Charles Russell vs Watchtower

I guess it was the 1990s when the Internet was just getting a foothold in global communications and when we had our own personal computers at our desks at work with free rein to search about anything we wanted on the Internet. Very few had personal computers in their homes at the time, at least in my circle of friends as it was not really considered a necessity and the video games were very basic and not really interesting. So, at work was where I could start searching for anything that interested me aside from actually researching projects for work.

Let's back up a bit to what really started to wake me up to the Jehovah's Witnesses (JW) religion that I was born and raised in and never thought I would leave. It was the "Jehovah's Witnesses Proclaimers of God's Kingdom" book published in 1993 by the Watch Tower and Bible Tract Society. Oh yes, the Internet was starting to stir up trouble for many religious organizations, not only the JWs. I clicked on sites about Scientology since that religion was intriguing because of the Hollywood stars who talked about being members. Oh wait, that was a cult and many secret documents were uploaded to the world wide web that I couldn't get enough of. Then I read about the Mormons, more secret documents and people coming forward with their testimonies of secret ceremonies. Oh wait, the JWs were included on those websites. What? They are really harmless people with not much drama. Well, a lot was being revealed as in their entire basis for their beliefs was on the study of pyramids, Egyptology, they used Masonic symbols and tenets, there were links with Aleister Crowley and his Golden Dawn, and on and on.

The leaders of the Watch Tower could no longer ignore their dark roots and a bleach job was needed. Enter the "Proclaimers Book". It was a way to whitewash their history yet come clean about it and hopefully silence anyone with a website spouting all kinds of things against the Watchtower. The book revealed that Charles Taze Russell, who founded the Bible Students that became the incorporated JWs after his death, based his end of the world predictions on the measurements of the pyramids. Yeah, this book woke me up. However, the book is difficult to follow in that it is not in chronological order and ends up being an advertisement for the JWs' worldwide business operations.

But I wondered why I was never taught about the roots of my religion and I never questioned it since I thought the teachings really didn't change that much. I knew about how they used to celebrate the holidays and birthdays but so what, that was not a huge deal to me. But the Masonic connections, end of times doomsday beliefs that had many dates with 1914 being the last one that was changed to being the start of the end times, then later leading up to 1975 which the JWs now blame the membership for spreading such lies about Armageddon happening that year.

The same tactics and explanations are used
to this day regarding 1975 being the date of
Armageddon. They blamed the membership when
evidence exists across the Internet that the leadership
came up with that date and we bought it.

Pretty interesting that a self-proclaimed leader of the ex-JW community claims to know everything about Charles Russell but it's only because the original Bible Students provide funding for his YouTube channel and blog site with Watchtower PR agents supporting it as well as the only official ex-JW site since it's a fake and a misdirection to keep you busy on useless information making you feel great about staying inside those Kingdom Halls and sitting there like a fool thinking you are having one up on them. Walk out, that is what they don't want you to do. They want you sitting there thinking, oh I am so much smarter than these people, I can be awake yet attend every meeting! Hey, that's what they want you to do - walk away now; don't try to beat a cult at their own game. You will lose.

The JWs don't like that image portrayed of themselves as a bunch of Masons in a lodge that were basically ignored people who stole beliefs from the Adventists and slapped their own name on a Masonic Lodge and always met in lodges or halls down to this day. Some useless YouTuber living off his in-laws in a basement is Watchtower approved because they want to squelch drama while the Bible Students want revenge - so to speak - against the company that stills owns them. Yes, there are factions in the ex-JW community as well as with the Bible Students who are still sitting inside those Kingdom Halls and are now called JWs. You may recognize them in your area. They are the ones with the nicely groomed beards that may give public talks only in their own congregation and may be allowed to preach from door-to-door but that's it. They don't have positions of authority in the Kingdom Halls but are tolerated. Their bloodlines date back to the beginning.

http://www.info-sectes.org/tj/russel.htm

Oh it matters if the leaders of your religious society are Masons or not, most are, most religions are based on Masonic tenets. Religion is a way to control society since nonbelievers are already under the control of governments to bring an end to Christianity. Why is a pyramid on your dollar bill? Oh yeah, it's a mystery. You have to realize that if you are still a JW then you are in a doomsday religion that is making major money off of this world while the membership are banned from higher education, getting a career not just a job, starting families and building personal wealth, traveling for fun and not for Watch Tower, and the list goes on. You are serving the masters of this universe that get rich off of your fears of a doomsday. Any doomsday that may happen is eons away as nature continues and survives with or without humans. This earth is here to stay and no God is destroying anything. If this system we live in was not all created on purpose then God or Higher Beings would have stopped it eons ago to stop human suffering.

