I was a Jehovah's Witnesses for 15 years (1983-1998) in Pietermaritzburg and Durban, South Africa. I was baptised in 1985; appointed a ministerial servant in 1987 (aged 21); refused military service on religious grounds in 1989 (served a three year Community Service sentence) and was appointed an elder in 1993 (aged 26).
I wrote to the Governing Body in Brooklyn four times between 1992-97, respectfully questioning the nonsense they were publishing about science and evolution (you can see all my correspondence and their hilarious replies here: http://bit.ly/jw-md-letters ). I finally disassociated myself in 1998 and life has been a WHOLE lot better since π
If any ex-JWs on here knew me back in South Africa, do pop by and say hello π
Mario Di Maggio