I used to be involved with a woman who was a (not very good) JW. We hadn't seen each other for a few years and last month her sister called me to inform me she had died. She had been living in a nursing home for years so this event was not unexpected. I went to the wake and it was full of JWs from her congregation. At one point, one of the older JW men gave a (mind-numbingly, boring, monotone talk). As he prepared to do this, another guy, an Elder, put a tape recorder on a lamp table and started recording. My question is: Does anyone know why they did this? Is it standard to tape talks? Is it going to be used as propaganda to play for potential targets or at a meeting (if it didn't put them to sleep first...)? Also, her sister (the family isn't JW) told me the deceased was going to be cremated. Is there some JW rule about cremation? For some reason I thought I remember it was bad, if not outright discouraged. Thanks for any ideas on this bizarre event. Robert
Question from a recent JW Wake
by robhic 1 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
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amama2six
Maybe it was taped for members who were unable to attend the wake.
I always remember wakes being discouraged (especially open-casket...one sister was frowned upon for having an open-casket funeral for her 3 yo son who died of liver cancer even though it appeared it was mostly to appease her non-believing husband). The preferred method was cremation and a funeral talk at the KH...nobody even going to the gravesite afterward or anything. It kept costs at a minimum; less money spent on caskets and elaborate wake/funeral proceedings meant more money could go into the donation boxes instead. I remember loved ones of the deceased asking people to donate to the hall instead of the family. Giess they thought (or were told) this was the more "christian" way to handle things and would be what their deceased JW family member would have wanted.