There is this sister in the hall I went to who is in her mid 80's. She is very active and pioneers, etc. Well when I was still going to the meetings and out in service she would talk about how she came into the "truth." Her life, etc. She is a very nice sister and enjoyable to be around but extremely cult minded.
I was thinking the other day she is a prime example of how the "truth" destroys families. She became a JW though the door to door work back in the mid 50's. She was a young wife and mother of three. There were about five other women who became JW's at the same time in her congregation. All had kids and husbands.
Once they came into the "truth" they stated going door to door during the day. They started leaving their husbands home at night dragging the kids with them to the meetings. No more Saturdays home with the husbands as they were out in service, no more Sunday s together, no holidays, no real family time anymore. The husbands lost everything but the wives were told they were doing the right thing giving their time to Jehovah and she said she was determined not to allow Satan to use her husband to stop her.
This sister thought it was the best time of her life. She has said that lot though out the time I have known her. She told me that her husband came to her and said "You love Jehovah more then you love me." She told me that she replied to him "You got that one right." When she told me that I felt pain in my heart for her husband, I did not know why because at the time I was still a strong JW myself. Her husband eventually cheated on her and they divorced as did all the woman who came into the "truth" when she did. None stayed married.
At the time she was telling me the story it did not hit me that the religion caused the breakups of those families but knowing what I know now it is all so clear.
Looking at it now how unbearably sad. Of her three children one is an elder, one is out of the "truth" and one is mentally ill.
She remarried an elder. There was no problem with sex for her as she told me she had great sex with her elder husband, not a real picture I wanted in my head but anywho.
It is just that I know this story must have played out over and over to many, many families though out the years.
How much heartbreak this religion has caused for so many people we do not even truly stop to think about. I never put two and two together about this sister until a couple of months ago. She would deny to her dying breath that the religion caused her family to break up. She just says her husband and the husbands of all the other woman were just horrible rats. It takes two to make a marriage.
I know my husband just cannot understand why his putting the religion first in our marriage has caused me such bitterness. You cannot reason with a JW.
I am starting to be totally convinced that for some reason the powers at Bethel do not want families, not happy families. But it makes no sense why. They speak out of both sides of their mouths but what do they do to encourage family life? Enjoying each other door to door is what the GB says makes for happy families. There have been so many days where I have thought instead of trying to convince this drug addict to convert it would have been so nice to be at the lake or going for a walk enjoying the world God gave us. Even helping in a soup kitchen or driving a older person to the store instead of knocking on doors of people who do not even want us there.
This is such a sad religion.
LITS