r/exjw

So let’s say that I get in a situation with the elders, and I mention stuff from the elders book. Is there gonna be any kind of punishment or anything they can do about it?

I read the book and I don’t remember there being any specifics on what to do if someone has access to the book that is not an elder, has that happened to you guys as elders or have you tell them that you have read the book without being an elder? Just curious

I'm a PIMO, moved out to my own place last October. I no longer want to attend but my family still encourages me to attend until last week.

my father is an elder, pioneer, mum was pioneer. Since I do not attend anymore, and my sister will marry a non jw, he will be removed the elder position. he was told that he was a neglectful father because of what happened to me and my sis.

he was hurt and told that he has no real friends in the congregation. there was an crippled elder that he always help with the bible study, but turns out he is not his real friend.

i feel bad for my father. i want them to wake up but I feel he was very hurt.

In the English version of the JW org news article about the Norwegian Supreme Court ruling they say "the government violated the religious freedom of Jehovah's Witnesses when it deregistered our national legal entity."

The Norwegian version correctly says the State deregistered the religion itself.

Those are not the same thing.

The Norwegian State did NOT dissolve a JW legal corporation. It removed JW from the state registry for religious communities because of their shunning practices involving baptized minors.

Interesting that the wording is only changed in English but not Norwegian, where locals would immediately spot the deception.

Here you can see ask the announcements regarding JW legal identity. You will see there is nothing about any deregistration of JW legal identity:

https://w2.brreg.no/kunngjoring/hent_nr.jsp?orgnr=879492742

To see for yourself, go to the article on JW org (in the News section) in Norwegian, and translate the text to English.

They know that they are lying.

https://preview.redd.it/gsre4xe34v0h1.jpg?width=1290&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e66f0d3471a3c669e3c48a14cdc10f236293b274

With thanks to Jan Frode Nilsen for this information.

I've been serving as a ministerial servant for a long time, so it feels like becoming an elder is just around the corner. An elder? No way. I absolutely don't want to do it.

But the situation isn't so simple. My family is watching me, wondering, "When is he finally going to become an elder?" — their expectations weigh on me. And since I'm still an active member, people in the congregation have their eyes on me too.

So these days, I find myself dreading the moment when they come to me and say, "Brother ___, we would like you to accept the position of elder." I have no idea how I'm going to handle that when it comes..

Watching Geoffrey Jackson at the ARC made me even more sure I’m POMO
I finally sat down and watched Geoffrey Jackson’s testimony at the Australian Royal Commission, and honestly… it just confirmed everything for me. I didn’t expect it to hit this hard, but the contradictions and the tone were too much to ignore.
Here are the things that stood out the most:

“I don’t know” / “not my field” / constant uncertainty
He repeatedly distanced himself with phrases like:
“I don’t know…”
“That’s not my area…”
“I believe…”
“I’m not sure…”
“I would need to check…”
This is a Governing Body member. Decades as an elder. These aren’t minor details—these are core organizational practices. The level of uncertainty just doesn’t add up and feels more like deflection than genuine lack of knowledge.

Inactive/faded members
He said that if someone fades and doesn’t want to return, they’re not subject to the organization’s rules.
But we all know what actually happens: if you’re known to no longer want to be a Jehovah’s Witness, you can still be disfellowshipped—even in absentia, even if you don’t show up. The reality doesn’t match the claim.

“Presumptuous” to say they’re the only channel?
Under oath, he said it would be presumptuous to claim they are the only channel God is using.
But internally, we were all taught that the Governing Body is the only channel. That’s not a minor detail—that’s central doctrine.
So which is it?

Corporal punishment
He stated they don’t accept or promote it.
But many of us grew up hearing about “the rod,” and we weren’t just hearing about it—we were physically punished. Publications and teachings clearly encouraged that kind of discipline. That’s not abstract—that’s lived experience.

CSA – apology vs. reality
He suggested they would consider apologizing to victims of child sexual abuse.
But in practice, that hasn’t really been reflected in any meaningful way.

