How did you leave the JW's?

rhett

My question for everyone is how did you leave the org? Not really what led up to it but what did you do to no longer be a part of it?
Personally, I think I have to have one of the more humerous stories of leaving. I was born and raised (though never baptised) a JW and left when I was 21. At first I just stopped going once I moved out of my parents' house because I couldn't take all the crap anymore. Once I realized what a lie it all was I knew I had to officially leave the JW's.
So what did I do? There was always this one elder who had made my life hell who also had of the biggest mouths of anyone I'd ever met. If you told him something in confidence chances are the entire cong. would know about it in a week. I emailed him a letter saying that I no longer wanted to be a JW as well letting him know what a load of crap it all was and also complained about a few people I found to be more hypacritical than the others. I knew if he got it then almost everyone else would be reading my letter too. I was right but what was funny was I got word back that he wondered why I just sent it to him and not the congregation. I emailed him again and told him that I knew he had such a huge mouth that if anything went to him it would go out to anyone who would listen to him and apparently I was right.
To make things even better I also "confessed" some things that I had denied doing earlier (namely certain acts with attractive members of the opposite sex) that would have been enough to certainly remove my unbaptised publisher status that this certain elder had tried and tried to prove. I also pointed out his "obligation" to turn in any wrong doing that he may have known about including my recent confession to him. But for him to do this he would have printed out and shown everyone that email that also included my points that I was correct about him having the hugest mouth of anyone I've ever met. Basically, he had to turn me in which he would have loved anyways but to do so he would have to show everyone what I sent that proved my point as to how full crap he was as well as his inabililty to keep quiet about anything.
Even in my last act I was able to get back at that guy! :)
So what are your stories?

AMarie

I had become inactive when I was 19 years old and was disfellowshipped when I was 21. There was alot of hypocracy in my congregation and I couldn't take the backstabbing anymore, so I moved out of my mother's house and quit going to the meetings. Not once did anybody inquire of how I was doing or offer me words of encouragement. My name was taken off of the public speaking list, no more magazines/kingdom ministries were given to me etc...I had pretty much drifted away. I went on with my life, made new friends and so on. For some reason, the Witnesses still felt it was their duty to make sure I was prosecuted to the full extent of the JW law. After two years of being totally gone from the congretation, people were still following me around, trying to find proof that I was doing something wrong. I was finally disfellowshipped when a gosipping sister from my Hall sat outside of my worldly boyfriends house ALL NIGHT to see if I left or stayed the night with him. Then she proceeded to tell the elders and everybody else in the congregation.

These "caring shepards" who never once tryed to help me called me and told me to meet them for a judicial committee. Of coarse, I should have told them to F*#c off, but I went ahead and met with them, confessed everything that I had been doing and I told them I really didn't care if I was disfellowshipped.

That was the end of that, thank God.

Englishman

Sat next to my DF'd friend at a District assembly. Left together, laughing.

Lots of amazed expressions....
........
....
....

Nostalgia isn't what it used to be....

peaceloveharmony

i choose to DA myself so i could attend a highschool homecoming football game. that was a friday night, next thursday the announcement was made from the stage. i was not at the meeting.

my da letter in its entirety follows:

I, Harmony A** R******, no longer wish to remain a jehovah's witness.

signed....

tee hee, i was a stubborn brat when i 17.

love
harmony

Most people think, Great God will come from the skies, Take away everything And make everybody feel high. But if you know what life is worth, You will look for yours on earth: And now you see the light, You stand up for your rights.~~Bob Marley

NeonMadman

Old apostates never die, they just fade away...

MegaDude

DA'd under pressure. Would have liked to have faded away and kept contacts with my JW family. Not to be. Rigid elder body said if I persisted seeing my DF'd sister and brother, I would be DF'd myself.
I told them I was going to keep seeing them and handed them a piece of paper saying I was DA'ing myself. They were shocked.

muslima

Decided enough was enough - didn't want to feel like a hypocrite anymore - I was the PO's wife so I took the following steps:

Filed for Divorce
"Scripturalized" the Divorce
"Best Friend" in the 'Formerly Known as the Truth' told soon - to - be ex-husband
Didn't want to go through DF procedure and embarrass the children
Wrote DA letter - hand delivered to first elder in the parking lot on a Sunday.
Announced the following Thursday - no questions asked

conflicted

Fortunately I have a happy story about leaving (my only happy story involving the JW's at all). My whole family were witnesses (excluding my step-dad, who isn't my family anyway). Me and my mother were the only baptized ones, the others were too young. We all sat down on Friday night, the night we usually prepared for the Watchtower on Sunday.

This night we all sat down and my mother asked us what we thought of being JW's, and all the answers were resoundingly negative. None of us had done any studying of false doctrine or anything like that, we were just tired of going through the motions. After about 15 minutes of hearing everyone's opinions my mother called the PO and stated that she was DA'ing herself and didn't wish to be visited by them anymore. She only mentioned herself, and yet I was never spoken to, visited, councilled, or anything. I assume that I was DA'd, but I really don't know.

The happy part is that we all came out together and no family was lost to DF'ing or any or that mess.

The family that DA's together stays together. :)

drahcir yarrum

I quit attending meetings in 1982 and moved away in 1984. I also married a non-Witness in 1984 and realized that she was much more Christian (even though I'm not) than any JW I'd met in my 34 previous years. After reading Crisis of Conscience in the fall of 1984 I realized that the WTS was not entitled to any explanation about how I chose to live my life. I couldn't have cared less, and still don't, whether I'm DF'd, DA'd or named to the freakin governing body in Brooklyn. I also took the attitude that if any of my family members or friends decided to shun me, so be it. I figured with almost 280 million people in the U.S., I'd make new friends.

Drahcir bin Yarrum

Tina

Hi,
I just left period. I could no longer live a lie. I woke up one day and said NO MORE! lol Did not DA myself as I feel it is playing by their rules,and why should I? Had enuff of their insane rules. One of the eassiest things I've ever done in my life actually. regards,T

Carl Sagan on balancing openness to new ideas with skeptical scrutiny..."if you are open to the point of gullibility and have not an ounce of skeptical sense-you cannot distinguish useful ideas from worthless ones."

How did you leave the JW's?

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