Was a Jw as a kid, basically was raised as one, baptized at 13 the whole bang, got bullied by a lot of the other the other younger members, when I got to high-school (was homeschooled Prior shocker I know) I slowly stopped going because my scheduled would conflict with it, made more friends, learned other views, those friends showed me I had more potential then just doing service for the rest of my. And because of that my life is significantly better, gained amazing people skills, started a business and learned that hard work is required for anything so it makes me wonder how is everyone else doing? Was your life better or worse as a Jw?

My experience

https://www.reddit.com/r/exjw/comments/1wrnord/a_survivor_from_mainland_of_china_why_am_i/pceckh0/

In 2025, when I served at the Chinese RTO, I felt inferior, because I felt that my English was bad and repulsed by gossips in the association.

I didn‘t have a sense of belonging. And my close friend my brother brother comforted me: My heart aches for you, just leave your burden to me.

While that time I began to write poems in Chinese, Danish and German. When I was back to the congregation in China, my voices were never heard carefully and the Korean provoked me.

And then the separation of my brother and me due to the branch instruction came, I have been so depressed and angry. Even my PIMI parents always blame me: Your friend‘s choice of leaving you was the result of his marriage and he has been fed up with your complaints.

That made me even angrier: I would like to love wastefully: that was what I saw after the landing in Auckland, but this organisation didn‘t permit that. Someone with love was exactly the abandoned one.

Then I met an elder from North Island of NZ, served in a sign language group before. His wife didn‘t say anything when I mentioned I have depression in front of her. But he always gave me a hug and he told me, if I’d like to publish my works in Singapore, I must let him know.

He followed my updates, and wrote to me:

I luv your ideas.

Very thoughtful 🙏🏽

I've downloaded the booklet and will read it soon.

I'm just finishing my work.

Keep creating.

You are very clever. 🙏🏽

Luv from my wife & I 💞

Now I have left this organisation, but didn’t tell him.

He continued to follow me on Instagram and WhatsApp, even I wrote this “rebellious“ words on my Instagram story:

Māori Hongi

I couldn't fall asleep.

Actually I felt confused about some things, and used Al for psychological counseling:

Why did I feel that agape is so weak and the emotional connection is so superficial? Why couldn't I feel a long lasting love for me?

It gave me a theory from Erving Goffman: Agape presents a front stage where everyone has to wear a mask to others, in fact that's an emotional labour. But the unseen backstage is quite different.

Besides that I had another question: Why am I afraid to kiss my chosen brother on his cheek?

The given answer is: people in modern society are stuck in homophobia, that labelling has led to male loneliness and psychological disorder. That is: Males are feeling like islands when they are not allowed to express their emotions to another male.

Then I began to convict myself with an example that can prove my deep affection is not wrong at all:

In New Zealand, Hongi is a brave and natural way of brotherly love expression.

Yesterday I sent him the copy of my comics and post the release page from Amazon on my update, he sent me these two stickers which represent support and love.

JW organisation is truly fake, for its believers on Instagram are indifferent viewers to other’s pain and suffering, so that I couldn’t feel long and deep love inside, but its cruelty is: I got the continuing love from a reader, no matter it is genuine or fake.

Outside the organisation, I would lie to myself.

Probably because THEY weren't gifted any of those talents! Instead they have to sit around and wait for God to reveal His "new light" because they have nothing else to contribute to society. Have you ever heard of a GB member being a talented musician? God hasn't downloaded any superior gifts to these men....

After we covered the important stuff, I asked her if she had time for a personal story for me to

share. She agreed, and I told her about my past as a JW, AJWRB and the recent change. 

She became a bit emotional and told me that she had lost a JW patient last year over the blood

issue, and had no idea the policy recently changed. She stood up, walked over to me, and asked if

she could give me a hug, and thanked me for the work we've done.

"30 years she said, you have a quiet determination about you. Most would not have not been able

to persist, but you did. Thank you." 

Of course we mourn those we have lost. I knew six in my time as a JW including my grandmother,

and several close friends. One was a 15 year old who asked me to be one of the pallbearers at her

funeral. Another was my next door JW neighbor. These are terrible memories and pain that we

carry. Nothing can erase that.

