There are 6 kids in my family. 5 of us are disfellowshipped. LOL, seriously. Anyway, the youngest, my little bro, Brandon ( who hasn't spoken
to me in 6 years ) is the one that is still in the truth. Although I don't agree with the witnesses, I have always been proud of him for doing what
is right in HIS heart. We were all raised in the truth and it's all he knows. I'm not mad at him for not talking to me. I know he's only doing what
he feels is thr right thing to do. About 6 years ago, he moved to Bethel. He worked and lived there for 5 years, until he met a young sister, who
he fell in love with. He proposed to her and their wedding date was to be this November. I was happy for him at first, but hten I started hearing
stories from my mom ( still a witness, but chooses to have a relationship with her df'd kids) Jamie ( my brothers fiancee) sounded very
controlling, what's worse is the way my mom was treated when she went to visit them in New York. One night at dinner, Jamie's mom attacked
my mom telling her it's no wonder her family fell apart and she had 5 df'd children. She ridiculed my mom for not providing us with a college
education( I don't know about you guys, but we were always taught that college was to be discouraged because it took away from time in the
ministry) and blamed her for leaving my dad. ( he was physically abusive to my mom for years, and the elders did nothing about it) These
people were witnesses. You know, the ones that are so loving and supportive of other " brothers and sisters?" I was shocked at the way my
mom was treated, and of course my mom ( sweetest lady in the world) was absolutely devestated. As the wedding day approached my mom
was continually treated with disrespect, and eventually, Jamie's mom told my mom not to bother coming to the wedding. WHAT?? This is my
mom's youngest son, and the only one that was in the truth. She lost it, and I wanted to fly to New York and kick some ass!!! No one in my
family could believe that Brandon would allow this to happen, and we were all furious that he didn't stand up for mom. My mom has been
heartbroken about it, especially with the wedding coming up next month. Well, mom called me yesterday to let me know Brandon called off the
wedding and broke up with Jamie!! I can't imagine how hard this was for him. Brandon is not a very strong person(explains why he never left the
truth) and for him to stand up to Jamie and her family after they had paid for this extravagant wedding, must have been sooo hard for him. This
is his first step toward thinking for himself and doing what is right. It gives me hope that he will one day see the real truth and we can again
have a relationship. I love him and miss him and I am sooo proud of him for being strong, I just wanted to share this story. Thanks for reading.