JW Chronicles – Expendable Witness
Letter from Andrew
I have been on your web site several times. I find it of great value to ex Jehovah’s Witnesses as the information on your site can help free people who are trapped in the Jehovah’s Witness religion.I was a auxiliary pioneer. I never missed a meeting and I would read at the book study group. Then I had several problems. My mother was ill and I had to look after her, then I had several health problems myself one of them being curvature of the spine. Because of this I could no longer attend meetings. After years of auxiliary pioneering and attending meetings I felt like I was left out of the organization by my spiritual brothers and sisters. My brother and my sister wrote or spoke to Jehovah’s witnesses to try to get me help but they didn’t answer. I am the only person in my familiy that was a witness and my family couldn’t believe how the witnesses treated me.
By the time the elders came out to see me about a year or so later, instead of helping me they treated me like a disfellowshiped person. I had done nothing wrong. They did at last arrange for someone to take me to the meetings. This only lasted twice. I at last managed to attend meetings. When I got there I was treated as a leper. No one would talk to me and I had done nothing wrong, yet at the same time certain people – elders and ministerial servant’s sons – would break all the rules of kingdom hall when not at the meetings yet people would talk to them.
One night I couldn’t get home from one of the meetings due to my health problems. No one would take me home. After this I never attended another meeting. I wrote many letters, so did my brother who isn’t a witness, yet I got no help from the elders.
Because I was studying greek I noticed the errors of the 144,000 ruling on not over the earth. I also read Hebrews chapter one and I could see for myself that Jesus is not Michael the archangel.
Because of what I went through and because I did a lot of work helping people disabled, elderly and children, I would now like to use my experience and put it to good use and help free people who are trapped in cults. I am trying to start up my own web site to help others to turn my negative experiences with the Watchtower to good use and help people in a positive way.
I would be very greatful if you could please mention my experiences on your web site as I believe it could be helpful to other people who have gone through what I have.
Dear Andrew:
Thanks for your letter! What a nasty response from the JWs – I am sorry that you were treated so badly, especially at a time when you needed support from brothers and sisters in faith. In your new website, it would be great if you had even one page where you explain what would be the loving response to someone with health issues – what you needed, what you expected from your faith group, what would have been the right thing for people to do – then contrast that with what actually happened.
I’m afraid the truth may simply be that the moment you were no longer a productive part of the publishing machine you were expendable.
I am glad that you have gone on to do your own research. Ultimately, one’s spiritual path is between one’s self and God.
I wish you blessings, with your web site, and in your life. – Heidi
This is a typical posting by someone that just isn’t telling the truth about their experience and tries to blame everything on someone else.
My father was an elder in a congregation. I don’t go to meetings anymore but still think that Jehovah’s Witnesses do follow God’s standards.
An example of how I know that this person isn’t telling the truth is that, after criticizing the witnesses, then claims that “oh, by the way, I came to realize that their teachings are the truth.” This is an absurd comment from someone that “begged” for the Witnesses help.
Another thing that gave him/her away is that they made the statement “…would break all the rules of kingdom hall when not at the meetings yet people would talk to them…”. First, anyone that has been a Witness knows that there aren’t any “kingdom hall” rules. The only rules are the commandments and principles that God has given us. I know for a fact that there are not “kingdom hall rules”.
This is a typical posting from someone that could not live up to Jehovah’s standards and chose to criticize those that do instead of changing their own life.
I must amend my posting.
I meant to say… “An example of how I know that this person isn’t telling the truth is that, after criticizing the witnesses, then claims that “oh, by the way, I came to realize that their teachings AREN’T the truth.” This is an absurd comment from someone that “begged” for the Witnesses help.
Well, I think what is obvious is that the loving congregation abandoned a brother in need.
I’m not sure how absurd it is for someone who has been abandoned to see their teachings as lacking.
My father was also an elder in the congregation, as if that means much.
This is one of the big flaws of this organization – it constantly conflates its own teachings with God’s principles. Any serious study of biblical scholarship, anthropology, sociology, Greek and Hebrew, etc – shows how every community interprets these on their own, hands them down, and then claims that their own rules are the rules of God.
Trust not in the traditions of men – isn’t that what Jesus said?
Absolutely there are Kingdom Hall rules…. any child who grew up in that that environment can tell you pretty specifically what they were.
I am not a JW, as I mentioned in the page before, but I have done my thorough research on them, and I have talked to many of them.
I must come in at this point to tell the administrator that there are no Kingdom Hall rules. I have been to their meetings more than a few times (although I don’t plan on converting), and I have even asked my friends of these rules, and they DO NOT exist.
