My Kingdom Hall Experience Part 3
The following is my experience of attending a Kingdom Hall for five weeks straight. After each meeting and discussion with the Jehovah's Witnesses I wrote out my thoughts. Names have been changed for obvious reasons. All information is accurate and honest as possible.
What was I to do? Should I attend the meeting and risk being recognized by the guest speaker or anyone who was with him? If he did recognize me or he was with someone who I had spoken to before, my home meetings with Jane would end. After much prayer and time in the Scriptures, I decided to go. I walked in late on Sunday afternoon holding my breath. The 'usher' recognizes me by now, I follow him as he shows me where Jane and her family are seated. I look up at the podium to see who is speaking, much to my relief I did not know the guest speaker. I couldn't help but smile and take a huge sigh of relief. I took my seat next to Jane who seemed happy to see me. I have heard that their kindness is not genuine because all they want to do is convert you. When I talk with Jane this seems hard to believe. As I sat there listening to the talk, I thought to myself "if things were different we could be friends". If life was different or if she had been born into a different religion, we could be friends, but not in the Watchtower Society. In a different world even after I did not accept Watchtower doctrine, we could be friends, but not in the Watchtower Society. Thinking about this that day in the Kingdom Hall and even now, I could get emotional.
However, Acts 17:26-27 reads, "From one man he [God] made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us." Therefore Jane and I are exactly where God wants us to be so that we would seek after Him. I must remember that this is not an accident that I am sitting here. While it is true that I had made the habit of walking up to Jehovah's Witnesses, there was a good year when I didn't. Discouragement had set in and several times I intentionally kept walking or driving after I saw them. It wasn't until recently that God pulled me out of this. And soon thereafter I walked up to Jane's brother.
During the worship I shared a song book with Jane. I am finally getting accustomed to the way the Watchtower Study works. For a good hour the Jehovah's Witnesses read and answer questions out of a Study Edition of the Watchtower magazine. They read through this magazine during the week, studying the questions and highlighting the answers. The questions in the magazine are asked from the podium by the Watchtower Study Conductor, then JW's raise their hands to give the answer which can be found directly in the corresponding paragraph. A microphone is passed to the brother or sister chosen. There are passages that are in bold in the magazine which were selected to read out loud. During one of these Scripture readings, a few verses above the Scripture being read spoke about the Good News. I pointed the verse out to Jane and she smiled and read it silently. Last Sunday, after the meeting she had told me she looked up 'Good News' in her concordance to see what was said about it. I stayed and talked with her after the meeting for awhile. When I got up from my seat I was surprised to see the Kingdom Hall almost empty, this happened last week as well. As Jane's friends went up to say hi to her, they greeted me with kindness as well. I decided to just be myself in these meetings. I know that this is dangerous emotionally, because in the end, I will lose a friend.
Four days later Jane and Cynthia came over. Earlier I had been reading online July's 1, 2013 Watchtower magazine. It reads, "..It is wise to examine religion carefully. If you belong to a religious organization, you are, in effect, putting your spiritual life in its hands. This includes your prospects for salvation." I completely agree with the Watchtower. The question is however, "Do the Jehovah's Witnesses examine their religion the way they encourage others to? On page 7 of this issue, the writer encourages its' readers to ask Jehovah's Witnesses why they trusted their religion.
They seemed tired when they came in, like they had been jogging. We sat down and I offered them something to drink. They told me they had been going door to door passing out invitations for their upcoming annual three day convention. Jane handed me an invitation. On the front was a picture of a happy family, a man sipping his coffee while reading the Bible, and a picture of an opened Bible. In bold letters it said "TRUTH" Then below it asked, "Where can you find it? How can Your family benefit from it? Find out at a free public talk".
Jesus is the Truth and one can only find it by going to him and his Word. How will you benefit? You will be saved from God's wrath (John 3:36). They told me how I could go online and look at the program for the convention. Jane's boss is a Jehovah's Witness so she gets time off work for it. They continued for a while about how wonderful it was going to be. I just smiled and nodded, if they only knew....
I asked them "Why do they trust their religion?" I could tell they were taken aback by the question. Cynthia responded by asking me what religion I was. I told her I would tell her my background but first wanted to know why she trusted her religion. She told me she trusted her religion because it teaches what the Bible teaches. This means she trusts the Governing Body because they teach the same things the Bible teaches, this is circular reasoning. There is an assumption on Cynthia's part, she is assuming that the Bible actual teaches Watchtower doctrine. In reality Cynthia believes the Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses is God's 'Faithful and Discreet Slave' supposedly prophesied in Matthew 24. Because she trusts they are the 'Faithful and Discreet Slave', she trusts their interpretation of the Bible. Jane said something similar and more understandable. She said when she reads the Watchtower everything is backed up by Scripture. However, Jane still places her trust in the Watchtower and its' interpretation.
