Dear (Elder
from my hall of origin)***,
I hope that this letter finds you doing
well. I have often wondered over the
years how you are holding up. Losing a
mate is a hard trial to navigate, I well know the sorrow. The price of the love you shared is grief
that is carried each day, although, as you put one foot in front of the other
the memory of their love can provide comfort.
**** Truly was the capable wife described at Proverbs 31. She proved to be a good friend and an example
to me and I never doubt the great love she had for you and for her family.
Next month will mark the 4th
anniversary (It is now 7 years) since I last entered the kingdom hall. You certainly have heard rumors, but you have
never heard from me directly why I left.
I feel now is the time to share that information with you. Please understand I am sharing this with you
out of respect for the man that you are and the friend you have been through
the years, not the organization that you represent.
I did not
leave because of disappointment in the elders.
I can attest that the original elders in our congregation served us all
out of love and care. For over 30 years I
watched you do your best as you worked hard to instill a firm and honest faith
in everyone you taught.
I did not leave because *** came to live in
my home, she did not talk me into any form of action or inaction. I do have a mind of my own and even today ***
and I are as likely to disagree on a spiritual point as often as we may agree
on one. We are those that are described
at Malachi 3:16. “..In fear of Jehovah
and thinking upon his name..”
We are given the gift of conscience and our
Father leads us in the right direction with it.
It is difficult when you find that that there are discrepancies between your
faith and the organization representing that faith. I began initially researching CSA judgments
and while I expected Catholics to leave the churches that hid this activity, I found
I was in an organization involved in the same systemic behavior. This was something I could not support. State records detail online that ***********was
charged in the rape of a child, 13 years after he left our cong. Who knows how many children were hurt by him
along the way because he was not reported to the police?
I began to see that I was relying on this
organization and its direction more than God. Jeremiah 17:5 says “Cursed is the
able bodied man who has put his trust in earthling man…and whose heart turns
away from Jehovah himself.” At Isaiah
42:8 it shows that God will not give his Glory or Praise to anyone. Yet, here I was giving obedience and praise
to the Organization and the governing body!
Remember Aaron in the wilderness, when he declared that the calf represented Jehovah--it did not, it was
an idol…Exodus 32:4. At one point I
believed anyone who left “Jehovah’s Organization” was leaving God, but this reasoning
showed me I considered “Jehovah’s Organization” equal to God himself, just like
Aaron did with the calf! In my heart and
mind I gave them the authority in my life that only God should have! My conscience required that I make a decision and
changes in order to align my heart and life with God’s will. With his support I will stand by that
decision.
*** you know that there is much more I could
speak about but that is not the purpose of this letter. The love of Christ and
the love I have for you and your family requires that I send this letter. If anything of what I have written resonates
with you, do not doubt the power of God to provide courage.
Revelation 18:4 gives us a warning about
action we must take in the last days.
“Get out of her my people if
you do not want to share in her sins”
***
