This happened a year ago. One brother tried to make me feel bad for being muscular. I am quite big (6'3, 98-100kgs) and I work out often. As expected, some of my shirts are tight around the arm, shoulder and chest area.

One time after a meeting, a brother commented on my arms and asked me to consider getting a bigger shirt because I might cause sisters to stumble. I was shocked, genuinely didn't know what to say. Why must I hide the work that I put in? What about the brothers/sisters that have tight clothing because they are overweight? Won't that cause people to stumble? Anything can be a problem for jws

A very thoughtful friend surprised me with this beautiful cake today, made by an incredibly talented local artist :,) 10 years of freedom feels good. Of course it coincides with 10 years being shunned however I can honestly say that I have more to celebrate at this point than feel sorry for. I love my worldly life. Cheers to free will!

How many cult-free years have you celebrated so far?

We’re often told that being a JW is the best way of life. But I have noticed a lot of JWs are ill with mysterious ailments and mental health issues.

I feel one of the reasons is because the average JW is in the middle - lower class and because we were barred from higher education for many years its harder to have higher income work / or work that enables insurance if you live in the US. I know money isn’t everything, but It can buy a better quality of life that can enable better health - better food, better medicine, better mental health care, better housing, better rest, more time for yourself and the things you enjoy. But I do feel many JWs keep themselves poor on purpose.

I also feel that a lot of JWs have no time to look after themselves, especially those in the full time service. When I pioneered I had no energy to cook healthy meals, exercise properly, keep my home clean (my apartment was the messiest) or even do active rest activities like the things I enjoy doing. No time or funds to treat myself to the self care women like to do. it’s only now im starting to figure out what my hobbies are. I was too busy preaching, working because I need to eat and also personal study and the extra curricular JW stuff. At the pioneer meetings we would be told to look after our health but then again we were told we needed to get our in service more, do our Bible studies and emphasise on personal study.

A lot of JWs seem to deal with suppressed emotions, once again especially those in the full time service. We were told we have to be an example to the rest of the congregation and everyone is looking up to us, so there was that pressure to be on point and be the JW poster pioneer. When We feel sad we are just told to pray, do personal study and to door to door. nothing to truly address what we’re going through. As a result these emotions come up in mysterious ailments.

Finally I feel some JWs also just depend on the paradise to solve Their problems even if their life right now is in poor shape and they could easily have a better life.

You probably thought you are the Only one who is a PIMQ or a PIMI ?…

Absolutely not, many people have woken up to the reality of things In these organization, it’s just that majority still have much to loose if they walk out immediately…

A lot have woken up than many of us realize and even some who haven’t fully woken up have started questioning and criticizing the doctrines, Policies, Theology, and Principles of the so called God’s Organization.

Give it time, everyone has their time or situation…

Don’t force it, don’t try to change anyone, don’t be angry at anyone for still sleeping and mentally believing and don’t be enraged or judgemental of ones like us who are still PIMO but will definitely and eventually become POMO!!!

Remember when you were still taking it very seriously, remember when you were still believing, remember when you still see it as God’s channel of communication, but now your EYES are Opened!! Imagine if anyone tried to wake you up then???

Just incase anyone needs this

From a Recently resigned Elder

Now PIMO

Soon to be POMO

Hey everyone,

I’m currently serving as an elder, but I’ve been PIMO for a while now. My wife is very PIMI. Last night, we ended up having an unexpected, unplanned conversation. In the past, we had occasionally touched on small things—I'd bring up certain facts or things about the Governing Body that I didn’t agree with—but it always just stayed as a brief chat, and life moved on.

Last night was different. We ended up talking late into the night.

It started because I was sitting down, preparing for a part I have on the meeting tonight, and she was sitting right next to me. Out of nowhere, it crossed my mind to mention the recent material we studied about Moses. I pointed out that even in the publication itself, during the Congregation Bible Study, they admitted there’s practically no evidence that the Exodus happened—no records of Israelites living in Egypt, and no records of Hebrew slaves.

That opened the door. We started discussing how that’s not the only missing evidence: the sheer number of people the Bible claims left Egypt is completely unrealistic; the whole Egyptian army supposedly drowned in the Red Sea, yet to this day not a single artifact, weapon, or piece of evidence has ever been found there; and during the supposed 40 years of wandering through the desert, there is zero archaeological trace left behind.

She was resistant at first, but I kept calmly laying out more arguments and facts. From there, we jumped to the Flood and all the physical and scientific evidence showing that a global deluge simply couldn't have happened. I basically switched into presentation mode—I even grabbed some paper to make sketches and diagrams for her, since visual things help her grasp concepts better.

When I explained to her that several ancient civilizations were already alive, thriving, and keeping records during the exact biblical timeline of the Flood, and that none of their histories were interrupted—their world didn’t end, life just kept going—that was the turning point. I watched her just freeze. She went completely silent, thinking, and her eyes welled up with tears.

I didn’t know whether to keep going or stop right there, so I stayed quiet. I let her take the lead if she wanted to keep talking. She did, but not for long, because she started saying she was tired and sleepy, and I could tell she couldn't focus anymore. But the seed was definitely planted.

When we went to bed, she was very quiet and serious. I started worrying, not knowing if she was upset with me or just overwhelmed. Then she started telling me she was scared. She doesn't have an extensive vocabulary and struggles to put things into words sometimes, but she made it clear that she was terrified I would fall by the wayside, and that she didn't want to make it to Paradise without me. Hearing the genuine sadness in her voice broke my heart.

