Well in my case I started attending the Tuesday evening book study........ dragged there by my Mom when I was 10. It was so boring. The Society takes pleasure in boring the young...in my opinion they are very good at that .
My Dad passed when I was 13 and Mom decided that getting Baptized was the thing for her to do.
My JW teen years were pretty normal...... this was in the mid to late 1950's. I dated in and out of the truth. And being in the greater N.Y. City area there were a ton of JW parties to attend and friends galore.
Assemblies were strictly to meet sisters. I never remembered a talk...I just walked up to an age appropriate and attractive sister and introduced myself. Like us guys...... they were able and willing to meet young brothers.
Perhaps, because it was so easy to meet the opposite sex, I never committed to any one person. After getting baptized, which for me was simply a formality, I watched my conduct and behaved as a gentleman. Of course this was not by today's JW standards as it applied to dating.
Graduating HS and really not knowing who I was and what I wanted in life I promised my Mom I would Pioneer for at least one year. Mom thought Bethel was in my future ....I thought not.
However I didn't say where I would pioneer. I learned of a small Congregation in North West Pennsylvania that was in desperate need of a pioneer................ one who had a one hour talk that he could give throughout the circuit. I became that person.
In short order I was giving my one and only talk all over that circuit and was appointed to be the assn't Presiding Minister, the Bible Study Servant and the Kingdom Ministry School Servant. There's nothing like serving where the need is great(est) to be used.
I would remain an active pioneer for the next 3 & 1/2 years. During that time I got married. She has been the love of my life and I remain as she says, 'her current husband' all of these years after.
While a pioneer, though not related to that at all, I experienced being shot at (a stupid mistake on the shooter's part).
However it did startle me to learn that while I was in fear of dying I failed to pray and ask for help.
That got me thinking about what I really believed....actually it turned out....I believed very little. So did my wife come to find out.
My wife and I moved to another state and faded. We moved twice again and that cut off all ties to everyone we both knew.
Did I mention I was also the servant that took care of the publishers cards? Strange then that our cards were lost.
All said and done........ those years still remain with me to this day.
My wife was once asked 'you guys were so young when you got married what did you do after' and She replied....'we continued to raise one another'.
