What do you have to say about Jehova's Witnesses?

Question

Good or bad please, own experiences or stories you've heard.

Thanks to everybody who answered so far. However, I didn't ask what would you say TO them, but ABOUT them, as in what do you know about them?
Thanmks again to everybody who replied

Answer 1

was a jw for 20 years while younger, left nearly 20 years ago, they belive what they preach and try their hardest to live to the bible, but its not for me, i have now become a firm beliver that god sees good in everyone that tries no matter what denomination, if of course there is a god in the first place.

Answer 2

I was a JW for over 20 years. This is what I know about them:

THE GOOD STUFF:
They are sincere, law-abiding, decent people.
They truly believe that they must try to convert others.
They uphold the Bible as God's inspired word.

THE WORRYING STUFF:
They think everything they are told by the Governing Body must be true.
They think their version of the Bible is accurate - and every other one is wrong.
They think they, and only they, are the true religion - and every other religion on the planet is false.
They think only 144,000 go to heaven (JW's, of course) and the rest of faithful, obedient JW's will live forever on a paradise earth.
They think it wrong to accept blood transfusions - they would let their children die rather than disobey this Society teaching.
They think Jesus second coming happened invisibly in 1914 and his visible third coming is imminent - they've been saying that since 1914 and have changed the dates so often I've lost track.
They think if you don't go knocking on doors trying to convert others, you won't survive Armageddon. Ditto if you don't adhere to everything the Society tells you.

THE DOWNRIGHT DANGEROUS STUFF:
They make sure your every need (social, emotional, spiritual) is met by the Society and denounce any relationships outside the organisation - including family who are not JWs.
They purport to study the Bible but in fact study their own literature - selected passages from the Bible are used to their advantage but often taken out of context or twisted to suit.
They constantly mis-quote respected authors and/or take their words out of context to give the false impression that others accept and uphold what they teach. I could give examples but there is neither the time nor the space to do so here.
If a baptised JW questions their teachings and is not satisfied with the answers they are given by the Society, and continue to question what they've been told, life will start to be made difficult for them.
If a baptised JW tries to denounce this organisation and expose it's false teachings, they will be disfellowshipped - that means they will be shunned by all JW's including their spouse, children and any JW relatives.
If JW's come knocking on your door trying to convert you, and they discover you used to be one and are now born-again, they will run a mile. Can't have anyone out there asking difficult questions and providing Biblical answers that disagree with them.

IN CONCLUSION:
It is my conviction (based on experience) that they have been deceived. Pray for them.

Answer 3

Isaiah 26 v 4 Trust ye in the Lord for ever:
For in the Lord JE-HO-VAH is everlasting strength: who have ears to hear let them hear.
Matthew 24 v 14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come. who have ears to hear let them hear.

Answer 4

The Witnesses I know are kind and loving people, with a stong faith in God and the Bible. They live decent lives, treat people with love and respect, and truly want to save everyone. I don't agree with all of their beliefs but I admire and respect them completely. I have many Witness friends who have always been there when I needed them.

Answer 5

Disfellowshipped JW
1982 Corning, CA Congregation
For cause, but not the ones some ex-JWs who want to put themselves on a pedestal, want you to believe, and know you will without question.

On the Tonight Show, Jane Fonda was guesting with Charlton Heston. She talked about how she only hired JWs as personal aids, such as cooks, gardeners, drivers, etc. because they can’t be bought off for information. To this, Heston asked her why she didn’t become one if she liked them so much? To this she said because she could not see herself living a life so dedicated to God and Christ as they did, and neither could he (Heston).

You could wait until next May when this program about Jehovah’s Witnesses is shown on PBS, or you can order a copy now. It was done by an independent film company.

http://www.knocking.org/
http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=54714EBF23EFA251

Setting aside any Bible issues, they believe in obeying the law, even the inconvenient ones, such as speed limits when late for work.

They believe in paying taxes, even though there are many ways they could avoid them, as many religions do.

They believe in keeping their word, such as to the IRS that they will not promote politics in the church, and they actually mean it.

They teach their youth that waiting until marriage is preferable to using protection, and for the most part, the youths actually believe it. As a result, they have the lowest rates of out-of-wedlock births and STDs. Yes, there is the occasional ones who would rather have their fun now than wait, but there are far more who choose to wait.

They treat their youth with respect, not just "do what you're told!"

Youths are taught side by side with the adults, the Bible as a whole, and not just Bible stories. The very young may not understand what they are being taught, but by the time you reach the age of understanding, they have a good basic knowledge of the scriptures.

The congregations never get so large that the individual gets lost in the crowd. Since everyone is taught the same, it is easy to start a new congregation, with a set of elders.

Everyone knows everyone, whether in their congregation, or in their circuit. When Katrina happened, every Jehovah’s Witnesses living in New Orleans could be found in Texas, with every individual accounted for. How many other religions could say for certain they knew that none of those left behind belong to one of their churches?