On the other hand, don't lose sight of what has been accomplished. It has taken decades of work

and advocacy by tireless, devoted volunteers to get to this point. This change will save tens of

thousands of lives going forward.

Yes, it is bitter, but it is also sweet.

Me, my sister, and one of my brothers are exjw. My mother, and 2 other brothers are still in. One brother is PIMI, the other brother is POMI, and I’m not sure what my mom is tbh.

I asked my PIMI brother if he knew about the update. He said no. I let him know that the GB had made an update that it is now a conscience matter whether you accept or donate the 4 main group of blood. I let him know that whole blood is rarely used in transfusions, and those 4 blood components-are what is most likely referenced to as a transfusion in the medical world. He told me “I still won’t accept any blood or components because the Bible makes it clear and no blood means no blood”. I left it at that.

I told my mother, and she said “oh wow, so how do I get rid of my blood card”. I happily informed her that she could simply rip it up and throw it in the trash! We talked about how my baby brothers (they are 3 so I did not count them as people who are in vs out) will never have to deny blood and she can give them full medical care guilt free. I asked her to tell my POMI brother of this news because they live together and he almost ruined the adoption of my baby brothers by telling the social worker that my mom would decline a blood transfusion if needed.

When I talked to my POMI brother today, my mom had not told him. This brother is extremely brainwashed. He refuses to take care of himself because he’s waiting for paradise to fix him. It’s extremely sad. I informed him of the update, and he said “I still won’t take blood, but for more than just religious reasons because there’s a lot of evidence that it’s bad for us”. I countered that the dangers of not accepting a blood transfusion outweigh the dangers of accepting one. And because I was so frustrated by his answer I added “and that is propaganda you were fed”. He said “everything is propaganda, even cold hard facts”. I was just defeated. He is so brainwashed he would rather admit that everything is propaganda than accept that this org is feeding him bullshit propaganda about healthcare that could endanger him and has.

Anyways, I’m not surprised that my PIMI brother is going to stick with what “the Bible says”. I’m happy that my mother is happy about the news. And I’m really disappointed that my POMI brother is so heavily brainwashed. He had 3 wonderfully happy siblings all living a great life and still thinks that he’s living his best life… sitting on his mother’s couch at 35 years old, wasting his life on bullshit. And then to not even GO to the meetings? He’s in a cage with no bars…

My whole life is destroyed, my future, my dreams... everything is destroyed. I am just full of hatred for everything. They destroyed my sanity. Their Jehovah, the worst piece of shit of history. Hypocritical and narcisistic god who is no better than serial killers who rape dead body. He doesn’t care about anybody except himself. Jesus must be terrified of him because of his gigantic ego, even bigger than universe. The loving father who is constantly ready to kills his childrens if they do not praise him. Everything in this cult and in the Bible is a disgusting war of ego from someone who's supposed to not need anything from anybody. Yeah, i still think it is the "true" but i hate it. Jehovah deserve the destruction, not the humans victims of his self-centered eternal conflict.

30 years spent negatively affecting others

I used to kind of think my talks and my Bible studies were helping people a little bit, but it was 30 years of me helping them stay in a religion that shreds you completely. It disturbs when i think of how it affected their lives. Im very sensitive to morality in the way Jesus taught it. It was at a bible study i was having with an older woman that i realized what i was saying wasnt true.

What was the final thing that made you decide to leave the organisation? What made you leave?

Lets hear your story and encourage others and educate.

I'm working this Halloween and it's a big thing where I work that people wear costumes to work. Obviously I can just not do that and it's no big deal, but I want to, but it would be my first time ever putting together a Halloween costume.

I told some of my coworkers it would be my first time and I have no idea what to do for it, and they started making some suggestions. My only input was I'd want it to be something "positive" because it's simply not me to dress up as something that holds a negative "energy" or connotation.

They didn't have a lot of suggestions, but did tell me some of the things they or people they know have done before. I noticed that it's common for people to choose something purely comical. I'm gonna be honest, that's also not my vibe.

Is it most often that people do costumes that are meant to be a joke? Are there many social rules, expectations, or nuances around costuming? Are there types of costumes that are just so overdone or so obvious or so... anything, that people just roll their eyes? I know there are tropes, of course, are they kind of like "overplayed songs", or are they more like "classics"

I'm sure for the most part it's just people having fun without judgement or taking it too seriously, but I just don't know... I'm also autistic so that is possibly part of why I have so many questions.

