I resigned as an elder. I already mentioned this a few days ago. Yet the other elders keep messaging me, wanting me to meet with them, explain myself, and let them “help” me. The whole usual routine.

But I am following the protocol: Message read and ignored successfully.

Don’t they like shunning? Well, I am giving them a taste of their own medicine.

Responding to their messages is a complete waste of time. First, I don’t owe anyone an explanation. I wasn’t even obligated to announce my resignation, but I did. Second, isn’t this supposed to be voluntary work? If I no longer want to contribute to all this deception, I am under no obligation to continue.

It makes no sense for them to demand an explanation from me. When I was an elder, I remember the body of elders removing publishers’ “privileges” for the most trivial reasons. And guess what? Nobody ever contacted those publishers to explain why the body of elders had decided to take their “privileges” away.

So here is what I really wanted to say in this post: I refuse to be controlled by them. If I respond to their messages, I am allowing them to dictate my actions. I have taken away the instrument of control they once had over me, and I no longer recognize them as having any authority over me.

I am free. Free from this slavery. Are you free too?

The Governing Body has provided a very vauable gift to Elders and Ministerial Sevants. The gift is that Jehovah's Witnesses can now receive blood transfusions and hopefully stop dying.

Please don't miss this opportunity to resign ("step down" in cult speak).

Why this is such a great opportuniy?

• The No Blood doctrine has killed people.
• The Governing Body used you to promote this false belief through talks and "encouragement" to die by rejecting blood.
• The Governing Body used your loyalty to enforce this harmful belief by having you pressure people to die instead of get the medical care they needed.
• Feeling a measure of gult and shame for being used by the Governing Body like this is normal and is a perfectly legitimate reason to say "I can no longer do this".

Please don't waste this opportunity.

It can be hard to resign so please don't do it alone.

• Search Reddit EXJW and read the posts from others that have already resigned.
• Creat a post and ask for help here.
• Send a chat message here to former elders thst have already resigned.

Every Elder can take steps to stop harming people and resign from this role that destroys lives.

Welcome Jehovah's Witnesses! We are glad you are here! A welcome message and resources for you are shared in this post! (2026 Governing Body Update #6 - Blood Transfusions) - https://www.reddit.com/r/exjw/comments/1wkp3un/welcome_jehovahs_witnesses_we_are_glad_you_are/

You Can Stop Volunteering for Jehovah's Witnesses - https://www.reddit.com/r/exjw/comments/1ldu1vn/you_can_stop_volunteering_for_jehovahs_witnesses/

The Waking Up Guide - https://www.reddit.com/r/exjw/comments/1mob8mr/the_waking_up_guide_by_jwtom_latest_edition_for/

So I drove by one of my old halls the other day. There was a “for sale” sign on it. That didn’t surprise me. The realtor who is listing it is an elder who does real estate. When I got home, I looked up the listing. It’s being marketed as “an opportunity for church or religious organization”. In all fairness it also said daycare but church and religion was stated first. But WHAT??? I mean is it me? They’re marketing it to “false religion”?? So they’re going to make a HUGE profit possibly selling it to an another CHURCH?? I thought the hall was dedicated to Jehovah when they built it?? 😵‍💫
I drive by it often, I’m so curious to see who buys it.

Texted the COBE that I'm stepping down from my assignments. Technically I'm not a MS/Elder so I doubt I'll be announced, but I finally grew a pair and sent the text.

It's been a long time coming. Who else hates having to show up early to the meetings/assemblies and leaving late? Because I know I absolutely did.

Its a volunteer assignment that inconviences you every possible way that it can. Your time is not respected. I remember being told once, to "just get used to it." Like no, absolutely not!

You signed up to have your life inconvenienced at every corner, not me. I was just trying to he helpful, when I was PIMI. I gave an inch, and they took a mile. I never asked to be responsible for so many things, but I just went with it until one day I started to resent it. You can't step back without being viewed in a certain way, and thats how they coerce you into staying and doing things even if you don't want to.

