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Preaching Door-to-Door Why live any longer with the uncertainty of whether you will be acceptable to God when you die? Discover how to have the assurance of Eternal Life! (www.4witness.org) |
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A JEHOVAH'S WITNESS SON ANSWERS HIS EX-JEHOVAH'S WITNESS MOTHER: To: JW Son Hey, Son!!
Reply: From JW Son Hey Mom, I didn’t get a card from you. Thank you for the thought. Just so we’re clear on something: We are not friends. I am your son and I love you, but that’s it. You choose to spend your waking moments finding ways to tarnish the name of the earthly organization that Jehovah uses to instruct his people. You call the organization “the Watchtower” as if it were some strong arm used to brain wash and control the minds of some helpless 7.5 million members and their families. Are you kidding? Do you actually believe that Jehovah, the all-powerful, is incapable of establishing an earthly presence to lead His people as Jesus said He would?Jehovah has had an established organization of people since early Bible times. It has always had strict rules of conduct and requirements for His people. He has always appointed men to lead his people. Those men weren’t perfect, and they all made mistakes at one time or another. (Moses, Aaron, King David, several kings, Jesus’ apostles, Paul) You claim the “Watchtower” is such a horrible organization, and you console those who have had a hard time for one reason or another, and you help them to find solace in knowing they don’t have to be part of that organization to achieve Gods favor. You spend so much time relieving people of their fears and helping them to feel comfortable in slipping away, but what REAL hope can you offer them outside of the hope taught everyday by Jehovah’s Witnesses? Do you have some new bible teaching that I am not aware of? Did God share with you or your friends an inspired revelation of an alternate way to lead his people into the paradise? I really don’t think so mom. Yes, bad things happen to good people all the time. That should never happen to anyone, and especially not with relation to worship of Jehovah. But guess what, we live in critical times hard to deal with, and Satan is actively seeking to devour people; especially in an organization led by Jehovah. Satan uses our imperfections against us to break us down and to do or say things we wish we hadn’t…sometimes even hurting others. I know! I am not perfect, and I have done things not befitting a Witness, I have had to be reproved, and I am happy to know that the blood Christ shed was for me, too. Who is anyone to say his blood wasn’t good enough to cover my/their sins? Do my actions, or those of any other Witness, make Jehovah’s organization wrong? Or does it somehow prove that Jehovah does not use the Watchtower Society as his earthly administration? No! it just means that no matter how hard we try, we will always make mistakes, and that by sticking close to Jehovah and his earthly organization we will be able to pick ourselves up, wipe the dirt off our faces and continue on the path of righteousness, hoping very soon for His Kingdom to be established on earth, ridding it of the imperfection, sickness and death that affect us so badly today. You used to know the truth and you taught it to us as truth and not as fear. You got baptized because at one time, and for a long time, you knew in your own heart that the truth was the truth, and that you were dedicating your life to Jehovah, not to “the Watchtower,” but to Jehovah. That sob story of you getting baptized because they told you if you didn’t your kids would die is a bunch of bologna…a copout you’ve taught yourself to believe in order to feel good about the path you’ve taken. The fact is, when Armageddon comes there will only be 2 sides: Jehovah’s or Satan’s. Just like in Noah’s day, you were either on the boat or you weren’t. Jehovah didn’t go around collecting all the little children and putting them on the Ark for safety. No, but it was their parent’s responsibility to take the lead when the warning was sounded. It was their choice to listen and to protect their children. When they chose not to listen, they chose for their children, too. It was the same way for the Egyptians, the disobedient Israelites, Sodom and Gomorrah…I can’t imagine it will be any different at Armageddon. I remember you were friends with a woman that was studying in Santa Cruz when we were real young, and she stopped studying because someone told her the same thing. We have to remember it is not Jehovah being cold or unloving…He desires no one to be destroyed at all. He has allowed all of this time. If people and/or their children fall at Armageddon, it will be of their own accord, because they chose not to get into the Ark. What if you’re wrong, mom? What if you encourage these people to separate themselves from “the organization” and they end up not in Jehovah’s favor? Are you comfortable with their lives in your hands? We’re talking about everlasting life on earth here! Jehovah tells us how to get to the Paradise, and we do the best we can live up to His