He Was in the Jehovah's Witness Cult - This is What He Saw. 

As some of you might have seen in my community post, I am currently going through a very difficult time in my life after the sudden death of my father, which is why I haven't uploaded in a while. This video was recorded and edited a while before his death, and I intend to continue my break from RU-vid to heal. If you want to support me, my work and my family during these hard times, go to patreon.com/azealvr to become a Patron for as little as $1/month.

I renovated what used to be a Jehovah’s Witness “church” a few years back, it had one of the strangest things I’ve ever seen in a building to date. There was an office in the basement with absolutely no windows, and only one door into it that had a door handle with a keypad in the handle where the keyhole usually is. Here’s the kicker: The door automatically locked up upon closing, and you could only open it from the outside. Like there was absolutely no way to open the door from the inside of the room. The best part is is that the keypad didn’t lock the room from the outside, we ended up finding out it DISABLED THE LOCK ON THE INSIDE. I don’t even want to think about what that room was used for.

I had a close friend turned boyfriend who was a Jehovah witness. He was closeted for a while and he realized he was gay after a while of talking to me. We were dating for a solid 2 weeks before his parents found out, and basically kicked him out. The last I saw him, he was on the street as an addict

I met a Jehovah's Witness girl at an after school daycare I went to when I was younger. She seemed really nice, but after like 2 days of getting to know her, she just stopped talking to me and told me that her parents told her not to talk to me. After learning about Jehovah's Witness practices a few years ago, that experience came back to memory and I realized, "Ohhh, she shunned me because I drew a comic involving a dog holding a gun!" I wonder how she's doing now

2:10 "now back to you regularly scheduled anime boy conversing with a ps2 game character" IM DIEING OF LAUGHTER

My dad once dated a Jehovah’s Witness but he called it off after she tried to convert him

About religious organizations not being allowed to retcon: the best part is that they say scientists aren't allowed to change their minds.

Hi Azeal. I want to thank you for doing what you do. I understand that you just went through a very impactful event with your father's death and i fully support you and want to let you know that you can take the time you need to heal. The people you have given a platform and a voice to have inspired me a lot and I love that their experiences have reached so many people through you and your channel. Not only that, but I have noticed that you have been through a fair deal of hardships, not only your father's passing, but also Tryn's death and that whole ordeal with your channel and the US military, and to see you power through that and continue with your online activity is very admirable. Please, know that you are very appreciated and admired, if not your other viewers, at least by me. I obviously don't want to just ignore the content of this specific video, though, so also gonna say that its very relieving to see this topic tackled by you. That's all i wanted to say. If you read this, thank you.

Hope you’re doing alright Azeal. I also really hope that Zemer knows how much we appreciate him.

Fellow exjw here glad to see this being covered on this channel

I happen to be an ExJW. It's so refreshing to see many people wake up and run away from the cult and talk about their experiences, but it's sad to know about the torture that people go through in such an organization. I live with my grandma who is a Jehovah's Witness. But she didn't shun me due to me having the privilege of being the favorite grandchild. But I wish for the best for every Ex JW out there and hope that they start anew and live lives where they don't suffer under the hands of a cult and that they're free, able to do anything they wish that makes them happy. If anyone that's reading this that's just recently woken up but isn't physically out yet, do know that you will one day be free from those chains. Do not give up hope, do not give in to the cult. You will find yourself a house, maybe even own a pet and work a proper job. You will get through this. You will be free.

I have a close friend, he is basically my brother. His actual biological brother is a US Sniper and they all used to be Jehovah witnesses. They all left it after his brother was kicked out of the witnesses. Due to well "Snipers may wear diapers but they get all the ladies." The guy has slept with as many women as the number of bodies he’s dropped. Great guy, they told him there was no way to repent for him sleeping around. So, the family as a whole said, “were out.” They are of a different denomination. He’s told me he lost a huge amount of community and friends for it, but they couldn’t be happier.

Caleb and Sophia is the JW cartoon that was mentioned. Looks like a sweet kids cartoon. But it teaches alot about isolation from what ive seen. Quite a few people have covered full episodes and look into the messaging.

As a Christian, I am very interested in knowing what others believe, and this video definitely does that! I saw you are in a bit of a tough spot. I'm praying for you and everyone else telling their terrifying stories, even if that doesn't really mean anything to you or them.

Thank you so much for covering this. I was also in the Jehovah's Witnesses cult and it's amazing to see this topic covered by someone who can get many eyes on how deceiving this cult actually is.

i was also a witness a few years back, its insane to see other people tell their story and not different it is from mine. thank you Azeal

this religion never sat well with me, my uncles mother n father were heavy into this. disowned him for a period of time until i think they realized they were getting older and going to die soon. made it so my cousin couldn't have birthdays, watch harry potter, etc. im happy they got away from it. thanks for sharing your story its always a blessing to learn more.