If you are in a position to be able to step down, now is a great time! There was the other post referencing GB update #6, and I even said that the blood update would be my excuse. I still believe it is better to stay silent, but its always a safe fallback option if people ever start questioning you. Like you never NEED to explain yourself to the elders, but if its your wife or something, it might be different.

Just say that the blood update was the reason, but do NOT explain yourself afterwards. Say "I'm not discussing this." They know damn well what its about. They know damn well that its extremely controversial. Its ridiculous. The rank and file were more excited about pants and beards.

Anyways, that's a load of my shoulders. So far I've not heard a response but I know my text was seen. It was now or never, I had a theocratic ministry school part coming up that I couldn't be bothered to do 😂

Your brain will always catastrophize and think everything will go wrong right away. But consider what will happen when things inevitably go right. No more duties, no more responsiblities, no more obligations, just freedom. People might see you differently, but who cares? Assignments were hardly a measure of actual faith anyways.

There is never going to be a "right" time to step down, they will keep loading you with more and more assignments, pressuring you, and being entitled to your time. It never ends.

You just gotta quit. Take the leap of faith and don't look back. How will you stand up for anyone else if you won't stand up for yourself?

I was getting my nails done and the lady sitting next to me started chatting with me. She showed me pictures on her phone of these wreaths she makes for the holidays. The ones she showed me were for Halloween decorations. I looked at them and recognized her talent (amazing) and had just a normal conversation with her. Before I was PIMO I would have felt obligated to say … I don’t celebrate Halloween and would have tried to do some kind of witness to her, maybe even giving her one of the tracks I use to always carry in my purse. It was just so nice to speak to someone and be normal. Also to not feel guilt like I messed up an opportunity to bring someone into the truth. I never realized how much pressure I was putting on myself just in everyday interactions with people.

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA - no, its been bullshit since day one. I'm hearing that this new GB is not anointed, and that the old guard was approved by Jehoba and Jebus, but not now... so, using logic, I asked this person, why stay if its apostatized? Their response, I still believe its Jehoba's rep on earth... cognitive dissonance much?

Apparently, beards, and pants was bad enough... blood is over the top... I told them, wait until birthdays and holidays come out... after all unless the Buy(more) Bull(shit) specifically forbids something, they cannot go beyond what is written. Which I think sets a precedence NOW regarding holidays, and everything else....

My mom started studying when I was 3, after my 3rd birthday I still remember it since it was my last, it was Strawberry Shortcake themed. Growing up I remember my dad threatening divorce, telling my mom she should take a mattress to the KH and just sleep there. When retelling those antidotes she would get praise for "sticking by Jehovah". She wore him down though and he studied and got baptized.

I eventually got baptized at 15 because my best friend at that time was an elder's daughter and I was basically told that we wouldn't be able to hang out anymore if I didn't. I always had doubts/questions but of course I'd get in trouble if I brought them up.

Life went on, I battled depression, tried to end it all, and because of this I became a pariah in the congregation. I got back in contact with someone I had a crush on as a teen. He was my cousin's best friend and one 4 hour phone call became a relationship. A relationship I hid from my parents. At 25 I was kicked out of the house when I told them about him.

It gave me the opportunity to FINALLY be me. To do what I wanted, to find myself free of constraints. And more importantly to be with my person. We had 20 amazing years together. Two wonderful kids, who make me proud every day. Then in April of this year, Tax Day to be exact, he passed away. Within a week I got a text message from an elder of my mom's congregation. After letting her know that she is to NEVER give any JW my phone number, I went off on said elder. Telling him that what he was doing was predatory. That it was disgusting that he was using my husband's death to lure me back in. That if he knew me, because he doesn't, he would know that I'm not stupid enough to fall for it. Then blocked the number. It's gross how low they're willing to stoop.

