About Nancy
Nancy Sage’s parents became Jehovah’s Witnesses when she was only three years old. She was baptized into the religion just weeks before her eighth birthday, 
and spent the next forty-two years devoting her life to the service of the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society.
Nancy and her family never thought of themselves as being members of a cult. While they knew that they were different in many ways from other Christians, and it was true that as Jehovah’s Witnesses they did not celebrate holidays, salute the flag, vote, serve in the military, or allow their children to participate in some school activities, they still didn’t believe that they were part of any cult.
Nancy’s father served in responsible leadership positions at the local Kingdom Halls where the family attended. Even as a young child Nancy frequently “pioneered,” spending dozens of hours each month participating in the door-to-door witnessing work. Nancy was sincerely doing her best to serve God and to be a faithful Jehovah’s Witness. Nancy and her family never considered themselves to be cult members.
Nancy’s husband was also raised as Jehovah’s Witness by his grandmother. As a couple, they spent much of their time going to meetings, distributing magazines and books from door to door, and attending local and distant Watchtower conventions. And, like other Witness parents, they raised their children in the religion, expecting them to faithfully serve Jehovah God and Jesus Christ exactly as the Watchtower Society taught.
Nancy’s husband also served as an elder and “Congregation Servant” for over fifteen years. Part of his responsibilities was to sit in and conduct judicial committees that were formed to apply discipline to members who had sinned in some way. Some of these members were also being charged with breaking organizational rules or were considered to be “apostates” – because they were no longer willing to accept the Watchtower’s teachings.
In her book, Going Undercover to Rescue My Daughter from the Cult of Jehovah’s Witnesses, Nancy explains how everything began to change for her family during the 1970s. It was during that decade that the Watchtower Society became noticeably more controlling and relentless in punishing any kind of dissent among its members. The leadership punished thousands of Jehovah’s Witnesses who left the organization by using a severe form of excommunication called “disfellowshipping.” The Watchtower Society instituted enforced shunning by the friends and family members of those who were punished or anyone else who decided to voluntarily leave the religion on their own.
Nancy and her husband felt that they could not continue as Jehovah’s Witnesses, and left the organization in 1983. For them it was all about being true to their own conscience and meeting their personal commitment to serve God. They felt the Watchtower’s Governing Body had taken a wrong course by implementing unchristian beliefs, had promoted false prophecy, and mistreated its followers.
Nancy and her husband were not disfellowshipped, but formally resigned on their own from the religion. After they left, Nancy’s parents and one daughter remained faithful members of the religion, dividing their family for many years. This loss of her family connections caused Nancy to suffer bouts of depression and to experience several mental breakdowns. For over ten years, Nancy tried to survive the effects of the Watchtower’s shunning policy that had divided her family and prevented her from having normal relationships with her mother and her daughter.
It was also during that time that Nancy and her husband realized that the Jehovah’s Witnesses were clearly a cult and that their teachings and rules not only divided families, but posed serious dangers to children. 
Nancy was most concerned for her own daughter and two granddaughters who were still members of the cult. They lived in a distant state, and because of cult teachings avoided any direct contact with the rest of their family
Nancy describes in her book how she discovered a horrific secret involving her family that put her daughter’s family in danger. Nancy is faced with the overwhelming task of trying to save her daughter from the Watchtower cult before it is too late. Her book tells her heart wrenching story of how she managed to go back into the cult so that she could help her daughter escape.
There is one reason that Nancy feels that she was successful in her quest to rescue her daughter. Her husband was an elder for many years, and as an elder’s wife, she knew how the judicial system worked and what went on behind closed doors. Using that knowledge, she was able to convince two bodies of elders that she was sincere in requesting reinstatement as a Jehovah’s Witness in good standing.
Nancy and several of her closest family members now live in Missouri. She continues to write and shares her story in interviews and public presentations. Her goal is to get the real truth to those still trapped within the Jehovah’s Witness cult. She also hopes that her story will act as a warning to those who might be interested in becoming Jehovah’s Witnesses or any other controlling religious group. She knows that living as a cult member can be destructive to anyone, both individuals and families.