What is it like to Marry a Jehovah's Witness? Part 1

I recently received an email from a young woman that was dating a young man who was raised as a JW but had not been baptized. His family was trying to end their relationship because she was "worldly” and talk the young man into getting baptized. She had attended a few services at the Kingdom Hall but felt “something was not quite right” with the JW’s. She asked if I could give her some insight into what it is like to be a JW. What follows are the main points of my response to the troubled young woman. My wife and her family were JW’s for 15 years when we married. Over the next six years I saw first-hand all that follows in this blog. 

WORLDLY PERSON. Anyone who is not one of Jehovah's Witnesses is a "worldly person" and therefore part of Satan's system of things. This makes that person a bad association. All non-JW’s, all governments and non-Watchtower religious organizations are also seen as part of Satan's system. If you marry a JW, this belief will determine who you can associate with.

WT quotes:

“Don't associate with outsiders (non-Jehovah's Witnesses). You are too busy for that!” Watchtower, 2/1/74, p.93.

 Question: Can JW’s associate with non-JW friends or relatives? If they are honest and moral, does that make any difference? 

WT answer, “Notice the repeated advice about avoiding wrong association, ‘from these turn away,’ ‘get out from among them,’ ‘separate yourselves,’ . . . There is to be no partnership, no fellowship, no portion, no sharing with unbelievers.” WT, 2/15/60, p. 112.

WHY DOES THE WT FORBID ASSOCIATION WITH “WORLDLY PEOPLE? The WT wants to isolate their members from non-WT influences. Thus their ban on celebrating birthdays, holidays, no sports for their children, etc. These beliefs keep the JW from associating with non-JW’s and prevents the JW from hearing anything negative about the WT. Thus their chances of leaving the WT are greatly reduced. Their circle-of-friends are JW’s only—thus they are even more dependent on the WT organization.

This is a quote from a JW, “Witnesses are strongly advised not to form close friendships with those who are not Witnesses due to the fact that often individuals who are not lovers of Jehovah do not hold the same principles as us and we can end up in compromising situations which may weaken our spirituality or take us away from serving him.”

Part 2 is here.