I created and administrate a support group for former Jehovah's Witnesses called
Ex-Jehovah's Witness Recovery 3! found on Facebook. Since 2006 we have helped hundreds of people come to a place of healing by bringing the following words to life:
You Are Not Alone. I occasionally receive personal messages from people who do not want to make their identities public. They often ask me to post certain questions to other members or ask the group for feedback on certain issues. I thought I received this kind of message today when a message came in asking me to post something anonymously. To my pleasant surprise, it wasn't the usual kind of request.
A young man asked me to post the image of a note he received from his thirteen year old niece with the following message to the group:
"My
13yo baptized niece snuck this note to me. Summary: I miss talking to
you...favorite uncle...I love you. I'm left speechless. Thumbs up to her
for her seemingly small but incredibly brave act. I love you too!" Here is the image.
This
generated comments from other members that ranged from sadness to hope.
Sadness because a thirteen year old young person is not allowed to speak to
her excommunicated uncle for religious reasons. As a baptized member of the congregation she risks excommunication
for communicating with him. This young person risks losing contact with
her whole world. If her parents found out, she would have to live with
their disappointment. There were also hopeful comments. This young person was willing to risk her relationship with her family and the people of the congregation to send a message to her excommunicated uncle. If she thought excommunication was positive, there would be no note, no attempted contact, nothing. Her actions are speaking here, and it's saying "I love you, no matter what."
Christopher K. Young one of the other admins in the group made a very good comparison.
These high control groups, these cults, can never vanquish the core
person that resides simultaneously with the fabricated cult personality
indoctrinated
into
the minds of these people. I'm confident this young person will see how
unloving this organization is someday. This note is a reflection of who
she really is, a young person with a beautiful heart. I commend her for
breaking the rules and taking the risk despite the culture of fear.
Much
love to all the Jehovah's Witnesses who practice kindness above
coercion, and who demonstrate love above hate. Keep questioning, keep
defying the Watchtower, and keep learning. To all you very young
Jehovah's Witnesses too scared or unable to do something now, know there
is a group of Ex-Jehovah's Witnesses that are willing to give you support once you are able to act on your own.
