"Doc" Bob Gray

The Doc Bob Screen Name

First, let me dispel a longstanding misconception – I am not really a doctor. Years ago, when I first got on the internet, I figured that I needed a good screen name. Even more years ago, my nephew used to call me “Doctor Bob” after the character in the “Doctor’s Hospital” sketch on “The Muppet Show.” So, I figured that would be a good screen name.

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The Witness Years

I first became involved with Jehovah’s Witnesses the 1973 when a workmate gave me a copy of the book The Truth That Leads to Eternal Life. I read the book in one night and started studying that same week. My wife and I were baptized at the “Divine Purpose” district convention at the old Narragansett Park in Pawtucket, Rhode Island.

In September of 1975, I was appointed as a ministerial servant and then I was appointed as a regular pioneer and an elder during the same month of January 1985. During the time I was a Jehovah’s Witness, I served as Literature Servant, Accounts Servant, Service Overseer and Watchtower Study Conductor in my local congregation. I was also a regular public speaker. I worked as a sound and video tech at circuit assemblies and district conventions early on and then worked in finance at the circuit assemblies and as an attendant at the district conventions in the later years.

For most of the years I was a Witness, I thoroughly loved it and enjoyed it. I was convinced that it was Jehovah’s visible, spirit-directed organization. I learned a lot of good things as a JW. I got to know a lot of good people (along with some not-so-good ones), I learned a lot about the Bible, I learned to teach and to speak effectively in public – skills which certainly stand me in good stead today.

Especially during the 5 years I was serving as both a regular pioneer and as an elder, did I really feel that I was doing what Jehovah wanted me to be doing. We had a good group of pioneers that included two of the other elders. Our elder body worked together well and the congregation seemed to be doing well.

But as I served as a pioneer and as an elder, I began to realize things about the organization that were troublesome. I began to see that we were not raising up spiritual people, but organizational people. It also began to dawn on me that much of the training I was receiving as an elder had more to do with protecting the considerable assets of the Watchtower corporations than it did with helping my brothers and sisters.

For a while, I tried to teach around the things I realized had no basis in scripture or were wrong. But, as time went on, I was left with less and less that I could teach with a clear conscience. At that point, I stepped down from being an elder. Then, over the next couple of years, I attended fewer and fewer meetings. My last meeting was the Memorial of 1997.


Because you say: “I am rich and have acquired riches and do not need anything at all,” but you do not know you are miserable and pitiable and poor and blind and naked, … “




"Doc Bob"

The Present

At this point, I have found that there is not only life after being a Jehovah’s Witness, but there is “abundant life” in Christ. While I was a Witness, I was sure that we had a spiritual paradise that people in Christendom could not appreciate. But since leaving Jehovah’s Witnesses I have realized that it is not about religion, but it’s about relationship. I now enjoy a relationship with God that I could not have as a Jehovah’s Witness. In fact, when I sent out letters that told my old Witness friends of my new relationship with God, the elders wanted me to face charges of apostasy. For more on that story, please read the letter that I wrote to my Witness friends at Letter 1

I wish I could convey to my old Jehovah’s Witness friends how wonderful that relationship is. I wish I could get across to them the shallowness of what we thought was so deep, the insignificance of what we thought was so profound. I wish I could help them see that the Holy Spirit is not confined to one organization headquartered in Brooklyn or Patterson, New York. I wish they could see how applicable Revelation 3:17 is to the Watchtower organization:


Bob Gray

Because you say: “I am rich and have acquired riches and do not need anything at all,” but you do not know you are miserable and pitiable and poor and blind and naked, … “


Doc Bob's Letter

In early 1999, I decided that it was time to let my old Jehovah’s Witness friends know what was going on with me – why I left the organization and where I was spiritually. After nearly a year of prayer and many rewrites, I sent this letter to 70 of my old friends in December of 1999

Dear ——–,

I am writing this letter to many of my old friends in the Portsmouth and neighboring congregations with whom I have been particularly close. I’m sorry for not writing each of you a personal letter. But, I have much to say and many to whom I want to say it. Rather than let you all hear what has been going on with me lately through the rumor mill, I though a mail-merged, form letter like this seemed to me to be the best way to do it. (Of course there is the added benefit to you of not having to decipher my less than readable handwriting)

I have labored long and hard over this letter, first over whether or not to write it at all, and then on what to write. I am sure that some of you will find some of what I am about to say troubling. But I ask you to read the whole of this letter before coming to any conclusions.