The very first talk of the midweek meeting, "Hope Is the Key to Contentment", where the local speaker pointed out the definition of contentment (Peace, patient, or hope) and compared one of the scriptures (Jer. 46:22) to "worldly" people that has no contentment, breeding "discontent" and becomes disappointed in expectations that never happened! No hope is in the world but "jehoover's new system." Very ironicalky confident from him saying that cause the cult themselves faced lot's of great disappointments through failed prophecies, no contentment from them either since they divide families causing shunning to members leaving

During my deep dive over the last few years, and successfully navigating stepping down from MS, being an inactive pimo but still loved (and worried about) by all in the hall, I've slowly curated a great analysis/helper during meetings. Often i shop or plan my week or work on projects, but I also spend a lot of time doing deep research while sitting in the hall. I recently ran out of space in my 2nd 'religious talk' gpt chat, which had morphed into something perfect, so i asked it what prompt i should use to kick off a new thread and keep the answers i want. It gave me this, and I wanted to share (edited for a few personal things):

"I want to continue a long-running JW/Watchtower deconstruction-style discussion. When I paste a Watchtower, meeting workbook section, talk outline, or Bible passage, analyze it deeply and fairly. I do not want a generic anti-JW rant or a devotional summary.

Please separate:

• what the biblical text itself actually says,
• what the publication adds or assumes,
• where the reasoning is solid,
• where there are logical jumps, circular reasoning, confirmation bias, selective evidence, authority substitution, emotional framing, or information-control dynamics,
• and where there are genuinely good or useful points worth preserving.

I like BITE-model analysis when relevant, but don’t force it onto every paragraph. I especially like when you identify hidden epistemic assumptions, such as “Jehovah’s direction” being blended with organizational interpretation, or criticism being reframed as Satanic influence.

Also give me:

• a funny “corporate title” for the article,
• a few paragraph-specific observations,
• one or two meeting-safe comments that are thoughtful and defensible,
• and, when appropriate, a private “zinger” that is sharper and sarcastic but not something I’d necessarily say publicly.

My tone preference is analytical, historically grounded, skeptical, dryly funny, and compassionate toward individual Witnesses. I’m mentally out / agnostic-atheist, but I don’t want you to simply tell me religion is stupid. I want intellectually honest analysis that can say “this is a fair point” when it is, and “this doesn’t follow” when it doesn’t.

I also like when you compare the current article with older JW teachings or past policy changes when relevant, especially around blood, higher education, beards, conscience, organizational authority, and the Governing Body being “neither inspired nor infallible.”

If I paste an article, assume I want this style of deep breakdown unless I ask for something shorter."

I rarely attend mid-week meetings, but I've been copying the watchtower article during the sunday meetings into this chat, and the analaysis is so good. I've passed the point of wanting to burn everything to the ground, so its been helpful for me mentally to have a non-thinking computer to take the good from the bad, and point out flaws and cult thinking. Sometimes I'll ask it to rewrite the article and remove any religious dogma...some articles turn into something genuinely beautiful.

I just wanted to share. Hopefully it helps someone out there who's stuck going to a meeting they dont want to go to actually get something from the meeting (even if its ai pointing out gb bs)

