Jehovah’s Witness Memorial Report for 4/4/2023

As is my custom (20+ years), I attended the annual Memorial of Jehovah’s Witnesses (JW) last night. Once a year the Witnesses celebrate what most Christians refer to as communion. I’ll give a short summary of what usually happens at this ceremony and then will describe the events of the evening.

Since this is the only religious holiday Jehovah’s Witnesses celebrate, attendance at Kingdom Halls for this service is much like Christmas and Easter is for Christians. If you are associated with the Witnesses in any way, and you could only make one meeting all year, this would be the meeting. Parking lots are usually filled, and everyone wears their Sunday best. The service starts just after sunset. Since there is limited space at Kingdom Halls, sometimes they will rent out public halls or hotel conference rooms. They also have a later meeting at 9:00 to accommodate everyone who wants to attend.

The meeting begins with an announcement for everyone to begin finding their seats. The building is usually packed so they want to make sure everyone is seated before they begin. A respected man (an elder or someone of greater authority), will stand up in front of the audience and give a presentation from a Watchtower supplied outline. The whole service lasts less than an hour. The outline is rarely changed from one year to the next. I am so familiar with the content, I could present it myself.

 The speaker will jump from verse to verse in the Bible attempting to prove that the only ones who are allowed to partake of the bread and wine are those of the anointed class, numbered at 144,000 members. Compared to the 19.7 + million people who attended the event last year, very few Jehovah’s Witnesses partake. Last year there were only 21,150. Since there are a little more than one percent of Jehovah’s Witnesses who claim to be of the anointed (Witnesses are STRONGLY counseled against such claims), the average Kingdom Hall does not have anyone who partakes of the emblems.

So basically, someone will get up and speak about how important it is that Jehovah’s Witnesses attend while emphasizing that practically no one will participate. They will then pass the emblems around, watch everyone reject them, then go home. It seems pointless, but Jehovah’s Witnesses look forward to this evening almost like high school students look forward to prom.

Last year I went to a Kingdom Hall near our home and was recognized by someone there. I met with one Jehovah’s Witness man the next week, but word got back to him about who I am so he broke off our future meetings. This year I knew I had to attend somewhere else. When the Witnesses come into your neighborhood and point at your house as soon as they get out of their car, then avoid your house as they invite all of your neighbors to attend the Memorial, you know you need to attend in another place.

As God would have it, some JW ladies were inviting people in my Mom’s neighborhood. They caught her in her front yard one day and made a couple of return visits. My Mom asked if I would attend with her since she has never been. My oldest son Daniel decided to join us too.

We arrived at the rented facility in plenty of time before the meeting began. This building had one narrow hallway into the main room, and there were so many men acting as attendants, it was difficult to get into the main room without bumping into people. I thought to myself, “Come on guys. You don’t need this many guys to point me in the right direction”. When we got into the main room so many people came up and introduced themselves. They knew we were visitors for two reasons;

1) They are a very closed net group so, even if they don’t know you, you stick out if they don’t recognize you.

2) None of us were dressed as Witnesses. As far as cults go, JW’s take love bombing to another level. It is no exaggeration to say that at least 20 people came up to me acting as if I was their best friend whom they hadn’t seen in years. A couple of ladies came up to my mom asking if someone specific had invited her. My mom mentioned the name of the lady who did, so one of the JW ladies immediately went to find her. It wasn’t long before the three of us were sitting in the third row directly in front of the lectern. As it turned out, the speaker was the husband of the lady who invited my mom. That means they are prominent in the congregation, he being at least an elder.

Like last year, I noticed lots of people taking pictures of themselves in front of emblems. I thought it was weirdly awkward. It reminded me of soldiers who take pictures of themselves over the dead bodies of their enemies. Why would someone take a picture of themselves in front of the bread and wine they are forbidden to take? It is almost as if they are saying, “Hey, hey. Look at me. I’m nicely dressed, but I’m not part of the New Covenant. Yippee!”

Shortly before the service began, a sharply dressed elderly black man asked everyone to take their seats. The congregation immediately obeyed as everyone hushed. He cracked a joke saying that he asked everyone to sit down, that didn’t mean they couldn’t talk. Laughter filled the hall as he flashed a huge smile.

The meeting started with the singing of song #25, A Special Possession. It seems that they always begin with this troubling song. Here are the lyrics.

1.God has a new creation, His spirit-anointed sons. He has bought them from mankind; His approval they’ve won.

(CHORUS) A special possession, They’re a people for your name. They love you. They praise you. As one they declare abroad your fame.

2.They are a holy nation, Who handle the truth aright. God has called them from darkness To his wonderful light.

(CHORUS)

A special possession, They’re a people for your name. They love you. They praise you. As one they declare abroad your fame.

(CHORUS)

3.Faithful to their commission, They gather the other sheep. To the Lamb they are loyal. His commandments they keep.

