Welcome

Welcome to where you can get biblical advice and counsel on anything and everything related to Jehovah's Witnesses. There is no judgment and only loving concern to help you serve Jehovah and Jesus Christ, increase faith and remain loyal to Jehovah's organization or simply to discuss how to interact with Jehovah's Witnesses.

If you do not feel comfortable addressing your concerns to the elders in your congregation or to family, friends or your Bible teacher, and do not want to take the chance of a letter you write to the address in the Watchtower getting forwarded to your local congregation, you may post your concerns here.

Whether you have doubts, have sinned and need courage to confess to the elders, having trouble with personal sins not quite severe enough for discipline, are seeking to return to the organization, need courting advice, having trouble getting out, or simply looking for encouragement, you can post whatever questions, needs or concerns you have and we will be happy to respond with scriptural advice and counsel from the heart without judgment.

The History of This Site

Some years ago, I don't remember when, I started the website, "Ask Jehovah's Witnesses", in which I answered questions about Jehovah's Witnesses and it ran for a few years. But it was presented in a way that mimicked the publications. So when an article in one of our publications came out addressing websites designed to provide spiritual food, I discontinued the site. I want to help people, but I don't want anyone to see my site as a source of spiritual food or a replacement for any of our publications.

Then, in 2006, I got involved with the Yahoo! Answers group as a means of correcting people's understanding of Jehovah's Witnesses. Then, in 2007, I came out with the website: A Personal Witness. However, a couple of years later, I got another reminder, I think it was at a convention, that we need to avoid providing spiritual food, which the site had become a place for such.

So in 2009 I decided to start a new site that focused strictly on responding to the accusations of our opposers in order to help protect some from falling prey to their lies. It is not that the organization needs defending, but that individuals need protecting and recovery from poisonous lies. It filled a niche. I called it Opposers Dismythed and I have run that site ever since as it lives up to its purpose and does not compete with the organization's literature. However, I did not eliminate my other site, but simply took it offline, because it still had plenty of articles that I found very enlightening.

Lately, though, I noticed that there are many people, though having friends in the truth and appropriately confessing serious sins to the elders, still have a hard time expressing themselves, and for some, this can lead to a sense of being alienated, through their own self-imposed isolation, which in turn can lead to apostasy as they lose faith and drift away. (Proverbs 18:1; Hebrews 3:12)

There are also many non-Jehovah's Witnesses who have questions about how to interact with Jehovah's Witnesses, whether to turn us away, to ask us to stop calling or because they want to understand or address the actions of a Jehovah's Witness associate or the organization in general.

Thus, on Sunday, June 20th, 2016, I had an idea come to me fully formed, in which we (My blog-writing partner and I) could provide such ones with a place to anonymously air things they do not feel comfortable seeking elsewhere; or to simply provide them with a place to express themselves without judgment, sans apostasy.

After considering whether it qualified as spiritual food or was somehow competing with other services of the organization, we concluded that it was no different than any other personal conversation and fell outside the abilities of the organization's services. We simply need to avoid presenting it as anything more than personal assistance. So the next day, I posted this site.

It is not that the arrangement of the organization is lacking in anything from the Bible, nor that prayer is somehow not enough for them to have a relationship with Jehovah, but that sometimes simply having someone say what they may be unintentionally ignoring or missing, can help them to resolve issues. It is also a place they can receive "hands-on" training, so-to-speak, in becoming better servants of Jehovah.

Additionally, approaching someone who knows who you are can be intimidating and cause you to lack the desire to speak about what is bothering you in fear of the consequences or changing their perceptions of you. This site is for removing those obstacles to seeking help.

What Are Our Qualifications?

Someone may wonder how we are qualified to do this. That is a very fair question, so the following are the answers in honesty. While the advisors are anonymously listed by number here, they are not identified by number in any of the responses to those seeking advice and counsel.

JW Advisor #1: I was born in 1973 and baptized in January, 1998. I am not an elder, nor even a ministerial servant. Because of my current circumstances, I do not yet qualify for those services within the congregation, though many in my congregation find my comments and counsel to be uplifting and spiritually focused.

