I'll give a little history on the Free Minds Journal.

It started out as the Bethel Ministries Newsletter in 1982 and was changed to the Free Minds Journal in the early 90s. We decided to  establish ourselves as a nonprofit EDUCATIONAL organization (as opposed to religiously oriented or sponsored by a church) separate from my church.

I was a licensed pastor with Foursquare/Hope Chapel for several years and had my own small branch of Hope Chapel church for three years, from 1990 to 1993.  We called it Hope Chapel West Manhattan, with 35 members, half of whom were former Witnesses. We used to hold ex-JW meetings in the larger Hope Chapel (2000 members) and you can purchase the DVDs from those seminars or watch 3 of them so far on Youtube, highly recommended. These meetings were recorded on S-VHS so the quality was better than the old VHS, so even the DVDs aren't too grainy.

You can listen to four of my favorite sermons (called the "Virtual Church") for Jehovah's Witnesses or anyone who is into legalistic bondage HERE.

The newsletter/Journal used to be printed to the number of 2200 copies every two months! Wow, what a job, and I had to have 5-6 volunteers to help produce it. Plus I had to pay to have it printed. Nowadays it is about 400 copies per issue due to the Internet being more popular than the printed page.  The circulation is almost all paid subscriptions except for a few people in prison and always has been. The price has always been $10 a year, except that it is only published three times a year now due to most of my work being done on the Internet. 

A lot of folks just like to read the news about the Watchtower organization in printed form. Plus it is good to have something to give to another friend/JW who may ask quick information, and having it in concise form and in your hands is a big advantage.  I'm happy to keep it going and will do for some time to come.

by Donald Alderman; edited by Barbara Anderson

Harsh shunning practices are part of many religions.

For instance, for thousands of years, the people of India were separated into four main hereditary classes or castes into which Hindu society was divided. The lowest of these castes were the "Untouchables" and were viewed as a contaminating influence and thus members of the higher castes would not associate with them. The mere touch, even of the shadow of one of these Untouchables was considered polluting. The Untouchables had to be avoided at all costs. Although India banned treatment of persons as Untouchables since the 1950s, human rights abuse of these people continues in some areas.

Abusive treatment as well as shunning occurred in a political system in South Africa known as Apartheid which generated international concern because one group of humans were segregated and treated as if they were sub-humans.

If members of Jehovah's Witnesses decide to officially leave their faith, they are subjected to ex-communication, or using a Witness term, "disfellowshipping," and are cut off by all members of the faith. This includes family and close friends who view them as if they were dead, or at least as "Untouchables."

The Witnesses are not alone in these extreme and harmful shunning practices. The Mormons, Scientologists, Amish, Mennonites, and Hutterites (Moravian Anabaptists) also shun members who break the rules of their religion.

In non-Christian religions, as has been shown, extreme shunning is practiced by Hinduism, but also by the Bahai faith, and the Jews in days of long ago. There are many more groups that shun; nonetheless, the point is made. ^₁

Hi, my name is Paul M_______ and I’m an ex-Jehovah’s Witness. By the end of this sorry tale I hope to be an ex-ex-Jehovah’s Witness. But not yet. I’m 40 years old later this year and happily married for 11 years now to Samantha. We have two boys – aged 4 and 2. We’re from the UK but currently find ourselves at the edge of the world and all of Western civilization about 50 yards from the Pacific Ocean in Hermosa Beach, LA. My story begins in Glasgow, Scotland - naturally my parents figured in this so let’s start with them.

From the April 15, 2010 Watchtower article:

Holy Spirit’s Role in the Outworking of Jehovah’s Purpose

13 Third, holy spirit is at work in bringing Bible truths to light. (Prov. 4:18) This magazine has long been used by “the faithful and discreet slave” as the primary channel for dispensing increased light. (Matt. 24:45) For example, consider our understanding of those who make up “this generation” mentioned by Jesus. (Read Matthew 24:32- 34.) To what generation did Jesus refer? The article “Christ’s Presence—What Does It Mean to You?” explained that Jesus was referring, not to the wicked, but to his disciples, who were soon to be anointed with holy spirit. Jesus’ anointed followers, both in the first century and in our day, would be the ones who would not only see the sign but also discern its meaning—that Jesus “is near at the doors.”

14 What does this explanation mean to us? Although we cannot measure the exact length of “this generation,” we do well to keep in mind several things about the word “generation”: It usually refers to people of varying ages whose lives overlap during a particular time period; it is not excessively long; and it has an end. (Ex. 1:6) How, then, are we to understand Jesus’ words about “this generation”? He evidently meant that the lives of the anointed who were on hand when the sign began to become evident in 1914 would overlap with the lives of other anointed ones who would see the start of the great tribulation. That generation had a beginning, and it surely will have an end. The fulfillment of the various features of the sign clearly indicate that the tribulation must be near. By maintaining your sense of urgency and keeping on the watch, you show that you are keeping up with advancing light and following the leadings of holy spirit.—Mark 13:37.

(italics ours)

Well, this change should buy out another 60 years or so before Armageddon may come! Such brilliant leaders of the Watchtower. See chart with the history of the changes by clicking READ MORE

It was while my husband and I were staff members at the JW world headquarters in New York that some momentous disasters, which touched the lives of JWs particularly here in the US, occurred. As a result, Witnesses who lived outside of the disaster areas came together to help their spiritual brothers in a large way. This activity was reported to Witness leaders in New York by their traveling representatives. Rather than stop members from assisting follow believers and come under heavy criticism, an announcement was made to the headquarter staff during lunch that the Governing Body was donating around $82,000 to help JWs in California where one particular destructive natural event had occurred. That was a milestone event which surprised and pleased the staff of 4,000 people. It came to my attention that soon after a committee at headquarters was set up which would thereafter coordinate disaster aid through branches and congregations near disaster areas. This was in the mid to late1980s and was the emergence of an appearance that this religious organization was engaged in charitable acts.