The party line for Jehovah’s Witnesses as I knew them was pretty much equivalent to the harshest McKonkie-esque expressions. Recent LDS rhetoric has been much more ecumenical, but our Mormon past has been clearly marked by a belief that our church is God’s only official and authorized church on the Earth. I wanted to come over to their house to play on their skate ramp, and they told me their mom would not permit it unless I began the equivalent of “taking the discussions” with them. I initially met my friends at school because of our shared interest in punk rock, illustration, and skateboarding. This problem exists for Jehovah’s Witnesses, too. To me this term represents behavior like parents not allowing their kids to play with non-Mormons, or the kids choosing to be exclusive on their own. On the ugly side, we have a term for our own religious, separatist elitism. They really did glory in scriptures describing how the wicked would be burned as stubble during Armageddon. They would tell me about dreams they would have wherein they would be riding horses alongside the horsemen of the apocalypse slashing down the wicked, including the jerks from school. The Second Coming represented a turning of the tables, at least to my friends. Constantly mocked by the cool crowd, chronically outcast from even the outcasts. With the Jehovah’s Witness friends I had, it was an obsession. I’ve heard many conversations speculating on when the Second Coming might occur. Blood transfusions are equated to consuming blood, which is prohibited in the Bible.įor the average mainstream Mormon, the millennium is not really a major focus on their mind, but it is still considered an event or stage that is extremely important and most likely coming soon. For JW’s, if its not approved in the Bible its a no go. Also, most holidays originate from rituals and religions very different from the people who observe them today. Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that holidays essentially consist of giving praise or glory to someone or something other than God, which is unacceptable. Likewise, the peculiarity of Jehovah’s Witnesses is expressed to the familiar in their rejection of holidays and customs and refusing blood transfusions. If Mormons are defined to the unfamiliar by the missionaries, we are most likely defined to the familiar by the commitment to “clean living” as punctuated by abstinence from alcohol, tobacco, and caffeine. You are called to step out of your fears of alienating yourself socially and proselyte to your own community and friends. Being a faithful and active Jehovah’s Witness is similar to being Mormon, in that there is an implied call to missionary work. Some people think they are from the same church. Most people who know nothing about either group can identify with an image of either the guys in suits on bikes, or the families knocking doors on Saturday mornings with a handful of Watchtower magazines. This is probably the most clear parallel. With my background in having studied with them, I thought it might be fun to examine the “peculiar” similarities between Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses. Like Mormons, the faithful really do stick out in a crowd. Its not a common topic of conversation, but when the subject turns to Jehovah’s Witnesses, and in almost any setting, you are bound to hear jokes. I can’t tell you how often I hear underhanded remarks about other religious groups. For a religious community that is often misunderstood and sometimes maligned or mocked, we don’t learn much from our experience.
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