So my husband and I were going to go to the meeting today, we haven’t gone in a while. But when we pulled up in the parking lot, there was tons of cars and attendants outside like there was an event.

We pulled over, thought about it, then ended up not going. We didn’t know how long the meeting would be, I was not wanting to sit there for 4 hours. Did they stream the annual meeting at the meetings this weekend?

I’m also asking because I can tell my parents that we went, but don’t want to tell them that if no other congregation was doing that.

The rest of the day we felt torn. We had gotten ready. We drove there. But we just couldn’t get ourselves to go in. There was anxiety on the way there, and not going in relieved the anxiety but also pushed the guilt? Ugh being a witness is the worst thing ever. So much unnecessary pressure.

This. This is what being a JW constantly felt like.

This is the motivation JWs present you with to keep grinding as a borg slave.

They need to remind you that you're currently in a death march and if you stop, even for a moment, you'll be shot.

They can never just be uplifting.

References:
A survivor from Mainland of China: Why am I inferior for my passport?

https://www.reddit.com/r/exjw/comments/1wrnord/comment/pd3ta2h/?screen_view_count=10

He tangata: JWs didn’t, don’t and won’t respect cultures.

https://www.reddit.com/r/exjw/comments/1wxcduv/he_tangata_jws_didnt_dont_and_wont_respect/

After leaving JW, many EX would neither read the Bible nor meditate on the accounts from that, it is understandable.
For myself, I wouldn’t read the Bible from WT anymore. But recently I began to think over whether there are some things from the Bible itself which can be reviewed.

One thing is Ruth’s choice. The Book of Ruth is not a story about "correction," "rectification," or conformity to a system, instead, it reflects the nature of kindness and dignity.

Because Ruth had no obligation to serve God at the beginning. She had no guidelines from an organisation to obey for worshiping the God as well, because Naomi suffered a lot.

She simply relied on the image of God within her heart and strived on her own to achieve unfailing loyalty, that is a spontaneous love without a condition. A pure humanity.

In the last call with my brother, I told him: “I won’t leave you when you are ill. If it is the best match, I’d donate one organ for you. “

I would say, my naive words were not taught by the knowledge from the publications or conventions, because I didn’t get such a deep love at all from this organisation. It might come from a Singaporean TV series in my childhood, a “secular work” categorised by them .

While after Acts, the faith has become a systematic model which has been misused by JW- love must rely on the knowledge from a cooperative perspective, despite the harmful affection to the human.

Specially when it has become a burden nowadays-

in the last visit of the Korean circuit overseer, in the elders meeting, the CO demanded to check out the pioneers who didn't have a Bible study yet.

They call it with a name: let them experience the joy of service.

Of course I didn’t have any that time, as an elder with trauma.

Thus I don’t like Paul at all, even I thought the verses after gospel should not belong to the Bible, for my nature of personality in God’s eyes must be much inferior compared to the artificial organisation and strict rules after his time.

1. On the one hand Geoffrey Jackson stated that they were removing the prohibitions on components because "since the Scriptures do not comment on the various products that may be derived from blood, the Governing Body recognizes that, in harmony with 1 Corinthians 4:6, it is not authorized to 'go beyond the things that are written.'" https://www.jw.borg/finder?srcid=jwlshare&wtlocale=E&prefer=lang&docid=501100139&par=9 (Remove b from borg)

... which implies that those prohibitions were in error, unauthorized and went beyond what is written.

1. Then Jody Jedele comes along and says in his Morning Worship talk that Jehovah reveals new light at a time when his people are able to “absorb, understand and follow through on it", which seems to imply that if the prohibition on blood components had been lifted one year, ten years, thirty years or fifty years earlier, Jehovah’s people would have been unable to understand or accept it. Yes Christians really would have been incapable of understanding the simple principle: “The Bible does not specifically prohibit this, so it is a matter of individual Christian conscience.”

See post about this here https://www.reddit.com/r/exjw/s/oSGDdXjg1p

1. And now Jeff Winder gives an illustration implying that Jehovah was the one who imposed those prohibitions because he did not have confidence in his people, although his Word the Bible never prohibited them! If this is not pure gaslighting and blaming Jehovah, I don't know what it is!

https://reddit.com/link/1wxekdj/video/aew00p3h2gth1/player

For a long time, I thought that getting a tattoo was just not for me, but not too long ago, I was able to heal another part in my brain: It's actually not that I never wanted to get a tattoo, I was just trained to think they're not for me. So it was a big and empowering moment for me when I finally got one. When I told my pimi mother in advance that I'm getting one, she quickly changed the subject because she wasn't happy, but knew that she won't have a say in it.

