why are Jehovah witnesses always try to convert people. why are you one (if you are)?

Question

it is so strict does not seem fun at all. and isnt there a rule that like only 150 peole will go to heaven

tp rachel is 144,00 cheson people are going to heaven doenst that mean that they are already up there. i am sure that there was 144,000 hundred Johovah witeness year ago who were already chosen. so whats the point for trying

Answer 1

Because they are intolerant of other peoples beliefs. They think they are the only truth and anyone not worshipping them is the devil. They believe so many will go to heaven to rule with God and the rest live on earth.

It is VERY strict. You would have more freedom going to jail.

Become a Jehovah's Witness and you can't...

Celebrate Mother's Day,Father's Day, Grandparent's Day
Birthdays Thanksgiving New Year's Eve or Day Christmas Halloween Easter Flag Day Independence Day (Fourth of July) Hanukkah St. Patrick's Day Valentine's Day
"Any" Holiday Sing any Holiday Songs Eat Turkey on Thanksgiving Create Holiday artwork in school

Join the Boy ScoutsJoin the Girl Scouts Buy Girl Scout Cookies Become a Cheerleader Attend class reunions (No "Worldly" association) Go to the school prom
Play School Sports (No competition allowed) Play
Professional Sports

Join any organization that has ties to Christianity
Shop at the Salvation Army Volunteer for the Salvation Army
Donate to Relief Organizations like the Red Cross, Salvation Army, Charities and more Shop at Church run thrift stores
Shop at Church Garage Sales Shop at any Store that has Christian ties Contribute to the Red Cross Attend a Church School

Join the YMCA Join the MilitaryBecome a Police Officer
Attend Alcoholics Anonymous Have any job with a gun
Strike against a Company Salute the Flag
Can't Stand at Public Events while others are Standing to salute the Flag Sing the National Anthem Go to War
Wear Clothing Associated with War; e.g. Combats or Army Tops Learn karate Vote (Conscience matter now to please Governments, you will be ostracized if you do)
Run for any Public Office Campaign for a Candidate
Contribute to the Presidential Campaign Fund on your tax return Can join union, but not participate in its affairs
Run for class president Join Sororities or Fraternities
Participate in holiday parties at school

Buy lottery tickets Gamble Play Bingo Can't buy a raffle ticket Date without supervision - young or old Watch R rated movies Cannot work on another Church if it's a regular customer Own a religious picture or statue Smoke cigarettes, pipes or a cigars Sell cigarettes, pipes or a cigars Accept Blood Donate Blood Store your own blood before an operation

Wear blue jeans or casual clothes to the Kingdom Hall
Wear pants to the Kingdom Hall if you are a female
Wear skirts or dresses that are above the knee at any time
Wear any type of long hair if you are a man
Wear a beard in some Kingdom Halls and areas (judged hard) Pierce ears if male, other body parts if female
Have any tattoos Say curse words Can't be hypnotized

Get divorced unless scriptural (adultery or fornication is committed by one partner) if you do divorce cannot remarry unless ex fornicates first Toast drinks (pagan origin)
Throw rice at a wedding (pagan origin) Say "Bless You" when someone sneezes Say "Good Luck!", "Wish me Luck", "I was Lucky" or "You were Lucky"
Tell ghost stories Practice Yoga Own a Smurf Eat Lucky Charms Cereal (References to Magical)
Throw a penny into a wishing well Read Horoscopes Promote anything Superstitious
Have wind charms because they represent a pagan symbol for scaring away demons
Watch TV shows, "Sabrina, the Teenage Witch", "Touched by an Angel", or "Bewitched"
Say "It was fate" or mention anything to do with "fate" Engage in any risky acts such as: Sky Diving, Bungie Jumping & Hang Gliding
Have Jesus as your Mediator and Savior Can't partake in the Memorial of Jesus' death, by eating the unleavened bread or drinking the wine; only allowed if you are from the elite group of the 144,000
A woman can't hold a position of responsibility in the congregation

Wear or own a Cross Attend another Church (Spiritual Fornication) Associate on a regular basis with nonbelievers Associate with ex-members Associate with disfellowshipped ones Talk with disfellowshipped ones
Sue another Jehovah's Witness Marry a nonbeliever (If you do, you are judged hard by the congregation)
Marry in another Church or attend a wedding in another Church Have a funeral in another Church or attend a funeral in another Church
Pray, including holding your head down, when a nonbeliever prays Study other religious articles not from the Society
Read negative information about the Society Question the Watchtower Society on anything
Exercise your on conscience if it goes against the religion Question the Society or the Organization Have Christian freedom

