if he asked this:
If anyone recalls this or knows something,
How come this can be the answer? :
Dear Friend,
You said, "I just want to say thanks, as that experience was probably the earliest experience I had with knowing there's a way out of dubs. I was probably 12 or 13 years old. "
There is something severely wrong with your saying you came to a realization that "there's a way out of dubs".
Wow, are you really that trapped?
Your name TardNFeateredJW tells me you have been marked / blacklisted / DF-ed / DA. Also, You capitalized your name with an upper case letter for each separate part, Tard - N - Feathered - JW which tells me a little something about you. Are you detail oriented. Step 1, Step 2, Step 3 oriented?
The reason I ask is that you just leave. If you have concerns for your safety, You should write things down. You should tell other people that are going to leave the JW group and of any concerns you have for doing so. If you actually fear for your safety talk to a police officer, ask him what you can do to keep safe, you do not have to be reporting a crime you just want to stay secure. Write those things down.
Talk to a counselor, lawyer with any legal concerns such as employment, housing, ... with a JW or other circumstances that might adversely affect you.
Talk to a psychologist, medical doctor, or psychiatrist with concerns about your mental and medical conditions because if you have a condition they may attack you in that vulnerability. It should be mentioned that you are concerned for that or whatever. If you are physically free to leave, but can't let yourself, why? That is a mental health issue.
The Watchtower has become expert at creating the illusion that you can't leave them, they'll say "Jehovah". That you will be labeled some sort of bad person, black balled, threatened with some sort of exposure, subjected to a JC, DF-ed for something - anything, accused of "smoking" or being "immoral", slandered. (Some of these are legal issues and are actionable.) ANY threat that makes you feel unsafe in any way must be reported to the police. IF you are later followed the previous threat would likely make that criminal stalking. Assume the worst.
I lived in the belly of the WT beast and my experience was very ugly. I actually wanted to stay in and fought to do so but I was made to feel unsafe and DF-ed ....
YOU ARE FREE TO LEAVE. Pray. Tell God that you have cause to leave and that you still love and trust him. The WT can't be trusted. Do not fear them, fear GOD. Tell him that you want to make a good decision in HIS eyes and that you want the WT's brain washing (look that term up in a dictionary) to not control you any more. Ask him to give you ability to make a rational decision. I was in the WT for 45 years and the mind control is enormously effective.
The Watchtower's doctrine is not unusual - that is there are other groups that have a similar belief system without the severe cult control. The Seventh Day Adventists are one, Saturday meetings are not unscriptural and they are fairly traditional. Some celebrate Christmas some don't. They promote healthy living and eating and have much longer lifespans. I am not an SDA. I am Baptist now.
YOU WILL NOT BECOME DEMONIZED for leaving or reading materials about their faults. Penton's book Apocalypse Delayed is good as are Raymond Franz' books. The Catholic Encyclopedia has entries on Russell et.al. that are factual. Wikipedia has many entries that have good standards of proof. Freeminds.org is an excellent source of information and has all the links you could need to learn of the enormous number of excellent reasons to impeach them as being God's reps. They were never formed to refound true Christianity, Russell stated his purpose, "To prove the free-masonry of the Bible." Did you know that?
Pray. Talk to a pastor, priest, minister at any local Christian Church, tell them that you have concerns about leaving them and going to another Church. What would you expect from them and be expected to be. Get comfortable with people in Christian ministry, call on the phone. I would be comfortable recommending Catholic, SDA, Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, Congregational, some Assemblies of God, few independent Baptist Churches, NO Full Gospel, No Mormon, No Christian Science, No Scientology. I found my church because the parking lot was always full. They have a good choice of discipleship courses.
Pray. Most lifer JWs have NO IDEA HOW GOOD WE IN CHRISTENDPM HAVE IT AND HOW LIED TO WE WERE.
Pray. Pray with others about this. Pray with others. Ask others to pray for you. I'll pray for you. God hears prayer.
God is good.
Blessings, Paul
