When I was 10 or eleven, the book “Revelation and its great climax” was released and we studied it in the book study. Some of these teachings didn’t add up. For instance, the idea that prophecies were fulfilled by assemblies or other modern Watchtower Society events appeared very self centered to me. However, discussing these doubts with my Dad, he reason with me that “Jehovah has an imperfect organization. Hence, this is one thing that I am finding out, but won’t be the last. Ignore these things, stay with Jehovah, stay in the ark, and you will be saved”. I bought this and went on to get baptized.
Then, there was the 1995 assembly: “A generation actually means a period of time”. Additionally, for the French bible, all the names were changed in the bible to get closer to the Hebrew pronunciation. That year, I seriously doubted things, but pushed things of as I believed the Jehovah’s Witnesses were the only one displaying the fruits of the spirit.
A few years later, the book “Daniel’s Prophecy” came out and I read it within two days! I felt it had a great deal of information that didn’t make sense, even some of the numbers didn’t add up! I was very disappointed. It took me a little time to swallow. But in time, I reasoned about the same thing I did for the Revelation Book and stayed in the ark.
Six years later, I started to seriously reconsider my faith. Many doubts that I had pushed aside through the years could no longer be silenced and I researched everything I could in the publications and various sources on the web, including sites such as this one. During this period, I mainly focused around the prophecies, past and present and concluded that the organization was in the dark.
Yet, despite my new findings, I rationalized these things out as “foolish questionings and genealogies” (Titus 3:9). These teachings, as I understood them then, did not have an actual bearing on the Christian conduct and thus, could be set aside. For instance, what good is it to know who the 5 th king of Israel was if I do not know how to demonstrate love to my brothers and sisters?
For the next 7 years, I gave greater attention to articles pertaining to the young, the elderly, the widows, the disabled, the poor, and anything thing that promoted Christian love to those in need. In the meantime, I have seen good and bad things in the Congregations. Every time something good was done, I would say “only in Jehovah’s Organization” and every time something bad was done, I would say: “focus on the organization and not just the bad members”.
About a year ago, I paused and seriously thought: If I acknowledge the good things to the benefit of the society, shouldn’t I also acknowledge the bad things? I profoundly reflected on the fruits that Jesus thought about and came to the conclusion that these fruits would be visible, first and foremost, within the organization. As I have moved around quite often, I have attended a good deal of congregations and came to the following conclusion: Though the Watchtower clearly teaches wonderful and core Christian values, the environment created by its various rules and traditions becomes an obstacle for Christians in applying these values.
For instance, a brother may become an elder if his service report is acceptable, prepares and attends all meetings, reads everything printed by the society, takes on various responsibilities, makes great talks, etc. Anything that is visible and measurable. Yet, the most important things such as assisting the disabled, the elderly, the widows, the orphans… tend to be unrewarded (Mat 6:3). As a result, the visible things are generally prioritized over the most important ones, thus, defying the very purpose of the entire machine. This is what Jesus denounced vehemently with the Pharisees (Mat 12:7). I had some interesting conversation with close ones on this matter and some told me that in the same manner Israelites had to go over the short comings of there priesthood, we must overcome those of the Organization. However, this argument fell flat as the Nation of Israel was chosen by blood. Today’s Christians are chosen by the fruits.
About a year ago, it became very clear that I would leave the society, yet, being a born-in, I still had nagging doubts. So, over the last year until now, I have researched everything back and forth. I also read the books authored by Raymond Franz. I must confess that it is these books, especially the one on Christian Freedom that help me settle my decision for good.
Since then, due to family reasons, I have been slowly fading away and hope to be entirely free in a few years.
Peace be with you all.
Ecan6
