Barbara is pleased to announce to her readers that recent and previously archived articles written by reporter Trey Bundy and published by REVEAL NEWS are now available in a special dedicated section [LINK] here on Watchtower Documents. We consider these articles to be timeless and valuable.
Because Trey and his associates at REVEAL have spent much of their time and effort reporting on the Watchtower Society’s failed child abuse and fiscal management policies, we felt they deserved special recognition and expanded access to their articles and videos. We want to do our part to get that message out while providing an extra treat for our readers.
We will be adding more links, reprints, and videos of relevant REVEAL NEWS as quickly as we can. New programs will be added when available. In the meantime, we urge you to visit the REVEAL from the Center for Investigative Reporting website [LINK] and discover for yourself their audio, visual and exceptionally well-written reports and documentaries on many current affairs in addition to covering Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Watchtower.
Check out REVEAL’s recent episode “SECRETS of the WATCHTOWER” by Trey Bundy now available online. [LINK]
“There’s a database of likely thousands of child sex abusers living freely in communities across the U.S. – But it’s a secret. This week on Reveal, we look at how the Jehovah’s Witnesses keep child abuse hidden at all costs.
LINK to REVEAL’s YouTube Channel
I do not know what type of Jehovah witness is this group is but I grew up with the Jehovah witnesses and they are the opposite of what these reports are saying Yes I was disfellowshipped but they didn’t treat me bad they were nothing but loving I had a child out of wedlock and they were so good to me loving they were always there for my mother I am not a witness anymore I haven’t been for many years but when I take my brother to the kingdom hall they are always telling me hello even if they see me somewhere in the market they tell me hello they don’t shine you they don’t say you’re going to hell this is crazy
Interview me I’ll tell you the truth
This should tell you how this operation runs. Because it is not like that in every congregation. According to what I was taught in the religion that unless you are trying to repent and be reinstated back into the religion they should shun you like they do everyone else that has been disfellowshipped.
Your situation is very rare. Because I lived nightmares because of this so called religion. If you are willing to defend them, why are you not trying to get back in good graces with them.
It’s called hypocrites.
Annette Parra, We would be glad to interview you sometime. We are pleased to hear that you feel that you are being treated in a friendly and helpful manner by the JW congregation you once attended. But you need to realize that your experience is uncommon. Most ex-JWs, even when they are trying to re-enter the organization, find that they are mostly given a cold shoulder, required to sit at the back of the Kingdom Hall, or are given disapproving stares by the majority of the members. Yes, there will always be a few JWs that are truly loving and forgiving and will approach you and greet you and tell you that they can’t wait for you to rejoin the congregation. But – and I must emphasize that fact – they are the minority. Too many JWs present a “holier than thou” attitude when approached by a disfellowshipped or disassociated JW. They forget Jesus parable of the shepherd who left the rest of his flock to go search for one of the lambs that had gotten lost or wandered away. I have realized that JWs are really split into two major factions: Those who think they are above the rest of the congregation because they attend all the meetings and hold family studies at home before going to the Kingdom Hall (can you imagine having to read Watchtower publications twice in the same week…boring!) Those typically are the ones who forget the “love” part of being a Christian and only think of the “judging” part of not being “part of the world.” We’re all in the world and have to get along with it. Being a snobbish jerk does nothing to encourage fallen JWs from returning.
Annette Parra – You are among the fortunate ones if what you say is actually the case in your situation. You are literally “one in a hundred” if you are being treated so well by your JW family members and other members of your former congregation. Others, including myself and Barbara Anderson, have completely lost contact with their remaining JW family members. You haven’t experienced a “cold shoulder” until you visit a former JW friend or go to a JW funeral and are recognized as “an apostate” family member. Even though I was the eldest child in my family (one of three) and should have been able to participate in the funerals of my JW father and mother, both my younger brother (also a former JW) and I were required to sit at the back row of the funeral home during their services. In one case, I wrote a one-page document that outlined my father’s life and his good works. It was all very positive and uplifting. I presented it to the elder who was conducting the service at the Kingdom Hall. NOt a single word of that memorial document was read during the funeral. My brother and I sat quietly in the back row (where the JW attendants seated us). We listened politely as the elder conducted the service reading the exact same sermon that was given 15 years before for my mother’s funeral. My brother and I brought along some music that my parents were very fond of and had asked us to play for them at their funerals. I explained that to the conducting brother. Bottom line: the elder did not read or even mention our obituary history about my father – he never even mentioned it. None of our music was played. Only my JW sister, her husband, and their daughter were mentioned during the funeral (my brother and I had flown over 1500 miles on a moment’s notice to be there). You want to describe a punch in the stomach and two kicks in the shins? That’s exactly what my brother and I got while attending that funeral for our father and (years previously for our mother.) Other former and faded JWs will tell you that they too have experienced similar treatment by “loving Jehovah’s Witnesses.” Essentially it was a total waste of our time to even bother to go to our own parents’ funerals. I want to also share that my brother and I were always polite and respectful of the other JWs and the elders – and we had done nothing that would have caused them to react to us that way. In another situation, I ran into one of my best friends from my high school years. We were both JWs and got along great the whole time. I was at an LA Dodger baseball game and noticed him sitting just a couple of rows down from me. I got up and went down to his row to say hello and ask about him and his family. After shaking my hand, the first thing he asked was, “So, are you still an active JW?” I responded, “No, it’s been several years now since I left. How have you been?” His response? “Just get away from me. You are dead to me. I don’t associate with apostates and evil-doers.” I almost swallowed my tongue. I know that response is probably not applicable or typical to all current JWs and will admit that some might try hard to be friendly – and at least polite. But my point is that some JWs really take the “shunning of apostates and those who leave the Truth” very seriously and will show no love or caring for those who have for many reasons decided to leave the Jehovah’s Witnesses and start a new life.