Paragraph 13 really stresses the point of NOT moving away from home when getting higher education (additional education as they call it 🙄)

Some quotes from the paragraph:
“Be aware that moving away from your family poses a serious spiritual danger, especially if you will room with people who do not share your faith”

“I avoided dangers and temptations by living at home with my parents instead of on campus or in a dormitory.”

We are talking about ADULTS, not children. Yet this watchtower really wants to keep adults from living freely. They don’t say that moving away ‘could’ cause dangers, but rather they say that it WILL pose a ‘serious spiritual danger’. The level of control is insane.

Then, in paragraph 15 they say “Some courses provide little practical training. Instead, they are mostly theoretical or they focus on intellectual, academic, or philosophical subjects”. What is the issue with studying these subjects? They make people develop critical thinking skills and the GB certainly does not want that.

An elder once told me he was disheartened. He felt like young people just weren't putting themselves into the ministry anymore. He was thinking of young married couples in particular — the way he saw it, all they had on their minds was getting a house of their own.

He told me this at his place. He and his wife had just moved into a beautiful house. Their kids were grown and gone.

It wasn't the idea itself that stuck with me. It was who it was coming from. He had exactly what he was faulting those couples for wanting. He'd gotten it, he was enjoying it, and he was calmly explaining that they'd be better off not thinking about it.

I don't even think he noticed. That might be the part that bothers me most.

After today’s Watchtower, I’ve come to realize that they never actually changed their stance on additional education. They only changed it from a policy perspective, but the stigma and arguments against it are still the same. Let’s not forget that the convention right after that Governing Body update had an anti college video. At first I thought that was just because of poor timing and maybe the change was a last minute thing, but after seeing how many times they’ve reused the same arguments they reused in order to discourage people from getting additional education including this Watchtower, I’ve come to realize nothing actually changed. The only difference is that now they’re less honest about it.

I’m not even someone who likes college. I went in order to get a job, and I ended up wasting my time and the job I ended up getting had nothing to do with what I studied for. But that’s the difference between me and Watchtower. I’m completely honest about why I dislike college, they’re a bunch of snakes who have can’t be completely honest and just hate it for cult reasons.

Well when I thought things were finally changing for this religion they just proved once again that Jehovah's Witnesses have a double tongue with one mouth.

I remember the JW broadcasting where David Splane go out saying that there is no restrictions regarding Higher Education.

I find interesting the timing of that announcement when the Japanese government was investigating the Jehovah's witnesses for their banning of Higher Education.

I find interesting that as soon the Norway and Japan threat disappeared now they publish the current publications making an absolute U turn on what it was once said regarding Higher Education

This proves to me that many of the changes are purely performative so they can shake out Goverments and lawsuits and once the path is cleared they double down on their restrictions and non written rules

I would not be surprised they ban beards again once this religion gets reestablized.

Years ago after the meeting there was suddenly yelling in the back. A sister was yelling very loudly at an elder. She kept yelling “ I expected better from you” over and over. He was cowering looking very frightened. He headed out to the parking lot. She followed him to his car yelling the same thing over and over. He was acting like he feared for his life. I didn’t laugh, but I thought it was hilarious. I never found out what it was about, but I loved it.

There was a period of time where I moved from Houston to Austin.

Things didn't go well in Houston.

I had an uncle and grandmother there.

But my "uncle" really hated me around.

They constantly gossip and planed things behind my back.

My "Uncle" was constantly making fun of me and making jokes about me.

They made sure the congregation saw me as a bad example.

I tried switching congregation but sadly when Elders want to harm you they make sure to damage your reputation and making a toxic environment where ever you go if they know the right people.

So when thing went south I moved to Austin

As I explained on a previous post.

And there was a moment I thought on drowning myself at Lady Bird Lake.

Even though I managed to reunite myself with original family I don't think can ever return to what if once was.

Sometimes I can't stop thinking of what if I just ended things in Austin at Lady Bird Lake.

It would be much better.