requirements. He provides an organization to help us along the way so we don’t have to do it alone. It’s not easy, but it can be done. Why do you try so hard to tear the Watchtower down…to find every little thing wrong with what “the brothers” have said or done over the past century? There have been advances in technology and medicine over the decades; can there not also be advances in spiritual knowledge and truth? Can Jehovah not allow his people to understand more fully over time, just like any other studied avenue of life? Mom, I am not debating anything with you. I am not sharing any scriptures with you. You have your Bible. If you really read it, and apply what it says, you will know that you are so very wrong. You will understand why what you do is disgusting and repulsive to me. You will understand why we cannot be friends. All of what I have written is from me only, nothing from a book or magazine. This is personal and confidential talk between you and me. I don’t expect to find this text or portions of it on any of your blogs or websites. You are my mother and I am your son. – JW Son
Reply: To JW Son Subject: Answer to JW son’s letter My dear son, I wish that I could show you in your own Bible what was shown to me...but I understand that that is not allowed. Son, I use the NWT because the Watchtower claims that it is the "most accurate" Bible version available so that any JW can see what is really there in their own Bible; what God’s Word actually does and truly say. Luke 23:45 tells us that just after Jesus “offered up His spirit,” the Temple Curtain was ripped down the middle, from top to bottom...and remember that this curtain that separated the Holy from The Most Holy symbolized the barrier that had been between us and Jehovah God, but now HE had torn it from top to bottom. This curtain was very heavy, being twelve-feet high and about a foot thick. Yes, Jesus’ sacrifice removed the barrier that had been between man and God. Jesus is the end of the law, my son. We are no longer under "law," except God's Perfect Law of Love. Jesus said, "This is my commandment, that you love one another just as I have loved you." (John 15:12) (NWT) Romans chapter eleven explains that we non-Jews were "grafted in" to the symbolic Olive Tree which is Israel; that we, as Christians, are supported by the root of that tree which is Israel. Paul further explains that "branches" (the Jews who did not listen to Jesus) were "broken off" so that we could then be "grafted in." Yes! We have been blessed by the New Covenant because of "the root of Jesse," or because of the Seed of Israel, of the House of David, which is Jesus, whom the Jews, as a people, entirely rejected, though those "branches" (the Jews) could be later "grafted back in." (See Romans 11:16, 19-23, 25-32) (NWT) This is where the 144,000 comes in...they will be chosen during the Great Tribulation to give their witness to the Jews that God's Kingdom will be restored on the earth!! And what a wonderful prospect that is!! Yes, the 144,000 are to preach the Good News of the Kingdom directly to literal Israel. And for all the Jews who have suffered so much for thousands of years, this will be good news, indeed!! This is what Jesus was speaking of at Matthew chapter 24…He was talking to literal Jews about literal Israel, and the literal restoration of God’s Kingdom on the earth. “With that I heard a loud voice from the throne say: ‘Look! The tent of God is with mankind, and He will reside with them, and they will be His peoples. And God Himself will be with them.’” (Revelation 21: 3) (NWT) Yes! Notice that THREE TIMES this one scripture says that God will be with mankind! And what is this “Good News about the Christ”? The “Good News about the Christ” is that Jesus has already done for us what we could never do for ourselves. Jesus has already paid the price for our sins. Jesus has already paid the price for our very lives. His payment for our sins and for our life is “enough.” We cannot do more than what He has already done. To believe otherwise is to say that what He did just “wasn’t enough.” It is our belief in Jesus, and in following Jesus, and in humbly and thankfully accepting the benefits of His sacrifice that we are then set free. Yes, we are then set free from “The Law”; we are set free from fear, from religion, from the condemnation of sin, being now given a clean standing in front of our Heavenly Father, and we have the assured promise of everlasting life!! You see, my son, Jehovah God has always had a plan for the salvation of all mankind, and for the restoration of His Kingdom on this earth, and He has always had a plan to restore His People. The Good News about the Christ was for ALL of mankind, and it really and truly is "good news"!! That is why the apostle Paul was so adamant when he spoke against the disciples for "going over to another sort of good news" at Galatians 1:6-12. (NWT) And this is what I have against the Watchtower Organization...that they keep the truth about the Good News about the Christ away from their members...having them believe that the New Covenant is "not for them," but that it is only for a select few. But where is their proof? There is none. "All authority has been given me in Heaven and on Earth." (Matthew 28:18) (NWT) "Come to me, all you who are toiling and loaded down and I will refresh you. