My (future) wife was/is HOT.
That was my reason. That is all.
Why Do People Become Jehovah's Witnesses?
by minimus 44 Replies latest jw friends
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stuckinarut2
A sense of group belonging, and attachment to a projected ideal set of life circumstances...where "everything will be perfect"
Add to that the automatic sense of "instant friends" and love bombing...
Ask yourselves though, when was the last time a Normal, balanced, baggage-free person with no social issues came "into the truth"? Usually it is the disenfranchised, odd members of the community that are attracted to "the ring of the truth".
A well adjusted person rarely if ever comes into the "truth"
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eewx2
For my mom I think she was at a sort of crossroads in her life. Her grandmother had died, she had 2 small children, and a so-so marriage. I think she liked all the rules as she is a control freak.I would say she was having a midlife crisis but she would have been in her early twenties then. My dad followed about 4 years later. I think he liked all the rules too. And of course they both like having a "hope". I think they were two lost souls who felt like they found something to cling to.
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yodastar
Fantasy promises, a great social network and belonging - thinking that your life would have greater meaning.
That's what gets them originally but as above no healthy well adjusted person with healthy self respect would join because they don't need congrats from others to be a good person, only the despots do otherwise the rest had no choice as children and you get stuck there out of guilt for family or friends.
It's not till later on you see the damage from the cult control. I have two very well balanced kids 22 and 19 who luckily for them did not get the brainfuck for too long - yay
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cofty
Certainty
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dubstepped
People are brought up looking to the Bible for guidance in a Christian faith. They have questions and want answers. Dubs have an answer for everything, even if it's just a cop out. Doesn't make it the right answer, but they're a one stop shop for answers.
People also like the seven steps to a flatter belly and other such step by step processes. Dubs have one of things to do for everlasting life.
People have trauma in their lives and want something stable. A black and white organization fits the bill.
People are black and white thinkers anyway and gravitate to such a performance based, right and wrong religion because it fits their personality.
People love to be right. Having "the truth" is great for one's ego.
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James Mixon
My wife told me one day we will knock on doors, we were young and I was weak....
I thought they were very smart people.
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Anders Andersen
People who join high control groups like JW or Scientology are not crazy. Nor do they become a member; they are recruited.
An excellent explanation of how the process works is shown in this video by TheraminTrees:
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All or nothing
My parents converted in their 20's back in late 70's. They had been raised Catholic and the "truth" had the ring of truth and bible understanding they were craving. They were hippies and had this idealistic view of the future that the paradise hope fed for them then. The problem is that the religion they joined then is NOT the religion that it is now...
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Village Idiot
When I was 12 or 13 I had an epiphany while looking at the sky. In my mind there was a sense of wonder at nothing in particular (not God or nature). At that moment I wanted to discover something mysterious. Soon I decided that it would be about the Bible since it was the only thing that I equated with mystery.
Sometime later, I went up to my door and discovered a leaflet. It was a JW leaflet on "Babylon the Great". It impacted me in a way that went beyond the rational. It was as if a light bulb had gone off in my head. So I contacted the Kingdom Hall listed on the flyer and a couple of elders came to my door. During the study I thought I was learning the secrets of the cosmos.
In retrospect, I realize that it wasn't about the Bible but a deep, instinctive yearning to learn something about anything of worth. Both the Bible and the JW version of it were like an unfortunate detour that sidetracked me for the 8 most formative years of my life.
Had it not been for the culturally accepted idea that the Bible is mysterious I would have chosen another subject like astronomy or paleo-anthropology - the study of prehistoric men - also a source of mystery.
I was curious and naïve.
Another factor that synergized with the first - also at age 12 - was watching the post-apocalyptic movie Omega Man (Charleton Heston). I wanted to be a survivor like him driving through the empty streets of Los Angeles.
I was aching for adventure.