After this discussion Cynthia did not ask me what my religion was. I honestly do not think they care what my beliefs are. They probably think they know what I believe and my thinking can be corrected with proper Bible Study. I offered some information anyways how I was raised in a Christian home and in a Christian church.
The topic of our discussion today was supposed to be around the Good News. I assumed Jane had recapped Cynthia on our previous discussions, but after they left I do not think she did.
During one of the meetings, the elder said something about those who "handle the scriptures improperly". Ironically during that same meeting a JW said while answering a question, we shouldn't feel sorry for those who handle the scriptures improperly and to not care about their feelings. At this point I do feel sorry for Jane and I do care about her feelings. I know Christians need to speak the truth to others no matter what. But I can't help the concern that has swept over me. I know the Jehovah's Witnesses will not return once they find out I have strong convictions and this bothers me. I told them "If I was wrong I would want to know". This is the truth. I only hope they will apply that same statement to themselves.
I had asked them "What does it mean when someone handles the scriptures improperly?" Cynthia asked me what I thought it meant, I am finding they do this a lot. One time in front of my work I asked an older Jehovah's Witness man, "What does 2 Corinthians 5:17 mean when it describes an individual as a new creation?" The man asked me what I thought it meant. When I told him what I thought, he yelled at me "That is what YOU think!" And walked away. I know he yelled at me because another JW was in the group who knew I was a so-called apostate. Reflecting on this now, I think this is a tactic when they do not know how to answer.
I told them the way someone handles the Scriptures improperly was when they take a verse out of context and build a doctrine around it or put words in the verse that are not there. (Read more here) They agreed.
Cynthia did most of the talking and it did not center around the Good News. She tried to talk me into a Bible Study, this sounds innocent and like we would read a book of the Bible together. However, this means they want to take you through one of their publications. Afterwards I was quite disappointed and somewhat sad that I really did not get to talk to Jane. I almost felt like I was being lectured.
Jane had to get to work, so our Bible Study was cut short. They both hugged me and I thanked them sincerely for taking time out of their day to visit me. I sat on the couch heavyhearted, sipping my coffee with my Bible opened and prayed to the Truth for them.
"Jesus said to him, I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but through Me." John 14:6
(To read more about the Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses go here)
What was I to do? Should I attend the meeting and risk being recognized by the guest speaker or anyone who was with him? If he did recognize me or he was with someone who I had spoken to before, my home meetings with Jane would end. After much prayer and time in the Scriptures, I decided to go. I walked in late on Sunday afternoon holding my breath. The 'usher' recognizes me by now, I follow him as he shows me where Jane and her family are seated. I look up at the podium to see who is speaking, much to my relief I did not know the guest speaker. I couldn't help but smile and take a huge sigh of relief. I took my seat next to Jane who seemed happy to see me. I have heard that their kindness is not genuine because all they want to do is convert you. When I talk with Jane this seems hard to believe. As I sat there listening to the talk, I thought to myself "if things were different we could be friends". If life was different or if she had been born into a different religion, we could be friends, but not in the Watchtower Society. In a different world even after I did not accept Watchtower doctrine, we could be friends, but not in the Watchtower Society. Thinking about this that day in the Kingdom Hall and even now, I could get emotional.
However, Acts 17:26-27 reads, "From one man he [God] made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us." Therefore Jane and I are exactly where God wants us to be so that we would seek after Him. I must remember that this is not an accident that I am sitting here. While it is true that I had made the habit of walking up to Jehovah's Witnesses, there was a good year when I didn't. Discouragement had set in and several times I intentionally kept walking or driving after I saw them. It wasn't until recently that God pulled me out of this. And soon thereafter I walked up to Jane's brother.
During the worship I shared a song book with Jane. I am finally getting accustomed to the way the Watchtower Study works. For a good hour the Jehovah's Witnesses read and answer questions out of a Study Edition of the Watchtower magazine. They read through this magazine during the week, studying the questions and highlighting the answers. The questions in the magazine are asked from the podium by the Watchtower Study Conductor, then JW's raise their hands to give the answer which can be found directly in the corresponding paragraph. A microphone is passed to the brother or sister chosen. There are passages that are in bold in the magazine which were selected to read out loud. During one of these Scripture readings, a few verses above the Scripture being read spoke about the Good News. I pointed the verse out to Jane and she smiled and read it silently. Last Sunday, after the meeting she had told me she looked up 'Good News' in her concordance to see what was said about it. I stayed and talked with her after the meeting for awhile. When I got up from my seat I was surprised to see the Kingdom Hall almost empty, this happened last week as well. As Jane's friends went up to say hi to her, they greeted me with kindness as well. I decided to just be myself in these meetings. I know that this is dangerous emotionally, because in the end, I will lose a friend.
