I woke up myself. No apostates necessary. As far back as I can recall, I have always been somewhat aware that it wasn't the truth. I wasn't fully awake until this year, but there were always things I heard or saw within the org that didn't sit right with me. About a month ago I stumbled acrossed an old diary I kept around the time I got baptized. In one entry I had written that I thought JW's twist scripture to make it fit their doctrine. Sheesh. Hindsight is 20/20.
Did an EX-JW wake you up to TTATT or did you put the effort to wake up yourself?
by John Aquila 112 Replies latest jw experiences
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kaik
I woke up myself. I have not read CoC until decade later after KH as well Vision of Glory by Barbara G. Harrison. I did not had any apostate or ex-JW around me. What woke me up was book study in 1993/1994 of Revelation, It is Grand Climax at Hand. I just could not digest all the BS through this book. I also used this book for field service and study, and more thought I put into it, it was seen less and less as Channel of Truth from God. It occurred me that it is all fabrication, irrational construction, and wrong conclusion. Once I stopped believing it was Channel of Truth communicating with God, I saw it as man-made organization. Why I should stay in made-made organization, so I left. -
Godsendconspirator
I remember going on the internet and on social media, I typed in "Jehovah's witnesses" to see if I could follow some. But I randomly found out a little information on a post from an "apostate". I always prided myself on telling people that I'm a jdub because its the truth and if mormons had truth I would be one of them. And when I read that post I knew that I have to research more. I thought that if Jdub land had the truth, looking at apostate material wouldn't be a problem.
And here I am.
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konceptual99
But did someone encourage you to read the book?
Or did you take it upon yourself to read it with no one telling you to do so?Seriously speaking, I woke up myself in as much as no one else talked to me directly. There were a number of things that had got me thinking more critically and I started searching the web. I came across this site and it was from here that I got the courage to read CoC.
So, although I was self-motivated, it was the experience of people on this site and elsewhere on the web that gave me an outlet to express my frustrations and find routes to getting some answers. CoC, the works on 607 and JWFacts were key resources as well.
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Crazyguy
I first put my entire trust in jehovah, left my family and my trade drove 3 thousand miles away to start a new profession with some brothers. I convinced myself that the reason for my struggles was that I didn't put enough trust in God and let him carry my yoke. So here I am in a new state new trade and new business and of course despite prayer and going out in service as much as possible and making all the meeting etc. I was getting no help. Also I was having thoughts about how can God be so loving yet abandon everyone for thousands of years kinda thoughts.
So I'm going out in service with my friend and business partner and he's jokingly calling it a cult got talking about the generation that wouldn't pass away etc. And he tells me his brother was thier at bethel when all those people on that 1984 wt cover were there and got to see them all die. On top of that out in service met some people that were going to a church that taught stuff similar to our stuff and I was surprised that we were not so different after all. Then went to DC and good old brother Lett spills the beans in a talk admitting to the fact that most everyone at bethel thought they end was coming in 1975, what, weren't we told that it's was the elders and some rogue Co's that were saying this not bethel?!
I came back home after a bust of new business venture,, I guess jehovah thought it was a bad idea. Then the last straw after doing research about the religion avoiding apostate sites was I started a study with my neighbor, he wanted to study the book of Revelations, the one in the Bible not the JW book. But I was pre-studying the revelation climax book before hand so I could be prepared. As I studied it became embarrassing to me what these men were writing in this book. I became a Christian for a short while having a better understanding of what the Bible writer were trying to convey concerning love and Christ, until I saw a post about the Cannanite God El.
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GoneAwol
About 8 years ago, we were having a bad time with our 1st daughter and the blood issue. She required surgery for Syringomyelia, a nasty brain and spine condition that results in paralysis. Blood was the only option during surgery, so you can imagine being torn between what the elders wanted us to do and our love for our children.
I was at an assembly in Newcastle, and helping the accounts department collect all the boxes around the hall, when I got talking to a young brother about our situation and the impending surgery. He is a paramedic and knew all about the processes involving blood. I basically wanted to ask him if it was safe to transfuse.
His reaction shocked me. He told me all about how the society was misapplying scripture in that the body had to die before blood was poured onto the ground. A person who gives blood is still alive. That night we went home and stayed up 'till late, scratching around for jw info on blood transfusions. Nothing the literature said tallied with the bible about the animal having to be dead.
That was it for us. No more meetings. No-one called, nobody visited our daughter in hospital, it was as if we had never existed. Which was perfect for us, as we wanted to just drift away, but it still hurt.
We went ahead with the surgeon's recommendations, and she is with us here all fixed up!
