"Convinced that the solution to my problem was to fill my life with service, I quit higher education and dedicated my life to service, sharing my gift by spreading the message to all whom deserve it. I was 22 at the time, I had served as a missioner for about 2 years. I didn’t have much, no money or luxuries; I was living in a room I rented. I was happy doing such fulfilling service, yet the ghost of the abuse, rape and homosexuality was haunting me."
A Common Bond
Ramon's Story
"I need to tell you two things. Number one, I’m gay, and, number two, I don’t want to be one of Jehovah’s Witnesses any longer."
Michaela's Story
"I figured I would probably die, but at that point I didn't really care. I decided that all the questions I'd always secretly had were going to be answered."
Marc's Story
"I knew I would not find any support from within the Organization, so why keep putting myself through that sort of pain?"
John's Story
"While I originally decided to leave the Organization solely due to my sexual orientation, I later came to realize how many other areas it was also wrong in."
Frank's Story
"I reconstructed my life by going back to college, often feeling like I was the oldest student in each class."
Brittany's Story
"Because I knew exactly what was to follow, I had confirmed with my employer that I could stay at her place when I got kicked out, which (unsurprisingly) happened."
Arman's Story
"I would like to meet the elders that excommunicated my daughter and allow me to judge your daughters. As being an ex-Jehovah's Witness, your Bible does not condemn a man loving another man, or a woman loving another woman, lest you interpret love and sex as one concept."
Starting a New ACB Chapter
While our email discussion groups and private correspondence are valuable resources for support, the benefits of face-to-face meetings are incalculable, as anyone who has ever attended a local ACB group or one of our international conferences will tell you. There are still many thousands of gay & lesbian JWs and exJWs out there who currently do not have internet access, and we need to reach out to these individuals as well.
Steve's Story
I find that suicide is very common among witnesses, because they don't give you a healthy way to deal with the real issues, but just kind of sweep them under the carpet making everything 'go away'.
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San Francisco Gay Pride
[flagallery gid=13 name="San Francisco Gay Pride"]
Darcy's Story
"I was depressed and angry when I finally started visiting sites for gay youths. I knew it was 'wrong' to visit these sites. But I was desperate for someone to talk to that knew how I was feeling."
Jim's Story
"Looking back retrospectively, there was an elitist bourgeois mentality in my congregation, which I have since discovered is not unique to the congregation to which I belonged."