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I was born and raised in the Jehovah's Witness organization. My father is an elder and my mother a pioneer. I know what every Jehovah's Witness knows about the religion. I served our congregation as an overseer and was also a regular auxiliary pioneer. At age 19, I moved out of my parents' house. This is when I started to leave the Watchtower organization. I had only been one of Jehovah's Witnesses because my parents had told me that this was the right thing to do. Having the adult freedom, I began to question the doctrines and policies of the organization. The more I learned about the Watchtower, the more I moved further and further away from it. What opened my eyes were the Watchtower's failed prophecies, false teachings, doctrinal changes (changing/blinking light), child abuse cases, the Governing Body's lordship over the rank-and-file Witnesses and the deadly no-blood transfusion policy. I was also disturbed by the cult-like tendencies of the organization. It’s okay for a religion to encourage the counting of field-service ministry time and to suggest that it’s wrong to celebrate birthdays and holidays, but when the Watchtower goes so far as to make adherence to these policies necessary for salvation and to disfellowship as “unsaved” those who fail to conform to their standards, this is not “Christian” to me. Ultimately, it was the Watchtower Society's evilness that led me out. The big question after I left the Watchtower was what religion to go to. In my search for the one true religion, I attended a Pentecostal church, a Catholic church as well as some of the born again and non-denomination churches. At one point, I even asked the Mormons to study with me. But all this searching left me empty and confused. It wasn't until someone on the internet board of the Christian Apologetics & Research Ministry (www.carm.org) encouraged me to contact Christy of Witnesses for Jesus that my searching came to an end. Instead of leading me to another man-made organization, Christy introduced me to Jesus. I realized that I should not have been asking "where" to go but to "whom." (see John 6:68) After receiving the REAL good news - the Gospel, I opened my heart and started a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. And just like that, I felt the chains removed. The darkness turned to the brightest light and I began to understand what the Bible teaches about the Deity of Jesus Christ, Salvation by Grace, etc. I remember what David Reed of Comments from the Friends (www.cftf.com) said, "The Holy Spirit will teach you as you read." At this point, I am still learning. I am very glad that it is not the Watchtower publications that I am reading, but the Word of God itself with the guidance of the Holy Spirit. |
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