52 years as a J.W.,born in 1949 in Azusa Calif, raised in Glendora Calif. My father was DFed in 1961 for not going to the Kingdom Hall he was assigned to, by 3 brothers who later all left or got kicked out of the borg too! Pioneered in Salina Kansas 1968-1970. Was at N.Y. Bethel 1970-1974. Married in March 1974-July 2001,My Wife left me after a 27 years of marriage, because I no longer wanted to be a Jehovah Witness. Lost my sister, 99% of all my friends, and could have lost my 2 children, but they were treated so badly, because I left, that my children left the loveless organization too. We all are doing fine now. Now my ex-wife will have nothing to do with me and little to do with her kids, or her grand children. She turned her back on her own father who was Dfed in 1958! He later blew his brains out, because his 2 children (my exwife)would have nothing to do with him, plus he was not allowed to see his only grand children {my children}! and why? The only thing he was doing wrong was smoking. My father could see me and my children even though he had not been a J.W. for 40 years and he was smoking too! The only difference is, he knew it was all bullshit, got reinstated back in 1965 and faded. It is absolutly amazing what you can get people to believe in! By their love you will recognize them-------Isn't that the truth!
Why did you "BORN IN's" leave?
by stillstuckcruz 62 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
-
-
d
I just could not take being controlled and being told how to live my life,this was just getting to be too much, I started really have doubts around 2004-2005 and finally left in 2008 for good.
-
DesirousOfChange
lamallcool: injustice
thetrueone: corruption
unshackled: hypocrisy
chimichanga: the way my mom came to be disfellowshipped
flipper: unjust treatment
jwfacts: discovering JWs were not any different than anyone else
broken promises: started to see how today's elders and WT rules were no different to the Pharisees
(I haven't made it to pages 2 & 3 yet) but........Does anyone else see a trend here?
-
mythreesons
When time came that I had to explain to my kids our beliefs and I decided to start fresh with no preconceived ideas about what is true and what is false. I researched the bible and watchtower publications, what I found turned my world upside down....actually it's what I didn't find. I wanted to say something better than, "because the Society says so" To think I actually thought everything I had ever known would be proved true....OUCH!
Where to go from there!? LOL
-
just n from bethel
I read the Bible.
And I got good grades in history, science, and math in college. If God wanted us to believe the bible - he shouldn't write it so that what happens in there is mathematically impossible (where to start ... flood, 6000 years of human histroy, development of languages, etc. etc.) Again, I just read the bible from a neutral perspective, several times actually, - realized the joke was on me.
So I've now told most of my close JW friends and family that I'm open to believe any of their teachings that they can present evidence that their belief is true. If it's the "truth" as they claim - they'll be able to present extraordinary proof to back their extraordinary claims. If it was the truth - it would 100% truthful. There will be no lies and no deception, no re-writing earth's history nor the organization's history for that matter. But matters like these must be presented to me from a neutral standpoint, being born in to a religion doesn't mean it's truth, and just because my parents believe it, and their parents believe it, and even my parents' parents believed it, doesn't mean it's truth.
So that's why I left - It was not a matter of choice really. I simply didn't believe because there was no evidence or assurance of the things hoped for (as taught by the bible and the WT). You can't be a JW and not believe 100%- unless you want to live your life as a hypocrite. Thus, I had no choice in the matter. Once I "tested the inspired expressions" I found them - not so inspired after all. That included the inspired expressions of the Bible and the WT. Therefore, it really wasn't up to me anymore, no matter how strong my desire for things to continue the same in my relationships with JW family and friends - it would never change the fact that no evidence existed to support the belief system of the JWs. When I asked my friends and family if they thought I should "pretend" or fake it - they all agreed that even they couldn't do that.
The interesting thing is, they agreed that they just don't need evidence to believe. I said, 'fair enough - you and 95% of the world that believe in some kind of supernatural intervening power, so you're not alone. I'm not going to disrespect you as a whole for doing what most of the planet does anyway - believing in the credulous.'
But, even though, there will be no evidence ever given to prove this supernatural or 'Bible from God' belief, I'm always open for it. MY JW friends and family know anytime they think they have found some extraordinary proof - I'm 100% completely open to look into it.