I didn't even have to push the conversation further because she herself said: "If those Bible stories from back then aren’t true... what does that mean? What happens if the rest of the stories aren’t true either?"

At that point, I felt I had pushed too far. I didn't want to bring up any more arguments or facts. I just held her in my arms, comforting her, and told her that I wasn't going to get lost, that I wasn't going anywhere. We all know how deeply ingrained the indoctrination is—the organization drills into everyone's heads that anyone who doesn't believe is an evil, heartless liar (especially with how they recently framed "apostates" in the latest broadcast).

I just wanted to reassure her. I made it clear that I'm right here with her, doubts or not. Even though I didn’t explicitly drop the bomb that I don't believe in any of it anymore, she could tell. Still, I emphasized that none of this changes our marriage, and that it wouldn't change my routine—that I was going to keep doing my best and carrying on inside the organization.

She still fell asleep worried, though. She was distressed by the thought that I’ll eventually leave once I can't fake it anymore. She even said something like, "Down the road, you're going to get discouraged or leave because your heart isn’t in this and you don't believe it." I simply told her not to worry. I didn't say "I'll never leave," but I told her: "I will stay with you, I'll be by your side, and I will keep loving you because that is my choice. Loving you and being with you is what I choose to do, not because a book tells me to, but because I want to." That seemed to soothe her a bit, she calmed down, and I let her rest.

This morning everything felt normal on the surface: she went out in service, I went to work, and nothing else has been said.

I just wanted to share this because I’m standing at a crossroads now. Do I gently keep bringing things up, or do I drop it completely and keep the status quo? I’ve been PIMO for a long time, but I’ve been comfortable and peaceful. I haven’t been actively trying to blow up my life or leave; I’m genuinely content with my day-to-day life.

To be honest, one of the things that scares me—and I don’t know if this is just the indoctrination speaking from my subconscious—is that part of me is afraid that if she wakes up, she might change toward me. On the other hand, now that she’s more aware that I don’t believe in these Bible stories, I’m also worried she might change toward me for that very reason: that she’ll keep believing and start viewing me as "bad association" or as someone who isn't good simply because I don't believe in God.

Anyway, that’s my story. I’d love to read your thoughts, advice, or similar experiences. Thanks for reading this wall of text!

Hey everyone. I’m 25, from Quebec, Canada, and I was raised as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses.

I was baptized at 17, became a regular pioneer, attended Pioneer Service School, and genuinely believed I was serving Jehovah. I wasn’t someone who secretly hated the organization or spent years looking for a way out. For a long time, I believed it was the truth.

But behind the spiritual routine, I was struggling with severe depression, loneliness, and eventually burnout. And when I finally began questioning what I’d been taught, everything started to unravel.

This is my waking-up story.

Growing up as a Witness
I was diagnosed with severe depression at 13, something that followed me throughout my teenage years and into adulthood.
In July 2018, at 17, I got baptized. Looking back, I felt pressured by my parents, and there was also the expectation that baptism was simply what a young Witness was supposed to work toward.

I wanted to make my parents proud. I wanted to be accepted, and I genuinely wanted to do the right thing. But I was still a teenager figuring out who I was, making what the organization considered a lifelong commitment.

Becoming a regular pioneer
In 2020, during the pandemic, I became a regular pioneer.
And here’s something I want to emphasize: I actually loved pioneering at first.
I believed I was helping people and doing something meaningful. It gave me a sense of purpose during a period when I was trying to find direction in my life.

I also attended Pioneer Service School, which I genuinely enjoyed. I loved the discussions, the learning, and the people I met.
I had good experiences as a Witness, and I’m not going to pretend otherwise just because I no longer believe.
For a while, I also had a pretty active social life. I was invited to gatherings, included in plans, and felt like I belonged.
Unfortunately, that didn’t last.

When pioneering became exhausting
After the pandemic restrictions eased, I started working full-time while continuing to pioneer.
I’m a chef, so my job involves long hours on my feet, physically demanding shifts, and plenty of stress.
At the same time, I was trying to reach 50 hours of ministry every month, roughly 12 hours a week.
Sometimes I’d finish a long shift and go straight into metropolitan witnessing, standing beside a literature cart for another two and a half hours.
Then there were meetings, assignments, personal study, and everything else.
At first, I thought I could manage it. But eventually, I was running on fumes.
Something I’d once genuinely enjoyed had become another obligation I was struggling to fulfill.

I was seriously depressed
This is probably the most important part of my story.
I wasn’t just tired of being a Jehovah’s Witness. I was genuinely depressed.
I’d already been diagnosed with severe depression years earlier, but trying to maintain my religious responsibilities while working full-time made an existing struggle much harder.
I was constantly exhausted, unhappy, and lonely. No matter how much I accomplished, I felt like I wasn’t doing enough.
And because I still believed the organization had the truth, I kept looking for the problem in myself.
Was I not praying enough? Was I neglecting personal study? Was I not doing enough in service? Was my relationship with Jehovah weak?

