Ever think maybe WatchTower is actually "Babylon the Great", and the people getting away from her detestable behaviour are the ones being sifted? The irony!
For some time I've certainly thought it's arrogant of the GB to assume the JW org would not also be tested and need purifying. Of course, they would never admit it, as they claim it was somehow all done by 1919, but all the scriptural evidence is that even if an org is supported by God it gets more sifting and testing.
The nation of Israel was constantly in need of cleansing. The first century Christian congregation had "certain men" that had slipped in, and misunderstanding and internal wrangling like circumcision, and who was "best", and whether or not the resurrection had happened, and many other controversies (plus of course individuals among them who were practicing badness like immorality, stealing, etc, that needed weeding out). Even in Revelation when the congregations with the lampstands are examined, Jesus basically gives a number of the warnings that they need to sort themselves out before he comes.
The principle used to be mentioned that "judgement starts with the house of God". Funny how that verse - along with many others which should prompt honest self-examination by the GB, helpers and other prominent men in the org - gets overlooked these days!
Just look even at their most recent example, with the lack of humility over the subject of beards: no apology for error, no recognition that it was a false issue that never had a scriptural basis, and worse, they somehow make it out to be God's volte-face by Lett claiming that now "Jehovah dignifies us with the choice for each brother to decide for himself whether to grow a beard". Err.. Christians have always had that freedom, it's only been a certain group of men on earth who have made an issue out of it up until now!
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Back on the main subject though: In my area, meeting attendance is moderate. It's still not what it was before COVID, but I have to say it's not dropped through the floor. In fact it's gradually been improving, although there's still about a quarter of the congregation regularly on Zoom.
Attendance for in-person ministry groups, however, is way down, and those that do attend seem to do a lot less and be a lot less 'zealous' than we all used to be (house to house is usually just a few doors then go separate ways on "return calls"). Most publishers at Zoom ministry meetings will just get their territory and disappear off shortly after the prayer, so you have no idea if they're writing, calling on doors or not even doing anything!