However, in the meantime, if the JWs want my respect as an organization, they should revise the blood policy to a conscience matter and all but do away with the DFing policy. And - they should apologize for so many of their past mistakes, like the blood policy. They, the GB, should apologize just like they tell their members to apologize for any wrong they have committed. If they were to do those three things, they'd at least have my respect to a minimal degree - like most other religions. I wouldn't believe them per se, but I would at least see that they were interested in the well being of their members. Until then, they have some very dangerous teachings that hurt families immensely, and in worst cases, cause the the needless death of children - children, who in all likelihood, will not be a JW when they grow up anyway. So I cannot consciously give them even the minimum amount of respect they so wish the world would give them.
-
aquagirl
Well,my life kinda sucked as a witness,and everyone else was having so much fun.I hated meetings and field service and all of that crap,like since I can remember.Also,As I started to become "marriageable age",14,15,The elders were warning my dad to "get me married off before there was trouble".The contestants were not up to paar,and besides,I really wanted to sleep with Robert Plant and hang around with Led Zepplin.hahahahaha
-
pirata
Once in a while I'd research topics in secular sources; I thought I'd find some non-JW sources to use in service to help convince householders. Some of the things I found made me think about our beliefs from different angles that I never thought of before. Through wikipedia I found about 1980's purge of Ray Franz and friends, and the ajwrb. This was a bit disturbing, but I shelved this. It still bothered me for a while, then the OKM article came out saying not to do research in groups, or do research with a view to verifying the correctness of the Society's publications. Although it is probaly a coincidence, I had prayed the night before I got that article to know if this was really the true religion. At the time, I thought the article was an answer to my prayer; and the answer was "If it was the true religion, they would not discourage verifying their assertions". After this I started doing more research to verify "my" faith, using any and all resources. Suffice to say, that led me to the old publications, freeminds, JWN, CoC, Gentile Times Reconsidered, ISOCF, etc, and I realized that the claim to be the only true religion on earth was seriously thrown into question.
I'm still in (for my marriage). But mentally I'm out.
-
strymeckirules
i was a born in who knew i done with it at 12 and left at 15 years old. abusive family was the trigger.
then i went back when i turned 20 because i had emotional damage from leaving so young. this move ruined my relationship at the time and broke a girl's heart.
then i left after a year cause i realized i screwed up. tried to patch up the old relationship to no avail.
then at 26 i went back on my own to learn and finally be good.
but i like cannabis so it was a sticky slope to conquer.
but i quit and became the most seflf rightous jdub out there. i wanted to be an elder NOW!
i was so confident that one day i searched the internet
"how to stump a jehovahs witness at your door"
i followed the link because "nobody is gonna stump me at the door! " i figured i'd learn their angle and figure out how to "be all things to all people" to get them to understand the "truth".
then i started reading and learning and i became terrified as everything i trusted melted before my eyes...
but then i kept learning and understanding and reading all books ment to be in the bible, and ones that are not supposed to be in there too.
then i tried to tell my parents about what i learned.
and i learned "too much".
i left because i was so overzealous i figured out the truth from the lies.
god gave all seed bearing herbs for my use. he said it twice.
-
mama1119
My parents joined when I was 2-ish. I never fully bought into it, and neither did my Mom. When I got DF'd in 03, I tried hanging around for a while, but after research and blah blah blah, the whole family left. Not one day has passed with the least bit of remorse or regret about leaving. Only regret for staying in in the first place.
-
skeeter1
My siblings are almost a generation older then me. They had a terrible home life, and left at the first chance. They gave up college due to all the 1975 talk and that they wanted to support themselves. They worked jobs no one else would take. When 1975 didn't happen, both my parents got disillussioned. They preached to me, the "smart one", to go to college. When the 1980s came, I found myself befriending another JW in high school. She got me into going to the meetings. My mother went back with me. I still had the dream of going to college. That dream didn't mesh with the JWs and the congregation talks. It was the mid-1980s and the Generation of 1914 was about to die off - so I was being pressured by the JWs to not go to college. I remembered my siblings making fun on 1975, and I wanted to go to college. I saw nothing wrong with it. I looked at the 1914 calculation, and it didn't make sense. I didn't like being a publisher and going out in service. I wasn't sure of the message, and not enough to embarrass myself at the door. I put my faith in science and math at that time. I told an elder, a doctor whose name I wish I could remember, that I didn't want to be a publisher. ..... I went to just a few meetings after that.... started college... luckily, my parents paid for college as long as I lived at home and didn't force the JW thing on me.