Jehovah's Witnesses with ASD

As an older Irish gay man from a Vatican II Catholic background and after many years on the gay scene, after a Muslim friend inspired me to reconcile with my family and return to my Catholic faith here in the U.K., I became a traditional (Pre Vatican II) Catholic, where I attend the Traditional Mass in Latin (Mass of the Ages) regularly via the FSSP, SSPX and many others, as my family have connections to religious orders like the Good Shepherd Sisters, the Franciscans, Poor Clares, Dominicans, Oblate Fathers and are involved with lay societies like the Legion of Mary - indeed, I’m good friends with Sr Carmel and Sr Brigid of the Poor Clare Sisters in Dublin after my late father had worked for the Sisters as a landscape gardener in St Damien’s from childhood and the Sisters would always send us the most beautiful Christmas gifts and cards - the Poor Clares take the usual vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, but they also take an additional vow of enclosure, as do the Carmelites and we normally speak to the Sisters through a screen or grille in their monastery parlour - because of my Dad and because I came out as gay to them very early on, the Sisters and the Abbess of the Monastery have welcomed me behind the cloister on visits home from the U.K. and we communicate via email and text message all the time, which was a real lifeline during Covid 

Well done Cathie! 

I'm so happy to read this! Keep going!

I strongly encourage you to study the bible with Jehovah's Witnesses. The message we preach is the ONLY one of REAL hope for mankind. 

Thank you for sharing what you have Chris! I feel proud to call you my dear Christian Brother! 

Thank you for posting Chris72. I have never been a Jehovah's Witness. i am a non demontional Christian and I drew comfort some of what you wrote so thank you for posting and I wish you well. Keep going yourself. As a Christian and I thought with your history of addiction you may find the work of Trudy Makepeace useful. She has had really drug addiction and others but has overcome them for some time. This is her video on Youtube. I started it where she speaks of her experiences.on Youtube. Someone told me about this, I don't know her and I don't go to that church either. It is a strong video though.

www.youtube.com/watch

The below I found helpful as a Christan with autism to read.

"ASD has caused a great many problems for me. It does tie in to my behaviours as a child and as an adult. However, having ASD is not an excuse to blatantly go against the wishes and requirements of God. I still have free will and free choice. When I lean on Jehovah to help me and forgive me when I do sin, He clearly, as night and day, stretches out His right hand to help me, even as disfellowshiped. He just wants to give me a chance to come to my senses and take His hand.

At times, I do see it as difficult. My ASD convinces me I have sinned too much or that time has just simply run out for me. But that couldn't be further from the truth. Jehovah is eager to give help, to strengthen, to give peace when all alone in a chaotic world. I only need to be honest with myself, pray honestly, I really try my best to do good, to do His will. When I make those efforts, Jehovah is very pleased and He makes that apparent by the help He gives. He sustains me. Jehovah understands ASD. He understands it's hard to pay attention for me, it's hard to deal with frustrations, it's hard dealing with social skills and looking at people in the eyes as it is uncomfortable. He has also known the loneliness I have felt as a child all the way to now. Jehovah is my best friend and my father. He doesn't expect perfection. He lovingly guides me back when I stray. He understands that even at age 51, I still have a hard time seeing a man in the mirror. Ultimately, it is Jehovah's adversary, the devil, who is the cause of all illness, calamity and hurt. The devil would want nothing more than for humans to just give up. I will not. Jehovah is my helper, and I will always lean on Him."

That was beautiful 

A life saver for me 

yesterday I felt like 

giving up but you 

Gave me hope and the courage to carry on

Hi Chris,

Thank you for your honest answer about your struggles to serve Jehovah. After reading the day text today, I went down the rabbit hole of not being "good enough" to be a JW. Your answer taught me to hope and to continue to do my best in the last days! 

In Jehovah's love,

Cathie️

I grew up as a witness. Babtised around 15 years old. I'm disfellowshiped.. I have been 3 times. At 51 years of age now, I'm just learning I have ASD. To make it very clear, I know Jehovah God is real and the only true living God, and the witnesses are his people.

I'm an alcoholic and recently got sober. I quit smoking as well. I am working on coming back and get reinstated as a witness.

If anything, learning I have ASD has helped me a LOT to understand all the questions I've had about myself since I was a kid.

Jehovah's witnesses do not try to convert anyone as other religions do. Even being disfellowshiped 3 times now, the Elders, not even knowing I have ASD yet, still treat me with love and respect. No, they only seek to help others understand the truth for themselves. To encourage others to do honest research and make a well educated and spiritual decision to become babtised and then, in turn, help others to come to know Jehovah to.

I was disfellowshiped for alcohol abuse. It wasn't immediate. They went months of trying to help me with not drinking.

I was only disfellowshiped when at that point, I wasn't trying to quit my alcohol abuse. I wasn't following direction to benefit myself. Being disfellowshiped is actually a blessing. One, it keeps the congregation free of a bad influence I may have had on others, especially the young ones. But also, it was a blessing to me, because it gives me time to get my head straight and figure out what I want. No brain washing. This has helped me build a relationship with Jehovah. Jehovah does NOT abandon his people. Even if disfellowshiped. It's a disciplining from Him, as a loving father would do. I'm not cut off from Jehovah. Even with all my bad decisions and sins, I know he's been helping me anytime I've asked for it in prayer and even when I was incapable of asking. He knows who belongs to Him and He understands and always understood me better than even me understanding me.

