I'm an ex Jehovah's Witness AMA

[StressyMessyJess]

Any questions Ill try to answer as honestly as possible 😊

I went to school with a bunch of 4 or 5 JW girls, I was good friends with one of them. She was very evasive about her beliefs, we got invited to her house for dinner once and her dad (who had a very creepy vibe) started witnessing to us over the table and gave us a copy of a book for young people/teenagers. We were like 13 at the time
There seemed to be a lot of drama in "the truth" and I could hear them talking between thrmsflves, it was usually about boys/girls going out with each other. My friend had some sort of missionary girl staying with them from Canada, she was early 20s and in a sexual relationship with another guy from the truth, and my friend's brother, who was supposed to be their chaperone got into trouble over it.

I have a question: a group of JWs stand in our town with a magazine rack thing with literature on it. Lately, it seems to be manned by older Black women. We are not a diverse town, it's unusual to see older Black people (60+) and it made me wonder have they been sent as a group from somewhere to witness? Does everyone have a duty to witness for a certain length of time?

How did you feel about the blood transfusions thing when you were a teenager? I'm a teacher and have taught quite a lot of JW students. I'm about to take one on a week-long school trip abroad and frankly the idea of her not being supposed to have a transfusion if she needed one freaks me out. She has officially stated that she shares her parents' beliefs and would choose not to have a transfusion, but I do wonder how genuine her compliance is.

So, why don’t JW’s have Christmas? Because it’s pagan?

What's with all the domestic abuser JW men? My experience is of having friends who've escaped JW with their mum after their dad got abusive. I know domestic abuse is common but this is one thing the ex JW all had in common. Have you any experience of this? Is it because it's condoned or accepted?

Our local hall has quite a few new members who are black carers who have recently come to the country. I suspect this is who the women you see with the cart are

JWs dont generally get sent to other locations and dont do any kind of pilgrimage or terms of preaching.
Hopefully your community is more diverse than you think 😊

Yes its because its classed as a non Christian, pagan celebration

As a teenager I would have said the same. I would have said I would refuse, but if it came down to life and death and I was conscious, I may well have changed my tune

I have experience that men are classed as somewhat superior and women are not given the respect they deserve.
However I can only speak from personal experience and say I don't know of any physical abuse

Thanks, I hope that is the case, I was concerned they might be being taken advantage of. I have never seen a non white person coming out of the local KH, are JWs a world wide movement? In the UK is there much diversity in the community?

This happend to me when I went to a witness wedding when I was maybe 10 or so. A girl asked which congregation I was from. As soon as I said I wasn't a Jehova's witness, she literally turned and walked off. None of the other kids spoke to me after that. It was not a nice experience as a child.

Is it considered socially acceptable to choose not to have children as a JW? I know most religions want their followers to create more followers, so could they get married and be part of the community without actively trying to procreate?

That's horrid
And the sort of thing I would have done at that age. Simply because you would be classed as worldly and bad association.

Love your usename By the way

Please start your own thread Horace

Please start your own thread Horace

Very diverse and very accepting of cultures

Good question. Its totally fine to have no children, no pressure either way

At my primary school in the 1980s there were 3 kids that were never allowed to go to morning assembly (which generally involved some hymns and prayers and a bit of school news), they were the 2 Jesus Army boys and the one JW girl. Why would they not have been allowed to go? Never really worked it out. They used to have to sit outside in the corridor or in the classroom.

My experience of JWs is that they are hard workers and scrupulously honest.

Some of my relations are JWs. They were very hospitable to me when I visited and only had one brief go at converting me. I used to speak to one elderly cousin on the phone and she tried a few times. She was an absolutely lovely woman and very kind to me, so I didn't mind.

I hope life continues to go well for you, OP.

Hi OP,
really interesting thread - thanks. I’ve known some lovely JWs, and attended a meeting once (out of curiosity/ politeness more than anything else!).
I had two questions:

1. have you listened to Call Bethel, the podcast from the Telegraph investigative team? I found it really harrowing but I also hope that things would be handled very differently now. (??)
2. You mentioned above that more recently when someone is disfellowshipped, members of the congregation no longer have to shun them, and can talk to them (to persuade them to return). Do you know how recent this shift was? And can a JW socialise with a disfellowshipped person, or are there still strict controls around contact?

thanks so much, I’ve really enjoyed reading your answers!

What is DUB ?

It would likely have been to avoid singing carols/religious songs which went against their beliefs.
I do feel for the kids having to make that stand

Thank you ❤️

I assume the poster meant J W-doibleU shortened to Dub. Not a nickname Ive heard personally

From my experience it is a very ethnicity diverse religion