Ex-Jehovah’s Witness Testimonies

Randall Watters - Free Minds Inc

Listen as Randy Watters Explains Why He Left Watchtower Headquarters in 1980

Free Minds Articles and Journal Archive

Having been a pioneer for two years and anxious to live at the hub of "God's organization," Bethel seemed like a wonderful place to be. From the start, I learned  to run a press, printing the New World Translation, the Aid to Bible Understanding book, and many other publications. By 1977 I had been appointed a floor overseer and a Bethel elder. I was in charge of the presses that printed their Bibles and helped start an offset printing training school. Later projects involved helping to renovate the entire printing opera­tion. Travelling regularly around New England as a speaker, I made many fine friends and enjoyed my work. I was  convinced this was truly "God's organization," and was even zealous to report those who were entertaining thoughts contrary to those of the "faithful slave." I was well-known as an "organization man."

Tom - Ex-Jehovah's Witness Undercover at the Watchtower Meetings

Without any formal religious training or practice, Thomas found himself at the tender age of 19 getting pulled into the Jehovah’s Witnesses and following their indoctrination. Finally, after his divorce in 1975, Tom was able to to be released from the Jehovah’s Witnesses bondage. He now witnesses to inmates in prison who are considering joining the organization and has authored several fictional books about his experiences.

KOJO - Discovering errors in Watchtower doctrine, he left to follow Jesus.

Kojo started associating with the Watchtower in 1996 and was baptized as a Jehovah’s Witness in 2000. However, in the month of August, the year 2012, he received deeper understanding of the Bible, which enabled him to see that all the Watchtower’s beliefs are inaccurate. For that matter, he wrote to the Watchtower Headquarters to review those beliefs and teachings. Shortly after this, Kojo discovered that the Watchtower Society does not know Jesus Christ, so he dissociated from the Watchtower Organization to search for Jesus. Through the help of this Website, he discovered Jesus Christ as the Truth and the Life and the Way.

.:THE TESTIMONY OF ANGIE - “The Word Was God.” - A Story of His Grace

  Click HERE to View My VIDEO Testimony

Growing up in a dysfunctional single-parent home, Angie longed for stability in her life. At first, she thought she found this in the belief system and home of her Jehovah’s Witness aunt, but when Angie found Scriptures that contradicted the beliefs she was taught as a Jehovah’s Witnesses, she was kicked out of her aunt’s home on a below-zero January night without a single belonging, because she believed the Bible over the Watchtower. What was Angie to do now?

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.:PAM - “The Making of a Misfit – A Princess of the King!”

Growing up as a Jehovah’s Witness in a broken home, all Pam ever knew was rejection. An absent father, a distraught mother who said she regretted the day she was born, disfellowshipped, Pam felt alone and that even God had rejected her! No one seemed to care, and what’s worse, Armageddon was due to come in 1975. She sought reinstatement, but the shunning was too much for her. When the end didn’t come, she wondered what else they had lied to her about.

Pam thought, I need to find out the truth!

In 1978, Pam found true salvation in Jesus and began a clown ministry. God took the little girl who was never allowed to celebrate anything and made her into a clown who gets to celebrate everything all the time!

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.:THE TESTIMONY OF DAVID H. - Former Jehovah's Witness elder who was involved 49 years

Raised as a Jehovah’s Witness in England and spending 49 years as a Watchtower captive, David and his wife Christine left to find true freedom in Christ. Going where the “need was great,” David had served in a number of leadership capacities within the organisation, only to find his efforts rewarded with unjustified shunning and a genuine “lack of love” among the “brothers” and “sisters” of the congregation. Only in a personal relationship with the Jesus did David and his wife find what they had been longing for all their lives.

