Did You Believe That You Were Going To Live Forever?

OneEyedJoe

I had to, otherwise what's the point in staying a JW?

Now, I didn't believe that I (as I know myself) would be happy living forever in the environment suggested in the publications. I knew that I'd essentially have to be lobotomized to be happy living as a vegan working as a farmer/construction worker for eternity.

TableForOne

I thought I was going to live forever in an earthly paradise.

100%.

I had doubts about some other teachings, but I really did think the earthly paradise was a reality-in-waiting.

TF1

Apognophos

I suppose a kid I must have looked forward to living in paradise, though I'm not sure I gave it much thought. As a kid you assume you will live forever anyway. From my teenage years through my twenties, I simply expected to get killed at Armageddon. So, no, not really.

FlyingHighNow

Who ever felt like they were worthy, according to JW's view, of living forever?

Dismissing servant

For me it was a bit double......my rational mind did not believe in it, but I was somehow scared to be killed in Armageddon. I did not want to die young....and I fell in love with a girl in the congregation, so I had to be battized for marrying her. Thank "god" we did not marry......a few years later I became inactive..

naazira

I never believed that I would live forever in heaven or earth. I knew my actions and wisdom will live on. I never completely bought into the live forever thing.

scary21

Never ever felt worthy. I did believe though.

Finkelstein

A small part of me probably did growing up in this religion, I was more in fear of not getting killed by Yahweh than thinking about eternal life.

OnTheWayOut

To be brutally honest, I was convinced that Armageddon was "right around the corner" and, coming in to the Witnesses, I had all kinds of personal issues with substance abuse and depression and even the health of my teeth, but it didn't matter because Jehovah was going to grant me perfection and eternal life very soon.

Lost the teeth and dealt with the issues 20 years later. Any seeming bitterness is caused by that delay of genuine progress to live a lie instead.