Before I begin, it would probably be helpful for me to (in a nutshell) explain that I am not currently, nor have I ever been, one of Jehovah's Witnesses. My experience with the organization is peripheral in that my extended family became heavily involved several years ago. In maintaining a relationship with that part of the family, I had relatively extensive dealings with the JWs (for a "worldly" person) for many years of my childhood and beyond (If you're at all interested, you can read the details of my experience here: http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/7/44589/626056/post.ashx#626056). I have recently begun working on a post-graduate degree in philosophy (with a planned emphasis in comparative religious studies) and the months I have spent here reading and participating in discussions here have been both enjoyable and interesting.
My continued investigation into the Witnesses and their activities has been enlightening. I fully accept that the WT is a cultist organization (given my research into the basic characteristics of cults), I see the emotional dependence that the WT fosters in its constituency, and I absolutely understand how the threat of losing one's entire family and social circle motivates people to remain within the organization (or fade away in order to maintain their reputation in the community). But the more I know, the less I understand something: If you were not either born into the religion, or exposed as a minor by parents who converted in adulthood, how is it that you came to believe that the information being presented to you was "The Truth™"?
As a relatively intelligent human being with at least average powers of discernment, it puzzles me how any rational adult would read the material disseminated by the Witnesses and be so convinced of its veracity as to leave their former beliefs and lives behind to subscribe to it. It seems to me that to buy into what the WT "bible study" literature and process advocate, it would take a great deal of blind trust in the information you'd been given, and it seems that blind trust is tantamount to naiveté. I think that most human beings have a healthy amount of natural skepticism. It's against my nature, and most people's I would think, to give credence to anything of importance without at least a modicum of research on the subject. Common sense cautions us to "beware of the man who has read only one book", and at least a cursory glance at other information available is generally advisable before boldly subscribing to a new belief.
I also have come to believe that the emotional state of the potential convert must be extremely important in whether or not they are susceptible to the sales pitch. I think that was the case with my family (again, see: http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/7/44589/626056/post.ashx#626056) and I am interested to know if emotional state played a big part in the acceptance of JW beliefs in other adults.
I'm sure this subject has been covered multiple times by other threads and posters (but without that darn "search" function, it's difficult to pare down) but my sincere question is this: If you converted to the religion in adulthood, what were the factors that led you to believe that the WT was indeed presenting you with the one 'true' religion? Did you do any research into the organization before/while you were studying? Do you feel that your emotional state at the time of your exposure to the Witnesses was a factor in your decision to join the organization? If you had the opportunity to change the circumstances surrounding your introduction to the WT, what would you do differently (besides just not answer the door!) that you think would have had an effect on whether or not you would have become involved in with the JWs?
I know this is a tall order, and I appreciate any sincere responses. If you've answered these questions before, a link to your post would be great. I would love to be able to use information gathered on this forum as citable testimonial research, and would of course protect anonymity as well as request permission before using any person's posted experiences in any work-product.
On a more personal note, I want to again extend my congratulations and admiration to everyone here who, no matter their current standing in the organization, has had the courage to investigate the religion beyond the boundaries the WT allows. Truth will always stand up to scrutiny. I thank you for your time in reading (and responding) to my questions, and apologize for the length of this post!