MY STORY

I was a Jehovah's Witness for 40 years and was raised in this faith from birth.  The last few years as a staunch Jehovah's
Witness, I was going door to door with great fervor and doing my utmost to live in purity and righteousness before God.
But strangely, I found that my life was all but falling apart.  Why, I wondered.  I began to notice things and that brought 
questions; and those questions/answers brought more questions.  Then, after sharing a concern with my wife of 16 years,
she suddenly decided to leave the Jehovah's Witness organization.  I was shocked and stunned! 

At this point, I really got serious about seeking some answers.  After seeing the way my wife was treated for leaving, the
severe verbal abuse and shunning, as well as the "brothers'" encouragement for me to not worry, they'd find me another
sister to marry and on and on, I finally began to realize with my eyes honestly open, that I too could no longer stay.
"This was all wrong," I thought, no matter how much I tried not to view it that way!  I reasoned with myself that wrong is
wrong (and that you can't make right out of wrong).  There were soooo many things wrong everywhere I looked includ-
ing all of the prophecies that had still not come true; my father who had just recently died from shame and fear (of 
Jehovah); my mother who was still in a mental institution; relatives suffering with very serious health problems, dys-
function and social problems; and my list went on and on!  I had to face some truth and be honest with myself.  I still had
so many questions, but I needed some space.  Then God sent an "angel" along my path to help me at this juncture in
my life.  This "angel" stated something to me one day that helped me immensely.  It was, "Dan, you can ALWAYS go back!" 
That did it for me.  I decided to explore the questions I had and leave for awhile, taking some time and space for myself
and, if I came to realize on my own that I had made a mistake, I would quickly run back and repent.  That was my plan,
and that was 6 years ago now.  I still haven't gone back.

It is important to realize that once you decide to leave - even for a period of time, you need some help.  I would suggest
following your heart with great caution, but accepting the help that God sends your way.  If you read my book, you'll
discover that, once I obtained my freedom, it was easy to be tempted to take advantage of this freedom and, as you'll
find out (if you read my book), I took it too far (for awhile).  I wish I would have realized much sooner that freedom
comes with a price if you treat it wrongly.  God didn't force me to follow Him.  Instead, He let me follow down the wrong
path until I was tired of it and ran back - finally surrendering my life over to God.  He took me back immediately,
which reminds me so much of the Prodigal Son story in the bible.  I could immediately feel God's intense love for me,
and He accepted me with BIG open arms.  I was really shocked about this since I had always believed that God was
the angry God and would simply just reject me and suddenly consider me dead, along with the world who was caught
in Satan's trap, never looking back. But wait, I thought, why did Jesus say, "Come unto me all you who are weary and
heavy laden, and you will find rest for your souls".  I simply surrendered myself to God and He gave me unbelievable
LOVE and KINDNESS and BLESSINGS like I had never, ever dreamed!  I really don't care about becoming rich.
I just want a simple walk with God, where I do what I know in my heart is right and pleases God, by the power of God's
wonderful gift of the Holy Spirit that now lives inside of me.  

So, hopefully, you won't get into all kinds of trouble like I did before finally coming back to the narrow road of honesty and
truth before God.  But, if you do, when you come back, I assure you that God will be there WITH HIS ARMS OPEN WIDE and
welcome you back (like He did me). I realized that He truly does understand.  He didn't hate and despise me and show his
great disappointment in me.  Again, He 's the Father in the Prodigal Son story. I realized that I would do the same with my
own kids.  I love this story and it has helped me so much!  So, I found the help I needed.  I  finally felt truly free and
happy (which took a little bit of time and work).  For once I felt at peace with myself and God.  I found the love of my life
(which is a true miracle and gift from God), and I am now enjoying the blessings of a successful business and career. 
So after God had done so much to transform my entire life, I decided it was time to share my story. 

It is my hope that by writing this book, it will help and encourage others to simply be honest with themselves and God about
the questions they have.  I'd also like you to know that, after I and others that I know left, our lives did NOT fall apart and
become "full of evil and sin of every kind". Rather, the opposite is true.  Again, I want to please God more now than ever and
I strive to do this better every day.  

If you are a Jehovah's Witness and considering leaving your faith, I hope that you will trust yourself, as well as your heart in
this, and take a leap of faith. If you've already done this - congratulations! I did and it payed off!  In a moment of clarity, 4-1/2
years ago, my terror of the angry God left me, and it has never returned!!!

My heart is with you!

Your Friend,

Dan Clark