JW subtitle extractor

My parents were both Jehovah’s Witnesses
by the time I was born.
So I studied the Bible,
attended meetings,
and went out in service with them.
Growing up in the truth, I knew
that living by Bible standards
is what’s best for me.
And my parents were always so zealous
when it came to spiritual things.
So when I think back,
I just didn’t want to let them down.
Following Bible principles is not burdensome
or even that difficult.
Honestly, if we do as it says in the Bible,
then we benefit ourselves.
But at times, I was curious
how my life would be
if I wasn’t in the truth.
It was just so fun
to be around my school friends.
Overall, I had a good time at school.
I got along with my classmates,
and my teachers liked me too.
So being in school
was a pretty good experience.
My parents always told me
not to get too close to my classmates,
but in my opinion, my friends
had good conduct and were good people.
I didn’t understand why they were so worried.
In my high school,
there were a lot of kids who went to church
and many of the teachers
had religious backgrounds.
One day, there was an incident
when the entire school found out
I was one of Jehovah’s Witnesses.
I knew that some people might be prejudiced
against Witnesses, but I was surprised
to see how everyone could change so suddenly.
I started spending more time
with my classmates,
but the more I hung out with them,
the more I saw
that we were living
completely different lives.
Their conversations would be
about trips they went on over the weekend
and what they bought
on their latest shopping trip,
but when it came to me,
all I had done was spiritual activities.
It felt like I was missing out.
I felt alone and like an outcast.
I knew in my head that Bible principles
are right and beneficial,
but when I was
actually put in that situation,
I wasn’t so sure anymore.
I started to feel like I wasn’t as cool
as my classmates,
so when they started to talk
about their life goals,
I couldn’t bring myself to tell them
what my goals were.
So I started thinking,
‘What would be the right way for me to act?’
Opening up to my parents
about my situation really helped.
One day for family worship, we decided
to discuss that topic.
We read Matthew 5:11:
“Happy are you when people reproach you
and persecute you
“and lyingly say every sort of wicked thing
against you for my sake.”
But how can you be happy when persecuted?
I thought to myself,
‘But I’m not happy right now.’
My mom shared Mark 8:38 with me.
The part in the scripture where it says
that if we are ashamed of Jesus Christ,
he will be ashamed of us
really hit me.
I realized that deep inside
I had been ashamed of being a Witness.
While I was going through all of this,
a brother gave
a public talk in our congregation
and read Matthew 19:29.
There it says that everyone who has left
what is important to them
“for the sake of [Jehovah]
will receive a hundred times as much.”
So I decided to try leaving
what I thought was important to me
and seeing what results
and blessings I might receive.
About that time,
my parents helped me to associate
with brothers and sisters
who were participating
in many different forms of full-time service
so that I could hear their experiences.
That helped me to decide
which direction I wanted to go in my life.
One thing that was really great
about this decision
was that I was able to meet
many new brothers and sisters.
I realized that there were so many people
who had the same thoughts and goals as I did.
These were my true friends.
The next time the topic of our future goals
came up with my classmates,
I was able to speak up confidently.
I am really thankful to my parents
who helped me to find the courage to do that.
I’ve felt that Jehovah
truly keeps his promises.
Come to think of it,
Jehovah has kept his promise to reward me
a hundred times as much
if I choose to live
by the Bible’s principles.
I am really happy now,
and I am confident that if I follow
the Bible’s teachings when I make decisions,
I will always have the best results.

My Teen Life—How Can the Bible Help Me?