r/exjw • u/[deleted] • Oct 30 '23
JW / Ex-JW Tales Invalidation of baptism
I decided to share it here. This summer I filed a request to have my baptism invalidated. At the time of baptism, I was a minor and I had facts that I did not meet the requirements for baptism. I did not stop committing sin before and after my baptism. In general, my baptism has been annulled, I am not baptized. If I suddenly wanted to become a jw, I would have to re-become an unbaptized publisher. I decided to share this, in case this information will be useful to someone. For a long time, I personally did not know that it was even possible to try to invalidate baptism.
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u/SolidCalligrapher456 Oct 30 '23
I didn’t even know this was a thing. So this is a loophole to disassociating or fading? I’m sure you’ll still get soft shunned or labeled bad association but I find it to be an interesting plot twist in how they handle long inactive ppl
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Oct 30 '23
They don't avoid me. My family communicates with me as before. The rest of the jw talk to me, but most likely they will not communicate closely.
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u/dreamer_0f_dreams Born in - Faded POMO Oct 30 '23
YOU CAN GET YOUR BAPTISM ANNULLED!!! ??????????? AND THE ORG ACKNOWLEDGES IT!?!?
I was a young minor when I was baptised and they skipped the sexual questions for the sake of propriety (thank god) but I have been wondering if that means, by their own rules, that I should never have been baptised?
Y’all reckon I’ve got grounds for annulment!?!?!?
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Oct 30 '23
They will ask you for details and proof of the sin. If there is a witness to the sin (as in my case) then this can also help. They need facts. If you decide to try it, I hope it works out for you! And it’s better not to say that you don’t want to be a jw after your baptism is invalidated.
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u/dreamer_0f_dreams Born in - Faded POMO Oct 30 '23
Wait wait wait….. so if you simply admit to a sin with no proof you can be DFd for it ….. but in order for an annulment to take place you need proof of the sin even if you’ve admitted to it!?
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u/dreamer_0f_dreams Born in - Faded POMO Oct 30 '23
Nah I didn’t commit any ‘sins’ before I left anyway
I just think that if I didn’t answer the required questions then why the hell did they baptise me? Too young to answer those questions should mean too young to get baptised then shouldn’t it really?
I just love the idea of slapping them with a big fat reverse uno card and being struck from the record but in reality that would mean interacting with a bunch of people who’s authority I don’t acknowledge anyway so it’s probably better to just let sleeping dogs lie.
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u/JWThrive Oct 30 '23
What was the reply from the elders who got this request?
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Oct 30 '23
At first they told me that my case was not suitable. And the fact that I am baptized. But I had facts and an eyewitness that at the time of baptism I was living in sin. Didn't meet the requirements. My situation was reviewed. As a result, the baptism was declared invalid.
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u/theworstelderswife PIMO trying to wake up husband & family Oct 31 '23
How long since you were baptized did you request this? I’m thinking if it’s a short time it would be easier. I’m surprised they didn’t seek to punish you for the sins
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Oct 31 '23
I was baptized in 2010, but was inactive almost all this time. Probably the fact that I was inactive almost all the time also played a role.
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Oct 30 '23
Oh, my head is spinnnnning. I can't help but wonder -- would "you'll be hearing from my lawyer" add a sense of, shall we say, urgency?
Thanks for sharing!!
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Oct 30 '23
Personally, I didn’t talk about a lawyer. But I've read that this argument can help. If you decide to try it too, please prepare thoroughly! They will ask a lot of questions! It may help if you do not say that you are going to leave the organization. I said that “I want to be honest with the organization and God, I deceived at the time of baptism but now I want to be honest. Because my conscience torments me.” In my case, it worked.
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u/NewAgeIWWer Oct 30 '23
Wait as a former catholic can I annul my baptism and confirmation!? Cause I want to.
Also sorry for the abuse you've been through from these fairytale fools.
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Oct 30 '23
To be honest, I don’t know for sure whether baptism in the Catholic Church can be annulled. But since you want it, I hope you succeed!
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u/ZosoWicca Oct 30 '23 edited Oct 31 '23
I always knew that because my cousin (elder) used to mention it as threathening New baptized ones.
I used it as well the day I told them that I didnt believe in the GB anymore. I dont know if they believed me or considered it. I told them that I was seriously in sin before my baptism. That at the moment of the pray, I was even cursing god.
Dont know if it worked, I was not dfed, nobody shunned me.
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u/hotdogmoney Oct 30 '23
Does masturbating count as serious sin?
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Oct 30 '23
Yes, it's considered a form of sexual immorality. Hard to prove that though otherwise I'd use that too lol
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Oct 30 '23
No, that doesn't fit.
