My question may seem vague but if one decides to leave "the organization", why write a formal letter? Why not just leave and not have any further contact with the witnesses? Is there some legitimate legal reason for this or do people do this because the witness thinking has overtaken their logic?
Why write a letter of disassociation?
by tfsm 34 Replies latest jw experiences
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Andrea Wideman
It is important to write the letter of disassociation just so the JW's won't harrass you with shepherding calls. They will leave you alone from that point forward. Plus as an added benefit you have closure. It felt so liberating when I wrote mine and hurried out to the mailbox to send it.
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DanTheMan
Opinions vary, and I have flip-flopped on this issue since I dropped my DA letter in the mailbox back in March 2002.
I sometimes wish I had gone the fade route, but I would have had no tolerance for elders hounding me, calling at all hours, stopping by uninvited, it's especially bad if they sense that the reason for your lack of meeting attendance is because you're not 100% on board with everything Watchtower, and I'm not good at hiding my feelings about things. I had nothing to lose by DA'ing since I don't have any family in da troof. It's really a personal thing, if you want to just be done with them and not have to deal with the stupid stuff, then it's a pretty good way to go IMO. Of course with the change in the way they announce these things at the KH, nobody knows whether you DA'd or got DF'd.
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ozziepost
Opinions vary, and I have flip-flopped on this issue since I dropped my DA letter in the mailbox
Me too.
On the one hand I think it plays their game, i.e. it gives them the recognition they're not entitled to.
On the other hand, it could be said that without it, you have never really left!
I tend to the former.
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ozziepost
P.S. to the above:
The important thing is to leave!!
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Honesty
Why get writer's cramp or waste printer ink when you can call them at 718-560-5000 or 718-560-5600. Ask for the Service department and tell them what is on your mind. End the conversation with something like, "Due to the WTBTS failing to maintain consistent doctrines, I find it in my best interests to sever ties with a false prophet that stumbles around like a drunk sailor trying to make sure his sailboat is tacking into the wind."
P.S. If you have a Radio Shack Telephone Recording Control and a cassete recorder we can post it on the internet so inquiring minds can hear how it is done in an effective manner. Sorta like giving a demonstration during the JW Service meeting if ya know whut I mean. Cheers
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findingmyway
call them at 718-560-5000 or 718-560-5600
HA! I just called that number thinking they were going to answer "Watchtower Bible & Tract Society", but instead the voice on the other side answered "Good evening. Jehovah's Witnesses." Very weird! Of course I hung up because I had nothing to say.
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OldSoul
They are now the "Christian Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses." If you write to Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, the CCoJW responds to your letter.
I don't think I will ever write a DA letter, I don't give a crap whether elders visit me. I like them, known 'em since I was little. If they want to talk about "spiritual things" I'm ready for that too. If they DF me, that would be their choice. I would even let three brothers come to my home. I would set a big tape deck right in the middle of the room, and Scripturally challenge their basis for my not recording their words. After all, we aren't a "secret" society, are we?
OldSoul
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tfsm
I didn't write a letter because I didn't see the point. When I made up my mind to make the change (escape), I just left. Everything. I felt like writing a letter was playing by their rules and unnecessary. This was fifteen years ago. I have found a new life with wonderful people who, for the most part, aren't aware of my past. I just posed this question because I have seen others on this board agonizing over the decision to leave and having to write a letter (in my mind at least) makes it that much more difficult.
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Purza
On the one hand I think it plays their game, i.e. it gives them the recognition they're not entitled to.
I agree with Ozzie. You are still under their control if you play their game. I chose not to write a letter because I moved away and still have contact with some JW friends. They would FREAK if they knew I was an apostate, but whatever. I don't bash the JWs when I am around them -- I respect their feelings.
Purza