For over 20 years I served faithfully and happily in the Portsmouth and Kittery congregations as a publisher, pioneer, ministerial servant and elder. During the years I was active as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses, I learned a lot about the Bible, as well as people and life in general. I also had the pleasure of meeting and getting to work with a lot of wonderful brothers and sisters like yourselves. Most importantly, I really felt that I was serving Jehovah acceptably with His own people and His organization. Now it has been almost five years now since I stepped down from being an elder and about three years since I stopped attending meetings.

Despite my not attending meetings, I have continued in my usual habits of reading and studying. My love for God and His Word has never diminished. If anything, I do more reading and research now than ever before. In fact, it is my love for reading and study that has brought me to where I am now.

When I first started studying, it was in the book The Truth That Lead to Eternal Life. On page 13, that book says: “We need to examine, not only what we personally believe, but also what is taught by any religious organization with which we may be associated.” I’ve tried to follow this counsel since I first started studying with Jehovah’s Witnesses back the in the early 1970s and always felt that I was following it. I was not really examining things as closely as I should. I found instead that I was just ignoring or rationalizing away anything negative about the organization.

At first, I did examine everything carefully, making sure of all things. But, as time went on, I found that just keeping up with the minimum studies for the Watchtower Study, the Service Meeting and the Book Study didn’t leave much time for doing any other serious research. Looking back now, I realize that the material for the meetings was devoted almost exclusively to supporting the latest teaching on any given subject, rather than to any serious discussion of all sides of that subject. I realized that after many years as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses, I was not examining my own religious organization, but instead, I was just ignoring or rationalizing away anything negative about the organization.

A couple years before I stepped down from being an elder, several things began to occur to me that troubled me very much. I began to notice that more and more of my time and mental energy as an elder was taken up by what I would consider bureaucratic or organizational concerns while less and less was available for helping the brothers and sisters. As I went to KM schools and meetings with the circuit and district overseers at assemblies, I began to feel that my role as an elder was a lot more about supporting and defending the organization than it was about helping my brothers and sisters.

At the same time, more of the brothers and sisters seemed to need more help and encouragement. Many that I talked with felt that they were not really part of the congregation, that they were not really doing as much in the preaching work as they felt they should, that they were guilty about it, and felt they were not pleasing to Jehovah because of it. I began to see that as elders and as an organization we were not raising up truly spiritual people, that is, people who knew their Bible and were able to apply Biblical principles to their lives. Instead, it seemed to me that we were developing good organizational people. Many seemed to have a good feel for where they stood in the organization, but not a clear view of where they stood with Jehovah. Many seemed to have a better relationship with the organization than they did with Jehovah.

Questions came to my mind: Was it my personal failings as an elder that contributed to this? Was it the organization? Was it the program of meetings and study? What were my own motives for serving? Was I doing all I was doing because of my love for Jehovah and my brothers and sisters or because it had become a habit for me? – because it was just what elders were supposed to do? – or was I doing it because I was afraid not to do it?

Also, as I was doing research for public talks and service meeting parts, I noticed more and more quotes that were supplied as part of the talk outlines and the service meeting parts were not really in context. When I took a step back, and looked at many of the basics, I found that a fair bit of the data and the arguments that the Society used to support some of the things I had learned and taught for years were seriously lacking.

For a time, I tried to continue on as an elder, teaching around the things I found which were flawed, and continuing to help and encourage as best I could despite my misgivings. I loved Jehovah, I loved all of you brothers and sisters and I loved being an elder and took my role as one very seriously. After a while though, my conscience would not allow me to continue to teach things and to support policies that I knew were at best flawed and at worst untrue. For these reasons, and other personal reasons, I decided to step down from being an elder.

It is difficult for me to put into words the mental, emotional and spiritual struggle that resulted from all this. On the one hand I wanted to talk to some of the other elders about how I felt, but on the other whenever I raised a point about something I had found, there were no real answers or I was immediately questioned as to whether I was criticizing the ‘faithful slave.’ On the one hand, I was having serious reservations about some of the teachings and policies of the Society, but on the other hand I did not want to separate myself from all of you, my brothers and sisters. I continued going to meetings for a while, but found it difficult to even sit and listen to the things that I did not feel I could teach. I found the meetings more discouraging than encouraging. I had reached the point where the good of going to the meetings was outweighed by the bad, where my conscience outweighed my appreciation. Rather than make a big deal about what I was having problems with, I decided to just gradually withdraw from attendance at the Kingdom Hall.

