by KAYTEE 42 Replies latest jw friends
In my case I was prepared to go along with it despite niggling doubts so long as it didn't seem to be harming people. When it began to dawn on me that vulnerable people were being hurt - for instance an elderly pioneer, 2 children put at risk from a pedophile in the congregation and no warning given - I knew I had to stop supporting the organisation and tacitly agreeing with it by my presence there.
bernadette
First, my husband decided to leave the WTS.
I then began a fade six months or so later because of the 'coldness' of the congregation.
Then, we went on holiday, and one evening watched the Panorama programme on the pedophile problem in the bOrg.
The sheer arrogance of one elder refusing to answer questions was bad enough to make us want to spit. Then, good ol' Ted Jaracz did his infamous ignorant, arrogant act towards the lady reporter who was attempting to question him and that was that......bingo! Two and two started to add up.
When we got home, my mother told me never to look on the internet about JWs as it was 'all apostate lies!' about pedophiles. So, I immediately got on the net and spent several weeks glued to the compute in sheer horror at what I had been stupid enough to believe!
The rest, is history!!!!
Gill,
In a roundabout way we have a lot to thank these ones for, as you have mentioned, there arrogance,unchristian attitude has made many leave this organization GREAT !!
KT
KAYTEE - As someone once said : 'By their works ye shall know them!' And was he right!
For the last 20 years we knew that the 'love' was missing. I suspected that the Holy Spirit was not involved in all the 'body politic' of finding the meanest, least forgiving, most self-centered men in the congregation to make 'elders and shepherds'. Oppression of the 'little ones' didn't fit the Christian model set by Jesus. The ass-kissing and ass-kicking gave us the fodder of dispair.
Many things were 'playing in the background'; 607 didn't seem supported, the 'remnant' were not dying off correctly, scriptures about the 'nature of Christ' seemed to be downplayed [later we found they had been altered in some passages], 1914 seemed to be getting too far in the past to seem relevant, the change in the generation of 1914 was a severe blow. My dissonance was like a dull pain in the back of my head for years - then it all became too much - we ordered Ray's books and the background music became a dirge and we understood we were on a death march all our lives.
Jeff
I say a sign from an apostate at an assemly regarding 1975. As a youth we are told not to look at them. As an adult I went to the KH, read the 1968 WT and it planted the seed of doubt. I went to a library and found outer objective books about the witnesses. COC was read. I actually was anticipating SOMETHING prior to the generation change. When it happened, I said, the bible doesnt change, but it JUST DID. No one around me noticed the change. I went to NY and observed the aloof attitude from GOD's Christ-like servants. I was treated terribly at Bethel. I knew that this was just a multi-billion dollar business at that point.
I told thousands of people to leave their religion because it changes, made revision and it was false. Now as a witness, we were doing the same thing. With NO Explanation.
I feel that I have made a billion dollar investment in relationships and friends. I am not going to let NY take that away. I have noticed that most people around me feel that this is just a social thing now. Just a place too go to meet people to have "Gatherings" with.
i left because i was gay. much later, i started doing some research and found out a lot of the stuff that others have mentioned. but primarily because i didn't want to live my life alone, just "waiting on jehovah to make me all better in the new system". and it's a good thing i left, because i've so far had seven fabulous years with the woman i love.
We stifled doubts for many years but were never willing the pay the price, lost friends, lost family, and no direction home, as Dylan wrote. But one day we wound up on the same page and realized we didn't belong here anymore. So we left.
It was really that simple. And that complicated.
From now on if anyone ask or if I explain to someone my reasons for leaving, I will give them no more than 3 points or clues as to the true nature of the WT$. I will, in reverse order, tell them about the U.N. and 607. I will lead off with eph. 4:8. I will remind them of the scripture in revelation that talks about not adding or taking away from the bible. I will make sure they have access to the kingdom interliner and have them compare the NWT version to that of other versions and the KI that states in the original greek, what most other copies of the bible state, namely that christ gave gifts to the men, not gifts [in] men.
I will ask them if this is not the societies bread and butter scripture to vindicate the power of the elders and any older men in a leadership position? Than I will ask does this alteration distort or change the original meaning? Does this seem to be self serving? If they wish to know more I will encourage them to do research for themselves. There is an old adage that I hold true, "a person convinced against his will, is of the same opinon still."
The lack of love and support at a time when I needed it. Having depression was bad enough. But having people you had known for 25 years avoid you. By having your wife, under the direction of the Elders, tell you to leave the family home because you are a "spiritual danger" to the family. Not once did anyone say "We'll help you get through this and back on your feet." if they had I may well have been still a JW. But in their perverse minds doing the opposite, ignore you, avoid you, get you own wife to dump you, go to another congregation, is a "loving action" and suppose to bring you back to heel.
For a year I was probably stumbling along trying to do my best as a JW. Then one day I picked up a book that revealed to me the true nature of the Watchtower organisation. This led to the Internet, Freeminds, JWD and other sites and Ray Franzs two books. . For two years I devoured everything ending up with stacks of printed off material. I stopped going to meetings. In all this time not once did I get a "shepherding visit" no call, nothing, not even an invite to the Memorial. Then in September 2001 two Elders called, I was out, but they were only calling to get "inactive" ones back because numbers were dropping. This annoyed me , just being seen as a number on their records. I then officially DA'd , which was 30 years from when I became a JW. It meant that I could no longer see my two of my children who were still JW's. But I had already become a Christian before this. It is now 5 years since I last spoke to my JW wife and two JW daughters.