If you are a woman you can't pray aloud in the presence of men, without a covering on your head
If you are sick and need alternative medical help you can't get illegal medicines from another country

Become a Jehovah's Witness and you shouldn't....
.... if you do you will be looked down upon
Discuss politics Surf too much on the Internet Attend social functions organized by your place of work
Associate with worldly neighbors Attend College (The Society has lightened up on this somewhat, but if you attend you are not putting Kingdom interests first, and will be judged.)
Play Chess Go to Nightclubs Own a Gun Read philosophy, sociology, psychology; these are discouraged as non spiritual food
JWs are discouraged from seeking psychological help from psychiatrists, psycho-therapists, and psychologists because they give "worldly" advice according to the WTBTS.

Become a Jehovah's Witness and you have to....

Must be baptized into the organizationAttend several regular meetings each week Go out in field service regularly to recruit new members Report your field service activity to the congregation each month
Attend regular scheduled conventions Give talks at the congregation (whether young or old, male or female)
Read and fully understand their teachings Prepare for each meeting
Participate in the meetings


Study with family
Use Theocratic Warfare (War Strategy) - To lie or to hide the truth to a non-JW for protection of the Organization
Fully accept the Watchtower's authority and rules (no exceptions)
Dress according to their rules at the Kingdom Halls, Service and conventions (no exceptions)

Women and small girls must wear dresses
Men must wear dress pants with dress shirts and ties

Associate only with fellow members
Report on fellow members including your family, if they are caught doing something against Society's rules
You have to sing at the meetings (even if you have a bad voice) - or you are looked down upon
Women must be in full submission to their husbands

Edit- if you need a blood transfusion there is no alternative. That's why courts now step in when JW are willing to let their babies die from not being given blood. JWs are the only ones that read that part in the bible to mean no blood transfusions. A bit strange isn't it?

Answer 2

We are not trying to convert people, but are following Jesus command at Matt. 24:14 "The good news of the kingdom will be preached to all the inhabited earth, for a witness to all nations and then the end will come."

The 144,000 have been chosen since Penecost 33 C.E.. So they are not all modern day Jehovah's Witnesses that have died. The bible shows that those with the heavenly hope are going to rule as kings and priest over the earth with Christ. Rev. 20:6, Rev. 5: 9 & 10. If they are going to rule over the earth, there needs to be earthly subjects. These are the "great crowd" of "meek", "righteous" and "mild tempered" ones who will inherit the earth and reside for ever upon. 99% of Jehovah's Witnesses hope to be among those who inherit the earth and live forever upon it. Ps 37: 11 & 29; Matt. 5:5; Rev. 7: 1-17

As far as fun. I guess it depends on what you consider fun.
Jehovah's Witnesses enjoy all things that are not scripturally wrong. They enjoy vacations to far away places, they enjoy parks, swimming, boating, sking, theme parks, playing instruments, going to movies, going out to dinner, having get togethers, BBQ's, concerts, cruises etc....

Answer 3

Convertion belongs to God. JW's are simply message bearers. Some times people will listen and want to learn and other times they may not.

There is "one" salvation, but two different destiny's- a heavenly hope of 144,00 Revelations: 14:1, and an earthly hope for a great crowd of many many people of different races, tribes and tongues, Rev. 14: 6,7 ; Revelations 21:1-3, and 2 Peter 3:13.

Answer 4

First of all, we are out there giving you an important message from the Bible. Not trying to convert you. We want people to know what the Bible REALLY teaches, not the lies that are told by everyone else.
Second - yes, we do believe that only 144,000 are going to heaven to be co-rulers with Christ. Christ and these 144,000 will have a job to do while they are in heaven, because they will be overseeing the righteous ones left on the earth. Not all the 144,000 have gone to heaven yet, there is a small amount of them left on the earth yet. And not all of them were Jehovah's Witnesses either.

And as far as being strick and not having fun, that is not the case either. It's just that we have fun doing wholesome things and not debasing things. We like to do things like fishing, skating, bowling, riding horses, we like music (as long as it's not debasing music), we like movies (as long as they do not contain violence, sex and language), and we like to play sports, although not in competitions. We do have higher standards than others, that's what sets us apart from the rest of the world. Did not Christ say that his followers would be no part of the world?