With research in and around the Bible, and looking at the World Seen for 5 decades, I can tell you, it's very obvious that this is the truth. I wasn't forced to believe anything. I wasn't given a tradition to follow because others blindly follow it. I wasn't threatened with Hell. Every babtised witness became a witness because of a personal choice and because our loving creator drew them to HIm because He saw something in them. That's an honest heart.

ASD has caused a great many problems for me. It does tie in to my behaviours as a child and as an adult. However, having ASD is not an excuse to blatantly go against the wishes and requirements of God. I still have free will and free choice. When I lean on Jehovah to help me and forgive me when I do sin, He clearly, as night and day, stretches out His right hand to help me, even as disfellowshiped. He just wants to give me a chance to come to my senses and take His hand.

At times, I do see it as difficult. My ASD convinces me I have sinned too much or that time has just simply run out for me. But that couldn't be further from the truth. Jehovah is eager to give help, to strengthen, to give peace when all alone in a chaotic world. I only need to be honest with myself, pray honestly, I really try my best to do good, to do His will. When I make those efforts, Jehovah is very pleased and He makes that apparent by the help He gives. He sustains me. Jehovah understands ASD. He understands it's hard to pay attention for me, it's hard to deal with frustrations, it's hard dealing with social skills and looking at people in the eyes as it is uncomfortable. He has also known the loneliness I have felt as a child all the way to now. Jehovah is my best friend and my father. He doesn't expect perfection. He lovingly guides me back when I stray. He understands that even at age 51, I still have a hard time seeing a man in the mirror. Ultimately, it is Jehovah's adversary, the devil, who is the cause of all illness, calamity and hurt. The devil would want nothing more than for humans to just give up. I will not. Jehovah is my helper, and I will always lean on Him.

I'm autistic, one of Jehovah's Witnesses, and proud to be both. God's organisation (Jehovah's Witnesses) has helped me to develop MANY abilities including Communication, Teaching, Public Speaking, Reading, Studying, and Working. If it wasn't for his organisation and people I wouldn't be alive today as this world we all currently live in rejected me many years ago (before I even become one of God's servants) and gave me scars that I'll carry with me until the end of it. Any autistic person will benefit greatly from Jehovah's people and his organisation. 

I agree! I'm in the same boat with you and NAS79898, is it OL if I privately message about it?

Thanks for all your replies! I'd like to message you because I am in a similar situation.

 I am too a JW with ASD, thank you for defending our beliefs and giving such a balanced response ! 

thanks for the feedback -  keeping knocking doors u arent doing any harm

Ok - cool.

Oh I am aware, I saw. I just wanted to reply just incase someone saw. I don’t really mind if no one replies. Even if no one reads it at least I tried :)

Hi - welcome aboard - FYI - this is an old, dead thread from 4 years ago - most of the people you are answering are long gone so there are unlikely to be any replies.

Ah we don’t believe in giving or taking blood because it’s what keeps us alive and functioning (which is why it’s seen to symbolise life). We do accept taking artificial blood though.

Thank you very much, I really appreciate when non-witness ASDs do research. Thanks for defending my believes, as I am an ASD Witness myself. I greatly appreciate how you have gone out of your way to educate yourself on our beliefs. There are many misconceptions of us (like us being a cult & brain washing our members). We are actually genuinely really warm-hearted loving people, the elders (like a teacher) are just there to help & guide us, and they don’t view themselves above the rest. We are encouraged to do our own research to help build a firm foundation for our beliefs. It really hurts especially for me as I have ADHD, anxiety & ASD (which do not mix well) so I am like super super super super sensitive, and it hurts when people make accusations about us. In many countries we are persecuted and often imprisoned (sometimes killed) just because of what we believe in. Most witnesses would rather be executed than give up what they believe in (including me) not because we have been brainwashed but because we have strong built a strong foundation for our beliefs by doing independent research. I can’t even tell you how much I appreciate you sticking up for us. Not many people do. :)

Thank you very much, I really appreciate when non-witness ASDs do research. Thanks for defending my believes, as I am an ASD Witness myself. I greatly appreciate how you have gone out of your way to educate yourself on our beliefs. There are many misconceptions of us (like us being a cult & brain washing our members). We are actually genuinely really warm-hearted loving people, the elders (like a teacher) are just there to help & guide us, and they don’t view themselves above the rest. We are encouraged to do our own research to help build a firm foundation for our beliefs. It really hurts especially for me as I have ADHD, anxiety & ASD (which do not mix well) so I am like super super super super sensitive, and it hurts when people make accusations about us. In many countries we are persecuted and often imprisoned (sometimes killed) just because of what we believe in. Most witnesses would rather be executed than give up what they believe in (including me) not because we have been brainwashed but because we have strong built a strong foundation for our beliefs by doing independent research. I can’t even tell you how much I appreciate you sticking up for us. Not many people do. :)