Exciting News! I was doing research on the official public-facing pages to see how the organization is navigating the intense legal pressure from the Japanese government, which led to the New Light update allowing it be a conscience matter for major blood components which currently are 98% of all blood transfusions and specifically on jw-japan.org, I just found this additional new spiritual gem!
On the website, it is now in black and white for everyone to see that when someone is removed, 'Adherents will then decide, based on their individual conscience and circumstances, whether to stop or limit contact.'
The Governing Body would never publish a deceptive 'free choice' policy to the public while secretly enforcing a mandatory punishment on its own publishers behind closed doors.
Clearly, the Governing Body has realized that they have been 'going beyond what is written' (1 Cor. 4:6), because the scriptures they reference on the site have prayerfully led them to first allow a simple greeting and now this!
They must have prayerfully considered that a parent’s basic scriptural duty to show 'natural affection' (2 Tim. 3:3) does not expire based on a street address or a bank account.
Jesus' own illustration of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:20, the father ran and embraced his son 'while he was still a long way off,' proving scripturally that family affection belongs to a person while they are still in a removed state, long before any formal announcement is read from the platform.
When Jesus commanded us to treat an unrepentant person like a tax collector, he didn't practice total silence or absolute social shunning,he spoke to them, preached to them, and even ate meals with them (Matthew 9:10-11). He simply treated them as non-members who needed spiritual help.
By highlighting this, the Governing Body is beautifully magnifying Jesus' words at Matthew 9:13, where he commanded the rigid religious leaders of his day to 'go and learn what this means: I want mercy, and not sacrifice.'
By softening the rules, they are imitating how Paul backtracked from his own strict instructions at 1 Cor 5:11 as you can read further in 2 Corinthians 2:6–7, he recognized that a 'majority' boundary was already sufficient proving he never mandated everyone to completely stop contact. What 'stopping company' actually meant back then was refusing to share the sacred communal meals and church fellowship; it was never intended to be a weapon that forced family members to sever their natural biological ties. Paul even urgently commanded the congregation to show comfort so the individual wouldn't be completely destroyed by 'excessive sadness.
By putting it in black and white that this is an individual conscience matter and officially committing to this conscience-based framework, the Governing Body is beautifully aligning global policy with the scriptures.
A massive local congregation update must be coming shortly to ensure families no longer have their privileges stripped for simply exercising the very freedom of choice they have publicly promised we have!

As someone who has been out for years, some of the posts here absolutely blow my mind.

I mean posts about losing privileges and the treatment afterwards, unfair removal as an elder, and the hypocrisy around who gets recommended. More broadly, the complaints about congregation politics, elders showing favouritism, circuit overseers being unreasonable, and the organisation failing to follow its own rules.

“I know the organisation lies, tears families apart, protects abusers and causes enormous harm and even the death of thousands. Anyway, you won’t believe how unfairly the elders have treated me.”

Mate. I was still processing the first part.

It lands a bit like someone saying, “I’ve realised the Nazis are responsible for some truly horrific things. Also, Heinrich has had me demoted from the SS and I honestly think it’s personal.”

Yes, Heinrich sounds like a prick. I do have some broader concerns about your situation, though.

“And his friends get all the best assignments.”

Right. I hadn’t realised equitable career progression within the SS was where this conversation was going.

“And when the other officers left, they got a lovely farewell dinner. I barely got a handshake.”

The catering arrangements weren’t really where my mind went either.

It goes beyond losing titles. There’s this continued expectation that the elders should be reasonable, the circuit overseer should be impartial, and someone further up the organisation should intervene and put things right.

“The elders aren’t following the organisation’s own procedures.”

Have you read the procedures? Some of my biggest objections concern the occasions when they follow them perfectly.

“The circuit overseer is just protecting his friends.”

Well, yes. He’s a regional manager for a cult. His appointment wasn’t independently verified by the Holy Spirit.

“I’ve written to the branch.”

Hopefully the people who designed the system can explain why it keeps behaving exactly like the system they designed.

I understand that people stay PIMO to preserve marriages, relationships with their children, housing and all sorts of things. Those are serious constraints. And rejection, humiliation and unfair treatment still hurt.

What I find surreal is the continued investment in getting this organisation to administer its bullshit fairly.

You’ve established that these men have no divine authority. Their titles are invented. Their rules are invented. The organisation’s claims about itself are false. Yet somehow Brother Someone’s interpretation of paragraph seven still requires an appeal to a higher court.

I’m sure distance makes a huge difference. Once you’ve been outside for long enough, the whole hierarchy shrinks to a handful of men in a room awarding each other imaginary importance.

So when someone says, “I know it’s all bullshit, but they’ve treated me as though I’m unqualified to supervise the bullshit,” I struggle to know what response they’re hoping for.

Congratulations on your demotion. I hope it leads to better things.

I'm 18M, never baptized, but fully raised in the religion, and ceased all JW activities in late July of this year, about 3 months ago, right after my graduation party. I already had a strong base of non-JW friends, experiences, and living, since I was already allowed by my parents to hang out with non-JWs last December in what at the time was deemed something of a loneliness emergency. At this point, tensions with my mom have gone down, and pretty much everyone in the congregation and even my wider family know that I am not into the religion anymore, yet virtually no one has tried to stop me.

