I have loved ones who have been Jehovah’s Witnesses for decades, since their early 20s. It just seems hopeless that they will ever return home to the Church, despite the prayers of many family members. I am encouraged to see some former JWs on this forum, but it seems like the ones here have done a lot of critical study to come to the point of leaving. Most JWs I am familiar with (including my loved ones) are content to follow whatever the Watchtower Society teaches, even if the teachings at times do a 180. It seems to me that the only hope is a Road to Emmaus type experience or an apparition. Do any former JWs on the forum have any encouragement for me from your personal testimonies? Have you had powerful spiritual conversion experiences that you knew were the work of the Holy Spirit? Or does anyone know of any particular saints (besides St. Jude) who would be especially efficacious in bringing Jehovah’s Witnesses to Jesus and His Church?
I returned to the Church after being one of Jehovah’s Witnesses for 11 years, not because of mere study on my part but due to the non-stop prayers of my family. And St. Jude (who has become my patron saint due to this) has obviously had a lot to do with it.
My grandmother prayed to our Lady, my mother to St. Jude, and other Catholic family members left me in the hands of our Lord through this time.
While it was because I had a mystical experience while visiting an outdoor prayer garden of the Stations of the Cross on a hill near San Antonio, Texas, I would never have gone to such a place if I had not been dragged there by a Catholic family friend.
As you probably know, Jehovah’s Witnesses abhor other churches and are somewhat frightened of going near them due to a belief that demons dwell inside of them and might attack them as a result. So it wasn’t an easy thing for this Catholic to arrange, but he did it. And it was while I was there in a very holy place that God started the process that lead me back home.
Each individual Jehovah’s Witness is different. I was very studious, and I demanded proof texts to support every belief I had and every step I took. God had something else in mind when bringing me back, teaching me I could never study to understand with my heart, and that “proof texts” don’t equal the truth of a loving relationship with one’s Creator. For me God taught me I had to stop depending on what I could learn and study and depend on what God could teach me through my heart.
And that was very, very hard for me.
It’s About Control
What I was experiencing in the Watchtower is known as a type of personal control mechanism by those who study high-control religions like the Jehovah’s Witnesses. When people feel they have little control in life they proceed to compartmentalize things to simplify their world. The Jehovah’s Witnesses have a religion that fits the bill for those who have an intolerance for the ambiguity of the world, teaching that God sees things in “black-and-white,” “good-or-evil,” with nothing in between–and that we should too.
It thus feels empowering, like a drug, to get into a religion that has an “answer” for every question. Life makes sense when you allow no gray areas and can put things into their “proper” categories of “approved by Jehovah” and “disapproved by Jehovah.”
Thus it isn’t doctrine that Jehovah’s Witnesses are in love with. As you mentioned their doctrine changes drastically over the years (in fact, the religion I left no longer exists because they changed their beliefs so much over the past decade). They are willing to change any belief they have as long as the main one remains intact, namely: “We are in the right religion.” This gives them the control they feel they need to make sense of the world while offering pats on the back to tell them that being intolerant of gray areas is okay. They will thus tell themselves anything to avoid shattering that illusion, even denying their many false “end of the world” dates they once proclaimed as dogma.
While some doctrine discussion might help, in many cases you may need to avoid that. Unless something comes along to destroy this illusion that they have control and really know “the truth” about everything, they will stay put.
And even if we manage to accomplish this it may be difficult to pick up the pieces when their illusion tumbles down (not too few feel so disillusioned afterwards that they become atheists when they leave the Watchtower).
So if you are praying, you are doing well. Add to that (and request) patience. And don’t settle for being just your average Catholic–be instead the best Catholic you can be. That will speak volumes beyond anything you can point out in a book.
Remember that God knows these people are frightened and are in error due to their fear and need of a feeling of control. Who wouldn’t want to feel so sure about everything all the time? It’s great, let me tell you. And it’s also very false (which you also know at the same time when you are living under the Watchtower’s shadow, I can also confess).
Don’t give up, but don’t demand miracles. And never underestimate God’s mercy. Some can’t get out of the JWs because they emotionally can’t do it. They can’t stand the fact that they have got involved in a cult and have been publicly teaching others to accept falsehoods. It’s emotionally horrifying to accept that reality for some (could you do it?). So God will judge them taking them into account of their weaknesses. Don’t worry about that.
You are both interested in each other’s salvation, and sincere in your claims.