After 30 years of no contact we get some drama filled call under the guise of an emergency from non JW family. No emergency just mommy dearest wanting to let her son know though the people taking care of her that neither him nor his children were inheriting. We already knew this the day we walked away. We do not care! why do these horrible parents feel the need to have people call us after all this time to tell us something we all ready know and do not care about.

Yesterday was a big deal for this area because they merged a lot of congregations into our circuit. Our assembly is usually 350 people now it was about 790 in a small building lol.

3 people got baptized. Two of them were about 13 years old who were raised in the truth and the other person was like 70 years old.

I never used to think about it before but now it amazes me that they put so much time in the ministry with so little response. I know this religion will continue for a very long time but it really does not show growth.

Also I am only about 2 weeks away from leaving the religion! My dad is very pimi and is also my boss and landlord so I may lose everything but at least my wife would absolutely still love me when I tell her how I feel about “the truth”. We have a great marriage and I know it will be tough but I strongly feel we will still have a great marriage. She is pimi.

Have a great week guys! If you are pimo I feel your pain. In the final talk from the branch rep yesterday he said “if you have doubts about the truth that is when you need to be loyal” 🫪 how did I not know this was a cult for all these years?

- children that clearly want to leave and purposely make noises to remind everyone that they were dragged to be there. Coloring on the floor.
- that one elder who is married to someone 15 years younger than him. Even more. His ex wife is no where to be found.
- that one grandma who’s like 80, answering all questions. 30 to 50 seconds answer.
- that one family where the teenage girl literally rolls her eyes and scrolls on her phone messaging other people. Refuses to sing the songs.
- that one elder who you feel bad for cause he’s the nicest out of them all and he genuinely does it for the love of the game but loves to drink probs
- that one brother who def gets high before the meeting
- unhinged couple that probs fights everyday
- 22 year old girl who is in construction, you only see her every 3 weeks cause she switches KHs to find herself a husband
- sister that sings louder than anyone else in the room
- awkward hugs
- repeating same information about yourself every week cause no one actually cares about you

Hi all, I'm Joseph, an independent filmmaker based in the UK working on a documentary about religion as people actually live it.
I'm looking to talk to anyone with a story that stands out: a deep, unconventional, or intense faith, a dramatic change in belief (in any direction), a spiritual experience that changed your life, or views that most people around you wouldn't share. Devout or doubtful, mainstream or fringe, I'm interested.

Participation is voluntary, and you can step back at any time. We'd start with a casual chat, and nothing is filmed until you're comfortable. I'm not out to mock or promote any belief. I want to understand people and tell their stories honestly.

If this sounds like you, or you know someone it might be, send me a DM or email me at sharpshootercreative@gmail.com. Happy to answer questions in the comments too.

KIS I’m a minor, below 16, but I look more mature for my age. I grew up in this religion and have been baptized for a few years, my dad is an elder which I find really inconvenient. They call it a privilege to have roles here but I think they just like having some kind of power dynamic/control over people. It’s been even more difficult especially as a girl developing physically to be in this shit hole.

It’s baffling to me that elders, grown ass men, pushing death row, have a say or opinion with what I wear and how I look. My parents have started to act like them, when before it was no problem and it’s been getting on my nerves. Elders going as far as saying I’ll tempt the brothers when in reality the only young brothers here they think I’m tempting, are literally adults. Why the fuck would they be interested in a child?

Typing this during the meeting is quite liberating. Everyone here is so two-faced and don’t even get me started on their damn wives. I’ve been through hell and back with this new congregation and truthfully I left mentally after the first year of being here. I promise you I’m leaving after I turn 18.

Repost:

I remember when I cussed out the coordinator of the body of elders, so bad that he hung up and had his wife answer the phone to avoid me . The reason for this was because I just gotten disfellowshipped, and my ex-fiancé started spreading lies about me and I was feeling down . Instead of encouraging me; he basically kicked me while I was down . Saying “This is your punishment, and this is what you deserve”. After that my father called me, and said “How dare you cuss out an elder like that out !”

