My mother-in-law is 85 years old. Her husband passed away 2 years ago. She misses him so very much that she still cries sometimes for him when she has a bad day.
About 2 months ago, my husband was at her house working on his car. When he came home, he told me that Jehovah's Witnesses came knocking at her door. She invited them in the house. When my husband told me that he didn't step in and ask them to leave, I got very upset. I then asked him what they talked about. He said that he was in and out of the house a few times, to get some tools from the basement, and then would return back to the garage to work on his car, so he didn't hear all the conversation that went on. All he heard was part of the conversation. He said that one woman was telling my mother-in-law that her husband would be resurrected, and that she can be reunited with him! That upset me even more. What they were doing is called "kicking a dead horse". First of all, Jehovah's Witnesses believe that only "they" will be resurrected. Why were they telling her that her husband will be resurrected? He was Catholic. Since when do JWs teach that Catholics will be resurrected? !!!
I remembered reading a booklet called "When Someone You Loves Dies" on the WBTS. official website (www.watchtower.org), so I went back and read it again. Here are a few quotes from the booklet:
"A bereaved wife explains: "My husband, Russell, had served as a medical aide in the Pacific theater during World War II. He had seen and survived some terrible battles. He came back to the United States and to a more tranquil life. Later he served as a minister of God' Word. In his early 60's he began to have symptoms of a heart problem. He tried to lead an active life. Then, one day in July 1988, he suffered a massive heart attack and died. His loss was devastating. I never even got to say good-bye. He was not just my husband. He was my best friend. We had shared 40 years of life together. Now it seemed that I had to face a special loneliness."
"However, before we consider the feelings of grief, let us answer some important questions. Does death mean the end of that person? Is there any hope that we can see our loved ones again?"
"Millions therefore can have the solid hope of seeing their loved ones alive again on earth but under very different circumstances. What will those circumstances be?"
Then the site tells you that you can find out waht the circumstances will be if you continue on a read the A Sure Hope For The Dead booklet, which states, "And at that time humans will have the prospect of enjoying perfect health, and they will never have to die again." Nothing is EVER mentioned about NOT being still married to you're husband when this "supposedly" happens!
Neither one of the JW women visiting her bother to tell her this:
WT- 6/1/87
"How fine it is that a Christian should feel love for his or her mate even after that one has died! Some in this situation have remained single, not because of being content with singleness, but in hopes of resuming the marriage after the resurrection. While not being insensitive to the human feelings behind those hopes, we encourage such ones to consider some Biblical points."
"Does the Bible, though, indicate whether resurrected ones will be able to marry or to resume a previous marriage that was ended by a death?"
"Human emotions today might make this a difficult conclusion to accept. But it is to be noted that nowhere does the Bible say that God's resurrecting the faithful means restoring their marital status."
"Consider Jesus' response to the Sadducees: "The children of this system of things marry and are given in marriage, but those who have been counted worthy of gaining that system of things and the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage."
"Similarly, we have never lived as perfect humans. Thus we cannot be sure how we will feel about past relationships if and when we gain perfect human life in a paradise"
"God's goodness is reflected also in his informing us that the death of a mate concludes the marriage."
When I took my mother-in-law shopping about 3 days after the JWs had visited her, I brought the subject up and asked her what she thought about everything they said to her. She said she wants to see her husband again he's resurrected. She seemed very confused. She said they were going to visit her again but she didn't know when. ( they haven't been back since, not while she was home anyway ). I told her what would happen to her if she ever accepted a "bible study" from them. I informed her that it wouldn't be the Bible that they would study with her, and that sooner or later, she would be "encouraged" to avoid associating with myself, and the rest of her family and friends. Me because I'm a former JW, and the rest of her family because they were "wordly" people. I told her that that included her 2 friends that she goes to play bingo with once a week too. I started getted choked up while trying to tell her what would happen, the longer she studied and started attending meetings, because thoughts of so many people on this board who have been thrown away by their own families, because of the teachings of the WBTS.
I told her to invite them in again when they come back, and to call me right away, that I could be at her house in 5 minutes. If I'm not home, I told her to politely ask them to leave. I've printed out the When a Loved one Dies booklet for her, along with the watchtower article, to show her.
{and now for something completely different}
I've also printed out much of the information from on the internet written by Randy, Kent, JanH, Norm, LovesDubs, Tom, Gus, Focus and many others. Even Posts from the old H20 by Farkel, and many that are now here. Thank you all for your hard work and time spent to help others! It never goes without notice! I've printed it out and made "booklets" and gave each one of my teens to read. ( of course, it got thicker and thicker, and who knows if they'll read it.) I talk to them whenever I can about cults. I've prepared them to hopefully NEVER fall into the trap. I did that awhile back, after a JW came to my door twice when I wasn't home. The first time my daughter was here alone. The second time my son was here alone. Both kids said that the JWs who visited spoke first of how bad things are in this world and how tough it is to be a teenager nowadays. Which tells me that they will start in on kids, even when the parents aren't here! Ithink it's a good idea for anyone that has children, to start teaching them what the WBTS teaches NOW. You never know when a JW will come by when you're not home, or even when your teens come of age, and move out of the house. JWs could coming knocking on their doors when they are living on their own. If you teach them now, you stand a better chance of never having them become a victim of the WBTS. We can help what the fate will be of our future relatives in this way. Our future extended family.
I wanted to tell this all because my husband could not understand why I got so upset that he never asked the JWs to leave his mother's house when he KNEW that they were JWs. I guess we have to have been in "it" to understand the anger it all brings up, and the effects it has on people forever.
peace to you all,
somebody