Those questions followed me constantly.
I’d spend my day working in a kitchen, go out in service, attend meetings, and then feel guilty whenever I finally had time to myself.
Resting didn’t always feel like resting. Sometimes it just felt like time I should’ve spent doing something spiritual.
I also felt pressure to maintain the image of a spiritually strong young man.
People saw a regular pioneer who attended Pioneer Service School and participated in congregation activities. They didn’t necessarily see how difficult everyday life had become for me.
There were days when simply getting through my responsibilities felt overwhelming.
And what made it worse was that I genuinely wanted to believe I was doing the right thing.
I wasn’t secretly planning to leave. I wasn’t questioning the organization’s teachings yet.
I thought that if I prayed more, studied harder, and trusted Jehovah, things might eventually get better.

But I was already giving everything I had.
I wasn’t losing my faith at that point. I was losing my ability to keep going.
Feeling excluded
My social life also changed over time.
I used to be invited to gatherings and included in plans. But gradually, invitations became less frequent, and eventually I got used to being left out.
It hurt, especially when the congregation was supposed to be my spiritual family.
I knew plenty of people. I could talk to them at meetings or in service, but I didn’t always feel that I had close friendships I could rely on.
I was surrounded by people and still felt incredibly lonely.
And when you’re already struggling with depression, that kind of isolation makes everything heavier.

Brother Humble
There was also an elder I’ll call Brother Humble (name has been changed), who was anything but humble. 😂
He once removed me from microphone duty because I had a goatee. When I asked him for a scriptural reason, he laughed and walked away.
Then the organization changed its direction on beards, and suddenly facial hair was acceptable. Go figure.
His attitude toward appearances and authority was one of the things that eventually got me questioning.
He didn’t make me lose my faith, but he certainly helped me start asking questions.

October 22, 2025: stepping down
On October 22, 2025, I submitted my letter stepping down as a regular pioneer.
I explained that I needed to prioritize my mental and emotional health.
At that point, I still believed. I wasn’t leaving the organization or rejecting its teachings. I was simply exhausted after years of trying to balance everything.
After stepping down, I barely participated in field service. I started sleeping in, resting more, and having time for myself without constantly worrying about reaching a monthly service-hour goal.
It felt strange at first, but also incredibly relieving.
And having that space gave me time to think.

November 2025: the beginning of my waking up
Around November, a friend opened up to me about no longer believing.
We talked about our experiences in the congregation, including Brother Humble and some of the things we’d witnessed.
For years, I’d been taught that questioning the organization was dangerous. But here was someone I trusted expressing serious doubts.
So I started researching for myself.
I learned about the Watch Tower Society’s historical correspondence with Nazi Germany, including the 1933 letter addressed to Hitler, and its former NGO association with the United Nations.
I began questioning the blood transfusion policy, the treatment of disfellowshipped people, and the organization’s handling of child sexual abuse cases.
I also examined the historical evidence surrounding Jerusalem’s destruction in 607 BCE and the organization’s calculation of 1914.
That last subject particularly interested me because of how central 1914 is to the organization’s teachings.
The more I read, the harder it became to reconcile what I’d been taught with what I was finding.
And I wasn’t simply accepting everything I encountered online. I was comparing sources, examining arguments, and trying to understand the evidence.
My faith didn’t disappear overnight.
It gradually faded as I kept researching.
Eventually, I reached a point where I couldn’t honestly say I believed the organization had the truth anymore.
That realization hurt. I’d spent years preaching something I genuinely believed, only to find myself questioning its foundations.

My friends were waking up too
Something unexpected happened during this period: several of my friends were also waking up.
We hadn’t all experienced exactly the same things, but we were beginning to reach similar conclusions.
We compared experiences, discussed the organization’s teachings, and shared what we’d found through research.
For the first time, we could ask difficult questions without worrying that someone would report us to the elders.
We could disagree, laugh about our experiences, and talk openly.
It was comforting knowing I wasn’t going through everything alone.

May 2026: a talk about prayer
Here’s one of the more ironic moments of my waking up.
In May 2026, I gave a midweek meeting student talk titled “We Should Pray Often.”
The funny part?
I’d already stopped praying.
I even used an illustration comparing prayer to keeping in touch with someone over the phone.
Everyone heard a normal student talk about maintaining communication with Jehovah.
Meanwhile, the person giving it was privately losing his faith.
Looking back, it’s both funny and sad how easily I could continue playing the role of a believing Witness when the conviction was already disappearing.
The 2026 convention: Zach’s videos
By the time the 2026 Eternal Happiness convention came around, I was already questioning the organization.
Watching the videos from that perspective was completely different.
One dramatization showed a father who worked incredibly hard to provide for his family and bought cruise tickets, only for his daughter to reject the gesture because he’d been absent from family worship.
As someone who’d spent years working full-time while pioneering, I found that frustrating. I understood the importance of family time, but I also knew what it felt like to work yourself to exhaustion and still be made to feel spiritually inadequate.
But the videos that affected me the most were Zach’s.
Watching him genuinely made me sad.
Here was a young man with his own interests, feelings, and problems. Yet it seemed like there was always someone ready to correct him or remind him how a good Witness should behave.
His entertainment choices were questioned. His doubts were discouraged. When information critical of the organization came up, the message seemed to be that he should dismiss it rather than examine it.
And as the videos progressed, he seemed increasingly unhappy.
What bothered me was how familiar that felt.
I’d spent years trying to be the spiritually strong young man everyone expected me to be, even while struggling with severe depression.
I recognized that pressure to keep going, to question your own feelings, and to assume that if you’re unhappy, maybe you just aren’t doing enough for Jehovah.
The saddest part was that these videos were being shown at a convention about eternal happiness.
Maybe other people found them encouraging.
I didn’t.
I saw someone struggling under expectations that reminded me of my own life.
And I couldn’t help thinking about how many young Witnesses might be watching those videos while quietly going through something similar.