One of my friends in my warhammer club, had one physically block him from shutting his door he pushed them off his porch. And the cops sided with him.

OMG AZEAL!!! I sincerely hope you’re okay bro.. happy to see you uploaded again just hope you’re doing okay again:D Love your content sm!!

Exjw here, I think it should be mentrioned that when armagedon comes people will try to kill all witnesses before the main event and you're supposted to have enough faith to get killed when it comes. I remember learning this when I was like 4.

Best way to make sure no Jehovah’s Witnesses ever come to your door again is just say I’m disfellowshipped. There you go problem solved

On the note of that sounding like the boss, their church called the “Kingdom Hall” sounds like a badass final area of a long jrpg game

I remember too much from my time in foster care, but lacked understanding. This? The mention of the glass windows, the treatment of being less than a person? You have given me so much understanding and closer on what happened to me as a kid. And I really appreciate that so much. You have no idea how much this means to me

My mom is an ex jw and my mom was disfellowshiped and they kicked her out to be homeless while being pregnant with me

You're doing more than enogh Azeal. Thanks and great video as always! 👍🎉💯💯

azeal, i know u probably wont read this but i wanted to write my wholehearted support for you and your loved ones and i wish you only the best in these times. you and the people you talk to in vr show your stories from such emotional angles which are so unique. much love to you and your channel

Hello azeal, I am so sorry to hear about your father. I usually do not comment and I find it hard to connect my feelings to words, but I find it necessary to say that I feel for you and I am sorry to hear about that. You have been a very big inspiration to me and many others Im sure- and I wish you the best with whatever you may be going through.

Stay strong azeal we’re All here for you

Great video as always! Always love to listen to people talking about their different religious backgrounds and have some insight on how they work. Also, welcome back. Hope you’re doing well.

Good to have you back, Azeal. Love your content.

I might be able to shed some light on what Catholics believe about God and the Trinity, being a Catholic myself. We believe that there is one God in three persons, being the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. They are distinct persons that are all equally God. They aren't entirely separate beings, but they also aren't one being with different "faces" for lack of a better term. Just here to clear up any possible misconceptions, not to start a war on who's right about what.

Some jw members came up to me one day while I was fixing my bike, they opened with a question about if I thought world peace was possible. It was surreal to meet some in person and hard to imagine these two perfectly normal seeming people had been sucked into it.

A new subscriber here, im so so so sorry for your loss my friend. I hope you heal, we love you. 🖤

It's good to see you back Azeal, I hope you're doing as good as you can

I like how his avatar is Daxter and you're on a ratchet and clank world.

in my community they call Jehovah's witnesses "sesat" which in Indonesian literally means lost or in this case it means just wrong/will lead you to the wrong way. I never knew why, but now do

I really like the thumbnail art

Its good to see you back, Azeal. I hope youre doing alright

1:10 post-filming Azeal, congrats on the smooth segue, lol

"back to your regularly scheduled anime boy conversing with a ps2 character" got me

Hey yall if you see this i hope you have a lovely day for the rest of the month and no Jehovah's witness bother you

This is terrifying when you actually know someone personally who has also gotten out of it. My friend, and her mother luckily both got out of it. she used to tell me how cult like they were, but I had no idea it was on this scale. Also, once some of those people came to my door one day when I was home alone once... wouldn't leave for a bit so I hid in my room away from the windows... I was not going to open the door anyways...they left, but it was very scary because it was like they knew someone was home...eugh...

Here in montréal I see some at bonaventure metro station daily, really friendly and respectful, but recently, there was a incident where members were at a station named Berri-Uqam (It's basically where 3 of the 4 lines in the montreal metro meet) and police had to be called because of their agressive behavior to those who ignored them.

I always found it ironic they celebrate Jesus' death over his birth or general life. Lol I get why but the "memorial" was always a funny thing to me.

Interesting timing for this vid since people from Jehovah's Witness have shown up to my family's house twice in the last two weeks bc my mother was nice but still declined listening since she's too busy Edit: 20:07, wasn't expecting to find someone who also yells at flickering lights

i love your transition into your sponsor, very good

Last time I was this early, covid was in full swing 🗿

Seems like there have been a lot more ex-JWs talking about their experiences since covid started. Keep it up 💪

Had two of Jehovah's Witnesses come a-knockin', they haven't come back since they got me while I was heading out to work. These guys don't want you working full time, having friends outside their circle, or pretty much anything most people do.

