Daniellla talks to us about leaving the organization and then being shunned by her family and friends because she was no longer a member.  She speaks about the effect that it’s had on her.  She experienced abuse in her life prior to joining the JW organization and has experienced spiritual abuse while a member.  She states that the JWs are a heartless doomsday cult. Daniella also shares some of her poetry with us.  Below is an exerpt from her poem titled “Shunned.”

Shunned

If the hills had eyes

they'd see people that hate 

or hear people 

that call us escapees

apostates 

because we expose 

the watchtower's

cheapskate awakes

so gullible people

will dig deep 

and donate 

they'll knock on your door 

using God as a tool 

to draw in society's

downtrodden fools 

that lack self esteem 

to use for their

sneaky money

laundering schemes

painting them

a perfect picture of

future falsifying dreams…

Written by Daniella Djibidjee Rochford

Renown Australian Poet, Wordsmith and Lyricist. 

Sunday February 24th, 2019

Copyright. © 

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Other Podcasts by Aldo B. Martin:
Finding James Baldwin: The Magpie Years
Jammin' on the One
The Fatherhood Project
YALD. The Podcast
So...Tell Me About Your Podcast

To get in touch with Aldo, you can find him on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook

Daniella discusses how the Jehovah’s Witness organization forbade the members from interacting with outsiders unless it was for the purpose of recruitment.  Daniella takes issue with this stance as she says that the church used this stance to spray psychological abuse on its members.  She discusses how she became introduced with the JW organization at the age of 14.  Daniella describes elements of her upbringing that are rather difficult and the JW organization seemed to offer her and her family some positivity.  She does not consider herself to be a christian, but rather a humanitarian.  Daniella considers the JW’s a cult and came to that conclusion after doing some research on her own.  

WARNING:

Some of the content in this episode deals with domestic and sexual abuse.

If you or someone you know is a victim of  domestic or sexual violence, please know that support is available through  Domestic Violence Support and RAINN - The nation's largest anti-sexual violence organization

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Stay updated on Aldo's current and future projects by signing up for his Newsletter
Other Podcasts by Aldo B. Martin:
Finding James Baldwin: The Magpie Years
Jammin' on the One
The Fatherhood Project
YALD. The Podcast
So...Tell Me About Your Podcast

To get in touch with Aldo, you can find him on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook

This week we meet Daniella Rochford, who is a renowned Australian poet.  In addition to her background in poetry, Daniella is a former member of the Jehovah's organization.  There are many people that refer to the Jehovah's Witness organization as a cult.  Daniella is the first guest on our program who is not affiliated with the ICOC in any form or fashion.  We have her on the program to see if there are any similarities or differences between the two organizations.  Daniella takes us through the basic practices of the organization and talks to us about her experience within the organization.  

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Stay updated on Aldo's current and future projects by signing up for his Newsletter
Other Podcasts by Aldo B. Martin:
Finding James Baldwin: The Magpie Years
Jammin' on the One
The Fatherhood Project
YALD. The Podcast
So...Tell Me About Your Podcast

To get in touch with Aldo, you can find him on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook

As Myron’s time with the church comes to a close, me meets a young lady.  This young lady is perfect for Myron, in his eyes.  She also consideres herself a christian.  The problem is, she is not a member of the ICOC.  However, Myron believed that she was “the one.”  Myron recounts how he wrestled with this dilemma and made the choice that he thought was best for him.  Myron tells us what life has been like after leaving the church.  He tells us about the laughter of fatherhood and the adventure of being married.  Unlike what the ICOC would have him believe, he just chose to live a regular life.  

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_j6-5fim78s_XL4WQLXWFA

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Stay updated on Aldo's current and future projects by signing up for his Newsletter
Other Podcasts by Aldo B. Martin:
Finding James Baldwin: The Magpie Years
Jammin' on the One
The Fatherhood Project
YALD. The Podcast
So...Tell Me About Your Podcast

To get in touch with Aldo, you can find him on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook

Myron picks up where he left of in the second part of our conversation.  After getting baptized within 7 days of studying the bible, his time with the ICOC was off and running.  The church brought fun and structure to his life.  Like many of us, Myron made some strong relationships with some of the members around him.  Myron talks about dating and what that experience was like for him.  Myron talks about a dating culture in which the women were put in situtions where they could not say “no” if a man from the church asked them out on a date.  Myron then goes into speaking about red flags that he noticed during his time with the church.  Myron talks about being put into a “bible talk” leader position with the church.  Myron also talks about the church being run like a multi level marketing organization.  To Myron, the structure of the church lent itself to the controling tactics that the church employed.   

To find out more about Myron, check out his youtube channel, “Last Principles”
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_j6-5fim78s_XL4WQLXWFA

Support the show

Stay updated on Aldo's current and future projects by signing up for his Newsletter
Other Podcasts by Aldo B. Martin:
Finding James Baldwin: The Magpie Years
Jammin' on the One
The Fatherhood Project
YALD. The Podcast
So...Tell Me About Your Podcast

To get in touch with Aldo, you can find him on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook

This week we speak with Myron.  Myron joined the church in the year 2000 and left the church in 2013.  Like many of us, Myron recently began processing and discussing his time with the organization.  Myron is the creater of the youtube channel called “Last Principles” where he discusses his experience with the ICOC in greater detail.  Myron joined the church as a college Freshman in the state of Florida in the year 2000.  Myron is of a southern baptist background.  The diversity and non-traditional nature of the ICOC appealed to Myron.  Like many of us, Myron was invited to study the bible and he eventually agreed to it.  The disciples that he met questioned and challenged Myron’s version of christianity.  After studying the bible with the ICOC for 7 days, Myron was baptized into the church.  Myron’s story isn’t very different from the stories of many other people who became members of this particular church.  Myron tells the story of a young man who was trying to figure things out.