Despite all this – or perhaps because of it – I still found great pleasure in reading and studying on my own. God’s Word and my relationship with Him were the only consolation and encouragement I felt I had at that point. Also, as I looked around, I found a wealth of good books to read. One of my favorites is “The Myth of Certainty” by Daniel Taylor. It deals with the role of the questioning Christian in the church. While it does not deal with Jehovah’s Witnesses at all, it addresses many of the issues that concerned me regarding my relationship with the organization. This book also showed me that my situation with the organization was not unique to Jehovah’s Witnesses, but many other Christians have similar misgivings regarding their own churches. This book also provided some good insights on how religious and secular organizations and their questioning members do, and should, treat each other.

Many Jehovah’s Witnesses could consider some of the material that I read, such as Raymond Franz’s books “Crisis of Conscience” and “In Search of Christian Freedom” to be apostate maerial. I expected them to be hateful diatribes against the Watchtower Society, the Governing Body and Jehovah’s Witnesses in general. They did not live up (or should I say down?) to my expectations. Instead, I found them to be well written, thoughtful works. They were completely devoid of the “vitriolic hatred” that the Watchtower has said characterizes so-called apostate literature. They were also an interesting view of the inner workings of the organization.

At the same time, I began to meet others on the Internet that had similar concerns about the organization. The Internet proved to be a great aid to me in my situation. It allowed me access to information and people to whom I would not otherwise have access. It also allowed me the opportunity to express myself and to hear others expressing themselves openly and honestly without fear of being labeled as spiritually weak or apostate. Some of these people were still active as Jehovah’s Witnesses, some were not. I did find that some definitely were the bitter, hateful apostates that the Watchtower has mentioned on occasion. But for the most part, the people I dealt with were not that way at all. Many had served faithfully for many years as pioneers and elders and were genuinely concerned about various issues within the organization. They loved Jehovah, His Word and their brothers and sisters, but has serious problems with some of the things that the Watchtower Society has done and taught. Some remain in the organization trying to work for reform from within, others have left. I considered the possibility of remaining within the organization and trying to work to change the things that I thought were a problem, but I had already been doing that for almost 10 years and had long since realized that elders have little to no ability to influence the direction of the Society.

So at this point, I was basically out of the organization. Now the question was – what next? Time and again, brothers and sisters I talked to on the Internet would ask (in an apparently inaccurate paraphrase of John 6:68), “Where else can you go?” But Peter did not ask Jesus “Where are we to go?”, but rather “Lord, to whom shall we go?”. To ask “Where else can you go?” emphasizes an organization or a place, while asking, “Lord, to whom shall we go?” emphasizes Jesus Christ. So rather than worrying about where to go, or to which organization to go, I decided to leave it in God’s hands. I decided to work on my relationship with Him first and to ask Him to guide and direct me as to where, if anywhere, I should go.

I read and thought a lot about Jesus’ place in all this and began to do more Bible reading on it. While we, as Jehovah’s Witnesses, often referred to Matthew 28:19 and 20, we seldom dwelt on verse 18, which says: “And Jesus spoke to them saying, ‘All authority has been given Me in heaven and earth.'” From that it seemed obvious to me that the Father had turned over all authority in heaven and on earth to Jesus Christ and that Christ would retain that power until the fulfillment of 1 Cor. 15:24: “then comes the end, when He delivers up the kingdom to the God and Father, when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power.”

From these verses, it is clear to me that Jesus is the one that exercises authority in heaven and on Earth, and that He will continue to do so until He hands that authority back to the Father. Given the fact that the Father has turned over all authority to the Son, Jesus Christ as King of the Kingdom, it also seems to me that there is no reason we should not talk to our King, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ in prayer

I had heard various people talk about praying for Jesus to come into their hearts. The idea was pretty foreign to me. Even after I had separated myself from the organization, I figured that for all the time and effort I had spent studying about Jesus and “cultivating the fruits of the spirit” that Jesus was in my heart. I thought the way Jesus lived in our hearts was by our studying about him and growing close to him based on that knowledge, this in harmony with the New World Translation rendering of the Greek work ‘gisoskosi’ in John 17:3 as “taking in knowledge.”