David's Article Corner

.:THE TESTIMONY OF CHRISTINE (David's wife)

Despite the sexual abuse and lack of love and acceptance she experienced when she was growing up in the Jehovah’s Witnesses, Christine still believed that the Jehovah’s Witness religion was “the Truth” and served as a Regular Pioneer. But deep inside, she felt unworthy, guilty and fearful of what would happen to her at Armageddon. Finally, she cried out in desperation: “Jesus said, ‘Take my load for it is kindly and light,’ but Jehovah it’s not light! It’s more like concrete!” When Jehovah opened her eyes to Jesus her true Shepherd, she found the love, grace and security she had longed for all her life.

.: Chris S

Growing up as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses, Chris aspired to serve at the Canadian Watchtower Branch headquarters, but in an attempt to solidify his faith as a devout Jehovah’s Witness, Chris researched the history and doctrines of the Watchtower only to find major discrepancies between the Society’s claims and the Bible. Losing his family and the only friends he had to the Watchtower, where was he to go? Through the help of TRUE Christian friends, Chris found love, acceptance and eternal assurance in Christ.

  Visit Chris' Article Corner

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.:ASHTON

She was born and raised a third generation Jehovah’s Witness. Her adoptive father was an elder for 17 years and her mother was considered one of the anointed. She went door-to-door full time, but to get out of an abusive situation in her home, at 23 years old, she moved in with her boyfriend and was disfellowshipped. Lost and lonely, she turned to the Word of God and found the Truth in a personal relationship with Jesus.

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.:THE TESTIMONY OF FRANK - Left the legalism of the Watchtower for Spirit-led Grace

Raised as a Jehovah’s Witness, Frank questioned the rigid legalism and hypocrisy he witnessed in the Watchtower organization. As he sought to perform according to Watchtower standards, he felt as though he was serving man. Thanks to the conviction of the Holy Spirit and the loving support of Christian family members outside of the Watchtower, Frank found the REAL Jesus and is experiencing true spiritual freedom daily in the Word of God.

.: AARON - Raised Jehovah's Witness with family members who were Circuit Overseers and Presiding Overseers, it was difficult to leave.

From the week he was born, he attended meetings at the Kingdom Hall, and gave his first “talk” at five years old. Aaron’s family is deeply involved in the Watchtower organization. His grandfather is a Circuit Overseer, and his uncles are Presiding Overseers. When his religious faith in the Watchtower crumbled, Aaron turned to Jesus and found the loving God he had searched for all his life.

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.: ALLISON - Childhood Nightmares of Armageddon and a father who was a Presiding Overseer made her look to Jesus for love.

Growing up as a Jehovah’s Witness, Allie remembers having frightening nightmares about Armageddon. In her dreams, people were dying right in front of her, and she never felt she was good enough for Jehovah. Her father, a Presiding Overseer, did not have time for his family. Rather, his children were made to perform in the organization to make him look good. Finding more love and acceptance among her friends outside the organization, she left to find a REAL family who loves her unconditionally.

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.:ANDREW - Discovering the truth about Watchtower history, he left to follow Jesus.

Andrew says: “I was never wrongly disfellowshipped, and I don’t have any hard feelings towards any Witnesses whatsoever. My choice to leave the organization was strictly based on what I found out about the history of the organization, the roots of its teachings and its contrast with historic Christianity. I guess there were times when I felt I was a model Jehovah’s Witness, but then there were times when I can say just the opposite. I hope to reach anyone who can identify with my story.”

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.:BRENDA - Traumatized at age 9 by Watchtower control, she didn't know where to turn.

It seemed as if Brenda's nine-year-old world collapsed overnight. Those seemingly harmless Jehovah's Witnesses had succeeded in convincing Brenda's mother that holidays, birthday celebrations and all association with non-Jehovah's Witnesses had to be avoided. Brenda's life, which up until then consisted of school and playtime with her non-Jehovah's Witness friends and relatives, was immediately altered. She lost all her friends and spent the next nine years of her life in utter conflict -- trying to be true to her inside identity -- while portraying the Jehovah's Witness "cult" image her mom required of her. Nearly becoming an agnostic from her experience in the Watchtower, Brenda has come back to acknowledging God's existence, though her spiritual journey is in progress. Click HERE to Read Brenda's Story.

