Hi, I'm sorry you're hurting like this. Your brother is probably feeling worse though. If my family showed me genuine Christian love, I might decide to listen to their views but they don't, they just mindlessly do what they're told, thinking that it's the right thing. It's their lack of love and the unkind games that they play that completely turn me off even thinking about returning. That's how the shunning order fails - the organisation tells you that the best thing you can do for him is to shun him, as that way he will want to turn around to get you back. THINK about this hon... why would he want an unloving and uncaring family back? I don't want anybody's conditional love, he probably doesn't either. As it happens I'm closer to Jehovah now than when I was a witness - I've stopped playing the secular game that made me a good witness, and started having actual faith. So I never left Jehovah, just a publishing company that tells lies to it's members to maintain it's control over their lives.
Is there any hope of you coming back to Jehovah?
by LeftBehind 128 Replies latest jw friends
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luna2
No. Never.
First I got tired of the constant depression that an almost impossible, guilt-ridden lifestyle causes and took what I thought would be a break for a few months. That break lasted four years...I was just too happy away from it all. I worried some about Armeggedon and not being judged worthy of salvation, but I couldn't bring myself to return to the KH and the reproach I would surely find there.
After more than a few discussions with an old friend who was in a similar situation, I finally started doing some research, especially into the history that nobody at the KH wants to discuss...or perhaps isn't even aware of. A real eye-opener. I also began reading articles written by ex-JW's, people the Society likes to call apostates. I found some who seemed kind of nutty, but the vast majority sounded like normal, reasonable people who'd been treated horribly or seen the underbelly of this supposed "true" religion. Their stories could not be easily dismissed because what they had to say rang true and corroborated my own experiences as a Jehovah's Witness. I couldn't sleep and felt sick to my stomach for weeks. When you find out you've been grossly deceived, its incredibly painful and disturbing.
Once I saw the lies, the failed prophecies, the hypocrasy, the inconsistancies and the shoddy scholarship behind the glittery curtain of claimed truth, sprituality, and righteousness that the WTS hides behind, I was so filled with disgust and anger for this organization that I never wanted anything to do with it again. It's simply a big fat fake.
No, there is nothing anybody could say or do to cause me to go back.
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garybuss
Welcome Left.You wrote: "My brother finds all kinds of fault with the organization."Maybe he doesn't "find" the faults. Maybe the faults are there in plain sight and he just quit ignoring them. Could that be possible?
You wrote: "Is their anything your family could do to get you back?"I didn't leave them. I haven't moved. I've had the same phone number since 1966:-) They could start by stopping shunning me:-) They could make amends. They could start being nice every day to people important to me and to me. They could apply for reinstatement:-) -
heathen
No thanks , I was demonized enough for one life time . They think they can just push anybody around , they proved to me they are nothing but a bully and deserve the bad press they get around here . I believe they are even occultic .
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seattleniceguy
LeftBehind,
I'm really glad to see you stuck around.
It's really important to understand that people who leave the organization are almost nothing like the organization makes them out to be. The vast majority of people leave for sincere reasons. Myself, I simply came to find that it was impossible to believe their doctrines any longer. I learned enough about the Bible, logic, and the natural world to see that their teachings just didn't add up. Leaving was the hardest thing I've ever had to do. But I did it because I could not stand to believe things that were not true.
Why don't you talk to your brother?
SNG -
Effervescent
It's probably a little hard for you to see this now, but your brother deserves respect for being able to stand up for what he believes. Wasn't it the Witnesses who taught him that?He has probably been on quite a journey to get him to the point he's at now, and I'm sure the road was extremely rough for him, and bound to get worse once his family starts shunning him for his beliefs. It's hard to stand up to your family, and even worse to have to face everyone and everything you've ever known and tell them that you no longer agree. He knew the consequences of his decision. Good for him for having the integrity to live by his conscience.
Believe it or not... many of us know where you're coming from. I had an aunt that I loved dearly and was a mentor and role model to me leave the Organization when I was in High School. I HATED her, I hated what she became (or what I assumed she became) and I hated those I thought led her astray. What I didn't know was that my anger was only directed at her because it had no where else to go. What was really causing the anger was the frustration I felt in not being able to have a relationship that was appropriate with her. I had no control over how I could treat her anymore, I had no choice but to withhold my love and affection. I felt trapped, and because of how I was brought up my anger was misdirected toward her.
I hope you can eventually understand and appreciate the level of strength and integrity it takes to stand up for what you believe, and love your brother even more for it, even if you can't agree with the letter of his belief system.
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mouthy
Left behind... Glad to see you again...(hug)) I know what your going through...You dont want to shun your brother by the sounds of it. BUT I am 78 years old would have died for the Jehovahs Witness organization thinking I was doing it for GOD... I STILL LOVE GOD!!!!!But as the Bible says If You dont love Jesus JUST as you Love Jehovah Your NOT loving Jehovah! I do love Jesus now....I made 10 people Jws. My daughter shuns me- although she tells people she loves me. But the Elders tell her she must shun me because I am apostate. Why? because I dont believe Jesus came invisably in 1914. DO you believe that? They DID come back to ask if I would like to be reinstated. I said YES!! On conditions
1: I can think independently. 2: I can tell all about joining the UN. ( after they taught me to preach it was evil) 3: I could preach the TRUE Gospel.... read it in any other scriptures but the distorted JWs 1Corinthians 15:1-5( read all the chapter it is good.
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AlmostAtheist
Wow, oh wow! What a reasonable return you've made!
Hi, I'm sorry you're hurting like this.
