just to say i am not a JW and have never been a one but i did study and attend meetings for a while in the 90s.
that may be all anyone cares to know so stop reading here if so
but for anyone who like to hear a non JW tell how he got here
here goes
early 90s i was already starting to read the bible due to a life crisis i was going through, searching for answers from God word, i started a new job in a hospital where i met a Gary a JW. i knew absolutley nothing about JWs.or their beliefs
i asked the brother out of curiosity about Jws and their understanding of the Bible
We started a lunchtime study, we used to meet in the laundry room and sit on the linen bags and he would do a study.
I was blow away by the you can live forever in paradise book, everything made sense eternal life on a paradise earth right in front of me in the scriptures, i attended sunday meetings and spent months getting to understand what Jws believed.
i have to admit i struggled with the dress code it seemed so wrong to me, my experience of suits was usually financial crooks, but i also understood being presentable was necessary.
things were progressing steadily but i have to admit i found it a little uncomfortable with the read a paragraph and answer a question type study, of course everyone needs to be taught, but it was the preset answers that stirred a warning inside me, my catholic childhood had been full of nonsensical rote and unquestionable obedience to violent nuns.
of course it was not the same as that but i needed more discussion, and for that i needed more independant found scriptural knowledge to enable balanced discussion, so i backed off a little.
i still attended meetings on a sunday and i will never forget the impact i felt when the Brother giving the talk one sunday (1998 i think) talked about the generation teaching adjustment, it was a red flag to me.
On the monday at work i spoke to Gary about it (by the way i was attending meetings at a different congregation to him, about 18 miles apart)
He had no concerns about the adjustment, i was shocked , to me it was a major change , and looking back that is where it started to fall apart for me i felt deep inside something was not right, i still attended meetings but i slowed down the study and eventually i stopped contact.
It deeply hurt me, i never recovered, i felt that i had rejected Gods calling, i was not getting aboard the ARK, i was not going to be part of the GC,
it was traumatic, but i was determined to keep studying the bible, those bible studies from Gary had given me the basics to protect me from false doctrines like the trinity and the immortal soul etc and so i sailed a solitary path and classed myself as a believer not a Christian
it was in 2001 that i stumbled across Robert King E-watchman, i joined his site with many others i got Roberts first edition book Jehovah has Become king.
once again i was blown away by what i read it all made so much sense Robert explained the generation teaching adjustment and foolishly my first thoughts were i must warn Gary about the 1914 invisible presence false understanding and the MOL who was actually going to be found with Gods Temple the anointed, not christendom
Well i do not need to tell people here how that went down, lead ballon analogy does not do it justice.
I also noticed that Robert was making it absloutley clear that The WTO had been used by Jehovah and this was still his sole organisation and this caused me to feel that i was a lost hope. i had failed to get baptised and i had walked away from Gods organisation
so once again i drifted away i was on and off Roberts site for many years, squabbles were common as trolls and those who did not accept basic JW teachings tried to disrupt Roberts work. But he faced them down and i sensed sometimes he regretted starting the discussion forum, it must have beeen hard for work for Him in those early days.
during 2001/ 2002 i was contacted by a JW brother that i had met at the kingdom hall in those early days and i started a bible discussion again and meeting attendance, but i now knew something so important, vital information, which i tried to bring up in my bible discussions, the studies became less frequent and then ended. i was once again in the wilderness. and i realised that is where i belonged it was where i was meant to be for the duration.
And so here i am with you good people at the only place i have ever found to make sense of what is going on i hope to stay but i cannot say for sure
when i read about all of your experiences as Jws, how hard you served Jehovah, your dedication, your fellowship it makes me feel ashamed.
i have to say that i am so pleased for Robert i have sensed many times how he yearns for fellowship of his brothers and sisters, and now at last his years of hard work is starting to bear fruit. He has provided a place of sanctuary for all who escape the WTO
may Jehovah and His Son protect you all and may he awaken many more of your brothers and sisters to come and join you.
agape John
