What you should know about JWs

Quoted fr Quora,written by ex-Jw Mark Jones.

Most people know Jehovah’s Witnesses as “those people that knock on your door” or “they don’t celebrate birthdays or Christmas”. Even when I was a Jehovahs Witness I found it surprising that not a lot of people know what they believe.

I’m not going to tell you what to believe or what to do, but I regard it my duty to tell you something that you’ll never be told as a potential convert:

I was born and raised in the Jehovah’s Witness religion. My ENTIRE FAMILY were, and still are, Jehovah’s Witnesses. I got baptized at 19 and was 100% devoted. Before I could even talk i was taught that there is a God and his name is Jehovah and that his son is Jesus and that one day Jesus will kill everyone who isnt a Jehovah’s Witness. That Jesus second coming happened in 1914 but nobody noticed because he was invisible. And that the founder, Charles Taze Russell predicted the 1914 thing decades in advance.

You see, as you may have learned by now, the Jehovah’s Witnesses teach that only 144,000 people will go to heaven. Think about this… since the days of Jesus until now ONLY 144,000 believers of Christ are chose to go to heaven. Does this makes sense to you?

When I was growing up, the Jehovah’s Witnesses were teaching that Jehovah stopped allowing people to be anointed (those going to heaven) in the 1930s. And that some the anointed who were alive in 1914 will still be alive when Armageddon arrives. Guess what? They’re all dead.

So they updated the teaching to say that there are actually TWO groups of people destined for heaven. Those who were alive in 1914 and those who were alive at the same time as the first group. Make sense? No, it didn’t to me either.

They also taught that the United Nations is a tool of Satan.

Then they were exposed by the Guardian newspaper as secretly being NGO members of the United Nations. And even signed a form when they applied stating that they “agree with the aims of the United Nations”.

https://www.jwfacts.com/watchtow…

The Watchtower Society also earns money from stocks and shares in gun manufactures and tobacco companies.

The Watchtower is earning money from the tobacco industry

And, worst of all, they were discovered only a few years ago for covering up 1,006 child molestation cases in Australia alone.

https://www.childabuseroyalcommi…

When I got to the age of 31 I started to research the history of my beloved religion, because there isn’t actually a comprehensive history book of the religion published by the Watchtower Society… guess why?…

They have changed their beliefs so many times, predicted Armageddon at least 3 times (1914, 1925 and 1975) and treat ex-members as “mentally diseased apostates”. In fact, if you ever leave the religion they would all shun you. Pretend you don’t exist. It doesn’t matter if they’re your best friends, your children, your parents… if they’re Jehovah’s Witnesses they will shun you if you leave.

I myself am being shunned completely by my entire family. I have no wish to draw them away from their faith if they’re happy there. I have no wish to cause them harm. I don’t even want to talk about religion to them. Yet, the Watchtower Society tells them that I must be evil because i left. If you ask a Jehovah’s Witness about disfellowshipping they’ll say “it’s only for unrepentant wrongdoers” or “it’s to keep the congregation clean”. I know that because i used to say it myself when i was one. And i said it because the Watchtower magazines tell us to say it. In reality, many people are disfellowshipped for things that arnt even “sins”. Such as disagreeing with something printed in the Watchtower, not accepting “new light” teachings from the Governing Body, or attending another church service.

And the elders secret guidebook Shepherd The Flock Of God lists lots more things that people can be disfellowshipped for that the average member doesnt know about. You can be disfellowshipped for being smelly, divorcing an abusive husband and remarrying, or having a blood transfusion.

Once you get baptized there is no way to leave with your reputation in tact. There are even support groups and therapists who specialize in just ex-Jehovah’s Witnesses. I myself am training to be a therapist.

Before you make any decisions, check out Facts about JW.org, the Watchtower, Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Truth. Everything on there is quoted directly from Watchtowers own publications and is factual and fair.

Even if you disagree, at least you should and deserve to know.

 

 

 

 

Why leave Jehovah’s Witnesses?

A long but scriptural explanation by ExJw Christopher on why he left Jehovah’s Witnesses. We model our initial explanation after him. 👍

http://insidethewatchtower.com/doctrine/why-i-left-jehovahs-witnesses-part-1/

The Watchtower presents what most people recognize as an illogical, inaccurate, too good to be true message. People fall for the message through slow, insidious indoctrination techniques. First are several months or years of “bible study” with repetitive question and answers of high level doctrines。Next is emphazied meeting attendance and love bombing. By the time a person become aware of deeper and more offensive  practices  and doctrines ( against higher education…any of those that does not make any sense), they are primed and somewhat immune/ ignore the rhetorical fallacy.

 

Open Letter to JWs

Taken with permission from owner.

Nice read.

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Dear Jehovah’s Witnesses,

I used to be one of you. I was raised from birth to believe everything you taught. I knew nothing else. No matter how often the teachings changed, or were refined/revised/etc. I never questioned any of it, because I was assured it was the truth.

And honestly, when I think back to all the meetings and in-home book studies and get-togethers, I can’t help but smile. I remember my first talk at 8 years old. I remember my baptism at 14. I remember being appointed as a Ministerial Servant at 20. And I remember in great detail giving the #2 talk at a Circuit Assembly in Paducah, Kentucky.

I remember these things because they were milestones in my life as a Jehovah’s Witness. At least those were the positive milestones.

The negative ones were moments where I questioned what was going on, even if it was just for a few seconds. Things like the reductions in how many meetings there were each week and how many magazines were being printed. Or how much content there was in the magazines.

I’ve watched things you’ve put out on JW Broadcasting, and there was one particular video that got me going down this road. The infamous “Bunker Video”. Where a group of Jehovah’s Witnesses are gathered together in a basement as the Great Tribulation is happening and the government is looking for Jehovah’s Witnesses.

It was watching this video that made me realize something. I didn’t leave you because I had a problem with what you promised me. I would absolutely love to believe that this screwed up world is about to undergo positive changes. I would love to live in a world where all my needs, wants, and desires are met in abundance. And most of all, the idea of being reunited with dead loves, especially the father I never knew? Well, that’s a huge selling point for what you’re offering.

I never left you because of what you taught or what you offered. I left because you can’t deliver on it. You never could, and you never will.

And for that, I am truly sad. Because petting pandas sounds pretty cool.

Sincerely,
Nigel Rice aka TedTheTrout