The first time I met a JW at the door was in my teens. I was only just a young girl and they said something about an Armageddon, which was heavy. Then they went on to say that God and the devil were warring over my soul \u2013 that was scary. I couldn\u2019t wait to go back inside and I remember saying to myself I didn\u2019t want anything to do with either of them (God or the devil). It all sounded somewhat threatening and I just wanted to forget what I heard as quick as I could. Always make sure not to let your kids answer the door to them, is strongly advised.<\/p>\n
You can request to have your address removed from their list \u2013 they are obliged to do that and most people are not aware of it. That will spare you a lot of unnecessary stress and inconvenience. Some people are kept at their door when preparing meals, attending to little kids, or visitors are waiting inside for them.<\/p>\n
Jesus intervened in my life in my 20s \u2013 a totally different experience. And when I was about 30, I shared about Him (naturally) to someone in our street who said it really helped her. She also cautioned me not to speak about Him or Christianity to any JW if they came to my door because they take everything you say to their organization, so they can find out how to tare it to pieces. Nice people!<\/p>\n
Not much later, a JW man came to my door one day with a young boy and stood him right in my doorway, so I couldn\u2019t excuse myself and go. At the time, I was about 24hrs out of hospital \u2013 very week and woozy, needing to go back and lay down \u2013 and he wouldn\u2019t stop talking. I was left very concerned about the little boy afterwards \u201cwhat if they encounter hostility with his parents persistence and he gets emotionally damaged at such a young age?\u201d I said to myself, fully aware that he was \u201cUsing\u201d his own child to get religious agendas across. I saw it as a form of \u201cchild abuse\u201d and do to this day. Sure enough, I was informed that is common practice by someone weeks later.<\/p>\n
About 18 years ago, I had a different experience with a JW girl in her 30\u2019s with Fibromyalgia in a way that only God could arrange. We got together in a library\u2026..she kept sensing the Peace of God as we spoke. She commented that she trusted me and exchanged details. She also felt loved. She was considering buying a product from me to help her with her condition. When I felt led by the Spirit of God to let her know that Jesus desired to heal her, she became wary a few days later because of things she had been taught_ that healing was of the devil.<\/p>\n
I have a question to ask people of that religion. If the devil heals you, howcome he made you sick, then he made you well OR did God make you sick and the devil made you well? Really! Our true bible (inspired Word of God) tells us that sickness is a work of the enemy of mankind and that Jesus came to undo his works and bring healing. This makes so much more sense, doesn\u2019t it? There is so much said about healing in the bible, I don\u2019t know how they could miss this, but so many people get mixed up. Religious cults mess with your brain, and the bible has cautions about that.<\/p>\n
The enemy of man-kind peddles such doctrines at your door sutlely and persuasively, because he does not want you to be Saved in this life or the next_ so he uses such people to lure you into a \u2018Counterfeit\u2019 before you find the REAL\u2026..or more correctly to say, so you don\u2019t find the real and actually reject it once you\u2019ve been misled into thinking these \u201cdoctrines of men and demons\u201d can give you Eternal Life.<\/p>\n
In the street where I live, there is excessive door to door activity on a regular basis from these people. I appealed to a man who was leading a group one day, saying \u201cexcuse me, you have been to these houses several times now, we don\u2019t want to put people off of God, do we?\u201d He lost his temper, shouting at me \u2013 that was the reception I got, he was quite angry. Not long after that, I saw the same thing on a YouTube video and several other videos with stories \u00a0from people who are leaving that religion.<\/p>\n
Should maybe tell you about a lady in a nursing home who was very wary of everyone there (all the staff and residents). She refused to mix or even have meals with them. When I spoke to her, she was very bitter about \u201cnone of her people going to visit her\u201d and the Coordinator there said she had been abandoned by them. She needed Salvation, not religion.<\/p>\n
Those are my dealings with those people over the years, so looks can be deceiving.<\/p>\n
Recently, I met a JW lady in our local shopping centre, sharing a wonderful story about two family members who are now with Jesus. The story is warm and vibrant and I had no deliberate intention of sharing it \u2013 I was just so happy for them that day. Her response was to give me a JW Card and tell me \u201cGod has a memory of them\u201d (that is all) thinking she might win a convert. Hardly, I would not ever exchange the assured reality I have with the likes of that kind of thing. \u201cA memory! Is that all?\u201d Yes friends, do be careful.<\/p>\n
