Romans 8:28 promises, “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” NASV. All of us desire to be close to our God Jehovah and his son, Jesus Christ. We long for their comfort, guidance and encouragement in our lives. We are promised in Isaiah 26:3, “You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You.” NKJV. Yet when difficult and harsh experiences come, we sometimes feel alone and afraid. In Hebrews 13:5 we read, “God Himself has said, “I will never, never let go your hand: I will never never forsake you.” Weymouth. You are not alone. Your heavenly Father and his Son are watching over you. You are not alone. There are others like you who have experienced hard trials and difficult experiences. Take some time to share with us. To tell your story. To encourage others. That is what this Testimony section is for.
I have no problem giveing out my contact info Im a bussiness owner and its all over the web anybody wanting to reach me can call me first @ 912-618-8104 To make sure im home 1 easy st statesboro ga 30458 is my little home and computer fix shop. I am pc doctor statesboro their is a little about me under that google search, I simply have to state this just because its a real life prayor need Things have been slow bussines wise,I prayed to jehovah for work and As I prayed the phone rang with work its not the first time I prayed for work and got answered in the middle of prayor I know its not coincidence because its hours that people dont call for geting their p.c. fixed . well anyway feel free to contact me!
arimatthewdavies, this is the link for the call in study tonight, if you can join in with us for some association as we study. (213) 226-0400 pin# 991337 press*4 to mute yourself. We can hear you when you come on otherwise.
Thanks for the offer to let me pick a subject and analyse.U´ll be hearing from me.
19 – Thanks. We really do want to hear more from you. You are our young friend!
I´m 19 and i lost my faith two years ago but i´m scared to leave cos i´ll lose my friends and family.My dad is not a witness ( thank God) . I have nothing against my fellow brothers and i don´t talk to my friends about my doubts cos i believe that such questions should be raised by them not planted in their minds by me.I don´t mean join any religion cos i´m sick of religion.I believe that true worshippers of God do not belong to a particular religion but are the honest-haearted individuals who serve God with their whole heart independent of their religion.That´s my interpretation of John 4: 22- 24 part of includes jesus´statement that ” The time will come when people will worship neither in jerusalem nor the mountain of samaria but in spirit and truth” There are lots of peole out there, be they muslims buddists or whatever, who follow their religion cos they honestly believe that it is the right one.I believe that we have no right to judge whether such religion or such person is right as only God can do that cos only him sees the heart.When i find my courage to leave i´m not going to be jumping into any religion´s wagon for the time being cos i´m tired of seeing how religions divides us and controls us.Most of my doubts are about the bible and the jewsish claim to be God´s People. Thanks for letting me air my views, i never get to do that.Your efforts to help people who want to leave are encouraging keep up the good work.
19, I would not have guessed that by your insight into this divisive thing called religion. Welcome. At this time God is allowing mankind to worship according to often what they are born into and to leave an abusive way without his disapproval. He is calling out and putting on trial in this age the “church class” consisting of the Bride and the great crowd. So at armageddon there will be many survivors that no matter how they worship now will learn the truth. Zeph 3:9 “For then (after armageddon and the old social order is gone)will I turn to the people a pure language, that they may ALL call upon the name of the LORD, to serve him with one consent.” The people refers to the masses. A pure language-The pure word of truth uncontaminated by Religion and it’s babble. Everyone will be given the chance to recognize clearly what the will of God is and his plan for salvation.
So I agree with you, you can sometime jump from the frying pan into the pot. Go slowly my friend. You are welcome here no matter what you state of life. This is a place of comfort. You can let it out. We, are stronger now and can with the help of God bear you until you get strong. You don’t have to join or make decisions here, my friend. But could I suggest you still go directly to your father in Jesus name, as we can’t approach directly now. With his spirit and the help from info on this site study the Bible for your self. Check everything here with the Bible. See if it makes any sense. That is what I did. I wish I could have been as smart as you at 19 but instead for, this day, divine providence or overruling by God didn’t allow it. Enjoy the life God has given you today with his principles implanted in your heart and mind. Do good and right because you feel it, not because some people are looking over your back to tell on you.
You are on the right track.
Rom.8:14 “Everyone moved by the spirit is a son of God. 15. The spirit you received is not the spirit of slaves bringing fear into your lives again; it is the spirit of sons and make us cry out “Abba, Father!”
