Like so many other former members of the New World Society of Jehovah's Witnesses I think back on my old "friends" and find they are no longer friends at all. They look at me and shake their head and the dust from their feet as though I were some foul thing to be avoided with the stench of death about me. Yet, at one time we called each other "brother" and "sister" and shared the same "mother," the Governing Body of the Watchtower Society.
Greg Speaks Out - My family was baptized in July 22, 1962 in Northridge, Calif. By 1966 my two sisters were regular pioneers as well as my father. My mother was never a regular pioneer nor do I remember her vacationing pioneering in her 36 years as one of Jehovah's Witnesses.
Three Interviews with former Jehovah's Witnesses, how the Watchtower affected them, and what they have gone on to do with their lives.
An Interview with Dr. Edmund Gruss
Randy Watters: This is an interview with Dr. Edmund Gruss, Professor of History at the Master's College. Ed, you are a former Jehovah's Witness, not that you would go by that as a title, but that is part of your experience. Tell us a little bit about your background in the Witnesses.
Ed Gruss: As the Witnesses currently visit homes, they also were doing this in the 1940's. In 1940 we lived in Palms which is close to Culver City, down in the L.A. area. A woman Witness visited our home stressing Armageddon soon and started studying at home with myself and my mother. My father was not really involved in the Witnesses. Being only a child of seven at the time, the thing I did was to fall in with what my mother was being exposed to and I accepted what was being taught, because I knew nothing else. I had never been to Sunday School or Church except for one time when I did go to Sunday School. So I never had a real exposure to Christianity or anything that would be any competition to what the Witnesses were teaching. As the normal development would take place, [I was] studying at home, going to the Kingdom Hall meetings, and working in the kitchen when there were assemblies. I would do (at least part of the time) street corner work, and door-to-door work, the normal experience of most kids in the Jehovah's Witnesses.
During the nearly 20 years since we have left the Watchtower organization, we have often reminded ourselves of this scripture. What caused the seed of truth to grow within us? Why were we able to deal realistically with falsehood, when so many of our friends and family members were not? Apparently, there are no easy answers. However, our hope and prayer is that we are only the first fruits and that God will allow us to be instrumental in helping to reveal the truth of the gospel to many of those whose minds are still veiled, whether in this life or the one to come (Matt. 12:32). We have empathy for Witnesses who are struggling to overcome doubts and the fear of potentially losing everything they hold dear.
Dear Brothers, I am writing to share with you the recent turn of events, which have caused some very significant changes in certain viewpoints that I hold to, and in my life altogether. I truly believe that I have always been a zealous person for Jehovah throughout my entire life in the truth. I have been baptized for over 15 years now, since June of 1990, with another three years of studying before baptism.
Free Minds is proud to be the host of Leonard Chretien's classic 1988 book "Witnesses of Jehovah" that accompanied the movie produced in 1986, still getting a lot of exposure after 22 years. The book can be downloaded free here, and the interview is about the production of this seminal movie. You can also buy it on DVD in our Free Minds Store.
The audio is a 13 minute interview with Randall Watters and Leonard Chretien, dated 7/22/09.
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It’s late night. I have just been to another elder meeting, as we used to do. The children and my wife were sleeping when I got home. Sitting here in front of the computer with the table covered with a lot of paper, but also my loving Bible. The thoughts are deep and long. I have just kissed my daughter goodnight at the edge of her bed and had a prayer to Jehovah with her. Maybe she didn’t listen because of her sleep, but as usual she, still sleeping, kissed me goodnight. I went to my wife and my children, saying that all my brothers and sisters are in deep trouble because they are confused over changes made to what they believe was an unchangeable truth.
"Everyone believing that Jesus is the Christ, has been born from God." (1 John 5:1----- NWT) As I read this verse, it was as if scales had fallen from my eyes. (Acts 9:18) I had come to appreciate in a more complete sense God's mercy and grace, and how important my relationship with his son Jesus was. Thirty-five years of training and indoctrination by the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society were quickly being eroded by a new-found desire to understand God and his Holy Word, the Bible. (1 Corinthians 11:3)
“There is no pillow so soft as a clear conscience.” ~French Proverb
Raymond Victor Franz passed away on June 2, 2010 in Winston, Georgia from a severe brain hemorrhage caused by head trauma. Born into a family of Jehovah’s Witnesses in 1922 Ray was baptized in 1939 and served as Circuit Overseer, Missionary and ultimately as a member of the Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses from 1971 to 1980.
The title of my story is rhetorical - I am going to answer it with my experience.
Before I do that, I want to discuss what we are told through Watchtower literature and the instruction that is given during meetings, assemblies and conventions, for the reasons why people leave the “Truth”.
The Watchtower of 15 November 2008, in the article “Help Them Return without Delay” indicates people leave because of the following:
They succumb to “anxieties of life”
they may have been "stumbled"
they may have a problem with teachings,
They may be involved with wrongdoing.
So how can anxieties of life affect someone? Well according to one personal account in the aforementioned article:
“I started giving more attention to worldly matters than to spiritual things. Then I stopped studying, engaging in the ministry, and attending meetings. The next thing I knew, I was no longer a part of the Christian congregation”.
Allowing these anxieties to facilitate a drifting away from the “truth” means that an individual has failed to put their faith and trust in Jehovah and have allowed poor spiritual habits to develop.
Felix Inherits The Precious Jewel - In the mid-fifties, in a town in Sweden, a baby boy was born. Let’s call the boy Felix since it means Happy. Because this boy was, in many ways, just like every other little boy but in one special way he was different. You see, he had the rare luck to be born by parents who owned THE TRUTH. Yes, THE TRUTH, not just THE TRUTH with a capital T, but THE TRUTH with capitals all through.
From my baptism in 1960, I was an actively associated with the organization known as Jehovah's Witnesses. From the age of 4 yrs old [1952], my parents raised and strongly indoctrinated my brothers and sisters and I in Jehovah's Witnesses belief system. We attended 3 meetings per week, every week, attended assemblies and participated regularly in door-to-door preaching.
I am Frank Kavelin. My wife Barbara and I were recently disfellowshipped for apostasy. Long before we became inactive, I was mentioned in one topic and was the subject of another topic on the Discussion Board 
Like so many other former members of the New World Society of Jehovah's Witnesses I think back on my old "friends" and find they are no longer friends at all. They look at me and shake their head and the dust from their feet as though I were some foul thing to be avoided with the stench of death about me. Yet, at one time we called each other "brother" and "sister" and shared the same "mother," the 
During the nearly 20 years since we have left the Watchtower organization, we have often reminded ourselves of this scripture. What caused the seed of truth to grow within us? Why were we able to deal realistically with falsehood, when so many of our friends and family members were not? Apparently, there are no easy answers. However, our hope and prayer is that we are only the first fruits and that God will allow us to be instrumental in helping to reveal the truth of the gospel to many of those whose minds are still veiled, whether in this life or the one to come (Matt. 12:32). We have empathy for Witnesses who are struggling to overcome doubts and the fear of potentially losing everything they hold dear.
The title of my story is rhetorical - I am going to answer it with my experience.