For a long time, I felt like Zach.
June 2026: I stopped attending
Around June, I stopped attending meetings and participating in field service.
There wasn’t a dramatic announcement. I simply stopped going.
In September, I deleted the NW Publisher app.
It might sound insignificant, but after years of checking congregation schedules and assignments, deleting that app felt surprisingly satisfying.
As the months passed, I noticed that my mental health was improving.
Leaving didn’t cure my depression or make every problem disappear. I still have difficult days.
But without the constant pressure of meetings, service hours, and congregation expectations, I finally had more room to breathe.

Telling my parents
This has probably been the hardest part.
My parents are still devout Jehovah’s Witnesses, and eventually I told them I no longer believed.
Their reaction was painful.
I’ve been called masuwail, a Tagalog word meaning rebellious or disobedient. I’ve been accused of not loving my family and ruining it, and I’ve been threatened with being kicked out of the house.
What hurt most wasn’t simply the threat of losing my home.
It was the feeling that my relationship with my parents could be damaged because I no longer shared their religious beliefs.
I’m still their son. I still love them.
I just don’t believe the same things anymore.
I remember opening up to my friends about what was happening and crying.
They listened, supported me, and reminded me that I wasn’t alone.
I don’t think I’ll ever forget that.

Apparently, my “worldly friends” are a problem
Recently, a JW friend reached out because he was concerned about me spiritually.
He’d seen that I was spending time with friends and asked whether I felt like I was spending more time with my “worldly friends.”
That wording stuck with me.
Not simply my friends. My worldly friends.
The irony was that I’d spent years feeling increasingly excluded while I was still active in the congregation.
Now I was finally being included in things again.
Birthdays, dinners, parties, and ordinary hangouts.
And apparently that was something to worry about.
But there’s one friend I especially want to mention. I’ll call him Alex (name has been changed).
He’s been there for me through some of my darkest moments, never judging me for what I believed or didn’t believe. Even when things got difficult, our friendship never changed.
I may have lost my faith, but I never lost a brother in him.
And for that, I’ll always be grateful.
I appreciated the concern from my JW friend, but I couldn’t help noticing the difference between how he viewed my life and how I actually felt.
I wasn’t miserable because I was spending time with non-Witnesses.
I was happy because I had people who genuinely wanted me around.

Where I am today
I’m 25, and I’m no longer a practicing Jehovah’s Witness.
I don’t attend meetings, participate in field service, or believe the organization has the truth.

My relationship with my parents is complicated, and I’m still dealing with the emotional consequences of leaving.

But I’m happier than I was during those final years as a Witness.
I work as a chef, spend time with friends, enjoy my hobbies, and make decisions without constantly worrying about whether someone in the congregation will disapprove.

I don’t regret every moment I spent as a Witness. I genuinely enjoyed pioneering at first, loved Pioneer Service School, and met people I cared about.
Those good memories are real.
But so are the years I spent depressed, exhausted, lonely, and feeling like I could never do enough.

I spent so much time trying to be a good Witness, a good pioneer, and a son my parents could be proud of that I sometimes forgot to take care of myself.
Looking back, I wish I’d understood sooner that needing rest didn’t make me spiritually weak.
And that questioning what I believed didn’t make me a bad person.

I didn’t leave because I wanted to do bad things. I left because I could no longer believe what I was being taught.

After years of trying to meet everyone’s expectations, I’m finally beginning to feel comfortable being myself.
That’s my waking-up story.
Thanks for reading.

Local needs parts tonight guilt tripping people staying on zoom & not in person... using psalm 84:10 "For a day in your courtyards is better than a thousand anywhere else.."..point meaning: why would you want to be on zoom and not at the meeting?🤔

Actually also implying why would you want to waste your life doing anything else in general!??

Can things get any more culty?🤦

I am wondering how they do it. First of all if you’re moving around a lot you have no place to call home really. So you can’t have pretty things, you can’t do a lot of things women and wives do in their homes such as decorating, making whatever food you want or hosting.

if it’s a region where they stay in other peoples homes, you have to be in a new home every week with new people, barely any privacy. You don’t have a space to decompress. I wonder also what their bedroom life is like - is it non existent?

People are pulling you and your husband in all sorts of directions and you always have to be picture perfect happy and an example to everyone.

You also have no time with your husband because of the responsibilities and the one day off you have is likely spent on the road. No time and money for dates, vacations, and treats.

Pretty much every CO wife I have met look sick and unhappy.

I once dated a brother who wanted to be a CO because he loved people. He was a commuter Bethelite and his family need greated in Uganda before coming back to England and working on the Britain branch relocation project. (idk if anyone on here worked on that, you may have crossed paths with him and his family). He dumped me because I wasn’t zealous enough, my PIMI parents were furious and felt it was my fault. I felt like my mum wanted to say her daughter is a CO wife. But my PIMI friends said I dodged a bullet.
I found out he got married this year. That poor poor girl.

I won’t say names, but about 10 years ago when I was still in the org, there was a “special pioneer elder” who was secretly entertaining multiple women At the same time. some of these women were 15 years + younger than him. I was one of them unfortunately *vomit emoji. This fella was in Canberra and then later he moved to Sydney.

