by Mysterious 12 Replies latest jw friends
How old were you when you became a JW, how long were you a member, and how long has it been since you left? I'm sure there have been posts on here before but with all the new people showing up day by day I thought it might be help them to see that even the most hardcore JW can recover and be happy.
I was born into the religion, unbaptized publisher at 11, never baptized, left at 18, been out for 2 years and 5 months.
Born into it. DF'd at 18; reinstated at 19; faded when I was 34. I have been out about 3+ years.
Purza
Raised around it.
Spent most my young life saying I was a Witness, and attending meetings, conventions, assemblies, etc. Because of my father not being a Witness, held off getting baptized. When I was a Sophomore in High School I went 100% worldly, and slept with the person I was dating, partied, smoked pot, and did all sorts of none Witness stuff. Yet normal young person behavior. Went to college for a couple years, and when my parents got a divorce, I kind of got a shock in life that straightened me up and had me looking to the one thing I thought was stable. I started studying, hardcore, became very religiously strict. Got baptized (1992 age 21), Pioneered and did everything a good little Witness does. My mother was disfellowshipped at the time, did not even allow her at my own wedding. She got reinstated, and I was in deep to the religion and well known. In 1995 a Watchtower article was published that changed the generations teaching and this raised a doubt so powerful, that within 18 months I began the steps of exiting. Figured that walking away was easier for the family still in. My spouse left at the same time, and we both did the exit from the religion together. By 1998, we were 100% gone. We started celebrating every holiday we could think of, did martial arts, and opened a door of interest in Wicca and Shamanism (witchcraft). Became a very successful person, at least beyond what I would have done as a Witness. Had a child in 2002, and doing great. Still into martial arts and a life that centers around Magick. Very very happy, and balanced.
3 years old first encounter with the JWs. Baptised at age 17. Stopped attending meetings aged 28. Been out for 3 years now.
raised with it. publisher @ 8. Baptised @ 14. Several years later, I'm still in.
Parents became JWs 1953...I was three years old...dunked at fourteen...left in ' 74...we were a simple R&F family...came here last year and re-connected with an old JW friend......spend more time reading the topics than posting and just basically hang out...Hehe, not much different than when I was an active J...
Raised in the 'troof' baptized @(hmm I'm not telling!) inactive for 7 years. And here's the best part,, my family thinks I'm active!
sigh. it's nice living far away from the family.
but it's not so nice I'll be going to the convention this year.
......parents left being baptists, where i sang in the choir, in 1958, after attending the big new york international convention. i was 7 at the time. growing up i was put on "probation" more times than i can count on 1 hand........seems like , now that i think about it, everytime i got taken off "probation", i would go out celebrate by buying a 6 pack of beer & a pack of camel filters.
after a couple of years of hitch hiking around the country after graduating from high school in 1970, my mom called me & told me " that nice young sister that you were interested in marrying, called & said she was "ready" to get married now. well.......being young & a little tired of being stoned & on the road, i went home. straightened myself out, did all the right jw things, got married, worked hard,got invited to be a member of " the good ol' boys club", became a ministerial servant. married 7 years, moved up in the world, had a new home, lots of toys....but started feeling it wasn't really what made me happy, didn't ring true......too many things i saw on the "inside" didn't set well in my mind. started smoking weed & tobacco again.....drinking heavily as usual....but that wasn't that bad to them......undercover..of coarse. started a fade in 1977 or '78.....told wife i did not want to be a hippocrit any longer.../.would not be a witness. stopped attending...cold turkey..no mas!
she did not want to split up....so after a year or so of this, i left 1 weekend, did not go home for 5 days. called her & asked her if she had called a lawyer yet, she said what for; " i thought you just went on one of your benders." she had no clue how unhappy i was. i called a lawyer friend of mine & filed for a divorce, finalized in 1980.
lived with a couple of "ladies" for a while...the third one, after 3 years of living together, talked me into marrying her. that was in 1983, been together ever since.
1958-1977 .......not the best years of my life, but by no means the worst years of my life either.......
magoo
Raised in it, baptised at 20 not believing it but sure that would change one day and I might as well get my ticket now. Wasted my youth being an upright, uptight christian. First boyfriend at age 27 split my family in half as he wasn't a witness, I couldn't take the confusion so that didn't work out. Married my second, and am now disfellowshipped.
Every month or so, the rotten feeling related to being disfellowshipped subside by several orders of magnitude.
First contacted at 21, baptised aged 23, disassociated last November at 46.