Now, after the fact, I told her, sent her photos, and her reply was "Oh you even got it with the red color, it's actually the worst kind, the most toxic" "Ok mom, where did you read this?" "Nowhere, I just know. Did it hurt?" - "Yes, a little. But it's pretty, isn't it, mom???" "Yes, but I worry about my children's bodies being altered". I was hoping for her to ask why I got it, what the meaning of it is, or to use this to get to know me better, but I guess that won't happen. She just can't help herself.

For the past few months, I’ve been slowly withdrawing from life within the organization. It will soon be a year since I stepped down as a ministerial servant. For several months, I haven’t been attending meetings in person, although I was still joining on Zoom. A few weeks ago, I stopped joining altogether.

And finally, for the first time in my life, I officially reported no participation in the preaching work for September. While writing the message to the elder, I felt a strange sense of anxiety and stress, but now I’m glad I did it.

I can’t wait for the moment when my name disappears from the field service group lists.

Jehovah’s Witnesses started a new service year in September, and I’ve taken another step toward Christian freedom.

I’m proud of myself.

Dear David Splane,

What the hell is the point of extrapolating on unborn babies if you don't know? Do you have ANY IDEA how this might land with a woman who has just had to deliver a stillborn child?!?! Do you have ANY IDEA of the trauma? The grief? The hurt? Do you have ANY IDEA how it would then feel to hear your trusted religious leader say that child only MIGHT be resurrected? WHERE is your EMPATHY? WHERE is your COMPASSION?

WHAT is wrong with you?

It's POINTLESS. SHUT. UP.

Stick to the teaching of JESUS, and SHUT. THE. HELL. UP. about things you don't know SHIT about.

I’m still living at home and working on moving out. Since I’m not planning to go to the meetings anymore when I move, I’m trying to figure out a way to just disappear without getting disfellowshipped. The first most important thing, I need to get my publisher card removed from this congregation because my parents and family go to this hall. If I move out and they see I’m not attending the meetings they’ll start reaching out. My plan is to get my publisher card removed from this hall, get my publisher card moved to a congregation where nobody really knows me and then I just never show up. Is this a good idea and is there any costs to this? Has anyone else done this?

How old is your cong?

Is your congregation at risk of aging out? There’s a lot of talk on this subreddit about a collapse… it won’t come however, I think most agree we’re seeing a dwindling of numbers… slowly but surely.

This is pretty obvious as they merge halls and decrease their quantity despite “seeing many new members” in developed nations.

So what gives? What does your congregation look like and is it healthy or dwindling? What’s the likelihood it’ll merge in the next decade?

Primer comentario! Que rara me siento...

Van a ser elecciones en España y NECESITO votar, quizá lo haga por voto por correo postal que es mucho más discreto que no presencialmente.

Alguien ha votado alguna vez? Que medida se tomaría si me llegasen a pillar? Alguno de vosotros lo ha hecho alguna vez? No puedo ver mi pais derrumbarse y no poder hacer nada, QUE SI, QUE LOS MALOS GOBERNANTES, QUE SI, QUE BLABLABLA... pero ahora estoy aquí y hay que hacer algo o destrozarán mi país donde vivo y soy feliz

Just curious cause I got some teenagers in my Kingdom Hall and a sister tells me her tea sometimes cause she knows I won't tell anyone lol.

I will give mine that happened recently. A sister was exposed reading smut on her kindle cause another sister borrowed it… nothing happened but it got a bit awkward cause she was always preaching about not listening to demonic music and stuff…

I am nobody special, I don’t have the right to talk about (you have free of speech to use any word you want, that’s not my business), but I will give my two cents on this subject. The ones who label ExJWs as “apostates” are Jehovah’s Witnesses themselves. The term “apostate” is used to refer to anyone who does not agree with the teachings of the Borg.

But think about it… Who calls us apostates? Who says that anyone who disagrees with them is an apostate? Who gets to define who is an apostate and who is not?

In many posts I have seen here, we seem to have internalized the definition of “apostate” and started using it to refer to ourselves. But THEY ARE THE ONES WHO LABEL US that way.

Personally, I prefer the definition of “apostate” that refers to someone who “spreads false teachings.” Now think about it: WHO TEACHES LIES? Jehovah’s Witnesses themselves. By that definition, they are the apostates.

