Jehovah’s Witnesses themselves do not really open their doors

Originally published in Dutch by NOS nieuws on June 23, 2018.

The door of the Jehovah's Witnesses is wide open this weekend. The community's annual conference started Friday and both members and non-members are welcome. A big contrast with how Jehovah's Witnesses normally interact with the outside world.

Yes, they come to your door to talk to you about (according to them) the true faith. Conversely, they are less talkative if you ask questions about things they would rather not talk about.

We noticed this when we wanted to make the video below. There Rick (26) tells his story. He was a lifelong member of the Jehovah community. Until last year, when he made a decision with major consequences: he left. And because Witnesses are no longer allowed to have contact with expelled members, he lost contact with his parents, sister, the rest of his family and his friends.

Watch the short NOS op 3 documentary: Over the threshold.

In the video only Rick tells his story. Our original idea was to record, in addition to Rick's story, the story of a Witness who is still active in the community.

We reached out to young Witnesses who wanted to talk to us about their faith, but as soon as we told them we would also talk to ex-members, the door closed.

We also did not get much further at the Jehovah's Witnesses headquarters in Emmen. When we told them that we were working on a video about Jehovah's Witnesses, but especially about ex-witnesses, cooperation stopped.

Our request "did not fit with media policy" and the press department said: "We are not entirely comfortable with the format you described." When asked why they did not feel comfortable, we were told that "further explanation is not very useful".

A Witness never tells the truth..

- Wim de Goeij, ex-Jehovah's Witness

The attitude of the Jehovah community does not surprise Wim de Goeij. He left more than 25 years ago and started the critical site De Wachttorenkijker. "Witnesses want to keep control, everything has to be done their own way. The organization wants to keep the outside world out."

There are more than 8 million Jehovah's Witnesses worldwide. According to the organization, there are about 30,000 in the Netherlands. Jehovah's Witnesses believe in an all-powerful God, Jehovah. The Bible is their guideline, although they have made their own translation of it. Jehovah's Witnesses are expected, among other things, to go door to door to approach non-believers. Fieldwork, in Jehovah's Witnesses jargon.

If we had been able to speak to active Witnesses, we would not have heard an honest story, De Goeij suspects. "You can ask anything: you always get a perfect picture, never what is in someone's head. A Witness never shows the back of his tongue. Everything that deviates from what the community wants to convey can have consequences."

One of the rooms where Jehovah’s Witnesses meet (Photo – NOS News)

De Goeij had doubts about his faith for some time, but continued to defend it. When someone asked him why Witnesses don't celebrate birthdays, he replied that the Bible says so. "It made me feel sick. You are so heavily programmed to give politically correct answers. And that was just a question in a one-on-one conversation. Imagine if there had been a camera on it. Then you would think: think ten times before you speak."

Sexual abuse

Whether or not Jehovah's Witnesses want critical questions from the outside world, they cannot ignore them in recent months. There have been about 300 reports of sexual abuse within the community since the end of last year, but the Jehovah's Witnesses have refused to cooperate with independent investigations into the allegations.

According to Rick, this is also characteristic of the community. "Jehovah's Witnesses strongly believe that courts belong to Satan and that they do not understand it well. They believe that their own courts, 'committee cases' as they call them, are sufficient to judge the cases."

Members must be courageous.

- Wim de Goeij, ex-Jehovah's Witness

De Goeij partly links the theme of this year's conference, 'Be courageous', to the fuss surrounding sexual abuse. "Because the community is more in the public eye, recently members have been increasingly told that the evil outside world is against them. Members must be courageous."

The conferences are intended to keep things together and foster a sense of solidarity, says De Goeij. "It should keep out the evil outside world."

Lester Somrah

Lester Somrah writes about the beliefs and practices of Jehovah’s Witnesses on his social media platforms and was baptized as a member in 1998.