I rarely post here, but I often check in. I used to post on H2O as well. I think I once posted some of this on H2O, but there are many new ones who have joined since then.
I first encountered JW's at the age of 9. It wasn't in the door-to-door work, however. My dad's boss was a JW, and my dad ran into him one Saturday as his boss was doing street work ('way before there were carts). My dad was not a person who was interested in spirituality or religion. He was a "good time Charlie." He did, however, understand that "kissing up" to the boss had some value. So, he allowed his boss to start a home Bible study with our family. I was in the Shriners' Hospital for Crippled Children (now the Shriners' Hospital for Children) when this occurred.
Upon my release from the hospital, my parents came and picked me up. The hospital was in Lexington, KY, and my parents lived in Dayton, OH. My mom told me on the way home that we were going to stop and visit some Jehovah's witnesses. I had heard of JW's, but only bad things. I was puzzled, but I was a quiet child who seldom expressed my feelings.
We went to the home of my dad's boss, and I was met by the boss's wife and two children (one of whom was my age, and one of whom was a few years older) who jumped from behind their door with gifts for me (a coloring book, crayons, and perhaps some other small item like a puzzle), and yelled "Surprise!" There were certain advantages to me in being a physically handicapped child. We had a nice time chatting with this family, who had the same last name we did.
In a few days, they came to our apartment and conducted a "Bible" study from the "Let God Be True" book. They were impressed with my reading ability, which was at a higher level than their son's. They were very nice people, and my sister and I would play with their kids while my mom almost always served coffee and dessert after the study. All in all, it was a positive experience for us.
Fast forward a couple of years, and our family had moved into a house, but my dad had the same job, and the "Bible" study continued from a different book, which I think was called "This Means Everlasting Life," but I'm not sure. My dad's boss didn't see much potential in our becoming Jehovah's witnesses, but he and his sweet wife, and sometimes his kids, continued to study with us. Later on, I was told that I was seen as the only potential convert out of my family.
Eventually, my dad got a Civil Service job, and no longer had the same boss. So, being the disinterested person he really was, he called off the "Bible" study. No need to kiss that guy's ass any more! :-) So, life went on for about three more years without any JW contact except occasional door-knocking encounters.
Then, when I was 15, my dad's friend in Tennessee was killed in a coal mine cave-in. My dad claimed to have participated in "James's judgment." My dad had some kind of (drug-induced?) other worldly experience when his friend died, so he decided we should start going to the Baptist Church near our house. I was the most religiously inclined person in our family, and I liked going to church. One evening, at some kind of young people's event, I won a competition answering Bible questions. My Sunday school teacher gave me a New Testament as a prize.
A few weeks later, there was a revival at the church. The evangelist Jack Van Impe was the featured guest pastor. He chose one evening to preach against Jehovah's witnesses. He thought he had "answers" to their false beliefs. He said some things about them that were not true. I don't remember what he said now, but I knew at the time there were inaccuracies in his tirade. The effect on my 15-year-old brain was devastating. It made me believe JW's were being unfairly persecuted, just like they claimed. It made me believe they must be right! I was all for the underdog when this wealthy semi-famous preacher went on the attack. So I contacted the witnesses who had studied with us and expressed my wish to become a JW. They were delighted.
Before I became a full-fledged publisher, however, I struggled with worry about whether I could be good enough (already!) One night, I spent almost an entire night in prayer because I was so apprehensive. After hours of praying, I heard an audible voice (where it came from I don't know, maybe from inside of me) say "You do what you need to do." It was not the loving affirmation I was seeking, but it jarred me. I quit praying at that point and decided to go ahead with my plans to become a JW. My Sunday school teacher tried to talk me out of it, but you know how stubborn one can be after being convinced that it's the "truth."
So, I was a JW from the ages of 15 to 32. Then, after having lived in hopes of "the last day of the last days" and considering the possibility of reaching old age in this "system," I could no longer bear it. I did what I needed to do.