John Free

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Posts by John Free

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  35

  Hello from an exmormon

  by Cold-Dodger in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  someone named john free popped in on one of my posts at exmormon[dot]com and mentioned this website.

  i have a lot of questions.

  i never knew much about about the jw church.

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  John Free

  Hello cold dodger!

  Really enjoyed your post, both this one and the exmormon forum! its amazing how the two religions\cults are poles apart theologically, yet the key elements of cult mind control are almost identical!

  I can relate to what you've said in so many ways for example the 3 categories of people strong, weak and apostates. That's identical among the jw community, ex members who have re-discovered their critical thinking abilities are demonized\stigmatised by the group. I viewed my own family members in this way for years and have only begun building relationships with them in the last 6 months.

  Reading the comments on your Mormon post was part of a healing process for me. To hear from others who also once thought their religion was the truth, helps me to see that the jw's are not as special and unique as I once thought. That others too fell victim to a convincing, seemingly flawless body of teachings-only really held together by control mechanisms.

  So thank you for your great posts

  Warm regards!
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  32

  How many of you left the Org since 2015?

  by Paul Bonanno in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i have noticed that many lately have left the org or are in the process of leaving.

  how many of you have left since 2015?.

  this month will be my 21 years out of the org into the road of freedom.

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  John Free

  I walked away with my family at the end of March 2015. Great to be free!
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  101

  My mom passed away yesterday....

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  thank you all for your sincere encouragement during these last few weeks.

  finally, she is at peace.

  i was with her , holding her hand when she died.

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  John Free

  So sorry to hear about the loss of your Mother and for the pain you're going through.

  Deepest sympathy
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  27

  My experience with a Judicial Committee, when in my early 20's

  by Dunedain in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i joined this wonderful site, only a few weeks ago, although i have been away from the borg, for almost 20 years.

  i didnt introduce myself, on a personal level, but i jumped right in, commenting, making threads, and just immersing myself in this community.

  what a time, indeed, to be here, its almost as if i was "called" here, because the week i lurked, and joined, was when all this recent stuff came out.

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  John Free

  Thank you for telling your story. It's a pleasure to meet you and I look forward to hearing more. It is sick the way these men treat people, they damage so many young lives.

  Regards
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  29

  me and my new girlfriend

  by justthenorm in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  you see ive started dating this girl and her family is of strong jehova belief.

  now i am not i do see certain things in there studie that is true in my opinion but ive never really been a religion type of person.

  i think i want to marry her but i am not a jehovas witness and am not looking to be anytime at all she says that is ok and we can still get married but i dont know how its possible or where we would even do it please i need advice

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  John Free

  My sister married a man from outside the group years ago, she ran away from home in order to do it as she was still just 19, but in love. Unfortunately the love blinded them both to practicalities. He was a really clever man so perhaps he thought he could guide her out of the cult, it should be easy right? It isn't just difficult its near impossible for an outsider to deprogram a cult member. Then there were the practicalities, she would't go to a Christmas dinner with him to his parents house, she wouldn't celebrate his birthday, valentines day, Easter, independents day, guy Fawkes, new years eve celebrations...the list goes on! Then they had a baby together. Can you imagine his frustrations as his child was being groomed by a cult? As he was becoming isolated in his classroom as he was so different to the other kids. Eventually after years of a troubled marriage they divorced. Years later he had to see his son decline a university education so that he could spend most of his time knocking on doors.

  Update: what village says is true too! My sister left the religion for a short period when she got married, but this was due to the guilt of breaking a rule and marrying a 'worldly' person, she was not deprogrammed so in time she returned.

  Good suggestion above though, what will her reaction to JWfacts website be like? Can she be deprogrammed or will her cult barriers go up, will she demonstrate that she is under information control by saying such things as 'I don't want to read this site! People lie about our religion!' You have to base your decision on her reactions.
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  36

  Hello to everybody!

  by John Free in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i wanted to introduce myself.

  like many of you i was born-in, am married with one child.

  after 36 years of this cycle: doubts-thought stopping- suppression- indoctrination-cult mode i realised enough was enough.

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  John Free

  Thanks all for your messages of kindness/support. Its a great environment to be! I will open up a bit more as to how my exit happened in the next few days. John.
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  36

  Hello to everybody!

  by John Free in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i wanted to introduce myself.

  like many of you i was born-in, am married with one child.

  after 36 years of this cycle: doubts-thought stopping- suppression- indoctrination-cult mode i realised enough was enough.

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  John Free

  Stuckinarut2 no worries :-)

  Thanks for your kind words!
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  36

  Hello to everybody!

  by John Free in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i wanted to introduce myself.

  like many of you i was born-in, am married with one child.

  after 36 years of this cycle: doubts-thought stopping- suppression- indoctrination-cult mode i realised enough was enough.

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  John Free

  What was the one thing that shook you to wake up?

  Since I was 10 I had doubts but because of the process\cycle I mentioned, they were suppressed. I guess I thougt the problem was with me so I would study hard and unknowingly indoctrinate myself in to cult mode. A few years ago however while having a peep at the religion section on yahoo answers I came across a comment that Wbts uses mind control. At first I laughed and was annoyed but the idea stuck with me and as time past it became clear that the publications do indeed use psychological manipulation, emotional blackmail and fear to lead people along. So in answer to the question the 'one thing' was becoming aware of the process I was going through. No longer would I so easily allow my critical thinking ability to become disabled. I explored my doubts and was actually amazed at how many there were! Some that questioned the wbts claim to be God directed 1975, the generation, the death of billions at Armageddon. Some that went to the heart of Christianity such as why would the greatest intellectual mind require something so primitive as an innocent person to die so that he can then find it in himself to forgive others.

  So it was becoming clear to me that I didn't believe in this organisation anymore and it was simply a matter of finding the courage to walk away.
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  36

  Hello to everybody!

  by John Free in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i wanted to introduce myself.

  like many of you i was born-in, am married with one child.

  after 36 years of this cycle: doubts-thought stopping- suppression- indoctrination-cult mode i realised enough was enough.

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  John Free

  How long have you all been out?

  Hey naazira, its been 6 months. Was hard at first, upsetting relatives, parents, it hurt mom that her beloved granddaughter would no longer be at meetings etc. Leaving the bubble of security was hard as you all know. Accepting the reality of human mortality. But the mental freedom and relief then kicked in and its all good now.
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  36

  Hello to everybody!

  by John Free in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i wanted to introduce myself.

  like many of you i was born-in, am married with one child.

  after 36 years of this cycle: doubts-thought stopping- suppression- indoctrination-cult mode i realised enough was enough.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  John Free

  Hello! I wanted to introduce myself. Like many of you I was born-in, am married with one child. After 36 years of this cycle: doubts-thought stopping- suppression- indoctrination-cult mode I realised enough was enough. Luckily for me we have 'walked away' as a family. I wanted to say hello and thank you to all of you for the courage you have inspired within me (through your posts) to dramatically change my life for the better, and give my daughter a cult free future!