its been a hell of a journey and not one I regret, I've had my testimony featured in Free Minds, married divorced, married again had 2 children, survived a very serious illness and come out just about unscathed. It all started sometime in the early 1990's around the time of the Waco siege, I just couldn't accept these crazy doctrines anymore of the belief system I was born into, the death and destruction of billions, the Big A, the restoring of the earth to a paradise and the even bigger lie of a resurrection of billions, come early 1993 I had decided to fade, I attended the memorial of that year and decided never ever to return and I never did, come 1994 I had really hit rock bottom, divorced the following year, moved away,started a new career, a new life, the rest they say is history, anyone reading this and having similar thoughts, go for it! you wont regret it.
my 25 year anniversary of life after the WTS
by jookbeard 9 Replies latest jw experiences
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Phizzy
Well done Jookie for waking up in the early '90's !
Not so easy in those days, Sites like this were either non-existent or in their early stages.
25 years is a real milestone, it's your Silver Anniversary ! I wish you all the best for the next 25, and longer.
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Good JW
Thanks Jookbeard! Great to see long time ex JWs doing well :)
If I could give a bit of advice to those who've just left or are thinking about it; do it with passion. Don't be lukewarm about your decisions - now's the time for some decent changes. Put your whole heart into and do the (healthy) things you've always wanted to do but felt scared before. This takes quite a bit of getting used to, you have to really quiet the mind (meditate) and figure out what you desire, then you have to get over obstacles in the way (mainly your own mind!...ranging from fear, guilt and silly taboos that your previous religious group instilled).
Give yourself decent enough goals to strive for (don't make them small and insignificant otherwise it won't stoke you), then you will go through life motivated and enthused, rather than defeated and like a victim. Always give yourself something to look forward to. Never let fear of uncertainty dampen your zeal or restrict you.
Cherish your relationships with others and always try your best to smooth things over if rifts appear. Be a good (genuine) friend.
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jookbeard
Phizzy; it was'nt so easy visits to the library where I found a wonderful little book on jw's by Alan Rogerson, the evangelical christian outreach groups such as Reachout Trust were very helpful as well even though I was a pole apart in wanting to accept their religious standpoint but they were very helpful in supplying resource materials and books, and the jw newsletters Comments from the Friends and the Free Minds journel which I looked forward to seeing when they were issued
Good JW, good advice!
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stan livedeath
Well done Jook, I was ahead of you..escaped in the 70s..no regrets..
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jookbeard
Stan; late 1970's after the 1975 fiasco?
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stan livedeath
I resigned in 71.. still occasionally attended to appease the nag..but never again after 80.
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Earnest
In 1971. When they brought in the elder arrangement?
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stan livedeath
Earnest32 minutes ago32 minutes ago
In 1971. When they brought in the elder arrangement?
yes--in fact the day i went to discuss it with the congregation servant--as it was known as then--h thanked me for letting him know---as he was in the process of compiling a list of recommendations for elders---and i was on it !!
so much for holy spirit. i was 23 years old--a former regular pioneer and mags / territory servant. i was due to give the public talk that afternoon..how could i be an elder jw--when i didnt believe in god--or any of the watchtower promises and predictions
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Etude
In 1982, after receiving no answer from headquarters to my letter about Mexico/Malawi.