Individuals that desire to bring themselves into the freedom of personal conscience apart from the Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses, face many options.

Up front, they all are negative.

We all wish things were different... they just are not. Sorry.

That is just part of the price to pay for submitting mind, heart, and conscience to a group of men that place your feelings and thoughts way down on the list. It does not matter what you think: submission to and agreement with their thoughts and emotions are what cause your Salvation. The "take" of the Governing Body is this: You should be thankful they use every form of intimidation and mind control to force you into submission. So, when you resist the Governing Body, they use the local Elders in the same way Saul used his soldiers against David. Saul perceived David's success and abilities as a threat even though David did not desire the position or power of Saul's throne. The Governing Body views you in the same way: you threaten their authority by disagreement. This is especially true if you are correct in your reasoning or conclusion!

You must understand this above everything else, your eternal salvation is not

based on truth if truth is defined as unchangeable concepts that are just as valid now as they were two thousand years ago. Within the Watch Tower arrangement, your salvation is based on agreeing with and supporting Governing Body interpretations and statements of belief whether these are factually true on not. It is agreement, not truthfulness that determine your position before the Judgment Seat of Christ. (I did not understand this until at the end of 2002 even though I had associated with the Watch Tower for forty years. Silly me...) (If you are a "study", see Note 1 at the bottom of this page.)

Also, the Governing Body holds your friends and family hostage. If you resist them, they will threaten, by way of disfellowshipment, to keep your family and friends from you. If you have business interests within the Congregation, that will also be jeopardized. The Governing Body can, if things are just right, hold everything you care about and love in their hands. They will use this leverage to control your actions and words.

This is the way of things.

Situation:

So, you know the Governing Body is incorrect enough on certain doctrines that those doctrines are no longer a "Truth." You know you are lying when you call them a "Truth" and your conscience is aching. What to do?

Options:

• Option 1: Lie. just keep on falsifying the truth. There are a ton of Witnesses that do that. They just pretend that everything is okay and Jehovah will accept their lies as a pledge of loyalty to Him. This is one reason that those who study this situation call it "Orwellian." Do some research on the word "double-think." (Note: Again, if you are a "study" see Note 2 at base of page.)
• Option 2: Ignore. Just don't discuss those aspects of the Jehovah’s Witness theology: Best Wishes. All Watch Tower doctrine is intricately tied together. This will work as long as you never go in field service or have Bible Studies. That will bring you into the limelight of low or no service hours. This will lead to discussions with the Elders on why you are not preaching. The Inquisition begins...
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• Option 3: Halt. Stop attending meetings and field service and just shut up when the Elders come over. This will work, however, the Elders will visit, and question. The key is to say nothing. Nothing. Weather, price of cows on the hoof... anything but your concerns. You will not be disfellowshipped and still have your family.
• Option 4: Drift away slowly. Use work, sickness, your grandmother's sore knee. Just slowly stop associating with the Congregation. The Elders will view you as "spiritually weak" and will try to help. Do not say anything. Use your phone ID and do not answer when the Elders call.
• (Note: be prepared to have your relationships: family and friends go a little "sour" as they will view you as, slightly, "worldly." Then, as those Jehovah’s Witness relationships go down hill, you do not have other non-Jehovah’s Witness relationships to fill the void. You end up alone in many cases. The Governing Body know this and will play upon this fact dramatically. This is the area we hope to assist you in. All of this is a normal exiting experience.)
• Option 5: Move. This can be the best. You can, if you can hide your new life well enough, hold on to family and be free of the Watch Tower. However, this does not work every time. How will you cover over new associations religiously or personally to your old friends or family? Will your conscience bother you in regard to the hypocrisy and double life you are leading? You will have to answer that.
• Option 6: Honesty. Tell the truth, hold a clean conscience, and take the beating. That is what we did. Trust me, it is not for everyone. We believed in Jesus enough to know we would be "lost" for a while, however, we knew we would be "found" by Jehovah's Chief Sheppard and we were. The Witnesses here in Monett, Missouri now treat us like walking corpses. We expected that. I always wave and say, "Hi," and get a blank, scowling stare or an embarrass smile.

Our lives have improved so much since leaving the Witnesses it is unbelievable. We have so many kind and generous people in our lives now, and such blessings spiritually and emotionally. The cost of leaving the Society is nothing in comparison to our gain. This situation is not ours alone, as we know many that have had the same result.

No matter which option you pursue, there will be "cost and trial." This phase of life is the focus of this ministry. Easing this discomfort by encouragement and, if possible, advice or shared experiences, is our goal. We say "will" because freedom has a cost sticker of some sort and we want to reduce that cost by just being here for you. We have such empathy, you have no idea how much.

Another important fact is this: you are going to need a time of rest and recovery. You are, now, perhaps, totally exhausted and you feel so beat up. It takes time to recoup. You should not feel guilty about this. We believe you need to "be okay" with just relaxing for a bit. Just let go and allow yourself the needed time to let your resources rebuild. If you have email, you can begin to exchange thoughts and experiences with others, a little at a time.

Start doing some research, not in a frenzy as if you are going to prove it all out at once, but just in an easy, relaxed manner. You do not know it now, but you are in a time of realignment and it is not necessary to hurry the process. If you are like the many we know and our family, everything will work out.

After a period of rest and observation there is a wonderful theme in the lives of many, many ex-Jehovah’s Witnesses: "Progress in Community." We encourage, as your energies build, to reach out to others. This may be a little difficult as you are still untangling from a lot of the Watch Tower errors and false perceptions. However, reaching out, expanding your circle of new friends and associates produces a feeling of belonging and sharing that is so needed for a full life.

Integration is so important in a post exiting experience. Serving others in Love and being able to display the generous spirit you have is one important key to finding the "real life" outside the Watch Tower control. Replacing surface friendships with lasting, committed ones is not only possible, it just can not be stopped from happening as you reach out to serve and assist others in a myriad of ways. You, due to your unique perspective, can enliven others to a fresh perspective. Your zeal for telling others the Hope within you will produce a reviving dynamic in your own life and theirs. There is no limit to the assistance you can bring into the lives of others by your personal efforts or in concert with others. The rewards of joy and contentment are yours to be had in fellowshipping with others that have similar interests, even if you do not agree with them on every religious or social idea.

All of this potential is exactly what the Governing Body does not want you to see or understand.

The options above are not all there is, however, these stood out to us. We have been as honest as possible in the cost. And, in the potential benefits. The control is now in your hands.