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 .:DENNIS - Fear of Armageddon led him out of the Watchtower

Growing up as a Jehovah’s Witness, the biggest fear that drove Dennis to conform to Watchtower standards was the fear that God’s battle of “Armageddon” would come and destroy him if he wasn’t faithful enough. Years of striving to make himself acceptable to God and serving in many leadership roles in the organization left Dennis feeling like a hypocrite. His conscience simply would not permit him to support the unloving policies he was witnessing in the Watchtower organization. How could he continue to wear the façade of being a loyal Jehovah’s Witness when he was not one in his heart? Leaving his leadership position in the Watchtower, Dennis turned to God and found true love in a Christian community where people are accepted, not because of their performance, but because of the ransom sacrifice Jesus Christ applied to all who place their trust in Him alone for eternal life.

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.:DOUG - Ex-Jehovah's Witness overcame sin through God's power

Born and raised one of Jehovah’s Witnesses, Doug fell away from the organization as he could not live up to its standards. In desperation, he cried out to God. There were just so many religions that he didn’t know where to turn. Finally, he found hope in Jesus and supernatural strength to overcome his struggles in the grace and power of the Holy Spirit.

.:FRANK M - Growing up with family members who were Jehovah's Witness pedophiles, he couldn't wait to leave this religion.

Growing up in a perverse family of pedophiles, Frank’s Jehovah’s Witness childhood was riddled with sex abuse and spiritual confusion. As a child, Frank had dreams of pleasing Jehovah and ruling with Christ, but these dreams were quickly squelched by rejection from his father and the religious hypocrisy he experienced in the Jehovah’s Witnesses. By nineteen, Frank had enough, and he left the organization. Although Frank’s spiritual journey is far from complete, he is happy to be free from the dictates of religious oppression in the Jehovah’s Witnesses.

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.: THE TESTIMONY OF GRACE - Left Jehovah's Witnesses over the false 1914 doctrine

  Grace's Website: exjw.weebly.com

For 25 Years, Grace thought she was serving the only TRUE God – Jehovah, but when Watchtower leaders made it mandatory for all followers to believe in 1914 as the date of Christ’s presence, Grace was “kicked” out of the “Ark” (Watchtower organization) because she could not accept this doctrine. She was devastated! But Jehovah had not left her. He picked her up and brought her to Jesus – the Way, the TRUTH, and the Life!

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.:HAZEL - Growing up in an abusive Jehovah's Witness home, Hazel found the truth on the Internet

In the midst of an abusive home life, the Jehovah’s Witness message of a promised paradise earth gave Hazel hope that maybe Jehovah really did care about her, but as her activities in the Watchtower increased, so did the abuse at home. Believing she was being persecuted for “righteousness' sake,” Hazel turned to Internet chat rooms for support. The Christian friends she made on the Internet challenged her faith and as she began to question what she had been taught, Hazel found her Jehovah’s Witness friends unable to answer her questions from the Bible. This is when God got hold of her heart and she learned what salvation in the grace of Jesus Christ is all about.

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.: THE TESTIMONY OF KEVIN - An Ex-Jehovah's Witness Delivered from Homosexuality

Visit Kevin's Article Corner

At a young age, Kevin knew he was different from other boys. When his mother called him a “BEAST” and tried to kill him, his feelings of rejection were confirmed. “Where are these homosexual feelings coming from? Was I born this way?” Kevin wondered. Seeking help from a Jehovah’s Witness elder, he was given a Watchtower book to read to fix his feelings, but nothing worked! After 15 years of gay relationships with over 100 men, Kevin cried out to God for deliverance and experienced the supernatural, life-transforming power of Jesus Christ’s forgiveness that healed him from homosexuality and freed him from the deception of Jehovah’s Witness ideology.