I think a good place to start on the Masonic roots of the Watchtower is with this interesting YouTube video. Pay attention to the beginning and make sure and access their channel and do a search of Freemasons or Masons on their site for their videos. It is a bit of a rabbit hole but one worth crawling inside of and digging deep into the roots of the Watchtower.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQEMII8Piik

Another excellent video is linked below about how Masons duped unsuspecting Christians into a doomsday religion and scammed them out of their dough which is still happening down to this day. Wake up to Mr. Watchtower Apologist Company Man; he is being exposed in the video link below. Yes, Mr. Basement Dweller, Charles Russell refers to Jesus as a Grand Master.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yh96OUVk8wg

#freemasons #watchtower

#jehovahswitnesses #religion

#study  #bible  #exjw

#activism #masons #masonic

#kingdomhall

Connections

We all need connections in our lives to move forward and to feel motivated, especially for those who may be fearful of leaving the Watchtower Bible & Tract Society, a book publishing and religious marketing company who now seem to be real estate moguls. All of the buying and selling of their Kingdom Halls and Assembly Halls just pad their already huge bank accounts, all built using our money. 

Yes, if you were ever a fully indoctrinated and devout Jehovah's Witness (JW), you did indeed donate tons of cash over many years to that organization and you will never see a return on that investment. What happens is, you watch that investment being sold off and the Watch Tower corporation is the one benefiting financially while you sit there with your same job, same economic situation, and wonder what happened. 

Well, like me, you may have been born and raised as a JW and knew no better about what to do with your life, you never learn goal-setting unless it was to further the interests of the Watch Tower corporation [not even realizing they are made up of multiple corporations, all designed to make tons of money for the corporations]. If you are struggling with connecting with someone following your major decision of exiting the Watch Tower, you are invited to connect with me at any time, either via the comments section of this blog or on my website www.exjwquietactivism.com. My website offers a lot of free information and downloads along with a fun section on health and wellness as suggestions only. I am not a licensed therapist, counselor, nor a life coach. Just sharing information with you based on my personal experiences and personal suggestions. The website is not meant to replace any advice from a licensed health care professional.

My suggestion to you is that if you have suffered trauma inside the JW organization, no matter if it is physical, sexual, or emotional, to seek out a licensed health care professional, NOT a life coach or someone who took an online course and have deemed themselves healers.  Life coaches are like career counselors that may guide you into a vocation, like carpenter or mathematician, not healing trauma suffered at the hands of abusers either inside your family or the JW organization.

I have suggested YouTube sites in the footer of this blog that do contain life coaching, however, they assist you with moving on from the JW structured lifestyle, not healing deep emotional scars from being physically or sexually abused. Please seek out a licensed physician, psychiatrist, or counselor to help you heal. Then think about looking into where you want to go in life, what occupation would be suited for you, maybe think about going back to school and furthering your education.

No one should feel alone in this world, but especially to those who were damaged by the Watch Tower, whose tower(s) seem to be falling all around us what with Kingdom Hall closures all over the nation, the Society eliminating a lot of print copies of their publications, and they seem to want everything done via your electronic device, with only human contact being in the Kingdom Hall with phony people sprinkled around gabbing about nothing and accomplishing nothing in their lives with no goals for the future but sitting and waiting for God.

I have come to the realization that some people need to be cut off from your life or simply nudged off to one side of your road to personal freedom. Don't feel guilty, don't become mean or bitter, just start clearing a path for yourself where you are the focus, not an organization that just wants your youth, time, and money. As I have said on this blog more than once, you are stronger than you think you are. You don't need some YouTuber to yell orders at you about what to do, think or feel. You don't need some YouTuber hoarding money in some international locale telling you to dump Christianity or to stop believing in a God while they plagiarize information from the Internet or other published sources and slap their name on it claiming it's their work product.

What do you need? To turn inward and start getting in touch with that inner child. What did you like to do as a kid? Were you allowed to do anything that did not involve pushing Watch Tower literature into someone's hands? Turn off the electronics for at least an hour a day and meditate on what goals you want for yourself. Take out that journal and reacquaint yourself with a pen and write down your thoughts, letting them flow freely, brainstorming some ideas that involve independence from Watch Tower.

Yes, it may be difficult, but as some say, the first step is always the hardest. Don't give up on yourself or on your spirituality.

