alcohol, no fancy dress
Im too
Hi there, I relate to your experience and wanted to reach out. Enjoy now that you have a bit more freedom. I used to love Pokemon games as a kid but as a JW my mom would throw my games away. ( I used to work jobs in the summer as a student to buy my own games ). Now that I am an adult I have rebought the games I loved as a kid and I even had the pleasant surprise to find one of my old games lying around my uncle's house. It's never too late to do the things we love the most. Warm greetings from Tecate Baja California Mexico.
@loxena,
Though my upbringing was a bit strict, especially in regard to alcohol, it sounds like you had it really tough.
@@josecarlosrodriguez9876 ,
I love the sentiment about it never being too late to do the things that you love the most. It's sad to know that your mother threw out so many of those POKEMON video games that you had to have worked so hard to buy as teen.
Me too
I often think back to characters and friends I had when I was a JW. Sadly, I don't have any photos. Often, I wish I could meet some of them just to see how they are doing and to chew the fat but, of course, that would never happen because of the shunning policy. I absolutely do not miss being a JW; but I had some very close and dear friends that, because of my disfellowshipping, I was immediately cut off from. Either way, it's great to walk back down memory lane every now and again. Thanks for sharing.
Would definitely like to see another trip down memory lane.
You had a lot more 'freedom' then I did. The congregation i was forced to attend was a no party, no socialising and definitely no fancy dress one. It was so cruel to force that mindset on younger people with no choice or way of escape.
Thank you Lloyd for sharing your moments while in your former religion. It brought back memories of us serving in the foreign language in South America…those were strange days, but we keep the good moments my husband and I shared together.
We love your show..❤😊🥰
This video takes me back to my time as a JW. Yes we had great times although my late wife and I were always a little rebellious. I refused to wear a tie and we both had principle objections against the monthly reports so we didn't do the reports. The elders didn't like because they knew we had 5 biblestudies. But I do miss the great times we had during get togethers. Thank you for sharing your past.
Glad for sharing the fine pictures. Your comments on each are commendably moving. 👍👏
You were an important part of my wakening process, thanks.
Glad I could help!
I never thought I’d volunteer to sit through someone’s photo album, but... here I am, some 50 minutes later! 😄
Many of the photo-experiences were so relatable! (Except for the fancy dress parties and coloured shirts - both were _verboten_ in my JW-life.*) Ah, the “privileges” and the “schools”; and the privileges of schools; the privileges of rehearsing for consecutive weekends, to utter responses or demonstrate “Christian life” in a ‘spontaneous’ tone. Your photo-journey raised an old memory of being invited to the Bethel (the old Bethel) for high tea, by a resident friend-of-a-friend, and of feeling duly impressed by the orderliness... and the delicious array of cakes, scones, fresh jams and a cold meat smörgåsbord (all produced by Bethel’s farmers). Thanks for the Memory Lane excursion @Lloyd Evans.
*My penchant for fancy dress could not be denied, so - like a true fan - I quirkily incorporated elements of some of my favourite characters into my day-to-day attire: on some days of the week, I was an appropriately dressed, full-time pioneer, which righteously offset the other days... when I was a university student😱, wearing a sable-coloured Fedora (nod to Indiana Jones) and a brown, distressed-leather jacket, or maybe some Doctor Who-reminiscent attire. 😁
Yes , more please .
Yessssssss please ❤😊
Thanks for sharing. Very nice. Hopefully, more will follow. 🍺
Yesssssss! 👏👏🍺🍺
Wow. I bet that feels like another life time. Thank you for sharing!
These photographs were awesome to see........... Thank you so much for sharing them..
Thank you so much!born in,back in 1967,now living close to LA, delighted to to have met you,in 2019,hope you will return.
This video was very informative,for people who don't understand the PIMO,and also the weirdness about the witnesses on the inside will not invite ,ex witnesses who have voted with heir feet,eventhough ,they are dong things,non religious.
Brings hope that othe practicing JW ,similar to your caliber , will one day wake up.❤
Some familiar faces in those pictures, and actually the District Conventions at M.E.N were a particular point of pride for my family, as we were on the cleaning team! We would sometimes stay til 6 or 7 at night scrubbing the steps of the auditorium to make sure that neon yellow paint job really shone through!
How petty that the tour leaders at the British Museum wouldn't allow you to joon because of wearing jeans. That really does sup up JWs.
