If you are someone who was ‘one of Jehovah’s Witnesses’ but left the organization, this is what the Watchtower has said about you in their April 15, 2011 magazine, page 16.
Maybe I should qualify that statement. If for instance, as a member of Jehovah’s Witnesses, you decided that you could no longer accept a certain teaching peculiar to the Watch Tower organization and you perhaps told someone, you would likely find yourself disfellowshipped (excommunicated). You would be labeled an ‘apostate’. It is now that you are ‘mentally diseased’.
If you feel insulted being called an apostate who is mentally diseased, that is the least of your worries. Consider the consequences of being disfellowshipped: Your family and former Jehovah’s Witness friends are instructed to avoid contact with you!
Why is that you may ask? Well the Watchtower says you/they “seek to infect others
with their disloyal teachings.” Disloyal to whom? To Jehovah of course. If you are disloyal to the Watch Tower organization, you are disloyal to God!
Maybe you are disloyal to God. Let’s see; suppose that you no longer believe that Jesus Christ came to the Earth invisibly in 1914 because you came across some older Watchtower teaching that Jesus came invisibly in 1874. Maybe you remember the Watchtower article that taught that the generation alive in 1914 would by no means pass away before Armageddon and that to be included in that generation a person would have to be at least 15 years of age (old enough to be able to comprehend the situation) in 1914. So you did the math and the youngest of that generation is now one hundred and twelve years old. Maybe you remember the cover of the May 15, 1984 Watchtower magazine with the Caption ‘1914 The Generation that Will not pass away’ printed below the picture of sixteen elderly people, and you realize every one of them has passed away.
The title of the April 15, 2011 Watchtower article is ‘WILL YOU HEED JEHOVAH’S CLEAR WARNINGS?’ They are saying that Jehovah has warned Jehovah’s Witnesses not to speak to apostates, don’t let them in your home, don’t listen to them on T.V. or on the web and don’t comment on their blogs. Is it possible that there are things about the Watch Tower Society that they don’t want you to know or would that be a stretch?
Jehovah does give a clear warning in the Bible at Deuteronomy 18:18-22 about listening to false prophets. The Bible knows of only two types of prophets, true ones and false ones. The Watch Tower Society has claimed to be a prophet of God. Which type have they proven themselves to be? If you are ‘one of Jehovah’s Witnesses’ you know it is God’s clear warning in Deuteronomy regarding prophets. Will you heed Jehovah’s warning?
If you would like any documentation regarding this article that is not found below, please ask me for it. If you would like to comment on this article, please do.
Edward Brown
Reference notes:
I have been told by more than one of Jehovah’s Witnesses that a person is not disfellowshipped simply because they no longer believe that Jesus returned invisibly in 1914.
Please consider the following from the Watchtower April 1st, 1986 page # 31. Questions From Readers:
“Why have Jehovah’s Witnesses disfellowshipped (excommunicated) for apostasy some who still profess belief in God, the Bible and Jesus Christ?”
“Approved association with Jehovah’s Witnesses requires accepting the entire range of true teachings of the bible, including those Scriptural beliefs that are unique to Jehovah’s Witnesses. What do such beliefs include?”
“That 1914 marked the end of the Gentile times and the establishment of the Kingdom of God in the heavens, as well as the time for Christ’s foretold presence.”
“Do we have Scriptural precedent for taking such a strict position? Indeed we do!”
My question is, if you do not believe that ‘1914 is the time of Christ’s presence’ which is a ‘required’ belief to have ‘approved association’ where does that leave you?
-“The Lord’s second presence dates from 1874, as above stated.” The Harp of God (a Watch Tower publication) -1926 edition page #231, -1928 addition page #236
The date 1874 for Christ’s second presence is stated in many Watch Tower publications, a good number of them long after 1914 when they supposedly saw His return “with eyes of understanding” in 1914! How is that!
Charles Russel and Joseph Rutherford would both be disfellowshipped if they were alive today and persisted in their beliefs.
