{"id":20272,"date":"2020-02-05T08:41:10","date_gmt":"2020-02-05T15:41:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.4jehovah.org\/?p=20272"},"modified":"2020-02-05T08:44:38","modified_gmt":"2020-02-05T15:44:38","slug":"brenda-ex-testemunhas-de-jeova","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.4jehovah.org\/pt-pt\/brenda-ex-testemunhas-de-jeova\/","title":{"rendered":"Brenda – Ex-Testemunhas de Jeov\u00e1"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"brenda_l\"<\/b><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

.:BRENDA – Traumatizada \u00e0 idade de 9 anos pelo controle da Torre de vigia, ela n\u00e3o sabia para onde se virar<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"bullets\" Visit Brenda’s website<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Parece que o mundo de 9 anos de idade de Brenda colapsou durante a noite. As aparentes inofensivas Testemunhas de Jeov\u00e1 foram bem sucedidas em convencer a m\u00e3e de Brenda que as festividades, celebra\u00e7\u00f5es de anivers\u00e1rio e todas as associa\u00e7\u00f5es com pessoas que n\u00e3o eram Testemunhas de Jeov\u00e1 eram para ser evitadas. A vida de Brenda, que at\u00e9 ent\u00e3o consistia na escola e brincadeira com seus amigos e parentes que n\u00e3o eram Testemunhas de Jeov\u00e1, foi imediatamente alterada. Ela perdeu todos os seus amigos e passou os pr\u00f3ximos 9 anos de sua vida num conflito interior \u2013 tentando ser verdadeira para com a sua identidade interior, enquanto apresentava a imagem do \u201cculto\u201d como Testemunha de Jeov\u00e1 que a m\u00e3e exigia dela. Prestes a tornar-se agn\u00f3stica devido \u00e0 experi\u00eancia com a Torre de Vigia, Brenda tem vindo a reconhecer a exist\u00eancia de Deus, embora a sua viagem espiritual esteja em progresso.<\/p>\n

I experienced quite a normal, blissful childhood until the age of nine when my mother was visited one day by two Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses.\u00a0 At first, I thought it was fun to get some attention from \u201cthe friends,\u201d as they called themselves.\u00a0 Since I had grown up on a very isolated farm in rural Pennsylvania, anything new coming our way was welcomed, and they seemed so benign, so polite, so well dressed.<\/p>\n

After a while, I realized how much destruction the Watchtower organization could levy.\u00a0 My mom, a Methodist Sunday school teacher at the time, sat me down very soon after beginning a home \u201cBible\u201d study with Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses, and in one giant swoop she told me I would have to give up all<\/span><\/strong> my holidays, all<\/strong><\/span> my friends, my birthday, and all<\/strong><\/span> our relatives.\u00a0 My life up until then revolved around play-time with my cousins from literally sunrise to sunset; so this was quite a devastating change in my young life!\u00a0 Having no choice to do otherwise, I obliged.\u00a0 For the next 9 years, I grew up without a single girlfriend and lived a solitary life.\u00a0 I call it my \u201cnine-year grounding\u201d\u2014despite good behavior.<\/p>\n

From the onset, I questioned their beliefs, but I still decided to baptized as a Jehovah\u2019s Witness because mom told me, \u201cIf you don\u2019t get baptized with us, you\u2019ll have to do it all by yourself later.\u201d\u00a0 That was an intimidating, persuasive statement to make to a ten-year-old child<\/em>!\u00a0 I didn\u2019t realize it at the time that getting baptized would cost me my family later.<\/p>\n

For the next nine years, I zoned out (day-dreamed) during the five weekly meetings so I could survive the long indoctrination sessions.\u00a0 Sometimes, I literally felt like I was pinned to an ant hill\u2014going out of my mind.\u00a0 To cope with the tedium, I gnawed on my nails until they bled and did some other \u201cinteresting\u201d things that are pretty shocking and funny.\u00a0 I witnessed my nephews being abused for not sitting still\u2014a common outcome for restless Jehovah\u2019s Witness children.\u00a0 I too was physically and emotionally abused.<\/p>\n

Journaling provided some relief until my sister showed it to my mother.\u00a0 As soon as I realized my thoughts were being censored, I wrapped my diary in plastic and hid it in an old log in the forest.\u00a0 Every time I felt the need to keep my identity intact, I went into the forest to write.\u00a0 I still have that journal today which holds many of my baby teeth and turbulent childhood memories.\u00a0 Those years truly felt like a prison sentence to me.<\/p>\n