They believe their Kingdom Halls should compliment a neighborhood, and not overwhelm it, so they are small and don’t include a lot of expensive decorative features. Each KH can hold up to four congregations.

They encourage all their members to read the Bible and submit their thoughts. This was before the NWT and when they were using the KJV, or Authorized Version. It should be noted that this version of the KJV was not the first, but the fifth. It took four revisions over a 150 year period, before it was approved by the Church of England.

JW may have their own Bible, but it came about as a result of reading the KJV by thousands of people and noting the contradictions as a result of errors in translation. A good example is the scripture that says “The Word” is a Mighty God. A Mighty God gets its power and existence from an Almighty God. As for revisions, to my knowledge, it had not been revised since it came out in the 50s. My mother still has her first JW Bible, though it is worn like all the others she has used since them. Witnesses generally wear out a Bible every few years, whereas those in Christendom may have the same Bible for generations.

The greatest difference between JWs and the rest of Christendom can be answered with just one question.

WHAT DAY DO YOU OBSERVE THE MEMORIAL ON?

Everyone else will falter around and perhaps come up with a day in May, but all JWs will say at sunset on Niacin 14, which falls on the first full moon after the vernal equinox, the Memorial of the Last Supper. This is the only day, aside from wedding anniversaries, that Christ said to continue keeping, yet Jehovah's Witnesses are the only Christian organization that does.

Whatever you may say about whether it is right or wrong to observe the man-made holidays created since the first congregations, the fact remains that Christendom does not observe the one day Christ said to keep. What does that say for the leaders of Christendom, that they ignore that one important day of the year, and don't even know what day it falls on?

The question of holidays gets asked a lot, yet the facts of why are clearly evident. Even the Churches of Christendom recognize that the holidays and observances are not in keeping with Bible teachings, yet they fear that doing anything about it will jeopardize their positions and power. Check any religious encyclopedia about the holidays and their history.

So the question is not why don't witnesses celebrate the holidays, but why does Christendom celebrate something not taught in the Bible? Further, why don't they know what day Christ said to observe and why don't you observe it on that day?

Whatever you may think of any of the other beliefs of JWs, you have to ask yourself is the need to observe these holidays more important than observing the day Christ said to keep?

Answer 6

To take a slight liberty with the apostle Paul's heart-felt plea for his own people, the Jews, I would say, "Brothers, my heart's desire and prayer to God for the [JWs] is that they may be saved. For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge. Since they did not know the righteousness that comes from God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness. Christ is the end of the law so that there may be rightousness for everyone who believes... The righteousness that is by faith says, ...'The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,' that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: That if you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved."

They are so close, but a miss is as good as a mile.

Answer 7

Out of 44 answers, only two positive, and those from J.W's themselves.
Why such antagonism?
It can only be because they are doing the RIGHT thing.
Opposing Satan.
(John 15:18) If the world hates YOU, YOU know that it has hated me before it hated YOU.
J.W's expect to be hated.
And if you ask most people, they really do not know WHY they dislike the Witnesses so much.
They would give more time and consideration to the local family burglar or rapist.
But ask them if they worry about anything going missing from their property when the J.W's call, they would reply happily that it never happens...things going missing.
People KNOW about their [J.W's] honesty.
And the people seem not to take into consideration that the J.W's are simply following Jesus' example.

(Acts 20:20) while I did not hold back from telling YOU any of the things that were profitable nor from teaching YOU publicly and from house to house.

Answer 8

I used to work with a Jehovah's Witness and she was a lovely,kind and caring person. In fact all the ones I have met are well dressed, they mean well and are intelligent people. Good people I would say. If you are asking-'do they posess the full truth'- then no they don't. The Christian Catholic Church contains The Full Truth.
I have read many criticisms of Christian people on here. Hundreds of years ago the only people who could read were priests and vicars. They were the original people who did the educating here in Britain. Without our Christian roots we would still be ignorant pagans.

Answer 9

since i am a witness i have only good things to say about them. there are almost 7,000,000 baptized and active ones. our message of Jesus as our king is preached in over 300 languages around the world.we teach the same thing on every Sunday Tuesday and Thursday around the world.we call each other brother and sister and would give our life for them.we are the first on scene in tragedy such as hurricanes to help all people.we do not go to war and kill our fellow humans.we dont do things like abortions, homosexuals,fornication,adultery,stealing,lying,divorce,pagan holidays among other things. Jesus is our Savior that's why we preach to others because he said at Matt 28:19,20 to go make disciples baptize them in gods name Jehovah sons name Jesus and the holy spirit. our current book is called the greatest man that ever lived is all about Jesus life. you should get a copy and read it.

Answer 10

Really annoying.

Well at least they were till they decided to show up when I was on my way to the range. I just happened to have a 9mm in my hand. I guess they didn't think it was a particularly good idea to come back after I told them I would take full advantage of the Texas property rights laws if I saw them again.