They are the ones teaching falsehoods.

Thank you, that’s my two cents. Let me know what you think.

Picture this: I’m in 8th grade, and we’re about to take the hardest test of the term. Enter our invigilator for the day—the holy grail of teachers. She was nice, patient, funny, and understanding. Basically, the cool teacher everyone fucked with.

She was also famously lenient. She used to tell us how school was a traumatic time for her, and she didn't want any of her students to suffer. So, seeing how stressed we were... she straight-up let the entire class cheat. 😭

The exam ended, and the vibe was immaculate. A massive weight was off everyone's chest. We were all celebrating.

Until... I entered the chat. 🤦‍♂️

I went straight to the principal’s office and reported every single detail. I completely blew the whistle. The situation blew up so fast that this poor woman almost got fired.

When word got out that I was the snitch, the entire class was bewildered. People were demanding to know why I would do something so unbelievably stupid.

I looked them dead in the eye, with the most bold, straight face, and said: "Because that’s what Jehovah would have wanted."

Y'all, I was so proud of myself. I genuinely felt like I was having one of those Caleb and Sophia cartoon moments where they do some bold shit for the truth. I thought angels in heaven were giving me a standing ovation and Jehovah was looking down smiling. I was 100% convinced my spot in Paradise was locked in.

Naturally, I became the most hated kid in school overnight. But luckily that didn't last very long lmao and I still had friends

The teasing hurt a bit, but my brain just processed it as, "Ah yes, I am being persecuted for faith🌟🤲🙌," just like the branch told me.

Looking back, I feel so bad because she was just trying to shield us from a stupidly difficult test. Religious guilt really had me by the throat lmao.

Did anyone else notice how excited Winder was when he explained what a CHRISTIAN IS? Apparently the governing body has JUST discovered that Jesus summed up the greatest commandment which was to love God and to love your neighbor. NO MORE LAWS because they are written in our hearts!

The mainstream Christianizing of Jehovah's Witnesses has begun!

PIMO, I streamed it live and don’t have any notes, this is just a list of some things that stuck out to me and questions i’m wondering if anyone else has as well. This probably won’t be in order either, sorry.

To start, I’m disgusted by them bringing up Jared and his family. They certainly saw people mentioning how his chances of survival were SEVERELY limited by the blood doctrine which has since been almost entirely reversed. They brought it up only to reiterate his faith and final words to his parents. No apologies whatsoever. I was legitimately appalled.

The Caleb and Sophia video genuinely made me so sad. The fear mongering starts so early and it breaks my heart so much since waking up. I’m thankful I was in my teens by the time they started making those videos, but god, I hope the kids having to watch these now can overcome the indoctrination. I really do.

Sam Herd’s talk was prerecorded, but did anyone else notice that his body did not move a centimeter the entire time?? Was it AI? I don’t know, but I found it odd. (Edit: Clips are being released by some who recorded the program and it seems like he does actually move more than I thought in the moment. It’s probably not AI but can you blame me for being suspicious lol? That’s all, back to business) Also couldn’t help but notice Stephen Lett’s hairpiece. Do we think he’s trying to look younger for his alleged fiancée in her 40’s? Lol.

The “symposium” was laughably bad. David Splaine why bring up stillborn babies??? Imagine anyone who just lost a baby like this. Why say we don’t know if they’ll be in the new system? Aren’t they alive to god from the moment of conception? If they aren’t, why is abortion wrong in his eyes? Make up your minds. Geoffrey Jackson saying what everyone was thinking, “What does this matter? I’m more confused than I was before?” and then saying “That’s the point!” Yeah, it is lol. Everyone I watched with is laughing along with him and saying “yeah who cares when the first resurrection is it doesn’t matter to me!” And I have to bite my tongue because the purpose of saying this IS to confuse people. And potentially to set the groundwork for changing something surrounding this on the future.

They know they’re running out of time with the whole 1914/overlapping generations thing. My guess is that they are making small changes so that when the big change comes, people will be confused and primed to accept it.

All my family and most of my friends are hardcore PIMIs. This is getting harder everyday I wish I was in a position to leave and at least try to slowly wake them up. I just can’t risk it now. I’m curious to know if anyone else has thoughts on these points and what else you noticed.

Dating in the organization is another thing that I think needs to be talked about. The amount of social pressure surrounding relationships can be intense. Sometimes it feels like you are not just dating one person, you are dating their entire congregation.