Enjoy the journey my brother you have awakened, hopefully never to be enslaved again to the laws of men. Sincerely Jacqueline
PS. Pick a subject analye it and comment if you like. We would love to hear the thoughts of one so young. Also I understand losing your family and friends. Just take a chill pill and learn now from the bible. You will develop more friends when your full mind and body is released. It takes time to let go of mind control. Again welcome!
19 – Thanks for sharing your personal testimony and experience as a JW and with your friends and family. You are in a difficult situation and you are in our prayers. I appreciate your spirit of being non-judgmental and the danger and damage you see in religion divides and controls us. However I would encourage your to find the faith to believe that Jehovah does have a very specific message and purpose, all based in His Love, Justice and Wisdom.
Col 1 says, “26…the mystery which has been hidden from the past ages and generations, but has now been manifested to His saints, 27 to whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. 28 We proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ. 29 For this purpose also I labor, striving according to His power, which mightily works within me.” NASV
I believe you will find the True message of Jehovah in the Bible, not in other religions. That is not to say that we should judge and condemn people who are not Christian. Jesus died a Ransom for ALL (1 Tim 2:6). I think that includes non-believers who will have the opportunity to enjoy Paradise Earth, where there will be no crying, weeping or death, for the former things are passed away (Rev 21:4)
There is a great comparison of the Bible with other religions of the world here:
https://www.friendsofjehovahswitnesses.com/2010/10/22/do-we-all-worship-the-same-god/
I encourage you to read this and I hope it will strengthen your faith in God and the Bible as you continue to shed your faith in organized religion.
its resurection day year 2012.I thank jehovah god for raiseing jesus from the dead and giveing the free gift of life to men that will follow in jesus footsteps,thank you lord jesus for all you did by the sacrafice ! thank you for what you are doing today and the wonderfull promise of your kingdom in the future ! all praises in the highst to jehovah in jesus name amen !
Hi ari matthews davies, I have not heard from you in a long time. Peace my brother. jacqueline
My dear Discerning, I’m so pleased you dropped by. You see this site is totally different then Bro Rolando’s. I think it is nice to visit different ones. I’ve “met” so many wonderful BS thru attending online conventions, coming here and following links to other sites. On the right there are all kinds of links, music, Brother Russell’s books and just oodles more stuff. You can find audio talks on different subjects that you can download and listen. I love those. I find topics I enjoy and then pick one and listen. I’d like to extend an invitation, as did Sister Jacqueline, to our Wednesday night study – WOW! that’s tonight, too. LOL At the top of the page on the right side under “Recent Posts,” you’ll find the link to click on to go and see the phone number to call or if you use Skype, you can use that,too. However, that has to be approved if you want to use it, so you need to apply as soon as possible. IF you’re not approved (which you will be, it’s just a formality), you can call the number supplied. Everyone there is or was JW. We get into a lot of discussions off topic and they can be fun. They are a bit rowdier than those we attend on Sunday. I hope you’ll get a chance to stop by for even a little while. IF you want to remain anonymous when asked to introduce, either say nothing or just say you’re a guest and not ready to really join and want to listen. We’re totally flexible. Tonight, our conductor, Bro Len, has just returned from a trip with a large group of BS visiting BS in Ghana, West Africa. I am hoping he will share some of his stories with us which aught be interesting and upbuilding. Well, until we meet again, GOD be with you and remember Phil 4:4, “Rejoice in the Lord. Again! I say Rejoice.” Luv ya!!!
Hey Sharon,
It is different from Br RR’s forum, but still exciting, lol. I’m more than a little dissappointed that I was unable to get on for the Wednesday night study. 🙁 There has been some ongoing family stuff (in another state) that is getting pretty intense right now and I had to keep my phone line clear to hopefully get news about it. I’m going to try my very best to attend next Wednesday. 🙂
With much affection,
Patricia/Discerning
Nice to see you made it here.
I catch a different study on Wednesday myself, two in fact. For the benefit of our readers since you and I have already talked a bit about it I was prominent in my area though I never held any position other than the respect and trust of many of my fellow rank-and file Witnesses. That, and family on my wife’s side is why I have to confine certain of my activities to a pseudonym.
