Going to Memorial Service for the first time.....what should we expect?

by whyizit 32 Replies latest jw friends

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  jeeprube

  This thread has brought up some thoughts for me. As a JW I never realized exactly what the "two class" system meant for the rank and file JW. Jesus was not our mediator, that is an actual teaching of the "faithfull and discreet slave." They teach that they are the mediator for the great crowd. What a load of hoey! Talk about elevating yourself to a place you do not belong. The more I thought on that single point, the madder I became.

  How arrogant can a group of men be, to consider themselves to be a mediator for another group of people. False prophet indeed!
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  xjwms

  conditional LOVE

  coated with heavy sugar.

  Oh, and smiles......ya....lotsa smiles.
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  steve2

  be assured that not one person on this thread who has advised you to partake has ever partaken and it would be considered rude to do so.

  Just2sheep makes more sense than I at first was prepared to admit. Good sound advice encouraging you to make your own observations. I take Just2sheep's point that to partake of the bread and wine just for the sake of getting a reaction from the JWs is bordering on an act of disrespect - and, yes, I have to admit I've never done it. What a shame that the taken-for-granted oneness of the first Century christians in which they all partook nonjudgementally of the bread and wine has become a crankily elitist test of cultic compliance all these centuries later!
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  greendawn

  I don't think they really care how non JWs get dressed when they go to their meetings as long as it something decent and modest.
  
  Most JWs do not partake of the bread and wine in a ceremony that is held once a year in other words they do not believe that they are part of the New Covenent and through it adopted children of God so their situation is very strange. They call themselves Christians but under such circumstances they can not be such. They are more under the influence of the Judaic rather than the Christian Covenent.
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  whyizit

  Thanks for all the excellent advice!

  I'm sure we won't partake of the elements, because I don't want to do anything that would be perceived as inconsiderate to our JW friends. I did ask the couple we studied with if anyone who visited their KH ever took it, and they said they did see a visitor take it once, and they kind of laughed it off like the person was a wacko and they made a joke of it.

  I figure I'm not a member, so I don't really have to concern myself with it. I just want to see our JW friends and witness first hand what happens at one of these services. An educational experience, I guess. Maybe an opportunity to ask some well-placed questions.

  I'll definitely post what happens on Thurs.!
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  Mrs.Congeniality

  Dont forget the BIBLE teaches one hope the society teaches two hopes. Heavenly and Earthly
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  Mastodon

  I think that before you decide to go to the Kingdom Hall, ask the people that gave you study if they would consider going to visit you at your Church. Once you hear their response, you will know better if you should even go... or not.
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  Mrs.Congeniality

  Mastodon good point. Please post their response if you choose to ask them to attend your church. The answer will be NO guarantee it!!!!!!!
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  Double Edge

  I think that before you decide to go to the Kingdom Hall, ask the people that gave you study if they would consider going to visit you at your Church. Once you hear their response, you will know better if you should even go... or not.

  If you do ask them, PLEASE report back their stumbling response.
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  skeeter1

  Women: Don't wear pants. Must be in a dress.

  Men: Must be in a suit.

  Do not drink the wine nor eat the bread - this isn't a Catholic ceremony.

  The talk will be on Jesus's last night, the symbols used, and on the new world. Nothing "hard core" (like blood policy, child abuse, not going to college, pioneering) will be discussed. They keep it "light" in hopes of luring more followers.

  Skeeter