As with some of my posts, this is a delicate one to type. Though I do not want to offend any Jehovah's Witnesses, I do want to express why I do not adhere to their religion. It is my desire to accurately depict their beliefs and their church, thus if any of my information or assertions is incorrect, please correct me in the comments. I am not above correcting my mistakes. The majority of the information I have obtained is from their own website: jw.org
This may reflect my own bias, but as a missionary I learned that as human beings we have three basic questions:
Where did I come from?
Why am I here?
Where am I going?
Before I address theses, I will talk a little about the Jehovah's Witness' church.
The church was originally organized by Charles Taze Russell in 1879, not as a church or religion, but as a society or a community dedicated to going back to what the Holy Bible actually teaches and then worship God accordingly. This original organization, called Zion's Watch Tower Society, was not meant to be a church, and therefore claims no authority, but simply a sincere desire to seek God's truth.
From this humble beginning developed the Jehovah's Witness' church as it stands today, organized with "Elders" under the direction of a group of "Mature Christians". None of whom claim actual authority to act in God's name or on His behalf. They simply lead the church according to the Bible and to the best of their human knowledge and reasoning.
Using this organization, they worship God through prayer (Philippians 4:6), reading the scriptures (Holy Bible), meditation and pondering upon the word (Psalms 1:2), helping those in need (James 2:14-20), and lastly preaching the "good news of the kingdom" of God (Matthew 24:14). All of which I have adhered to growing up in the LDS church, and is not much different than how other Christian churches worship.
Not only do they adhere to basic Christian worship, but also the requirements of salvation. Faith having works (James 2:22) such as baptism (John 3:5), the symbol of ending one's old life of sin and beginning a new one in Christ, and a knowledge of the scriptures and the significance of what is being performed (Acts 8:35-36) is what is required for Jehovah Witness salvation, or at least beginning to walk the path, needing to continue to worship God throughout our lives.
Because they do not claim any authority, anyone baptized in the name of God the Father, The Son and the Holy Ghost with a knowledge of what they are doing would be "saved" by these requirements, which includes all faithful Latter-day Saints. Thus, I can continue in my life, in the church I currently belong to, and still fully qualify for the salvation they preach.
Yet, this does not answer the questions of the soul. To answer the three questions above we need to ask, who is God and what is He like? Jehovah's Witnesses, as their their name depicts, believe in Jehovah, the God of the Old Testament. As to His nature, they believe He is a spirit. Where does that place Jesus, as His Son, the Savior and Redeemer of the world and the King of God's Kingdom. However, unlike many Christian religions, including Mormonism, Jesus Christ and God (in this case Jehovah) are separate beings. Thus it is proper to say that Jehovah's Witnesses do not believe in the Trinity.
Now, this God, who is clearly benevolent wanting as many humans as will to be saved and worship Him, created the earth. Though, it was not necessarily created in 6 days, for the Old Testament portrays a planet before God started speaking His creation (Genesis 1:1-2).
As with the true understanding of the "soul" (Doctrine and Covenants 88:15) being the spirit and the body, God breathed into Adam the breath of life (Genesis 2:7). When humans were created, in the garden paradise, Satan, a fallen angel who rebelled against God, convinced them to join him and partake of the forbidden fruit, committing the first sin and plunging humanity into this terrible fallen world.
So, if our mortal life here is so terrible, what awaits after death? Oblivion. Psalms 146:4 "His breath goeth forth, he is returned to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish." When the spirit leaves the body, that is it, non-existence. Now, while serving my mission, I had an opportunity to talk to a Jehovah's Witness who explained that the word "hell" in the New Testament is translated from "shoel" and "hades" which they translate as the "common grave". Thus, they only live in the mind of God, that is, until the resurrection.
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With the resurrection, there will be those who go to heaven, a spiritual plane of existence. These are limited to 144,000 in God's kingdom (Revelations 7:4) who will be kings and rulers over those resurrected as part of the "great multitude" (Revelations 7:9) with immortal human bodies (1 Corinthians 15:40) on a perfect earth. Here, on earth, there will a utopia where people will live their lives worshiping God in righteousness.
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| An Ancient from Stargate Atlantis |
This reminds me surprisingly of the Stargate worlds, in how the Ancients aka energy beings which could be likened unto spirit beings are the superiors to beings with a body.
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| The Ori Adria taking human form from Stargate SG1 |
Particularly in the Ori galaxy where the Ori energy beings commanded that the physical being worship them continually, and that worship gave the Ori power.
Finally, to answer the questions:
Where did I come from? God created us from the dust using a blueprint (DNA) instilled with His spirit to create a soul (1 Corinthians 6:19). Thus we only enter existence when we are born and enter non-existence when we die.
Why am I here? I am here to worship God... that is it... either worship God or be erased forever when I die.
Where am I going? Oblivion first, then paradise where I will be in a utopia forever worshiping God, because the 144,000 chosen spirit beings have long since been selected. Never progressing, because God's great design was to see what flesh robot designs would obey and worship Him and which would not.
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| jw.org who goes to heaven? |
Though my "flesh robot" might be a little outrageous, it reflects my feelings on this matter. I do believe that if the Holy Bible was the full word of God and the only word of God, then Jehovah's Witnesses would be the true religion. Yet, it removes the possibility of revelation, of a living God that continues to speak. Thu, ultimately, portraying a God that always wants us to be under His heel.
Thus, these answers do not satisfy my soul, and there is little incentive to change for by their criteria, I would be saved anyway. Not to mention, according to Mormonism, the Utopian state of existence that the Jehovah's Witnesses aspire to, and if their doctrines are lived, qualify for would be the Terrestrial kingdom. Though the Terrestrial kingdom is part of God's kingdom, it is limited from progression, and therefore damned though not in misery.
Wherefore, I am left holding on to the Mormon beliefs which I have felt the Spirit of God testify to me are true. I do encourage everyone to seek truth for themselves by asking God. Who better to tell you pure truth than the Master of Truth, God Himself? If anyone can lead you to the true religion, He can!
Love,
Jacobugoth
Next: Catholicism
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