in the beginning... When did you realise it was the truth ?

by AlphaOmega 23 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  greendawn

  For me it was the fact that in a non spiritual non religious society a group of people were interested in talking to me about the Bible. On the surface it appeared that it was a moral society that kept to a high standard and I found that appealing also with all the love bombing. So I soon thought there is something precious here.

  Later I realised that everything was a sham surface. After baptism the love very suddenly evaporated and the JW society suddenly appeared impenetrable and distant while being very materialistic.
• 

  Quandry

  Oh, gosh, I was the poster girl for the witnesses. They showed me God's name in my Bible, no blood, etc. I thought, "Wow! There it is! I have to believe it." And I did. For over thirty years. No doubts. Didn't need my family, I had THE TRUTH!! Didn't need education, I had THE TRUTH! Didn't need a good job with a future, I had THE TRUTH!

  Likewise when I saw inside the front cover of the Awake magazine that they were building my confidence that the generation that saw the beginning of the end in 1914 would BY NO MEANS PASS AWAY UNTIL ALL THESE THINGS HAPPENED, I believed.

  When they changed it to those who were alive in 1914 would by no means pass away, and wanted to build my confidence in believing that, I believed.

  When they decided in 1995 that they no longer wanted to build my confidence in the generation not passing away, but still wanted me to believe, I began having doubts......

  When I found out that the WTS actively sought out association with the United Nations, and promoted them in the Awake magazine, the real awful TRUTHhit me like a ton of bricks..........
• 

  emptywords

  When I found out that the WTS actively sought out association with the United Nations, and promoted them in the Awake magazine, the real awful TRUTHhit me like a ton of bricks..........

  DITTO was just..........what can one say
• 

  Will Power

  LOL @ "I was absorbed. I never joined."
  
  wp
• 

  fedorE

  I remembered telling visiting relatives when i was just 7 that its the truth ..and with conviction! Afterwards my parents often told me ot their reasons: My father went to the local parish priest and asked a bible question and he ripped it from my father's hands and threw it away on the ground telling him "mind your own busines and stop asking questions," Embarrassing to say the least esp. in Sicilia where the local parish priest had a lot of say...even more- my mom said when attending catholic Mass the priest scolded her for bringing crying babies and promptly told me that at the Hall she could bring us and no one minded in the least if we screamed to our hearts content.........THANKS MOM THANKS A LOT.......I grew up always thinking this has to be the truth because they preach and "wow these kingdom melodies are amazing... listen to how they praise JAH..just listen..".....until i read C of C at age 16. The end.
• 

  Hortensia

  as many others were, had no choice, was raised in the org. My aha! moment came when I realized what a load of lies it all is. There's the truth for you.
• 

  Narkissos

  My father and stepmother had been "studying" with JWs for a few months. My stepmother instantly decided "it was the truth". My father asked a lot of questions but a "debate" held at our home between a Catholic canon and JWs finally won him over.

  I (12) followed the "family study" (on the Paradise Lost book) with some critical mind until I decided to go to a meeting, one Sunday of July, 1972. I expected to see some kind of awkward "cultic" ceremony. Friendly people, a public talk using the Bible in violent criticism of "Christendom," the lack of mysterious ritual, a puzzling Watchtower on Daniel, made me instantly switch to the idea that "it was the truth" and all I had to do was to learn. I came back and asked for literature. Read most of the Make Sure of All Things book that night. A few months later I was baptised. The questions came back later.
• 

  Mum

  It happened at the Baptist Church. Here's how:

  When I was 9 years old, I first met JW's up close. My dad's boss was a JW and had a "Bible" study with us for years. I was very impressed with the JW'S because they were so nice to us. The wife of my dad's boss was articulate and, as Forrest Gump would say, had a way of explaining things so that I could understand them (or so I thought). The studies were discontinued when I was about 12-13 because my dad got a different job.

  Fast forward a few years. When I was 15, my parents, who had never attended church, decided to start attending the Baptist church near our house. They had a revival evangelist there named Jack Van Impe. Mr. Van Impe spent an entire evening refuting the JW's. I thought he was not telling the truth about them. I asked myself why a wealthy evangelist with so many followers would feel threatened by the JW's. In my mind it was Goliath attacking David. So I decided to get back with the JW's. Now I know that my "reasoning" (or whatever it was) was not right, but I was not the brightest bulb in the chandelier as a teen.

  As a teenager, being a JW was actually a benefit to me. I got love bombing and lots of fun with other teenage JW's. Ironically, they were in their rebellion stage while I was in my new convert phase.

  Regards,

  SandraC
• 

  caligirl

  I never had a beginning with the whole mess. I was not even a year old when my parents "accepted the truth" The choice was made for me, until I exercised my freedom to exit.
• 

  AlphaOmega

  THANK YOU all for posting...

  So it seems that there are generally two reasons :

  • Got drawn in through the "fellowship and brotherhood" etc
  • Born into it

  (Plus good looking JWs - thanks Ninja)

  I always imagined that it was something to do with a JW making something seem "clearer" that drew people to them.

  But... generally it seems that doctrine came later and the main draw was something else...

  Terry

  ... "I was absorbed. I never joined" ... perfect summary - thanks

  EmptyWords

  ... I've read that book too... Alan Alford also does the same sort of thing.

  Greendawn

  ... It sounds like your baptism gave you the real truth :-)

  For all those of you who I haven't mentioned... thank you also... this has been very insightful...

  AO