For years as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses, I didn’t think much of the claims of Christians to have been born again. I believed, as most Jehovah’s Witnesses do, that only the anointed of Jehovah’s Witnesses were truly born again. I thought the idea of someone outside the organization being born again was just about impossible to me.

Despite this, I thought a lot about that prayer for Jesus to come into my heart. I figured that as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses, I was a Christian and even though I had left the organization, I was still one. So, I thought I should be able to pray that prayer and really mean it, and nothing would change. For a couple of months, when I was praying, I would start to pray, “Lord Jesus, come into my h….” and I just couldn’t finish it. That bothered me. Regardless of my relationship with the organization, I still felt that my spirituality was really stronger than it had been even when I was active as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses. I couldn’t understand why I could not finish that prayer and mean it. I think that deep down, I knew what finishing that prayer would really mean.

In October of 1998, when I was at a gathering of former Jehovah’s Witnesses, I heard a talk that dealt a lot with the concept of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit being “in” us. A lot of what the speaker said coincided with the study I had done on the New World Translation rendering of the Greek word “en”, which is normally translated as “in.” The New World Translation, however, has translated many occurrences of the Greek “en” as “in union.” Another point this speaker made was the need for us to totally surrender to Christ as our Lord and Master.

That night, as I lay in my bed praying, it suddenly seemed to me to be the time for me to surrender my will and my life to Jesus Christ as my Lord, Master and Savior. As I was praying, I finished that prayer that I had started so many times. I prayed “Lord Jesus, come into my heart.” Included in these words was my plea for Jesus to come into my life and heart, for Him to live His life in me and for me to live my live in Him.

Now, I had heard several testimonies from “born-againers” about how they were effected when they were born again. I generally wrote them off as overemotional reactions. Well, I learned that not all of them were that. I struggled for months to find the words to describe what I felt after I surrendered to Christ and asked Him into my heart. The best term I can think of is “heavenly hug.” It was like a warm embrace that welcomed me home, an embrace that welcomed me into the Body of Christ.

At that moment that I surrendered to Jesus, I felt more safe, secure and loved than I have ever felt before. It was almost a physical sensation. Also, immediately I noticed a change in my viewpoint on things. It was hard to identify at first but the most noticeable thing to me was how I viewed the scriptures. All of a sudden a lot of scriptures that weren’t supposed to apply to me because I was not of the ‘anointed’, suddenly made so much sense. 2 Cor. 5:17, where it says, “Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature, the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.” was one of them. I realized when I asked Jesus into my heart, that I became a new creature in Christ. Now when I read scriptures such as John 15 and Romans 8, they are brilliantly clear to me. Scriptures that I read a thousand times are all new to me. I know Christ on a whole new level now. It is a wonderful thing.

At one level, I had realized it for some time, but now it was blazingly clear that the Body of Christ is not confined to one select group from one manmade organization. I found that the members of the Body of Christ are united, not by what physical organization they belong to, not by what denomination they are members of, but by their common experience with Christ and by the Holy Spirit. I am sorry for the way I used to view those who claim to be born again and I thank God for this wonderful experience.

For several months thereafter, I did not go to any church. Although I had come to Christ and was now one of the Body of Christ, I did not feel drawn to any particular church or any group. I think it was good for me to come to this point apart from any religious organization. That left the whole experience just between Him and me. Recently however, I have started fellowshipping with other Christians at Eliot Baptist Church. I went there the first time at the recommendation of a former member of that church that I had met online. She had moved to Virginia a couple of years ago and mailed me a couple of tapes of the Sunday sermons at Eliot Baptist. I found the teaching there was very good.

As I attended, I also found many of the stereotypes I had of churches in general and Baptist churches in particular were shattered. I did not find them to be a bunch of emotional, raving “born-againers.” I did find them be very loving and much better versed in the Bible than I would have expected. On Sunday, between the early and late service, there are 3 different adult Sunday school classes. During the week there are several small groups that meet for additional Bible study and discussion. While they do not go door to door, I found in talking to many there a real concern and a heartfelt motivation to share the good news of Jesus Christ. The level of spirituality and pure joy in the worship of God that I found there were a wonderful contrast to the stereotypes I had clung to for over two decades as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses.