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.:LARRY LEE'S STORY - Sacrificing a college education to serve the Jehovah's Witness religion, he struggled in life.

The quality of his life was destroyed by the Jehovah’s Witness religion in which he was born and raised. As a young man, Jehovah’s Witnesses told him that he would not grow old enough to need higher education, because Armageddon would come and bring in the new Paradise earth by the year 1975. He regrets that he sacrificed 30 years of his life for the false prophecies of the Watchtower Society. Thankfully, he found the real truth in leaving the false god of the Watchtower for the true God.

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.: LEO - Born and Raised Jehovah's Witness, he was a loyal auxiliary pioneer until he found the Truth in Christ.

Born and raised as one of Jehovah's Witnesses, Leo was a loyal, auxiliary pioneer who left the Watchtower to join Jehovah's heavenly organization found in an intimate, personal relationship with the real Truth - Jesus Christ.

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.:MARGERY - Discovering Biblical truths that contradicted the Watchtower, she left for the real Truth.

As a Jehovah’s Witness, Romans 11:25-26 really opened Margery’s eyes. The fact that God still loves the Jews and has a plan to bring them into His salvation was the opposite of what she had been taught in the Watchtower. God opened her eyes to see that in preaching the Witnesses’ message door-to-door; she was persecuting the church, preaching judgment instead of grace, mercy, and salvation. Margery knew she had to leave the organization, even if it meant losing the friends she held so dear.

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.:MIDGE - Lack of love in the Jehovah's Witnesses drove her out of the organization into the arms of Jesus.

Visit Midge's website at: www.jwhelpandsupport.50megs.com

For 16 years, Midge was a strong Jehovah’s Witness. Despite the questions she had from time to time, she never doubted that the Witnesses had the “Truth.” But when an elder and friend was disfellowshipped without a hearing, combined with the events that followed, she found herself seeing the Organization in a new light. The last meeting she attended, the words of Jesus came to mind, “You will know my people by the love they have among themselves.” She realized then, “There’s no love here.” And that was the moment she knew it was over for her. She left and never looked back.

.:Nancy - How the Watchtower’s Policy on No Blood Transfusions Impacted My Family

Her husband Kurt was only 32 years old, in excellent health and the father of four children, when a work-related accident burned 75% of his body. For five weeks as his red blood count dropped from the average 48% to only 5%, he struggled to survive in the hospital burn unit without the needed blood transfusion to carry oxygen to his organs. Doctors and medical reports confirm that he would have survived if he had received the transfusion. Was his death in vain?

.:PATTY - Left 24 years in the Watchtower to find peace and joy in Jesus

Patty was born and raised as a Christian, but was never grounded in the Word of God. This left her vulnerable to the deceptive doctrines of the Watchtower. For twenty-four years, she labored heartily for the organization, but nothing could shake the dreadful feeling of not being “good enough” for Jehovah. In desperation, Patty left Jehovah’s Witnesses to find true peace, joy and security in Jesus.

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.:RENEE - Growing up as a Jehovah's Witness was not easy for her

Growing up as a Jehovah’s Witness was not easy for Renee, as she was hated by her small-town peers and had no friends. Marrying a Jehovah’s Witness man and engaging in full-time door-to-door activity, Renee worked hard for Jehovah God’s approval only to find her dreams dashed to pieces when her Jehovah’s Witness husband left her for a man and the Watchtower responded by disfellowshipping her, along with her ex-husband, on “hearsay” accusations alone! “How could You do this to me?” Renee cried out to God. His answer came in the most unexpected way. She now glorifies God for the marvelous way He freed her in Christ!

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.:SACHA - Brutally abused by her Jehovah's Witness husband, she was disfellowshipped for reporting to the police.