As a twelve-year-old, I wrote a gruesome and disturbing story for school called, \u201cAll Alone in the World,\u201d which thirty years later has become Chapter 1 of my book, Out of the Cocoon<\/em>.\u00a0 Fortunately, I never intended to go through with my horrific fantasy, but purging my negatives feelings did ease my pain of entrapment.\u00a0 My own common sense and perhaps the lifelines I cast kept the situation in my life from becoming dangerously volatile.<\/p>\n

Independent thought wasn\u2019t permitted.\u00a0 We were all cookie-cutter clones and expected to march like soldiers in perfect alignment.\u00a0 To say that the oppression that I experienced was \u201cstifling\u201d would be a monumental understatement. \u00a0The only way I can describe what I went through is to imagine someone holding a pillow over your face for nine years as you fought to breathe.\u00a0 Imagine them letting in only enough air to keep you barely alive.<\/p>\n

Every year became a countdown for me\u20147 years until I\u2019m out, 5 years until I\u2019m out, etc.\u00a0 As a teen, I threw a lifeline out to a relative by creating an underground network with my aunt in Colorado.\u00a0 Mother forbade me to communicate with her own sister, but I knew if I could gain a sympathetic ear, my aunt might possibly help me someday.\u00a0 So, for several years my aunt and I secretly corresponded through a schoolmate.\u00a0 My aunt would send her letter to my schoolmate\u2019s house. My schoolmate would bring the letter to school so I could reply. Then, my schoolmate would mail my letter back to my aunt.\u00a0 None of my aunt\u2019s letters ever went home with me, lest our secret be discovered.\u00a0 My aunt became my only real link to the outside world and my only adult voice of reason.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, I did everything the Watchtower asked of me, including preaching door to door up to 100 hours per month.\u00a0 In many respects, I felt like the Barbie dolls I had played with\u2014molded, manipulated and fake. I was the perfect \u201cplastic\u201d Jehovah\u2019s Witness teen, but this was my strategy.\u00a0 I knew I had to quietly put in my time, while scheming and plotting my escape.\u00a0 Outside, I looked like one person, but inside, I tried to hold onto the real person\u2014the real me\u2014who was eroding away.\u00a0 Like a butterfly, I understood metamorphosis and used that to my advantage.<\/p>\n

Shortly after graduation, I rented a one-bedroom duplex with two other classmates and it was then that my mother\u2019s black and white perception of people in \u201cthe world\u201d became transparent.\u00a0 She told me that I\u2019d become \u201ca prostitute and thief\u201d because Satan had taken hold of me.\u00a0 I was determined to prove her wrong.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, the stability of my fast-food job faltered and as a consequence, I began to starve.\u00a0 However, I had a lot of tenacity and determination to make it.\u00a0 Desperate, I began eating other people\u2019s garbage when the money ran out.\u00a0 My mother, a self-proclaimed \u201cChristian\u201d (in the Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses eyes) would make callous comments like, \u201cWe\u2019re going to your sister\u2019s house and I\u2019ve baked some stew and homemade apple pies.\u00a0 Too bad you can\u2019t come along.\u201d\u00a0 To my credit, I never stole anything, nor did I sell my body to gain financial advantage.<\/p>\n

Three months later I knew I had to make a dramatic change in my life.\u00a0 I saved enough money to move to Colorado with a one-way plane ticket. I took out a student loan, worked several jobs simultaneously, and put myself through college in Denver\u2014graduating with honors at the top of my class.\u00a0 I was very proud to be the only one in my family to have completed a higher education.<\/p>\n

Like a butterfly whose wing has been torn, I was ill equipped to fly. \u00a0Young adulthood continued to be a perilous time for me.\u00a0 I lost my spirituality, was angry at \u201cGod\u201d and what he had allowed me to endure, and fell into a co-dependent relationship with an alcoholic\/drug addict.\u00a0 I needed someone, anyone to love me for me!<\/em>\u00a0 After 10 years, I realized that I was in a dysfunctional relationship similar to the one I had survived as a child, and I made the hard decision to divorce my husband.\u00a0 Above all else, I wanted to break the cycle of dysfunction for our son so that he could live a happy and healthy life.<\/p>\n

A few years later, a remarkable spiritual experience saved my life, my son\u2019s life and many others.\u00a0 This changed me from an agnostic to a believer in God. (I outlined my experience in a chapter of my book called, \u201cGuardian Angels.\u201d)<\/p>\n

