A goodbye.

It is hard to express what our family has been through in the past year. And the truth is, no one will really ever know, as is true of many things we all deal with. But I'd like to say that although it may seem we have left all of you, I'd truly like you to know we are open to any relationship at all that you are comfortable with. We just have come to the decision, after many years, that despite all of the good in it, we do not feel the beliefs of Jehovahs Witnesses are correct. And pretending that we do does not work with who we truly are, and the way we'd like to raise our kids. This does not mean we feel any differently about everyone we love. In fact, we are devastated by the loss of everyone we've ever known, and miss everyone incredibly. We do understand that the way you are trying to live and raise you children is not compatible with staying friends of ours. This was not by any means an easy decision and to be honest we have nothing to gain from it, it is strictly for the reason that we can not teach our children something that we do not believe to be true. Of course, we did realize the implications that decision would have, however that does not change how much it hurts. We only had wanted to quietly, and respectfully leave. We never wished to argue, offend, be labeled or avoided. But with such a sensitive situation we found that it was inevitable, just as I'm sure many have dealt with when becoming Jehovahs Witnesses, or many other religions different from their families. We've felt this way for a long time, but it took us many years to be honest with ourselves, face the huge risk of loss and all of its implications, and sort out what we truly believed. We at no point deceived anyone or were dishonest. Again, just as a bible student starts off by saying that they will never go in service or become a witness, but then later do, by slowly changing their lives, minds, and beliefs...the process is the same when leaving. Understandably me saying this will be offensive to some, and i do not mean it to be. But I have to say it, since i have been aware that many misconceptions have been made about us, as a result of stories spreading through many people or simply lack of communication. That has been very hard for us to deal with. I guess none of that really matters now. We will not be coming back. Since I felt I had a lifetime of close friends in many of you and almost no one has spoken to me or said goodbye I felt it very important that I write this, so that everyone can know what is in my heart, from me directly. And I can have some closure, and peace, and maybe if this has been bothering you, you can too. And maybe no one will ever read it. We had some crazy good times with so many of you, oh my gosh i grew up with so many of you, and will always be thinking of you. We're just trying to do what we think is right, as you all are, and have the right too. We only wish that meant we could all still be friends, and that our children and us could be treated the same anyway. But we're going to move forward with our lives, with the attitude that whoever wants to be part of them, we'd be happy to be a part of theirs too. Other than that there is not much we can do. Love, the Morgan's. *comments are turned off on this post.