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am mild-tempered and lowly in heart, and you will find refreshment for your souls, for my yoke is kindly and my load is light." (Matthew 11:28-30) (NWT) "My sheep listen to my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. And I give them everlasting life, and they will by no means ever be destroyed..." (John 10:27-28) (NWT) Any Watchtower member (or Seventh-Day Adventist, or Mormon) who comes to discover that it is NOT in following any religion or organization that leads to salvation, no, but that it is in trusting in and following God's Plan for the Salvation of Mankind, which is in His Son...yes, in the following of His Son and in our humble acceptance of the need of His shed blood, and His sinless body offered as a sacrifice for all of our sins, and to buy life for all of us…is EXPELLED from the religion. Yes, many have found this to be all too painfully true; many losing their families… Jehovah God pointed all of mankind to His Son. Yes, Jesus calls to us to "come to Him," and the few scriptures I have shared from the NWT clearly show this to be so. There is no limit to those who may "come to Jesus" for the forgiveness of sins, or to receive the the free gift of life. And this is not dependent upon belonging to any religion...that is why the Jewish Religious Leaders of Jesus' day hated Him so much; He threatened their authority over the people, just as the Watchtower hates those of us who have left and discovered the real truth. Jesus did not die to give us religion; He died for us to have a relationship with Him and Jehovah God. (See Matthew 11:28) (NWT) "For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to accurate knowledge; for, because of not knowing the righteousness of God but seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the Law." You see, my son, Paul clearly shows how man prefers to make up their own "way" so that people follow them, when Jehovah God pointed us, now, to His Son. Is it "wicked" to be a witness of Jesus? Is it? I have not told any lies, have I? My son, I believed that Armageddon was coming in the fall of 1975...it was what the Watchtower had been saying since 1966; it's what I grew up dreading for so many years. If you will just go to YouTube and type, “Jehovah's Witnesses & 1975” in the search box, an entire world of proof of what I am saying will open up for you; testimonies and photos and copies of older Watchtower literature and actual recordings of conventions, etc…can these all be “lies”?? That is when one of them turned toward you boys and pointed to you three and said to me, "What about them? What about your children? Are you really ready to see them destroyed at Armageddon just because you don't want to take a stand for Jehovah? Do you really want their blood on your hands?" My son, at her ominous words, I felt a cold chill. Truly,. I was scared. I had been prepared for God to destroy me, but I was not prepared to have you three lose your lives. That is why I forced myself to go back. I tried my best to be the best Jehovah’s Witness that I could be. Yes, I know that life was very hard for you, but I did do the best that I could for over eleven long, frustrating, gossiping and lonely years. And what did it get me? The realization that I had been led to believe a lie, and a son who truly believes that I am wicked, disgusting, and repulsive for speaking the truth. Do you believe that it is important to "make sure of all things? To hold fast to what is fine"? Isn't Jehovah God's own Word, the Holy Bible, "The Truth"? Is it “wrong” to believe what the Bible says, even if it it doesn’t agree with the Watchtower?? And as the Watchtower points to themselves as "the way, the truth, and the life," doesn’t Jesus tell us at John 14:6 that HE is "the way, the truth, and the life"? So whom should we believe?? Jesus' own words, or the Watchtower's?? Who died for us?? Who actually died for us? Jesus. Who taught us “the way”? Jesus. Who is “the truth”? Jesus. To whom did Jehovah God point all of mankind? Jesus. And whom are we to follow? Jesus. And by following whom are we promised to then “know the truth”? Jesus. And who has “life” to give to us? Jesus. The Watchtower has no “life” to offer to anyone; they did not die for you, nor would they ever die for you… In regard to those who came out of “God’s Organization” of Jesus’ day in order to follow Him, (those Israelites faithful to the centuries-old Jewish Faith)... Jesus said at Matt. 10:34-36 (NWT): “Do not think that I came to put peace upon the earth; I came to put, not peace, but a sword. For I came to cause a division, with a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a young wife against her mother-in-law. “Indeed, a man’s enemies will be members of his own household.” Has this not been proven to be true?? Have not thousands of ex Watchtower members been cast aside as “evil apostates” and shunned as being “wicked” by their own Watchtower families?? Especially if they have