I can only imagine what all of you are thinking of what I have written here. I know how I would have reacted to a letter like this while I was still an active Witness. If you have any questions or concerns about what I have said here, please feel free to contact me by mail, e-mail or phone. All contacts will be kept in strinct confidence. I realize that after reading this letter that some of you may not want to contact me. I can understand that too. Whether you choose to contact me or not, I ask that you at least think about what I have written here. Please be assured of my continued love and best wishes for you all.


Letter 2

Two days after I sent Letter 1, I received a call from two the the elders of my congregation. They asked if I were formally disassociating myself. When I replied that I was not, I was invited to appear before them to face charges of apostasy. I sent this letter as a reply to that invitation. The elders never replied either in writing or verbally.


December 17, 1999

Dear Brothers,

I realize how difficult all of this is for you in dealing with me, what I said in my recent letter and where all of this is likely going. My purpose in writing that letter was not to cause any of you any trouble, but just to let my old friends know what was happening with me. In that letter, I was able to address you and the others I wrote to as friends, some of whom I have known for more than twenty five years. I know that you are doing what you think is right, but please realize that I am doing the same. None of what follows in this letter is meant to cause any of you any personal grief. Despite all this I love you brothers very much.

In my recent phone conversation with Paul W___ and Paul D______, I was not surprised at all at the way our conversation went. Having dealt with many judicial situations while I was an elder, I know that friendship ends up taking second place to organizational concerns in situations such as this. Since you are dealing with me, not as friends, but as elders appointed by the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Incorporated, and since I think there is good reason to believe that you will be consulting and/or reporting to the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Incorporated, I feel I must respond to you as agents of that corporation rather than as I would like to – as friends.

I have decided that I will not formally disassociate myself from the Portsmouth Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses or from Jehovah’s Witnesses in general. I came to this decision for several reasons. First, there is nothing I see in the Bible that calls for a formal letter of disassociation in my situation, or any other. It seems to me that the provision of formal disassociation is a matter of convenience for the legal department of the Watchtower Society rather than serving any real religious purpose. It allows people to be pigeon-holed into nice neat little categories rather than dealing with the real issues involved. Also, I have no problem with the Portsmouth Congregation or its members. My disagreement is with certain actions, policies, teachings and writings contained in publications that are produced and in oral teachings promulgated either individually or collectively by the Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses and its legal corporations, the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc. the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania, Inc. and the International Bible Students Association.

The purpose of this letter is to clarify certain matters and to secure and protect what I consider basic human rights in dealing with agents of the multinational, multi-billion dollar Watchtower corporations.

Since you have asked me to appear before a judicial committee to face charges of apostacy, there are a few things that I must ask for and which I feel must be clarified before I will even consider meeting with a judicial committee.

1. I shall be notified in writing of the time, place and purpose of any meetings with a judicial committee.

2. I shall be notified in writing of the exact purpose of the meetings.

3. I shall be notified in writing exactly on whose behalf the judicial committee was convened and is acting: the Portsmouth Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses or its legal corporation the Portsmouth Company of Jehovah’s Witnesses, the Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses or its legal corporations, the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc. the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania, Inc., the International Bible Students Association or any other agency not here named.

4. If any other agency other than the one for whom the judicial committee has informed me they are acting for is consulted, reported to, or allowed to have any bearing on the outcome of the judicial process, I will consider the judicial committee as acting in the their behalf.

5. I shall be notified in writing as to my status as a member of any and all of the organizations for which the committee is acting or to which the committee will report.

6. I insist that the judicial committee immediately cease, and in the future desist from any actions toward or against me in behalf of any corporation or organization of which I am not a member.

7. I shall be notified in writing of any accusations against me, the names of persons making such accusations and the substance of any evidence against me.

8. I shall be notified in writing of any and all of my rights and responsibilities involved in the judicial process.

9. I shall be given sufficient time between notification of any meetings with a judicial committee and the time of the actual meeting to prepare a response to any accusations.

10. I shall be allowed to have one person of my choice present during all meetings between me and the judicial committee as an observer. Since I think there is good reason to believe that the judicial committee may consult with one or more lawyers, specifically those employed by the Legal Department of Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Incorporated, the person of my choice may also be a lawyer.