(CHORUS)

I didn’t know it at the time, but this song bothered Daniel so much that he said something to the speaker’s wife after the meeting ended. More on that later. The song always bothers me too, but there was something different about having the lyrics on the wall that made the pronouns jump out at me. Lots of them/they/their.

I don’t remember if there was a verse reference on the slides projected on the screen, but as I look at the lyrics in my JW app, 1^st Peter 2:9 is right under the title of the song. Their New World Translation reads, “But you are ‘a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for special possession, that you should declare abroad the excellencies’ of the One who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”

I’ve never looked at this verse in the context of this song before. What strikes me now is the end of the verse. The purpose of the “special possession” is to declare the excellencies of God. If this song is based off 1^st Peter 2:9, then why are Jehovah’s Witnesses singing about a specific group of people instead of singing to Jehovah? Yeah, that bothered me, and unbeknownst to me at the time, it bothered Daniel too.

There was an opening prayer and then the speaker was invited to the podium. The talk is titled “Appreciate what God and Christ has done for you”.  It has been the same talk every year for at least the past 10-15 years. As I previously mentioned, I’m so familiar with the information that I could give the talk myself. The title of the song reminds me to start keeping track of the word “appreciate”. Becky noticed their overuse of this word years ago. This year it was mentioned only 11 times. They’re slacking.

The speaker gave some preliminary details about how Jehovah’s Witnesses celebrate this event world-wide. He mentioned that last year, there were 19,721,672 people who attended.

 There are four points to the outline.

1) How does Jesus’ death open the way to everlasting life?

2) Who benefit from Jesus’ loving sacrifice?

3) Who partake of the bread and wine?

4) What can we do to show our appreciation?

Before he addressed the first point, he went to Romans 5:12 and explained that all Adam did for us was to introduce son and death. That leads to the two greatest acts of love. The first being that Jehovah sent Jesus as a man to die for our sins. The second greatest act of love was the willingness of Jesus to die in our place. He mentioned at set of scales and how Jesus balanced the scales. I’ve pointed this out before, but according to John 15:13 the greatest act of love is for someone to give their life for someone else, not send someone else to do it. Does Jesus love us more than Jehovah does? More on that later.

As the speaker was going through his outline, which quickly bounces from one out of context verse to another, it came across like he was trying too hard to appear caring. I’m not saying that he didn’t care, only that you could tell from his voice inflections that he was over doing it, sort of like a bad actor reciting his lines and being cringy while doing so. After reading one passage (Isaiah 65:21-22) about how nice things are going to be on paradise earth, he asks, “Now, does that sound like such a bad place to live?” My immediate thought was, “If Jesus isn’t there, then yeah. It’s a bad place”.

During the “Who partake” part of his talk he pointed out that if you are asking the question of whether or not you should partake of the emblems, then you shouldn’t. The anointed know they are anointed so they have no question that they should partake. He also said that Jesus will come during the great tribulation, he will gather the remaining of the chosen ones to heaven. When that happens, there will no longer be a need to observe the memorial.

Jehovah’s Witnesses are taught that they follow the pattern Jesus set for the memorial. One problem with that is, Jesus didn’t celebrate the Memorial, He celebrated the Passover. A memorial is for someone who has died. Since Jesus had yet to die, how can His death be observed?

After making point three in the outline, another man came forward to pray before the bread was distributed. When they began passing out the unleavened bread, I noticed that it was in small pieces and not large ones as I’ve seen before. That’s when a weird thing happened to me. I was saddened throughout the talk, more so than normal, but when I saw the pieces of bread on the plate, I got the distinct impression that I was supposed to partake. I shot up a quick prayer and was confirmed that I was to partake of the emblems. I simply couldn’t NOT take it. Horrible English, I know, but it is absolutely correct.

I’ve never done this before, so it was a big deal. Almost every time I tell people about going to the memorial, they ask if I’ve ever partaken. I explain that I’m not there to cause a scene or to go there with a chip on my shoulder to prove a point. I only observe Jehovah’s Witnesses physically demonstrating that they are not part of the new covenant and to pray for the children. With how rampant sexual abuse is within the organization, there is a good chance that there is a pedophile in the room.

When the bread plate came to me, I carefully took out a piece of bread and held it. After the service Daniel asked why I was in stealth mode when I took the bread. He said he hardly noticed me until he saw me tuck the piece of bread under my iPad. Again, I’m not there to cause a scene. I put the bread under my iPad so that I wouldn’t drop it while taking notes. When I take communion at our Church, I wait to put the bread in my mouth until I take the cup. I don’t know why, but I always take them both at the same time. The word “reunited” always comes to mind. I did the same at the Memorial. I held the bread until I drank the wine.