#jehovahswitnesses  #youtube

#christianity  #spirituality 

#keanureeves 

Chinks in the Armor

Here we are in a new year while many Jehovah's Witnesses (JWs) are having a crisis over saying Happy New Year to someone who wishes them the same thing as this is the kind of nonsense the Watchtower corporation has its membership obsessed with. 

When I was a JW, I would fret over someone wishing me a happy holiday and new year, gosh, would God strike me dead if I wished the same happy greeting to a worldly person? But, maybe it will open a door for me to preach to them and try and snag them into a religion with no exit door. 

That was how we were forced to think around the stressful holidays. Stressful not because we were caught up in the excitement of the season or searching for a nice gift for a loved one. No, it was because we had to remain separate from the world or die at the battle of Armageddon that would happen any day now, even though many religious people believe that is a spiritual war and that we are saved by the Grace of God and the blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

So many YouTube channels have popped up by those claiming to be ex-JWs when it is obvious they are following an easy script and dialogue since many were only barely affiliated with the JW religion, if at all. One prominent YouTuber found a way to personal freedom via his Scientology affiliations and was featured in a Leah Remini/Mike Rinder cable TV show about cults. He used a survey format for his blog which is a common tactic of the Scientologists. They practically invented that marketing ploy. This is called a chink in the armor. Not all people are what they claim to be.  

Watchtower has a chink in their armor too. They claim to not celebrate any worldly holidays since they are based in paganism, and have roots in worshiping Lucifer. Even Christmas lights outside of a home is to beckon Lucifer to your home. In the old days before electricity, people would have candles burning in their windows for the Yuletide festival from December 21 - January 1. 

Watchtower bans anything relating to the worship of Lucifer yet demand a blood sacrifice from their membership on an altar [a hospital bed or operating table] by denying blood transfusions for medical reasons to save a life. Watchtower demands you have no contact with anyone who was a baptized JW and decides to leave. You may say that is really not a chink in their armor, but think about it, they view you as a follower of Satan the Devil, Lucifer, if you leave the Watchtower corporation. Is that a warped view of matters? Yes, in most cases, unless you were ousted from the JWs because you were a crook or preyed upon the congregation abusing your position as a Elder via sexting the girls and women in your Hall looking to hook up while married. I know, sometimes Watchtower gets it right.

The confusion with the JWs comes with their teaching to shun the Devil and anyone who leaves the organization [since they are now following the Devil just by their leaving], they shun all pagan holidays yet demand a blood sacrifice. Even their annual death mass to remember the death of Jesus Christ is a chink in their armor. Only those anointed by God can partake of the emblems when the Bible says anyone can, it depends on their heart condition at the time. The JWs also do not celebrate the resurrection of the Christ, only remember his death because they worship Jehovah and Christ is pushed off to one side.

I hope this year brings more clarity into your life as you take a second look at who you are following on YouTube who claim to be ex-JWs or who claim prominence as an authority when they were kicked out at about 25 years old and pretended to turn in their resignation letter to the Body of Elders since they thought it would make good copy for their online survey site or their YouTube channel. 

I hope you gain clarity with the fact that you can leave the Watchtower corporation and you can begin a life for yourself no matter what your age or economic status. Do not simply turn on the TV and expect salvation. Do not simply tune in to the Internet and expect salvation. It starts with you. Think about where you are right now and where you want to be by the end of 2019. How will this year read for you? Did you take that class you wanted to at the community college? Did you decide to take that job in another town or country? Did you decide to devote more time to personal development, picking up books about spirituality?

So funny about one ex-JW woman who frequently phones into a weekly Saturday Internet livestream program dealing with leaving the Watchtower. She claims to not care that her elderly JW mom is leaving millions of dollars of her estate to the Watchtower corporation; oh, it's not about the money! Just that she wished her mom would not be so devoted to a corporation that is all about the money and thinking you can pay for your eternal salvation.

Come to find out this was a deception, a chink in this self-righteous ex-JW's armor. She revealed on another online YouTube channel, that she called Social Services to report elder abuse by her JW brother-in-law that is married to her sister, and they are taking care of this million dollar mom. Social Services denied her claim. The brother-in-law stands to inherit a chunk of that money, with a portion going to the Watchtower corporation. This woman also stated that her siblings are JWs and she is not, so they all want her to come up with a legal loophole to get the money away from mom before she dies, or to contest the will. 

Watch out who you are following on YouTube, on the Internet, on any site where they claim to not care about the money. Oh, it's about wanting people out of the Watchtower corporation. No it's not. It really is all about the money. This same woman who frequently cries online about how Watchtower treated her, she was an adult when joining and an adult when leaving. She was not born in and raised in this cult like me and so many others were, who had no choice and our minds warped with the JW mindset and world view.

