Here is Mark Jones' experience.
"I was born and raised into a cult known as the Jehovah’s Witnesses.
You may be surprised to hear it called “a cult” (or maybe you wont) but this is, at the very least, a high control religion that dictates what you wear, who you can marry, what kind of sex you can have, when you can have sex, if you’re allowed to have a beard, what websites you’re allowed to visit, what books you’re allowed to read, what hobbies you’re allowed to have and even the people you’re allowed to talk to.
I was born in 1984 and, at the time, my family and other Jehovah’s Witnesses were certain that armageddon would come before 2000. From the age of about 6 days old my parents would take me out in my pram while they knocked on doors peddling Watchtower literature.
The first thing to know is, association with outsiders is not allowed. The governing body (their leaders) call this “being unevenly yoked with unbelievers” 1 The idea is that association with non members is dangerous because it could influence your thinking and make you leave the religion. [Fun Fact: Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that only the Watchtower society are allowed to influence your thinking.] Therefore, growing up, the only world I knew was the Jehovah’s Witnesses. There was no conflicting thought because everyone I knew thought the same way, believed the same thing, talked the same way, loved the same things, hated the same things and had the same opinion as each other on the same topics. Your world revolves around the cult. Literally every thought you have revolves around the cult. So much so that we’d consult Watchtower magazines, Watchtower literature or even ask the leadership what we should think on a certain subject. Individuality was not allowed.
The cult was (and still is) obsessed with two things. Using the name Jehovah (which they believe is the true name of god) and Armageddon. They believe that Armageddon is “just around the corner” and will strike at any second and that only active Jehovah’s Witnesses in good standing even have a hope of surviving it. 2 That’s all they have to hope for… hope to have even a chance of surviving. So they’re constantly on edge, checking themselves to see if they’re good enough to survive it. One of their governing body members Tony Morris III told them in 2014 that if they don’t go out preaching door to door Jehovah will see blood on their hands in Armageddon and they’ll lose their life.
So, growing up I believed all of these things. I had no non-JW friends and spent my spare time studying Watchtower literature, giving talks, attending 5 meetings a week, 10 hours door knocking a month (minimum) and reporting people to the leadership who were doing non-JW things. Oh yes, that’s another thing, we were supposed to turn in our friends and family if they break any of the rules laid down from the leaders. Such things as being alone with a member of the opposite sex, smoking, saying “happy birthday”, clinking glasses and/or saying “cheers”, getting drunk or even if they’d been seen with non-Jehovah’s Witnesses.
When I got to the age of about 26 I started to notice some things that just weren't right. There was no freedom to question any teaching that was printed in the magazines. Sometimes I’d be reading about subjects that I’m somewhat an expert on and they’d write something that was either completely incorrect, lacked context or they’d misquote someone to make it look like they were saying something else. Also, we were warned not to research the religion on the internet because “apostates” are out there writing lies. But I reasoned, how could a lie damage my spirituality if I have the truth? Lies are easily disproved with evidence. But I was a good JW and obeyed their command. Eventually though, it was their own literature that made me doubt. I knew a few members of the religion who collected the old literature as a hobby. I started doing this too, the aim was actually so that I could know everything about my religion and become an expert “bible teacher” for the organization. The books written pre-1970s and especially the books written by first Watchtower leader Joseph Rutherford were outrageous. I learned of so many failed dates for armageddon, so many failed prophecies and a long history of flip-flopping on what they were teaching as “the truth”. 3 In fact, some of the older books are now considered to be apostasy even though they were written and published by the Watchtower society!
Breaking a rule or committing a “sin” in the cult isn’t like in a Christian religion where you’d ask Jesus for forgiveness and “continue on your way and sin no more” (John 8:11). No, in the cult you would be called to a Judicial Committee where you’re locked in a back room with three elders (always male) and cross examined for a number of hours. THEY decide if you’re sorry, and even if they decide that you are THEY decide if you’re sorry enough. If they don’t think you’re sorry (or sorry enough) you will be disfellowshipped. This is like a death. I’ll explain why in a moment.
My “sin” was that I read a real bible on it’s own without Watchtower literature for about a year and came to the conclusion that Jesus is the mediator between god and man. This is the opposite of what Jehovah’s Witnesses believe. The Watchtower society has told them that Jesus is the mediator only for their leaders and 143,992 other specially “chosen” people that have lived since Jesus day 4 So, I was hauled to a judicial committee, like Martin Luther before me I refused to recant and was disfellowshipped as “an apostate”.
“Persons who deliberately spread (stubbornly hold to and speak about) teachings contrary to Bible truth as taught by Jehovah's Witnesses are apostates.” Pay Attention to Yourselves and to All the Flock p.94, (published by Jehovah’s Witnesses)
Most religions practice excommunication. This religion goes miles further. If you are disfellowshipped from the Jehovah’s Witnesses you’re completely shunned by the entire Jehovah’s Witness population 5 They are to regard you as dead. They will literally pretend that you’re invisible. That includes your own family. Mothers shun their children, children shun their parents, brothers shun their sisters etc. You’re not allowed to attend a disfellowshipped persons funeral nor mourn them if they die.
"We never want to give the impression to outsiders that a disfellowshiped person was acceptable in the congregation when in truth and in fact he was not acceptable but had been disfellowshiped from it." A Christian congregation would not want its good name besmirched by having it associated with any to whom 2 John 9, 10 applied, even in their death." - Watchtower 1977 Jun 1 p.347
This results in tremendous pain and heartache for the disfellowshipped victim because, remember, they’ve had no non-Jehovah’s Witness friends and now they’ve lost everybody they’ve ever known. They’re completely alone in a world they don’t know or understand. Only last month I bumped into an old friend who is a Jehovah’s Witness elder. I hadn't seen him since I left the religion three years ago. I smiled and stuck out my hand and said hello - because I’m an ex-member he reacted with hatred and anger, outraged that I’d spoken to him which forced him to acknowledge me. He would now have to pray for forgiveness for speaking to an ex-member.
How to Treat a Disfellowshipped Person
The reason why the average member would react with hatred is because disfellowshipped members are always portrayed as proud and stubborn in the Watchtower literature:
And worse still, is the ex-Jehovah’s Witness who left because they actually believed the bible over the Watchtower society are portrayed as angry embittered people who are unwilling to reason!
I was told that if I ever wish to return to the cult I’d have to attend Jehovah’s Witness meetings for about 5 years while still being shunned and by living the life of a Jehovah’s Witness. This means still not having non-JW friends, while being shunned by the JWs (so they mean 100% alone until they’d decide to reinstate me). But I’ll never go back. I discovered that the real world is a wonderful place, full of good people and opportunity. Sure, bad people and bad things do exist, but that’s not what the whole world is like.