Born into a very strict and active Jehovah’s Witness home, Sacha truly believed she had “the truth” and served as a Regular Pioneer along with her Jehovah’s Witness husband. But when her husband (a Ministerial Servant) began to physically abuse her in unimaginable ways, she ran to her family and the elders for help, only to be told that if the brutal beatings were reported to the police, it would “tarnish Jehovah’s name and put His people in a bad light.” Finally, Sacha had enough of the abuse. She filed for divorce and was disfellowshipped because the elders claimed she did not have Scriptural grounds for the divorce. Shunned by her family and friends, Sacha moved to a new town and met a Christian man who led her to Christ.

SHEREEN - After a failed attempt at suicide from the harsh beatings she endured from her Jehovah's Witness parents, she found help from a trained counselor.

Raised in the rigid environment of an abusive Jehovah’s Witness home, Shereen never experienced the freedom to grow as a child in the arms of loving parents. Hours and hours of meetings and door-to-door activity, along with harsh beatings at home over failing to live up to the smallest expectation of her parents left Shereen with no hope of surviving. After a failed attempt at suicide, Shereen finally found help in the hands of a trained counselor. Although she is currently out of the Watchtower organization, her journey for physical, emotional and spiritual healing is far from complete.

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.:DOUGLAS LEE - The End is Nigh ... Again!

Author of the book, The End is Nigh … Again! shares his experiences of being raised as a Jehovah’s Witness, dragged mercilessly backwards and forwards to the Kingdom Hall and from door to door, preaching the Good News of the Kingdom. There’s something quite therapeutic about laughing away your worries and cares.

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 AMBER - Missing the sense of security in the Watchtower, she sought where to go and found Christ

Out of the Jehovah’s Witness religion, Amber sensed something was wrong, yet she missed the sense of security she had as a Witness. “I need to go back to church, but where do I go?” Amber prayed. She talked to others about their beliefs and began researching the differences between Jehovah’s Witness doctrine and Biblical Christianity.  As the Holy Spirit is guiding her into His truth, she is feeling God’s love and protection and is filled with excitement, faith, and happiness.

.: JEAN - As a third generation Jehovah's Witness, Jean left over the Watchtower's changing truth.

Visit Jean's Website:  http://www.tutorsforchrist.org/

As a third-generation Jehovah’s Witness, Jean believed and followed every word written by the Watchtower Society as God’s channel of communication to mankind. But as the Watchtower printed “new light” that changed previous so-called “truth,” doubts began to emerge. “Did Jehovah change His mind?” she wondered. When her two-year research into Watchtower literature revealed an organization led by man, not God, Jean turned to the REAL truth, Jesus Himself!

BERYL'S TESTIMONY - Abused by her stepfather, a Jehovah's Witness elder, she left the religion to find peace in Christ.

Visit Beryl's Article Corner
 Visit Beryl's Website: DaddysLittleGirls.net

Abused by her stepfather, a Jehovah's Witness elder, she left the religion to find peace in Christ. As a survivor of physical, spiritual, and emotional abuse in the Jehovah’s Witnesses, Beryl spent a big portion of her life asking Jehovah, “Why did this happen? How could You let this happen?” She is so blessed to be able a stand here before you and proclaim that she is a living testimony that the most horrible, cruel, and devastating life experiences can and will be turned for good if we just give Jehovah the chance.

Joe B. Hewitt - When his mind was locked up in Watchtower legalism, he left to find true freedom in Christ.

Raised as a Jehovah’s Witness from the tender age of 8, Joe experienced persecution from his peers who considered his beliefs un-American. Why couldn’t I be a loyal, patriotic American, and loyal to God at the same time? It wasn’t fair, he thought. My mind was locked up in the cold stone walls of the Watchtower. I now am free. I know hundreds of other Ex-Jehovah’s Witnesses who are now Christians. They are the most joyful Christians I know. One who has been locked up really appreciates freedom.

Click this link to hear Joe's testimony on our radio Podcast