I was and, am still, pretty much of a loner. I didn't have many friends. I moved down south and had no family or friends nearby. One of the people I worked with was a JW, had found out from another workmate. One day we had lunch together and I had asked him about JW beliefs and that opened the flood gates. I received a couple of books and an invitation to the memorial. Went to the memorial, love bombed, liked the attention I was receiving. Got a Bible study from the workmate who quickly became my "father" and his wife, my "mother". Was getting invited to all sorts of places, but now realized they were doing it to count service time. Bought it all hook, line and sinker because I thought I was dealing with genuine people and an religious orginization dedicated to truth and a noble cause. Got baptized and within a couple of years, reality slapped me in the face, not because of doctirnal issues, but with issues of controlling our behavior. Whatever we do, whatever we say, how we dress.... it was no longer spiritual... one's outside appearance and what you put on a feild service reports is what is most important. It was no longer pleasing God, but trying to keep your shit clean in front of men.
I'm still in, got a wife and 2 small kids. I'm too much of a pussy right now to take a stand, I'm trying to keep peace in the family but I'm also keep it lukewarm in the congregation, just do enough to get by. Fortunately for me, I am the only idiot in my family that took the nestea plunge, and my family has never disowned me for it, thought they warned me not to do it. The evil worldly family has always had my back and I love them for that. I don't blame an orginization for where I am, I only blame myself. But the consequences so far have been a mixed bag, most good, a little bad.
