Should I attend a Lord's Evening Meal at local Kingdom Hall?

ttw1981

I am not a Jehovah's Witness but have been talking with a few Jehovah's Witnesses for about two months now, about once every week or every other week. On Saturday they came and we had 'Bible study' (actually starting to go through What Does the Bible REALLY Teach?), and as they left they gave us a list of their meeting times at the local congregation and invited us to observe the Lord's Evening Meal with them on March 22. I'm thinking there's no harm in going - that I will get to see who the Jehovah's Witnesses in our community are, get to see how they observe this practice, etc. etc. I think we're probably going to go, but I guess I'm looking for opinions. It can't hurt anything to go, can it?

sacolton

It wouldn't hurt to go, but I would advise against it for the sole reason of what it implies - unless you know that you have a
"higher calling" for a Heavenly Hope to be a King or Priest and serve Jesus Christ in Heaven as one of the anointed 144,000
- only then should you partake in the eatting of the bread and drinking of the wine (emblems). You'll notice that most - if not all -
of the congregation will pass these emblems without partaking since most believe to have the hope to be resurrected in
Paradise Earth. Confused? You should be. In a nutshell, you'll be rejecting the offering Jesus commanded, not just to his
Apostles, but to anyone who accepts his sacrifice.

dawg

This is what will happen, you'll be "love bombed" and they'll start the whole come back thing.. the one asking you to go will be looked on in high esteem because he may have got another to join the church (that will lessen his chances for leaving)... I wouldn't step foot in any KH not ever. This is a cult, plain and simple. I've lost my family over this lying religion, and when more like you go, it only strengthens those already there that their lies are correct... please, don't go.

WTWizard

This is how it can hurt. First, you will be fighting all the traffic once you get near the Kingdumb Hell. The parking lot will resemble a mall parking lot on the day before Christmas. Once you get in, it will be packed and quite difficult to get a seat. People will be open to you at first, since this is your first time. But it is all fake. They want you to think it's the truth, and they will go out of their way to make you feel welcome. But, this is like the nectar on the pitcher plant, and you do not want to end up like the fly that partakes of that nectar.

Once you are in, you are in for a boring 45 minute talk, most of which is about who is not to partake. Once they pass the items, they will pass a plate of stale crackers, and then a glass of spoiled grape juice. You will, in all likelihood, not be partaking. Then they will have a closing part in getting anyone that is new to start a serious Bible study out of a book that isn't even really based on the Bible like they want you to think it is.

After, you will be approached by the hounders. They will be nice at this stage of the game. The goal is to get you to commit to a "Bible(??)" study out of one of their publications. If you accept one, you will eventually be joining the religion and have to go out in field circus. Once you get baptized (and they will continually hound and herd you in that direction), you will then have to be hounded about every little detail of your life and devote all your time in the religion.

More immediately, they will "invite" you to the Sunday talk the next day. If you go to that, you are in for more focused hounding to get you committed to that Bible study. They will not quit short of getting you to agree to that meeting. Which is where they gotcha.

And for what? Jesus' dying was not sufficient for him to offer up the value of his ransom, and they do not celebrate the other two important parts. First, Easter commemorates his resurrection (and the witlesses do not celebrate that). Then, Pentecost is when Jesus actually offerred up the value of his sacrifice, and that is not celebrated either. In any event, you will not be partaking and will therefore be rejecting Jesus, after having wasted 45 minutes on a boring talk and all that time getting in and out.

I strongly recommend doing your research before doing anything with that religion. They act super nice to people that are new, so they can think it's the truth and has all the answers. Join, and you will be faced with a bunch of broken promises and stupid rules. I strongly urge you to go to www.freeminds.org and read some of the stories of people that have left and what they had to go through. The site has plenty of links to other web sites written by people that have been in this religion, and know what goes on behind the scenes. And, they have a place where you can order Crisis of Conscience, which is a must for anyone that is thinking of joining the religion. The more of the links you can read before deciding, the better the chance of making a wise decision that you can live (or die) with.