He's talking about Caleb and Sophia

Yeah, I mean, there's a ton of stories out there for the Elders of Jehovah's Witnesses communities basically living it up while everyone else had starvation wages in a poor area of the country. This, this is more the intro to the reality of being part of the witnesses, and that's a bit more interesting. So, awesome interview, and sorry for the Loss Azeal, take your time coming back, RU-vid has been a hellscape lately.

D A X T E R!!!! My Ottsel!!! I haven't seen you in years! You're awesome for that, my man!

I am absolutely loving your content (I just subscribed and found this channel through a friend). Keep up the good work, you doing great service and journalism on some superb topics.

Wait… MY CHILDHOOD FRIENDS ARE IN A CULT!

The cartoon is called Caleb and Sophia btw Telltale aka Owen Morgan has a series covering it.

Who knew Daxter had to live through that.

“You corporeal beings” sounded loaded lol

How to (comically) deal with Jehovah's Witnesses, as described by Jeff Foxworthy: (Best done the night before they appear, as JW's typically appear on Saturdays) 1) Draw a chalk outline of a body on your porch, in front of your door (may require a friend to pose for the body). 2) Scatter some religious type pamphlets around the outline. 3) Sleep as long as you like the next morning, till noon if you want to even

Most of my mother's side grew up and were jehovah's witnesses, But a lot of them like myself have left. I was the unbaptized version of disfellowshiped at 16 and I never went back. My grandmother died a jehovah witness, but due to her dementia and alzheimer's, I don't even know she remembered most of it. My grandfather was disfellowshiped many years ago and he never went back. He just formed his own belief alongside my mom and my uncles.

your videos remind me of the midnight gospel. always nice to watch

I had a close friend who was JW. She didnt like talking about her faith but i tried to be supportive and told her about services for mental health she could go to and some places she could call. ( she had alot of pressure to do well in school). She decided to break it off after struggling with her faith (im Roman Catholic and i didn't try to talk her out of her faith, just find people her age she could hang with beyond schoolwork with random questions of the faith born out of genuine confusion due to differences)

Was practically waiting for this episode as someone who is currently in this cult

21:26 One of Caleb and Sophia's episodes, the mom kept saying stuff like "You have to drop some things to go to a plane, so you have to drop marriage not between a man and a woman to go to heaven"

Personally it concerns me that people often fall for JW and others like it

I’m glad you’re managing to get some sponsors, the work you do has a positive impact and it would be a shame if you were forced to stop do to financial troubles.

My great aunt is one, so I know all about it. It sucks

NO BIRTHAYS?!😢

This video is such a memory refresh. I was born to two JW parents (only my parents were JW, the rest of my family just average christians), and I also had a disfellowshipped parent (mother in my case, and for a similar reason). Tbh I don't really know if I can truly call myself EX-Jw because I don't have the same experiences as most as I left VERY early at just 13, also I disobeyed not associating myself with "wordly people" and with my mother casually, the first one well because, I was a kid in school and I'm obviously going to make friends, and the second because my parents had divorced (related to that disfellowshipping) and I ended up with my mom. Still, despite me not ever being that much of a JW I can still relate to EX-Jws. And I remember that video about the girl with two mothers (plus other weird things like dramas done in the congregation or in a big event called "Asamblea" where we went like 3 days every year) Btw another silly belief: that thing about Jesus not really dying in a cross but something like, a big stick? (I don't know the translation, in spanish is "madero") Last thing, 1 month later but sorry about your father, hope you're doing ok

I was Roman Catholic, now part of the Satanic Temple. The version of repentance for us is Confession. And if I remember there’s “hell” then going up there’s “limbo” which is kind of like hell lite? Then heaven. As far as I know though there wasn’t a definitive hell or limbo until “Dante’s Inferno”. Very interesting to hear about how Witnesses think about the afterlife and stuff.

This was interesting to listen to Thank you for telling us about youre experiences

As a Christian, I do here about other Christians that have actually cussed out gay/transe people, and just to say don't lump all of us into that. We don't necessarily support them, but we wont go out of our way to get mad at them. At the end of the day god gave us free will and its up to you what you do with said free will. What you do doesn't bother me to be honest. Would I rather you not do it? Sure, but am I going to hate you for it? No. You do you, just don't do something that you may want to change but not be able to later. Love these stories and I hope you keep them up!

