converting a Jehovah's witness

[patty49]

I have been with my boyfriend for 3 years now and we have a baby together, as a catholic i know i am living in sin. My boyfriend is a non-practice Jehovah’s witness but his family practice the “religion.” in these 3 years i have not been able to convert him to the 1 true faith and i simply stopped trying after failing so many times. All i do is pray and continue practicing my faith as much as i can, i baptized my daughter and he didn’t even worry about showing up to the celebration. I love him but i don’t want to be living this way anymore, i want to get married in the church and i want him to be a part of his daughters religious journey. Please if you have any suggestions on how i can try convert him i will really appreciate it, he is very stubborn and i don’t know why if he doesn’t even attend the meetings. Please i ask that you pray for me on this attempt! Thank you and may god bless you!

 

[adf417]

I have been with my boyfriend for 3 years now and we have a baby together, as a catholic i know i am living in sin. My boyfriend is a non-practice Jehovah’s witness but his family practice the “religion.” in these 3 years i have not been able to convert him to the 1 true faith and i simply stopped trying after failing so many times. All i do is pray and continue practicing my faith as much as i can, i baptized my daughter and he didn’t even worry about showing up to the celebration. I love him but i don’t want to be living this way anymore, i want to get married in the church and i want him to be a part of his daughters religious journey. Please if you have any suggestions on how to convert him i will really appreciate it. Thank you

Dear sister, I will pe praying for you and your family as I know you have a difficult journey ahead. Below are posts from this sight that will get you started in understanding his/your situations. Nothing is impossible with God, but it may seem so as your relationship moves forward.

forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=631635
forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=643193
forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=662509
forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=653236

God Bless!!!

 

[sllhouette]

I would encourage you to read a lot more Catholic literature. I have found that there is so much of the faith that I have been unexposed to.

 

[onjac]

I have been with my boyfriend for 3 years now and we have a baby together, as a catholic i know i am living in sin. My boyfriend is a non-practice Jehovah’s witness but his family practice the “religion.” in these 3 years i have not been able to convert him to the 1 true faith and i simply stopped trying after failing so many times. All i do is pray and continue practicing my faith as much as i can, i baptized my daughter and he didn’t even worry about showing up to the celebration. I love him but i don’t want to be living this way anymore, i want to get married in the church and i want him to be a part of his daughters religious journey. Please if you have any suggestions on how i can try convert him i will really appreciate it, he is very stubborn and i don’t know why if he doesn’t even attend the meetings. Please i ask that you pray for me on this attempt! Thank you and may god bless you!

Does he attend Mass with you?

I don’t think I have any advice to offer (although others may) but I will be praying for you nevertheless.

 

[TimothyH]

I wish to be charitable here but think that the cart is before the horse.

One who is in a state of sin shouldn’t be worrying about converting anyone. The sick can’t heal the sick. We can’t take a splinter out of our brother’s eye until we take the log out of our own.

I will pray that the OP seek guidance from the Church on how to best address her situation first. Conversion starts from within and we have to sweep our own house clean first.

-Tim-

 

[GEddie]

Even if he is not active in his faith, if his family is, he may be loath to incur a conflict with them. JWs are particularly avid in shunning those who leave the religion.

In which case, it would be futile to try to convert him. Simply set an example for him by your faith life. And be ready to defend your faith if questions or arguments emerge.

While our LORD said that He would “bring a sword” that would in some instances divide families, it is up to HIM, not us, to wield it.

Only the Holy Spirit can inbreathe a faith that overcomes family conflict.

God Bless and ICXC NIKA.

 

[SteveVH]

I have been with my boyfriend for 3 years now and we have a baby together, as a catholic i know i am living in sin. My boyfriend is a non-practice Jehovah’s witness but his family practice the “religion.” in these 3 years i have not been able to convert him to the 1 true faith and i simply stopped trying after failing so many times. All i do is pray and continue practicing my faith as much as i can, i baptized my daughter and he didn’t even worry about showing up to the celebration. I love him but i don’t want to be living this way anymore, i want to get married in the church and i want him to be a part of his daughters religious journey. Please if you have any suggestions on how i can try convert him i will really appreciate it, he is very stubborn and i don’t know why if he doesn’t even attend the meetings. Please i ask that you pray for me on this attempt! Thank you and may god bless you!