11. During the meetings with the judicial committee I and/or my observer will be allowed to take whatever notes we feel are necessary.

Additionally, if the judicial committee takes any judicial action against me :

12. I will not recognize any action taken by the judicial committee as valid unless it is communicated to me in writing, stating the exact nature and reason for the action.

13. In this written communication the judicial committee must state exactly on whose behalf they have taken the action, specifically the Portsmouth Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses or its legal corporation the Portsmouth Company of Jehovah’s Witnesses, the Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses or its legal corporations, the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc. the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania, Inc., the International Bible Students Association or any other agency not here named.

14. If the judicial committee has stated that it is acting only for the Portsmouth Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses, it is enjoined from notifying any agency outside the congregation of their action. If the judicial committee or anyone acting in their behalf notifies of reports to anyone outside the Portsmouth Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses, I may take any appropriate legal action.

15. I may appeal any action taken by the judicial committee.

16. Before I will meet with an appeal committee, that committee must notify me in writing of the names of all of the members of the appeal committee and who each one represents: the Portsmouth Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses or its legal corporation the Portsmouth Company of Jehovah’s Witnesses, the Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses or its legal corporations, the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc. the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania, Inc., the International Bible Students Association or any other agency not here named

17. There shall be no contact between the judicial committee and the appeal committee other than to inform them of the time and place of my meetings with them. If I determine that there is any contact, communication or attempt on the part of any of the members of the original judicial committee or anyone acting on their behalf to, in any way prejudice or sway the appeal committee, I will insist that a new appeal committee be formed.

18. I shall be notified in writing of any and all of my rights and responsibilities involved in the appeal process.

19. I shall be allowed to have one person of my choice present during the all meetings between me and the appeal committee. Since I think there is good reason to believe that the appeal committee may consult with one or more lawyers, specifically those employed by the Legal Department of the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Incorporated, the person of my choice may also be a lawyer.

20. During the meetings with the appeal committee I and/or my observer will take whatever notes we feel are necessary.

21. I will not recognize any action taken by the appeal committee as valid unless it is communicated to me in writing, stating the exact nature and reason for the action.

22. In this written communication the appeal committee must state exactly on whose behalf they are taking the action, specifically the Portsmouth Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses or its legal corporation the Portsmouth Company of Jehovah’s Witnesses, the Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses or its legal corporations, the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc. the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania, Inc., the International Bible Students Association or any other agency not here named.

23. If the appeal committee has stated that it is acting only for the Portsmouth Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses, it is enjoined from notifying any agency outside the congregation of their action. If the appeal committee or anyone acting in their behalf notifies or reports to anyone outside the Portsmouth Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses, I may take any appropriate legal action.

24. I understand that if I am disfellowshipped by the judicial committee and the disfellowshipping is upheld by the appeal committee that I am, at that point, no longer considered to be one of Jehovah’s Witnesses. I also understand that it is necessary to make a brief announcement that I have been disfellowshipped. From then on, I will consider any attempt to convince by speeches, talks or teaching; to coerce by implied or actual threat of similar judicial action; or to encourage by private counsel or suggestion any of Jehovah’s Witnesses to treat me differently from any other person that is not one of Jehovah’s Witnesses to be a serious violation of my civil rights and I may initiate any legal action, civil or criminal that I deem appropriate. This includes any attempt to convince by speeches, talks or teaching; to coerce by implied or actual threat of similar judicial action; or to encourage by private counsel or suggestion any present Jehovah’s Witnesses to shun or avoid me, cease or otherwise modify their doing business with me, or terminate or otherwise abrogate any lease, rental, mortgage, or any other legal agreement that I may presently have with them. I may consider such to be an infringement of free trade and may initiate appropriate legal action.

25. I consider any communication between the members of the judicial committee and myself and the appeal committee and myself to be ecclesiastically privileged. Any attempt to reveal the substance or tone of those communications to any other person or group will be considered by me to be a breach of that privilege and may result in legal action. This includes any announcements beyond the fact of my disfellowshipping, speeches, talks, or any other communication, written or oral, public or private.

I fully realize that you may be unwilling or that the Watchtower corporations will not allow you to comply with the preceding.

I respectfully await your written response