This Video is gold

Love the Daxter avatar and Ratchet and Clank world, very based

This one hits close to home for me if only I knew as much as he did about my own ex-religion

First time viewer here and wanna say sorry for your loss, and that I hope this break you take will help you. I am also an ex member of the JW's, well more so I have faded (basically what the guy's mother did XD) and just wanted to say that there have been many changes in the recent years (they may not seem big to the majority of the world but to ex JW's and JW's alike they are big of sorts). The cartoon he is talking about is called Caleb and Sophia and they are just indoctrination for children. The faithful and discreet slave is now known as the Governing Body and they are very open and public of who they are. In the most modern group, there were 8 men, one was removed and then replaced with two younger guys. And as it was said in the video, those that are disfellowshipped, no members can talk to them. Well, literally days ago from this comment, a sort of "rule" was made that allows members to talk to disfellowshipped people BUT ONLY to invite them to meetings and special events like the Memorial. And IF they see a disfellowshipped person at the meetings, they can say hi and welcome them but that's it. Basically its like dangling a stick with a treat at the end to entice people to come back. There are more changes that have happened, this being the main big one but it's believed by many on the outside that these changes are happening because of all the court cases they are going through worldwide because of the SA and shunning when it comes to minors (yeah they allow children to get baptized and give them the same punishments as adults). Long comment but thought a sort of "update" to things about this religion would be good to inform others. If you want to know more there are many youtubers that talk about what's going on, like JW Thoughts, ExJW Caleb and Fixing My Faith.

I also now have a transgender brother in law and gay sister in law and gay friends now and look back at how they discriminate people who don't follow their rules.

Side note the 1912 date is 1914 but he was right on mostly all of it

0:46 If a jehovahs witness knocks on your door and you dont want them to continue doing that. Ask them to put you down as a "Do not call" they respect that and normally wont knock on your door unless they want to check on you and make sure that your "do not call" request has been respected. about disfelloshiping as well: disfellow shipping is when the person whos done wrong, clearly states that they are not sorry for their actions. Thats when the elders disscuss and disfellow ship them, the disfellow shipped person can still attend the meetings, but cannot asociate with the others exept maybe a little wave or a hello. The only time they can associate really during disfellow shipping is if they ask to discuss this with the elders about ways they can correct their wrong doings. while my family doesnt completely shun me or my siblings they check on us to make sure we're doing all right, they try not too assosiate too much. 26:49 its not just because of that. but also the Pagan origins that originate with birthdays as well which is why they dont celebrate that and alot of other holidays. The cartoon is called caleb and sophia fyi. :)

amazing work as always

As someone who grew up with the Twitnesses (I have a myriad of nicknames for them), it always brings me joy to run into fellow Twitnesses survivors online bc we always seem to spot each other before inevitably talking smack about the group. But seriously, fuck the Witnesses.

The guy should get his story to Darth Magog, whose channel is talking about the JW community as an exJW himself

This reminds me of people going insane when I was around 5 years old in the year 2000, on the news and just, everywhere people held signs that said stuff like, "repent now" " the second coming is now". People are nuts.

i never realized the glass room was for disfellowshipped members trying to get reinstated. I always tried to sit in there bc i hated being around everyone else and no one ever gave me any grief over it lmao my mother also used that loophole. thank god i never got baptized bc im gay and trans, i stopped going when i was like 13 after telling my mom i thought her religion was bullshit lol

hello Azeal, May i talk with you? i have a few things id like people to know about,

I forget if it was the JWs or Mormons but they did what I grew up knowing as _"The Lord's Supper"_ and I took it but apparently, in this religion, I was declaring myself that I was a Christ. So... people went nuts when I did it. Literally, the whole room gasped in shock. I was taken aside by people from the church who paid for me to get some very expensive food and they listened to me because despite the fact I still have no idea what I did even decades later. I know I said I am one of the 144,000. Still have no idea what that is.

This guy has a similar experience to me omg I never got baptized because I was always pretty skeptical of it growing up and I also had a parent disfellowshipped. One thing I think should be mentioned is that congregation members are encouraged to snitch on other members to that are believed to be doing wrong. So if someone suspects that you are doing wrong they will tell the elders 💀

I didn't notice this video existed but I'll watch it

im so glad you're back azeal! i was starting to think that that US military hit squad got you! Thank you for your hard work sharing these stories with us.