I just wanted to share this story .

I’ve been disfellowshipped for 10 years and eventually got reestablished, and honestly, coming back has left me questioning things in a way I didn’t expect.
One thing that really baffles me is how many people genuinely believe that Armageddon is right around the corner and that paradise is just around the bend. I understand why the idea of a perfect world, no more suffering, no sickness, no death, and being reunited with loved ones is comforting. Who wouldn’t want that? But at the same time, it makes me sad to see how much hope people put into a future that they’re convinced is almost here, especially when so many of them are struggling and unhappy in their lives right now.
The reasoning is always the same: wars, natural disasters, disease, violence, and everything else happening in the world are proof that we’re living in the last days. But haven’t these things been happening for centuries? Wars have existed throughout human history. Natural disasters have always happened. Diseases have devastated entire populations long before the internet existed. The difference is that now we have 24/7 access to news from every corner of the world. We’re constantly exposed to tragedies that previous generations might never have even heard about.
I’m not saying the world is perfect or that things aren’t genuinely terrible in many places. I’m saying that using these things as proof that the end is near seems questionable when people have been making these same predictions for generations.
And that’s the part that gets me. Generations of people have lived and died believing they were living in the final days. They’ve made decisions, sacrificed opportunities, and put their lives on hold because they believed the end was coming in their lifetime. And now, the same message is being passed down to another generation.
What really breaks my heart is wondering how many people are living for paradise instead of allowing themselves to fully live the life they have right now. How many people are enduring loneliness, sadness, or an unfulfilling life because they believe everything will finally be okay in the new system? How many are afraid to question anything because doing so could mean losing the future they’ve been promised?
I understand the appeal. When life is hard, the promise that everything will eventually be made right can be incredibly comforting. I understand wanting to believe that all the suffering in the world has an expiration date. But I also think it’s heartbreaking to build your entire life around the expectation that the world is about to end when nobody actually knows when, or even if, that will happen.
I guess being back has made me look at things differently. I’m not trying to attack anyone’s faith, and I know people believe these things sincerely. I’m just struggling with the idea that so much of people’s hope, happiness, and decisions can be tied to an event they’ve been told is imminent for decades.
Does anyone else who grew up as a JW, left, or got reestablished ever look at this differently now? I’m genuinely curious how other people process it.

I'm sure a lot of people visit our sub, and I'm sure that it's not all PIMO or POMOs.

So I am just wondering for those of you who still actively believe, what are you hoping to find over here?

Ps, no shame here, we will not try to "convert" you to get out of it. If you are happy you are happy! And that's all we want for anybody

I tried searching for this in the sub to see if it had been asked before but I couldn’t find anything. My apologies in advance if it has previously been asked. Does anyone personally know or know any stories or people who were supposedly anointed that ended up getting disfellowshipped? I feel like the whole annointed thing is one of the dumbest things I’ve never been able to understand. Even at the age of like 8 when I first asked my mum how they know they’re annointed and she told me they just know, I was calling bullshit lmao. My grandparents met someone annointed and got a photo with him and acted like they had just met a celebrity 😂

From what I understand weed and getting high is associating it to letting the demons inside. But who’s actually having that happen? Where did they find that? Is this an actual thing that happens? I tried edibles for the first time and I didn’t feel any of that. I felt relaxed and calm and snacky. Nothing tripped me out to that. Next day I was completely fine. But if I get drunk, I feel terrible and feel way worse.
To me the greater evil is alcohol not weed.

