Jehovah's Witnesses

9:00 on a Sunday morning and I am walking into what looks like a very simple but fairly large house on the edge of Kirksville, MO, with my friend Kyle. He is dressed in a full suit and I am wearing the nicest clothes I had stuffed in my wardrobe, but neither of us was a bit overdressed. We walk into the Kingdom Hall and put away our coats before walking into a room that looks like a decent sized conference room and is mostly filled with chairs. As we walk in I ask if all Kingdom Halls are this simple and he tells me that his in St. Louis is much larger before the first few people, mostly women, come and introduce themselves. I am stunned by how friendly they are and most remember Kyle's name even though they have not seen him for several weeks; on return trips a few women will greet me by name and remember details of our conversation. What strikes me is how friendly these people are; they are very open and excited to have "young people" coming to their talks. As the elder walks up to the pulpit we find some seats off to the side, since I felt like I would be conspicuous and distracting scribbling in my notebook.

The meeting opens with a song to recorded piano music, which is used in congregations of all sizes. This is certainly a song of worship, but is unlike the church hymns I have heard; the music has unexpected rhythms and phrasing and the piano pieces were clearly influenced by the jazz and big band movements. The harmonies are also not the major chords found in Catholic and many Protestant hymnals, they are more modern; utilizing minor chords and a style that is obviously more modern than those from religious groups I am more familiar with. This is the first indication that this is a comparatively young religion and one that will likely be different than others I have experienced. After one song Brother James, and elder, announces the title of his talk will be "Trust in Jehovah's Saving Power."

This was not the sermon I expected. Brother James spoke as if he were presenting an argument, with some evidence and references to various religious sources, for further discussion. His talk focused on the idea that the Earth is huge and overcrowded, which can make it seem like Jehovah could not fix their individual problems and world problems. By citing the biblical fact that Noah and his family were saved from the flood along with a few other biblical instances, he goes on to prove that "Jehovah can fix your problems if you have trust." Through this fairly informal talk, Brother James referenced various verses from the bible as well as Awake! and Watchtower, both magazines that are distributed and read worldwide by Jehovah's Witnesses, as well as repeating the idea that "Jehovah will come soon." Brother James also urges his listeners to turn to the Bible for guidance because the "bible was written for mankind's needs" and provides information on "how people can continue to survive" in this world.

As I attempt to take in all these new ideas and format I notice a woman down the row is not only taking notes, she is also looking up the appropriate passages in the Bible, Watchtower, and two other books. At this point I look around and notice that I nowhere near the only person taking notes, a practice that would not fly at any religious gathering I have attended previously. This is almost a lecture, with all the ideas and references to outside literature thrown in.

At the conclusion of his talk, Brother James reminds his audience that, although it may not match man's timetable, Jehovah has a plan for destruction of the earth and the coming of the end of times is near. He exhorts his fellow Jehovah's witnesses to find ways to worship and avoid becoming too involved in mundane life. After his final message, another song is sung, again to recorded piano music, of the same sort as before. However, this song shortens Jehovah to "Jah."

Next comes the forty-five minute Watchtower discussion. This is a guided discussion of the article "No Weapon Formed Against You Will Succeed"; an elder read the article and another presented a short summary of the article along with a set of questions. Two members carry hanging microphones so members of the congregations can answer the elder's questions. Everyone is encouraged to answer, and many of the answers are surprisingly well cited and thought out. I did not have a copy of the magazine, and neither did Kyle, so a man standing behind us walked up and handed me a copy without a word. This magazine, only a month old, was well-marked and worn with creased pages and notes in the margins. While I admired the thought and dedication that had gone into the dissection of this article I heard a rather remarkable phrase that seems to be reoccurring. "Since Jehovah had that recorded it is fact, isn't it," in reference to some part of the Bible. Although there were certainly some people who contributed more often to the discussion, all (including children) were able to speak by raising their hand and waiting to be acknowledged by the discussion leader. What I found remarkable was that the speaker knew every member of the group and referred to them as Brother or Sister and then their last name, I later learned that all baptized members of the group are referred to as "Brother" or "Sister", creating a feeling of a family within a group that spans the world. The speaker focused on the idea that Jehovah's Witnesses' policy of non-violence and sharing had lasted even through concentration camps, where they were sometimes able to earn the respect of the guards. The elder even quoted one guard as saying that the Jehovah's Witnesses were peaceful and shared with each other, "if you gave one a piece of candy they would split it 42 ways." This reading and discussion focused on the ideals of non-violence, sharing when possible, and teaching others about Jehovah.

The meeting concluded with another set of introductions by members. Usually the women would introduce themselves first, but I am certain I met at least fifteen people in a rather short space of time. One woman in particular seemed very open and wanted to talk to me and explain anything I had questions about, as well as make sure I would be coming back and encouraged me to come to the Tuesday meeting as well.