I enjoyed that 😁 reminded me of my own years as a JW with my mates, bittersweet memories
I loved this video. Thank you for sharing your memories. Looking forward for more!!
loved seeing you go down memory lane, lloyd. great video!
Thank you Lloyd❤
The first picture. Is that your survival pack .? Just in case the time comes. 😂
😂😂😂😂😂
Lloyd... our paths have crossed...I attended northerden assembly hall.... Paul and Jayne whiteman were quite close to our family....it was shortly after one of his visits I was appointed a ministerial servant...I'm out and awake now... mostly thanks to you.
Like ships that pass in the night! I'm so glad you're out! 🙂
Jane brought me into the 'Truth' in the 80s. She and Paul were good friends of mine at the time. He was an elder when I came out. Not surprised he became a CO. Such a waste of a lovely man.
Great, really good and hope you will do Part II. Many of us feel resonance with you on the aspect of taking it all seriously, and being eager to do the right thing whilst we were members. They are on the whole such a nice group of people, so it's very sad that they are hooked into something that is corrupt & deceitful.
I really enjoyed seeing photos from your past Jw days. It’s funny to think how things can change and photos are great take you back and be able to reflect. Thanks for sharing and I look forward to seeing part 2. Keep up the great work
Lloyd thank you for sharing!
Yah the sense of community is what keeps wittness in the religion. In my experience the witnesses who didn't have any friends never stayed very long.
This was fun. In regard to Witnesses letting their hair down, maybe my upbringing was stricter. My childhood was very happy, but I think that because I grew up around non-JW relatives and we had non-JW friends, most of whom were deeply religious, I kind of grew up with this idea that constantly engaging in religious activities should be a fun and enjoyable experience in itself. Maybe that sounds weird, but I don't know how to really describe it. My mother is a JW, and my dad is a more liberal Seventh-day Adventist. I loved reading classic fairytales as a kid, even as teen, and even now as an adult. And I've always been fascinated by witches and magic, even though I wasn't supposed to be. I was not allowed to watch MGM's "THE WIZARD OF OZ" (1939) -- now one of my all-time favorite movies) whenever it aired on network TV -- this was long ago...long before cable TV, online streaming or physical home media ever existed.
But we did watch Cecil B. DeMille's 1956 remake of "THE TEN COMMANDMENTS" and William Wyler's remake "BEN-HUR: A TALE OF THE CHRIST" (1959) whenever we could catch them when they were playing on TV as a family, something that I always loved doing. I'm an atheist, and I still like watching those movies. I know we watched "GONE WITH THE WIND" (1939), probably because it's a classic. I'm Black, and while the film contains racist stereotypes, I still can acknowledge that it is an impressive piece of filmmaking for what it is. I think I saw "CITIZEN KANE" (1941) and "CASABLANCA" (1943) with my parents on TV as a teen. We listened to secular musical groups and singers like THE JACKSON 5 (and I was aware of the kids' Jehovah's Witness upbringing as a child), THE SUPREMES, Diana Ross, GLADYS KNIGHT & THE PIPS, Barbra Streisand, Frank Sinatra etc.
That's a bit of what I did in my secular time during my childhood. I never played sports, don't ask me about sports. That's not my thing. I loved fixing up my hair and trying on make-up (and I still do). Maybe I was even more of a girly-girl then (and yes, in case anyone was wondering, I am a cisgender woman). I was also a bit of a bookworm, too, and yet somehow guys never shied away from me. My non-JW husband and I grew up together, and I knew we were meant to be together from a very young age. I went on lunch and dinner dates with JW boys and their parents, but I never dated any of those boys. When I grew up, it wasn't necessarily a cool thing, to be a bookworm, yet I was never really bullied. I certainly didn't want to be a cheerleader in high school, even though I think I was more than pretty enough to pass for one and physically fit enough (my mother wouldn't have allowed me to do any extracurriculars like that anyway). I was a bit of goody-goody two-shoes.
Despite always being a doubter, I always had my nose buried in a JW-themed book as a kid -- weird, isn't it? I got along with other Witness kids just fine, but we were never super close. I think when I was a lot younger, I preferred being alone a lot more (though I still like my alone time when I can get it). I can't complain much about my childhood, but would I want to go back to being a JW again? No.