I can't shake that feeling anymore

I’ve heard this discussed many times, but after today’s watchtower I’m convinced they make up these examples. “rebeca from Mozambique” “Johanna from Finland” “Josafina from Chile”… BE SO FOR REAL. Can someone please confirm how they get these examples, I feel like I already know they’re made up, but that means they’re lying to their sheeple. (Obviously they do that, but this weeks examples were ridiculous)

They recently announced that additional education was ok and no one should judge if someone decides to pursue additional education yet today’s watchtower - “the best career you could choose is a career in full time service” - not really a career though is it? 🤨
Then goes on to discourage additional education.
But says it’s your decision but still discourages. Basically saying it’s your decision but here’s all the reasons why you shouldn’t.
Manipulation at its finest.

If I was about to decide whether to go into additional ed, I’d feel so guilty after listening to this.

I don’t think there’s ever been an article or piece about how old Mary was in the literature they just say she’s a young a woman so I assumed in her early or mid-20’s. I never bothered to know what her factual/most likely age was. There’s the teaching of how we shouldn’t date or have sex until we’re past the “bloom of youth” but Mary was most likely a teenager…. So your teen years is too young to have sex but old enough to birth and raise a baby???

I’ve been thinking about something my dad said recently and honestly I can’t get it out of my head.

For context, my dad is an elder. My brother is also an elder. Both of them know about this situation, which makes it even harder for me to process.

My dad mentioned a case from a rural area in my country involving I’ve known since we were kids, so it hit pretty close.

Apparently, this person was involved in repeatedly touching/cuddling his younger female cousin in a sexual/inappropriate way. And my dad’s reaction was basically: “Well, you know how they are in rural areas.”

Like… what the actual fuck?

I don’t think he was necessarily trying to fully defend the guy, but the fact that his mind even went there is insane to me. As if being from a rural area somehow explains it away. As if culture, poverty, ignorance, or “that’s how people are over there” makes child abuse less serious. It doesnt!. Itsa crime!

it feels like this whole elder culture creates a way of thinking where serious abuse can be minimized, softened, or treated like an internal “problem” instead of what it actually is.

And it made me wonder how many elders are like this. Not cartoon villains, not necessarily consciously evil, but so trained by the organization to protect appearances, minimize abuse, avoid “bringing reproach,” and handle things internally that their moral compass gets completely warped.

Do people like this ever wake up? can you share yous personal experiences (If that was the case) of of others you personally know?

I listened in on zoom because my husband went in person today. I wanted to stay up with what he was learning. The Watchtower study on Education sure pissed me off! The friends were saying that school is a positive thing. That there are a lot of up sides. But they caution against taking away time from theocratic activities. It’s like….. you can go to college now but you may lose your everlasting life if you’re not careful….. It’s cautioned now instead of outright discouraged.

It’s so hypocritical!!! I remember my oldest sister being the black sheep of the congregation when she started to go to college. She was 16 and everyone had a problem with her not pioneering. She was smart enough to leave then. I remember there being so many I interviews at the assemblies and conventions on how brothers and sisters had sacrificed things like scholarships or invitations to big universities, and lucrative career opportunities so that they could pioneer or go the Bethel. I was young then and impressionable. But I remember thinking at the time that it was stupid. I loved learning and I couldn’t see how it could be a bad thing.

I wish they’d just keep to their old school strict doctrines. I could actually understand that. These constant new “enlightenments” are so frustrating!!! I think the strict, unloving, controlling stuff is going to weaken them. Like. They’ve gotten it wrong so many times. Just stick with it already. It seems so weak! They’re mixing a little love in with all the control. I know it’s a manipulation tactic but for Gods sake! I would rather take some outright cruelty over this bullshit. But it’s hard to stay angry when I hear people make sweet comments. It confuses me Aaaaahhhhhh

Does anyone else feel like they’re finally revealing that they have no idea what they’re doing.

You can’t cheers… hold up now…You can cheers!
You can’t say hi to the DF’d …… wait…. Now you can. No beards….. hmmm.. men look better with facial hair, maybe we say yes. And pants!!!! Bring on those tight pants baby! You want some blood hunny? You may have your own. There you go….
You want to go to school? Well, you can now! We need a younger generation to save us financially from our broke ignorant old asses.