About your “trust not in the traditions of men,” I believe you’re using it to your own convenience. Think about it, aren’t they not trusting in the “traditions of men” by not celebrating any of the paganist holidays that exist all over the world? And if you have attended a JW meeting, then you must not have been paying very much attention b/c they base all their teachings on the Bible, not their “own teachings.” The literature they give, is ALL based on the Bible, if you have not noticed, which is more than you can say for many other religions.
As to Andrew’s letter, I am sorry Andrew for your alleged bad experience, but you should know that this doesn’t happen in every congregation. And maybe the wise thing to do wasnt to abandon your beliefs b/c of the actions of “man,” because in fact you weren’t in the truth for man, but for God, right? You should’ve given them a slap in the face by continuing to serve faithfully to God, and shown your deep love for him (if you had any).
I hope I am not too far off topic but I thought I would share my thoughts with you. I am not a JW either never have been and never will be. I have had a few experiences of my own. Years ago I was invited to “a meeting” to observe a relative, a newer member, giving his first speech to the congregation. This was an important occasion for him to have his family present so I attended along with my family to support him as his quest. What I observed in the minutes that followed did not impress me. We were all seated in rows of chairs, his family beside us. There was a podium up at the front. There didn’t appear to be a child care room such as a Sunday School for the kids. Their little girl seated next to my little girl a year older than her, was quietly squirming a little in her seat. I thought nothing of it. These things can be quite boring to little kids and it was hard for her to sit still for any length of time. She was quietly whispered to by her mom several times which seemed like the usual routine. Nothing unusual. But then suddenly she disappeared being whisked away to a back room by her mom. After a few minutes I turned my head looking for them to reappear but they never did come back until the speech was over and missed the whole event. Was that a long bathroom break or something else? Rather abrupt punishment maybe. Far be it for me to criticise someone else’s parenting style but I thought bringing her back to her seat to try again after a few minutes would have been appropriate so as not to miss the rest of her father’s speech. I thought to myself is this rather strict or what? Is this the way it was done here? Family worship should be family time. A time that kids should look forward to. The rest of the service I found was rather critical in tone with not much sharing of God’s love and sparce mention of Christ, an important component of Christian worship. Not knowing or understanding this culture I was wary and never went back. By the way, that child grew up to be a drug addict. Too bad.
Firstly, I will identify myself as an ex-JW. Born to a prominent Witness family.My father was a Congregation servant then elder, my three brother were elders, one brother was on the hopital liason committee. I married a pioneer from a pioneer family. He became an elder. I auxilury pioneered as often as I could. We raised our children to pioneer and they did. At the age of 53 I left the organization. I was dressed AND studied for the meeting. Never doubting doctrine, and not on a spiritual low (read all lit and customarily studied for meetings), I simply undressed and decided never to go again. The information about “kingdom hall rules” and elitism and more are absolutely true. These are not dillusions of hypercritical people. I have seen it from many layers and levels, in many places. I left because of ethics and love or the lack therof in the organization. What the Watchtower Organization taught me about love and God and principles was so lacking and therefore making the environment of the congregations so damaging that I had to leave. The Watchtower taught me too much to keep me. By the way – the problem unfortunately widespread. I clung to the hope that my families experineces were isolated but alas, they were not. Just a word to the wise to those who would judge experiences they have not had, don’t. The Indians had a saying, “walk a mile in my moccasins before you judge me.”
I am an ex-jw. I was associating for 35 years. In that time I have served as a Ministerial Servant and a Regular Pioneer. I have also attended many congregations and was also a member of a foreign congregation in Cyprus. What the original writer was complaining of was that, despite doing nothing wrong, he was treated as if he had. This attitude, of claiming that anyone who fails to conform, even if they have a good reason such as their health, is in some way a greater sinner than those who attend meetings regularly is echoed well in the comments of milton: “This is a typical posting from someone that could not live up to Jehovah’s standards and chose to criticize those that do instead of changing their own life.” It is a sad fact that elders rarely find the time to care for their flock. This is recognized by the Society itself.
As for the Org. basing all it’s teachings on the Bible it is true. But what is also true is that the scriptures are then INTERPRETED by the Governing Body – and they often get it wrong by their own admission!
The biggest blunder is their claiming that Jesus appointed a faithful and descrete slave in 1919 made up of all anointed ones remaining on the earth today. This ’slave’ is supposedly given great responsibility over His belongings. Why is this a blunder? Because in reality the ’slave’ of anointed ones is NEVER CONSULTED ABOUT ANYTHING. In fact, the Org. is controlled by a Governing Body ONLY, and they take no direction whatsoever from any faithful slave class. And NOWHERE IN THE BIBLE does it say that the ‘faithful slave’ of Matt24:45 is in turn controlled and directed by a group of 10 or so men.