In 1988, my mother converted to a Jehovah’s Witness, and for a while, I found myself drawn in as well. What began as a simple curiosity and a Bible study soon led to me knocking on doors and distributing copies of The Watchtower. Here’s what happened when I tried to leave…
There’ s no easy exit from a group like the Jehovah’s Witnesses
When i told my mother that i was leaving the cult……
She was angry and heart- broken. But i didn’t blame her for feeling that way……
I understood what my leaving meant for her……
My mum would be surviving Armageddon and entering paradise,without me. Why would god bother saving me?
-It wasn’t like I’d stopped believing in the Bible. I was still scared by Jesus’ words at Matthew 24. The world was purportedly ending –wasn’t it? The Bible did say that!!
Not knowing that i should deconstruct my beliefs-
Or even how to - I just boxed the whole issue up.
Even if the end was nigh……
I wanted to live now！
I wanted to go to college，maybe be a writer or make art？
I’m out
But of course
You don’t get to just leave a high control group like that!
You’ll suddenly become very important to them-
Cults do not give up on their converts so easily!
I would now have to sit through numerous ‘shepherding’ visits from elders in the congregation beseeching me to reconsider.
Can you turn please, in your Bible to Galatians 5 verse 7?
These visits, meant to encourage me actually felt like emotional-Pressure
They used:
(Guilt)
Brother Keane has Given so much of his Time to helping you. Time he could have Spent helping others to learn the “truth”……
（Fear）
We’re living in the Last days,your life depends on your trusting Jehovah-
(Shame)
why would you want to serve Satan? if you leave god’s people, you’re choosing Satan!
I wanted to scream out loud!
I’m 15! I’m not doing Anything wrong. I’m not breaking any of god’s laws!You’re suffocating me!
But i just stayed sullen and quiet-and as i write this,35 years later, i think about being 15…
I have a 15- year old daughter right this moment!
Whut?
Hey vera—I’m talking about when i was your age,i-
Oh i know this story-“Vera dont join a cult”Etc blah blah ...
It’s important kiddo!
I want you to be able to recognize mind-control and manipulation when you’re out in the world!
Yeah mom!1 already can, okay?
Okay well back to the story ,then my point 15-i was only 15 years old and all this pressure was an abuse of their power.
One painful memory from this time, in 1990-
Is when two teenage sisters were sent to my home to befriend me.
(Hi Sacha how are you?)
They’d never taken an interest in me before! It was so tacky……
One of the sisters(Claire) stands out to me in my memory. Her dad was a powerful up-and-coming elder at the Kingdom Hall-
One year later, I’d run into her again……
By this time both Claire and i were out of the Jehovah’s Witnesses . I’d just left but she’d been-
Disfellowshipped
（Sacha? Hi!）
Kicked out of the congregation
Shunned by her family and had even been made homeless for a while……
I’m so sorry for trying to make you stay in
My dad made me visit you. I felt like such a hypocrite i wanted to leave too i hated being a J.W.
It broke my heart to hear how she’d been treated. I hope that wherever Claire is now, she’s living a beautiful and creative free life...
So yeah... Lately all these Jehovah’s Witness stories have been weighing on my-mind-
(J.W stuff, do not open)
I opened the box. Why? Because I’ve reached midlife and it’s time?
Or because my daughter’s reached the age i was - and i can’t help but see my own history?
I just know that time doesn’t heal all wounds.it’s been 35 years but parts of me still ache over this...
What i know from all My inner work in therapy Is that acknowledging and accepting my pain is a first step toward healing. And my therapist told me that i have the right to tell my story and the right to heal.
Having escaped from one authoritarian, theocratic cult, I’ve experienced firsthand the tactics they use: The use of lies, threats, broken promises and constant propaganda-
(In trump we trust! God’s choice for president.)
The emotional manipulation, the rigid, black-and-white thinking, the demand for blind loyalty...
Find my freedom was just the beginning
True freedom means something very different to me now-It requires learning how authoritarian groups wield power.
It requires working through our fears and feelings and reality-testing our beliefs.
(And it means healing the traumas we carry)
So my own project 2025 is to focus on exploring all of this in my work……and i hope you’ll stick around for the journey.
Source Link：https://www.boredpanda.com/comics-about-teenage-jehovahs-witness/