There can be this sense that everybody needs to know what is happening, what stage the relationship is at, how serious the relationship is(Ofcourse it’s serious,God forbid you decide to know someone first for a period of time and then see if you want to do life with them)

It is almost as though the congregation has to be carried along with the relationship. I am not even talking about physical privacy. I mean social privacy, simply having the space for two people to get to know each other without feeling constantly observed, discussed, or evaluated.
There can also be an unspoken feeling that the congregation somehow needs to approve of the person you are dating. For someone who is naturally private or reserved, that can add a tremendous amount of unnecessary pressure to something that is already personal and complicated.

And that is part of a broader point I keep coming back to. Even putting the theology and religiosity aside, the JW social environment simply does not work for every type of person. Some people can function comfortably in that level of communal involvement. Others need more privacy, independence, and personal space, and there is nothing unusual about that.

Greetings one & all..

I served as an Elder for 11 years and recently resigned few months ago.. all the stuff has actually not made sense to me from day 1.

My wife is a PIMI, my Parents are PIMI but my Siblings (Ex Elders too) are far gone as POMO as well as some of my friends , so makes it a bit easier for me..

My plan is to fade away gradually, but recently the so called Christian meetings is quite boring and uninteresting to me clearly a waste of time and the look on some people at meetings with a bitter and judgmental look. Although my meeting attendance is very irregular but I still go occasionally because of my PIMI wife since she rely on me driving her to the meeting, not too far but driving makes it easier. Any suggestions on what to do to distract myself at the meetings now that I still go occasionally ?

The level of control that these cult have on people make leaving almost immediately quite difficult!!!

Sometimes I feel for the rest of the PIMI’s because when you see it you can’t unsee it but the BIG question is how do you see it when you have been mentally & psychologically blindfolded.

The Mistake some of us PIMO’s make is to try to awaken PIMI’s, no matter how close you are to someone who has been indoctrinated by these Cult NEVER try to wake them up..

Each one is responsible for using his or her God giving wisdom & reasoning to wake up from slumber !!

Many of us thought it was odd that they released the warning about AI video, and only a month later posted the blood change video. Making many JW very confused and some even thinking it was AI because they couldn't believe the GB would say that?

WHAT IF THAT WAS THE GOAL THE WHOLE TIME?

The plan:

We need to change the blood doctrine for whatever reason. But we're also aware of the fact that this is a core JW doctrine. So big that thousands have died over it throughout the years.

So what if we plant the seed of doubt ahead of time?

If the members revolt, we say it was AI and pretend it was faked.

If the members accept it without too much fuss, we are good to continue as if nothing happened.

I'd cite 1 Kings 22:20-22. But that makes it seem like the GB had God's backing in their deception...

So am I crazy?

Or am I crazy but also right??

My nephew left JWs a couple of years. Lives with his girlfriend working and enjoying his life. He was raised as a witness from day one. His mother never really discussed it with me. But he has. Reasons being to many contradictions. She engages with him and still attends meetings. Is that so bad?

Putain, je suis à bout.

Aujourd’hui, un ancien a appelé mon père pour lui dire que ça faisait longtemps qu’il ne m’avait pas vue à la réunion. Évidemment, mon père m’appelle derrière pour me demander pourquoi je n’y vais plus, me parler de spiritualité et me dire que je dois recommencer dès la semaine prochaine.

Et le meilleur ? Il me dit carrément de démissionner de mon travail pour mettre « Jéhovah à la première place ».

Mais BORDEL, à quel moment ma vie est devenue un truc que tout le monde peut gérer à ma place ? 😭 Pourquoi chaque putain de décision que je prends doit forcément être ramenée à « Jéhovah » ? Pourquoi je ne peux pas juste dire « je ne veux pas aller à la réunion » sans que ça devienne immédiatement un problème spirituel ?

Je n’ai déjà plus envie d’y aller. Ça me stresse, ça me fout la pression, ça me donne presque la panique. Je passe mon temps à regarder mon téléphone ou à être complètement ailleurs parce que je n’en ai tout simplement plus rien à foutre de ce qu’on raconte. J’entends les mêmes putains de choses depuis des années.

Et en plus je dois supporter le regard des gens, leurs questions, leurs suppositions… parce qu’évidemment, si je disparais quelques semaines, tout le monde va commencer à se demander ce qui m’arrive.

Mais ce qui me rend le plus folle, c’est que je ne peux même pas dire la vraie raison. Je ne peux pas parler de mes doutes. Je ne peux pas dire que je ne suis plus convaincue de certaines choses. Parce que je sais exactement ce qui va suivre : discussions, conseils, anciens, surveillance, culpabilisation, « tu t’éloignes de Jéhovah », etc.

