Hi everyone,
So I have made contact with the Bible Students (Russell's followers). Nice people. Teachings seem a lot more reasonable than JWs.
They believe that Jesus died for all (Hebrews 2:9). They believe that armageddon is not where any are destroyed, but when the wicked clergy & governments are removed. Pretty much everyone is pardoned their sin due to Christ's sacrifice.
Then, during the 1,000 year reign, everyone learns about God and chooses whether they want to serve him. Sounds very merciful.
Then the wicked, along with Satan, undergo second death (death forever).
They also believe the 144K are a special group of ones called from Earth that obtain a special prize. The "great crowd" is also Christians in heaven, though they constitute a mercy class. These ones missed the special prize to become one of the 144K, but God allows a place for them in Heaven.
I think that if most JWs knew these teachings, they would bail out of WT!
Any thoughts?