To learn more about Myron and his story, you can find him on his youtube channel, Last Principles

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_j6-5fim78s_XL4WQLXWFA

Support the show

Stay updated on Aldo's current and future projects by signing up for his Newsletter
Other Podcasts by Aldo B. Martin:
Finding James Baldwin: The Magpie Years
Jammin' on the One
The Fatherhood Project
YALD. The Podcast
So...Tell Me About Your Podcast

To get in touch with Aldo, you can find him on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook

In the final segment of our conversation with Rachelle, she discusses the different types of loss that people encounter in their lives.  Rachelle thinks that leaving the church is also a type of loss and like other types of loss, it too deserves to be addressed.  According to Rachelle, grief reovery is actionable work.  She talks to us a little bit about what that work looks like.  Grief isn’t just about dealing with sadness, as Rachelle explains to us.  In speaking with Rachelle, we get the impresison that the ICOC is not a safe space emotionally for many people.  Rachelle is asked if she believes this oragnization to be a cult.  She gives us her response based off of her experience.  She discusses how she came after “the letter” and how things were a little different.  However, upon researching the churches’ past she noticed that their fundamental beliefs and stances were the same as they were in the past.  Even if the church changed their words, the experiences of people of different time spans and parts of the globe match. 

Rachelle Jones is currently a Grielf Recovery Specialist.  

To find out more abut the type of work that she does, you can find her at…  
https://www.griefrecoverywithrachelle.com

https://twitter.com/GRwRachelle

https://www.instagram.com/grwrachelle/

https://www.facebook.com/GRwRachelle

Support the show

Stay updated on Aldo's current and future projects by signing up for his Newsletter
Other Podcasts by Aldo B. Martin:
Finding James Baldwin: The Magpie Years
Jammin' on the One
The Fatherhood Project
YALD. The Podcast
So...Tell Me About Your Podcast

To get in touch with Aldo, you can find him on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook

Rachelle tells us the story of someone who had needs but the church did not meet those needs.  Not everyone who leaves this church leaves because we think it is a cult; we leave because the church no longer meets our needs.  Rachelle’s story exemplifies that.  Rachelle talks about how people experience grief on many levels, but many times that grief is not addressed.  Rachelle found solice in the evidenced based grief recovery method.  She brought this up to the church leadership but they rejected her because such a program did not meet their standards.  This troubled Rachelle because she was of the mind that the church had many members that were hurting and needed more support than the church was willing or able to provide.  This rejection set the wheels in motion for Rachelle leaving.  She states that people were not allowed to think for themselves.  Rachelle thinks that the church didn’t take mental health matters seriously and she believes this to be dangerous.  

SOME OF THE CONTENT FOUND IN THIS EPISODE MIGHT BE COSIDERED DISTURBING TO SOME LISTENERS.   

**In this episode we discuss suicide**

If you or anyone you know is contimplating suicide, understand that help is avalable.  Contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 or use the following link:

https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org

Rachelle Jones is currently a Grielf Recovery Specialist.  

To find out more abut the type of work that she does, you can find her at…  

https://www.griefrecoverywithrachelle.com

https://twitter.com/GRwRachelle

https://www.instagram.com/grwrachelle/

https://www.facebook.com/GRwRachelle

Support the show

Stay updated on Aldo's current and future projects by signing up for his Newsletter
Other Podcasts by Aldo B. Martin:
Finding James Baldwin: The Magpie Years
Jammin' on the One
The Fatherhood Project
YALD. The Podcast
So...Tell Me About Your Podcast

To get in touch with Aldo, you can find him on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook

This week we meet Rachelle Jones who, along with her husband, became a member of the ICOC in 2014.  She left the church in 2019 for a variety of reasons.  Her testimony dispells the story that the church has changed its controling practices since the appearance of the letter in 2003.  Rachelle discusses with us how she and her husband joined the church.  Like many of us, she describes entering the church with a backpack full of emotional luggage.  She discusses how she felt betrayed and deceived by the bible studies as she deems them now to be a series of indocrtination studies.  While a member, Rachelle came across the Grief Recovery Method through a tragic event in her life.  She thought that the program was valuable as it helped her process the ensuing trauma of said event.  She attempted to introduce the program to people in her church.  The church leadership was not keen on allowing outside influences into their rank, even if the information might be beneficial, according to Rachelle’s story.  Rachelle speaks with us about her level of commitment with the organization and how she viewed and experienced things while she was a member. 

Rachelle Jones is currently a Grielf Recovery Specialist.  To find out more abut what this means and the type of work that she does, you can find her at…  

https://www.griefrecoverywithrachelle.com

https://twitter.com/GRwRachelle

https://www.instagram.com/grwrachelle/

https://www.facebook.com/GRwRachelle

Support the show

Stay updated on Aldo's current and future projects by signing up for his Newsletter
Other Podcasts by Aldo B. Martin:
Finding James Baldwin: The Magpie Years
Jammin' on the One
The Fatherhood Project
YALD. The Podcast
So...Tell Me About Your Podcast

To get in touch with Aldo, you can find him on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook

Elena from 3B, along with her infectious laugh are back!  This time Elena gives us her thoughts on Aldo's conversation with Steve Johnson.  She turns the tables on Aldo and asks him what he thought of the conversation.  

Support the show

Stay updated on Aldo's current and future projects by signing up for his Newsletter
Other Podcasts by Aldo B. Martin:
Finding James Baldwin: The Magpie Years
Jammin' on the One
The Fatherhood Project
YALD. The Podcast
So...Tell Me About Your Podcast

To get in touch with Aldo, you can find him on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook