For the JW converts- What drew you in?

serenitynow!

wannabfree's thread about being ashamed of being suckered in to the big lie got me to thinking. I wish my grandma was still alive so I could ask her what it was that attracted her to the JWs. She was raised Methodist- our family still has a small church in her birthplace, got a degree back when it was rare for black people to do so. She became a JW as a married woman with kids. I never thought to ask her why. I don't know if it was one of the doctrines that she liked, or if it was the fact that my grandfather was abusive that she was caught at a vulnerable time.

For people who were converted, were you caught at a vulnerable time in your life? What appealed to you about the JWs?

snowbird

I was recruited at a very vulnerable time - fresh out of high school, no concrete plans, friends had all gone up North.

Their stance on moral issues was very appealing.

I was ripe for the picking.

Syl

purplesofa

I converted from Catholic to JW.

My marriage was in real shambles.

I lived 1200 miles away from any family or friends.

Three kids, one on the way.

I started reading the bible for some help.

We moved back to our town and I started studying other religions and checking out other churches.

Baptist, Church of Christ, Mormans.

JW's came to my door one day and I chatted with them for an hour.

I was attracted to their ability to show me from the bible answers to my questions.

I agreed to a weekly bible study immediately.

I discounted doubts I had as they had so many answers to other nagging questions I had.

I liked the idea of living forever, and not going to heaven. As a Catholic I never thought heaven was appealling,

I much rather live here on Earth.

I was glad to know there was no hellfire. As a Catholic I probably never would have divorced my husband, the

Witnesses had scriptual basis for divorce which I finally got.

I was DF shortly after baptism and out for nine years.

Without small children to tend to at meetings I got to really listen to the talks and be a part of the congregation. Things just started sounding really wrong.

The change to blood fractions was my WOW moment.

Because we could not really discuss doubts with our "brothers and sisters"

it was not until I came to the board that my doubts were validated.

I have to say that the positive experiances with people in the congo far outweighed any bad.

For the most part I still miss the association.

purps

JeffT

I was reaching the end of college and about to obtain a BA that was useless in the job market at the time. Also, several years of hard partying (it was the late sixties/early seventies) had taken a toll. After dabbling in a lot of religions I was interested in Christianity. I could not make sense of the trinity, I did not believe in Hell and I thought most churches were about making money. Along comes a friend who had become a JW (his mother was JW and he had been raised more or less as a witness). The first Hall I was in was a very friendly group and there was a sizable contingent of people about my age, mostly single. At the time the information being studied seemed very deep, I think now that was due in part because it was ALL new to me, but it also seems that the literature has been seriously dumbed down in recent years. For a number of years I was quite happy with it, although after getting married and having children I was not so interested in "reaching out."

quietlyleaving

curiosity drew me in. I have to agree with purps - that the good experiences with JWs outweighed the bad. But I would like to see my family become less rigid and more open. However I'm okay about them remaining JWs as they do enjoy their lives.

straightshooter

I was ripe for the picking. I was searching for answers in the Bible at 19 years of age. The WTS teachings on hellfire, trinity, military, and idolatry tickled my ears to become a jw.

changeling

Being raise "in" and having to go in FS with my parents and keep up with their "missionary wanna be" zeal, I was burnt out on FS at an early age. I often thought to myself that if I wasn't a witness there would be no way I'd listen to any religious person who knocked on my door. I don't get it...

My mom was converted "door to door" while living in another country. An American, annointed missionary knocked on her door in 1950. She offered a Bible study and promised that she'd never grow old. That was it. The missionary is long dead and Mom is 86.

serenitynow!

"and promised that she'd never grow old"

What is it with people promising that? I remember one day my grandma got this dreamy faraway look in her eyes, smiling saying how good it was going to feel walking over into Paradise. Even when I believed in it I never thought I'd see it in my lifetime. Of course I did also say that about having a black president, so who knows...

IsaacJ22

I was a highschool senior who didn't have much of a family and who was worried about what to do with his life. So yeah, I was vulnerable. Also, my family wasn't very religious, so I had minimal exposure to other faiths. When I went to the KH out of curiousity and found that they had answers to all my questions, I was impressed. So the KH became my surrogate family, my new purpose/future, and it told me why I was here.

Unfortunately, it was just as screwed up as my real family, my new purpose was really their purpose, and the reason I was here was to never measure up. So the magical whimsy of it all kind wore off after a while.

Girlie

I came in at a vulnerable time in my life. I just graduated from high school and didn't know what to do with myself. I was also dealing with depression and living a somewhat wild lifestyle. I needed some kind of direction. When the jw's came to my home, they were studying with my uncle. The teachings appealed to me, therefore, I entered into it.

Oh, if only there was such a thing as a time machine.......

For the JW converts- What drew you in?

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