Life After JW'S ?

by mackey 3 Replies latest jw friends

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  mackey

  HI everyone. As some of you know a close friend of mine is a witness and I am trying to remove some of the fears and guilt that have such a hold on her. I was wondering If some of you could share some details of your lives in and out of the org. How has your life changed? For the better or worse.How did you view "worldly" people, then and now? Is your life more fulfilling? Did you feel spiritually lost? Stuff like that. She won't visit this site because as you know, witnesses are very distrustful of " apostates" and " worldlies". I'm slowly trying to show her that you are not condemed to die because you don't belong to the WTS. I was planning on printing out the responses and eventually showing them to her, so please be kind. I don't want to give her name, but she's 24.

  Edited by - MACKEY on 2 February 2003 21:53:32
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  DanTheMan

  How has your life changed? For the better

  Well, I no longer have to believe that my non-JW family and work associates are doomed to be "destroyed" (i.e. killed) by God at Armageddon. Killed for their supposed willful rejection of God's message being proclaimed by JW's. I used to have haunting visions of making it through Armageddon, but on the other side encountering the corpses of my family among the ruins.

  or worse.

  JW life provided a structure and routine that in some ways made life more bearable. It made me feel like I was part of a chosen elite group. I felt invincible, like I would never die.

  How did you view "worldly" people, then

  My JW beliefs forced me to view them as being less than human, and (sorry for redundancy) doomed to destruction.

  and now?

  People are largely products of genes & environment. I'm trying to learn to not be so moralistic and judgemental towards people (still hard).

  Is your life more fulfilling?

  No more or no less so then when I was a JW.

  Does it have meaning?

  same as previous question

  Did you feel spiritually lost?

  I felt spiritually lost when I was a JW. Now I'm free to explore other possibilities, which I am doing.
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  Cassandra Cain

  Well I can tell you one thing it has done for me.... I feel free! There is no guilt and I'm not afraid of everybody any more... my sprit has lifted in a way... It was like I was carrying a large weight on my shoulders and now it's gone... ^__^ thats what I like the best about it.

  ~Cassandra Cain~
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  Warrigal

  I remember some of the awful looks I'd get when I asked a question of someone at the KH. Those things were simply not done! It was a sign of spiritual weakness!

  Now I'm free to read what I like and research any question any where I like. If some of my questions had been truthfully answered at the KH, I might still be one of them. Now I know that the many stories alluded to in the hall were very likely true.