I'm in college now, commuting, and it's been quite hectic, but also fun. I feel like, even though I have plenty of problems still and am still navigating as a stranger in a post-JW life and world, I'm existing in a "cleaner, freer realm" (to quote Jim Morrison) - not one where I get everything I want, but where I have the freedom to engineer my life in accordance with my own meaning. I've built great friendships, lost friends and people, failed to build friendships with some people, asked out girls, done cool stuff with friends in the city, explored new ways of understanding my life, and much more, and this is only the beginning.

I feel one of the things that many ex-JWs fall into - but that I don't hear many people talking about - is the desire to "catch up" with everyone else. Growing up as a JW, while there is variance some specifics, your life is fundamentally defined by exclusion, by what you are not allowed to do. It's more than just the long laundry list of prohibitions regarding birthdays, holidays, forming non-JW friendships, violent/magical entertainment, youth sports, discouragement of extracurriculars, teen dating, school dances and parties, and so much more. It's the idea that Watchtower tells you that you are not allowed to participate in your own world. Exclusion is the baseline of existence, not just some additional perk. Every good JW parent does everything they can to "prove" to their kids that this is not the case, that their kids aren't being left out, but there is nothing they can do about it. It is a part of growing up as one of Jehovah's Witnesses. For me, I felt that this whole notion dignified me, and when I would think of all the things and freedoms my peers had long before I did - the thought of people all dating, for example, while all I had was an uneventful, 3 week long relationship last year that I hid from my parents - I'd get this severe FOMO, and felt like I needed to prove to everyone else right away that I wasn't that by quickly finding friends, a girlfriend, doing all the experiences I could possibly, being a specific kind of character, etc. all to "make up for" the lost years.

What I've realized, now - though - is that a part of the freedom is for you to do things for the sake of what they mean to you. I believe that we as humans have the freedom to decide what our circumstances and situations mean to us. And a part of that freedom - as well as the newfound freedom of expelling the Watchtower from my life - is this: what do you want to do, and why do you want to do it? I realized that I don't actually have to "catch up" with everyone. I don't have to conform to some kind of character of someone who never faced Watchtower restrictions in their life; I don't have to conform to a standard of a "normal teen". I am who I am, and I am someone who lived as a Jehovah's Witness under their restrictions for most of my life. But I am not only that, I am also someone who - despite the injustice of those conditions - is proud of the character I existed as and became under them. I'm proud of how I spent all those years trying to find the truth about God and religion, how I built myself physically and emotionally, how I engineered the friendships I could, and most importantly, how I forged meaning out of those circumstances in my life. If I had just been a passive victim of the conditions Watchtower imposed on me, I wouldn't be who I am today. But I built a character who I truly can respect in spite of those conditions. And that's who I am.

This doesn't mean I just stop doing everything - stop making friends, stop pursuing romance, stop hanging out and having experiences, etc. It just means that I can't just pursue things I wasn't allowed to do before for the pure sake of "making up" for lost time. I want to pursue things because they are genuinely meaningful and valuable to me, because that's how I actually want to live. That is the freedom you gain from leaving Watchtower; the freedom to design your environment according to your own meaning, rather than having meaning imposed on you by others.

These were just my thoughts and insights, and I hope this can resonate with anyone, especially someone who's recently left! I am very excited to see what my life and the lives of others have in store!

Apologies in advance for this incoherent mess of text

I've been POMO for a few years now, I was never baptized but I was the ideal extreme zealous brother and rising star of the congregation (gross I know) woke up as I was making my dedication prayer lol.

Anyways I have been "soft" shunned by everyone, and by that I mean people will still say hi to me but 98% of my friends removed me from social media, no one reaches out etc etc.

which I am content with to a degree. I don't have much family but they are all extremely devoted witnesses they don't shun me but I just feel so uncomfortable being around them.

Here's my dilemma, one of my closest friends was DF'd 2 months after I left, he still believes everything unfortunately.

I visited him recently and my heart broke into a million pieces seeing him and him expressing to me how much loneliness and isolation is hurting him. One of the biggest reasons I decided to leave is because I disagree with shunning on every level humanly possible; It is disgusting.