become Christians?? I choose to be a witness for Jesus, as He said His followers would be at Acts 1:8, even if the Watchtower does not support this. “…and you will be witnesses of Me both in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the most distant part of the earth.” (Acts 1:8 NWT) Do you believe Jesus’ words over the Watchtower’s?? CAN you believe them?? If “Jehovah’s” Witnesses are truly HIS witnesses, wouldn’t it seem logical, then, to hold HIS WORD as the final authority? Should we not care enough to MAKE SURE of what HE SAYS in His Word by “examining the scriptures daily to see whether these things (are) so”?? (Acts 17:11) (NWT) If “Jehovah’s” Witnesses are truly “TRUE Christians,” then doesn’t it seem a more logical choice to have taken on the name, “Jesus’ Witnesses,” as per Acts 1:8, instead of going BACKWARDS to Isaiah 43:10 to get a name when Jesus has already come and died and is now our King?? And if it was truly “God’s Will” that “His People” be called “Jehovah’s Witnesses,” why weren’t the Israelites called “Jehovah’s Witnesses”?? Wouldn’t God's own People know what to call themselves?? My dearest son, we each must decide what we will believe is “the truth,” and we each must choose the way to serve God according to how our own Bible trained-conscience leads us, and no one should hold power over our heart and mind when it comes to our relationship with our heavenly Father. We have His Word, and what it says should matter more to us that what any “man” says. (See July 2009 Awake! on this very subject) My son, we must not live in fear of man! As Psalms 146:3, 4 says, "Do not put your trust in Nobles, nor in the son of earthling man to whom no salvation belongs," and I abide by that. The Watchtower cannot hurt me any more than it already has, except through it's shunning policy and by continuing to smear the good names of all ex members as being "evil apostates" who tell "lies from Satan," a thing I have never done. I will always be your mom who loves you so very much...so very much. And I will always love you no matter what. I am sorry if you find it hurtful that I work hard at helping all Jehovah’s Witnesses who write in to know that their relationship with Jehovah God never had anything to do with their relationship with the Watchtower, or with their "standing" in it, and that the Watchtower’s claim of “authority from God” is an entirely fabricated one; that God NEVER pointed us to anyone but His Son. My son, I did not have anyone to show me “the truth” of God's Word except the Watchtower, and I believed EVERYTHING that I was taught, but now that I know what I know, I can't "unknow" it. That is really why the Watchtower hates all of us so much; it's because of what we know. Again, I am sorry that my doing what I know in my heart I must do in order to serve God is hurtful to you. We are each called to do something in God’s Service, and I serve Him as I am called. If it is any conciliation, I have met a former Governing Body Member, a former District Overseer, a few former Circuit Overseers, several former Elders, and a few former Bethelites...one of whom was the floor manager of the publishing floor at Bethel. (He has been helping ex Watchtower members for over thirty years.) These, too, were all once faithful members of the Watchtower, and these all, too, have come to know the truth about “the truth,” as so many thousands more have also. All of us who were once faithful, trusting and solid believers of the Watchtower’s Doctrines have since come to know things that we cannot go back and "unknow." Again, that is why we are hated so much; it is because of what we know. (Think: Who is the “Great Deceiver”? It is not Jesus. It is Satan.) If the Watchtower had nothing to fear from us who once believed in them, they would not feel such a need to spend so much time and energy vilifying us, both in print and from the podium. Truth has nothing to fear from lies. It is lies that have everything to fear from the truth. Was it Lincoln who said, "You can fool all of the people some of the time, and some of the people all of the time, but you can't fool all of the people all of the time"?? I am doing the best I can to do what is right in my life, whatever it costs me. My hope is in Jehovah's God's Plan of Salvation which is in His Son, Jesus. But what Jesus did plainly tell us was that we should "come to Him," (Matthew 11:28), and that if we really wanted to "know the truth," we should "remain in His word," (John 8:31), because HE is "the truth." (John 14:6) (NWT) Yes, God's pure Word of truth is never "Old Light," nor does it ever need to be "adjusted." God's Word still stands just as it has stood before the Watchtower came along nearly two thousand years later and made the claim that only through THEM could one attain "accurate knowledge" of God’s truth, going so far as to claim that THEY are “The Truth.” Is Jehovah God a good communicator?? Did He really need an organization to come along two thousand years later to explain what His Word "really" meant? Or can we just believe what it actually says? (Unfortunately, and "of course," there was no further response from JW Son on this matter.)