This same woman claims that the second this online weekly show begins talking about God, she slams down her phone. Yes, I know, it's because many who leave the Watchtower become Luciferian. They cannot stand anyone bringing up the Bible, God or Christ, it is a physical reaction and one I find extremely bizarre. I can talk about most subjects unless they are particularly gross or low class, but I can entertain discussions on the Bible, atheism, spirituality, mythology, and all other kinds of topics. I do not fear any discussions and it doesn't turn my stomach to bring up mainstream religion or talk about God or Christ. Again, this is a chink is someone's armor. It is a red flag.

Eventually you find out you no longer need to constantly obsess over other people's stories. You start to focus on your own life story and slowly you will see your own path unfolding before your eyes. Stop looking for external help. You can help yourself but it must start with a thought, a feeling, inside of you to better yourself. Now is the time to turn off the television, turn off other people's conversations, and take pen to paper and start a plan for 2019. You will never regret focusing on yourself for a change. Something the Watchtower corporation fears you will do. They love the constant YouTube chatter with everyone obsessing over their every move with the endless dumb commentary about their monthly videos that are on JW.org. 

Nope, that is not you this year. Do you want the Watchtower to crumble? Turn away from it and turn away from the phonies who pretend to want the JW religion to come to an end. It means the end of themselves too since they have built nothing since leaving the Watchtower. They have nothing, are empty inside, but this is not you. Start now searching for your own spiritual path.

#survey #scientology

#youtube

Not Everyone Escapes

You may remember the story about the ex-Jehovah's Witness (JW) named Lauren Stuart and her family, who were all JWs and had left the organization but Lauren never seemed to mentally leave the JWs. 

I blogged about her earlier this year and the link is here:

https://exjwquietactivism.blogspot.com/2018/02/its-sad-when-they-leave.html

I found through the YouTube Channel of Kim/Mikey, video dated November 19, 2018, that the TV show called Investigation Discovery actually covered Lauren's story and provided a reenactment of how the police and detectives believed the murder/suicide unfolded. In case there was any doubt at the time about the reason for Lauren killing her family, her dog, and then turning the gun on herself, is detailed in that TV show. Yes, she started having doubts about leaving the JWs and essentially believed they were right about the end times, that the Great Tribulation and Armageddon were right at her doorstep and about to happen at any time. She felt that the only way out of their predicament of being ousted from the JW organization was to take the lives of her family and herself, since then [according to JW rules], her family would have a chance for everlasting life. Her fate would be in the hands of their God Jehovah who most likely would take pity on her for what she had done. However, this is up in the air with the JWs since they leave that up to Jehovah but would not conduct any type of memorial service for that person who committed suicide, even if they were still an active member of the congregation.

The link to the YT channel is below where Lauren is talked about and a link to the TV program that covered her story.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=641nA_HVvFw

https://vimeo.com/301515222

As we are now in the holiday season, many persons deal with depression and assessing their lives as we close out another year and move into the new year. Even active JWs suffer from depression and suicidal thoughts and many carry that out, my own cousin being one such victim of suicide as I have blogged about here before. He was born and raised a JW, went on to serve at Watchtower headquarters in New York called Bethel, where he had various positions until finally being assigned to the former Brooklyn headquarters as a tour guide. He came back to his home state, married, became an Elder and served for years before I found out much later that he suffered from depression and was deleted as an Elder. In 2017 he committed suicide and there was no JW memorial, nothing, he didn't exist in their eyes and I only found out about his suicide weeks after it happened. Since I am no longer a JW, I was not invited to his gravesite service just held by family members, no official memorial was held by his congregation.

Do not let the JWs steal your life now or your future. If you have finally made that decision to walk away from the JW religion, be proud you made that step to start thinking on your own. If you believe in the Bible, then that is your strength and resource. If you want to explore various spiritual paths, do that now. If you have anxiety around this holiday time of year, let that go now. Calm down and relax, you have no one pushing you to celebrate anything. Do not be intimidated by JW relatives or family that you need to return to Jehovah, but be kind in your responses. Tell them the JWs do not own "the truth", and that truth is found in Scriptures, not in any church of Christendom, which the JWs are a part of. All churches claiming to follow the teachings of Christ are a member of Christendom.