I feel so angry and hurt and I feel guilty associating with people who are supporting the shunning of my friend.

I'm so close to pulling the apostate trigger and telling all my family and friends this is a cult and go fuck yourself. I know this would feel so amazing but I'm not sure it's the right move, as I would never speak or interact with any members of my family ever again.

TLDR: for those of you who decided to go "apostate" openly opposed etc was it worth it? Would you choose a different route and remain a "non believer but non apostate?"

I’m sorry if this story ends up being confusing i’m not the best story teller but i need HELPPPP.

I live with 2 of my POMO bestfriends (i’m PIMO) I’ve known one for about 7 years now (we’ll call her toenail) and the other about 3 years now (we’ll call her kneecap) We’re all superrrr close like we just all got matching tattoos and all 21.

When i was about 15, I had a lil friend group with others around the same age. Every now and then, Greg (Well call him) was always around since he was family with some in our group. Mind you, he’s in his 22s or 23s atp. I never really cared nor payed attention until one day he was talking about a girl he’s been talking too. He said her name was Sally (not her real name) and i was like ok cute idc i didn’t know a sally. Then one day, he was like Sally’s coming to hang w us today. Sally walks in and i did in fact know sally, she’s a 14 yr old from my hall.

At the time, i honestly thought it was a joke. Until it was months and months of them hanging out. I thought it was crazy. I brought it up to another one of my bsfs who’s ALSO RELATED TO GREG. Our circuit is basically all related to this family so i had no one to talk to about this. I said “Idk i think it’s really really strange but then again i can’t say much” and she said “Yea so calm down.” My bf at the time was a year younger than me. So i never said anything else since that kinda offended me. I was also naïve and 15 smh. Also Toenail was all for the relationship :/.

After a few months, Greg started showing up to our hangouts sad saying sally’s left him or whatever. Everytime i saw sally and tried to invite her to eat after a meeting or smth she would ask if hes coming and get rlly uncomfy. I felt so awful but to scared to say anything. Then, sally disappeared. She ran away and became wlw. All i knew was i wasn’t allowed to talk with her anymore. I didn’t ask much bc i was scared too. She left, and everyone acted like nothing happened.

NOW

A few weeks ago Kneecap started talking to me about how this exMS started randomly texting her about random stuff. Knowing this guy, he’s desperate and so very horny so no part of me was shocked. I was more shocked it took his this long to start trying to make a move on her. He once tried to make a move on me when i was 19 lol.

A few days ago i was hanging W my bf and i realized my roomies weren’t home and it was almost midnight. I look at find my and see they’re at an arcade place. I was like lol interesting bc i know Toenail is with her bf since she always is, and Kneecap can’t stand his presence like why third wheel them.

Yesterday i was scrolling through insta stories and saw Greg was also at the arcade place the same day bc he posted Toenail and her bf playing a game. Now plot twist, this guy is Toenails older brother who’s 26. It clicked so fast.

I didn’t bring it up or say anything bc i again it isn’t right to assume since i was told nothing. But yesterday i looked at find my and saw Kneecap was at the beach alone. I KNOW SHE WASNT.

Later that night she came home late and i heard squealing in the living room. I got on my hands and knees and stuck my ear under the door to hear the convo. Kneecap is going on a date this saturday with Greg…. And Toenail was all for it and so excited.

I freaked and called my brother telling him and asking if he remembered sally and what happened with her to make sure i atleast have a witness and he said yes you have to tell Kneecap. This isn’t even the worst story i have about Greg. I hate him he disgusts me. How do i tell Kneecap about this without also damaging my friendship with Toenail. I’m not even supposed to know about this i’m just simply insane and always clicking stuff together lol. I know they’re not going to tell me about it since they know i find his rlly gross.

HOW DO I BRING THIS UPPPP

So a few months ago a relative of mine, who's really into sports betting, was ranting to me about how stupid it is to prohibit gambling and I felt kinda weird that I can't risk showing them the Elders' book and basically explain that they're not really doing anything wrong according to the book. I guess I'm kinda ranting about it because it felt weird to not take the chance to 'witness' to him (I mean the programming was for a different message but it's still there).

