I've known for years that if I was visited at my home by Jehovah's Witnesses, I would have become a DO NOT CALL. I would have firmly but politely told the Witnesses to never come back to my door and bother me again. Since I was raised "in the truth", I learned the religion from infancy. As time has gone on, and I get older, I realize that so much of the beliefs are "unbelievable". Therefore, I am fading in the best way that I can. For those that decided to listen to the 'message", what made you do it? What hooked you to this religion? What made you "know" this wasn't the "truth"?..........( There I go with those questions again).
Why On Earth Did You Ever Become A Witness & What Made You Decide To Leave?
by minimus 43 Replies latest jw friends
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drwtsn32
I started to know it wasn't the truth when I saw the Society blatantly lie in one of its publications. Ah, the good ol' 1985 Creation book where they so arrogantly put references in the back. I guess they figured no one would bother checking the quotes... no strong JW would EVER question the society!
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JH
I became a witness at 28 (baptized) for the salary, which was supposed to be eternal life. That sounded better than eternal death...
I left because I didn't believe in that salary anymore. They were pushing it back eternally. The 1995 new comprehension of the 1914 generation was the last nail in the coffin.
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Ghost of Esmeralda
Well, they got me as a zygote in my mothers womb. after birth, every member of my family was in so they systematically brainwashed me from infancy. i would never have bought into their teachings if they'd come to my door and i'd been an adult.
i left when i got into my twenties, got a clue, and realized that there were just too many holes in their teachings...that you could drive a fleet of semis through them. not to mention i wanted out of an abusive marriage, and and i wanted my child to have a better life than jwdom can offer her.
and i've never regretted leaving. even with all it's cost me personally, i can't imagine still being in. just can't.
~essie
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DJ
Hi Minimus....it's nice to see you back. I was raised in the jw teachings since about age 11. I left when I started to read the bible more and more and noticed that their concept of the "good news" was actually a different gospel.
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nowisee
hi minimus --
like you i was raised in it.
when i left many years ago it was a culmination of doctrinal questions plus personal issues with various "rules and regulations", and my feeling that i could never live up to what was expected.
it was only in the last year, reading many books, that i became convinced that wts is false prophet. probably the most influential book i read was david reed's, "answering jws subject by subject". this goes into each doctrine one by one, plus many aspects of jw history are dissected exposing the shaky foundations of this organization.
hope you are doing well.
nowisee
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jimbob
Born into it..........then finally realized the truth about the "troof"..........nuff said!
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DubbedNoMore
I was born into the "truth". I was a true believer. Because of what they taught, I was on dialysis for over 12 years... I was afraid that receiving a kidney transplant might offend Jehovah. Even though the idea that a transplant was no longer concidered cannabilizm, I still worried that it was the right thing to do. It sickens me thinking of all those years wasted.
The event that got me starting to doubt was 9/11. I was in the hospital at the time, I was lying in my bed and on the televiosion came the dreadful event. I saw the staff at the hospital crying and upset. I heard outcries of sorrow and as the days went on I watched the tv day and night. I saw people from all over the country dropping eveerything and coming to NY to help. There was this great outpouring of humanity. All that kept going through my head was that these people are in no way acting the Society talks about the world. I wondered what the Society was doing to help. I had read in article in the publications of relief efforts during storms and waas sure we must be doing something. ( Much later an article came out that had no mention of helping anyone. Only that they gave some comfort to those that seeked it.) I thought of how these men were supposed to be the future rulers of the world and that they, like Jesus, having the human experience and great compassion would lovingly restore mankind back to perfection. I wondered why these men were not doing anything to help. Souldn't they be heart sick and doing eveything possible to relieve pain.
After returning home there was a study article that was the turning point in my search for answers. It was a simple word. The word "may". For as long as I can remember theSociety as always talked about one of Rutherford's talks "Millions now living will never die". Except now in that particular article it quoted it as "Millions now living may never die". This simple change of a word ment alot. It demonstrated to me that the Society was was not what I thought it was. I had always believed that everything that was written was truthful. That they had researched very carefully and diligently. That there was no reason for us to verify anything that they stated because they already did the research. I wondered what else they had taken liberties with, so I started doing my own research. I typed the name of Charles taze Russel in my search engine and was amazed when I found so much about him. It shocked me to discover that there were groups of people still following his teachings, when the Society said that this "evil class" came to nothing. Again another lie. The more I stuided Russel's teachings the more I couldn't beleive that I was part of these beliefs. I have read Ray Franz's book and other books since then.
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Blueblades
The little green book,Things in which it is impossible for God to Lie!
The litte blue book,The Truth that Leads to Eternal Life.
Babylon the Great has Fallen,God's Kingdom Rules!
Then is Finished the Mystery of God.
The Approaching Peace of a Thousand Years! etc. at that time,1969.
Then I became "RIP VAN WINKLE". Some 30 years later I WOKE UP! (another story )
Blueblades
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Eric
Minimus,
I was raised in it too, and I bolted the instant I could force the gate open just one crack.
You sound to me like you want to bolt, but you have other pressures and considerations that make this
"difficult".Minimus, you can wait for the clouds to clear, you can wait for the clouds to part, you can wait for the heavens to open up and create a path for you to get out.
There is no "moment", no situation that presents itself as your chance to get out.
You either see that there is no other way for you but out, or you stay in.
There are consequences, yes. So prepare yourself for them. Gird your loins, as they say, and make a choice about how you will live your life. Others will maintain control of your life through threat and coersion or you will grab authority away from them.
You can do this. Or perhaps you can't.
It is your choice. It has always been your choice.
Eric