People who believe they are living in ‘the last of days’
teacher in chapel in Ely but was very open-minded and looked for answers in the bible and it was only the Jehovah’s Witnesses that referred her to the bible,” says Sue.
“As I teenager I thought I knew best, but when I had my daughter Amelia as a single parent I realised after studying the bible that I needed godly wisdom to bring her up in a dangerous world.”
Sue, like other Jehovah’s Witnesses, believes we are living in “the last of days”.
This is more hopeful than it sounds. Rather than an Armageddon of death and fire, Witnesses say they believe the current, corrupt world will be replaced by a living heaven on earth, not a paradise obtainable only after death.
“We are definitely living in the last of days,” Sue cautions. “We believe that the ‘kingdom come’ of the Lord’s Prayer will come at some point.
“The last days is not an indefinite time but the bible indicates as it gets worse the prophecies will prove to be true – wars, famine, pestilence, earthquakes. (The prophet) Timothy talks about how there will be lovers of money and we will see these things getting worse and worse.
“We believe the end of days will be very soon, we don’t know the date but you have to be alert for when it comes.”
Philip Olsen believes his end would have come far sooner after a youth of drink and drugs, had a Jehovah’s Witness not knocked on his mother’s door when he was in his early twenties.
Growing up in what he describes as a rough part of Llanedeyrn in Cardiff, the 47-year-old carpenter says he was heading for disaster as he openly describes his drink and drug-taking in front of wife Emma and daughters Megan, nine and Lucy, seven.
Being frank and discussing things is part of the couple’s lives as Witnesses. They believe this will help their daughters make the right decisions.
“In the past I used to take drugs and drink a lot. I honestly don’t think I would be around if I had not become a Jehovah’s Witness,” admits Philip. “If I took something I would do it until I overdosed, and drank until I was paralytic. I lost friends. That was the environment I lived in and my personality. I would say being a Witness has given me a good purpose in life and made me more stable with my work. I remember telling my mates in the Retreat pub in Llanedeyrn that I was going to change and become a Witness and they could not believe it.”
Philip was 23 when he became a Jehovah’s Witness, a year after his mother joined.
“The bible gives good advice, that’s what interested me. It does not mean you have a perfect life but it helps you make the right decisions.”
He met mobile hairdresser Emma, 38, who was herself born into a Jehovah’s Witness family, through the faith.
Like others at the convention their daughters Megan, nine, and Lucy, seven, are wearing their best dresses and say they are looking forward to a film about Jonah being put on as part of the event. The girls are the only Jehovah’s Witnesses at Glyncoed Primary in Cardiff and as such say they often have to explain their beliefs and are happy to do so.
Being Jehovah’s Witnesses means they do not celebrate birthdays, Hallowe’en or Christmas, all part of their school calendars. They don’t take part in Christmas concerts or plays and choose not to eat birthday cakes brought into school, although that’s not forbidden.
“At school I try to ask my friends about their religions and tell them about mine,” says Megan.
The UK Jehovah’s Witness website JW.org explains followers don’t celebrate birthdays because they believe it would displease God.
As for Christmas, Witnesses believe it has roots in Pagan beliefs, not Christian, that Jesus commanded his death, not his birth, be commemorated, and it’s not known that he was born on December 25.
So what do you do when all around you are buying presents and visiting people?
Philip laughs with a shudder and says: “I remember what Christmas was like”, while Emma says they make a special present day on their wedding anniversary.
As he waits to be baptised, James says the Brexit referendum in 2016 was the first time he felt he stood out as a student joining a new faith.
“A lot of people can be angry when you say you don’t vote but I don’t think man is able to solve the world’s problems and that’s why we put trust in God.”
James’ parents, former teachers who are not Jehovah’s Witnesses themselves, were there to see their son being baptised into the faith he began studying as a student studying robotics at Bath University.
He says he was looking for something more when he began studying the bible aged 23.
Emerging from the baptism pool dripping wet in shorts and a T-shirt, his beaming face suggests he has found it. “Being baptised is a public declaration of my faith and one of the most important things I can do,” he says.
“After meeting Jehovah’s Witnesses and seeing the happiness they have in their lives and the wonderful things knowledge of the bible has done for them it’s something I really wanted to be part of.”