by Richard Cook
When I was
about eight years old, the Jehovah's Witnesses started a bible study with my mother. At first my dad was not interested but
he eventually began studying also. We began going to the Kingdom Hall
on Sunday's. Soon we were going three times a week.
It wasn't very long after this that my parents called a family meeting. They told me and my brothers that they knew they had found the one true religion. They explained the beliefs of Witnesses to us, and then came the big one . . . NO MORE CHRISTMAS! , NO MORE BIRTHDAY'S, EASTER, THANKSGIVING, ETC. But they explained to us that it would be even better since we wouldn't have to wait for Christmas to get presents because now they would give us gifts all during the year because they love us. We never got any gifts.
I began having problems at school since I was no longer allowed to salute the flag or sing the National Anthem. I was not allowed to participate in any school activity outside of normal classes (i.e., attending pep rallies, playing football or other competitive sports, etc.) The other children began to tease me and call me names but I was ready because the Witnesses said that Satan would tempt us and try to make us weak, so even though I was hurt, I knew I was doing the right thing.
At the age of nine I began going out in field service (door-to-door) selling the Watchtower and Awake magazines. The Witnesses loved to have kids with them in service since the householder always seemed to be nicer then. I also began to give talks on Thursday nights at the Theocratic Ministry School. My first talk was Finish What You Start (I had a hard time finishing it).
I started fitting in well with the Witnesses, making new friends (had to get rid of the old friends since they were of the world), going on bible studies and to all of the meetings. I even volunteered to work at the conventions, usually mopping and cleaning up the rest rooms.
Things seemed to be going great until the day my brother George got sick at the amusement park. I was about 13 and my brother was 14 and we were at Pontchartrain Beach in New Orleans. My brother has arthritis and had been taking aspirin twice a day for over a year. This day he began to get sick and throwing up blood. My parents rushed him to the hospital. The doctor said the aspirin had created an ulcer and had eaten a hole in his stomach. He was in very serious condition and needed blood. BLOOD TRANSFUSION. This is not allowed by the organization. My parents had to make a decision fast. They went in George's room, he was still conscious, and told him what was happening. They let George make the decision. He said that he knew what Jehovah wanted him to do. My parents told the doctor that they are Jehovah's Witnesses and do not believe in blood transfusions and would not permit it. The doctor told my parents that they should go home because without the blood transfusion my brother would not live through the night. I remember my parents coming home and telling me that my brother was probably going to die. I was devastated, he was my best friend, we did everything together. We began praying to Jehovah that my brother would be all right. My brother had a rough time and spent several days in the hospital but he did not die. We knew it was his faith in Jehovah (standing firm in not accepting the transfusion) that saved his life. This made the family's faith in Jehovah and his earthly organization even stronger. My mother even began pioneering.
Everything seemed to be going fine until the time I was about eighteen. On of the sisters in the congregation was having a bible study with a woman who said I was picking her daughter up from school every day and taking her home. The woman was worried and talked to the elders. The elders confronted me about this and I told them it was not me but apparently someone with a car like mine. Several weeks went by and the elders called me in the back room of the Kingdom Hall and said the woman was getting upset and that I must stop giving the woman's daughter a ride home. I told them again that it was not me but someone else. Two more weeks went by and again I was called to the back by the elders. They also asked my father to come with me. This time they said that if I did not stop picking up the woman's daughter from school that they would have to disfellowship me because this could cause problems, possibly even stop the woman from studying with them. I had about all I could take. I told them that I was not doing what they said and I was tired of being falsely accused. One of the elders said he knew I was lying. I could not believe this. I looked at my father and waited for him to say something. He just kept silent, apparently afraid that if he said something he too might get into trouble with the elders. I stood up and looked at this elder and said Who are you to judge me? I don't need this anymore. I stormed out of the room and left. I have never been back to a Kingdom Hall.
I began a life of rebellion against all that I was taught. I began to go to worldly parties where drugs were prevalent. I began hanging out with the bad crowd, drinking and doing drugs. I knew I had no more hope for eternal life. Without the organization I was nothing. I remember one night riding with a guy back from New Orleans to LaPlace, about 30 miles, with 16 pounds of marijuana in the back seat. We would sell to the dealers. I remember how scared I felt when one person I sold to got caught and went to prison. I knew he would say where he got the stuff and then I would go to prison. He never did. I decided right then to straighten up my act and I stopped doing drugs.
I was doing good for about six months and then ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time. I was drug free but in a drug ridden place. Walking to a friends house I had to walk past the bowling alley. I heard a bunch of people talking from the dark area near the back and decided to check out what was happening. I no sooner got to the area where they were and was hit with blinding lights and the sound of shot guns being cocked. The air was filled with flying drugs. The people I heard were making drug deals and I was right in the middle of a drug bust. The police said for everyone to put their hands against the wall. I tried to tell them that I was not with the group but to no avail. I was brought to the jail, stripped searched, questioned and put in a cell with three convicts for the night. I was released the next morning on my own recognizance. My parents read the paper the next morning to see that I was arrested for possession of marijuana with intention to distribute, and contributing to the delinquency of a minor by distribution. I was later found innocent of all charges and decided it was time for a change. I had a friend that was going to move to Georgia and I asked if I could go with him. He agreed. Three months later we left. It felt so good leaving Louisiana.
Once in Georgia I met Teresa, my wife, who has helped me in becoming a Christian. We eloped and got married in December of 1984 by a justice of the peace. We would have liked a big wedding but her parents were Catholic and mine Jehovah's Witnesses. Teresa tried to talk me into going to church but I just couldn't do that since I was brainwashed into believing that Satan lives in churches. However, after the birth of our son Tony in 1991, I agreed that we needed to give him a Christian upbringing.
It took some time but I finally went into a church. I didn't see Satan there but I did meet lots of nice people. I told Teresa I would continue to go to church but that I would not get serious about it. Soon after that I was baptized. You see, once I began seeking Christ, I could not get enough. I yearned to learn more. I began reading my bible again and found the answers were all right there in God's word. One day while driving to work I was listening to the local Christian radio station and the person speaking asked anyone listening who was not sure of their salvation to join him in prayer. We prayed the sinner's prayer and I accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior. I am now devoted to doing his will by helping others to understand the teachings of the Jehovah's Witnesses so that we, as Christians, can help them come to Christ and know the real truth lies in him.
My parents and both of my brothers, along with their wives and children, are still active Jehovah's Witnesses. My sister, Caroll, is the only immediate family member who has left the Watchtower Organization. She too is helping Christians learn about the Jehovah's Witnesses beliefs. She shared this scripture with me which we feel will help everyone who has come out of the "Watchtower Organization" . . .
"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do net let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery." (Galatians 5:1 NIV)
Richard Cook