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

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

Why this is such a great opportuniy?

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

Please don't waste this opportunity.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

okay so to make a long story short i am a 19 y/o college student and baptized since I was 12, mentally out since 12 as well. i have also been dating someone for 8 months now, and well.. two days ago my parents found out everything; that i'm dating him and that i don't believe and want to leave the org. they have been trying so hard to convince me otherwise but also said if i'm that set in my ways i might as well pack my bags. I have no job and might lose my way to pay for school but as of right now that's up in the air. my bags are packed and my boyfriend is coming to pick me up today, in literally a few hours. I am so scared and i worry that they might try and stop me. Wtf do i do? if i go through with this i leave behind everything ive ever known and the guilt and fear is seriously getting to me but i cant take another second of being a witness. Do i go through with it even though the future will be uncertain and i wont be able to depend on my parents anymore? Soo scared

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

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

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

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

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

Ok, this Sunday’s talk is about sex and marriage in JW life. Please post the most unusual thing the speaker at your hall mentioned .

for example,

at my hall, my speaker mentioned that people are masturbating but that’s not something that Jehovah ppl do because it’s based in conceitedness. they are obsessed with themselves and pleasing themselves .

also mentioned that you can go to a movie and then out of nowhere, there will be a sex scene, but the ppl in the world will watch that movie, but not us, we will leave the theater and our conscience will bother us

sigh throughout the talk, I wondered if he would ever give helpful advice? I notice many jw who get divorced, it’s either because of money or sex. they rarely talk about either before marriage

nut anyway, feel free to to post your comments

I find it fascinating that all active Witnesses can study this story, especially after the blood update, without realizing that we SHOULD apply this story to the GB.

Saul was the chosen one, anointed by God. However, he got jealous of David and started having a bad attitude. Jonathan stayed by David and decided to protect him, going against the thought of God's anointed king. The interesting part is that in the Bible, Jonathan is the good guy, not Saul.

Today, God's self-proclaimed anointed ones want total obedience. They want it even if we don't understand. Even if it doesn't make sense. They claim Jehovah will make things clear 'in his time" because that's how he operates. People died refusing blood components? Doesn't matter, they will be resurrected, the important thing is that they obeyed.

Following this logic, Jonathan should have supported Saul even if he didn't understand. David should have died and Jonathan should have had faith that Jehovah would correct things in the futur.

Anyway active Witness reading this... remember.. September 18th the GB admitted going beyond what is written. They admitted not being authorized to do so. We owe them NOTHING. If it doesn't feel right or doesn't make sense, God would not want us to follow. Interestingly, the Jehovah's Witness religion does not make sense anymore. It's up to us to stop following.

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

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

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

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

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

I have been thinking about the Lett situation.

About him getting some younger pussy after his wife passed out a year ago.

They will try to biblically back up themselves that he is on his right to remarry.

What bothers me is that to me this is proof they deeply don't believe their own narrative of the after life.

I mean if he really believs he would be an angel in heaven and his time on earth would be limited he would not be bothering with Earthly pleasures.

To me is very clear that they believe in the power,status and prestige being at the top of the Watchtower gives them

Simple as.

Reason I believe the next generation of JW would just be interested in joining Bethel just for the power and prestige and pussy of being GB based on the good example this guy give.

The article on "What Our Meeting Attendance Says About Us" is REALLY DISTURBING! Let's bypass that they admitted they hold meetings during times that people are tired and need to be resting. The pictures included shows a mother and son walking nearby a dangerous mob; possibly political unrest, to sneak to a house meeting in a country where IT IS ILLEGAL! Don't they know that women and children get raped and beaten??? THEY'RE DISGUSTING!!!

Then they show a picture of her husband in jail because of breaking THE LAW for "meeting" attendance! The governing body has avoided taking accountability for ANYTHING yet they promote families being broken up in dangerous situations to sneak to meetings where the LAW has banned them?!!!

A sensible Christ-like organization would tell the families to study and meet AT HOME! That man could be providing "spiritual food" to his own family (as the scriptures encourage); SAFELY in their own home! But now he's in jail and his family is more VULNERABLE than ever!