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They are all there for me!
“I had Jehovah’s Witnesses visiting for six years. … The sad thing is now I have their beliefs in my head. So I put myself into God’s hands and asked for direction. …Well, the feeling of freedom is amazing. I am like a child, learning again for the first time. The reason I had to write to you was the Karen and Cindy conversations. Instead of me asking for help, one question at a time, they are all there for me!! It seems as if ‘Karen’ could read my mind.
It’s so lovely for things to fall into place, mainly that ‘What happens when we die?’ This was a very big issue for me. I was scared while I did not understand even the tiny bit I do now. It’s such a joy. Instead of feeling unworthy(were all sinners I know) and feeling I would never be saved or go to Heaven. So, please thank God and Jesus with me for such help.”
I have to tell you how your website saved my life.
“I have been a baptized Witness since 1995, and I have to tell you how you have saved my life. Every couple of years I get this gnawing sense that this is not quite right, that I am not 100% vested in what the Watchtower Society says. …Lately, I have stopped attending meetings and my daughter, 13, has begged me not to make her go back. So I have been praying and chatting with friends outside the organization…
…I can’t tell you my sense of relief when I stumbled upon your site and started to read the articles. I want to cry, but I’m at work. I can’t wait to get home because I am so excited I can barely stand it! Please, please, how can I meet others who feel this way? I sure could use the fellowship. Again, thanks for the work you do.”
God bless you for the difference you are making.
“My brother and I were raised by a Jehovah's Witness mother. I am 52 years old now and still haven't been able to shake the stigma of the experience. My brother wasn't as lucky as me and ended up taking his own life at 17. I have been through everything ... I can't express how much I appreciate what you are doing... God bless for the difference you are making.”
I do not feel so alone!
“Thank you for creating this website. After reading stories of former Jehovah's Witnesses, I do not feel so alone. My resolve to stay out of that religion has also strengthened. I have also come to realize that my depression, anxiety, and many other emotional scars inflicted by the organization and those in the ‘truth’ will take time to heal. But your website has also come to help me ... Thank you.”
Just as I was about to enter the Jehovah’s Witnesses again, God led me to your website.
“Hi…I am an Ex-Jehovah’s Witness from South Africa. ...I left the Jehovah’s Witnesses not because I did not agree with their beliefs, but because my wife could not handle it with me being a Jehovah’s Witness and she not. I became an anti-religious person. Then, just as I was about to enter the Jehovah’s Witnesses again, God led me to your website… Today, I prayed to Jesus for salvation after I read your article on your website…”
I’m so glad that I have run across this site.
“After reading the article that David Reed wrote on your site, I’ve looked at things in ‘a new light’ so-to-speak. ...I’m so glad that I have run across this site. I’m sure that it was the Holy Spirit that directed me to all of you!”
Your website is a great source for truth
“Your website is a great source for those seriously seeking the truth.… The Jehovah’s Witness elders shun me. I’ve known these guys for 30 years... Well, when I walk into the Hall they turn their backs to me. I have not seen my Jehovah’s Witness ex-wife, or daughter for two years. ...They hide my family from me. When I go to their homes, they smile with arms folded and say nothing.
The stories I read at your website were loud and clear - conditional love by the ‘brothers’! I have learned more in the Christian Church about unconditional love than 30 years as a Witness. When I accepted Christ, who He really is, the Holy Spirit opened my eyes to see both sides clearly. ...Without the Holy Spirit it is impossible to know the real TRUTH! Keep up your good work.”