If you insist on observing the Lord's death, I suggest doing it at home or with a small group. You can make the crackers yourself with stone ground, organic whole wheat flour (to keep it pure, I recommend organic--it's better for you anyway) and plain water. Make a dough that holds balls, and place golf-ball sized pieces on a baking sheet (with parchment paper), and flatten them into sheets. Bake until crisp. Cool before serving. Then select any unfortified red wine, or homemade red wine. After sundown, read the account in the Bible (but not the New World Translation) and actually partake of the crackers (they will be fresher) and the wine. This works best if you do it in groups of about 12 or less, where everyone can observe what's going on. You will miss the hounding, the fighting to get in and out of the parking lot, and the boring 45 minute talk that way.

VM44

No don't go! The Witnesses are only interested in increasing their membership.

It would be a waste of your time.

I can tell you right now what will happen at the memorial.

Opening song and prayer.

A talk will be given.

A prayer will be given before the wine is passes.

The wine (in glasses) is passes among everyone present. Each person must touch the glass and pass it on to the next person. This shows that the individual either refuses to partake, or that, if they do partake, they are of the anointed class.

Some words will be mentioned about the bread, then a prayer for the bread will be given.

Then the bread (really unleavened bread on a plate) will be passed from one person to another just like the wine was.

Some more words from the speaker on the platform.

Closing prayer.

I have forgotten if there is a closing song, but that is not important.

Some JWs dress up quite well in their best clothes for the Memorial. It is the only event that they observe on a yearly basis.

--VM44

sacolton

If you insist on observing the Lord's death, I suggest doing it at home or with a small group. You can make the crackers yourself with stone ground, organic whole wheat flour (to keep it pure, I recommend organic--it's better for you anyway) and plain water. Make a dough that holds balls, and place golf-ball sized pieces on a baking sheet (with parchment paper), and flatten them into sheets. Bake until crisp. Cool before serving. Then select any unfortified red wine, or homemade red wine. After sundown, read the account in the Bible (but not the New World Translation) and actually partake of the crackers (they will be fresher) and the wine. This works best if you do it in groups of about 12 or less, where everyone can observe what's going on. You will miss the hounding, the fighting to get in and out of the parking lot, and the boring 45 minute talk that way.

This is what I'll be doing. Can unleavened bread be purchased somewhere? What regulations as regarding the wine? I'll be reading
from the King James bible.

Also, it is worth noting that those who decide to partake and join the anointed class are treated "differently" with high suspicion and doubts.
I believe most JWs feel anyone who is "anointed" is just crazy or disillusioned. To be "anointed" is like saying you're better than anyone
else. They don't take it lightly.

AlyMC

That is so true. I was close to one couple once, where the husband believed he had a spiritual calling. Even his wife doubted him and said he really wasn't, that is was only because he was bipolar that he felt inclined to partake. One year he was going to give the memorial talk so *everyone* would see him partake... well, she cried for weeks before.

I think people should stop going just because the witnesses view the high memorial numbers as "proof" that Jehovah is calling new sheeple to the flock... I don't want to contribute to that buzz that gets generated.

Tired of the Hypocrisy

Can unleavened bread be purchased somewhere? What regulations as regarding the wine? I'll be reading
from the King James bible

You can buy them: http://www.manischewitz.com/products/matzo/matzo.php

The wine as far as I know is simple red wine. It is not fortified or watered down.

Hope this helps

Witness 007

I'm asking myself the same thing!!....this year could the first Ive ever missed...on principle if I go Iam showing support for all the false teachings I hate so much!

sacolton

I'm asking myself the same thing!!....this year could the first Ive ever missed...on principle if I go Iam showing support for all the false teachings I hate so much!

Make your stand!

Should I attend a Lord's Evening Meal at local Kingdom Hall?

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