s: Twelve Hours from Shunning

I’m not shunned yet, but I’m about 12 hours away from it.

I was raised as a JW, and I was baptized before I was 12 years old just because it was about time for me to get baptized. I never was super into it, and I stopped going regularly to meetings a while ago. I started to doubt a lot of things, and then I looked into my doubts (not with WOL-Watchtower Online Library) and they were confirmed! And I learned so much new information (real facts, not apostate lies).

I saw so many people with similar experiences to me, and I learned about the ARC and many more disgusting things, and I was so angry because it’s very close to me. I also discovered 1975, and I brought it up to an elder I was close to and he completely denied that the organization ever said the world would end. He said it was just people speculating, and anyone who said that the world would end in 1975 on the stage would be counselled, and they were not instructed to say that. Like buddy, how would you know that? You were a baby in 1975.

And I brought up the 2 witness rule (this was before I learned about the ARC-Australian Royal Commission which investigated JW child sexual abuse) because I already had a problem with it, and he said it is to protect people from false accusations. AIN’T NO WAY. He then called me an apostate behind my back.

Then I got called into a judicial committee because I posted myself in a Halloween costume, and I said you can’t say Halloween is wrong if you can say you don’t need to make a rule about those customs with pagan origins (I was referencing the GB (Governing Body) update where they talked about clinking glasses, iykyk). And they basically said, OK, but Halloween is obviously so much worse and more demonic than clinking glasses. One elder even said, “Don’t you think the GB would have mentioned Halloween in the update, the biggest holiday of them all?” or something along those lines.

I never even rejected Jehovah, or Jesus. All I said was I understood the verse they showed me differently.

Anyways, I refused to say I’m repentant and I didn’t want to study with someone, so they removed me and I appealed. My appeal meeting is tomorrow. (Technically today, it’s 2am.)

My dad told me I can’t talk to my brother about his life, and he basically laid out how it’s gonna be from now on. I’ve applied to universities in different cities, so when I get in, I will be moving out. My parents said they won’t pay unless I stay home and go to uni in my city.

I have to save all my money from my job and apply to loans and scholarships, but I will be going. I have help from my NON JW family members (my parents’ siblings) and my friends and my teachers and guidance counsellors.

It is going to be hard to have to mourn my family when they are still alive, but I can not stay in this house completely isolated. I know what the organization is doing is wrong, and I know it’s not the people, and I hope my family wakes up.

My sister said (not to me but I heard) that she sometimes thinks I’m right about the things I say, but she just needs reassurance that I’m wrong. But she will shun me. My brother won’t shun me, but no one can know we’re talking. My parents will happily shun me, especially my dad (they hate apostates like all JWs), even though everything I’ve learned is truth. I’m labeled an apostate because it’s against the organization.

My friends will obviously shun me, but I’m more sad about my family. I only have 8 months until I’m shunned for good because once I move out, it’s silence. And I have about 10 hours until I’m shunned by the congregation.

Anyways, wish me luck y’all, and pray I get into my dream uni.