And now for the extra post because of the character limit

So I loved reading old wt awakes and watchtowers and I think that Question From Readers then might have been genuine fan mail not a way to sneak in random doctrine changes. Btw I might as well predict that Stephen Lett's talk at this year's AM will be one of those. Another thing I'm nostalgic about is those sections at the end of the Awakes where they'd have reader feedback and once in a while someone would point out a mistake and WT would print the letter and sometimes thank the person (I've seen a few one's from non-JW's actually) for pointing out their error. Golden times those were

And they’ve put up a new video begging for donations. They are really going at it hard! I feel like every time I turn around there is an article or video or announcement about donating to the watchtower 🤦🏻‍♀️
Give me a break.

My husband and I were out on a date and we saw a family praying, three generations. The matriarch of the family prayed while holding hands. It was sweet to watch, we gave the lady a thumbs up when they finished because you don't see that too often anymore. We live in the South so it is a little more religious than other parts of the US.

It got me thinking, and it hit so different seeing a woman pray, with adult men present at the table. It was beautiful and got me emotional, we don't see women pray very often. I am a female, so I have heard other sisters pray but it's just so different when they can lead the prayer when males are present.

Why can't women pray as well in the org? Why does it always have to be a baptised brother? Even PIMI brothers say they wish they can hear their wives pray.

Full pomo here. I've been disfellowshipped for over 6 years now. I am not up to date on any of the changes within the organization. Due to family circumstances (yall know how it can be with these people), I want to get Reinstated so I can then fade and not have the title of disfellowshipped. Anybody know if they still require writing a letter, would I have to go to physical meetings or would being there through zoom be enough. Any help would be appreciated.

A wave of relief washes over me,

so unexpected, yet so real.

A thought of all the things I can do,

of all the things I can feel.

No pressure to please,

no expectations to meet,

no weighing my choices

against someone else's needs.

Just freedom.

The freedom to be me.

To follow my thoughts,

to simply be free.

Forty years later,

and there it was,

a feeling I'd almost forgotten,

a freedom without a cause.

And then I wondered,

as the thought settled in,

is this how my daughter felt

when she finally stepped out

and began again?

Did she feel this lightness,

this lifting of the weight?

Did she carry guilt and uncertainty,

yet know she'd made her escape?

Of course, there are moments

when doubt creeps in,

when guilt finds a doorway

and questions begin.

Am I selfish?

Am I wrong?

Should I feel differently

after so long?

But beneath all the questions,

beneath the guilt and the fear,

there is a quiet, gentle knowing

that I can finally hear.

Mostly, it's relief.

Not because the past meant nothing,

not because I wish it undone,

but because after forty years

of being so many things to others,

I can discover the person

I've always been,

the person I've carried

quietly within.

And perhaps that's what freedom is:

not running away,

not turning my back,

but finally giving myself

permission to say—

My life belongs to me, too.

Forty years later.

And there it is.

The guilt may stay a little.

The uncertainty may remain.

But mostly, I feel relief.

And for now,

that is enough.

The Governing Body is very effectively neutering what it means to be a JW compared with the defining traits of the religion in the past. You don't have to reject blood transfusions, attend in-person meetings, go in field service, go to assemblies / conventions, give parts on the meeting, clean toilets, mow lawns or really participate at all in the religion. 

As long as you show up on Zoom meetings occasionally, fly under the radar with any personal activities that are banned and continue to check the monthly ministry box with your field service group overseer then you are part of "the growing religion".

What percentage of "active" JWs do very little as a JW?

5%, 10%, 20%, 50% or more?

My guess is that it is a fairly high percentage of their total and really no one cares as long as they can keep counting you as a Jehovah's Witness adherent (again, you are not a member anymore....just an adherent to a belief system).

Being a JW adherents is slowly becoming something meaningless.

Every person here can take steps to do even less than you may do today for the Governing Body.