Its a sad predicament for a lot of singles, you could go years, even decades without a look side ways from the opposite sex than when you do get some sort of attention, you hold onto it at whatever the cost. Sad i know.

Anyways, looking back at this on and off relationship (if you could call it that), it was some of the worst years of my effing life. He was unstable, selfish, egotistical. super serious.prideful- just a straight up loser who was throwing his privilege around to play people and their feelings. I also heard that he made massive trouble in the Canberra and Sydney congs and from what I heard 3 years ago, he is still walking around with privileges and treating people like shit.

Do people really ”get their day?” Is there really “ pride before a crash”? I hope so for this dickhead

We are well established adults with a family that decided to leave. All our siblings are out as well. My family and I recently hard faded away. Found out today that my dad said he is a failure, because none of his children stuck with “the truth” and he couldn’t even get his kids “salvation and everlasting life.”

We have a good marriage, great kids, good jobs, a home, and are decent human beings - both us and our siblings. He raised us to be kind, honest, true to ourselves, and compassionate to name a few. However, parents are “failures” due to us not staying JW’s - we are also in our 40’s. We could beat our wives, abuse our kids, and treat people terribly, and that would be fine IF we went to meetings…

Just no words for the reality of the situation.

However, all they think about is sex, sex, sex and more sex. Colossian 3: 5 admonishes Christians to deaden their body members on earth as respect to uncontrolled sexual passion. Sadly, this advice is for the sheep and not the self acclaimed faithful and discreet slave (safads)

I heard Stephen Lett already remarried that young sister. Please why is he re-marrying if not for sex. Definitely not about companionship.

Paul was single or was he not? Jesus too. Why aren't all the safads single? I doubt the GB even believe in the heavenly hope. They sure are not deadening that body part but are busy putting it to good use while also storing up treasures for themselves here on earth. The GB should be very busy with spiritual things and thinking about how to lead the sheep to salvation. Rather, they're thinking about who will warm their beds at night. What happens to that sister when Lett supposedly goes to heaven as he is expected to? I suppose she is going to roam about in paradise as "the ex wife of your heavenly king"

I have 2nd hand embarrassment for Lett and for the desperate, power seeking sister who said yes to a very old man. I am just sick of it all.

They played the video today. I’ve never felt such an awkward silence before. Nobody said a word, everyone just looked at each other. I feel like this was the moment some realized that this is so embarrassing.

Looking at their reactions just made me feel sorry for many. Realizing how many lost loved ones to a non existent rule just because of this org.

I’m 26 F born and raised as a JW from Canada but originally from the Caribbean. Newly PIMO just like 2weeks now. I would like to make some online friends. I also would like to be there for anyone who’s in the same boat as me. I’m not comfortable with meeting up or sharing details that can reveal my identity just yet as no one around me knows Ive woken up.

Im currently working on my exit plan but would love to have some online support/ online pen pals to start and real in person friends later on hopefully. I don’t care if you’re in Canada or not (I wanna start travelling anyway :) )

It’s been a rough couple of weeks 😭 and I wish I had someone to talk to. So yeah you can comment or feel free to DM me! 🫶🏾sending love to everyone

I’m currently a baptise publisher, I have been in the religion since I was 5 and my little sisters were born in it. Growing up I never really understood the GB, why can’t we celebrate birthdays just cause it’s mentioned in the bible 2 times and both times something bad happened, so people still celebrated their birthdays then no and we still celebrate anniversaries? Why can’t we get blood, you would rather see people die and then they changed to yes you can as long as you’ve saved it earlier, what! I understood things like Halloween or thanksgiving I was fine with those. I’m currently dating a worldly man b/c tbh the man in the congregation are ugly and there’s so many sisters and so little brothers. Last year what really caused me to be like I don’t wanna date a man in the congregation is that I was wearing a cute dress imo and an elder sister came up to me and says that I should be mindful of what I’m wearing b/c man in the world are only looking for one thing and what if this brother want to make me his wife but see how I dress😑 so I’m currently dating a worldly man and it’s been fun but I feel like I’m doing something wrong. Especially since I’ve been considering having sex, idk what I should do, I feel so horrible and been getting such headaches and vomiting because of the guilt.

Also I’m only 19 yrs old, so I feel like I can wait for the right brother like they’ve been saying, maybe that would be a better decision.

How bad is considered sex between a single JW and a “worldy” individual?

I am asking because I may be wrong but I suspect that lots of JW that are single secretly have sex with “worldy” people that have no connection to the congregation. Makes sense?

I wanted to share an experience that happened to me a few years ago that I feel is a good representation of the weight of control and surveillance within JW culture.

I had a personal instagram account that I had had for a few years. JWs from my congregation followed me, mostly people around my age (teens and 20s) as I was 18 at the time (now 20). In comparison to my follower count I believe I only had about 4 or 5 JWs following me. In my bio I liked to put emojis and whatnot as decoration. I honestly don’t know what I was thinking at the time (looking back it was really dumb) but I put a pride flag emoji in my bio as I am queer and I don’t know wanted to express myself a little??? Lo and behold not a week goes by and my mother storms into my room and tells me “we need to talk.” I go to my parents and my father proceeds to tell me he received a text from one of the JWs who followed me from my congregation with a screenshot of my bio. This person ratted me out to my elder father, instead of just texting me or talking to me directly. Absolutely mind blowing.