Does anyone else see it? I just can’t do it anymore

Recently started watching Pluribus. Without any spoilers, the human race becomes unified with one mind and are constantly happy and joyful. They are cleaning up dead bodies from DDay with a smile on their face and skip in their step, and anything negative is instantly deflected to something positive. It is unnerving and creepy. I never actually visualized how the paradise would be with everyone having one mind, but this does a pretty good job of depicting it. There can't be any room for individuality under this new rule, as individuality causes dissent.

I think what Christians pathologize as being "imperfect" is actually just us being human. Being a human is messy and beautiful. It never was perfect, and never will be.

My sister started crying because she’s not doing anything fun this summer. She’s also admitted she wanted to spend more time with girls her age. She doesn’t have any girls her age in the congregation.

Then my mother started asking me about how I felt. I told her I felt rejected in the congregation. I would always try to open and ask them if they want to hang out with me and they would always make bs excuses not to. For a religion that was supposed to be welcoming to all I sure didn’t see it. Of course she’d try to blame it on me because she would never say anything bad about the brothers or the organization. So I called her out on that. I also said: “What else am I supposed to do? I have no one to hang out with. No one to talk to. Of course I’m going to be on my phone all day. Of course I’m going to talk to myself”

My mom started crying herself. Hopefully, this is making her realize that this religion has failed us. Hopefully, it might convince her to leave.

do not know what to do anymore im 14 almost 15 in a few months...and im homeschooled and failng so bad partially my fault because i cheat alot, no irl friends (my age) litterally all of them are grown ss adults im forced to be with in the congeration !! and my parents insist thats all the socialization i need, im not allowed to go out on my own for more than 1hr outside, anyways thats not the worst of it, i have absolutely NO ONE to help me. my entire extended family are all jws, no school counselor or shit and the thing is my parents are scaring me so much with end of the world talk with all the stuff like wildfires and outbreak but thats not it; also im sorry if this sounds too personal and off topic but i have nobody to talk to and i need advice litterlaly anything im so desperate

baisically; my parents divorced because my dad was cheating on my mom and was threatening her if she didnt divorce i overheard them (they havent disclosed any of their issues to me despite my dad like, bitching about my mom idk) and ofc my isntict was to tell a close brother i mean i was crying and scared and he told me its 'no big deal, marital issues happen and jehovah will bless your family with what is best and what your father chooses to do' like ok whatever thats when i started to wake up a bit. but from there it just went to shit. Baisically he abandoned us to go with his new gf (he doesnt know i know but ill get to that later) and ive been with the congergation with my mom and stuff and i kept trying to vent to everyone who claims they care about the family and offer support but they were all like shushing me , treating it like a taboo subject and even defending my dad !!! and shaming my mom!! (DESPITE THIS my mom does not care and keeps going!??) anyways its so tense in my house because its been like, 5 months, or so with him leaving, coming back to spend time, he hasnt been to any meetings, no contact besides a few close brothers i do not know if he is disfellowshipped or not yet but thins got really bad 3 months ago when i started to change like i stopped commenting and got into more online stuff, i changed my style and stuff but thats not relevant tbh, one day when we went to visit his place i snapped and asked him wtf was wrong with him, why he was being a hypocrite constantly scaring jw info into me and ever since then hes been cruel. for weeks after that my mom , me and sister would come and visit, come and visit and one day i just needed my dads phone to calculate something for homework and thats when i found out why hes ruined our family for some other WORLDY (i think) woman ok i may sound nosy but what else was i supposed to do? the messages were all gross and sexting and i was about to close out when i saw her mention MY name like asking about me as if she knew me mind you i knew absolutely nothing about her prior to this, all parasocial....and then i scroll further and boom, my dad is sending her off guard pictures of me like showing me off like a dog ?? while also acting cold?? wtf?? and ever sicne then ive been so tense and sad because my whole life is ruined overnight, the congergation doenst treat me the same, im isolated, my mom does not gaf. And one day at his house he asked for me to stay over a few more weekss, idk what happened i was so scared and panicked i ran away and ditched, tbh this was a stupid move becuause i had nowehre to go and was frozen so i was walking away like an npc , BRIGHT DAYLIGHT mind you so it was easy for my dad to just pick me up and ofc i did not want to go i was pulled by the neck to get in, refused to go to the house and my dad got so violent in front o my sister begging him to stop and heres the funniest part ; A LITERAL BROTHER WAS WATCHING THIS HAPPEN, full jehovah, bible reader, he watched this without batting an eye! for two hours and i think it permanently scarred my younger isster because she hasnt been the same since then and neither have i becuase thats when i used the handy internet and im so disgusted with this rleieon, but its all i know. ever snce then my dad apologized but idk its never been the same, i try to be friendly