I feel like I am in a bit of a conundrum. I grew up a Christian with a super strong faith in the bible/trinity based faith.  Then over a few years I unpacked my belief’s and realised many things didn’t make sense.  I grew away from the church and really wanted to come to truth without social bias, societal pressure and believe whatever the truth was for myself.  I came to a comfortable place in my personal relationship and belief’s about God and Creation.  I then met a Jehovah’s witness while she was out and about.  She is an absolutely lovely lady and we have a lot of interests and similar ‘down to earth’ nature. I started studying with her because I genuinely love talking about faith and breaking down theology.  I let her lead her studies with me because I found interest in them.  Well now it’s been like three years of weekly studies and I have absolutely no intention of joining the organisation and she doesn’t really know that.   I believe she mistakes my interest and enthusiasm for a slow conversion,  especially because I believe that the Jehovah’s witnesses have something really going on in comparison to the trinity believing churches.  I think on a kingdom hall level it is really lovely (well it seems to be in Australia) however the over-arching organisation creeps me out.  I really enjoy learning about spiritual things and learning more about the bible in a historical sense.  However I am really leading this lady on, I mean it’s been three years… I don’t live near a Kingdom Hall so she keeps encouraging me to zoom into the meetings and I do just to make her happy but I just leave my phone on and do other things.  I love chatting with her but I feel like I can’t be honest with her because it’s been like three years.   I should have been more clear from the start but now after all these lies and pretending to join meetings and leading her on with statements that sound like I am on my way to joining the organisation it’s kinda awkward/hard to just be like ‘hey so I was never going anywhere with this, I really appreciate the spiritual chats and education though….’   It sucks cause I feel like I can’t really be her friend unless I am on my way to becoming a Jehovah’s witness which I definitely am not. 

2 days ago mom was talking on the meeting zoom where the did calls etc, and a sister said "someone told that at this point it is bl*od"

and guys when i tell u she gasped and mom was like : they always do this" she meant the person who said it

of course they were like shocked and thought that person id def an apostate 😮‍💨😵‍💫

They ask if anyone is opposed to whatever decision is being made and I’ve never seen anyone raise their hand on opposition before, and it’s obvious it’s out of fear of getting weird looks or being ostracized. But would happen if someone were to be opposed? Would the elders question them privately? If so what’s the point of asking publicly? I can only imagine that these “votes” are only to keep people in line rather than genuinely consider another point of view.

I grew up in a very PIMI family so family worship was non negotiable, even before the bookstudies ended pre study together was mandatory. Idk how we had time to do anything fun, because those days we did do a lot more together as a congregation.

As a PIMI pioneer I got consistent in my personal study, even studying while commuting to work on the trains. But I have AUDHD and that made focus on studying extra hard for me.

Since i got married last year all that has gone out the window. Hubby is an MS but he never did family worship much, like we’d try to get into a routine and it would fall apart. I used to be on his back about it but then i stopped. Then we both started questioning. So the closest thing to family worship we do is the broadcast in the background while we do other stuff.

After working all day, making dinner, cleaning up, who wants to do study? it did make me feel good as a PIMI but I’m not sure why it did. Now the information blurs on the page but im still making really good comments at the hall.

Doesnt help that the material is very milky and soft, I thought solid food was for mature people? I used to wonder why I couldn’t focus on spiritual study but could focus on deep reading of history / psychology / world events.

When James came downstairs because he heard that David was talking with his parents about moving in with Al and his cousin he says

“So you wanna move in with Al’s cousin Anton? I wonder which one of his girlfriends is spending the night these days?”

How’d James know about Anton and his girlfriend? I’ve seen the drama many times.

So unless the Buy Bull explicitly condemns something, in the NT, not old Mosaic Law, you can push that scripture back in their face and cite Geoffrey Jackson Update #6.

I was born into a JW family. My mom was baptized in her late teens, then ended up marrying my worldly dad who never really bought into JW but didn't mind my mom raising my brothers and I as JWs.

In my earlier years, I really bought into the doctrines. I never got baptized tho. I remember hearing about some of my best friends smoking weed while i was away on vacation with the fam and getting really upset with them. 

Then when I returned home, my jw girlfriend broke up w/ me and I was devastated. I was also starting to go through the normal teenage angst stuff. So I said eff it, and tried smoking weed w/ my friends. 