I had to walk back and lie and say I put it there “as a mistake.” My parents told me how bad it made them look and my father texted the mother of the person who messaged me and confirmed that it was “just a mistake” and she basically gave him a sigh of relief, that she was SO glad my standing with God could be restored. I had to delete my account, as per parents request. I never confronted the person who sent the screenshot, how could I? What a POS.

Maybe to an outsider reading this it seems so minuscule or arbitrary, but knowing the ramifications of what this could’ve meant for me was huge. I feel such a strange mix of emotions thinking about this memory. Traumatizing, humiliating, extremely stressful, and rage inducing pretty much sum it up.

JW culture, and the religion itself, is built on this control. Your person freedoms of expression are severely limited. You are constantly looking over your shoulder to see if someone has caught you slipping, even if it’s just slightly. It’s an exhausting existence.

Anyone else have similar stories like this?

The new Caleb and Sophia video got me thinking about this and not too long ago I also watched an apocalyptic doomsday movie (Knowing with Nicholas Cage). It was eerie as they featured the prophecy from Ezekiel with the chariot vision and they took the kids from the earth and placed them in a paradisiac world. So it got me thinking about how I was raised with Armageddon.

The pictures in the publications terrified me and I’d sleep with one eye open. Even as an adult it terrified me when people would speak about Armageddon and I never liked how the friends would be so excited to watch people die and cleaning up the bodies. It just never sat right with me even if it was their own family that perished in the destruction. No one seemed to be worried that their family or friends would perish. I would be told that if I was doing some secret sin or a double life then I would also perish in Armageddon. I masturbated as a teen and young adult (like a lot of JWs) and I’d be terrified id die in Armageddon and promise Jehovah I’d never do it again.

Then in 2016 the infamous bunker videos came out and that sparked a new fear of the great tribulation. of course everyone else rejoiced because it meant the tribulation was near. Then everyone would talk about how we’d have no food, our breadwinners would go to prison, and talk about anarchy. I was 17 years old when the videos came out and it always gave me goosebumps. and of course because i was secretly masturbating and looking at stuff I shouldn’t be i was terrified i wouldnt make it through.

Now however it seems the doomsday talk has stopped. it seemed at every convention there was mention of how close we are to the end and as a PIMI it gave me goosebumps and also fear. But ever since the Jesus series started it seems they forgot about the end of this system.

Sooo going to the congregation was already a difficult morning or evening only because I needed to dress modestly. To the point people from the congregation bought me new clothes so I can do it. After that, it was me reading my Bible thinking what would God want me to look like and what modesty is in their page, obsessively. More... I used to experiment with goth make up when I was 23. One of the friends that I had there took me home and before leaving the car she asked me to talk, a talk that went for an hour about my goth style. She got worried, talked to others, which I consider absurd and gossip but they said is just caring. Goth make up was my way of experimenting without hurting anybody but in her eyes she mentioned a Bible verse on not to make others stumble and how some of our members had a trigger with it. YEAH, you heard it right, it was triggering to wear make up. I was so brainwashed I apologized, deleted my posts, stopped doing it to not hurt anyone in their faith.

This is ridiculous. If I see someone using goth make up, I won't assume their faith is less strong than mine or that she is demonic. She went all in details like... We thought you were with Satan and we need to remove things from your home, like some crosses or papers.

Looking back now I am sad.

When I dressed how they wanted me to then some of them we're still not happy.

TW: SA. Do not continue if it's triggering.

When I went through a traumatic night, I went to the meeting. I went with some baggy clothes, really baggy.

They took me attention and I cried to them at least 3 times that the reason I was doing it is ... Yeah, feeling less watched, safe.

How dare they? You don't know what I was going through and THIS is what broke my faith for weeks. The fact they did not check in with me, first went to judge. They don't call it judging tho. They call it mistakes.

It got worst because no matter how I dressed, no matter if I used a dress, a long dress. Now the SHOES were the problem and bought me new ones. I was so ashamed of myself.

How do I recover from this? My faith is now strong and firm. I am a protestant but I still hear their comments in my mind.

When I was PIMI, I wasn't the best JW, I'd feel really bad for sinning. So much so that one time in 2025, I kissed a girl and I immediately regretted it, I thought that I'd lose all my privellegdes and God will punish me, but nothing happened. Ealier this year, when I started to deconstruct, I still had some hope that this is real so I would pray atleast once a day, I would also pray before doing something big, like writing an exam. I eventually stopped praying, I still got decent marks for my exams. I then stopped doing anything jw, and nothing happened.

Its crazy to think that I thought that God will punish me for leaving, but nothing happened, I hate how JWs make it seem like once you leave, your life will be a mess. Has anyone else felt like this?

This doctrine is one of the big ones that led to me waking up. I had honestly completely forgotten about this doctrine because I feel like the witnesses never really talked about it while I was still attending meetings. It would be subtly mentioned but never really looked into or studied. Probably because it's one of the easiest doctrines to disprove, anyone with an ounce of reading capabilities can figure out that much. I watch a lot of ExJW videos on youtube and this was the video that made me remember and really think about this doctrine.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdJPxP01G04&pp=ygUbZXhpbGVzIGFuZCBwaWxncmltcyBtaWNoYWVs

After I had watched the video I went back through and gathered all the scriptures mentioned and read them for myself. Some of these are the ones used to quote on quote "prove" Jesus is Michael. These are straight from the witnesses translation of the bible as well the NWT.

