Rex
Founder
Jehovah's Witnesses (JW) are members of a worldwide Christian religion who actively share with others their beliefs about God. Some of their core beliefs and practices include:
Origins
Jehovah's Witnesses believe that some time after the death of the last apostle the Church generally departed in a "Great Apostasy" from the original faith in major points. They believe that a few true Christians have always been on earth since the first century, but full understanding of the scriptures did not begin to be rediscovered until Charles Taze Russell and his friends started a bible study in the 1870's in Allegheny, Pennsylvania. Born a Presbyterian, Russell had gained an appreciation for the importance of Bible study from his earlier involvement with the Millerites and related groups. They formed the Watch Tower Society in 1881, and in 1884 it was incorporated with Russell as president.
In 1914 they founded the International Bible Students Association in the United Kingdom. Russell died in 1916, and in 1931, with Joseph Franklin Rutherford as president of the society, they adopted the name "Jehovah's Witnesses," based on Isaiah 43:10 which reads, "'You are my witnesses,' is the utterance of Jehovah..." (New World Translation) ("Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD..." - Authorized Version). Their name is one of the more obvious aspects differentiating them from other Christian denominations.
Membership
Main article: Organizational structure of Jehovah's Witnesses
The group's members are noted for their diverse but close-knit brotherhood, and their markedly different teachings and practice. As of August 2004, Jehovah's Witnesses have a practicing membership worldwide of more than 6.5 million individuals. According to data reported in the Annual Worldwide Statistics at the Authorized Site of the Office of Public Information of Jehovah's Witnesses (http://www.jw-media.org/people/statistics.htm):
"While other religious groups count their membership by occasional or annual attendance, this figure reflects only those who are actively involved in the public Bible educational work." This statistic is based on the service report completed by each publisher every month indicating the amount of time they have personally spent in the ministry and other relevant information. (Publishers are both baptized and non-baptized persons who engage in any and all aspects of the evangelizing work.) These reports are compiled and forwarded to the appropriate Branch Office.
Jehovah's Witnesses commemorate the Memorial of Christ's death, (also known as the Lord's Evening Meal or Lord's Supper), annually. Worldwide attendance at the 2004 celebration of the Memorial was 16,760,607. This is obviously in excess of the more than 6.5 million individuals regularly associated with the congregations of Jehovah's Witnesses around the world, but includes many visitors and interested persons.
They are 6th in the Top 10 Largest Highly International Religious Bodies (http://adherents.com/adh_rb.html#International) list from adherents.com (http://www.adherents.com), a site which collects data on religious group size.
Jehovah's Witnesses generally exhibit a high degree of commitment to their religion, attending meetings three times a week (totaling approximately five hours) in their local Kingdom Halls and in private homes. Larger gatherings (called assemblies or conventions) are held usually three times a year in assembly halls that are owned or maintained by the Watchtower Society or in rented public facilities, such as sports stadiums or auditoriums. The offices of the world headquarters of Jehovah's Witnesses are located in Brooklyn, New York. There are over 100 Branch Offices (http://www.watchtower.org/how_to_contact_us.htm) in various countries and lands around the world. -
See also Practices of Jehovah's Witnesses.
- Use of the Hebrew name of God, commonly rendered Jehovah in English
- Neutral stand in all political affairs and military conflicts
- Visible proselytizing, including personal visits to neighbors, and conducting free home Bible study courses
Origins
Jehovah's Witnesses believe that some time after the death of the last apostle the Church generally departed in a "Great Apostasy" from the original faith in major points. They believe that a few true Christians have always been on earth since the first century, but full understanding of the scriptures did not begin to be rediscovered until Charles Taze Russell and his friends started a bible study in the 1870's in Allegheny, Pennsylvania. Born a Presbyterian, Russell had gained an appreciation for the importance of Bible study from his earlier involvement with the Millerites and related groups. They formed the Watch Tower Society in 1881, and in 1884 it was incorporated with Russell as president.
In 1914 they founded the International Bible Students Association in the United Kingdom. Russell died in 1916, and in 1931, with Joseph Franklin Rutherford as president of the society, they adopted the name "Jehovah's Witnesses," based on Isaiah 43:10 which reads, "'You are my witnesses,' is the utterance of Jehovah..." (New World Translation) ("Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD..." - Authorized Version). Their name is one of the more obvious aspects differentiating them from other Christian denominations.
Membership
Main article: Organizational structure of Jehovah's Witnesses
The group's members are noted for their diverse but close-knit brotherhood, and their markedly different teachings and practice. As of August 2004, Jehovah's Witnesses have a practicing membership worldwide of more than 6.5 million individuals. According to data reported in the Annual Worldwide Statistics at the Authorized Site of the Office of Public Information of Jehovah's Witnesses (http://www.jw-media.org/people/statistics.htm):
"While other religious groups count their membership by occasional or annual attendance, this figure reflects only those who are actively involved in the public Bible educational work." This statistic is based on the service report completed by each publisher every month indicating the amount of time they have personally spent in the ministry and other relevant information. (Publishers are both baptized and non-baptized persons who engage in any and all aspects of the evangelizing work.) These reports are compiled and forwarded to the appropriate Branch Office.
Jehovah's Witnesses commemorate the Memorial of Christ's death, (also known as the Lord's Evening Meal or Lord's Supper), annually. Worldwide attendance at the 2004 celebration of the Memorial was 16,760,607. This is obviously in excess of the more than 6.5 million individuals regularly associated with the congregations of Jehovah's Witnesses around the world, but includes many visitors and interested persons.
They are 6th in the Top 10 Largest Highly International Religious Bodies (http://adherents.com/adh_rb.html#International) list from adherents.com (http://www.adherents.com), a site which collects data on religious group size.
Jehovah's Witnesses generally exhibit a high degree of commitment to their religion, attending meetings three times a week (totaling approximately five hours) in their local Kingdom Halls and in private homes. Larger gatherings (called assemblies or conventions) are held usually three times a year in assembly halls that are owned or maintained by the Watchtower Society or in rented public facilities, such as sports stadiums or auditoriums. The offices of the world headquarters of Jehovah's Witnesses are located in Brooklyn, New York. There are over 100 Branch Offices (http://www.watchtower.org/how_to_contact_us.htm) in various countries and lands around the world. -
See also Practices of Jehovah's Witnesses.