CSA – “apostate lies” issue
When asked whether people who raise awareness or investigate CSA within the organization would be accused of spreading “apostate lies,” the implication seemed more neutral.
But we all know the reality: bring this up, and you risk being labeled an apostate almost immediately. That shuts down any honest conversation.

The oath… this is what really got me
He swore on the Bible to tell “the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.”
We were raised to always tell the truth—at school, at work, in preaching—even under pressure. That was a core value.
And yet, watching that testimony… it didn’t feel like that standard was upheld.

That’s what hit me the hardest. Not just the contradictions, but the double standard.
We were expected to stand firm for “the truth” no matter the cost, and we did!
But when the pressure was on at the highest level… it didn’t look the same.
That was honestly disappointing.
Is there anything I missed that you guys think is relevant?

This is not the worst thing obviously, but talking to never-witnesses about the shunning doctrine/homophobia/misogyny etc etc within the organization can be soooooo annoyingly repetitive sometimes. Almost every time the person will try to come up with a never-before-thought-of gotcha to make my family love and respect me again, which is nice in theory, but it's always the same things and it feels like they think I'm stupid lmao

it always goes something like:

"If God MADE gay people then why would he hate them, hmm?? Did they ever think of that???"

"Witnesses don't believe God made each person individually and believe homosexuality came into existence due to Satan"

"Oh."

"Have you ever asked your family what they think is going to happen to the people who don't go to heaven?? Bc there are definitely a lot more than 144,000 witnesses 😏"

"Yah that's a major part of their doctrine and most witnesses don't want to go to heaven."

"Oh..."

"Why would God destroy the devil when he created the devil to test humanity?"

"They don't think he did that."

"Ah."

etc etc etc

Most recently I was told to tell them that God doesn't actually love everyone and I just had to be like....yeah?? that's why they think he's gonna kill a bunch of people soon idk what you're getting at???

Anyways. It is fine, but I do mildly hate having to break down witness doctrine every time I want to bring up my situation so that I won't be continuously bombarded with novel suggestions about how to overcome my parents deep seated cognitive dissonance.

Jody Jedele’s pallid visage, dull personality and bespoke suit clad upper torso makes a cameo, all mere bit parts as extras - but we all know who the star is (stars are✨⌚️💍🌟✨) in this episode! lol barf.

I was watching ExJWAnalyzer’s video from earlier today and I HAD to slow the thing down, put it in 1080HD res, zoom in and take screen shots because I can’t even with this pharisiacal bullshit.

I worded my intro post the way I did because it is so glaringly obvious that Jody Jedele or someone up at HQ wanted to make absolutely sure all those expensive jewels were not dared to be ignored by the audience.

The Rolex or whatever it is wasn’t tastefully and discreetly under the cuff of the news anchor celebrity’s hand tailored coat, as is usually the case, so this month’s episode lends itself to a less challenging game for us out here to play, “What the nouveau riche wealth display and authority /elite status signaling kind of watch IS he wearing?!?!??”

No sneaky peeky teasing this time, tho. This smug, pallid, and grey goateed real estate whiz turned cult news anchor celebrity was outshined a millions times over (not a difficult task lol) by this flagrant display of these chonks of gold rings and thee finest of name brand timepieces.

(Although, if you know a bit about watches, there are way more exclusive makers that aren’t well known. Maybe not even as expensive because they don’t have an huge advertising budget and models to pay for.

Rolex is the brand everyone knows whether or not you have money, so wearing one ensures that people poorer than you will know you’ve got an expensive watch on - and that shows they have power over you. As well as $20k to throw away on a thing that is ONLY a STATUS AND WEALTH SYMBOL IN THE AGE OF EVEN THE POOREST OF PPL HAVING A PHONE/camera-video and music studio and player, access to every book in every library ever - even theirs teehee, a place you can buy anything, a weather station, a pedometer, a virtual college and everything else. Oh. And a watch. A timepiece. Haha. See, a Rolex or whatever that is only a symbol of how HE CHOSE to spend what…$10k? $20k?

But here’s this new guy, brandishing about - doing the same old awkwardly, iuanthenticly gesticulating hand and entire arm movements - but this time he’s also getting in some cardio and weight training in on the job because of this array of gold baubles he’s doing reps with.

