Hi there VM and welcome to our forum ...

You've already been warmly welcomed and have settled in to ask questions ... good for you! You're in THE right spot to get all those questions answered ... and they'll be answered to the bets of our abilities and honestly too.

I feel sad for your sister more than your BIL. He has made his choice to go down the path of religious lifestyle ... which is what the JW faith requires. It's not a lip service religion whereby you go to church a couple of times a week and live your life how you wish the rest of the time ... it's a full on 100% requirement to be dedicated and to follow what I believe to be a whole stack of religious interpretations that seem to be changed randomly in order to keep their members on their toes!

Your sister will be feeling a lot of confusion and pressure right now. My mother has only recently started being an active member of the JW's after 16 years of not going ... and already I'm having the little subversive "oh but we worry about you not being in the new system of things ..." ... "I worry about your two boys ... what chance do they have if you don't allow Jehovah into their hearts ..." blah blah blah. Your sister will have all of that crap thrown her way especially as he will now be following the JW guidelines for what a 'good Christian wife' should be doing for him. He will also use their little one and the other children as chess pieces in an emotional blackmail game. I hope you're close to your sister sweetie ... she'll need you!

He will put pressure on her and the rest of your family to study and join in ... and the comment of having you all join up 'one by one' is no joke! Being in that 'holier than thou' mode as I like to refer to it as ... means he's quite upbeat about his new religious beliefs. He has something to aim for now ... eternal life! He's making his dedication this weekend via the baptism ... which of course then requires him to share that religious zeal with all and sundry. I am personally amazed at how many bright intelligent people get sucked into this lifestyle!

You mentioned that you are a 'strong Christian' ... regardless of your religious beliefs ... it will help you realise just how tightly knit the JW's can be and how much personal freedom you actually have!

We're here when you need us!