Posted by Amazing [Anointed] on November 08, 1999 at 11:41:57 {Nq8EnQ8RVA/CPYT8orz2ASIIcexUto}:
I am posting this to Lost Again(LA) who asked if JWs who leave the WTS are looking for or have ulterior motives. Let me share my experience:
I served in the organization for 25 years. I was an elder, Aux. Pioneered 2 or 3 times every year, studied with and helped 15 to become Jehovah's Witnesses. Many of my studies went on to progress, becoming pioneers and elders. By organizational standards my stidies were of good quality and helped to make the Truth their own.
My wife regular pioneered while taking care of our 4 children. When she did not regular pioneer, she often Aux. Pioneered, and otherwise was regular and very active in Field Service and meetings. We both enjoyed parts in Conventions. I also had some level of convention responsibilities.
In addition to all this, as a Witness I enjoyed a fullfilling career as an electricla engineer, and worked a great deal in power plant construction, and operating nuclear power plants. If anything, my life as a Witness was stable and we were comfortable. There was no ulterior motive to leave.
I left the organization through a series of events that lasted 3 years. My reasons for leaving are the harm to people I witnesses and the false prophecies.
I served in 9 different congregation up and down the west coast. As congregation Secretary, I not only served on judicial committees, but I had the 'privelege' of maintaining the judicial records. I can say that between 30% and 40% of the witnesses in any given congregation have had some trouble and some very serious.
The harm done to so many by a largely incompetant elder body is too much to detail here. In saying they are incompetant, I am not slighting their good intentions, but their lack of training and understanding of what is really needed spiritually to help people. They are victims of a religious system that is incompetant.
Let me cite just one judicial case. A teenage boy was caught in an act typical for his age. Because he was baptized, he had to face a judicial committee of men who were each 3 times his age. He was not showing the level of repentance expected. What young boy would show adult repentance under these conditions? His parents should have handled the matter.
He was disfellowshipped. While not on his committee, I was the elder charged with making the disfellowshippment announcement. The boy was sorry, and desired reinstatement. To prove his good intentions, he avoided all 'worldly' friends and beings shunned, he could not have Witness friends. Do you see the psychological damage that could be done here?
The boy tried for about 7 years to get reinstated. he attended meetings, family study, and studied the Watchtower for each Sunday. His parents were confused by the elders, but decided to wait on Jehovah and his organization to clear up the matter.
What eventually happened, is that not only did the boy lose faith in the organization, but he lost faith in God. He emotionally gave up! What did Jesus say about stumbling these little ones? Would he not be furious at this level of harm?
What made this so painful for me is that I was close to the family involved. The elders were among the most loving and competant I had ever served with. I could not imagine why these men, of all elders I knew, ever do this type of thing. And this is just one case among my 25 years in the organization. I could write a book about all the harm.
As far as false prophecy, let me give this brief experience. I was traveling with another engineer on business to a test lab in S. California. We began discussing the announcement by then US Pres. Bush and Soviet Pres. Gorbachev regarding Peace and Security. This was August 1992. The organization was back in its usual frenzie of eager expectation of Armageddon hinging on this announcement.
As I discussed the end time with the man I traveled with, we also got into the Last Generation. I realized based on his questions, that we were then 77 years from 1914. The whole premise I was witnessing about was embarassing, and I felt like a fool. I could not continue on. Why? The WTS held that the Last Generation started in 1914. They used to argue that a person witnessing the events would have to be of the age of reason, but later they modified this to include babies, so they could stretch the time of this Last Generation.
The whole time-line and prophetic interpretation was false. I realized that I had lived a lie. The book of Deut. 18:20 I believe, says that we must not get afraid or listen to false prophets. The Society did speak many prophecies in Jehovah's name. Read the Book the Nations Shall Know I am Jehovah - How?. I think it was published in 1971. The Society says in Chap. 4 that they are Prophet Commissioned to Speak in the Divine Name.
This is wrong, false, and bad. I could no longer reconcile the facts in evidence and the harm done to people with my participation in the Watch Tower organization.
That is why I left in a nutshell. I hope and trust that this is helpful to you. If you have any questions, I will be happy, as well as many others in H20, to provide you with an abundance of material and experiences to support the all too common reasons for leaving the organization.
Simply Amazing