And we look forward to a time when the world will be different, it will be the world that God intended it to be, a paradise. Then we will have a good time, a lot of fun! Think of all the things you would like to do, but you don't have time for now, you would have time for all those things in that new world. I look forward to that time and hope that I will be there.

And to answer an earlier comment - we do seek out the very best doctor care for anyone in our families that are sick or are in need of a doctor. The only thing that makes us different is that we will not under any circumstances take a blood transfusion. There are many people out there that even though they are not Jehovah's Witnesses will not take blood.

To the above poster who said - "Wear blue jeans or casual clothes to the Kingdom Hall
Wear pants to the Kingdom Hall if you are a female
Wear skirts or dresses that are above the knee at any time
Wear any type of long hair if you are a man
Wear a beard in some Kingdom Halls and areas (judged hard) Pierce ears if male, other body parts if female
Have any tattoos Say curse words Can't be hypnotized "

All these things, are things that bring shame to ones who are wanting to serve their God, Jehovah. The Bible tells us - Micah 6:8 - "He has told you, O earthling man, what is good. And what is Jehovah asking back from you but to exercise justice and to love kindness and to be modest in walking with your God?"
Proverbs 11:2 - "Has presumptuousness come? Then dishonor will come; but wisdom is with the modest ones."
So we are to be modest.
Leviticus 19:28 - " “‘And YOU must not make cuts in YOUR flesh for a deceased soul, and YOU must not put tattoo marking upon yourselves. I am Jehovah." So no tatoos and unusual piercings. Sisters do have their ears pierced, I do.

Not wearing pants and jeans to the meetings is just showing proper respect for Jehovah's house of worship.
Not being hypnotised is staying clear of anything that can leave our minds open for Satan. Satan employs such devices as fortune-telling, astrology, hypnotism, witchcraft, palmistry, and magic to attract and entrap people around the world.—Leviticus 19:31; Psalm 119:110

I am one of Jehovah's Witnesses. If you would like more information or want a Free Home Bible Study go to www.Watchtower.org

Answer 5

we're not trying to convert people. we just want to bring good news and share information from the Bible with people. Also, we aren't required to do anything, it is all out of our own free will. It's not a rule, but there are 144,000 anointed chosen ones going to heaven. I hope this helps. If not, email me.

Stephanie, I am not personally trying to get into heaven, and the point of serving God is not to try to get into heaven, but to live here on Earth forever in a perfect paradise. hope this helps. oh and these 144,000 have been chosen throughtout time from the apostles.

Answer 6

A common misconception is that Jehovah's Witnesses go from door-to-door because they feel it is their duty to "recruit" a householder, or get him to "convert". In fact, Jehovah's Witnesses would go from door-to-door even if there were no hope that anyone would change their religion, or even if no one would listen to them!

That is because Jesus Christ specifically assigned the house-to-house ministry to the Christian congregation, with no regard for specific results.

(Luke 10:1,2) After these things the Lord designated seventy others and sent them forth by twos in advance of him into every city and place to which he himself was going to come. 2 Then he began to say to them: “The harvest, indeed, is great, but the workers are few. Therefore beg the Master of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest.

Jehovah's Witnesses are trained to direct attention to the bible, and move on when their message is unwanted. Since each congregation in the United States tries to call at every home in its territory at least twice each year, there is strong motivation for them to move on where little interest is shown. Also, the Scriptures help the Witnesses to expect little interest from most:

(2 Timothy 4:3-5) For there will be a period of time when they will not put up with the healthful teaching ...and they will turn their ears away from the truth, whereas they will be turned aside to false stories. You, though, keep your senses in all things, suffer evil, do the work of an evangelizer, fully accomplish your ministry.

Learn more:
http://watchtower.org/e/jt/
http://jw-media.org/people/ministry.htm

Answer 7

I am a Christian, one of Jehovah's Witnesses.

We go out sharing Bible teachings, because, among other things, Jesus told ALL Christians to do so.

I am one because, among other reasons, I believe it to be the correct religion, at least for me.

I have allot of fun. Doesn't seem strict to me. Could you elaborate?

We do believe that 144,000 will be/are in heaven with Christ. However the original plan Jehovah had was for Humans to live on the Earth forever, and that is what we see as the main reward for those who wish to follow Jehovah.