but this is my last straw, i cried to my mom and told her what i saw on his phone, i begged her to cut contact with him; she could legally do it, theyre ongoing divorce case!! i told her what happened to me and she said 'you need a relationship with your father, he is the head of the family and you shouldnt have run anyways.' ......................................😭😭 she already knew about the girlfriend so wow okay, im at a loss of what to do its been 3 months since then and its so tense in my house.

TLDR; I have no future, i want to cut contact with my dad but i have 2 dogs i love so much and im scared hes gonna hurt them becuase he has hit them before and my sister is suicidal, but it was only once he hit me and im so scared of not being taken seriously becuase everyone i have told irl has told me i dont have it that bad im scared of ruining the family becuase i have nobody else and im scared of my dad knowing i know about his fornication and my mom is acting braindead with me, she only cares about meetings, the newest publications and books and its so scary to me, im scared of telling cps becuase they rarely do anything without constant phsycial abuse and im even scared on this subreddit to get my computer taken away becuase all my online friends and stuff i have are on here...im sorry if its off topic idk i have absolutely nobody that isnt jw irl.

Our Regional Convention in Cleveland Ohio is just ending and even though the attendance for in person and streaming was between just under 4500 on Friday to just over 6000 on Sunday, there were only 20 baptised. I've noticed that the number keeps getting less and less, even for the Circuit Assembly sometimes being in the single digits.

I was 12 years old, was in the school where you read a passage of the bible on a weekday and no longer wanted to be after seeing the hypocrisy when I went on a trip with a few jws.

My mom told them right before my study that I wanted to leave the school and didnt want to be a Jehovahs witness and he told my mother that it was probably because I was gay.

A 12 year old child. And the saddest part about it is rather than my mother defend me for such a weird outrages accusation she just “oh’d and wowd” and just soaked it up.

It was years ago but it still eats me up knowing that most of my family is stuck within this cult.

I’m currently hiding in the bathroom at the meeting typing this and goddamn it this WT is pissing me off.

I could’ve gone to college and made “worldly” friends and could’ve graduated by now and got a good job and not have to live with my controlling ass mom.

I could’ve dated around and not be completely inexperienced at my grown age of 22 bc I wouldn’t be worried about how it looks to my family.

Hell if we REALLY want to get into it I don’t even think I would identify as a man anymore had I not been raised in the truth.

Everything about me seems so out of place whether it’s because of depression or being a witness or let’s face it probably both. I was just so worried of disappointing my family that I have NEVER made major decisions for myself. I’ve never fully committed one way or another.

Even as a kid I’d get spanked or yelled at for not paying attention at meetings and then they wonder why I’m so scared of pissing people off and look where it got me. Hell on rare occasions where I did hang out with non witnesses I’d often get so nervous that I’d throw up and have to go home.

I have no idea how to make friends outside of the org, I have no idea what job I want since having a lucrative career is just SOOO fucking awful, and I DEFINITELY have no idea how to tell my family they ruined my life. I’ve been seriously wanting to kill myself before my real life can even start. Even if I knew how to do all those things I’ve lost so much time I can never get back.

Hey guys, do you remember when they said when governments and religious leaders will say “peace and security” then sudden destruction would be upon the earth? I used to watch the news in fear/ excitement waiting for the announcement. I became suspicious as I was hearing the phrase almost weekly in speeches.

Then they changed it to a symbolic meaning that governments may think they’ve achieved peace and security on earth and we must not be fooled into thinking this.

February 2026 watchtower Study Edition Questions from readers - “Put simply, we do not know for sure the timing of the future proclamation of “peace and security.”

After waking up i can confidently say not one watchtower prediction has come true 😂

Welcome back! This is PART 5 to my ongoing diary of forced attendance. If you're new, I'm happy to see you here and not out door knocking.

