Welcome Mary,
In my life, whenever I find myself struggling over business, religion, or personal perceptions, I've always found simple answers and peace if I carefully examine my premises. I was trying to live a rational life with irrational core beliefs. That didn't work very well.
In financial analysis we list our assumptions and assign each and every one a percentage weight factor and a percentage value. Any deal I go into has to fly with a zero weight and zero value on all assumption lines. Try that with religion. Try that with Witness religion.
Take the fear that God is going to end the world. What are the tangible, rational, objective, facts that prove the end of the world will actually happen? List them on the left side of a spreadsheet.
Now, on the right side of the spreadsheet, list the assumptions (premises) needed to support the concept that God will end the world.
Mine looks something like this . . .
LEFT~~~~ Rational objective facts: Zero
RIGHT~~~~ Assumptions:
1. There is a God
2. God communicates with people
3. God uses the Bible
4. The Bible is God's communication
5. The Bible is written in code
6. God owns a book printing business in the United States
7. God communicates with the book company writers
8. The book company writers are not inspired
9. The book company writers must be treated as though they are inspired
10. The seven trumpets of Revelation were the seven Jehovah's Witness District assemblies from 1922 to 1928, starting with Cedar Point, Ohio and ending with Detroit, Michigan
11. Every Bible story, pattern, and parable has a type and an anti-type
12. The Watch Tower Society will be right even though they have never been right once before in their entire history
Now, assign a zero to each assumption and give me Vegas odds that there will ever be an Armageddon:-)
http://www.freeminds.org/buss/buss.htm