If you feel depression settling in, reach out to trusted non-JW friends, relatives or co-workers. Maybe join a gym, start a daily walk in the park or around your neighborhood and consider adopting a cat or dog to take the focus off of you and onto another living thing that needs your time and focus. Start writing down your feelings and impressions in a private journal that only you know about, maybe carry it in your backpack or keep it in your desk.

This is the time of year to take stock and think about planning a new path for yourself. Don't fall into bitterness or start thinking the JWs are right after all. They have been wrong for over 100 years of existence before they adopted the JW name and changed up the corporation that exists today that is very much involved in this system of things, their so-called Satan's world. Yes, the JWs are profiting off Satan's world and have amassed great fortune while the membership suffer and die, sometimes at their own hand.

If you feel you need to speak with someone, do not be shy about contacting your local suicide prevention center. Sometimes volunteering at a homeless shelter or animal shelter can help you put life in perspective and you will see how lucky you really are right now. You can and will be that person who escapes from the walls of the Watchtower corporation and you will be a success and inspiration to those around you. 

The first step is to detach emotionally from the JWs, then work on the physical and plan your walk out of that Kingdom Hall and never return. They are wrong in their teachings, policies and beliefs. Convince yourself first, then introduce this concept to loved ones. But in the end, we can only save ourselves.

#laurenstuart  #jehovah  #JW

#activism  #society  #a&e #buddha

Leah Remini vs Watchtower

Will you be watching Leah Remini's show this month? Her A&E cable TV show that exposed some of the beliefs and practices of the Scientologists [a church in which she was raised] is now focusing on the Jehovah's Witnesses (JW) beliefs as we wonder if the Mormons will be next season since all three religions seem a bit similar.

From what I have seen of the brief promos for the TV show, it will feature a few prominent YouTubers that have a lot of subscribers, one being James Lloyd Evans [John Cedars]. Producers of the show felt that this would ensure a certain amount of viewers for the advertisers that are sponsoring the overly long two-hour episode since the show is all about advertising and sales, and that's it. 

The ex-JW message board has a thread about this that I found interesting since obviously, this type of programming is for the uninformed outsider, who is just curious about these religions that are not considered Christian or mainstream, that being the Scientologists and JWs. It has been suggested that L. Ron Hubbard actually used the business model of the JWs to form his own religion and seek charity status in the U.S. and in other countries. This is because both religions do not follow the teachings of Christ, but have religious human leaders. Christ is shoved aside and used for anecdotal material. Obviously, JWs worship a spirit creature called Jehovah which is up for debate as to actually who that god really is, but I will leave that to you to conduct your own research. 

Here are a few interesting comments from the ex-JW message board thread about Leah Remini's upcoming show. The link to the first page of the thread follows these excerpts from some of the comments in that thread. I have left all typos as originally written in the comments and edited some for space reasons. 

Link to the Reddit reference is here:

https://www.reddit.com/r/exjw/comments/9gkuym/call_to_action_charity_commission_wants_to_hear/

To view the thread and all of the comments as of the date of this blog entry, access the following link:

https://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/5740504332369920/tv-trailer-leah-remini-scientology-aftermath-jehovahs-witnesses-two-hour-special-event-e

So, will I be watching A&E this month? Uh, no. I have had it with a certain self-proclaimed authority on everything Watchtower. A man who was barely an Elder for a year thinks he is an authority on the religion when he was ousted for his allegedly abusing his position as an Elder and being an alleged sexual predator in the organization. He had the nerve to do a YouTube video threatening the Elders who may take judicial action against the JW family who are supporting him financially since any active JW is to not have any disfellowshipped or disassociated JW in their home and support them in any way unless they are minor children. I have met this person and have related my experiences with him already on this blog. I went to a book signing of his with his paid worshippers in tow and got the full picture of how things work in certain [phony] ex-JW circles. 

Will you watch the A&E special this month? That is up to you dear reader as I hope you don't need a show such as this which may be equal to tabloid exploitation and something the Watchtower leadership enjoys and has sought out, with their main sympathizer front and center perched on that couch like a hairy toad absent his golden crown. 

There is plenty of genuine information available to you on the Internet, in books, documentaries, historical information, all at your fingertips. If you are curious about the JWs, go to their official website JW.org, and check out the podcasts, videos, and literature yourself. No need for any mediator between you and the JWs. You can go directly to the source and start formulating your own belief system knowing that nothing is permanent. You can change your beliefs, you can believe in God, Christ, the Scriptures, or become a more spiritual person in general, whatever that may mean for you.

#leahremini #A&E #leah #remini

#extremebeliefs  #jehovah  

#jw  #jwactivism #scientology