The Best Way to Honor Those Lost to the Governing Body's Teachings: Stop Fueling the Destructive Organization That Killed Them (No Blood, Disfellowshipping, The End is Near) - https://www.reddit.com/r/exjw/comments/1wu3zxi/the_best_way_to_honor_those_lost_to_the_governing/

Welcome Jehovah's Witnesses! We are glad you are here! A welcome message and resources for you are shared in this post! (2026 Governing Body Update #6 - Blood Transfusions) - https://www.reddit.com/r/exjw/comments/1wkp3un/welcome_jehovahs_witnesses_we_are_glad_you_are/

You Can Stop Volunteering for Jehovah's Witnesses - https://www.reddit.com/r/exjw/comments/1ldu1vn/you_can_stop_volunteering_for_jehovahs_witnesses/

The Waking Up Guide - https://www.reddit.com/r/exjw/comments/1mob8mr/the_waking_up_guide_by_jwtom_latest_edition_for/

We’ve found it incredibly difficult to navigate our relationships with family and friends who are still in the faith. We’ve noticed that the way these relationships unfold varies quite a lot.
With some people, thankfully, we can still spend time together. There is mutual respect, and we can maintain a relationship, but we don’t talk about why we left. The subject remains unspoken, but it doesn’t necessarily create any tension between us either.

With others, we can also maintain contact, but they make it very clear that they don’t want to know why we left. We respect that, so we don’t share our reasons with them. At the same time, it makes us sad, because when it comes to the people we love, we wish we could share our reasons with them. We hope they would take a genuine interest in what we’ve been through and why we made this decision, even if they see things differently.

And then there are people who are still willing to have some contact with us, but we genuinely feel that they are keeping an eye on us or see us as a threat. They ask direct questions, such as whether we still believe in God, or make assumptions about us. Sometimes they suggest that we simply want to see things our own way or that we’re not being honest.

It often feels as though they are more focused on reassuring themselves that what they believe is the truth than on genuinely understanding us. And anything we do share can immediately be used against us, or we’re accused of being negative, speaking badly about the Governing Body, and so on.

What hurts us the most is that it feels as though there is no one around whom we can truly be ourselves anymore. We can no longer openly share how we’re doing, what we think, or how we feel. We’re afraid of losing people if we’re completely honest with them, including people who are still willing to maintain some kind of relationship with us right now.

So, for the time being, we’re holding back. We remain respectful and don’t share the real reasons why we left, at least not unless someone genuinely wants to hear them. We swallow our words or try to avoid certain topics.

And that feels incredibly lonely. It leaves us feeling quite powerless.

Can any of you relate to this? How do you deal with it? And how do you find a way to maintain relationships with family and friends without constantly feeling like you have to hold back
or hide parts of yourself?

Thank you for taking the time to read this! I also understand if there aren’t any easy answers to these questions, but somehow, simply being able to share this makes us feel a little less alone. :)

Hi everyone. I wanted to vent a little and share what my journey has been like lately.

Anyone who has gone through this knows how hard it is to rebuild your life from scratch. When you leave the organization, you don't just lose your social circle; building financial stability and finding steady work becomes an uphill battle.

Right now, I'm going through a very tough economic situation. The lack of job opportunities is hitting hard, and I'm struggling to cover the basic costs of living. Looking for work while trying to move forward brings a lot of uncertainty and frustration when opportunities don't come quickly.

To be honest, I don't know what to do anymore. The economic situation in Argentina is really bad, I don't have enough income to survive, and finding a job feels almost impossible right now.

Has anyone who has been through something similar have any advice or suggestions on what I could do or where to start in a situation like this?

Thank you so much for reading and for always being such a supportive community. Hugs to all.

TW/ sexual immorality

I’ll start! :D context: I was 20, she was 39. She wasn’t married. No children.

- “what do you think of this?” (after reading me a paragraph about how seggs before marriage as bad as b3stiality)..
- “I will get back to that question” = when you ask something that contradicts their logic and they get back to you they just forget
- fake agreeing with you, then following up with a point that you literally don’t agree with by giving a personal story that is probably a lie.
- expecting you to agree to things that they don’t even do or have (for example my BT wanted me to marry… she isn’t married…)
- love bombing you, telling you how you’re not like other people.
- dealing with stress? Dealing with a loss? Jehovah is the answer!!!
- I lost my pet in a tragic way, when I told her the loss she didn’t feel bad about it she just told me that Jehovah gives me the choice to never feel that again by never having animals
- shoving videos to my face when the paragraph already mentioned the same thing
- telling me I can only use social media to add friends on there

Just other stuff like getting you to agree with them no matter what. I remember when I said that I don’t think Jehovah would throw fire balls at a building and she crashed out and said that he can do anything.