Pilgrimage Through the Watchtower |
Chapter 8: Disassociation |
Chapter 8: DisassociationI met with Larry, the Hyde Park elder who had studied with me during my summers home from college, together with his wife Dotti and my brother Steve (at my request), at Larry's home the following Monday night. After stating my case before Larry, Dotti, and Steve, the accusations began afresh. Larry accused me of being "too much of a philosopher," and said that I had "always been that way." He also derided me for being "too intelligent." After realizing that these allegations really meant nothing, he began accusing me of having too much of a desire to please my Dad! Of course, my Dad had nothing whatsoever to do with these things. Larry was grasping at straws. Like Steve, he was incapable of facing the issue head on. As with all devout Witnesses, he was amazingly incapable of even allowing the thought into his mind that someone had honestly determined that the Organization was wrong. As the evening progressed, and as I continued witnessing, Larry became more and more disturbed, and at times became very angry. I could see that the foundation of his life, the Watchtower Society, was being severely shaken. The foundation of my new life, however, Jesus Christ, was being demonstrated as unshakeable. I remained wonderfully calm during our several hours of discussion, sustained and comforted by the Holy Spirit. The next Sunday afternoon I met again with Larry, this time at the Kingdom Hall together with Jamie and my brother Steve, for the purpose of giving the elders my letter of disassociation. Steve would not normally have been present at this meeting, but knowing that this would be my last opportunity to witness to him, I had requested that he be there. For two hours we discussed many of the topics that I had covered in my study, including the deity of Christ, the personality of the Holy Spirit, the return of Christ, and salvation. As I witnessed to them, both Larry and Jamie became more and more upset. They refused to look at my two-inch-thick stack of study notes. When they had finally seen that my new faith in Christ could not be shaken, they asked inquisitively whether I had been born again. When I answered, "Yes!," Jamie retorted scornfully, "So you're going to join the born-agains? Don't you know that they kill one another?" His normally smiling face was red with anger. Finally, when they had heard enough, Larry asked me, "Kevin, do you have something for us?" "Yes," I answered, and handed him my letter of disassociation:
November 24, 1984 Kevin R. Quick xxxxxxxx Hyde Park, N.Y. 12538 Jehovah's Witnesses Crum Elbow Rd. Hyde Park, N.Y. 12538 Dear Friends, As you well know, over the years I have had many questions as to the accuracy of various teachings of the Watchtower Society. In an effort to dispel all doubts as to the reliability of this organization's basic doctrines, I have recently undertaken a rather extensive, personal, and objective study of the Bible. Many hundreds of hours and over seven hundred compiled scriptures later, my clear conscience will no longer allow me to uphold the convictions common among Jehovah's Witnesses, and any further identification with the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society on my part would only be hypocritical. Please accept this letter as my voluntary request for disassociation from the organization known as Jehovah's Witnesses. Sincerely, Kevin R. Quick
"So, what are you going to do now?" Larry asked me as we exited the Kingdom Hall and walked out to the parking lot. "I'm not sure," I answered, "whatever God leads me to do. Maybe publish my study notes, possibly write a book about all that I've been through with Jehovah's Witnesses; whatever God leads." As we approached Larry's car I reminded him of what Dotti had told me five years before: that if she was to ever find out that Jehovah's Witnesses did not have the truth, she would leave. I challenged him on this and asked him to give Jesus a chance in his life. I then walked over to Jamie's car and offered Steve, who was sitting in the back seat, a copy of my study that I had made for him. He refused, as I had expected that he would. As they drove off, heading back to Watchtower Farms in Wallkill, I called to them my final words: "Let Jehovah be praised!" I got into my car and headed home. As I drove up the street toward my parents' house, Brad's fiancee (now his wife) Leslie was driving down in the opposite direction. We stopped for a minute and talked. "It's done!" I said. "I'm no longer a Jehovah's Witness! I just gave the elders my letter of disassociation. I'm free!" Yes, for the first time in seven years, I was free! As Jesus had said, "If therefore the Son shall make you free, you shall be free indeed (John 8:36)." |