Wonderful article you have written. This July 22nd, will mark 23 years of the resignations that my husband & I gave to the elders of the Davie Congregation in Broward County Florida.
We had three elders come to our home to tell them of ALL that we had learned from Raymond Franz book, “Crisis Of Conscience”. My husband did not want to resign because he did not want to put his elderly mother in the position to shun him.
After I told the elders ALL that I had learned, I handed them a letter of resignation and they turned to my husband and asked him if he was “In agreement” with his wife. While he said, “yes” he told them that he did not feel compelled to talk to others about it. The elders told him he would be disfellowshipped for being in agreement with me. So within a few days he too turned in a letter of resignation to the elders ,
It has been almost 23 years and we have not looked back once. It has been a harder road for my husband because his mother is now in her mid 80’s and she is torn apart about her only son leaving what she thinks in “Jehovah’s organization”. But we know differently. It is a man made cult run by a bunch of old men who are now almost all died off. Like the World wide Church of God. Let’s pray for a huge upheaval in this organization. Let them see the error of their ways in the way they twist the Scriptures and take away from the Deity of Jesus. Let them repent of their haughtiness and know that salvation is a FREE gift to all, by Faith and not by Watchtower Works. Ephesians 2:8-9 Let them come to Jesus, he said at John 14:6 “I am the WAY, the TRUTH, and the Life, NO ONE comes to the father except through ME.”
Michelle Leeds
Hi Michelle,
I thought your comment was interesting. When I left, almost 15 years ago, July 1, 1996, I had4 elders come to see me alone. 3 of them had lost family that left the JW and one had a son who was in Bethel. I will NEVER forget how they told me I made them sick to their stomach’s, I was an unfit mother because by leaving Jehovah’s organization I was walking away from my children and they had lost their children. I would surely live to regret my decision. They had a whole list of reasons to df me and gave me the choice toi beg the congregation to forgive me and come back or be df. I CHOSE to be df.
At that time I had only heard of Ray Franz as being a terrible apostate, I had not read his book. But they DF me because I turned a pedophile in and he went to prison, I said I did not feel Jehovah’s spirit in the Kingdom Hall so I brought discord, I was getting a divorce from a ” brother in good standing ” who had walked out on my 2 children & I 2 years before, I had a job to support my children and sometimes I had to come late to the meetings due to work. They told me to quit my job, Jah would take care of us. The list went on & on.
Being DF was very hard. They moved my 17 yr. old daughter out of my house and had her live with an elder. They got her dad’s permission and said if I tried to stop it they would contact social services and they had many JW who would say I abused my son. So I dropped it to protect my son. I never thought of going back but it has been very hard being left out of my 3 JW children’s lives.
It took me 4 years before I would study the Bible on my own. I still had JW doctrine in my head. I had no hope because I thought Jehovah had abandoned me too. I was very suicidal. We lived in the city , St. Petersburg, Florida, and I left my door unlocked, hoping a robber would come in and kill me. Sleeping forever would not be so painful. But I couldn’t go through with it because I knew my husband would raise my son as a JW.
Now I know about Jesus and I know that He is with me every day and many times he has let me know that he is walking with me.
The elders contacted me last year and came by for a while wanting me to come back, they would make sure I got my family back. I let them know no way! Now my elder son makes sure that the rest of the family know they can never even say hello to me. I have not been allowed to see my 2 grandchildren from my only daughter. But God see’s and I pray that their eyes will be opened to see the real truth.
Shirley Jackson
They told me recently (I left 20 years ago) that if I felt my prayers were being answered by God, this was false. As it was satan who was answering my prayers.
So who is actually mentally diseased??????
I¡¦ll right away clutch your rss feed as I can not find your email subscription hyperlink or e-newsletter service. Do you’ve any? Please permit me know so that I could subscribe. Thanks.
Hello and sorry for not responding when you sent your comment and questions. We do not have a news letter. I have not added anything to this web site for a few months. I have been thinking about what might be helpful to include on the site and hope to add something soon.
Thanks for your comments and all the best.
Ted Brown