Term Paper REL 351

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Brigham Young University *

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Religion

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Jan 9, 2024

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Kyle Gilmour REL 351 Alonzo L. Gaskill March 30 , 20 23 Worship Service Visit: Jehovah ’s Witnesses I was born into an LDS family and raised in the city of Aberdeen, up in the north-east of Scotland. I grew up in a community where my family and I were the only members of our church. I was the only pupil in my school who was a Mormon, and had much of an identity crisis growing up as I slowly turned from ashamed Christian to proud Christian. From a very young age I’ve had a strong testimony of the truthfulness of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and because of this I had, in my younger years, never felt the need to question or explore the possibility of other religions. But since the beginning of my voluntary mission for my church, something within me has sparked a profound interest in all faiths. My relationship with God is mine, but the reality of others’ relationships with the same Deity - or perhaps a very different Deity - is a reality I am absolutely fascinated with, and I thoroughly enjoy hearing the convictions of religious devotees who do not belong to my faith . Pre-Visit Expectations : When I was about 10 years old, two young women knocked on our front door. They explained they were Jehovah ’s Witnesses, and began to ask my father questions about his faith and beliefs. Upon finding out we were practicing Mormon’s, they became very agitated and started to tell my mother that her religion was based on false prophets and fabricated scripture. After a lengthy conversation, I remember my mother mentioning she would take their Watchtower publication if they would take our Ensign magazine. Ultimately, the sisters declined 1

the trade and left rather frustrated. This simple interaction at my front door 13 years ago was the first encounter I have had with the Jehovah’s Witness religion - I met a good friend at high school who was also a member. On my mission, too, did I have similar contentious experiences with the religion, but I remember them to be of formidable intentions. They were persistent, pointed, and at times quite unapologetic. I expect that when I attend the worship service, I will be more or less targeted by the members, and they will be very interested in teaching me. I expect that the service will look pretty similar to what I am used to, but I believe the people in the congregation will look or be dressed different than those of the Mormon religion. I assume that we will read frequently from the Bible and study a lot about Jehovah. Going to unknown places and doing unfamiliar things is not an area of anxiety for me, and so I am enthusiastic to experience a worship service at a Kingdom Hall . After the Visit Comparing the Experience to Pre-conceptions : As I arrived at the Kingdom Hall, I was promptly greeted by many members who all asked my name and where I was from. I politely told them I was visiting and was there to observe and participate. Admittedly, to my surprise, I immediately felt welcome and at ease. A member gave me a Watchtower pamphlet and a visitors’ Bible to use for the service. As I made my way to a seat, I was stopped and greeted by many members who embraced me and expressed how happy they were that I decided to attend. The service consisted of two main parts, the first was a special worldwide broadcast, and the second was the Watchtower study. The talk given was about truly coming to know who Jesus Christ is, and most of the content was reminiscent of with what I believed . I was not surprised to see that Christ is still viewed as a humble, charitable 2

and approachable leader of the righteous to the Witnesses. The speaker addressed the attributes of Christ and the importance of recognizing his office as the Messiah. The whole talk felt very similar to a sacrament meeting address, including the principles being spoken about. The second portion was based on congregation participation. They had an Elder leading the Watchtower study who would read from the pamphlet and then ask questions to which the members would respond. This part of the service felt very similar to a Sunday School lesson . As I expected, we read from the Bible frequently throughout the meeting, mostly referencing the four gospels and verses concerning Jesus Christ. The congregation was extremely inviting. As mentioned before, I expected to feel like a target - a person they were just interested in teaching and converting - but instead, I felt welcomed as a visitor and saw that the members were eager to answer my questions and assert me in a respectful way. The only profound difference I observed in the appearance of the congregation was the modesty of the clothes. In the LDS religion, I am used to seeing church clothes that cover garments. Obviously, the Jehovah’s Witness members do not wear garments and thus wear more revealing clothes. Even though this was something I noticed, I also recognized that none of the clothing was distracting or blatantly immodest . Most Striking or Impressive About the Experience : I was most impressed by the welcoming and kind nature of all of the members. Previous to my visit, I had only experienced the confrontation on my front door step wherein the sisters seemed intent on proving my mother wrong. I was delighted to have an experience so different from experiences I’ve had before with the more assertive, pointed members - I couldn’t have 3

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