Historical Background

Jehovah's Witnesses began in during the late 1870's as a Protestant religious movement known as Bible Students. Founded by Charles Taze Russell, the group, mostly composed of Second Adventists, met to study the Bible and eventually became interested in Bible prophecy. Russell established in this group a belief in the end of days, which would result of a paradise on earth for the righteous, and rejected both the traditional view of hell and the doctrine of the Trinity. He also created the legal entity, which eventually became a non-profit organization and is still in existence today, The Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania. The Studies in the Scriptures series was created by Russell, this six-book series is still relevant within Jehovah's Witnesses' study of the Bible, although Russell made it clear that the book was merely his surmises and may have errors.

Following Russell's death in 1916 a committee of five members was set up to supervise and edit the writing of the Watch Tower magazine, as was requested in Russell's will. The next president, Joseph Franklin Rutherford, had a turbulent presidency and, after causing further schisms within the group, was convicted of espionage by the United States government and sentenced to jail time. However, after his removal significant doctrinal changes were made, some of which cause dissension and splinter groups to leave. In 1922 door-to-door preaching became an important part of their practices. Further, Jehovah's Witnesses were prosecuted by Hitler and were imprisoned along with other undesirables in concentration camps. Believers in America were often mobbed, and their Canadian and Australian counterparts were temporarily banned because their statuses as conscientious objectors made them appear to oppose the war. After a long period of turmoil and persecution, Jehovah's Witnesses, so identified in 1931, were finally able to worship as they wished.

Jehovah's Witnesses have a large focus on missionary activity and door-to-door preaching, so their numbers have increased significantly, especially since the 1940's. Although they are not the dominant religion in any country, witnesses can be found in almost every country, especially in South America. There are an estimated 6,957,852 witnesses from 101,376 established congregations around the world, despite a decrease in recent years (www.jw-media.org/people/statistics.htm).
Beliefs

Jehovah's Witnesses address many of the same topics as other major religions, but also have some practices that seem strange and are sometimes misunderstood by outsiders. In general, Jehovah's Witnesses are fairly fundamentalist in both origin and beliefs. When any question is asked Jehovah's Witnesses will usually refer to the Bible and accompanying readings. Although the text is taken literally, they will use first reason or logic and then try to understand the text symbolically if a literal reading does not make sense; such as asserting that the world was created in six twenty-four hour days. Therefore, on the topics of homosexuality and abortion they come down firmly against both, with the very rare exception of danger to the mother's life; but they believe that a sinner, both homosexuality and abortion are considered sins, can ask for forgiveness and be brought back into the fold by Jehovah. Divorce is usually disallowed as well, with the exception of adultery; Jehovah's Witnesses also hold that remarriage is not allowable except in cases where divorce was precipitated by adultery on the part of the other partner. Another important aspect of most religions is the belief in a Heaven/Hell dichotomy. Jehovah's Witnesses do not believe a soul immediately goes anywhere, rather, the dead sleep and are remembered by Jehovah, to be banished or brought to life when he comes to create a paradise on Earth for all worthy souls. Last on the field of politics colliding with religion is the ongoing debate about evolution. Jehovah's Witnesses seem to believe in a Creator, but do no discount evolution and even criticize some religious leaders who claim the Genesis account of creation is the literal truth.

Although they address many of the same topics as other religions, there are some beliefs that are particular to Jehovah's Witnesses. Two things this group is known for are that they do not accept blood transfusions nor do they celebrate birthdays, Easter, or Christmas. The rejection of blood transfusions was first scriptural, but now they use more scientific evidence, such as the spread of blood-borne pathogens. As for Easter, Christmas, and birthdays, Jehovah's Witnesses argue that early Christians did not celebrate such occasions and that they are remainders from pagan rituals and so should not be practiced by "true Christians." They believe that each and every Witness can and should have a personal relationship with god; so they call him by name, "Jehovah". This is an anglicized version of the typically Jewish "Yaweh". As Kyle explained, Jehovah's Witnesses have a personal relationship with God, "so knowing his name is pretty important." Like other religious groups this group stresses the importance of doing good works through volunteering, missionary work, and spreading "the word". However, their way of spreading the word is through door-to-door knocking and handing out literature, which is sometimes criticized or mocked in outside society.

Through their short history Jehovah's Witnesses have come into conflict, although non-violent, with more mainstream religions. Part of their religious beliefs, even before they were officially Jehovah's Witnesses, is that there was no Holy Trinity, only Jehovah and his son Jesus; separate and not equal, while the Holy Spirit is only Jehovah's will, and so part of him. Part of their beliefs is that war is never good or right, so they are conscientious objectors. However, Jehovah's Witnesses are not all peaceful and all forgiving, they do have biblically sanctioned shunning and dis-fellowship of those who have left the church and the faith.

