Neil Gardner - How to Leave a Cult

How To Escape The Jehovahs Witnesses

By Neil Gardner.

H ELLO AND THANKS FOR reading this (very) short book. I have written it for one reason and one reason alone, to help people leaving the Jehovahs Witnesses to do so as easily as possible and move into normal life as quickly and successfully as they can. Much of this advice can also be used (with some tweaking) to help you get out of any cult and if it helps you to do that I couldnt be happier! With that in mind I have divided the book in three parts,

1 How to leave the Jehovahs Witnesses.

Tips, tricks and strategies to get away from the scrutiny of friends, family and Elders. In this section Ill break down what you might be able to do no matter what situation you currently find yourself in. Whether you are young or old, a Bethelite or just Rank and File there are lots of things you can do to help make your experience far better than the Governing Body of Jehovahs Witnesses want it to be.

2 What to do now youre free!

How to stay out, enjoy life and thrive outside in the World. What will you do now? What type of work will you get? Where will you meet new friends and how will you stay away from the prying eyes of Nosey Jehovahs Witnesses around the world?

3 What to believe now?

Will I celebrate Christmas and Birthdays? Will I go to another church or avoid religion completely? What can the Worldly Reasoning Of Men do to make your life happier, healthier and more fulfilled? Ill try to answer these questions for you and maybe a few I havent thought of yet!

Before we begin this book I want to make it clear that Im assuming you are, or have recently been, a Jehovahs Witness, though some of the information I have provided can no doubt be used to help leave any cult. I wont be trying to explain the mindset of a Jehovahs Witness, the whys and hows of what they believe, I wont be trying to justify the strange and cruel teachings and how they so badly affected us all.

Instead I will assume you know why the Jehovahs Witnesses are wrong and you want out. I will take it for granted that you no longer agree with the teachings you were raised to think were the teachings of Jehovah God. I wont even ask you why you want out as its not my business, I will work on the one thing I DO believe, that a life lived outside the confines of a cult is better and more honest and so long as you avoid the pitfalls waiting for you, it will be better and honest for you too!

GO NO FURTHER if you are not serious about escaping the clutches of the Jehovahs Witnesses because what Im about to teach you is not for the faint hearted! I plan to help you learn to lead a double life! To obfuscate and ignore, to fib and finagle your way to a future where the Elders have no power over you but most of all I will teach you who DOES have power over you, its you!

I hope this book gives you some useful ideas to help free you from the Jehovahs Witnesses and if you arent able to leave yet you can still use some of these tricks to begin having a better life today!

Thanks.

Neil Gardner

How to leave the Jehovahs Witnesses

I HAVE TO GO BACK A bit now to remember my days as an eager young JW but when I do I am always amazed at what a weakling I see with the benefit of hindsight! I was scared of everything, the World, other Brothers and Sisters but most of all the Elders! Sure I liked (even loved) many of them but on the whole I was one scared young man!

I was also a gossip and judgemental, ever ready to run to Elders if I saw or heard something that I felt wasnt up to Jehovahs standards. I was also ready to tell on myself too and constantly felt guilty while also (strangely) feeling better than non JWs. I was pompous but also hugely ignorant, how often these two qualities are found together!

These were just a few of the bad qualities inside me that helped keep my under control and might be working on you too.

How you leave the JWs depends entirely on what you want from the experience. Do you have loved ones still inside the cult? Do you want to continue some sort of relationship with them? Do you plan on helping others leave too? Are you a central part of your Kingdom Hall or are you already on the outskirts of it? How you answer these questions will help you come up with a plan to get out.

I want you to imagine this book is a sort of a Choose Your Own Adventure book! I will give your a few different examples and show you how to you might give yourself or your family enough time and space to make the needed changes in your lives to walk away. As I said earlier, much of what Ill tell you will be obvious to most Worldly people but to those of us raised in The Truth it will seem very difficult indeed and maybe even make us feel guilty! But please remember why you want out of the JWs and try to realize that in this case the ends truly do justify the means, so Lets get started!

1 Secrets are normal and OK

Youve got a secret. Not only do I know youve got a secret but I know what it is!

You dont believe its the Truth any more. You know they teach lies, have done for over a century! You know they punish anyone who asks questions. You might even know that they cover up for child sexual abuse and have allowed tens of thousands of young kids to suffer under the old excuse of Not bringing reproach on Jehovahs name.

Now normally I am the last person you want to share your secret with, except for one thing. I had the same secret as you and just like you I have spent nights awake crying and praying that it was all a mistake and that things could go back to normal. The truth is, when you start to learn The Truth About The Truth you need to act and then its not a secret any more!

As a JW you might not have even noticed that you dont really understand the value of secrecy. You have been taught to tell your innermost thoughts when asked by the Elders. You have been indoctrinated in the lie that no secret is more important than the need of those Elders to know whatever they might feel is important. This is one of the reasons why you cant tell anyone you love about the doubts you no have. You cant tell your Mother or Father, Brother or Sister whats wrong, even your Husband or Wife is very likely to betray you to the Elders and this has indeed happened countless times.

What you probably didnt think about is that YOU are very likely to give away the game yourself! When asked why you havent been on service recently you will feel obliged to tell them why. When offered responsibilities in the Kingdom Hall you will refuse and possibly say why. Such honestly will win you a one way ticket to a Judicial Committee and your disfellowshipping for Apostasy. This is what your Elders want, this is what they MUST do if you give them the slightest reason to doubt your faithfulness and loyalty.