Our daughter number 2 went through the same thing a few years later, and success again. Them surgeons are the best.
So for us, it was a fellow believer who had doubts, and the stressful situation that helped us wake up.
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Gorbatchov
Great topic. I was born in a little harbor town in Holland, a 4th generation witness. Grandfather and father were both elders, I was MS+, doing the public lecture at sunday morning.
What made me wake up?
1) my family were no die hard JW's. Because generations before me were "in the truth" we knew and did discuss about topics like 1975, Russell, Rutherford and 607. At the end the discussion was closed with "ok, this is wrong, but we are the only organization using God's name and doing a world wide preaching, so the rest has happened but is not a focus point".
2) from my early days, during the congregation meetings, I had some feeling that "something was strange", when it became the discussed literature. At the Watchtower study I was reading the magazine and it caused pain in my head.
3) when I was 9 years old, I drove with my father to the secretary's house, we had to hand over our monthly reports, late again as ever. I stayed in the car. And waited 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 30 minutes and when a hour went over, my father came back. I asked "where did you stay?" he explained that the secretary showed the current Time magazine with an article about Raymond Franz and the organization problems.
4) at the same time in 1980 I was preaching with my father (my all time hero!) and the householder told us "You both lovely people are preaching here at sunday in this extreme cold wintertime weather. Do you know your religion leaders are living in great luxury buildings, have big cars with own drivers, do have own planes? I have seen it all living in the USA, it's all about making profit. You are being used!". My father did some defense, but I never forgot the householders remarks.
5) my JW best friend (studying at University) told me his reverse opinion about the organization when the 1995 generation change occurred. Before that he made sometimes remarks about the organization. It influenced me, and I felt he could be right. Later on the gave me Ray Franz's two books.
6) The books of Ray made me feeling disgusting about the organization. Once read, I could never believe again in my religion.
7) All the information on Internet made me proof most of the witness policy and doctrines are worthless and focused on the interests of the organization only. I read it all, starting on the old Hourglass, then of course the highly valuable jehovah-witness.com and Cedars made some very good points all.
8) Highlights: Ray Franz publications, the declaration of facts written by Rutherford to the Reichsfuhrer of Nazi Germany in 1933, Beth Sarim, the 1874 and 1914 mistake, the closing of the calling, the generation change, the change about voting (you can vote now!), all the financial matters, like using your credit card for donation, and the current generation change with Frederic William Franz for the turning point and of course the change to Television / Broadcasting religion.
Preaching on a cold winter day in 2007 I walked with my lovely wife in a small village noticing that all people were watching us but didn't open the doors. I told my wife, this is my last day in field service. We never went again. The same with attending the meetings. In 2012, after attending, I told my wife, this is the last time I attend a meeting. She agreed with it and now we are only attending memorial to keep the close family satisfied.
Pfff. Gorby
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Phizzy
I was a born-in, the offspring of two converts. I was in for 58 years. I never swallowed all the nonsense, and an increasing amount seemed to be nonsense as the years rolled by.
Eventually, in early 2007 I read Daniel as though I had never read it before, no Eisegesis, and realised that no way was 1914 connected to any words in this book. I searched for some more biblical proof of 1914, found NONE !
I stopped going DtoD , feeling I could not teach what was not in the Bible. I eventually used the Internet and found a Site where the 1914 Doctrine was demolished, I was not alone ! I shortly after found this estimable Site and began to learn TTATT fully.
So, I woke up, bleary-eyed, at the start of 2007, by the end of the yeat I knew most of TTATT, therefore was clear of eye, I left for good in March 2008.
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punkofnice
I was an elder. I saw the dark side. How could spirit appointed men be such bully boy power trippers? Then I questioned why there was 7 days to appeal god's desicion after a JC.
Mainly, I saw the power trips the elders and co's were on and it all made sense..........it was a man made cult!
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ThinkerBelle
I'm not sure what exactly was thw "aha" moment for me, but apostates weren't involved initially. I had been researching holidays online ( but never went to apostate sites) and found some stuff contradictory to what I had always been taught. I didn't pursue it. Then I took a religion class ( professor happened to be atheist, but never forced those views on us) that covered the ancient religions to modern day and I was shocked that Christianity had a lot of similarities to the old religions. Professor really got us to think about and thoroughly explain our stance which got me really thinking about what I believe. So I explored and found COC and jwfacts and lets just say that got the ball rolling.
Edit to add: looking back, I never had strong faith in the jws, just did it because that was what I had been raised as so didnt really question anything even though it didnt seem normal - never "made the truth my own"