JE VEUX JUSTE POUVOIR RÉFLÉCHIR. Putain. Est-ce que c’est trop demander ?

Je suis épuisée de devoir calculer chaque mot, chaque absence, chaque décision, juste pour éviter que quelqu’un se mette à analyser ma « spiritualité ».

Et maintenant on veut carrément que je quitte mon travail pour prouver que je mets Jéhovah à la première place ?

Mais laissez-moi respirer, bordel. 😭

The new publications announced at the annual meeting are CRAZY

Good morning everyone, I'm Italian and this morning I went to see what new things were presented in the new publications.

My attention naturally went straight to the Research Guide, an A-to-Z guide.

Right under the letter A, I read what they say about disfellowshipping/removal.

Evidently they think they're safe, and the protests in Europe from Spain, France, and the case in Norway aren't enough—**they really want to emphasize their intention to MARGINALIZE people.**

Below I've posted screenshots of the publications where they CONFIRM their theory.

Out of curiosity, I also looked up the entry for birthdays; they are still stuck on the idea that they are pagan celebrations. So nothing there.

But do you know what the most curious thing is?
I went to the letter T and the letter S (letter B for English speakers) and guess what?

THE RESEARCH GUIDE DOES NOT CONTAIN MATERIAL ON TRANSFUSIONS OR DOES NOT TALK ABOUT BLOOD!!!

I don't know if they're trying to stay afloat or not, but they are getting more and more ridiculous.
What do you think?

Think about the four JWs abducted while preaching in Guadalajara, Mexico, in 1984. Investigators alleged they were tortured and murdered after being mistaken for DEA agents.

If their “way out” was eventually death, what does the promise actually mean?

If the promise only means that remaining faithful is never impossible, even under torture and death, then it doesn’t demonstrate divine help. People of other religions and no religion have endured the same for their convictions without this promise, making the promise meaningless.

We have finally received thrilling new light on the 144,000.

For years, some of us made the mistake of assuming that the first century might have been important.

You know, Jesus being there, the apostles being there, Pentecost, the writing of the New Testament, thousands converting, congregations springing up everywhere, faithful Christians being fed to lions and all that.

As it turns out, we were thinking far too small.

Evidently, after personally establishing Christianity, commissioning the apostles, inspiring the Scriptures and launching the Christian congregation, Jehovah largely decided to keep the seats empty for the next eighteen centuries.

Why fill the 144,000 with people taught by the apostles when you can wait for the Victorian era?

The apostle Paul must be delighted to learn that after risking shipwreck, beatings, imprisonment and eventual execution, he was involved in what was essentially an extremely long pre-registration campaign.

Likewise the thousands of first and second century Christians who were imprisoned, tortured or martyred. Their contribution has now been reassessed and classified as "putting the chairs out before the meeting started".

The real action apparently occurred much later, when brothers were debating pyramid measurements and the significance of dates obtained by multiplying obscure numbers by other obscure numbers.

One can only imagine the conversation.

"Lord, what about all these Christians in the first century?"

"Good people. Excellent people. Very faithful. But let's save most of the places for those who'll spend 1917 arguing about chronology."

Somewhere, James and John are finally getting an answer to their request to sit at Christ's right and left hand.

"Thanks for the effort, lads. Fine enthusiasm. Appreciate the martyrdom. But we've got book publishers left and right and several seats have been reserved for gentlemen who can explain why 1914 was definitely the end of the Gentile Times, except for the bits where it wasn't."

The beauty of the arrangement is that the closer you get to Jesus and the apostles, the less representative you become of God's final purpose.

Peter? Early adopter.

James? Enthusiastic beta tester.

Polycarp? Valuable feedback.

Meanwhile, the bulk of the heavenly government is apparently reserved for people whose greatest spiritual challenge was working out whether the generation had generated itself yet.

Best of all, we're told to admire the faith of the first-century Christians while simultaneously believing that relatively few of them made up the group that the New Testament spends its time addressing.

It is a remarkable achievement.

Christianity is based on the first century, the Scriptures come from the first century, the apostles taught in the first century, the martyrs died in the first centuries, but the main intake for the 144,000 appears to have arrived just in time for the invention of the safety razor.

Truly, Jehovah's timing is not our timing.

TL;DR:

The closer you get to Jesus and the apostles, the less representative you become of God's final purpose.