I also see and hear your hurt. It's a hurt I feel too, since my in-law's refuse to speak to me. They aren't well off financially, so my wife and I (both of whom have left the Watchtower) pay for their phone service. We don't hate them -- we love them, and miss them. And wish they would decide to speak to us again.
But to answer your question, No, I would never go back.
Have you ever believed something, then found it not to be true? For instance, some people believe that bats are blind. But in fact they see fine. Once you come to know that, could anything allow you to go back to believing they were blind?
I'm very glad to see you came back! :-)
Dave
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Honesty
Welcome Back, LeftBehind!!
I mean it.
I will gladly and happily return to the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society's religion known as Jehovah's Witnesses. I have only one condition that must be met in order for me to return.
It is 100% scriptural and there is irrefutable Biblical evidence that supports it.
Please read the following scriptures and tell me if I am wrong on this to ask that the Jehovah's Witnesses honor one condition:
Matt 2:11 And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.
Matt 8:1-3 When he was come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him. And, behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.
Matt 9:18-19 While he spake these things unto them, behold, there came a certain ruler, and worshipped him, saying, My daughter is even now dead: but come and lay thy hand upon her, and she shall live. And Jesus arose, and followed him, and so did his disciples.
Matt 14:32-33 And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased. Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God.
Matt 28:16-18 Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them. And when they saw him, they worshipped him: but some doubted. And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
Luke 24:51-52 And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven. And they worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy:
John 20:27-29 Then He said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and observe My hands. Reach out your hand and put it into My side. Don’t be an unbeliever, but a believer.” Thomas responded to Him, “My Lord and my God!”LeftBehind, I will gladly return to the Jehovah's Witnesses as soon as they will allow me to worship Jesus as His disciples and followers did.
Do you foresee any problem at all with this scriptural request?
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Lady Lee
Left Behind
To answer your question: No I would never go back.
I was a JW for 22 years. I was married for a good part of that time to an elder. An elder who abused me and my two daughters. After 15 years of being married to him I could not take the abuse any longer and planned to commit suicide. After all the years of abuse he had managed to convince ne that all our problems were my fault. All I had to do was remain submissive (which I always was) pray, go to meetings and get our in service. The problem was that no matter how much I did it was never enough or never good enough. I finally left him and the JWs knowing full well that I would lose everythign. But my plan was to die so I would have lost everything anyways.
I left and still believed the JWs had the truth™. It took me 10 years to even begin to look for any information. A friend asked me a question and I didn't have the answer so I searched on the internet. And what I found was not what I expected. Not by a long shot.
I found stories of corruption, hypocrasy, lies and cover-ups. I discovered that there have been governing body members who were accused of homosexuality, alcoholism, fornication. The UN issue is minor compared to all the other things I found. The best of... section of the board is where you can find the information on all of this as well as the evidence that is confirms it all.
One thing you will notice in many of the discussions here is taht we want proof of everything. There are 2 reasons for this.
- We know the WTS tells JWs that apostates lie. That we spead malicious rumors out of spite for the organization.
- Having proof that we have been lied to by the organization we tend to be very suspicious of the things we read.
Because of these two things we demand proof. Every now and then some one comes along and posts a rumor. Well tell people that we want the proof so provide it or stop posting the rumors.
But all that aside I have a bigger more personal reason for never going back
I don't know if you saw the Dateline show about sexual abuse in the WTS. You may have heard about this and you were probably told that it is only a few isolated incidents and that the WTS has a way to deal with it.
Well yes they have two ways. The first is the way they tell you and the media. The second is the real way they deal with it. And the two are opposites of each other. I know. I lived it. And so did many others who have posted here.
My step father who was studying at the time was caught sexually abusing my aunt (she was a 13 yrs old and year older than me and living with my family. The presiding overseer at the time suggested that my mother send her to a different family member to "protect" her. So the abuser stayed in the home and in the cong. The police was never involved. Shortly after moving my aunt my aunt committer suicide.
Since he was still in the home moved on to abuse me. When he was caught this time the PO gave the same advice - send her somewhere else. I wound up in foster care. And he stayed in the family home. The police were never called.
Then he moved on to my younger sister who was 5 years old. Then he disappeared. She grew up and had a terrible time not dealing with the abuse. Like many abuse victims she turned to drugs and alcolhol. Perhaps if someone had called the police earlier she never would have been abused by him. Maybe the abuse would have stopped if someone had called the police after he was called abusing my aunt or me. Three weeks ago my sister committed suicide. She never got the help she needed.
You can say things have changed. Or leave it in Jehovah's hands. Or they were weak. Of that is just one family. The WTS has a whole line of excuses why this happens.
But excuses will never bring back my sister and aunt. Two more victims on the altar of the WTS who must have a clean reputation at all costs. Even if the cost is the ruined lives and the deaths of the victims of abuse. The policy they say they have is for show only. Even if it did work it requirtes two witnesses. Now I ask you, what sexual abuser is going to do it in front of witnesses? With no witnesses all the abuser has to do is say she is lying and he is off the hook. And free to continue to abuse others. Worse still is that if it the child he was abusing was his own the child has to go home with him knowing that no one will really help.
When I was in Winnipeg an elder in one of the cong was charged with sexual abuse. The elders solution? Move him to a different comgregation and tell no one why he was moved. Yup just give him a whole new bunch of kids to get friendly with.
This is all so sick. It has been well documented that the WTS in NYC has a file with the names of over 23,000 names of abusers. Well like I just said my abuser had three victims. Who knows how many victims there are from these 23,000 abusers.
I have read so much information about the WTS. In fact I read more about it now than I did while I was a JW. And I am still surprised just how bad it can get. I shouldn't be by now.
If in fact you really do have the truth™ then it should stand up to whatever information is put up against it. The truth™ does not lie. Or does it?