Nice to see your pics, Lloyd! When I was a Jehovah's Witness, I really had a bad time in occasions because my family was generally looked down upon. Despite that fact, I still have some memories inside the religion which I feel fond about, and it's nice to see I'm not the only one. Definitely, do a second part!
I love this!!! Thank you so much for sharing ❤
My pleasure! Thanks Susan!
Very good story telling. Hopefully you'll show your wedding photos.
Thank you for sharing that part of your life, Lloyd. I found it really interesting, loved the video!
A trip down memory lane together?? Thanks so much!
Hope all is well with you and yours. Much love!
💕💖💕
Love this, Lloyd ❤ Would love to see more of these albums. It’s true about JWs having fun. ( not all of them 🫤 ) I remember so many good times I had with the witnesses, and it was indeed fun. 😊
Truth be told, I wish I could go back in time and enjoy those fun times again, as I’ve been shunned by my own family and wish I could see my aunts again and other brothers and sisters that were pretty darn nice and fun. ❤
You look great and I’m glad you mentioned that yes, JWs do have fun 😊
This is an awesome trip down memory lane. 🥰
Can’t wait to see more 😊🥰🇨🇦🩷🌸
P.S. Love your pink T. So glad that you’re able to be you, your authetic self, and still have fond memories of being a JW 🩷🌸🇨🇦
You were born to be on stage, Lloyd. I'd like to see more, please.
Thanks Ally!
That was quite interesting it reminded me of my time being a young JW in the North West of England long before your time . I was always having nagging doubts and I like to think I grew out of the cult .I remember the Jah Jireh home starting up from the beginning.Being young I knew a few young zany brothers and I noticed some hypocrisy etc. However it seems to me that the organisation has gone more and more like a business .Its as though they are now selling life insurance coupled with a Ponzi scheme.
I enjoyed looking at the photos. You mentioned going to Mill Hill when I went it was during a convention at Twickenham it must have been organised because there were a few of us on a trip out.I seem to remember the printing place I watched one brother working there I thought well he doesn’t look very happy in the New World society.
@65castle,
Being a JW can seem like a Ponzi Pyramid scheme when it comes to making promises about God and the afterlife that they can't even be sure of. I wonder how many in the worldwide Bethel Family aren't truly happy to be there?
I can't believe I actually liked looking at your photos! But I did and I think, for me, it made me remember some of the better times seeing my oldest son and his friends together. He died in 2015 in an accident while traveling in the States; he'd left the cult and all those friends disappeared. I have USBs with his travels in building KHs, people he met etc. That sense of community is the one aspect that works well even when you are against the authorities, eg tight pants... So I guess, even though I'm ancient, I'll look at the next photos too and possibly recall some of my own fun times several decades ago.
I threw out a BUNCH of photos & all my pioneer school info. Kinda wish I’d of kept it, but oh well.
Cool memories. Brings me back.
Ya, do another.
I went to Pioneer school in 1999 at Haysbridge, forgot about taking all those books!
That second photo, the dude looks like a young Martin Short.
This was great to watch! It brought back my own memories. It was good to show that we did have fun. I left in 1995. A lot of my close friends left around the same time.
Lloyd, still thinking about this video and the memories are flooding back. I was often at many of these "get togethers", my mother used to arrange many at our house with a lot of the "bethel boys" (as we used to call them) coming round. They really appreciated it as it was like a home away from home for them... I remember being suspicious about the sexuality of 1 or 2...lol . I even remember Paul Gillies when he first came to bethel in London from Scotland .... a spotty faced early 20s lad...lol
Ich habe eine Frage: Ist es möglich die Beträge ins Deutsche zu übersetzen da mein Englisch nicht so gut ist das ich alles verstehen kann. Eine Schwester im Glauben hatte mich auch deshalb schon mal angesprochen da sie überhaupt kein Englisch versteht. Vielen Dank für deine Arbeit die du machst um Menschen aufzuklären. Liebe Grüße Wilfried
Hallo Wilfried,
RUclips selbst bietet die Möglichkeit der automatischen Übersetzung - in den Einstellungen (das Zahnrad oben rechts in der Ecke) "Untertitel" anklicken, dort findest du die Option. Das funktioniert eigentlich sehr gut 😊
LG Jutta
Lloyd's reflections on having fun and being whacky reminded me of a little something I did with my brothers in Christ. We regularly would all meet at one brother's house who lived closest to "town", and we'd go over the WT study on Saturday evening before we'd go out. So, we met, blasted through our study, five of us piled into two vehicles and we went to the XXX-rated drive-in movie theatre. :P Twice.