But the fact is, avoidance personality disorder, a severe anxiety disorder perhaps exacerbated by childhood trauma, has kept me from doing as much as others. I do not have the tendency to worry, but simply am not able to do what I want to do because my thought processes shut down when confronted with any task or thought that somehow feels daunting. It is similar to the feeling of dread some have when tax season comes around. Otherwise, I have a strong work ethic and boundless willingness, and am fully motivated the second anyone asks something of me.

To handle the anxiety, I tried medication for a little while. Unfortunately, it caused me to sleep a lot more, and I ended up missing more meetings than my disorder caused me to. There is little I want more than to make every meeting. I also suffered from a life-long depression up until 2011, which I received treatment for in 2010. For these reasons, I have failed to qualify for greater privileges within the congregation. But that does not disqualify me from being a Bible teacher and friend to my brothers and sisters.  The elders call upon me for whatever services they can outsource to me. I love my congregation and feel loved by them.

Now, why do I think I am qualified for being an anonymous counselor online? Because since I came into the truth, preserving the faith of my brothers and sisters has always been of foremost concern to me. I love the house to house preaching work, and making sure my brothers and sisters are well cared for is very important to me. I have always wanted to protect them from the lies of our opposers and to help them to reason properly, not succumbing to the false reasonings of Christendom or our opposers. So I proceeded to learn to do deep research and to improve my thinking ability, and over years of practice I got better and better at fact-checking, going down the rabbit hole no matter how far it leads or how uncomfortable it seems until I get at the original sources and the truth, going much further than our opposers dare to go. This has allowed me to vindicate the organization at every turn. I believe Jehovah is the one who has gifted me with this desire and capability and I use it to the full.

I must now allow a boast, but not boastfully and not for myself, but for those who need someone to trust, to demonstrate these qualifications. Many have expressed thanks for my efforts and my writings have been used by Jehovah to touch the hearts of at least a couple of apostates that I know of, prompting them to repent and return to Jehovah's organization in full submission. One former opposer has become my Bible student. Others have thanked me for stopping them from falling away because they had been poisoned by apostate lies. Still others have thanked me simply for helping them to answer hard questions, adjust their thinking and strengthen their faith. Since this gift is from Jehovah, it is he who deserves thanks and praise.

So my qualifications are that I have already done this for almost 2 decades in one form or another and have helped ones to return to the organization. However, my best qualifications are in the desire to strengthen the faith of my brothers and sisters, in sticking to the Bible as my sourcebook, in encouraging ones to stick to the organization and studying our publications, in promoting love for the governing body, faithful and discreet slave and the elders among us, and most importantly, in promoting faith in Jesus Christ and Jehovah God's Kingdom.

JW Advisor #2: I think this sounds good, and of course, there is no exaggeration!

Born May 18th, 1982 and raised by Witness parents. I was an unbaptized publisher by the age of 12 and gave my first talk in the Theocratic Ministry School the same year. However, I left the truth at 17 years old, and spent nearly 10 years in the world.

I decided that I needed to return to Jehovah in April 2005 while in trade school, because I had no direction in my life and no future, and the happiness I had as a youth was gone. I then obtained a Bible and began reading. Before I finished the first chapter of Genesis, I made up my mind to return home. I was baptized in April 2007, appointed as a Ministerial Servant in Nov 2010, and have happily served ever since. Having been raised in the truth and fallen away in youth gives me a valuable perspective, allowing me to give advice from those various points of view.

I met my wife in 2008, and we began dating in June 2011. We were married on May 5th, 2012. Jehovah has really blessed me with this wonderful woman. I could not successfully serve without her support. Marrying only in the Lord allows us to share not just our lives together, but our service to Jehovah in unity. Nothing is more satisfying than having two people reaching for the same goals!

The training I have received since being a regular contributor to Opposers Dismythed has not only made me a better researcher, but it has made me a more careful one, teaching me to verify sources, and to check facts. I have also studied logic and reasoning and critical thinking and am well versed in the Bible and the organization's literature. Having close association with my fellow advisor allows us to bounce ideas off of one another, laugh together, and work closely as a team!

JW Advisor Team: We have qualifications by virtue of our examples, desires and abilities, but we have no authority to command anyone, nor to enforce commands by means of this website. We can only show you the Scriptures, and it is up to you to decide if you will follow the advice and counsel we provide by means of them. We will not judge anyone for choosing, by their own free will, to not follow Biblical advice and counsel.

What Does God's Word Say About It?

