Christy La Guardia

I LOVE MYSELF! I've always wanted to say that. But this guilt-free, no strings attached, I love who I am and everything that I'm not because I'm constantly becoming a better version of myself - love did not come easily. It began three years ago when I started a new life by submitting my resignation as one of Jehovah's Witnesses. I wanted to exit the cult formally, with no ambiguity, and on my terms. So I wrote four letters. The first was for my parents , as a follow up to breaking the news in person. The second was to my friends, and I sent it out in an email before the church meeting so I knew they’d have a chance to read it before the Elders would have an opportunity to tell them not to. The third letter was my formal resignation to the Elder Body. The fourth was to the Circuit Overseer, explaining that I would not be attending Pioneer School (a one week class for full-time ministers). Sending these letters made it official. I was finally free! Free from a controlle...

Skipping service and hanging out with my new apostate buddy. Leaving a cult is easier with a friend. One night while I was secretly investigating Jehovah’s Witnesses on the web, I decided to read about what former Jehovah’s Witnesses had to say. I already trudged through exhausting amounts of reading and research from Watchtower publications. But to make a well-informed decision to leave my religion, I needed to hear what both sides had to say. I realized this would be directly seeking out “apostates,” but I reasoned that all I would do is just see what they had to say and then make up my own mind. Much of what I found, seemed drenched with anger and sarcasm and that’s not what I was looking for. Then I came across Joel’s blog . The fact that it was made by and for people from my hometown piqued my curiosity and made it easier for me to connect with (plus “Gunz” sounded familiar). So with an open mind, I read every word of his blog. Then I read it again. Although I was very interes...

  For twenty-eight years I was totally a legit JW and I have the business cards to prove it. Or maybe the better the question is, why’d you stay so long? I’ve been asked many times “Why did you leave your religion?.” My default answer has usually been something related to the false doctrine I uncovered or the controlling nature of religion or the scandalous lies told by the leaders, etc., etc., etc. Ok, sure, I can “prove by references” the faulty teachings and lies of Jehovah’s Witnesses. But although all of that is true and without a doubt legitimate reasons for leaving, the fact that I wasn’t happy should’ve been enough. It took me past two years since I’ve been out of the cult to realize that my feelings are valid and superior to those of any religion I am apart of, person I know or organization that I belong to. I don’t need to justify the decision I made to anyone, because I know I make the right choice for me. Looking back, I see that some of why I didn’t leave sooner w...

Seeing my sister for the first time in about 15 years. My sister Missy and I were close as kids until she moved out at 17. She had decided to leave the church, although she left over a period of a few years, and knew our parents would not support that decision. Because she left “the Truth”, she was considered "bad association" and my parents feared I would follow in her footsteps. So they limited my contact with her. Eventually, I was no longer allowed to have contact with her at all and was forced to not return her calls or texts. My mother forced me to change my phone number so she would not be able to contact me. During that time apart I missed her terribly. I cried every time I thought about her and carried that pain in my heart every day. I knew she loved me, and although I couldn’t understand why she left, I hoped we’d be reunited someday. Fast Forward to over a decade as I finally decided that I was going to leave the church, I sent the email below in an effort t...

Questions From Readers, The Watchtower Announcing Jehovah’s Kingdom—April, 15 1952 Questions from Readers is a series that appears in the Watchtower from time to time. When I was in, I treated it as gospel. I think these articles are hilarious. They're also really good examples of how the Watchtower organization wanted their members to depended on them for instructions on how to live their life, dominate their decision-making process, fill their head with nonsense or just fill some pages. Some of the topics I see now I just can't believe anyone would need to ask these questions or accept their ridiculous answers. Here are my favorite, most prescriptive and stupid Questions from Readers : Is it wrong to take the life of a very sick or old pet? (w03 6/1 p. 31) Is it fitting for a Christian to permit an autopsy on a relative? (w87 4/1 p. 31) How should true Christians view the common practice of individuals’ giving to others copies of commercial software programs for comput...

The Roxbury Guys , Saturday Night Live, 1998 By this all will know that you are my disciples if you have love among yourselves. — John 13:35 (New World Translation) LOVE is the identifying mark of true Christians. This is what Jehovah's Witnesses teach. They believe that the "love" they show to fellow believers is proof of such divine identification. They claim that the love you'll find within the congregation is true love because only such love can originate with the almighty god and they are his people. I thought I knew what true love is. Basically, I believed it was loving someone because they share your love of Jehovah and live in alignment with the behaviors set by his organization. For years I rejected the love of some and denied it to others because they did not meet my qualifications of love. Instead, I surrounded myself with people like me that practiced conditional love. In return, they extended this love to me, and of course with many strings attached. ...