To a large degree I do understand your position as my wife still lives in a certain amount of fear I’ll be found out and some sort of action taken even though I’m about eight years out of the organization. What I would advise is that you just be careful and change enough details concerning personal experiencees to make it difficult for you to be identified. that’s what i do. Its the ols “the story’s the same. the names have been changed to protect the innocent” deal.
Hi Patricia/Discerning. I got your message from Dupin. I was thinking about addressing the problem of fear or paranoia in an article. I called Bethel once on an article and I will call them again to discuss this retaliation thing that so many witnesses fear. There are laws against retaliation and intimidation, they are not above the law. I would like to see if I can get one of them to address their thoughts on persons that have left the org. It can be negative or positive, just dialogue. I will try and contact someone within the next few weeks. I will call you when I finally get to florida on Tuesday after the convention is over. I will just be shooting the breeze while waiting on my family as they do Disney with a bunch of their relatives. We will drive back together in the RV next Sunday. One whole week to myself in the sun, wow! Talk to you later.
Oh and Sis Jacueline, I’ll try and add more within the next few days. And here all this time I thought my story was rather boring,lol.
No, the now and middle years will help another person have hope. It is a journey and many don’t think they can take it but if we all keep telling our stories someone else will be benefited. The first brothers out on the internet set the stage. At first it was only a few, now everyone can find that the BS are not dead, they are alive and moving. LOL
Look to the left and click on studies, it will give you the info. You may come in by Skype or phone. If you want to come in by Skype. Br. Peter has to accept your skype permission.
Hi Ken! Good to see a familiar “face”! 🙂
Sis Jacqueline,
Thank you for your kind and thoughtful words, I appreciate them very much. Could you give me the specifics of how to connect to your studies group and let me know the time zone? I wanted to post my email address (in the reply box) but am unfamiliar with this site and didn’t know if my email address would be public or not. I’m not the most computer savvy person you might know. 🙂
Patricia
Welcome discerning, I see you found your way over here, I’m known as “exJw55” on RR’s Bible student forum.
Well. Where to begin? At the beginning I suppose. 🙂 I was born a JW, both my parents having been a part of that organization for 2 yrs prior to my birth (1951). I grew up in a home with real lessons on how to live the fruits of the spirit. My mother, particularly, taught us good study habits and how to pray so as to cultivate a real relationship with God. All of us (3) dedicated our lives by the age of 16. We were active in field work, regular participants in the “ministry school” and vacationed pioneered every summer. I was always a free thinker and one who researched the things I was taught. There were many things that didn’t “ring” true over the years but I pushed many of them over into the “nobody’s perfect and I should let Jehovah deal with that in due time” category. Rules that involved matters that I thought were too controlling, I just kept my mouth shut and didn’t do them. After all, I’d dedicated my life to God, not to the “society”.
It was after I was married with 3 children and preoccupied with them that I received and responded to “the calling”. At first this was a bit perplexing. My first thought (honed by yrs of JW thinking) was that in all the years as a JW, why would I feel so drawn to the calling when it seemed to me I was at my weakest (JW-wise). Although I was still very active, I wasn’t pioneering and had allowed my husband and children to take up a large portion of my thoughts and time. But this feeling to “do” something persisted until I finally approached my Heavenly Father in prayer about it. Well! I certainly got my answer, lol. I was energized to read everything scriptural, researching all of the mandates given by the society to see if they were bible based. There was no wide use of the internet at that time (I had no PC) but I had volumes and volumes of books. Constantly, I searched for and found more books and frequently went to second-hand stores looking for anything that would give me bible-based commentaries. I managed to get a complete set of SITS, but because I had been raised that these were written by the “evil slave class” I was afraid to read all of them, only reading parts of “The New Creation”. Also the fact that the JW’s claimed that Br Russell was the founder of the organization known as JW’s made me leery of giving his writings too much validation. I came to the realization that the JW’s were “babylon” and I Had To Get Out. Sadly, by this time, I was well known and viewed as an example of what all “good little JW’s” want to be when they grow up. I partook of the emblems exactly one year before I left. My mother had declared herself one of the anointed some 3 years before and my brother had been a Bethelite for about 2 years. I knew there was going to be no “fading” away for me. I did try to though, I eased way back on field work, commenting only once during the watchtower study in a perfunctory way and began leaving my children home when I went to meetings. Of course, my mother noticed my drawing away very early on and it was difficult thinking of excuses to give her (the children can be sick only so many times,lol). I gave it only about 6 months and I could not stomach what was being said on that platform, I was unable to sing the songs and could not even say “amen” after the prayers. During my drawing away period, I had several “committee” meetings concerning my lack of attendance and lagging participation. I was mostly mute and only gave a short reply when I absolutely had to answer a question. I was visited by our circuit overseer, district overseer and finally they sent an anointed brother from Bethel. That let me know that my brother was probably taking a lot of “heat” because of “that problem” with his sister. He told me years later that he was “interrogated” on several occasions about my “state of mind” and when he wouldn’t testify to me being “crazy”, was told he must sever even the most casual contact with me(that really hurt).
