Are people REALLY leaving???

by lavendar 17 Replies latest jw experiences

  • lavendar
    lavendar

    Hi,

    Wingcommander said in a previous post:

    The bad news is this: The older generation of JW's is dying off, while the younger generation thanks to the internet and research, is able to see through the history of false prophecy and absolute control, and is now leaving in droves!

    (He meant "bad news" for the WTS)

    Is it true that Witnesses are leaving in droves?? Oh, this would be music to my ears if it's true, because my son is married to a Witness and is seriously moving toward getting baptized. We believe if he didn't, he would probably lose her. She's been putting a lot of pressure on him to join.

    Does anyone have any stats to back this up??

    Thank you, thank you!!

    Lavendar

  • MeneMene
    MeneMene

    I can only hope what others here on JWD report is true in most areas. My mother says their KH is growing rapidly and nearly 200 attend and they will need to split into another congregation. I said to her there must be a lot of JWs moving into the area. She didn't contradict that. It is a fast growing rural county not far from Atlanta and I suspect a lot are moving in from other areas.

    She doesn't attend regularly and does not go in field service so I take what she says with a large grain of salt because she always talks about how wonderful the JWs are and would never admit anything bad about them.

  • sspo
    sspo

    I'm still going to the hall and I wish I had better news for you but they are not leaving in droves.

    It depends on the congr., the one i'm in is very active and busy, many pioneers and much zeal but hardly any studies and new ones from the field getting baptized.

    Those that get baptized are usually young ones that grew up in the congr. but very often they slow down as they go to college and eventually they drop out.

    I do not see many at all graduating from high school and pioneering.

  • fullofdoubtnow
    fullofdoubtnow

    I wouldn't say they are leaving in droves, but some undoubtedly are leaving.

    In Western lands in particular, much of the increase these days, if they actually have one, is kids of jws being baptised, often due to parents/elders pressuring them as soon as they are teenagers, and in some cases before they are. Many have also mentally left the watchtower, but still make a token appearance at the kingdom hall rather than be shunned by their family, which is the main blackmail device used by the watchtower to keep people in the org.

    Many kids I knew who were baptised young get into their late teens and regret their decision, and some leave then, once they have left the family home. I guess they will always be able to coerce young kids into baptism, but keeping them once they grow up is getting harder for the watchtower, as the existence of support networks like this board means the threat of shunning isn't as effective nowadays.

  • FairMind
    FairMind

    Didn't intend the original post as it contained information that might make my indentity known to some who would do me harm (lurking elders). Please excuse.

  • nvrgnbk
    nvrgnbk

    I did! And I'm taking as many as I can with me!

    Nvrgnbk

  • sass_my_frass
    sass_my_frass

    Who really knows? I've seen some baptism minus disfellowshipping stats that don't add up, indicating that a lot of baptised publishers are going inactive. That's as accurate as these things can get.

    You can really only hope that your son and his wife see through it in less time than it took you!

  • Gill
    Gill

    They ARE BUT, we are in a transition stage and this will happen slowly, more likely in a period of years rather than weeks or months.

    Take for examply mine and my husbands family. Only ten years ago, every single member, that is 28 members were Jehovah's Witnesses. One has since died but had rarely attended before her death. That takes us to 27. There are now 11 of us that are no longer Jehovah's Witnesses, and that is in ten years.

    Out of 27 therefore, only 16 still attend and four of those are young children with no choice in the matter.

    All of my husband's family are JW fanatics but there has been a gradual slipping away in the last decade......GRADUAL being the operative word.

  • Gordy
    Gordy

    Statistics on Jehovah's Witnesses

    http://www.sektes.info/stats-e.htm

  • Black Sheep
    Black Sheep

    If statistics are anything to go by, it may be a very long time before she leaves.

    As a never baptised member of a large JW family I strongly advise that he should never get baptised.

    If I had been baptised I would, now, be shunned by my family.

    I am not.

    Cheers

    Chris

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