Many of my family are Jehovah's Witnesses. My grandmother, an immigrant from Austria, was. Two of my aunts, their husbands, both elders, various cousins and two of my sisters are Witnesses. So is my grand uncle. The all seem happy with their choice. I talked on the phone today with a elderly man related only through marriage. I haven't seen him since I was a child, but someone told me he was lonely and in ill health. We talked for about three hours. His story saddens me and makes me angry.
He was a congregation servant, then an elder, becoming seriously ill in the early 1970s, but continued as an elder into the 1980s when he resigned. There's a story there that involved a circuit overseer's bad behavior. I traced down this man. He became a District Overseer, and then apparently was disfellowshipped or left. There is an anti-Witness post by him online. He is, it seems, now dead That's a bit irrelevant here, because my sorta relative rode that out. His explanation: "Humility is important. I might have not deserved what I experienced, but probably deserved other counsel. It all evens out." (This is not something I find palatable, but it is his view.)
His health and life went down hill. While mostly house bound, he managed to attend meetings for some time, but often family would take him home early. Finally, he was not able to attend. In the past twenty-five years he has received two home visits from elders. Two came to insist on field service reports even though he was frequently bed bound and mostly house bound. The other was a Circuit Overseer who spent his time talking about some old prospector who claimed anointing. My sorta relative is a partaker and has been for decades. But how that was relevant, I do not know. That's it. No phone calls, no visits.
Relatives visit him, and that's something. But what ever happened to 'you must positively know the appearance of the flock"? How often are the sick and infirm neglected. Is that a 'thing' among Witnesses? Frequent or not it is shameful.