When was it time for you to walk away from your congregation meetings and the WTBTS?

by RULES & REGULATIONS 42 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  RULES & REGULATIONS

  The basic virtue for a human being is to be true to yourself – the integrity of thought, emotion, and action.

  

  Ten years ago ( after 32 years as a Jehovah's Witness), I finally decided that my own mental sanity and being true to myself was more important than attending congregation meetings and serving the Watchtower Society.

  I stopped (years before) field service, the Ministry School, answering at the Watchtower studies, missed numerous meetings and walked in minutes before the meetings started and left after the closing prayer, I knew it was time to leave. I hated myself for putting on a front to please my family. Once I knew ''the truth about the truth,'' I no longer enjoyed attending the meetings like most of my congregation members and family did.

  ''Let the chips fall where they may'' was my new motto. After numerous visits from Elders, Circuit and District Overseers, they finally left me alone.

  Being true to myself was the only thing that mattered then and today!
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  LongHairGal

  RULES & REGULATIONS:

  In my case, it was after the 1995 teaching on Generation.

  When this happened there were no more excuses in my mind. It knew it was over and I planned my ‘fade’. After what I have found out about the Witness religion’s changes and scandals over the last two decades I’m glad I’m out.. I could not have continued there.
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  Tameria2001

  For me, it was the summer, just before the district convention in 2001, that something happened that made me finally wake up. There was a scripture in Deuteronomy 18 that I came across about false prophets. Something clicked in my mind about that and the 1975 lie that sucked my mother in and dragging along a little girl (myself) who had just lost her older sister. This, in turn, made me want to know how much more bull corn I had been force-fed over the years as a JW. Three months after my last meeting, I sent in my DA letter. I wanted nothing more to do with the Watchtower and its filth. I was so thankful that I left when my children were still little and the Watchtower hadn't yet got their claws into them.
  
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  Gorbatchov

  Woke up in 1995 (generation change) and fade in 2008.

  G.
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  smiddy3

  It was all of the little things that had accumulated over time ,the straw that broke the camels back and in 1993 I called it quits never to set foot in a KH again .

  And after being on this site for many years I decided I wanted to DF them so I sent in a DA letter ,well it made me feel good anyway.
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  BluesBrother

  Like others, The seeds were sown when the "generstion" prophecy was tampered with in the nineties. It seemed clear that were reacting to events rather than proactively telling things in advance. Some later, towards the end of the decade , I dared to think the unthinkable, and ask myself if it really was "The Truth" or just another religion of men.

  That was it, scales fell from my eyes of perception and I have never doubted that conclusion. It took a while to back out ,fading gently , but here I am.... apostate, under the radar and happily still married to my dubby wife of many years .
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  punkofnice

  I had doubts that built up over the years but suppressed them.

  In 2010, the corporation concocted the totally ridiculous 'overlapping generations(tm)' crap.

  That was it. Cherry on the cake, mate.

  I never returned to any meetings or Jobo crap ever again.............and never will...........unless I'm given a Million quid to go, then I might go to one meeting.
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  Anna Marina

  I came in in 1992. I knew the Bible well, asked in-depth questions in my study. Had x2 elders attend my study and got serious issues I identified blagged away by them. So in a way I was lied to, or dealt with in a crafty manner.

  Not imagining anyone professing to be Christian would act so badly, I put certain dumb teachings (which I felt were not deal breakers) on the back burner but never went along with them.

  People were kind to me which I deeply appreciated and some were definately Christians, others were having a laugh.

  Doing talks was very easy for me. The brothers were sad that I wasn't a man because they would have loved to have made me an elder. I was SO glad I wasn't a man. Maybe if I had been a man I would have left a lot earlier because I would have seen what went on behind the scenes. But I didn't and in that way I remained ignorant on some matters.

  I was always willing to do stand-in talks and in 2005, I discovered a deal-breaking teaching which had not been covered in my Bible study. I immediately took this matter up with the elders, one of whom had sat in on my study. It was acknowledged that I had a point but I was told that it was not up to me to correct doctrine. I had to 'wait on Jehovah'. Which basically meant, keep your mouth shut and wait on the GB. I did point out the mistake was not with Jehovah who had nothing to correct and it was up to the GB to correct. Meantime I'd stick with what the Bible said. For this I got thrown out in summer this year (2019).

  Here's my video about it. And Brother 50% occasionally sat in on my Bible study.
  

  JW Elder Confesses 50% He Says From The Platform Is Rubbish
  
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  Biahi

  I was a born in, so forced as a child to do things which I felt were vile, like field service, and long, boring assemblies. I hated being different at school, felt like such a weirdo not saluting the flag. I loved holidays and yet we couldn’t celebrate them. Also, I had issues with people in the congregation. Even as a kid, I wondered why the ones who were considered “weak in the truth” were more kind and Christian, while those who were “strong in the truth” were judgmental assholes. Then, from age 11 or 12, constant nitpicking on me from the elders, some so ridiculous. I was a cute, shapely young girl, they didn’t like that, they talked to my dad about my looks. He said, “Well, she takes care of herself, bathes frequently, and is well groomed.” One elder said that “She should stop that.” Such assholes! I left for good at 23 after a lifetime of BS and CD.
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  punkofnice

  Biahi - That is pretty much my experience as a bloke. In the Jobos, nothing you ever do is quite right.