Thank you all for you comments. I debated about posting or writing anything for a long time. However, writing this bio helps me heal. I also thought that perhaps my story could help other truth seekers that were undecided expecially younger ones who have more time in life to recover.
Thanks for asking about my family Jemba; I have a small family. As far as my extended family, I have not spoke to most in my family for years, so they are unaware. We kept our family problems and divisions concealed from most people but they were serious and deep. My wife's family knows that I am not doing anything and while they are not happy about it, they have said very little.
Skeeter, you asked about my perspective of the health of the organization. Looking around at the local District Conventions, Circuit Assemblies, and local congregations the audience is clearly greying and growing older. The demographics of the audience that I have observed is clearly lacking younger ones and the stable families that are so vital for growth. The audience is not just a majority of middle age to elderly people, it is the number of fringe associates that are attaching to the organization. My observation of interested people is that many seem to have difficulty fitting into society and are mentally off balance. The congregations that I have observed seriously lacked the presence of younger ones. I believe that these symptoms cannot be ignored.
Demographers say that a couple must have 2.1 children to just maintain population. If the birth rate of a couple drops to somewhere around 1.7, then the population will not recover and will become extinct. The same principle applies to WT growth. With the increasing number of hours needed for each baptism, the growth momentum has been lost to say the least. The tone of the last Convention that I attended seemed like a desperate and urgent cry to continue believing that Armagedon was immenient and that the FDS was God's channel. My opinion was that the speakers sounded like they were trying to sell something that they didn't quite believe themselves. These symptoms do not speak well for the health of the organization.
Thanks again, nice to be here.