If that’s an emerald, I still gotta find out how much one of those rocks cost at that size - and clarity (look at it when the light catches it - ooh!!)

Also, I may be mistaken, but it looked like he went from one position at the news anchor desk to another, so the studio lights would catch even more sparkles from all his fabulous nouveau riche signifiers.

And then the god damn desk surface - so you see see all the jewels perfectly mirrored!?!?!

I swear to God, this has to be …what? Them TRYING to get ppl to wake up. Like, I can’t even …🤢🤑

I have to finish watching the episode- thanks Jon for your tireless investigative work and research and making videos like these so I don’t have to expose myself to the crap my PIMI fam is subjected to, but can still get an idea of what that consists of. Ughghhhh.

🫡💕

my parents have made a rule that im not allowed to be left home alone. Why? Idk. But they view me as dangerous because i dont go to meetings anymore.

(im pomo, but living in my parents house until they can legally kick me out at 18)

So today i was in my pajamas, chilling in my room because i dont have work until the evening. And my mum bursts in and says "you have 20 minutes before you have to leave the house, because we're going out"

She then proceeded to give me chores to do, emptying the bin and cleaning the bathroom etc.

So i did them. Now i only have 5 mins left, and im in my pjs.

So i hurry, and start getting changed. As im doing that my mum starts yelling "hurry up!! Youre gonna make us late!"

After a few mins, she starts to threaten me, saying "if you dont hurry up, i wont come back until later, then youll be late for work" (because my work uniform would be at home and i'd be locked out of the house)

So i rush, and start packing my work uniform. i say "its okay, i'll just take my uniform with me"

At this point, she literally starts STOMPING, like a fricking toddler. Shes growling and saying "NO you wont pack your uniform!! Get out the house NOW, we've got to go"

I said "yes i will pack my uniform" because i knew if i didnt, she'd just use it to control me

I told her to "calm down" and "stop acting like a child"

So i go downstairs to put my shoes on, and sure enough shes thrown my shoes outside. She pushes me out the house, locks the door, and before she storms off she says "you made us late now. But ofc you did that on purpose didnt you?"

I want to be angry, but honestly its just ridiculous.

So I've been pomo for few months now. But Tuesday was bad.

A pimi friend of mine sent me a message late at night and let me know his father had passed away.

My wife and I quickly got on a zoom call with him to see how he was doing.

He let us know he had spent the last few days with his dad turning into the meetings and reading him the WT. It was honestly touching. He's a good guy, (I hope he wakes up some day.)

After the call my wife turned her back to me and clenched her fists. "I'm just so angry." She muttered. So I gave her a hug. She's known our friend and his family longer than she's known me. So I thought she was angry at hearing about the man's passing.

I decided to give her a little space and went to the bedroom. As soon as I closed the door she started screaming. Like top of her lungs and pounding the floor. So I came out to try and hold her and she screams at me "HOW COULD YOU BE SO SELFISH?!?! CANT YOU SEE WHAT YOU'RE THROWING AWAY?! DIDN'T YOU HEAR ALL THOSE BEAUTIFUL THINGS HE SAID AND DID FOR HIS FATHER ON HIS DEATHBED?!!!?! YOU'RE SO ARROGANT!! YOU'RE SELFISH!!"

Honestly I was completely shocked, this is not something she has ever done. Then she starts crying, "I'm so sorry, I'm sorry." Over and over.

She wouldn't let me hold her and she told me that she had been holding this in for so long. Eventually she calmed down enough to just talk at me. She said she didn't want to hear me try and rebuttal. So I just basically sat there. Being patient for like an hour. But one thing that got to me is she said "don't you even care about your friends?“ oh that one pissed me off.

So I snapped back, "they are the ones that I care about the most!“ that was the only time I raised my voice.

I still haven't used the word "cult" when talking with her but it almost slipped.

I know it's the indoctrination, I get it. But I felt so disrespected. And I honestly don't know if it's worth it, staying in this relationship.