We have considered the Biblical basis for this service, and here are thoughts to consider:

"For just as we have in one body many members, but the members do not all have the same function, so we, although many, are one body in union with Christ, but individually we are members belonging to one another. Since, then, we have gifts that differ according to the undeserved kindness given to us, if it is of prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; or if it is a ministry, let us be at this ministry; or the one who teaches, let him be at his teaching; or the one who encourages, let him give encouragement; the one who distributes, let him do it liberally; the one who presides, let him do it diligently; the one who shows mercy, let him do it cheerfully." (Romans 12:4-8)

"On the other hand, we urge you, brothers, to warn the disorderly, speak consolingly to those who are depressed, support the weak, be patient toward all. See that no one repays injury for injury to anyone, but always pursue what is good toward one another and to all others." (1 Thessalonians 5:14-15)

"All Scripture is inspired of God and beneficial for teaching, for reproving, for setting things straight, for disciplining in righteousness, so that the man of God may be fully competent, completely equipped for every good work." (2 Timothy 3:16, 17) 

"Beware, brothers, for fear there should ever develop in any one of you a wicked heart lacking faith by drawing away from the living God; but keep on encouraging one another each day, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you should become hardened by the deceptive power of sin." (Hebrews 3:12, 13)

"Therefore, openly confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. A righteous man’s supplication has a powerful effect. . . . My brothers, if anyone among you is led astray from the truth and another turns him back, know that whoever turns a sinner back from the error of his way will save him from death and will cover a multitude of sins." (James 5:16, 19, 20)

"To the extent that each one has received a gift, use it in ministering to one another as fine stewards of God’s undeserved kindness that is expressed in various ways." (1 Peter 4:10)

As you can see, these are the responsibilities of all members of the congregation. So we are fulfilling these things, but doing so in a way that allows members to remain anonymous in order to more freely unburden themselves. We are not assuming a position of authority, but are using our spiritual gifts to help our brothers and sisters and provide answers to those in the world about Jehovah's Witnesses in a personal, 1-on-1 witness online.

Disclaimers

JW Advisor is a place for spiritual counsel, not spiritual food. Get your spiritual food from the faithful and discreet slave at the weekly meetings and in Jehovah's Witness publications.

This site is not for doctrine, personal opinions or organizational policy issues. For those issues, you may go to our sister site at Opposers Dismythed.

Please exhaust spiritual research in our publications available to you before coming here to receive advice or counsel that you are unable to receive elsewhere, or you are simply at the end of your rope. But most certainly we suggest talking to us before making rash decisions to leave the organization.

We are well-versed in psychological issues and are good at researching what we do not know, but we are not mental health professionals. What we are are Jehovah's Witnesses and are proficient with the scriptures, our publications, the organization and Christian history. That said, it is very healthy to have someone to talk to and to see your own feelings expressed in writing, and especially to have answers to your concerns.

The anonymity of this site is not for ones to deceive in hypocrisy, (Psalm 26:4) but to give our visitors the strength to express themselves honestly and openly to find resolution to their issues so that they do not have to hide them from anyone anymore and can deal with them and move on.

Commenting

Comments must be approved and may be edited for content. This is not a forum posting board for interacting with other commenters. Comments directed at other commenters may be rejected or edited. Trouble-making comments and comments professing to be from disfellowshipped or disassociated individuals will be rejected. (Using hypothetical "what if" scenarios is recommended.)

At the bottom of the comment form and in the contact form on the sidebar, there is a means of entering a unique pseudonym. It is recommended that you choose a pseudonym for your comment that reflects the issue you wish to discuss. (For example, "WeighedDown".) This makes it easy to locate your posts at a glance while remaining anonymous.

When you comment to this post, I will reply with a link to a new post or direct you to a related post where your personal matter can be addressed.

If you still feel too uncomfortable to post your concerns publicly despite the anonymity, you can contact us by means of the Contact Form on the sidebar.

We hope you find the answers uniquely suited to your personal questions that you are seeking here.

To our opposers: Our opposers have thousands upon thousands of websites they can go to in order to post their grievances, or they can write to the address in the Watchtower or talk to elders. This is a site for people with honest and sincere questions, not personal vendettas against the organization or trying to convert us or anyone that visits this site. If people want to seek out lies about us, they know where to find you.