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Why I Left Jehovah’s Witnesses – Former Elder \/ Pioneer\u00a0 YouTube Video HERE<\/a><\/p>\n ____________________________________________________<\/p>\n Encounters By People Who Were JWs<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Confirmed What I Already Observed<\/strong><\/p>\n I actually read this book about 20 years ago and wanted to refute the folks who think this book is garbage. I’m willing to bet those criticisms are made by active JWs who are offended. The fact is that isolation, loneliness, anxiety and paranoia are rampant among witnesses. I saw in in my own family and congregation. Is it any wonder their members have a predisposition to mental problems when you have a very authoritarian religion, that threatens excommunication, and intrudes into the most personal aspects of your life. Great content!<\/p>\n It’s about time someone said something. THANK YOU! …<\/strong><\/p>\n It’s about time someone said something. THANK YOU! JW’s are a CULT. Full stop.<\/p>\n Anyone that tries to argue with that is just in denial.<\/p>\n Have Seen Mental Problems<\/strong><\/p>\n A must read by JWs. I personally had a friend who took her life because the elders were convinced she was demonized when she approached them about her depression. They told her to pray more and rely on Jehovah because seeing a professional was \u201cout of the question\u201d. I know many who are seriously in a bad way because they are forbidden to associate with close family members who decided to leave the organization and disfellowshipped as a result. Many feel trapped because if they question authority or leave, they will be treated as dead and cut off from family, so they suffer in silence.<\/p>\n Vital information!<\/strong><\/p>\n Jehovah’s Witnesses have been thoroughly indoctrinated to believe they are the happiest people on Earth. Thus, when confronted with research that points to mental health problems among them, the Witnesses typically refuse to acknowledge the validity of this information. They are in denial. To be otherwise would cause their world to crumble.<\/p>\n Author Of Book Recounts Her Observations<\/strong><\/p>\n I was a one of Jehovah’s Witnesses for 25 years. In my new book, “Awakening of a Jehovah’s Witness: Escape From the Watchtower Society”, I expose the havoc the Watchtower Society’s teachings cause in Witnesses lives. I have personally known Witnesses who, out of fear of dying at God’s hands, drove themselves mercilessly into a mental breakdown trying to obey the dictates of the Watchtower Society. In their fervor, many Witnesses become mentally unbalanced.<\/p>\n A Different Author Helps People<\/strong><\/p>\n In “Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Problem of Mental Illness”, Jerry Bergman does an excellent job of presenting how specific Watchtower teachings contribute to mental problems in Jehovah’s Witnesses, and how the Witnesses’ belief system can cause mental problems for them while living in a society that operates under different premises.<\/p>\n Dr. Bergman is to be commended for speaking out in this important arena that few have the courage to take on.<\/p>\n Elders Refuse To Give Practical Assistance<\/strong><\/p>\n Since I started my fade I met with two elders regarding a family issue they did not understand and refused to look on the internet on approved sites to be able to understand the issue.<\/p>\n No Concept Of The Mental Illness They Cause<\/strong><\/p>\n Often thought how many witnesses who believed and had mental health issues were disfellowshiped for a weakness because elders did not understand or would not try to understand and so contributed to the illness.<\/p>\n Regrets, Looking Back<\/strong><\/p>\n I was one of those victims wanting to get some higher education for a skilled job but did not do it because I would miss meetings. What a chump I was. Also the mental illness you mention I say the same thing in the congregations I served. Take care. Still Totally.<\/p>\n A Mental Illness Improving Since Leaving<\/strong><\/p>\n I tend to agree with you that the JW religion can cause mental illness because of its promoting an alternate mental reality. What happens when reality comes crashing through\u2026..as it most certainly will?<\/p>\n My experience with the JW religion gave me OCD. I have shaken most of it off\u2026\u2026but every now and then it pops up.<\/p>\n A Concerned Christian<\/strong><\/p>\n Doubtlessly JW does nothing for the mentally challenged being told to wait for Jehovah. If only they would cry out the mighty name of Jesus in the day of evil.<\/p>\n A Demanding And Insensitive Religious Establishment<\/strong><\/p>\n I think JW life and doctrine\u00a0leads\u00a0<\/em>to mental illness. Especially depression. But of course, the problem is always placed on\u00a0the person<\/em>\u00a0and never the organisation that causes the problem.<\/p>\n Waiting, waiting, waiting for a day that’s always “just around the corner” (since 1875) but never comes. To keep yourself on your toes every second of every day is not healthy.<\/p>\n Forcing yourself to suppress or stifle your desires, goals or interests simply because a magazine told you to also isnt healthy.<\/p>\n Former Jehovah’s Witness says religion ruined his childhood<\/a><\/p>\n