becoming a jehovah's witness

pcecilia

hello all who may read this, i am in the midst of writing a story, and a character who has appeared in the story is a jehovah's witness... i am attempting to gain a better understanding of the religion and its practitioners so as to present witnesses in a fair light... i am of no religious affiliation, but i assume that anything that a person believes is valid as long as they have put it through much consideration and thoughtfulness... i see that most (all?) of you are ex-witnesses, but i would like to know about what first attracted you to the religion to begin with... was it just passed down in your family, or did you make a conscious choice to become a witness? if so, for what reasons? and what reasons, today, would you still follow the religion? i see a lot of you talking about brainwashing... but is that the full story? is there nothing attractive about the religion that would keep someone of sound mind attached to the belief? i've done a lot of reading about the ideas and practices and history of the jehovah's witnesses as a group... but i am not concerned about the group... i would like to hear about individuals, and that's only something i can hear from individuals themselves... please allow me some insight into what attracted you to the religion and what about it kept you attached to it (or perhaps what keeps you attached to it until this day)... if you'd prefer to not post these insights on this board, my email is [email protected] i thank you all... kent

jwfacts

I was born into it so did not have a choice. As I became older I started to realise that if I was not born a JW there is no way I would have converted to be one. If two people turned up at my door selling magazines and offering a Bible Study I may have spoken to them out of kindness, but nothing they could have said or done would have been able to convince me that only they knew truth. I do not know why my parents converted. They were in their early 20's with the new born me, it was just prior to 1975 so there was a lot of eager JWs preaching. I do not understand what their lives were lacking to want to join.

There are good things about being a JW, A nice hope for a paradise future. Anywhere you go there is a congregation you can join and have a social group. Of course, every other religion offers the same. The people have high morals, due to people being disfellowshipped if they deviate, so you can trust most. However there is always a lot of JWs living double lives, particuarly amongst the teenagers.

troubled mind

I inherited the religion from my mother . She felt it was the true religion because they studied the Bible and seemed to have such a high moral fiber among the members . She was impressed by the unity world wide of the group . She also liked the idea of no hell fire and of the hope of the Paradise earth . From what I have experienced most people not born into it choose this way of life because they crave a very structured way of life . It attracts those that need rigid control to keep their lives in order . It seems those that have led less than wholesome lives feel they can work themselves into God's good graces as a witness . It also appeals to those that have lost loved ones in death and want to believe they will once again see them here on this Earth under perfect conditions. You can be happy in this way of life .....if your whole family stays completely , fully active and considered good examples to the flock . Then you will have friends , priveledges and feel your doing a wonderful work . So long as you never think for yourself , question anything , and never look to closely under the surface . In other words remain blissfully ignorant .

Warlock

pcecilia,

I don't mean to be rude, but why don't you go down to the local Kingdom Hall and ask them. They are ALWAYS ready to talk about being a witness.

If you really want an experience that will last a lifetime, become one.

Warlock

pcecilia

warlock,
that certainly is an idea, speaking to witnesses at the kingdom hall... i just stumbled upon this message board, and i was impressed by the amount of thoughtfulness, introspection, and lucidity... i felt that you all could give me some helpful insights... and so far, you all have... i thank you again...

Little Drummer Boy

Hello, pcecilia

Please understand that when I write this, I am not bitter or angry or (fill in the blank) at the organization which I was a part of for many, many years and recently left.

I am just sad. Not bitter, just sad. Sad that so many things in my life can never be undone. Sad that I missed out on so much because of so many wasted years and because of so much mental pain. But enough about me. If you want to know my story you can read my profile. I want you to know that stuff because I don't want you to think I'm trying to "stick it" to the organization by posting what I'm about to write.

Now then...

You refered to brain washing in your first post. Make no mistake, if a person wasn't raised a witness, then that is exactly what is going on to get them to join as an adult.

It was sugggested you go to a kingdom hall and let the witnesses there tell you all about it. I hope you realize that was in jest (at least I sure hope it was ). You can speak to as many witnesses at a kingdom hall as you want to, but THEY WILL NOT TELL YOU THE TRUTH about what goes on. They aren't allowed to fill you in on how the whole thing works for real. Even if they wanted to or if they actually can bring themselves to admit what goes on, there is too much fear of the organization; too much fear of getting in trouble. The organization has far too strong of a strangle hold on people's minds and lives to let them speak freely.

If you really do want to know how the process works of brining someone new into the organization, then follow the link below. What you will read there is not exagerated. It is not made up. I can personally tell you that it happened exactly that way for both my wife and myself.

http://members.aol.com/Beyondjw/indoct.htm

If that link doesn't work or if you want to get to the main page of that site then go to http://members.aol.com/Beyondjw/ or google "beyond jehovah's witnesses"

Good luck with your book.

Peace to everybody

LittleDrummerBoy

Phil

jwfacts

I do not believe for one minute that the Rutherfords or the Russels el al, did not concock certain aspects of this cult to keep the group together. Do you think for one minute that the founding fathers believed that people would not qualify to go to the great beyond if they had a birthday party, made friends with a df'd person, read the c of c, celebrated Christmas, gave blood to their dying child and on and on. The organizers did purposly insert these regulations in their literature and documentation, by manipulating the words of the bible to suit their agenda. THis whole thing is a setup from the beginning as evidenced by the continued changes they have made through the years. Why so called intelligent people will swallow this garbage is beyond comprehension.

jwfacts

Phil, I agree that the WTS exhibits all the qualities of a cult. The stance against the cross, birthdays, flag etc have no scriptural backing, but simply exist to segregate JWs from the world. This aloofness makes them truly believe they are the only ones worthy of salvation.

choose this way of life because they crave a very structured way of life

Troubled Mind, you are right that there are people that love the Witness structure. They love to be told what to do, when to do it not have to take responsibility for any choices in their life. My mother is very high control, and I am sure she loved joining a religion where she was right and everyone else was wrong. She has devoted her life to over 30 years of full time service as she loves to go out there telling people how she believes they should be living their life.

Warlock

It was sugggested you go to a kingdom hall and let the witnesses there tell you all about it. I hope you realize that was in jest (at least I sure hope it was ).

My statement was not intendend to be taken in jest. If you want to really know about Jehovah's Witnesses, you must also talk to them, in addition to talking to us.

Knowing both sides of the issue will help you to compare and make an informed evaluation.

My statement about actually becoming one of Jehovah's Witnesses to experience what it's like, was also not to be taken in jest. This is because you cannot know what it is like to be one, just because someone tells you what it's like.

Warlock

stevenyc

Phil, you've hit on a very good discussion point with your post. Basically, apart from being an entrepreneur, Russell was an over enthusiastic bible prophecy seeker who's writings got out of control. Then Rutherford took the helm to create the foundation of the church of the 'Watchtower'. I don't believe that Russell originally thought of creating a religion only for ego, but believed, or at least wanted to believe, what he wrote. After he died, the rest is history.

steve

becoming a jehovah's witness

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