Hey guys. Both my Mom, Dad and sister have asked me to write them with my reasons and concerns for leaving the WTS. This is what I wrote them. Please give me any opinions or suggestions. Warning...it's rather lengthy.
Dear Mom, Dad, LeeAnna and Josh,
I know you guys are disappointed in the decision I made not to get reinstated. I want you to know that the reason I left was not so I could live my life in an immoral way but instead in my belief that the WTS is not God's channel for spiritual food. Below are some questions and information that I have. I would love to hear your response.
Isn't it true that the WTS's prophecy that Armageddon will come before "the end of the generation of 1914" (You Can Live Forever In Paradise On Earth, pg 154), is no longer taught as "the Truth"? Then does this mean that this teaching of the WTS, which they have taught as "the Truth" for decades, was really a false teaching? Since the WTS claims that they are the "one channel that the Lord is using during the last days of this system of things" (Jehovah's Witnesses-Proclaimers of God's Kingdom, pg 626) and that the governing body is "the mouthpiece of Jehovah God", does this mean that God changed His mind about this teaching and the definition of "generation"? Is it possible that God could change His mind? Has the WTS ever changed their mind before about a teaching that they once taught as "the Truth"? The WTS has taught that Armageddon was going to occur in:
1914 - The Time Is At Hand, 1888 (1911 ed.), pg 101; Zion 's Watchtower, 1/15/1892, pg22
1915 - The Time Is At Hand, 1915 edition, pg. 99
1918 - The Finished Mystery, 1917, pg 62, 485
1925 - Millions Now Living Will Never Die, 1920, pg 89-90, Watchtower, 7/15/24, pg 211
1931 - Vindication, Book 1, pg. 147
WWII - Watchtower, 9/15/41, pg 288
1975 - Kingdom Ministry, 6/69, pg 3; AWAKE!, 10/8/68, etc.
?Before the end of the generation of 1914? - You Can Live Forever In Paradise On Earth, pg 154
In addition, the WTS claims that it is the ?mouthpiece for Jehovah?, ?God?s one and only channel of communication to the world?, etc., clearly claiming to speak for God. Since Deut 18:20-22 says that a false prophet is anyone who claims to speak for God and makes a prophecy that does not come true, doesn't?t this make the WTS a modern day false prophet according to scripture? Can a true prophet make even ONE false prophecy? What does scripture say about false prophets? See Mt 7:15, 24:11, Mk 13:22, 2Pet 2:1, 1Jn 4:1, Rev 16:13-14, 19:20, 20:10. Why would anyone willingly follow an organization that has repeatedly proven itself to be a false prophet, according to biblical standards? Since God does not tell lies or change his mind (Num 23:19, Ps 89:34, Heb 6:18), and since it is clear that the WTS could not have possibly been speaking for God when they made these false prophecies, then how do you know that the WTS is speaking for God now?
The WTS claims that Jerusalem was destroyed in 607 B.C.E. and uses Dan 4:23-25, Rev 12:6, 14, Num 14:34, and Ezek 4:6 to come up with 1914 C.E., which is 2,520 years later, as the year that Jesus began his reign in heaven. If the WTS?s claim that Jerusalem was destroyed in 607 B.C.E. is correct, then why is it that every reference source, including the Encyclopedia Britannica, Microsoft Encarta, The World Book Encyclopedia, Encyclopedia Americana, Compton?s Encyclopedia, Academic American Encyclopedia, Cambridge Ancient History ? Vol. III, The Oxford Dictionary of World History, etc, etc, all state that Jerusalem was destroyed in 586 BC? Should we view the overwhelming opinion of essentially every historian who is an expert on ancient history as unreliable?