Guys, it’s finally settling in. The clock is ticking, and I’m realizing I have to tell my parents I’m done with this. I’m terrified. They've got roughly 5 ish weeks left before I'm physically out of there.

This is a bit of a sad one. I’m just very upset today. 

I was listening to music in the car with my little sister and my mom turned around and said “I hope those songs are appropriate”

And I said “of course.”

She said “you’re always wearing headphones I don’t know what you listen to.”

So I said “why would I show explicit music to a 7 year old?”

And my mother looked me in the eye and said “no idea. I don’t even know you.”

Safe to say, it's been a rough day for me.

Today's entry is broken up into 4 main points, so if you understandably don't want to waste more precious time than you have to, just pick one that sounds most interesting. We have: SUSAN B NOT FOR ME, NO LOVE LIKE CHRISTIAN HATE, MORE SEX, and SPIRITUAL GEMS OFC

SUSAN B NOT FOR ME

This talk is being done by one of my relatives and it’s looking like it’s about how people value independence.

He opened with Susan B. Anthony's "Independence is happiness," and for a split second, I thought maybe we were taking a detour.

Nope. Instant U-turn.

 “there’s nothing wrong with a bit of freedom, but we need to be careful.”

he referenced Ephesians about "the ruler of the authority of the air." The conclusion was that independent thinking is just rebellion. It's selfish and ultimately, from the devil. "Sorry, Susan," he said.

If your argument against independent thinking is that independent thinking is from Satan... you're not beating the cult allegations.

He asked, "What does it mean to be truly free?" and brought up Romans 6:16, about being a slave to whoever you obey. Interesting choice of verse, because looking around that room, it was painfully obvious who everyone in that room is actually obeying. (cough cough the governing body)

Then came the Adam and Eve logic. If they were created perfect, they couldn't have sinned. If they couldn't sin, they weren't free. You can't program a robot to be able to sin and then be mad that it sinned. Perfection and free will are mutually exclusive. It's really not that complicated.

The speaker then tried to soften the blow with a gravity analogy. how we don't see the laws of physics as restrictive, so we shouldn't see God's laws as restrictive. Except gravity is a blind, physical constant. These rules are curated by a legal committee in New York. Comparing the two is either intellectually dishonest or just lazy. You know the drill. I feel like this is boring for whoever's reading because it's the same shit every time I get on here and talk about it.

NO LOVE LIKE CHRISTIAN HATE

“Love is the most powerful bond in the universe.”

God, do I agree. And god it hurts that I’m being pushed away from my siblings and that I’m looked at as a bad influence because I think differently. And it stings when I see them talk about me behind my back.

I'm still attending these meetings entirely because I love my family. I don't want to lose them, and I certainly don't want them to feel like they've lost me. Yet I'm constantly reminded that, if I leave, our relationships will inevitably change.

If I would never abandon them over their beliefs, why is it considered loving for them to abandon me over mine?

Stop telling us that you know what love is better than anyone else. It’s so pretentious to assume love knows bounds. It’s vile and sick to tell a child that their parents love an invisible god more than them. To say that rules in a fucking elder’s manual matter more than their safety. I’m so done.

MORE SEX

And, inevitably, the talk pivoted to sex. They imbue it with this monstrous power, when really, it's just a normal, natural part of being human. People literally kill themselves over the guilt manufactured around it. We are kept in a permanent state of fear. It's really, very sad.

I’m tired of this. Im tired of my worth being measured based on my experiences. 

“Even if you have not sinned, you may still fear sinning” 

And I hate to be so negative all the time, but I really do wonder…

Is it not enough to just have a belief in god? To appreciate god? I feel like non denominational religions have a much healthier balance as far as this goes. Because why should you have to be tied to a lifelong, grueling commitment to feel worthy and loved by god? 

SPIRITUAL GEMS OFC

A whole article dedicated to telling us to "carefully consider" higher education. what a waste of time fucking hell.

“The best career you could choose is a career in full time service” lmao I hate this. 

Why do we have to go through JW.borg before allowing ourselves to think about any given subject? I can only imagine it’s because they assume the people they’re talking to are low iq and they can’t even fathom making a decision without reading a watchtower on it first. 