Mystery's list is funny. It is FAR from accurate. *says the often active member of GameKnot chessclub, who owns a gun, and whose mother went to her Prom*

Answer 8

Do you have to work for the United States Government to live in America?

Definitely not. The same applies to God's government when it replaces the human government. Only a small number of the population will work in God's kingdom while the rest of humanity fulfill god's original purpose for the Earth.

Gen 1:28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it

Answer 9

From examining the Scriptures, JW's have come to understand that 144,000 people go to heaven when they die and that the rest of humankind look forward to being resurrected to life on a perfected Earth. The majority of all Witnesses alive today look forward to living on that paradise earth- so it's not like they think only Witnesses go to heaven or something.

As for converting people- we don't try to convert people but to find those who are searching for answers from the Bible... people who aren't satisfied with the answers they've gotten from their own church or belief system. And we do so because Jesus himself commanded all of his followers to go forth and make disciples and baptize them.

As for fun- Witnesses have plenty of fun lol. We give gifts whenever we want. We don't have to have a holiday to give gifts. And we have get-togethers (parties) regularly too.

**Edit... just read the comment that we let our family die instead of getting them medicine. That is NOT true. We go to the doctor when we're sick and we take medicine and even go to therapy if needed. The ONLY thing we don't do is accept blood. There are MANY alternatives available now-a-days and many other people choose not to accept blood too (not just JW's) because of all the dangers that come with it. JW's abstain from blood because of the Bible command to do so at Acts 15:28, 29

**Edit
My gracious, the person two posts below me has some seriously out-dated, exaggerated, misheard or out-right untrue information. (no offense on not giving a name, I just don't remember what the name was).

One of my elders buys girlscout cookies. His conscience allows him to do so, so okay. Doesn't mean I will though. My conscience doesn't allow me to but I don't think any less of the man.
My bestfriend goes to the salvation army and donates clothing there. Again, I do not and that's okay.
I own a few smurf stuffed animals. I watched it as a kid and liked the show. I wont watch it now- too much magic in it now that I'm old enough to know what it was about. But I'm not getting rid of my stuffed animals lol.
We are DISCOURAGED from watching R-rated movies because we're supposed to guard our association-- which in a way includes our entertainment. The Bible says we're supposed to be modest and hate badness...
But it's a conscience matter. I watch R-rated movies. I LOVE zombie movies (so long as the foul language and gore is a minimum) but I steer clear of ghost stories.
*shrug* There's many other things, but I'll stop there.

Except... we can't have JESUS as our mediator?! Are you insane? Jesus is our ONLY mediator...
Oh, and Chess? Oi! We're not supposed to have a competetive, worldly spirit... but we most certainly can and DO play chess and risk, monopoly.....
Okay...now I really am done for now lol.
Well, maybe one more.... my hubby has a fort knox safe in his basement filled with guns. He's collected them all his life and he most certainly IS a WItness.

Answer 10

Love for God

Obedience to God

Love of neighbor.

I didn't know what real fun, joy, and happiness was, until I became a Witness.

Not waking up with a hangover.
Not waking up with a stranger.
Not fighting with my family over any excuse.

Going to a party and everyone being shown love.
Being the last to leave the meetings because of the joy of being with people who love you no matter who you are.

Looking forward to living on a paradise earth for ever, with no crime, old age, and death.

Paul called it the real life, What we live today is a poor imitation.

.

Answer 11

Basically, they try to "convert" people because they believe it would be best for them to convert - because it would get them an eternity with God.

Remember, anytime you're trying to win someone over to believe something (whether it be a religious belief, a political belief, a parenting skill, etc) the person trying to win you over is usually doing it because they think it is what is best.

A few other points:

There is no rule that only 150 people will go into Heaven. We're talking about getting into Heaven, not applying to college where only a certain number of students will fit. Jesus said in the Bible that the "path to Heaven is narrow and few will find it", but there is no arbitrary number or cap.

Secondly, it is true that Jehova's Witnesses live a very strict and indoctrinated life, many of us in Christianity refer to this as "legalistic." Christians should have joy and fun in their life, but at the end of the day the purpose of having a relationship with God isn't about your own personal amusement. There are fun times, there are hard times, there are challenges, there are blessings, but the purpose is to find that narrow path and be saved through the blood of Christ.