So, it all ended as expected. I was told that I could not just stop attending meetings because I was well known and respected and others in the congregation were asking (forbidden) questions about why I would not attend. I was told, that others were expressing doubts and of course they had to do something even though I had committed no disfellowshipping offense. The final decision was that I was to be disfellowshipped and when I insisted on a reason, one of the brothers so agitated by my calm refusal to give them a reason, blurted out “apostasy”! You should know that at that time (1981), the general consensus at least in the area I lived, was that an apostate was one who verbally expressed dissimilar views and then actively sought to draw others away with them. Since all of my dissension was internal, they certainly had no basis for such a conclusion and I said as much. The sole victory out of all that mess was that they had to admit that was true. Of course, that didn’t stop them from disfellowshipping me for apostasy anyway.
Once I was away from that organization, my only companionship was my immediate family and two JW friends that left because I left, one of whom returned. I had no conception that there was anyone, anywhere that was of Christ’s Church. I was totally clueless that there were other Bible Students scattered about all over the world. I was pretty suspicious of joining any group and because I had been hobbled by the idea that “only” JW’s knew Jehovah, I never considered that the elect could be found in other religions. As a result, for the next 30 years of my life, I relied totally on my Heavenly Father’s spirit to teach me through his word. And teach me he did! Still, I hungered for others and just two months ago I googled SITS to get another set and came across “Bible Today”. Finally, I had stumbled upon someone else who followed Br Russell’s teachings!! I was estatic! I looked for other forums and came upon Br Rolando’s forum, joined his online eclessia and am having a foot-stomping good time. 🙂 It just amazes me how many Bible Students are out there. On a social level, I feel like I was lost at sea and when the sun came up I was only 2 yards from the shore. It’s really nice to be here…Sorry my testimony was so long. 🙂
Oh my dear sister, your testimony was not long enough!! Thank you for it. You have confirmed my own feelings. It’s just absolutely amazing that you were able to stay close to Jehovah and Jesus. Ec 4:12 says a threefold cord can not be quickly broken. Jehovah, Jesus and you. You made it through a very difficult 30 yrs but you have come thru fire and it cleanses you from being in touch with such an org. I am glad for you, me and some many more that we found the BS. I think Jehovah and Jesus hid them in plain site. It was not time for them to be seen by us. He tucked them away and gave blindness in part to witnesses. I know this is true because everytime I turn around I find I was in business once and talking many times to a BS and they never let on. Welcome to the site, my sister. Please feel free to come on and help comment. I think I will peek in on your internet studies this Sunday. We have one Wednesday, woud you come on and say hello to us, please? Also, where is your family now. How is it with your mother and brother. You can’t leave all these questions. Please tell us more about your experience. Memorial is coming up and I partook last year for the first time. I was like you. Called at what I felt was my lowest ebb in the JW. I simply couldn’t take their pushing Jesus aside and taking his place, it was like it was personal. Hope to hear from you soon. I am working hard to clear up clients so I can get to the Florida convention next week so I just saw your post. Take Care and I am just so happy for you. In Christ Jacqueline
I can relate to the ” example-for-younger-witnesses” thing.All my life i never had friends my age that were witnesses.They hated me cos their parents wanted them to be like me, zealous.It´s the only reason i haven´t sent my dissasociation letter yet – I have a young friend (I´m her only friend in the cong) who needs me and whose mum thinks highly of me (I have this compunction to gain the approval of my friends´parents) and who d on´t want to disappoint.She´ll move away soon and i will only disassociate myself after she´s gone.I can´t leave her to the mercy of the other youths in the cong.