Is it true that the WTS once taught that: The second presence of Christ started in 1874 (WT, 11/1/22, pgs 332-337; Prophecy, 1929, pg 65-66); Vaccinations never saved a human life, doesn't?t prevent smallpox, and are condemned (Golden Age, Feb 4, 1931, pg 293-4); The great pyramid of Egypt is a witness of the Lord (WT May 15, 1925 pgs 148-9); God governs the universe from a star called Alcyone (Thy Kingdom Come, 1903 Ed, pg 327); Leviathan of the Bible is the steam locomotive (The Finished Mystery, pg 84-86); Tonsillectomy is condemned; better to commit suicide than have a tonsillectomy (GA, April 7, 1926, pg 438); In the new world, Abraham will rule New York City (GA, Oct 5, 1927, pg 26/29); The black race originated with Noah?s curse upon Canaan (GA, Jul 24, 1929, pg 702); Jews are no longer important to God (Vindication, Vol 2, pg 257-258); God wears clothes (GA, May 19, 1926, pg 534); The WTS stands for the principles of Nazi Germany (Yearbook 1934, pg 134-137); Aspirin is the menace of heart disease (GA, Feb 27, 1935, pg 343-4); Do not use X-rays (GA, Sept 23, 1936, pg 828); In 1938, people should not get married (Face the Facts, pg 46-50); Organ transplants were condemned as cannibalistic (WT, Nov 15, 1967, pg 702-4)? The WTS teaches that it is the mouthpiece for Jehovah and God?s one and only channel of communication to the world. Since God does not tell lies or change his mind (Num 23:19, Ps 89:34, Heb 6:18), and since it is clear that the WTS could not have possibly been speaking for God when they proclaimed these teachings, again I ask, how do you know that the WTS is speaking for God now?
Since the WTS prohibits the use of blood transfusions, why does it permit the infusion of albumin, clotting factors, and gamma globulins, all of which are components of human blood and are derived from human blood? Since Acts 15:29 clearly refers to the old Jewish law of not EATING blood (Gen 9:4, Lev 3:17, Deut 12:16), and since the WTS has changed its teachings on other major health related issues like vaccinations, organ transplantations, and its opposition to tonsillectomies (Golden Age, 4/7/26, pg 438), etc. and simply calls these changes "New Light", how can you be sure they won't some day change their teachings on blood transfusions and refer to that change as "New Light" also?
The WTS book You Can Live Forever in Paradise on Earth states on page 147, ?Bible evidence shows that in the year 1914 C.E. God?s time arrived for Christ to return and begin ruling.? It also states ?In the same way, Christ?s return does not mean that he literally comes back to this earth. Rather, it means that he takes Kingdom power toward this earth and turns his attention to it.? In 1Cor 11:26, Paul writes, "For as often as you eat this loaf and drink this cup, you keep proclaiming the death of the Lord, until he arrives." If Christ ?arrived? in 1914, why do Jehovah's Witnesses continue to partake of the bread and wine? Shouldn't they have stopped in 1914?
Does Prov 4:18 really justify an organization replacing doctrines and failed prophecies with new doctrines and prophecies, or does it simply contrast the benefit to the "righteous" of obeying a wise father (Prov 4:10-19)? A false teaching can be called a "false word" and Prov 13:5 says, "A false word is what the righteous hates..." When the WTS changes a teaching to something that is totally different or even the exact opposite of a previous teaching, is it like a light that is ?getting brighter and brighter? or more like having one false light (word) completely turned off and a totally different light turned on? Do you think the WTS would be critical of any other religious organization that changed its teachings as many times on as many different issues over the last 100 years as the WTS has? In addition, Jude 3 says, ??to put up a hard fight for the faith that was once for all time delivered to the holy ones.? Since the faith was established and ?once for all time delivered? to the first century Christians, and since the Bible doesn't?t change and God doesn't?t lie or change his mind (Num 23:19, Ps 89:34, Heb 6:18), why the need for constant ?new light? and ever changing teachings of the WTS, many of which directly contradict former WTS teachings?
Does the WTS claim "apostolic succession"? If so, can it trace its roots all the way back to Christ (Mt 16:18)? Who was it then, that "passed the torch of God's spirit" to C. T. Russell when he founded the organization? What was the name of this individual or individuals? Similarly, since the anointed believers as an organization are claimed to be God's collective "faithful and discreet slave" that alone guides people in their understanding of Scripture, and since this organization did not come into existence until the late-nineteenth century, does this mean God had no true representatives on earth for many, many centuries? If he did, who were they? What were their names? Can you name one Jehovah?s Witness who lived before 1800?