Patty, the best way to convert someone is by living your faith. Your admission that your are now living with him outside of marriage speaks volumes to him about your commitment to your faith. Now I realize that this is a difficult situation, especially with a child involved, and I am not here to judge you. As difficult as it may be, you may want to tell him that your faith means enough to you that you can no longer live this way.

This does not mean that you have to split up the family, necessarily. You can live together as brother and sister (meaning abstaining from intercourse) until such time as he is ready to make a commitment and enter into marriage. Go to confession and get your own house in order and begin truly living your faith. Pray to Mary and St. Joseph for their intercession. This may go a long way in actually converting him. At least he will know you are serious. Invite him to go through the inquiry stage of RCIA. Explain to him that there are no strings attached and that he can bow out at any time, but that it would mean a lot to you for him to at least understand the truth of what you believe, rather than what he has been told.

You are in my prayers.

God bless.

 

[BenedictFTW]

I have been with my boyfriend for 3 years now and we have a baby together, as a catholic i know i am living in sin. My boyfriend is a non-practice Jehovah’s witness but his family practice the “religion.” in these 3 years i have not been able to convert him to the 1 true faith and i simply stopped trying after failing so many times. All i do is pray and continue practicing my faith as much as i can, i baptized my daughter and he didn’t even worry about showing up to the celebration. I love him but i don’t want to be living this way anymore, i want to get married in the church and i want him to be a part of his daughters religious journey. Please if you have any suggestions on how i can try convert him i will really appreciate it, he is very stubborn and i don’t know why if he doesn’t even attend the meetings. Please i ask that you pray for me on this attempt! Thank you and may god bless you!

In order to convert anyone, we must live our faith. By observing how we life our faith, the unbeliever then begins to appreciate the differences between you; in this way he will begin to discern which he prefers and why. This is a very difficult situation for you and you have my utmost sympathy. It is so easy to get into this situation when you are not living your faith. But now that you have a child, your faith is much more important for you. Have you considered what you might do if he never converts? JW have a skewed notion of faith and this is instilled into them from very young. Whilst they may not seem to be practising, when it comes to converting, you will find the obstinacy put there by JWs. God is good. Put everything into His Hands and accept whatever comes from this. It may mean that you have to break up. This would be done with great faith on your part; but be assured God will turn everything into good once you turn to Him and do His Will only. God bless you and your baby. I will pray for your boyfriend to be given the Grace of God for conversion.

 

[couponfit]

Patty, the best way to convert someone is by living your faith. Your admission that your are now living with him outside of marriage speaks volumes to him about your commitment to your faith. Now I realize that this is a difficult situation, especially with a child involved, and I am not here to judge you. As difficult as it may be, you may want to tell him that your faith means enough to you that you can no longer live this way.

This does not mean that you have to split up the family, necessarily. You can live together as brother and sister (meaning abstaining from intercourse) until such time as he is ready to make a commitment and enter into marriage. Go to confession and get your own house in order and begin truly living your faith. Pray to Mary and St. Joseph for their intercession. This may go a long way in actually converting him. At least he will know you are serious. Invite him to go through the inquiry stage of RCIA. Explain to him that there are no strings attached and that he can bow out at any time, but that it would mean a lot to you for him to at least understand the truth of what you believe, rather than what he has been told.

You are in my prayers.

God bless.

A JW can marry a Catholic in a CC ceremony. Conversion is not required. It’s more than enough that the two of you agree on matters of how your child will be raised and what faith he will know. You’ll have to discuss what to do on religous holidays like Christmas and Easter and other days when you might have over family or be a family homes. My wife and I are catholic but when in a non catholic’s home or when they are visiting we are gracious enough to attend their service (and ours, even if without them) for the sake of showing love and support to our family members (but that was our combined decision). I mean what do you suggest, with holding intimatcy with the hope that he will convert. Anyone willing to convert over sexual favors or willing to use sexual favors to force a conversion is twisting the concept of our faith. In my experience if you with hold sex under this reasons specially, then you are dooming any chance of a relationship with him. It is not your sin nor his that he is a JW. Nor is it a sin to marry a JW. The issue is there is no marriage as of yet, and there is no obivious agreement on how to raise the child in faith.

