I remeber being very young and going to a special meeting at our Circuit Convetion building where we watched a slide show about the history...they even showed the early JW CHURCH w/the big ass cross on top. It was never explained as to why that was there except to say the early JWs finally got around to recognizing the cross as idolatry...so much for pure beginnings eh?
My memory is the same as Dia's. I remember as a kid memorizing Isaiah 43:10, "You are my witnesses..." We had to be the truth! We were in the Bible. It didn't say, "You are my Catholics or Episcopals..." That's all I needed as a kid. The thought that we weren't in direct line from Abraham, Moses, and the rest never occurred to me. When I was challenged with information about JW history later on, I viewed it with the same seriousness I would give if someone would have told me little green men from Mars had just landed on earth. Somebody smart somewhere had the answers to all of it. I was sure of it!