So theres some things that ive seen from my experience: 1.) Disfellowshipping is when someone commits a grave sin and feel no remorse. Yes, they will be shunned, but if at any point they show a willingness to change and atone, they can be re-instated. 2.) As far as transphobia, homophobia goes, the belief is that God created Man and Woman, there is to be a union between them, by way of marriage. This is what Jehovah intended and how it must be. Between man and man, woman and woman, is wrong. However, they will not (and should not) treat you any differently. If its what makes you happy, by all means, go ahead. They will still pray for your happiness, but the belief held is still there. 3.) Racism. It was briefly mentioned but i believe it was not touched upon (iirc they brought up a general bout of ideas generally held by Christianity), there are many people of different backgrounds. Brothers and Sisters of every race, but they all love each other as though they were family. 4.) Celebrations: Birthdays, Christmas, Halloween, Easter and whatnot. They are not celebrated because they have pagan origins. The birthday part, yes, there were 2 instances mentioned and in each instance, someone was killed. I had it explained as "The actual reason as to why those people died is either unclear, or was not mentioned. That said, it is up to us to use our judgement and knowledge of the bible to see if its something we believe God would approve of." Jesus' death is celebrated (which is actually referred to as Passover at times, but usually its 'Memorial') because its stated in the bible where He actually said "Do this to remember me by until the end times. This bread represents my body that will be given for you. This wine represents my blood that will be spilled to save everyone for their sins and give them the opportunity to attain the gift of eternal life." 5.) Association with others not of the same faith: its not actually discouraged per se, but youre usually told to be very careful with whom you choose to be around. Its the logic of "Being around the wrong group may lead you to do bad things as well." That statement holds true, whether one is religious or not. Again, it is up to the person 6.) Afterlife: Basically, follow the religion and wholeheartedly do right by God and Jesus and you will recieve the gift of eternal life. No hell, just gone forever. Paradise on earth, yes. The number was correct, there will be 144,000 annointed ones to rule with Jesus. Armageddon was pretty well explained. Theres also Judgement Day, which is kinda like "Wait in line at the Pearly Gates," and then iirc theres an actual line in the bible that states one of the prerequisites for Armageddon to come is that the good news will be preached to every corner of the world. Thats all i can remember. Theres more stuff that can be touched upon that im sure im missing

I am an ex jehovah witness and they kinda destroyed my mother's metal health permanently

"Hello during a random dessert, the month and day of which coincide numerically with your expulsion from a uterus." Is how I found out the JW's didn't celebrate birthdays. Love Community lol.

I used to know a kid from Texas who is, or was, in a Jehovah’s Witness family. At the beginning, we hit right off as good pals playing Halo 5 and other Halo titles. As trusts grew, he started to slowly open up about his experiences with the family and JW. He described how everytime he was disobedient, went out of line, or did anything negative in the parents eyes, the father would pull out the Bible (rather the JW version of the Bible) and quote fitting verses right in front of the kid. Worse thing the father, during the bad days, would do is either beat his own child up or his wife. Not to mention being forced to get a job or else he’d be kicked out. Really doesn’t help the kid is not even their own son, just some uncle’s. Thus, sometimes he be called a half-breed or the equivalent of saying, “You were lucky to be born” to the kid. Plus the usual of not celebrating your birthday, can’t celebrate any holidays whatsoever, etc. Although the abuse he talked to me about weren’t exactly from the JW influence, it doesn’t help that is sometimes the case in said religion. Nowadays, whenever I see a JW knocking at my door, either giving me a pamphlet for a Pentecost party, or wanting to join the denomination I try to calmly decline or let them give me the pamphlet and walk away. The last time the latter happened, the guy told us we’ll be in hell if we don’t join as we mentioned about being in the LDS church lmao. Think we immediately told him goodbye and shut the front door.

i hope you're still ok bro, death of a family fucks up everyone's mind

Hey so, My grandparents and aunts are apart of JW's... My father understood that it was a cult/ didnt believe in the faith when he was young and strayed away, i remember being forced to go at a young age up until i was 18. i always had a feeling back then of why do i need to listen to this, this would not ever be in anything i need in life. gave me weird vibes. turns out my family members are disobeying their faith by actively talking to us. i did have a good amount of friends due to my charismatic personality but anyways. turns out its a fuckin cult. also they hated the fact that my parents wanted me to be named Caine

Hey man I’m sorry to hear that, I’m praying for you. I was just wondering how do you find these worlds?

hey azeal! ive submitted a story a year ago but i want to submit a new one as ive got a newer story i wanted to share, but i can only submit one,, what can i do? hope you see this comment!! ;v; edit : please take your time for a response, ive only noticed your pinned comment i am very sorry :( i cant support via money but i hope you're doing alright

I used the be in a class with a jehovahs witness. I hope he's alright wherever he is.

This is like, really closely sounding to mormon stuff a bit lol

If god created everyone to a "design", then why did he make some people gay or trans? Sounds like a god who gets off on hurting people for arbitrary reasons that they caused themselves.

last " the world is gonna end" thing was when corona got bad ...my dad actually went back to become a JW and it was sad to watch... just the level of anxiety he had and befor that it was the maya calendar ending in 2012