Was Your Leaving The Witnesses A Very Gradual Process Or A Quick One? (page 4)

Fernando

3rd generation born-in.

Four decades later I had my first ever encounter with the "gospel of grace".

This led to a 42-month spiritual awakening.

When the penny finally dropped our whole family suddenly walked out mid-2009 never to return.

(Why does the "true religion" secretly blind its followers to the "Good News" according to Paul, Moses, Isaiah and Psalms?)

Julia Orwell

Once I learned TTATT I was out within about 3-4 months. The memorial this year was my last meeting.

I was missing meetings and grew a beard back in 2000. I was depressed, had voluntarily step down as an elder a couple of years before, started going on the internet and occasionally reading some apostate stuff, but still felt that it was the truth.

To try and fight depression I started smoking cannabis, it helped a lot, even grew it in my shop, was pretty good at it so I had a good supply and the money was rolling in, business was picking up.

Then one day in febuary 2001(marked it down in a book somewhere) I was all by myself smoking a nice big fat doobie of some real good cannabis when I decided to surf the internet, typed in some suff in a search engine and started reading about "mind control" it was in that instant when I was totally stoned when it hit me like a brick in the face that I was in a mind control cult, I remember realizing O shit I'm gonna be DF'd and from that instant is when it all came together for me, but I was in a dark fog so it took a couple of years for me to half way sort it out. June of that year I was disfellowshipped as I couldn't keep it to myself so they came after me and I was disfellowshipped for: "Speaking Against the Organization" at least that what the charges were when I asked them what the charges were.

Gypsy Sam

Wow, same as Julia. Although, I was a born in and a lot of things always bothered me, I thought it was "the truth". Once I heard about the Whitney heinchel murder, that led to the Candace Conti case and googling away - JW's mental health, divorce rate, etc. once I learned TTATT, I was doing a fast fade!!

designs

Gradual then an abrupt stop. The 1990s were the gradual period, stuff didn't make sense and I was embarassed to be or say I was a JW. So I promised myself the new century would be different, and it has!

rubadubdub

Six weeks from light bulb moment to I'm out'a here without the Internet. Seems like depression is a common thread here!

My “shift in thought” came one night at a Service Meeting in mid-May. They were droning on about doing more in the ministry, because so many people are going to die! That translated immediately in my mind to the thought, “If one more person tells me my kids are going to die. . .!” I spent six weeks dwelling on my couch, sorting through the years of doctrinal flip flops and morphing and how that impacted personal friends of mine, the injustices I saw over the years, the hypocrisy of being told to stay in submission to my faded 30 years earlier "unbelieving mate" by two elders who were both later DF’d for cheating on their JW pioneer wives—you get the picture. Hubby was used to my couch dwelling due to depression, and didn’t think anything was out of the norm. He came home one night in June, and I told him, “I’m not going to be a witness anymore.” I had agreed to take my former DIL’s mother to the D.C. and kept my word. I truly saw what was making me crazy all those years. I was surrounded by the Stepford wives! I walked away after 42 years in The Lie on July 3, 2011 after the last day of the District Convention cold turkey. July 4th is my personal Independence Day. I’m not DF’d or DA’d (yet!)

ILoveTTATT

I am STILL not out, personal circumstances prevent me from going out... but I am definitely starting a fast fade as soon as I get a job in a different city!!

Here's my personal timeline:

2004 (?): I actually research some of the things in the Daniel book, go to an encyclopedia. Confirms to me (in my cult mind) that encyclopedia is very skeptical.

I was a pioneer in 2006. I had read 1 Thessalonians 4, where it talks about the archangel. I read the footnotes, and the footnotes indicate that other versions say the archangel is "Jehovah"!! I decide to ask the CO, since he looked knowledgeable. Why does it say "Jehovah" here? His answer: The Society's being honest.

Sometime in 2007, I read somewhere, in what was obviously an apostate website, that mother's milk contains white blood cells. I remember an article saying that because fractions cross the placenta, then it is acceptable. I think of the obvious question: Why don't we accept white blood cells?

Sometime around July 2012, I have an epiphany: WHY do we believe in the paradise? I look up the answer in Google, leads me to JWFacts.com

I dabble in jwfacts.com for a while... then start reading the Bible and "irreverently" asking as many questions as ever come up into my mind, why this? why that? I stop researching only in WTS literature, and just go to the internet. Matthew 4:14 why this... Romans 10:9 why that...

Sometime around February 2013, I start researching 607 vs 587. This leads me to various websites, sometimes hitting jwfacts.com

I start reading many, many, many different apostate websites. I am loving jwfacts.com... I research the quotes from the WTS CD, and what do ya know? It's all in there!! OMG!! I never knew we actually believed all this!! OMG!! Jehovah is not in the NT!! OMG!! Jesus is really not our mediator!!

It is now August 2013, and I am still trying to fade in a nice way... I was going to fade nicely, but losing my previous job hindered that...

As soon as I get a new job, I will totally fade... not going with a blaze of glory since I want to be a "JW" for as long as possible, to get my dad out, and then my mom...

I really hope I can!

ILTTATT

LongHairGal

MINIMUS:

I planned a cold-turkey fade after I read the mountain of information about JWs and their past lies on the internet in 2000.

But, their 1995 changed teaching on Generation is what made me search for answers because I had NO use for the JW religion after this teaching came out.

I suspect most of the newbies joining the forum recently are because of FURTHER changes on the same topic and they have no use for the religion either!

meep5

I left in a sort of slow but instant way. I was raised by JW parents who are still JWs so I didn't have much choice until 18 though I always knew I would not stay a JW. I saw far too much hypocrisy and that feeling of family seemed more like a fake feeling early on. When I hit 18 I wasn't ready to move out on my own and continued to live with my parents and go to the KH but service was greatly reduced (I was actually a regular pioneer for a bit mostly to impress my parents). I ended up leaving at 19 after some rather uncomfortable moments with my parents. Once on my own the main thing keeping me in the religion was my friends. I actually believe I began burning some of those bridges because I really wanted out and knew my friends were the only thing keeping me in. Since 1999 I have been JW free and though it was a very rocky start, I am much better off for it.

Was Your Leaving The Witnesses A Very Gradual Process Or A Quick One?

Separation of Powers