'I guess for a fundamentalist Christian that believes following their specific form of Christianity is essential for salvation, then it is essential for every JW to leave and convert to their fundamentalist viewpoint. I find such a concept simply offensive'
This sounds similar to your mother's belief as a JW, I think. However offensive you find it you feel it is better to stay a JW I would think.
I agree with you. I can think of someone who has lost a loved one and finds the resurrection hope that they have, having been raised as a JW a great comfort and I wouldn't want to cause that person any more distress by causing them to question their belief and maybe even to lose their belief in God and there are older people who have a lifetime of commitment and change can be very difficult.
On the other hand some years ago before I left the Witnesses I had a discussion with a sister (elders daughter) along the same lines as Perry's thread and whether she was covered by Christ's sacrifice.
I understand the New Covenant is the agreement between God and Man with Christ as mediator and those that were called Christians in the first century were in it and partook of the bread and the wine. I would think that in the first century a person wouldn't be viewed as a Christian ,when the term was first used, if they had a view like most JW but I could be wrong.
It's a bit like my father who believed that the generation that saw the events of 1914 would not pass away before the end came. I remember as a child him discussing it in the door to door witnessing. He would never grow old an die. Unfortunately that was not the case and he has been cremated. Although he believed he was assisting Christ's brothers in the preaching work as he understood them to be 'the mouthpiece of God' God didn't see fit to uphold his belief and he died. I find it doesn't inspire confidence in any other explanations that he may have had.