1 Thesselonians 4:16: "because the lord himself will descend from heaven with a commanding call, with an archangel's voice and with God's trumpet, and those who are dead in union with Christ will rise first"

They claim the fact he descended with an "archangel's voice" proves he is Michael. But it also says with God's trumpet so with that logic he would be God. I mean really it just seems the scripture is saying he's coming down with the might of an archangel and with God's might or holiness or whatever.

Daniel 12:1: "During that time Michael will stand up, the great prince who is standing in behalf of your people. ..."

That beginning part of verse 1 they say also proves it, the fact that Michael was considered the "great prince" so intern that allegedly makes him Jesus.

Isaiah 9:6: "For a child has been born to us, A son has been given to us; And the rulership will rest on his shoulder, His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Prince of Peace"

This is the other scripture that claim proves the doctrine. The fact that the scripture is of course talking about Jesus, the fact alone that Michael and Jesus are both called a prince proves they're the same person. But the scripture is also saying he's called Mighty God. That would mean Jesus is God no? When I asked that I was always met with "it doesn't say ALMIGHTY God just Mighty God, that doesn't mean Jesus is God" almighty and mighty mean the same thing in this context doesn't it??

Daniel 10:13: "But the prince of the royal realm of Persia stood in opposition to me for 21 days, but then Michael, one of the foremost princes, came to help me; and I remained there beside the kinds of Persia"

Again with the oh he's a prince he's Jesus. Another thing the witnesses believe is Michael is the ONLY archangel but this scripture disproves that. It says "one of the foremost princes", which implies that there are more than one prince or more than one archangel. Even if that does mean only one archangel exists, it still implies that there are more than one prince, Jesus is a prince, Michael is a prince.

Hebrews 1:5: "For example, to which one of the angels did God ever say: "You are my son; today I have become your father"? And again, "I will become his father, and he will become my son"?

That in itself proves Jesus is in fact not Michael. An archangel is still an angel regardless of titles but God never said to ANY angel you are my son. Oh but I thought Jesus was Gods son?

Hebrews 1:13: "But about which of the angels has he ever said: "Sit at my right hand until I place your enemies as a stool for your feet"?

Again that is what God said to Jesus according to witnesses. So how can Jesus and Michael be the same person?

Hebrews 2:5: "For it is not to the angels that he has been subjected to the inhabited earth to come, about which we are speaking"

JESUS WAS SUBJECTED TO THE EARTH NOT ANY ANGEL INCLUDING MICHAEL.

Anytime I brought this up to the elders or my parents I was met with the same thing. "You have to read the context of the scriptures" or "read the study notes about those scriptures" or I was just accused of being to defensive the fact I'm showing them what scripture says. I know damn well what the context here is saying and it's that Jesus, is not Michael.

What are yalls thoughts on this

Lately I’ve noticed a large uptick in social media accounts that seem entirely A I. They have almost no followers, fake picture, follow only clear JW accounts… also in their bio it will say witness like things but they all seem just a bit off. Like the website will be JW.com.org or like “best lifestyle ever” These JW accounts will post clearly A.I. versions of JW life. Basically supermodels being nead greaters. And then a mix of real people and these accounts like and comment on them. It seems to really amp up the real people. They will always comment on how beautiful and happy they are 🙄

At first I thought it was just JWs using A.I. images, since they love that so much. But there are A LOT of them. On my old witness account sometimes I will get several dozen of these accounts follow me everyday. Especially after I looked at the JW Pressroom IG account.

Just wondering if anyone else noticed this or had theories.

1. Their abysmal mishandling of CSA cases — they got NuLite® and improved their policies, so it's chill.

2. Failed predictions, aka false prophecies — they don't do that anymore. It was wrong, yes, but NuLite® makes it all better.

3. The organization promoted idolatry until 1954 when they stopped worshipping Jesus — no big deal, NuLite®.

4. The needless death of 2 JWs each and every day for the past 80 years —NuLite®. They'll be resurrected so no harm, no foul.

5. The organization formerly mandated strict shunning, but now Jehovah's Witnesses can talk to "removed" people now — isn't this NuLite® such a loving provision from Jehovah?

The governing body could change the cult's name to Yahweh's Witnesses or whatever they wanted, and no one would bat an eye.

They could allow members to celebrate birthdays and non-religious holidays and people would just say "the light got brighter."

They could say Jesus died on a cross, and maybe even allow members to have them in their homes. NuLite®.

What CAN'T they change at this point??

The days of this religion being "the truth" because of their beliefs and practices are long gone. It's "the truth" because it's Jehovah's one organization on earth. The evidence for that claim? Look at all the NuLite®!

We can remember the tracts from 1946: Quebec's Burning Hate for God and Christ and Freedom Is the Shame of All Canada. Now their words will work on themselves!

Now I am drifting a letter the Premier of Ontario, Canada. In order to protect my close friend, I won’t open any details here.

The Honourable Doug Ford, M.P.p.
Premier of Ontario
Legislative Building, Queen's Park
Toronto, ON M7A 1A1
Canada

Dear Premier Ford,

I am writing to you from abroad to bring to your urgent attention a matter of critical public interest that involves not only the welfare of Ontario citizens but also the financial integrity of provincial asset management.

While I am not a Canadian citizen myself, my life and family ties are deeply connected to Ontario citizens who are currently being harmed by the internal policies of the Jehovah’s Witnesses (JW).