 

[SteveVH]

A JW can marry a Catholic in a CC ceremony. Conversion is not required. It’s more than enough that the two of you agree on matters of how your child will be raised and what faith he will know. You’ll have to discuss what to do on religous holidays like Christmas and Easter and other days when you might have over family or be a family homes. My wife and I are catholic but when in a non catholic’s home or when they are visiting we are gracious enough to attend their service (and ours, even if without them) for the sake of showing love and support to our family members (but that was our combined decision). I mean what do you suggest, with holding intimatcy with the hope that he will convert. Anyone willing to convert over sexual favors or willing to use sexual favors to force a conversion is twisting the concept of our faith. In my experience if you with hold sex under this reasons specially, then you are dooming any chance of a relationship with him. It is not your sin nor his that he is a JW. Nor is it a sin to marry a JW. The issue is there is no marriage as of yet, and there is no obivious agreement on how to raise the child in faith.

First of all I didn’t say that he had to convert in order to marry her. Second of all I don’t believe that I said that she should use sexual favors in order to force or coherce him into converting. They are living together outside of the bonds of marriage which is a mortal sin. What I am suggesting is that she stop this activity and start living her faith first. The fact that she would choose her faith first would have an impact on his perception of the importance of that faith to her. To try and convert someone while at the same time violating the very faith to which she wishes him to convert is not very convincing. What is most important at this point is the state of her soul. You have completely twisted my words here. Please go back and read my post more carefully and repeat this exercise when posting in the future.

 

[Adamski]

Be the best catholic example possible.
Daily mass when possible,
Regular confession
Change your own behavior

God bless

 

[marlo]

Plant a seed of doubt, there is no way you can convince him in just one conversation, all you need to do is to let him prove something like, why did charles taze russell had a cross in his tomb if he is the one sent by God to preach the true gospel, while his present organization reject the christian cross as a symbol of christ.

Do not go into the doctrinal discussion with him, because im sure you will not be able to answer his questions as well. so go to the history of the Jehovahs witnesses, like the failed prophesy and their membership to the United Nations while they condemn it as the beast in apocalypsis. Go to the JW History, it will hurt

I have been with my boyfriend for 3 years now and we have a baby together, as a catholic i know i am living in sin. My boyfriend is a non-practice Jehovah’s witness but his family practice the “religion.” in these 3 years i have not been able to convert him to the 1 true faith and i simply stopped trying after failing so many times. All i do is pray and continue practicing my faith as much as i can, i baptized my daughter and he didn’t even worry about showing up to the celebration. I love him but i don’t want to be living this way anymore, i want to get married in the church and i want him to be a part of his daughters religious journey. Please if you have any suggestions on how i can try convert him i will really appreciate it, he is very stubborn and i don’t know why if he doesn’t even attend the meetings. Please i ask that you pray for me on this attempt! Thank you and may god bless you!

 

[MrsE1022]

I was in a sort of similar situation.

Before we were married my husband was not Catholic. His mother is Pentecostal but he never attended much church with her so he was basically just a “christian” but with that Pentecostal background.

He always told me that he would never convert to Catholicism and only started even attending Mass with me after about 4 years. He then decided to go through RCIA and convert but he still struggles a lot with his Faith. But as a married couple now, we are beginning to live our Faith together and come closer to God.

I prayed and prayed and prayed and we continuously battled. I think He didn’t want to feel forced into it and I think the biggest problem was that I was not 100% living the faith although I was pretty devout I think he saw in me my own downfalls and I wasn’t the best witness. The best way to convert someone is by your trying to live 100% the faith. and KNOW your faith so you can refute any argument he may have. Be gentle and show him the true face of Jesus in you when you explain things to him.

I also give full credit to Saint Monica’s prayers. For over years I cried and pleaded with God to speak to my boyfriend’s heart and I asked St. Monica to pray for him. I felt such a connection to her and I think it was finally what made me straighten up and get more serious about helping him and being a good witness and I think her prayers were what sent him to RCIA.

Pray and Hope but in the end I can’t tell you that we would have stayed together if he hadn’t come to the Faith. I grew up in a mixed home and it was very difficult. Now it is better but I just I couldn’t struggle that way in my adult life.