She doesn't really wants kids but says "maybe in the new system." She doesn't work and only pioneers.

Meanwhile I work my ass off to provide, and I'm not fighting her about going to the meetings or service. I just tell her that I disagree. But she screamed at me that I've changed and I'm not the man she married.

I really don't know what to do at this point.

EDIT:

Thank you everyone for your thoughtful responses, you've given me a lot to think about.

She and I are doing a little better. There's a lingering awkwardness, but I'm trying to cover over as much as I can with love. I'm not being a pushover though, and I am carefully setting boundaries. I can tell she feels guilty for how she reacted and a bit embarrassed. We'll continue working through it and I'm not going to rush a decision yet.

I’m sitting here with my blood boiling and I honestly feel like crying from the sheer frustration. I have come a long way in my spiritual journey, and I know exactly what this cult is. I know the "bad" they’ve done—some of it directly to me.

They are taking over Phoenix. They are everywhere libraries, campuses, and they are literally blocking the right-of-way and disability ramps with those damn carts. I went down there today with my spirit telling me to confront them, to expose the lie, and to demand they get out of the way of the public. I did but I was too nice.. HELP!! i AM TOO NICE OF AN APOSTATE, HELP. I fucking hate myself for it I fucking hate them. I was trying to be the bigger person and have good vibe.

I did tell them that I any of them are doubting, this is a good time to do research. I should have made a scene. I should have stood my ground and held them accountable for the deception and the physical space they are stealing from this city.

I don't want to be "cool and collected" anymore—I want them out of my city and I want them to know that I see right through the mask.

Has anyone else felt this rage? How do you handle the regret of being "too nice" to this fucking cult

I will be writing reports, I fucking hate them at the end of the day I have a construction major and there is not enough room for someone with dissability to maneuver

So without getting into too much detail, I was disfellowshipped at age 16 and kicked out not long after. I’ve made my way through life and had my ups and downs since then. I’m now 36. I’m in my second marriage, I’ve traveled and done a lot of things, I’ve graduated college and have a solid career path. Until fairly recently I had just accepted that I was estranged from most of my family and that was just the way it was going to be. My husband and I had been together for close to a decade and he’d never met my parents. I hadn’t seen either of them in years. And he was ok with it and I was… idk not ok with it but it is what it is right? I feel so far removed from all of this that it bothers me not having my family sure but I’m not always looking at it through the lens of religion if that makes sense. Anyway in the last year or so I’ve come back into contact with my parents and older sister due to extenuating family circumstances. It was surprising to me that they seemed so open to contact. I try to make it clear that I respect their right to believe what they want as long as they respect my right to disagree. So recently I had a conversation with my dad and he told me that there had been changes in the religion and that they were basically admitting they had been wrong in the past to remove minors from the congregation. And that if I was open to it an elder wanted to talk to me, no pressure and no expectations, but almost like if I talked to them they’d say they messed up and the disfellowshipping didn’t count or something? At this point I told my dad, look if this makes things easier for you because I’m disfellowshipped, I’m willing to have a conversation but no more than that. I don’t want to give you false hope because I have no intention of ever coming back. He said “we don’t call it that any more, we say you were removed from the congregation”. Weird af to me, like you can just say you’re gonna call it something else and it somehow erases the fact that I haven’t had my family in my life for the last 20 years. But whatever honestly like I said I’m so removed from it at this point that I don’t care and if I really just need to have some clarification with these people it’s whatever. So now this elder is reaching out to me. He’s someone I actually knew as a child and is connected with my family. But I’m starting to get a little weirded out, like is this actually a thing or are they just trying to manipulate me into listening to some nonsense? Has anyone else experienced something like this? Or for people who are still involved, is this actually a thing? Like the way my dad explained it was kind of like it would be like I’d never been baptized. But I’m wondering if he misunderstood. Sorry this is so long. Really just looking for clarification before I have any kind of conversation with anyone. Thanks for reading if you actually read this whole thing.

below is a convo i just had with my dad.

