Even if your mother has died, and you have been in the deepest depression for 3 or 4 months, which is why you do not attend meetings as regularly as before, sooner or later, but certainly, "punitive" measures will certainly be applied to you. And they will be all the harsher the more responsibility you have in the congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses. Well, if you serve as an elder, you will be very lucky if you stay in that position, and then only if you can prove that you rarely attend the meeting, not because you have "apostate" thoughts, but because you have acquired neurosis or something more serious due to emotional stress. However, the "ghost" of your untrustworthiness will "hover" in the air, causing concern among those who are appointed to guard your spirituality. And this will continue for many years, probably until the witnesses of your "sin" leave the congregation or die, which was that you did not go to the meeting for a couple of weeks for an "unjustifiable" reason. I am not exaggerating, this is the real state of affairs for Jehovah's Witnesses.

Jehovah's Witnesses most often use only one Scripture, Hebrews 10:24-25, to keep their fellow believers determined, despite all the difficulties of life that abound in our lives, to attend these "all congregation meetings": for example, the Theocratic Ministry School and Service Meeting on Tuesday, the Congregation Book Study on Wednesday, and the Public Meeting and Watchtower Study on Sunday. A peculiar scheme: "Tuesday, Thursday, Sunday"1. So this Scripture says, "Let us be attentive to one another, encouraging love and good works. Let us not forsake our assembly, as is the custom of some; but let us exhort [one another], and all the more so, the more you see that day approaching." Let's look at this verse. Does it say, "You will be guilty of leaving your congregation if you do not attend the local Kingdom Hall regularly three times a week according to the schedule set by the local elder"? No, you will not find such a thought in this place of the Bible. There is no indication of such an order here.

That's not all if you still need to prepare some public speeches for these three days and then present them in front of an audience, not having the right to be in a bad mood or just get tired. If you endure all this and keep the indispensable smile on your face, then you will be, as Jehovah's Witnesses say, a "spiritual" person. or you will go crazy. I am not exaggerating. Because, how can I explain the several examples of suicide that I know of (carefully concealed from fellow believers) that shocked me. Moreover, seemingly "spiritual" people committed suicide: one common pioneer and one woman who had served the Watch Tower Society for more than 50 years. At the same time, the first of them was poisoned by acetone after many months of secret "drinking", which became known only after her death from her drinking companion and neighbor, and the second - a beautiful sister who served about 9 years in Soviet camps and prisons for underground activities in favor of Jehovah's Witnesses, and could not stand all the lies and hypocrisy of the Society of Jehovah's Witnesses - in a similar way took her own life. She committed suicide the day after her husband, a hardened drunkard, was appointed elder. I knew her, and I knew full well how sensitive she was to all the callousness and stupidity that flourished in the congregation. This has always depressed her, perhaps all these 50 years.

But back to Hebrews 10:24,25. So, it does not say about three days of obligatory attendance at the meeting, but it says "your congregation" and "do not forsake it." Let us think about the following: first, "our assembly" is not only "Tuesday, Thursday, Sunday," but, first of all, it is people, brothers and sisters, it is an opportunity to help each other and show love, both in spiritual affairs and in everyday affairs. This is what this verse says, first of all: "Let us be attentive to one another, encouraging us to love and good works... let us exhort [one another]." Yes, it is not said, "Attend your congregation on Tuesday, Thursday, Sunday," and thus you will encourage love and good works, there is nothing else to do. No, it is not said! But the Watch Tower Society has been able to inculcate this understanding of this verse in all Jehovah's Witnesses without exception. This is the problem. Because because of this, there is now a completely unhealthy atmosphere of mutual surveillance, on the principle: "Ah, were you at a meeting yesterday?" As a result, the most important thing in the spiritual growth of every Christian is missed – his personal relationship with God and Christ, and his personal decision and willingness to develop this relationship. Of course, I don't mind attending Christian meetings. I don't even have such a thought in my head. But I am against it being in the order of mandatory instructions, under vigilant control, and under obvious pressure from others. All this is very reminiscent of the atmosphere of party meetings and festive manifestations in the era of socialism, so there is something to compare with and there is something to compare with... refuse.

A little about honesty

The overwhelming majority of Jehovah's Witnesses are honest, sincere, and kind people. But is it possible to remain such in an organization that, although it pays lip service to honesty and truthfulness, actually applies double standards and sometimes outright deceives the public and its fellow believers?

UN Membership

For example, Jehovah's Witnesses conceal the fact that the Watch Tower Society was a member of the United Nations for 9 years (from 1992 to 2001) as a non-governmental organization. It was only after the publication of articles in the British newspaper The Guardian on October 8 and 15, 2001, exposing their membership in the United Nations, that Jehovah's Witnesses withdrew from the organization. Of course, there is nothing surprising in the fact that some organization is a member of the UN and supports its activities. But any Jehovah's Witness knows that the Watch Tower Society has always portrayed the United Nations as Satan's organization. So the question is, "Why does the Society cooperate with such an organization that they claim to serve the Devil?"

After the above article was published, many Jehovah's Witnesses in Great Britain, the United States, and Europe were outraged by this fact. But the Society remained unperturbed here too. It claims that it did not become a member of the UN in reality, but "pretend" to be able to use the UN library. This explanation does not stand up to criticism, only for the reason that it was possible to get access to the UN library without becoming a member of this organization. In Russia, everyone is somehow silent about this. Including the press. But I think it is necessary to know this so that there are no vain illusions about the "innocence" of the Watch Tower Society.