The WTS teaches that the 144,000 of Rev 7:4 and Rev 14:3 is to be taken literally. If these passages in scripture are to be taken literally, then the 144,000 are all literally male (Rev 14:4), Jewish (Rev 7:4-8), virgins (Rev 14:4). Was Charles Taze Russell a Jewish virgin? Are all women excluded from this number? Are any of the other 144,000 people included in this number Jewish virgins? If not, then how can this passage, including the number 144,000, be taken literally? What justification is there for switching methods of interpretation from literal, in the case of Rev 7:4 and 14:3, to figurative in the very next verse(s)?
What are the names of the men on the New World Bible Translation Committee who supposedly translated the original Hebrew and Greek into English for the NWT? What are their credentials that would qualify them to produce a Bible translation? Why does the WTS withhold the names of these people so that no one can see what their qualifications are?
Since the WTS currently rejects many of the teachings of its founder, Charles Taze Russell (who was president of the organization from 1879-1916), and since they also reject many of the teachings of "Judge" Joseph Franklin Rutherford, who succeeded Russell as president from 1916-1942, how can you be sure that in 25 more years, the WTS won't reject many of the teachings under current president, Milton Henschel (1992-present), as they did Russell and Rutherford? What kind of confidence can you have in an organization that rejected many of the teachings of its founder and first two presidents for the first 63 years of its existence - over 50% of the time they have existed?!
Since the WTS has received "new light" regarding the 1914 generation, and completely changed their views on this, does this mean that all the former Witnesses who were disfellowshipped years ago for the same view the organization is now teaching will automatically be accepted back into fellowship again? Were these ex-Witnesses in fact disfellowshipped for what is now taught as "the Truth"?
If Jesus was executed on a torture stake, with both hands together over his head, as only the WTS teaches, why does Jn 20:25 say "... unless I see in his hands the print of the nailS...", indicating that there was more than one nail used for his hands? Wouldn't?t two nails have been used if Christ was crucified on a cross whereas only one nail would have been used if he would have been executed on an upright pole?
Can Jehovah's Witnesses hold and discuss openly with other Witnesses opinions that differ from orthodox WTS teachings? If no, why not? Does the WTS encourage people who are not Witnesses to examine their own religion? If yes, then why does it discourage Witnesses to honestly examine the teachings of the WTS? If the WTS really teaches ?the Truth?, then what do they have to fear from an honest examination?
If the WTS claims to be no part of the world or have affairs with the political system then why was the WTS a member of the NGO and thus affiliated with the UN from 1992 until 2001 when their association was made public? If they were members solely for the use of the UN Library then why is it that you don't need to be a member of the NGO to access the library? Here is a link to the official UN document claiming the WTS as a NGO member.
http://www.un.org/dpi/ngosection/watchtower.pdf
These are just some of my concerns. Through my research I have found many contradictions, lies and teachings that I find repulsive. One I have yet to discuss is disfellowshiping. Why is it that an organization claiming to be based on love teaches that family members should shun a fellow family member? Does this seem loving to you? Was this a teaching of Jesus? Why should I be removed from family activities simply because I have a different opinion? I do not claim to be a "brother" and I try to be a morally clean person. I want to be a follower of Jesus but not a part of the WTS. Do you think that your shunning of me will change the fact that the WTS is not God's channel for spiritual food or just make it more apparent? Why would you let a false organization keep you from your only son and brother?
My intention by this letter is not to convert you but for you to understand where I am coming from. I would never ask you to leave the WTS. I know how involved you guys are and how alone you would feel without your friends...believe me I know!! To leave the organization would take great courage as it did for me, but I could not live with myself as a hypocrite spreading lies and false teachings. But I do ask that you please OPEN YOUR EYES and search your hearts for what YOU think is right and not an organization that has historically changed it's teachings and made false prophecies. Please realize that it's your decision to accept me in your life and not the congregation's decision or the decision of some people you don't know in Bethel. I chose to leave the WTS but I did not want to leave you. I miss you guys more than you know and it doesn't have to be this way. If you seek the truth it will find you and the truth will set you free. It has me!!
Love Always,
Jared