Thank you for sharing Lloyd. That wasnt my experience, so much. But it is interesting to seehow other people lived their time in. The congregation I was in had more of a structure where your status was based on how much money your family had or if your father was an elder. Being included to hang out with the "cool kids" didnt happen often for me unless all of the congregation was invited. And then mostly everyone went directly to their cliques, the very Christian like way unless there were sports or games.
@mlove.1376,
I bet every JW congregation has its cliques. I guess I should be glad that my closest friends were non-JWs (worldly people).
You knew Jade’s mom way back when?! Talk about JW stardom! Lloyd you’re such a name dropper.
I actually really enjoyed this video and you’re right not all memories of JW life were bad. I also have a lot of fun memories with my brothers and sisters lol. It’s weird how even though I’m American all your pictures and stories seemed so familiar to me. I’m down for a part 2 😎
Yes, Yes, Yes!! More photos, please!!! Very interesting to see these photos and hear your commentary! And I Very Much Appreciate that you are non-bitter...you are honest in saying that we did enjoy many good times with our former, very dear friends! 😊 It wasn't all bad, and there were many positive, social aspects to being in that community. I appreciate your openness and honesty regarding that aspect of JW life. (So much for being the stereotypical "angry, bitter apostate"!!) 😄 Thanks very much for all your work, Lloyd!
Thanks so much Suzie!
Interesting to watch ! ❤
I recognise a few of your friends. My sister knew you well too, and she enjoyed your video. Would love to see more pics.
Oh what a very handsome fellow!
I have a ton of pics from my past. Many lovely memories. I feel so conflicted when I see them.
Thanks, Lloyd, it was nice looking through your memories. Fancy dress parties were not allowed in our congregation. We had a branch committee member in our congregation, and he was also the PO. I think that is why there was such a high standard.
Thanks for sharing which triggered memories of my own. Dudley assembly hall was my local circuit Assembly and where I met my wife.
Love the channel, Lloyd, keep up the good work. To ascend Snowdon in 45 minutes, however, you would have had to have been running! By the shortest route you would have been travelling at 7.5km per hour with 750 metres of ascent. Didn't happen, fella 😜
I promise you from car to summit it was 45 mins 🙂
@@LloydEvansdid you go on the train 🤔😅😅
@@LloydEvans That being the case, you were a total beast and missed your calling as an athlete. I work as a guide on the mountain (and many others in Snowdonia) and even at my fittest I have never made it up there in less than 1hr 30mins. Britain's top fell runner Finlay Wild has done it 36 minutes and I imagine he was pushing hard!
@@elizabethyoung4900 Even the train takes an hour 😂
Thanks for this interesting content. Please show more.
Love this! More please. Paul and Jane stayed with me a few times when on the circuit work. Loved Paul! We had a few fancy dress parties until elders put a stop to them when a sister dressed up as a man, complete with beard! 😅. Oh so controversial!
I had a lot of fun growing up with my friends at the time. It was the lies that did it for me. Thanks for sharing with us!!😊
Its weird, even now decades after leaving the witnesses, I still feel a pang of jealousy seeing these photos! If you were in the “in crowd” of the witnesses I suppose maybe you could have friends and do things like start a band or socialise. For me and probably a lot of us, we didn’t have a single friend. It’s not that you can’t have happy memories as a witness, but I have none. It was 20 years learning to be alone and crushed. So with all that, I’m glad you turned out alright Lloyd, and I’m glad some others can too.
I loved this.. Please continue to do it. I Can relate to all you said. ❤
I'm so glad! Thanks Shawn!
Lloyd, it brought back memories for me seeing the Watch Tower House sign. I was a ministerial servant and regular pioneer at the Mill Hill congregation. Our kingdom hall was in part of the bethel building...
Nice memorie,same years
It's a vote from me for you to do more photos 👍. Was that Robin with his back to us at the MTS school dinner table?
