Does What We Say Here Or In Person Really Help JWs To Get Out Of The Religion?

minimus

If we are in the congregation, do you think our comments or questions actually reach elders or others in the congregation? Do our comments on this board affect Witnesses to the point of questioning their faith?

Divergent

"Do our comments on this board affect Witnesses to the point of questioning their faith?"

Yes. I was an active JW when I joined this board early last year. Now I'm no longer one

Bonsai

I was also active last year. Found jwfacts.com. Came here to discuss what was never allowed to be discussed.. Now I'm armed to the teeth with knowledge of what is and what turned out not to be truth.

Magwitch

Yes, my faithful father related to me Monday that one of his very progressive bible studies looked at an "apostate sight on the Internet" and quit studying after reading about the pedophiles within the org. My mother gasped at the horror of such a lie and my father looked so sad at his loss. I looked at a dirty spot on the rug for what seemed like forever, until I knew it was safe to look up and change the subject.

cappytan

I was an active uber dub and if it weren't for this site, I may have given in to cognitive dissonance and suppressed my doubts.

It's liberating when you find out you're not alone and there are others out there that are feeling the same doubts as you are.

The Searcher

Definitely 'Yes', to a greater or larger degree - depending on an individual's own circumstances.

Knowledge is power, and active/inactive & ex J.W.'s in our community here, contribute more information on everything connected with J.W.-dom than the average J.W. will hear at the KH.

DesirousOfChange

What is said here (this website) is clearly one of the biggest forces in assisting people to see TTATT and getting them out of the religion. Of course, the fact that they have decided to even allow themselves to LOOK HERE indicates they have already admitted to themselves that there are some serious reasons to question or doubt things going on in the Organization. This place is likely never the 1st step of awakening or leaving. But I truly think JWN and JWFacts are the 2 most important influences in the "great multitude" that is walking or running away.

The Governor

This forum really helped me out. I was a progressive bible study. I went to all the meetings, wore the clothes, answered the questions at the studies, went to the conventions and every single meeting. I studied vigorously. I aimed to be an unbaptized publisher. Not knowing anything about a large group of people apposing the organization I read this forum daily as I thought it was a Jehovah's Witness friendly forum. I did not know that the only website on the internet Jehovah's Witnesses were allowed to go to was JW.org. It took me about two days to realize that this forum did not support Jehovah's Witnesses but had great opinions, facts and points as to why they didn't.

Many of the topics discussed here I found were not discussed in the Kingdom Hall. I even took some of this information to the elders wives or those who I was studying with and the first thing they would ask me was "where did you get it?" I found it odd that it mattered MORE where I got the information rather then the information being true or false. The Jehovah's Witnesses will always try and focus any apposing information you bring them on where you got it or from whom and not whether it is true or it isn't. They will avoid discussion on facts and truths about this information presented by only focusing on where you got it or who said it. Once you say the internet you will get a lecture on how apostates are bad and how they just spread lies about the organization while at the same time avoiding any discussion on the information you originally presented.

This forum helped me a lot. I lurked for about a year....every single day before I even joined. So there are many people we can reach. Not just Jehovah's Witnesses but Bible Studies as well. Sites like this even may be the reason why the organization right now is really focusing on child baptisms as bringing new people in is getting incredibly hard with even one Google search being done. It's hard to convince a worldy person not look up or trust any information they Google but only the information on a one sided website.

So keep the comments coming everyone! You really don't know who is reading!

Ding

Not everyone, of course, but for many it's a lifeline out of the borg.

Giordano

It's intoxicating to find real information for one's questions, have discussions that you could never have with those still in.

To learn about the doctrinal changes long before the R & F.

Share experiences.

Gossip and scandal.....I love that stuff. I also love that we can immediately get a correction when someone has floated misinformation.

The references and research and thoughtful presentations about how the Society has gotten something so wrong.

I also think this place gives folks an opportunity to vent while they adjust to TTATT at their own speed. For the first time in their lives to be questioned and challenged on those things they just assumed to be true. For those still believing new ones...... the opportunity to discover a broader world view. To learn basic science that provides a different answer.

To be expected to debate, disagree, develop their critical reasoning skills and be allowed to take it as far as they can or just to a point where they can establish a new normal.

A place to be reassured that you have not gone insane, your not evil and you didn't destroy your life by not marching in step with the WT.

When I first joined it seemed that 50% on this site advised either fading or DAing. Now however it seems to me that far more then 50% advise a slow fade designed to reassure one's mate and children that you have changed but your love for them has not changed.

Does What We Say Here Or In Person Really Help JWs To Get Out Of The Religion?

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