As you may know, the Jehovah’s Witnesses don’t believe in Christmas. A JW co-worker and I once had a very pleasant discussion about how Christ was almost certainly not born in December. I believe he claimed the evidence indicates Christ was born in October, while I said it may have been in April.
So, this morning I got a visit from our local Jehovah’s Witnesses (I live right next door to a Kingdom Hall). It was 15 degrees out, so they were not doing the usual tracting. One guy came to the door and rang the doorbell and handed me a pamphlet. I did not catch all of his pitch, but he said something to the effect of “did you know that the world is ending, and we have a message for you?”
The “we” was him and three other people in a Ford Taurus idling in my driveway (remember, 15 degrees out). Anyway, I have spent many hours talking to Witnesses, so it is unlikely there is anything new I could learn from him. So I uttered the words that are certain to send any Witness scurrying away, which is, “I am Mormon.”
But as he ran away (and I mean RAN), I said, “good luck, and Merry Christmas!” It was not until he was already in the car peeling out in my driveway when it occurred to me it wasn’t nice of me to wish him a “Merry Christmas.” It was not intentional – I have been wishing everybody Merry Christmas for the last week, so it just kind of popped out.
But the truth also is that I do wish him luck. I don’t agree with many things the Witnesses teach, but I think there is much good in the religion. I have known several Witnesses very well, and they are good, honest people who teach peace, integrity and chastity until marriage. They are family-oriented and do an excellent job of keeping their Kingdom Hall next door nice and clean (families show up once a week to clean up inside and out — just like we do at our chapels).
So, on this Christmas Eve I am filled with good will for everybody, including the Jehovah’s Witnesses coming to my door. Bless us all, every one!
Amen!
(I have the same sort of nagging question when I wish my coworkers well this time of year; some are Jews, some are Buddhist, most are atheist or agnostic.)
It’s funny you mention the missionary’s associates sitting in the Ford Taurus. A few years ago, I met with the Jehovah’s Witnesses once a week for about eight weeks. We’d talk for about 1-2 hours. At the end of our last meeting Katy (who I’m guessing was the equivalent to the senior companion) wanted to give me a book, but she had left it in the car. I told her that I would walk them out to their car and get the book as they departed.
When we got to the car (a mid-sized SUV), I noted that there were three people sitting in the back row of seats. Kathy explained that they always travel in groups and that there were people waiting the the car each week that we met. I felt so bad—it was the middle of a hot summer, the sun was blazing, and the three sat cramped in the back seat with the windows down. I guess that’s how things went down each week we met. I admire their dedication, but/and next time I meet with JW missionaries, I’m going to make sure to invite them all in.
I make sure to tell my friends who are Jewish happy holidays. I would do the same with Muslims or JW’s, but I’d hope they don’t really get offended. I mean, if I’m in Israel and someone says Shalom for passover, should I get offended just because I’m not jewish?
I hope all Mormons are polite and respectful to JW’s as they are tracting. That’s how our missionaries often work.
Nice sentiments, Geoff. Having done my own two years of door-to-door proselyting, I have some empathy for the Witnesses, and am impressed that they have so much commitment.
Two nits to pick:
1) Technically, Jehovah’s Witnesses do believe in Christmas (i.e., they believe that it exists), but they don’t celebrate it.
2) D&C 20:1 does not say that Jesus was born in April, although that is a common (mis-) interpretation among the Saints.
Merry Christmas!
Mike, note the word “probably.”
I basically agree with the Encyclopedia of Mormonism on this issue:
http://eom.byu.edu/index.php/April_6
I’m puzzled that the Encyclopedia doesn’t refer to the account in III Nephi–where the crucifixion is fixed as occurring in “the thirty and fourth year, in the first month, on the fourth day of the month.” Since passover is in the spring, doesn’t this indicate that Jesus was born in the springtime?
Fear not, no JW is going to be offended at being wished a merry Christmas. They recognize it as the well-intentioned greeting that is almost always is. I usually say “thank you,” when someone lays it upon me.
@Mark B. That depends on whether the Nephites kept the same calendar as the Hebrews, and also which calendar they kept. There are both civil and religious Hebrew calendars with month offset by ~7. Thus even if the Nephites kept the same calendars, when one reads “first month” it is not clear whether this was April-March (religious) or Sept-October (civil).
Still, it’s something the Encyclopedia of Mormonism should have mentioned.
We had a convert family on my mission from the Jehovah Witnesses and they were great. They had a hard time with none of their old friends talking with them anymore (but that may have been just a local issue rather than a global practice). I also met the local leader of the congregation and he was an extremely spiritual man. It is one of the few times I have ever felt just plain goodness just emanating off someone.
“Roses are red, Violets are bluish, If it wasn’t for Jesus, We’d all be Jewish” – Anonymous
The LDS Church does not have a monopoly on all truth, nor the Spirit. As Pres. Hinckley indicated, all people should live their religion to its fullest, and then come to us and see if we can add anything thereto. It took me years to get a grasp on that concept, even after several encounters with other faiths, including Jehovah’s Witnesses.
I have felt the presence of the Spirit many times while attending services of other faiths and talking to those outside of the LDS Church. This doesn’t mean that the Church isn’t true. On the contrary, it confirms that God is no respecter of persons and will freely give light and knowledge to all who seek after him with real intent.
Jeremy, excellent point and well said.
I have had somewhat similar experiences. On my mission in Indiana I attended a large congregation in Blufton. I felt the Spirit as strongly during the sermon on that occasion as ever before and sensed the peace, love and righteousness of the presenter in his experience of his religion. I knew the LDS Church story and history were true but in light of what I was witnessing and experiencing in another church I wondered, “Does it really matter?”
In response to that question, the Spirit bore witness to me several times in pretty quick succession, “You have something to offer that man.”
I didn’t need to be told with the burning that accompanied the other phrase but I knew that what I had to offer him was the blessings of eternal marriage, available only through The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Yes, a lot of others have the richness of the Spirit to a remarkable degree but only we have the keys of the kingdom of heaven restored to us that were once committed to the ancient apostle Peter.
That’s why I’m in The Church and it’s why it is “The” Church – it’s “The” Church that has the keys of eternal marriage, the keys of exaltation.
Nathan@Geoff B.