"The Only Way to Improve Your Life is by Studying with JWs!"
This statement appears to be absolute truth if you were to ask any one of Jehovah's Witnesses to answer the question: Who can one turn to for help in making positive changes in their life? The literature that they read is peppered with examples of people who once were violent or drug addicted or had other addictions such as alcohol or gambling and are now one of Jehovah's Witnesses.
Consider the example of a man named Adrian in the 11/15/03 WT on page 24. He "smoked, drank, was immoral, had a tattoo, dyed his hair in a 'punk' fashion, was exteremly violent, etc." Then, one day he found a WT magazine and started to study with JWs. The article says he changed because he put on "God's personality". It says he also learned about God's qualities like love, kindness, goodness, etc.
Then the article credits God's holy spirit for helping Adrian control his temper. Says Adrian: "Unlike many of my former friends who are now dead, I am alive and enjoying a happy family life." The article concludes: "He is living proof of the Bible's power to change lives for the better."
Now, I would like to reach out to those who may be lurking (especially those who are JWs who may take everything they read in the WT at face value).
First, do you believe that one can only make a change by studying the Bible with JWs? If so, then you are living in a sheltered world. There are thousands of examples where a person has "cleaned up" his life. And, it didn't matter what their religious background was. Heck, it didn't even matter if they believed in God or not. The fact is that people can make certain changes in their life when they are mentally strong enough and prepared to do so.
Next, tying into to the first point, Adrian didn't say "All my former friends are dead". He said "Many are dead". Unfortunately, the article doesn't elaborate on what the statuses of his living former friends are, but I would conclude that some must be living clean, moral lives now and I betcha they aren't even JWs.
Also, the article's concluding sentence is interesting. It does acknowledge that the Bible has the power to change lives for the better. This is actually a great conclusion because many (millions?) people who believe in the Bible credit the Bible for their change in life, too! And, they are Protestant, Catholic, Methodist, Seventh Day Adventist, Baptist, Jehovah's Witnesses, and many other Christian-based religious groups.
Concluding, there are many ways to improve your life. Some ways include the Bible and other ways do not. It all comes down to your own mentality and your heart (and sometimes a little will-power! )