In the past few weeks, the shunning issue has become a very personal one for me, and I have begun to realize that it is not just enough for me and my family to fade out. After some recent events, I am motivated to start some “anti-Watchtower activism” of my own.
I, like many others, have hoped that there would be a scandal of epic proportions within the organization, something that would wake others up and trigger a mass exodus.
While I am still hopeful that this may happen, it seems that the organization is too good at damage control, and heightening the paranoia surrounding “apostates”.
But what if the Ex-witness community tried a different approach?
What if, to borrow a hockey term, a sort of “shut out” situation was created?
Most “householders” do not know that all they have to do to get Jehovahs’s Witnesses to stop calling is to ask to be listed as a “Do Not Call”. Most householders do not know that showing interest or accepting literature will cause them to be labelled as a “return visit” or “bible study”.
Imagine the effect it will have if Witnesses arrived at their territory only to find that every house is listed as a “Do Not Call”?
I plan to have the following letter printed and will be distributing it throughout my neighborhood. I will post it in bus shelters and on grocery store bulletin boards. I will be forwarding it as an email with the subject line “How to get Jehovah’s Witnesses to stop calling”.
Please join me on this, and if there are any suggestions on improving the letter, please let me know!
Have you ever had a visit from Jehovah's Witnesses? Did you know that there is a simple way to make sure they never bother you at your home again?
The next time Jehovah's Witnesses come to your door, politely tell them that you have no interest in them or their message, that you would like to be labelled as a "Do Not Call" in their records, and close your door.
If you accept their literature just to be polite, or show the slightest bit of interest, you will become what they call a "return visit". This means that they will write down your name, address and personal information in a book, then repeatedly call on you to bring you their literature and attempt to discuss the bible with you. Once they have succeeded in contacting you three times, you officially become a "bible study" which is then reported to their headquarters.
Here are some things Jehovah's Witnesses won't tell you:
Their purpose in coming to your door is, in fact, to convert you to their religion. Any kindness or personal interest they show you is a means to an end.
They believe that very shortly, every single person in this world who is not one of Jehovah's Witnesses will be violently and everlastingly destroyed by God at Armageddon.
If you become one of Jehovah's Witnesses, you will be expected to slowly distance yourself from non-Witness friends and family.
Jehovah's Witnesses unquestionably accept any and all direction from their "Governing Body" - a small group of elderly men at their world headquarters in New York.
Some of this direction includes:
- Ex communicating and shunning members, including family members, that do not agree with beliefs and practices
- Discouraging young members from pursuing post secondary education
- Refusing life saving blood transfusions and the 4 major components of blood, but possibly accepting those 4 components broken down into smaller fractions
- Possibly allowing a man who has molested a child in the past to hold a position of authority within the congregation (church)
Very shortly, in March/April, Jehovah's Witnesses will begin a campaign to invite you to their annual "Memorial of Jesus Death". An invitation will be left at your door.
Do not accept it. Do not go.
Later in the year in August, they will begin another special campaign to promote their website, JW.org.
Do not visit it.
High attendance at their Memorial and high traffic to their website will only motivate Witnesses to keep doing what they're doing.
Jehovah's Witnesses as individuals are good people, but in reality they belong to a dangerous cult that the public needs to be warned about.
The best thing to do would be to simply ignore them, but a good resource for concise,unbiased information about Jehovah's Witnesses is:
www.jwfacts.com Please forward this message to friends and family.
Sincerely,
A concerned neighbor