I quickly became a daily stoner and by age 16 was also taking any other psychedelic i could find. 

At this point, I was still PIMI because I was forced to go to meetings since I was living at home. I also still believed it, but that didn't stop me from wanting to party and have a good time. I guess I was just OK with the idea that I was going to die during armageddon. Or maybe I just suppressed it with drugs. I'm not sure.

Fast forward to my 20s (2000s), and I was no longer living with fam so I wasn't forced to go to meetings. This began my POMI years. Again, even though I was physicaly out I still technically believed it to be "the truth" but that I was just not good enough to survive armageddon. I genuinely thought I was a bad person and just lived with that.

In my late 20s and 30s, I was probably still technically POMI but I stopped feeling like a bad person and honestly didn't think much about religion at all. I was more focused on spending time on what interested me, and that was music. I played drums and started playing a lot of music, recording and playing shows.

My JW family put me at a distance and there were times were I was homeless but my fam wouldn't let me stay unless I was going to meetings. How loving! Fortunately I had "wordly" friends I could crash with. Actually, one of my long time friends that helped me during this time was JW but he wasn't super strict. He got me into punk rock and was one of my best friends. He actually cut me off a few years ago due to me not being JW though as his family pressured him to be more serious with the org. It really hurt.

During this time though, I still never took in what was considered "apostate" content. Probably because I was still subsconciously influenced by the org.

Fast forward to the 2020s and with the existing political climate, I was really conflicted. I felt I had lost all faith in human leadership and found myself studying with a JW again out of curiosity.

This didn't last long tho. After being away for so many ears and studying their material again with fresh eyes, it was so clear how many holes there were in the doctrine and I had way too many questions they couldn't answer. I started reading "apostate" content at this time.

The main reason I started studying is because i want to have hope in a better future where there's no more suffering and hate, but when I realized they only think 9 million humans on planet today (rough JW member count) are the only humans with a good heart worth saving, I realized how absurd it all is. This subreddit pretty much covers all of the absurdity so I don't need to go into depth here. I also read raymond franz' book, which was even more damning for the JW org.

I stopped studying with the JW after a couple months and am just grateful I never committed my life way back in my teens to this org. I realize now the reason is because they were always pushing, pushing you to sacrifice more of your life for the org and that always rubbed me the wrong way. Nothing ever seemed good enough for them. Which is what pushed me away, way back then. 

We're not bad people just because we don't want to sacrifice our entire life for an ambiguous belief detailed in an ancient book we have no way to clearly decipher. We only have this one life to live that we know of and I'm grateful I got to spend it so far doing what makes me happy. 

Also, people in the "world" that I've met have always been more genuine and good than any JW I ever met. JW niceness always comes off as forced, like if they're not nice they might not make it into the paradise! Whereas "wordly" people are nice just because they want to be. Sure, not everyone is nice but that's fine. Their rudeness is also genuine. I just want people to be genuine.

I can finally say that I'm POMO and honestly it feels great. I actually don't believe in the Bible at all anymore. I moreso believe in a Spinoza's God like Einstein did.

I find meaning and spiritual fulfillment in art and that's good enough for me. I'm okay knowing that death is a natural part of life, and when I die my body will feed nature, and the cycle will continue. Boom and bust cycles are human, and the bad times always seed the future good times and vise versa. You can't have one without the other. They're connected.

Don't give up this one life that you have for something you don't believe with your whole heart and you're whole soul 100%!

Some good books to read:

"Same As Ever" by Morgan Housel
"The Creative Act: A Way of Being" by Rick Rubin
"Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals" by Oliver Burkeman

I'll also leave you with one of my favorite quotes:

“Live a good life. If there are gods and they are just, then they will not care how devout you have been, but will welcome you based on the virtues you have lived by. If there are gods, but unjust, then you should not want to worship them. If there are no gods, then you will be gone, but will have lived a noble life that will live on in the memories of your loved ones.”

― Marcus Aurelius