Can anyone tell me any narrative of having successfully avoided Baptism while being raised JW?

SonoftheTrinity

I just worry for my stepkids about their future that way.

I don't know if I have anything relevant to say. I have been away from the JWs for decades but I was raised from birth as a JW. I was never baptized. I didn't want to be and my parents didn't make me. I don't know exactly why. I completely left when I was 15. I can't think of any other child my age that was not baptized. It was brought up several times by the elders but my parents did not encourage me in that direction. I don't know. I was lucky.

I'm not sure what difference it would have made in my life if I had been though.

Terry

Even the Elders would have a very difficult time over-riding the following:

"I have taken the matter of Baptism to Jehovah in prayer repeatedly and He tells me I am not yet ready. Should

I not trust in Jehovah's guidance on this matter?"

At this point, an idiot Elder might try to wedge the Organization in between Jehovah and the unbaptized person.

Thereupon, the non-baptized sheep could artfully craft the following sentence.

"So, you are advising me to ignore Jehovah's counsel in my heart through prayer?"

______________________________

The only way to ward off intrusion into privacy is by citing "Jehovah's guidance in prayer."

Why would meetings be opened and closed with prayer if it wasn't effective in securing His spirit?

"Where two or more gather in my name--there I am also" seems pretty non-Organization to my eyes.

___________________

As long as the person being counseled is humble, sincere and very pious--it would take a very insidious Elder to find a wedge.

keyser soze

I managed to avoid getting baptized until I was 19. Had I been able to put it off a couple more years, when my doubts started to surface, I probably would have avoided it altogether. Unfortunately, there was an aggressive, utrazealous elder in my congregation who wouldn't let that happen.

ABibleStudent

Hi SonoftheTrinity, I would recommend helping your stepchildren to critically think for themselves and encourage them to make reputable non-JW friends. Also, your step-children can always say it is a very important decision to them and that they are waiting on Jehovah to guide them.

I would recommend trying some of the following:

Read information by cult-exit counselors like Steve Hassan's books (i.e., "Combatting Cult Mind Control", "Releasing the Bonds: Empowering People to Think for Themselves", and (his latest book) "Freedom of Mind: Helping Loved Ones Leave Controlling People, Cults and Beliefs"), visit his website at www.freedomofmind.com, and/or watch his FREE videos on his website. Except for the first edition of CCMC (printed in 1989), I would not recommend reading the aforementioned books in front of JWs. CCMC is ok because it doesn't mention that the Watchtower is a dangerous cult. You can either checkout these books from a local library, or purchase them in e-book formats or paperback.
I recommend that you watch the following four videos to convince yourself that Steve Hassan's ideas can help you before buying his books: How Big is the Phenomenon of Undue Influence? (2:01), The BITE Model (Behavior Information Thought Emotion) (5:03), What is the Strategic Interactive Approach? (4:21), Strategic Interactive Approach explained 2003 (1:23:23).
If you are financially well off, I would also recommend talking with Steve Hassan or one of his coaches by calling 617-396-4638 about specific ideas to help your wife and step-children.
Learn how to ask simple questions like Billy the Ex-Bethelite did in the thread exJW Psychology 102--How to Ask a Question When Questions Aren't Allowed. You can ask JWs difficult questions by pretending that you did not know how to respond to a question that someone asked you about JWs. Also, ask simple questions to learn more about what a JW's authentic persona loves to do.
Read the threads by Aussie Oz about his son like Thankyou dad, for making me think... .
Learn how to turn-off a JW's cult persona and empower a JW's authentic persona.
Learn how to overcome thought-stopping platitudes that JWs use, like why does a JW feel that the Watchtower has the "Truth". Does that mean that other religions are teaching falsehoods? What proof do JW's have that the Watchtower is teaching the "Truth"? Don't accept general answers. Ask for specific proof in a curious tone of voice and demeanor. Or, when JWs say "Where else shall we go?, ask them "Don't you mean to whom shall you go? According to John 6:68-69, Simon Peter said to Jesus Christ. Listen to JWs to learn what platitudes or cult-speak (i.e., "Worldly", "Apostate", etc.) that they use, and then afterwards think how you can overcome it and practise you delivery.
Encourage JWs to independently research subjects they are interested in by using the internet (like making hotel and travel reservations). Once JWs learn how to search the internet and feel comfortable doing it, they may start searching the internet about Watchtower or Jehovah topics.
If your wife attends conventions that are out of town, help her to make arrangements to stay at a nicer hotel away from JWs, so that her authentic persona can decompress after the convention by having fun with you and away from JWs.
Encourage JWs to do fun, time-consuming, non-Watchtower activities/hobbies that they love and where they can meet more non-JWs.

Best of wishes to you.

Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,

Robert

FirstLastName

I was considered "older" at 17 when I got baptized. People wondered what took me so long. However my younger brother was never baptized. He just was never interested in the meetings and did not care what people thought.

I was to much of a people pleaser at the time unfortunatley.

The Truth Shall Set Us FREE!

My three cousins, (two female and one male), all around and past their 40's now were never baptized, (unless this has happened in the past two or three years).

Additionally those unbaptized cousins of mine who grew up in the Watchtower Organisation in the 1970s through 1990s were children of an elder / elderette (with high connections in the Watchtower organisation I might add), and their elder/elderett parents had no scruples lying to the congregation and ultimately to Watchtower Organisation in order to hide less flattering and even highly immoral events in their lives, and their chidren naturally inherited that trait as well ;-)

My cousins has gone in and out of meetings as they pleased for decades, being accepted by all elders, their wives and their children. Many of the other elders and their children were also highly immoral, but as most of the other elders children were baptized, numerous of the children of the other elders were excluded time and time again from the congregations and returning time and time again, a process my cousins avoided...

These are just facts. How they avoided baptism with a prominent as well as rich (money has probably aomething to do with it) elder as a father I do not know, but I have found them all to be what i best can describe as shameless...

I might add that a poster biblical model with requirements for elders as described in the Biblical New Testament was not followed in any of the Watchtower congregations that my cousins grew up in...

ShirleyW

I was born-in to da troof and was never baptized. Amazingly my Uber Dub mother never pushed me to, I guess under all that righteousness she could see I really wasn't into it, I guess.

mikeypants

I was raised a JW - never baptized. My entire family ( 4 sisters, 1 brother ) were dunked at a pretty young age (12-15).

Narrative? I don’t really have one. I never believed it, not because of some philosophical difference mind you. Mainly because I was a normal boy, (um, as normal as a JDub can be that is) interested in normal things. Like girls, playing video games, basketball, etc. When being a witness got in the way of those things I rebelled. Was dragged in the back room after meetings a few times, there was an announcement of my being “bad association” from the platform one night.

Anyway, I just never cared enough to give a crap about what some older guys in the hall thought of me. I always found it odd that my parents allowed themselves to be controlled like they did (and do).

My wife is a jdub and we are expecting in a few months. I am working on her now but I dont know how its going to work once the child is older.

Tough road ahead. You say your step kids? So, are you living with them? If so, you can be the balance. That is my plan.

They will be free to go to meetings with their mother...but that means they will be free to celebrate holidays with their father.

Apognophos

Not to distract from the topic, but you guys who weren't interested in getting baptized -- weren't you worried about being destroyed at Armageddon?