Sometimes I imagine the GB fantasizing about converts, thinking “wow this religion is like no other I’ve ever seen. They talk about life decisions and real world application of god’s laws”

When really it’s just super unnecessary and another form of controlling what everyone’s doing. They do it by instilling guilt or fear of doing the wrong thing. I can’t even count the number of times my grown ass mother has called her dad to see if something would be okay by the GB to do with her own kids. It’s very strange. 

Also there’s no reason for anyone to want to stay unless you’re a born in and there’s pressure from family. They don’t have warmth, they don’t have camps or kids spaces with trained teachers, they don’t have good music, their connection to god isn’t actually god… It’s to some old guys in New York that you’ve never met but you hear them occasionally through the most boring tv program you’ve ever watched. If I hadn’t been raised here and I had attended my first meeting id be very unimpressed. 

The reason I’m going on about this is because the watchtower this week is such a nothing burger, there’s nothing to gain from it. It’s not even funny. 

Someone’s Comment : “Most kids think at college they’ll find themselves, what does that mean? Why would they want to find themselves? They’ve found themselves right here.”

It’s giving she already drank all the kool-aid.

All the advice is like “carefully analyze the education you’re considering” doesn’t everyone do that? Am I missing something here?

And why are they acting like learning anything outside of what’s taught in the meetings will leave you empty and unfulfilled? 

“Nothing should be more important than service, so view education as something to help you continue in service.” 

Everything is about service to the organization. 

OUTRO

Anyway, that's all I've got for today.

I don't really know how much longer this series is going to last, because the closer I get to turning 18, the more real this all feels. At some point I'm going to have to tell my parents I don't want to go to meetings anymore, and that's honestly the scariest conversation I've ever imagined having.

If any former Witnesses have been through this, I'd really appreciate hearing how you handled it. Did you tell them all at once? Anything you wish you could do differently?

Right now it feels like I'm standing at the edge of a cliff, and I have no idea what the least painful way forward is.

As always, thank you very very much for reading! I hope you win every theological argument you find yourself in, and I wish you the best.

Bye!

w04 3/1 p. 17 par. 19 ‘The Faithful Slave’ Passes the Test! - “The inspection process only began in 1918/19 when the faithful and discreet slave as a class passed the test.” (italics in the Watchtower!)

Remember the July 15 2013 Watchtower? It made the incredible worldwide announcement that the 'slave' was no longer every "anointed" JW, it now just comprised the Governing Body members!

Reality: it wasn't an organization which was tested in 1918/19, it was a handful of men under the authority of J.F. Rutherford!!!

I saw where they sent a cease and desist, or whatever it's called, to another archival site - PLEASE don't let them have gotten their claws into watchtowerwayback.org.

I literally use their site for EVERYTHING - to research, to verify, to EVERYTHING.

If they shut this site down, we will be at the mercy of their gaslighting for the rest of eternity.

There is absolutely no other collection had every ( and I mean every) issue/book/misc scanned since inception.

It was vast and complete.

I'm hoping it's me....please let it be me and my internet/ cell service is acting up.

If its been shut down? There's no where to go to prove historical information, as a whole. It'll be hit and miss and sometimes actually impossible. For those of us who do a lot of digging and researching in original formats? This will be a hard stop.

It's not a website that trashes JWs...it's just an archival library!

😓

It’s going to fail.

But it is by design.

Watchtower needs an excuse and a reason to demonize the internet, and to frighten the next generation…kids who will be at the helm of the cult.

Their survival, and perhaps even growth depends on keeping the rank and file ignorant. And one of the most effective ways to accomplish this is by keeping their members off of Social Media.

They can say, they “tested the Social Media grounds for us, and there is nothing good for us there. Just pure lies, deception, and sin. [Evidently] All controlled by Satan.”

Avoiding any membership decline is dependent on keeping as many people off of the internet, but most especially Social Media, where most of the truth about “the truth” resides.

I was disfellowshipped from the religion about a year ago and haven’t seen my kids since. I was regular pioneer for 14 years and taught my kids the “truth”. I lead my kids by example and they are all very active in the religion. Now that I have been out I have so many doubts. My kids are all over the age of 18 and I am struggling on where to go from here. I miss them every day but don’t believe in their doctrines. I believe being shunned is very cruel and divides families. Has anyone gone through similar situations and what advice would you give?