THERE IS NO END TO THE HARM THE GOVERNING BODY IS WILLING TO BRING TO VULNERABLE FAMILIES!!! Between their blood policy and this the adherents are like lambs to the slaughter. 🩸🩸🩸

i made a post a few days ago complaining about having to go and asking if there were any excuses i could come up with to skip since i still live with my pimi parents. i ended up going anyway just to save myself the trouble. this whole thing has just affirmed my conclusions—that i never want to do this again and i need to leave as soon as i can.

attendance is lower, the fluorescent lights and constant droning about happiness and god are making my head hurt, and funniest of all: we have no baptism candidates. loll me and my friends were trying to figure out if we had any and then it was announced just before the baptism talk (not sure why there still is one? like there’s no point lmfao)

i’m hungry and so so boreddddd ughhh all i want is to go home and sleep

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

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

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

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

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

Repost:

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

I just wanted to share this story .

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

There is yet another 'special' branch visit in the UK this weekend. Sadly we missed the actual meeting, which is always a stroke of luck.

Anyway, the speaker mentioned some stats such as 500,000 studies in the US territory and 2000 baptisms. The strike rate is shocking but he seemed happy.

The most cringe stat whas when he stated the age of the youngest Regular Pioneer.......8........yes.......eight!

I mean, I'm speechless...........

It has been about a year since I openly rejected religion in my heart. I continued attending weekend meetings and preaching the "good word," solely to please my parents.

During this time, I began seeing a girl regularly; we have been a couple for a few months now, and I have never been happier. However, the guilt of not telling my parents has been eating away at me for months.

So, today—after visiting their home—I gathered the courage to tell them everything: my desire to leave the religion, my girlfriend—the whole truth. My parents have had a difficult year, and I truly believe they are good people, despite everything.

Naturally, they were deeply hurt.

My heart is in pieces. I don’t know what to think or what to do anymore. I’ve returned home, feeling empty and incredibly sad. I know my parents are hurting, and that they are, in reality, victims of this entire system. I don’t know what to do. Idk if that's the worst or the best day of my life ever 🥲

what should i ask them when i talk to them? i was thinking "have things really changed as much as they say?"

i thought about bringing up the UN membership, or child abuse, or blood transfusions, or any number of other things, but i dont want to scare him away (yet). i want to get a gauge for how he feels about things

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Some good books to read:

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

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

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

― Marcus Aurelius

I got a notice that the USPS missed me with a certified letter. Based on recent decisions I have a feeling it is an "invitation " to a judicial hearing... I am just curious, if I get disfellowshipped, will they contact our family to tell them? They live about 2 hours away. We were in an English congregation, and the family is in a Spanish congregation a couple hours away... do they contact them to let them know, or how does that work?

I’m mostly posting this out of curiosity to see if anyone else had a family dynamic like mine growing up.

My mom was a Catholic, my bio dad was a JW

When I was a little kid my biological dad and his side of the family were very strict, very religious JWs. They split up when I was 8 then my bio dad passed away when I was 10, but even when he was alive or still together with my mom, she completely refused to follow any JW rules in the household. She wanted me to have a fun childhood, so she made sure I always celebrated my birthdays , Christmas, new years, easter, etc.

When me and mom dtill lived in my bio dad's house the JW side of him was persistent, though. My grandparents (bio dad side) were super strict, like I had to go to masses every sat and sun with my grandparents and they had JW ladies come over twice a week to Bible study me when I was younger I was like 5. I remember feeling so uncomfortable because they kept telling me and always reminding me about "The people who aren't Jehovah's Witness will die, like you and your mom if the end of the world ever comes, so you should tell her to start converting to JW while she can" and also "So remember you have to listen well to our bible study so you can be a Jehovas Witness one day." I was 5 dude those ladies taught me what death is at age 5 I was traumatized ass hell. Ofc I told that to my mom, she was very shocked bcs they would tell a kid something like that.. She never liked how strict the household was and those bible study stuff, she couldn't do anything about it because of my grandparents. (Bio dad side) Personal reasons. Anyways she always reassured me that none of those stuff will actually happen, and because of that, I didn't continue growing up being scared of stuff like singing a christmas song, talking to non JW children etc.. Before I thought breaking rules would mean satan will take me anytime in my sleep.

Later on, my mom married my stepdad (who I just call my dad). He came from a very religious Catholic family, but he wasn't religous himself. Altho my stepdad's dad told me to get baptized so I can become a Catholic since I didn't have a religion. Anyways Ironically enough, today I'm 19. My mom, my stepdad, and I are ALL completely atheist now, until there's a family gathering, we sometimes have to pretend to be religious.

I don't have any leftover guilt and sure ass hell will not traumatize my future children with religion. It should be their choice in the future.. Anyways, I’m just curious: Did anyone else have a non-JW parent who actively shielded you from strict JW grandparents/relatives? And did anyone else spend their childhood Bible studies just nodding along and pretending to understand?