My mom was sitting on my left and let me know that the lady next to her also partook of the emblems. There were a couple of things I previously noted about her that made me wonder if she might have some sort of mental disability. That would fit perfectly into what Jehovah’s Witnesses are taught about those who partake. They question if they may have holdover beliefs from a previous religion or that they may have emotional issues. This marks the fourth time I have attended a Memorial where someone has partaken. Interestingly enough, all four of them were women.

When the speaker concluded, the congregation clapped. I wondered. WHY? The speaker just got done telling everyone that it was an honor to attend an event in which they were forbidden to participate. That puts a new light (pun intended) on the first song. Of Jehovah’s possessions, you’re not special. Having attended many of these events over the years, I thought he was one of the poorer speakers. I noticed he got ahead of himself a couple of times in the outline and had trouble searching for words.

Another man made an announcement inviting people to take advantage of a “free home Bible study”. I thought to myself, who charges for a Bible study? I’ve never been to a Church that charges people to study the Bible with them.

Their ending song was the same one they’ve been singing for years. Song #18, Grateful For The Ransom. The lyrics are;

1. Today, Jehovah God, we stand before your throne, For you showed the greatest love that could ever be shown. You gave the gift of your dear Son, that we might live. No greater sacrifice than this could you ever give.

(CHORUS) He gave his life to set us free. His precious blood provides the key. With all our hearts, we’ll go on thanking you eternally.

2.It was a willing sacrifice that Jesus made. Out of love, his perfect life was the price that he paid. We had no hope until he came to save mankind. But now our hope is finding life, leaving death behind.

(CHORUS)

Here we go again. Why is Jehovah sending Jesus to die a greater act of love than Jesus volunteering to die for others? This song had a verse under the title too, but it is Luke 22:20 which speaks of Jesus instituting the new covenant as He passes the wine. There are two other passages listed after the lyrics (Hebrews 9:13-14, 1^st Peter 1:18-19) which speak of Jesus’ blood, but conspicuously missing was John 15:13. As I mentioned previously, this is the verse which describes the greatest act of love, someone dying on the behalf of other people. There are problems with this song that Jehovah’s Witnesses don’t understand. First, it isn’t scriptural according to John 15:13. Second, If John 15:13 is correct, does that mean that Jesus loves us more than Jehovah? I’ve never received a good answer to that question.

After the meeting, Daniel was immediately engaged by the speaker’s wife. She was impressed that he knew where to look to find the verses mentioned during the talk. She asked him what he thought so he started asking about the song that bothered him. He asked why they were singing a song about themselves because it sounded arrogant. She corrected him and said the song wasn’t about the great crowd, it was about the anointed (144,000). He then asked why they were singing a worship song to the anointed. Mrs. Speaker denied that it was a worship song, but Daniel gently pressed the issue by asking why they would sing a song to anyone but Jesus. Why this song? Isn’t there something else they could sing about than these other people?  She said it was a good question and something to think about.

I didn’t think about this until just now. Jehovah’s Witnesses claim that the anointed aren’t better than any other Jehovah’s Witness. If that is really the case, then do the anointed have a song they sing about the great crowd? If the two classes are equal, shouldn’t that be the case? If one group is singing songs of praise to the other group, yet it is not reciprocated, then one group is clearly better than the other.

As Daniel and Mrs. Speaker’s wife were talking, I can’t tell you how many people came up to me saying that I looked familiar. I usually try to pick a meeting that lessens my chance of being recognized. There was one guy who looked familiar, but I wasn’t sure. People kept coming up to me saying similar things, but I didn’t recognize any of them. It was a bit uncomfortable.

During all of the busyness, meeting, and greeting after to service, someone made an announcement that they needed help putting the chairs away. Men and women obeyed immediately. The speaker’s wife starting talking to me and I cracked a joke about how all the single guys would grab as many chairs as they could to impress the single ladies. I spotted one man with three chairs under each arm and said, “Like that guy. He’s single.” She looked at the man and said, “You know what? He is single.” We both laughed.

Shortly after that, a man asked me what I thought of the evening. I told him I took notes and had many questions. He acted as if he was going to ask me if he could set up a Bible study with me, but I quickly told him who invited my mom (the speaker’s wife) and that there is no better person to answer my questions than the person who gave them to me. He agreed.

My mom, Daniel, and I left the building. I was hungry. We ended up at an IHOP ready to talk about the evening. Shortly after we began talking about the first song, a group of eight people sat next to us. From their dress we knew they were Jehovah’s Witnesses, and they just left the same meeting we did. We lowered our voices and kept talking about what we just experienced. As we got up to leave, I stopped in front of their table and said I recognized them all because of how they were dressed. They looked at me with confused expressions. I explained that we were at the same meeting where they came from. They smiled and said they were glad we went. I jokingly said something like, “You guys had the same idea to go out to eat afterwards. We were invited to an evening meal, and no one ate. That’s why we came here.” The main guy gave me an uncomfortable glance, almost as if he was ashamed. I hope he thinks about that.