When a person decides to leave the group, they are cut off, to varying degrees depending upon family association, from the rest of the group; who will not even speak to the shunned. They claim this practice of shunning, especially when the shunning includes members of their family, is effective at making the person who left realize the error of their ways, repent, and rejoin. Sometimes this practice means a family will essentially disown one of its members with the hope of forcing them to realize what a mistake they have made. This practice certainly seems cruel to outsiders, but Jehovah's Witnesses see it as the only way to stress the significance of leaving the faith. The last of their beliefs is actually one of the first beliefs of the group. Jehovah's Witnesses believe that the end of days is near, and that Jehovah will return soon to bring paradise on earth to true believers, both living and dead. They do not believe that everyone will be sent from earth; their idea of hell is that when the end of days comes the souls of the wicked will simply be erased as though they never existed. Especially during their turbulent formative years prophesies of the coming of Jehovah were common. These prophecies that turned out to be false led a portion of members to quit in the 1920's, but many stayed. Although there is no prophesy for the end of days coming soon, they believe that it could come any day and they must be ready. This attitude and constant reminders in both meetings and readings creates a sense of immediacy and reminds the members to stay in the moment and consider their actions. Overall, this religious group stresses a belief in the Bible, but does not insist on a literal translation when a literal translation does not make sense. Like most other religious groups, these beliefs are reinforced through weekly meetings, although most Jehovah's Witnesses meet three times a week to discuss religion rather than the usual one or two practiced by many religions.

Meetings

Jehovah's Witnesses have two public services a week and many members attend a smaller Bible study group and additional night of the week. The Sunday meeting, as described above, is roughly two hours long and comprised of a forty-five minute talk and an hour discussion of a selected article from Watchtower, the official magazine of Jehovah's Witnesses. Tuesday is the Theocratic Ministry School and Service Meeting, in which anyone, regardless of age and even non-Witnesses, may enroll and practice public speaking. At each of these meetings six students, and occasionally an extra few to help with skits, presents a speech, skit, or discussion on a topic related to the Bible. After, an instructor offers commentary and suggestions to improve later presentations; these are always phrased in a way that is kind and is always followed and preceded by a compliment. The service meeting may also include skits, but is a forum for discussing methods and techniques for effectively teaching others about the Bible. The third meeting is generally a small group where ten to fifteen members discuss a reading from the Bible and how it can apply to daily life. Most view their religion as being a very important part of their life and strive to read some form of religious writing every day.

This organization has a rather different set up than almost all other Protestant religions. Although they have a relatively small membership spread around the world, they are well organized and united globally, primarily through Watchtower and the efforts of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania. Jehovah's Witnesses have no paid clergy, in fact, very few people are employed by the church and almost all work is done by volunteers, with the exceptions of: the building of Kingdom Halls and major repairs to these places of worship, full time "special publishers" who are employed by the Watchtower Society to spend 150 hours a month evangelizing. In this religion every baptized Witness is considered a preacher, but elders in the community, who may also travel to give talks at other congregations, tend to give talks. Witnesses are not baptized at birth, but rather when a person is able to make an informed decision to devote their life to Jehovah. This means that children are not eligible to give talks on Sunday, although they are encouraged to add to the discussion.
Another remarkable feature of this group is that they do not pass a collection plate; in fact tithing is not required. Each person may give if they want, but they are not forced to in any way and donations are private, because Witnesses believe that giving to the group should be done freely and willingly, rather than grudgingly. This money is all used to take care of and fund the Kingdom Hall and purchase materials for door-to-door evangelizing and educating non-believers about Jehovah and the coming of paradise on earth.

Conclusion

Although this group has faced and continues to deal with opposition from popular culture, mocking of some of their core beliefs, and occasional persecution from the uninformed, they remain peaceful and friendly. I was, and still am, amazed by how friendly all the Witnesses were when greeting a total stranger. They are a group that welcomes outsiders and willingly, even eagerly, teaches them about what they believe. I was given several sources of literature about their beliefs and constantly found myself handed materials when they were discussed so I could read them directly, all by people whom I had never spoken to. These men and women believe strongly in the importance of kindness, openness, sharing, and teaching everyone about the Bible and Jehovah. The public is widely uninformed when it comes to this religious group. Usually they only note their unusual or seemingly cruel practices, such as the fact that they do not observe birthdays, without realizing that most of these people are devoted to improving the quality of life for people around the world and are willing and eager to talk about their beliefs and way of worship.

References
Religion Facts, (2008). Jehovah's Witnesses. Retrieve April 28, 2008, from ReligionFacts: Just the facts on the world's religions. Web site: http://www.religionfacts.com/jehovahs_witnesses/index.htm
Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania, Inc.. (2006). What Does the Bible Really Teach? Brooklyn, New York, U.S.A.: Author
Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania, (2008). Watchtower: Official website of Jehovah's Witnesses. Retrieved April 30, 2008, Web site:http://www.watchtower.org/
Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania, (2008). Retrieved April 28, 2008, from Jehovah's Witnesses Web site: http://www.jw-media.org/index.html.

* I would like to add my thanks to the Jehovah's Witness congregation that gathers in Kirksville, MO. They were fantastic about letting me come to their meetings several times and excited to teach me about their faith, deal with any random questions I had, and share their books and other literature with me. I especially want to thank Kyle, who filled me in when I could not find a direct answer and explained concepts that I just did not understand, on top of actually taking me to meetings and sharing his reading materials with me.