Going back to the early days, My grandmother was raised a 7th day Adventist. She came from a wealthy family, but married a dirt poor, very handsome guy. (Mid 1920's)
Broke, with a a couple of children in the middle of no where a witness called on her and gave her hope of one sort or another... a way out of her misery...(the end was coming). She grabbed on hook, line and sinker. She had a bunch more kids and they were all raised with the same hope.... relief from misery, and poverty. There was not much else at the time. No television, limited radio, and no way to get ahead. People grabbed on to anything they could. Reading provided a form of entertainment, and that Russel and Rutherford did in spades.
My grandmother's kids raised their own kids in the JW religion.....90 percent now out. In between I think the JW religion attracted a lot of lost, lonely people. Again giving a false hope or a way out of their misery....soon now, very soon.
IN the present day I can not imagine anyone actually joining the JW's unless its kids getting baptized, or foreigners under duress. They may get bible studies here and there, but they are soon cancelled. Anyone still hanging in is from my mom's generation. Anyone else is just hanging by a thread as evidenced by this site. I think there are armies of JW's out there too scared to access the Internet, confront their niggling doubts, or abandon family.
JW's don't believe in hell, but they sure know how to create it within a family.
r.