I thought this ex-JW's experience worth repeating in answer to my question: Is the organization of Jehovah's Witnesses a spiritual paradise?...
"I’m not sure that there is such a term in scripture as a “spiritual paradise”. Christianity is not about feel-good. Actually there are many more metaphors in the scriptures that describe spiritual warfare than spiritual paradise. The psalmist, David, described his peaceful relationship with God like being led to quiet pastures where his soul was replenished, but this was not a permanent situation. David went through many ups and downs spiritually, but his personal relationship with God (except for when he had sinned seriously) was something he described as a very pleasant and intimate reality.
The organisation of Jehovah’s Witnesses is a different case in point. It can offer a feel good factor if one is totally in harmony with the leadership. But if you accept that being at peace with one does not equal being at peace with the other, the organisation will always feel spiritually uncomfortable. My eventual feeling was that I didn’t really belong there.
I was a JW for many years and I did experience joy in the ministry and a feeling of community and belonging in the congregation, but this was something that proved to be a bit of a fool’s paradise eventually. When I could no longer squash doubts concerning the claims their governing body were making about their divine appointment, my faith came under duress. I was not spiritually happy for a good number of years, more time than I care to think about. I should have examined my faith then, and maybe listened to so-called “apostate” arguments. But it was difficult at that time to even acknowledge or think about because you are conditioned to think that you will be turning your back on God if you leave or doubting him if you doubt “his” organisation. But eventually it was not just the accumulation of gnawing doubt that critical thinking began to hatch in my mind like some strange and scary alien, but real indignation that finally forced me to wake. The fact that these men in Warwick were trying to tell me that their every word was direction from Christ and that we should therefore obey them unquestioningly was something I’d heard before, but it never struck me as blasphemy until I realised that they were actually claiming they were mediators between us (as “other sheep”) and Jehovah. That’s Christ’s position, and I knew then that they were imposters and as a body, a false prophet.
It took a while for the penny to fully drop to the bottom of the tin because I did appreciate a lot about the WT - the JWs did furnish my faith in the scriptures (albeit through some mistaken interpretations of prophecies), I did learn a lot more about the scriptures, which I didn’t have when I started studying with them. I did learn to appreciate the Creator to a much greater extent through JWs. So I’m not speaking out of bitterness. But I did experience a conflict in my spirit. The Witnesses constantly describe the organisation and what it teaches as “The Truth”. But when I realised it wasn’t the truth I knew I had to get out.
Today I don’t live in a spiritual paradise. I don’t always feel peaceful and I experience conflict with other Christians. But what has changed is that my understanding of the scriptures is now far greater and my relationship with the Father and with Christ goes from strength to strength. Before I was in a spiritual prison where I was limited in all sorts of ways, but especially in understanding the truth. I admit that the truth is not a comfortable or secure place to rest, but it galvanises one to action and deeper study. But I have no regrets leaving the WT, I experience horror at the thought of going back to that stifling old box! But at first it felt like freedom because I was breaking free from false beliefs. I was, but that journey never seems to finish. Except when you allow your mind to be parcelled up and controlled by an educating body that permits no challenge to its status quo, and believe me, that state of affairs does not only exist in the WT.