For context im 17 pomo, still living at home with my parents. And today they took my siblings on a family day out, and locked me out the house (im not allowed to be left home alone for some reason??) My dad spent the whole car ride, bragging about how amazing this family day out was, and how much fun they had.

The recording goes:

Me "well why couldnt i come with you guys today?"

Him "you already know why"

"really?"

"yeah"

"well why dont you tell me?"

"well, it goes against everything we agree with"

"what? Me coming with you on a day out?"

"Its not that. Its where do you stand? We dont know where you stand"

"whats that gotta do with-"

"Youre interacting with the family!"

"Mhm?"

"Yeah, i wouldnt interact with someone thats apostate. I wouldnt interact with someone thats a lesbian. So we, dont know where you are. Do you get what im saying?"

* silence *

Him "where you are is ALIEN to us. And how youve got there, i dont get it. I dont understand. You know the scriptures, you know the truth. You were brought up with it. You know the standards. You know what he did to sodom and gomorrah. So... We're living in the time period where its the promised land. To mess up now is just..."

* silence *

Him "you dont get it? Why dont you get it? I mean, its not convenient for you, and its not- it doesnt seem nice-"

Me "doesnt seem nice?"

Him "no, what we're doing. Leaving you out."

"Leaving me out. Locking me out."

"But put yourself in a parents position. Youve got someone thats going in the complete opposite direction to the way theyve been brought up."

"AND?"

"Why is that? are you that... UNGRATEFUL?"

"Ungrateful? I made my own decision, PAPA."

"Well youve gotta live by that. WE DONT WANT THAT."

Someone pointed out to me today that almost all JW Broadcasting programmes from before September 2021 are no longer available on jw.org and JW Library. The exceptions are the programmes featuring the Gilead graduation and the Annual Meeting. I wonder why.

(Filler text to exceed the 300-character limit: aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa)

Hi all, recently attended the 2026 Convention (yes the earliest possible). As always, there is a video on Friday previewing the content that will be seen across the 3 days. I noticed that one clip showed someone seeing a phone screen with a red question mark over the JW Broadcasting background. It evidently seemed like some warning against apostasy. However, that clip was not featured anywhere in the program. I know this type of scenario has happened before, so wondering if Larch or anybody had any insight into this. Also, feel free to ask questions about the program.

Because let's face it there is a loneliness epidemic amongst witnesses and I can see many witnesses choosing to have relationships with a robot companion over trying to find someone else in the organization. Will the GB start publishing articles on whether sex with a robot companion is a disfellowshipping offense or not? 🤣

What’s a good reply to a message like this?

Here’s what her sister said:
“So you have a decision to get df’d? Where is your promise? Has Satan really influenced your mind? You’re really just waiting after you attend your cousin’s graduation to talk to the elders just to attend their graduation?(She’s referring to my upcoming HS graduation here) What the hell is wrong with you? Is that the effect of you having a bf? Just ignore everything that mommy and daddy taught you? Do you have no plans to see dad again? Just to remind you ha, that organization that you hate so much and is so ready to leave, that organization picked you up when we lost everything!!!!! That organization that you want to leave is the same organization that built the house you've been living in for years! THEY BUILT THAT FOR FREE! That organization that you ignore is the same organization that helped us with daddy!!!!! THEY WERE THE ONES THAT HELPED HIM STAY ALIVE EVEN WHEN DOCTORS TOLD US HE WASN'T GOING TO LIVE! (She’s referring to the elders persuading my cousin’s family to not to let him get a blood transfusion, he was bed ridden for a year before he passed) They were the ones that helped us bury daddy!!!! That family of your bf that you adore so damn much wouldn't even be able to do any of that!!!!! You have so much to say about the wrong things they do to you, what about your actions? Really? How can you you hate an organization that helped you so much through the years? Stop looking at their imperfections, you have imperfections too!
I'll find someone else to pick me up at the airport. Don’t pick me up anymore.
You don’t have time to attend the assembly, but have time to watch a game? Lol (Here she’s talking about my cousin planning to go watch one of her bf’s relative’s school sports game instead of going to the assembly).”

My cousin and I are really close and we do have a plan on leaving this organization in the future.