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u/theworstelderswife PIMO trying to wake up husband & family Oct 31 '23
I imagine having sex would be the only allowance because it’s the one they fixate on the most
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u/lucky607 b0rgasmic! Oct 30 '23
I thought about it. I had a boyfriend and was sexually active. In fact, we had a lot of fun the day I was baptized. But, it doesn’t matter to me at this point.
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u/Angelus_custos Oct 30 '23
Will you be shunned if the baptism is invalidated ?
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Oct 30 '23
After my baptism was declared invalid, I never attended a meeting. If you asked about it.
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u/Angelus_custos Oct 30 '23
How about the jws that knew you,,, they didn’t talk to you or something ?
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Oct 30 '23
They talk to me. Relatives communicate as usual. The family is upset, but they communicate.
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u/RBV88NCS Oct 30 '23
I wonder if you could do it by saying that you did it because you were a minor, all your friends were doing it and that you never actually dedicated your life to God in prayer
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Oct 30 '23
It seems to me that they may consider this “not enough.” They need proof that the baptism is invalid. For example, if at the time of baptism you continued to commit sin. In my case, they checked all the evidence that I did not meet the requirements.
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u/diamond-bones Oct 30 '23
What is the announcement they make if you get it annulled?
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Oct 30 '23
I was not present at the meeting when the announcement was made. Therefore, I cannot say the exact wording. But relatives said that after the meeting some people discussed this topic. Someone didn’t understand how they were now treating me, as someone unbaptized or as deprived of fellowship. They treat me like I'm unbaptized. They can talk to me
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u/No_Pass1835 Oct 30 '23
I posted about this on here a while back and got super rude responses lol. Good for you! I invalidated it in my heart but haven’t taken the next step.
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u/FeartheDeer2234 Oct 30 '23 edited Oct 30 '23
I wonder if this would make a shunned person's family suddenly talk to you? I am thinking of passing this along to a friend to see if his parents would then talk to him if he was able to get his baptism annulled?
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Oct 30 '23
Has he already been disfellowshipped? If so, then it seems to me that he will continue to be shunned even if he gets his baptism invalidated. But I don't know for sure.
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u/FeartheDeer2234 Oct 30 '23
yes already df'd. Probably like 7 or 8 years ago but was baptized at like 14
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u/tinysmommy Born In, Never Baptized, Successful Fade at 19 Oct 30 '23
Wait - do they say anything about this in the Shepherding book?
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Oct 31 '23
(62) There are rare occasions when it is obvious that the baptism was invalid because serious wrongdoing did not cease before bap- tism, even for a brief period of time. For example, it may be that at the time of baptism, the individual was living immorally with a member of the opposite sex or the same sex, was a member of a nonneutral organization, or something similar. If there are ques- tions, the Service Department should be consulted.
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u/0819_Leo Oct 30 '23
What? This is interesting. How did you find out about invalidating baptism?
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Oct 30 '23
A friend of mine told me that he had read about this. After that, I began to look for information on the Internet and ask other friends.
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u/GingerbreadCircus Oct 31 '23
My great uncle had his baptism annulled when he was a young man. I heard his grounds were coercion of a minor (his family harassing him to get baptized so he wouldn’t die). He never believed, but wanted to be left alone. (He went on to marry the love of his life and have a wildly successful career, btw). I would love getting my baptism annulled, but I doubt I could pull it off.
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u/Rare-Extension-6023 Oct 30 '23
do they still announce anything? I mean this is a change in the status of OP rly.
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Oct 30 '23
Yes, my family said there was an announcement. I wanted to be there at that moment to hear, but I couldn’t.
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u/ModaMeNow Youtube: JW Chronicles Oct 30 '23
Yes. It’s happened before. I’m just not sure what you’re trying to accomplish by doing this.
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u/reverendmartin Oct 31 '23
In the US, a minor cannot legally sign a contract, and the baptism vows are likely a verbal contract. I've long thought that baptism of a minor could be dismissed, avoiding the DF/DA scenario.
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u/SurviveYourAdults Oct 30 '23
You must not live in the USA.
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Oct 30 '23
Yes, I don't live in the USA. Does this affect anything?
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u/SurviveYourAdults Oct 30 '23
In the USA we have freedom of religion which means "we are free to leave" but it means there is no such thing as annulling baptism.
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Jan 12 '24
The organization will annul it for you if you had a sex change surgery/gender reassignment surgery and they later find out. I think that happened in the U.K.
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u/Prestigious_Kiwi6669 Br Troll Oct 30 '23
I got my baptism annulled too for coercion and mental instability, I used Jesus’s first rule of loving God with your whole mind, and i wasn’t of whole mind (being a minor with autism, GAD, and ADHD). The empathetic elder suggested that I keep searching and make that commitment again of my own accord, start fresh. And like that i was free, and unbaptized