______________________
Four days later Jane and Cynthia came over. Earlier I had been reading online July's 1, 2013 Watchtower magazine. It reads, "..It is wise to examine religion carefully. If you belong to a religious organization, you are, in effect, putting your spiritual life in its hands. This includes your prospects for salvation." I completely agree with the Watchtower. The question is however, "Do the Jehovah's Witnesses examine their religion the way they encourage others to? On page 7 of this issue, the writer encourages its' readers to ask Jehovah's Witnesses why they trusted their religion.
They seemed tired when they came in, like they had been jogging. We sat down and I offered them something to drink. They told me they had been going door to door passing out invitations for their upcoming annual three day convention. Jane handed me an invitation. On the front was a picture of a happy family, a man sipping his coffee while reading the Bible, and a picture of an opened Bible. In bold letters it said "TRUTH" Then below it asked, "Where can you find it? How can Your family benefit from it? Find out at a free public talk".
Jesus is the Truth and one can only find it by going to him and his Word. How will you benefit? You will be saved from God's wrath (John 3:36). They told me how I could go online and look at the program for the convention. Jane's boss is a Jehovah's Witness so she gets time off work for it. They continued for a while about how wonderful it was going to be. I just smiled and nodded, if they only knew....
I asked them "Why do they trust their religion?" I could tell they were taken aback by the question. Cynthia responded by asking me what religion I was. I told her I would tell her my background but first wanted to know why she trusted her religion. She told me she trusted her religion because it teaches what the Bible teaches. This means she trusts the Governing Body because they teach the same things the Bible teaches, this is circular reasoning. There is an assumption on Cynthia's part, she is assuming that the Bible actual teaches Watchtower doctrine. In reality Cynthia believes the Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses is God's 'Faithful and Discreet Slave' supposedly prophesied in Matthew 24. Because she trusts they are the 'Faithful and Discreet Slave', she trusts their interpretation of the Bible. Jane said something similar and more understandable. She said when she reads the Watchtower everything is backed up by Scripture. However, Jane still places her trust in the Watchtower and its' interpretation.
After this discussion Cynthia did not ask me what my religion was. I honestly do not think they care what my beliefs are. They probably think they know what I believe and my thinking can be corrected with proper Bible Study. I offered some information anyways how I was raised in a Christian home and in a Christian church.
The topic of our discussion today was supposed to be around the Good News. I assumed Jane had recapped Cynthia on our previous discussions, but after they left I do not think she did.
During one of the meetings, the elder said something about those who "handle the scriptures improperly". Ironically during that same meeting a JW said while answering a question, we shouldn't feel sorry for those who handle the scriptures improperly and to not care about their feelings. At this point I do feel sorry for Jane and I do care about her feelings. I know Christians need to speak the truth to others no matter what. But I can't help the concern that has swept over me. I know the Jehovah's Witnesses will not return once they find out I have strong convictions and this bothers me. I told them "If I was wrong I would want to know". This is the truth. I only hope they will apply that same statement to themselves.
I had asked them "What does it mean when someone handles the scriptures improperly?" Cynthia asked me what I thought it meant, I am finding they do this a lot. One time in front of my work I asked an older Jehovah's Witness man, "What does 2 Corinthians 5:17 mean when it describes an individual as a new creation?" The man asked me what I thought it meant. When I told him what I thought, he yelled at me "That is what YOU think!" And walked away. I know he yelled at me because another JW was in the group who knew I was a so-called apostate. Reflecting on this now, I think this is a tactic when they do not know how to answer.
I told them the way someone handles the Scriptures improperly was when they take a verse out of context and build a doctrine around it or put words in the verse that are not there. (Read more here) They agreed.
Cynthia did most of the talking and it did not center around the Good News. She tried to talk me into a Bible Study, this sounds innocent and like we would read a book of the Bible together. However, this means they want to take you through one of their publications. Afterwards I was quite disappointed and somewhat sad that I really did not get to talk to Jane. I almost felt like I was being lectured.
Jane had to get to work, so our Bible Study was cut short. They both hugged me and I thanked them sincerely for taking time out of their day to visit me. I sat on the couch heavyhearted, sipping my coffee with my Bible opened and prayed to the Truth for them.
"Jesus said to him, I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but through Me." John 14:6
(To read more about the Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses go here)
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