A Canadian citizen had to tell his close friend he could not contact some friends due to the and has been missing for ten months after leaving a suspicious word “Trust Jehovah an trust me as well”.

I also have well-founded reasons to fear that if this Canadian citizen’s experiences are exposed in the media, they will face severe institutional retaliation from the organisation and lose their basic financial support. Under the economic standards of the country where this citizen is stationed, the monthly allowance provided by the organisation—aside from basic room and board—falls drastically below the financial levels required to work and live normally in that society.

Crucially, because the Canadian headquarters of this group is located in Georgetown, Ontario, your government holds direct jurisdiction over its regional operations.

In the context of the deep economic ties and Canada-U.S. trade relations, it is highly concerning how this American-controlled organisation acquires, holds, and transfers assets within Ontario. The global operations of the JW are strictly directed by its parent entity based in Warwick, New York State, the United States. I believe it is imperative for the provincial government to scrutinise whether a foreign-controlled entity should continue to enjoy extensive tax exemptions and acquire vast local real estate, especially when its practices actively undermine the harmony of Canadian society.

If "religious freedom" is used as an absolute shield to evade public accountability, Ontario residents will become the primary victims. The organization’s strict enforcement of its "shunning" policy forces members to completely sever ties with loved ones who leave the faith, tearing apart families across international borders and leaving vulnerable Ontarians socially stranded.

This organisation has established a documented global pattern of defying secular laws, demonstrating that its institutional non-compliance is a systemic risk. International precedents include, but are not limited to:

• Judicial Validation of Systemic Harm (Switzerland): A binding 2020 Zurich court ruling dismissed a defamation case by Jehovah's Witnesses, legally confirming that institutional practices like "shunning" constitute psychological abuse and social isolation, while their internal "two-witness rule" directly obstructs secular child protection investigations.
• Violations of Anti-Discrimination Laws (Norway): The Norwegian government stripped the organization of its state grants and registered religious status due to its exclusionary shunning policies, which were found to violate the state's Child Rights Act and anti-discrimination laws.
• Violations of Data Protection and Privacy (The European Union): The European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled that the organization must comply with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) during their door-to-door ministries, establishing that religious freedom does not exempt them from secular privacy laws.
• Failure in Child Protection and Institutional Accountability (Australia & the UK): Royal Commissions have exposed systemic institutional failures within the organisation regarding the mandatory reporting of child sexual abuse allegations to secular authorities

A harmonious society relies on a balance where organizations contributing to the public good are rewarded, while those inflicting systemic social harm are held accountable. When a U.S.-directed organization utilizes its charitable status to accumulate provincial property while systematically inflicting psychological and social trauma on Canadian citizens, it warrants immediate provincial attention. In other word, Canada shouldn’t be proud of a “kidnapping organisation on its land, especially when the society remembers the tragedy behind the orange T-shirt and speaks for the victims of the institutional coercion now.

Therefore, I respectfully urge your government to review the provincial oversight, financial transparency, and tax-exempt regulations governing foreign-directed religious charities. The law must protect Ontario's citizens and its economic harmony first and foremost.

Thank you for your time, your leadership, and your unwavering commitment to safeguarding the people and the integrity of Ontario.

Sincerely,

A victim and survivor

But now, this sort of social media behavior has only gotten bolder. What's weird to me is the cross section of what JWs are doing in order to make money off other jw and create notoriety for thbizarre as well. Jw influencers if you will... they have a TON of followers.

I don't think we can post links here, but these are public. If you go to Instagram and just type or copy paste these profiles: witnesswomeninbusiness, ministryideaz, jw.guest (🤯 so thats where all the loaded jws or families are)

This only a few. There's hundreds of thousands accounts

Misspelled bizarre. Oops.

What these people fail to understand is that just three years ago, any one of them could have died because of the blood doctrine. I cannot say this with 100% certainty, but I am about 90% sure that my dad would have gladly refused blood, even if it meant dying. I am equally convinced that he would have pressured my mom to do the same, partly because of how it would look to others.(my mom is not as indoctrinated as my dad)

He cares so much about his status and his so called “privileges” in the congregation. Whenever something happens in the family, one of his first concerns is how it might affect those privileges.

What baffles me is that these people could have willingly sacrificed their lives over a doctrine that can subsequently change, and somehow, nothing clicks. No serious reflection, no questioning, no realization of just how dangerous that level of unquestioning obedience can be.

At this point, I sometimes wonder whether this is even just indoctrination anymore. It almost feels like something deeper. Some people seem to have an overwhelming need to be led, to have someone tell them what to believe and how to live. And I think that, combined with ego, narcissism, and a sense of religious superiority, creates a particularly dangerous mindset. They genuinely believe that the theology they subscribe to is the most superior worldview on Earth, without recognizing how much of that certainty rests on unquestioned assumptions.

I have never told them this, but I have lost a tremendous amount of respect for many of the men in my family. My dad, my uncles, and even my grandfather, may his soul rest in peace. I look at them sometimes and genuinely wonder, is this really the best you could come up with?
Of all the worldviews available to you, this is the one you subscribed to. That a group of men living in America were appointed by God to tell you what to believe, how to live, and potentially when to die? And you accept that with such confidence, without even a little apprehension?
I struggle to understand it. Disappointed is probably the closest word I can find to describe how I feel. Disappointed at what such tremendously intelligent men have been reduced to