I already know I'm going to like this before I even watching it that's why I'm commenting first😂😂😂❤❤❤
Handsome young man there Lloyd.xSharon😊
I had a family friend show me pictures of my early days as a young JW growing up in this cult. Displaying a fake smile in a business suit at a convention. My over zealous JW mom forced me to take notes in order to keep me awake, even forcing me to "participate" during bible and watchtower studies. I seriously don't miss those days at all. I also remember people crying over their friends and family getting baptized while giving me a stuck up frown look. Thankfully my parents never forced me to get baptized as I implied the scripture," you must serve Jehovah with your whole heart, mind, and soul." What's ironic is that I was more of a "witness" than a portion of the youths that got disfellowshipped at an early age. Remember having a few family members attending the meetings and conventions until life got in the way that caused them legal problems. Former classmates were begging me to explain how the religion works which put a lot of pressure on me. I could barely comprehend the bible at an early age. There's plenty of "bad association" among the religion too depending on the congregation. Proved a lot of those people wrong as I've been doing a whole lot better since my departure than they imagined how I would be in life. You learn more through personal experience outside of the kingdom hall environment where they desperately try so hard to shelter you from. You can't grow as a person chained to a nest while under strict manipulation. My parents continue to practice their religion because it's helped stabilize their marriage and shape them today. They vowed to never force this on me ever again. I encourage them to continue.
We used to go to northerden assembly hall did it have a pool in front of the stage with a hard cover on it
Yes it did!
Fantastic! Thanks for sharing 👏😄
Ohhhh, you really were a JW, ha ha ha.. This was so much fun, Lloyd, seeing you suited-up, younger, and so handsome self, living your old JW life,. Showing that yes, there were some fun times. Made me feel a little sad, though, reminding me of all the past friends I had to bid farewell. It also made me especially curious about your wake-up story, wondering if you've shared that story. I'm going to see if I can find that. Thank you for this most interesting segment. It was very entertaining for me.
THE DOG LIKE....THIS SOME BULLSH------ I DIDN'T SIGN UP FOR THIS SH------ BWHAHAHA
I never get invited for any social gathering...now that am thinking of it, maybe becos our parents were not examplary.....my time wasn't fun,i have to be struggle to be seen.
I'm curious if Lloyd's songs back in the day focused on "truth" themes?
You definitely look better now, your ties were terrible ;) I would love to see the next part :)
Thanks for all your information. 35 years in the cult. I was 19 and searching truth it ruined my life 5 children and a pedfyle husband. The children were not fooled and have hated 😂 everything about it
Share more photos and the stories that go with them. It would also be cool if you have any old footage or audio recordings of your band playing.
THAT IS SOOOO TRUE...I REMEMBER HOW IMPORTANT IT WAS FOR EVERYONE TO BE INVITED TO FRIENDS WEDDING RECEPTION. JWs WOULD HAVE A BALL AT THE RECEPTIONS!!!
Years ago we had a couple of costume parties with friends...and the elders jumped our case and said it was too "halloween".
I'm 1 minute in to this and i know full well im gonna see that bloke I cannot stand who you went to MTS with. He haunts me...
I bloody knew it - 43.29 and he's lurking in the background out of spite
Defo part 2 please 😁
Good job /// pictures
Hey Lloyd I Did Wonder If You Went To The Same Convention Ground As Me. Do You Remember The Bomb Scare? We All Had To File Out And Bomb Disposal Turned Up To Do A Controlled Explosion On Some Brothers Meeting Bag!!! I’m Pretty Sure The Girl In The Photo On Snowdon (I Won’t Mention Her Name)Ended Up Marrying Someone Who Went To My Pioneer School And Ended Up On The Circuit Work. The Small Sister In The Picture where your wearing The Animal T Shirt I Knew Really Well. She Once Had A House Party Whilst Her Parents Were Away, The Local Elders Got A Tip Off And Raided It As The Music Was Too Loud 😂😂
Yes I remember the bomb scare well! An unattended bag of literature was disintegrated in a controlled explosion as I recall!
Even being familiar with all of this, I was shocked by the subtle control the JW had. Your portrayal is cringy, hilarious, and downright terrifying all at once
I bet...there are many JWs who sneak and watch your videos!!! It would be awesome if they see themselves in one of your pics/memories and smile!
Fancy dress was a huge NO for us. I remember exactly 2 gatherings (excluding conventions). 1 in a hall with a JW music band and 1 small one in an elder's house. Over 15 or so years
Thanks for sharing those memories and thoughts! This content sorta reminded me of the Random Cedars channel. Any plans regarding getting back to posting videos there? Best regards, Lloyd!
I will definitely start posting to it again at some point, just taking a break and focusing on this channel! 🙂