So, where is my relationship with my family today?\u00a0 Well, not only has my mother, brother, sister, 4 nephews and niece not spoken to me for 25 years, most have never met my son, now 16 years old.\u00a0 This religion has divided our family and wrecked havoc on three generations. My family believes that they must \u201cshun\u201d me for the rest of my life in order to receive God\u2019s favor. The truth is, they are shunning me because the Watchtower organization requires it and if they don\u2019t do this, they could lose the organization\u2019s favor and be shunned by the only \u201cfamily\u201d they know. I find their belief system incredibly twisted.\u00a0 But then again, this is what cults are!<\/p>\n

Looking back, I realize that it would have been so easy for me to fall into drugs\/alcohol and throw my arms up in the air.\u00a0 Instead, I have chosen to become proactive and educate others about cults.\u00a0 I do this today through my quarterly cult newsletter and through my \u201cUnderstanding Cults\u201d seminar at Colorado Free University in Denver, Colorado.\u00a0 I also speak at churches to teach people about cult mind control.\u00a0 Additionally, I\u2019ve been interviewed on radio programs all over the world. (You can listen to these on my website – www.outofthecocoon.net <\/a>).\u00a0 My mission is to help people understand the dynamics of a cult, learn how to help a family member involved in one, and most importantly, to help heal.<\/p>\n

My life has come full circle and is once again bliss, just as it was as a nine-year-old. This is a stark contrast to those years as a Jehovah\u2019s Witness.\u00a0 My son is my \u201cnew light.\u201d\u00a0 I look at him and realize how fortunate he is that his mother escaped.\u00a0 If I hadn\u2019t, he wouldn\u2019t be here because I most definitely would have killed myself.<\/p>\n

People sometimes ask me that if I had it to do over, would I have stopped that Watchtower elder from coming to my door.\u00a0 No, I wouldn\u2019t!<\/em>\u00a0 Because of that experience, I\u2019ve become a more loving, giving and spiritual person.\u00a0 I\u2019m someone who has learned how important family is.\u00a0 I\u2019m someone who isn\u2019t afraid anymore.\u00a0 I\u2019m someone who is no longer bitter.\u00a0 It\u2019s been a remarkable journey for me since anger, fear and resentment once ruled my life.\u00a0 My only regret is that I lost my family to this very divisive, so-called \u201cloving\u201d religion.\u00a0\u00a0 However, I take solace in knowing that I\u2019m not all alone in the world.\u00a0 There are millions<\/em> of people out there, just like me\u2014survivors.\u00a0 I hope someday everyone will learn THE TRUTH about the Watchtower and other cults.\u00a0 This is my<\/em> ministry.<\/p>\n

\"Out<\/a>
Out of the Cocoon – A young Woman’s Courageous Flight from the Grip of a Religious Cult<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

You can learn more about Brenda Lee and her story by reading her book, Out of the Cocoon:\u00a0 A Young Woman\u2019s Courageous Flight from the Grip of a Religious Cult<\/em><\/a>. \u00a0Although Brenda does not write from what our ministry would call an \u201cevangelical Christian perspective\u201d nor does she address many of the doctrinal concerns that accompany the religion of Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses, she does provide a candid view of what life inside the religious \u201ccult\u201d of Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses is truly like. \u00a0You can order her book through your local bookstore or obtain an autographed copy by ordering it through her website at:\u00a0 www.outofthecocoon.net<\/a>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

.:BRENDA – Traumatizada \u00e0 idade de 9 anos pelo controle da Torre de vigia, ela n\u00e3o sabia para onde se virar Visit Brenda’s website Parece que o mundo de 9 anos de idade de Brenda colapsou durante a noite. As aparentes inofensivas Testemunhas de Jeov\u00e1 foram bem sucedidas em convencer a m\u00e3e de Brenda que…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[137,777],"tags":[182,444,460,187,179,153],"class_list":["post-20272","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ex-tj","category-mais-historias","tag-verdade","tag-abuso-nas-testemunhas-de-jeova","tag-educacao","tag-torre-de-vigia-organizacao","tag-ostracizacao","tag-seitas","wpcat-137-id","wpcat-777-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.4jehovah.org\/pt-pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20272","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.4jehovah.org\/pt-pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.4jehovah.org\/pt-pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.4jehovah.org\/pt-pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.4jehovah.org\/pt-pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20272"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.4jehovah.org\/pt-pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20272\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20275,"href":"https:\/\/www.4jehovah.org\/pt-pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20272\/revisions\/20275"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.4jehovah.org\/pt-pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20272"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.4jehovah.org\/pt-pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20272"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.4jehovah.org\/pt-pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20272"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}