Jehovah's Witnesses fund their activities, such as publishing, constructing and operating facilities, evangelism, and disaster relief via donations.
The Jehovah's Witnesses are an outgrowth of the International Bible Students Association, which was founded in 1872 in Pittsburgh by Charles Taze Russell.
Congregations are governed by local elders, who are assisted by ministerial servants. Elders and ministerial servants are appointed in each congregation for handling various religious and administrative duties. Only male members may serve in the capacity of elder or ministerial servant.
Religious beliefs and practices
For instance, they teach that Jesus is the son of God but is not part of a Trinity. By traditional measures of religious commitment, Jehovah's Witnesses are one of the most highly religious major U.S. religious groups.
— Jehovah's Witnesses do not call their place of worship a church, but “Kingdom Hall.” This is because they believe the Bible refers to worshippers -- not the building -- as the church.
The beliefs of Jehovah's Witnesses are based on the Bible teachings of Charles Taze Russell-founder of the Bible Student movement-and successive presidents of the Watch Tower Society. Jehovah's Witnesses hold meetings for worship twice each week.
Both Jehovah's Witnesses and Mormons identify as Christians, although their non-Trinitarian doctrine — both deny that Jesus Christ shares a single fundamental divine essence with God the Father and the Holy Spirit — has often brought them into conflict with mainline Christian tradition.
Each congregation is cared for by a group of scripturally qualified individuals known as the body of elders. The majority of elders are family men and maintain secular employment to support their families. Jehovah's Witnesses do not have a salaried clergy nor any employees.
Beliefs & Teachings about Death
Jehovah's Witnesses believe that when a person dies, their existence completely stops.
The New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures (NWT) is a translation of the Bible published by the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society; it is used and distributed by Jehovah's Witnesses.
Jehovah's Witnesses fund their activities, such as publishing, constructing and operating facilities, evangelism, and disaster relief via donations.
Jehovah's Witnesses demand high standards of morality within their ranks. Their view of sexual behavior reflects conservative Christian views. Abortion is considered murder. Homosexuality, premarital sex, and extramarital sex are considered "serious sins".
Jesus Christ
Jehovah's Witnesses believe that the Archangel Michael, "the Word" of John 1:1, and wisdom personified in Proverbs 8 refer to Jesus in his pre-human existence and that he resumed these identities after his ascension to heaven following his death and resurrection.
Marc John Jefferies, who you'll recognize from films like “Losing Isaiah,” “Get Rich or Die Tryin'” and “Notorious,” was raised in the Jehova's Witness faith as a child. Like sister Serena, Venus was also raised in the Jehovah's Witness faith by their parents.
Prince became a Jehovah's Witness in 2001, and was remarkably clean-living.
An estimated 70,000 Jehovah's Witnesses are disfellowshipped every year — roughly 1% of the church's total population, according to data published by the Watchtower.
Members who choose to leave the religion due to moral or doctrinal objections are shunned by the community. Members who sin in the eyes of their congregation are shunned as well (Pietkiewicz, 2014).
Cremation is acceptable to Jehovah's Witnesses because of the belief that Jehovah has the ability to restore anyone whether they were cremated or buried. The Bible does not state what should be done with the body after death.
There are typically two routes of leaving the JW: (1) disfellowship (forced exit), the result of contravening religious rules, and (2) leaving the group voluntarily (known as disassociation or fading).
Monogamy between one man and one woman and sex only within marriage are requirements in the Witness religion. But Witnesses do permit divorce in certain cases, believing that the only valid ground for divorce and remarriage is adultery. Divorce is not allowed except in extremely limited circumstances.
Jehovah's Witnesses love life and do whatever is reasonable in order to prolong it. Hence, they seek quality health care and accept the vast majority of medical treatments. However, for Bible-based religious reasons, Jehovah's Witnesses do not accept allogeneic blood transfusion.
Jehovah's Witnesses – According to the Watch Tower Society, the legal corporation for the religion, Jehovah's Witnesses do not encourage organ donation but believe it is a matter best left to an individual's conscience. All organs and tissues, however, must be completely drained of blood before transplantation.
A: While the Seventh-day Adventist and Jehovah's Witness faiths both give special emphasis to the Second Coming of Christ, they are different denominations with separate histories and discrete practices. Seventh-day Adventists arose from the Adventist or "Millerite movement after the Great Disappointment of 1844.
Jehovah (/dʒɪˈhoʊvə/) is a Latinization of the Hebrew יְהֹוָה Yəhōwā, one vocalization of the Tetragrammaton יהוה (YHWH), the proper name of the God of Israel in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament. The Tetragrammaton יהוה is considered one of the seven names of God in Judaism and a form of God's name in Christianity.
"The reason why we did that is the reason we go from door to door: We consider life sacred," Hendriks said. "By giving people a powerful message and by loving our neighbors, these two principles drive our ministry. We had to put principle ahead of personal preference."