This was really interesting to read. I've long been interested in theology, and for some reason particularly drawn to "cults", which from my bare bones research I would definitely say JWs are deserving of that label. I'm an outsider looking in though, as I class myself as a "humanist", but it was genuinely fascinating to read about how their beliefs stack up against actual biblical scripture.

I had a couple of interactions with both JWs and Mormons when I lived in a city a few years back, and my takeaway was basically that it was saddening to see people who came across as genuinely good, nice people becoming prey for this group. I worked with a woman who, I guess was in the transition of leaving but hadn't told any other members of her church yet. She had a severely autistic son, and long story short their lack of understanding of such a condition made both her and her sons lives torturous. She'd been raised as a JW, and to think that she never had a choice in her beliefs is heartbreaking to think about.

Am I right in thinking they started off as a doomsday cult?

On a little side note, a friend at school had a rather funny story about their granddad and JWs. They'd knocked on his door, he welcomed them in, slyly locked the door behind them, reached for his shotgun over the mantelpiece, and basically told them not to turn up again. No idea how true it is, but certainly speaks volumes about how welcoming small rural communities can be to outsiders!