‘Love Never Fails’
Gathering draws thousands of Jehovah’s Witnesses to Valley
This weekend, prepare to see a lot of cowboy hats.
Chase Field and the Phoenix Convention Center is welcoming around 40,000 Jehovah’s Witnesses for the “Love Never Fails” International Convention, a three-day event that began on Friday. Around 5,000 participants traveled from 41 countries for one of the largest conventions downtown Phoenix has ever seen.
Volunteers wearing cowboy hats can be seen on Phoenix corners, holding signs in multiple languages, handing out water and welcoming newcomers.
There are more than 8.5 million Jehovah’s Witnesses worldwide who abide by rules that may be unfamiliar to others. Here are some, according to the Jehovah’s Witnesses official website:
Jehovah’s Witnesses practice door-to-door ministry
Jehovah’s Witnesses often go doorto-door to spread the word of their religion. This is because according to Matthew 28:19, 20, the Bible advises followers to “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations.”
Jehovah’s Witnesses also proselytize this way because of Matthew 10:1113: “Whatever town or village you enter, search there for some worthy person and stay at their house until you leave. As you enter the home, give it your greeting. If the home is deserving, let your peace rest on it; if it is not, let your peace return to you.”
When ministering, they’ll bring two magazines: One’s called “Awake!” and the other is called “The Watchtower.”
They don’t hold services in ‘churches’ but Kingdom Halls
Jehovah’s Witnesses consider Kingdom Halls the centers of true worship in their community.
“In the Bible, the Greek term that is sometimes translated “church” refers to a group of worshipers, not to the building they meet in,” the official website said.
Thousands of new Kingdom Halls were built in recent years or around five per day. They are constructed by unpaid volunteers with donations from a central fund.
They don’t partake in blood donation or transfusion
According to the official Jehovah’s Witness website, both the old and new testaments command people to abstain from blood.
Leviticus 17:14 is a particular verse from which the religious abstinence comes from: “For the life of every sort of flesh is its blood, because the life is in it. Consequently, I said to the Israelites: ‘You must not eat the blood of any sort of flesh because the life of every sort of flesh is its blood. Anyone eating it will be cut off.’”
Instead, they try to find alternative treatments
The official website of Jehovah’s Witnesses has multiple documents on how to avoid blood transfusion.
One guide, “Clinical Strategies to Avoid Blood Transfusion,” indicates there’s a worldwide network of more than 1,700 Hospital Liaison Committees to provide access to health care for Jehovah’s Witnesses.
These committees provide clinical papers and information, facilitate consultations between physicians, make presentations, clarify ethical issues, and arrange for pastoral care, according to the website.
They don’t celebrate birthdays or holidays
Jehovah’s Witnesses consider birthday celebrations and holidays offensive to God.
The Bible doesn’t explicitly forbid birthday celebrations, but Jehovah’s Witnesses steer clear because they believe birthdays are linked to pagan beliefs like astrology and magic.
The same goes for Christmas: The Bible never gives the date of Jesus’ birth, and it doesn’t tell followers to celebrate his birthday, so Jehovah’s Witnesses don’t put up trees (which they say is related to pagan tree worship) or give gifts for Christmas (since they try to be generous and give gifts all year).
“The Bible shows that we offend God if we try to worship him in a way that he does not approve of,” the official website states.
“No more than four-in-ten members of the group belong to any one racial and ethnic background: 36% are white, 32% are Hispanic, 27% are black and 6% are another race or mixed race,” according to the Pew Research Center.
Phoenix was one of 22 cities chosen to host an international convention for Jehovah’s Witnesses this year.
Thousands of volunteers deep cleaned Chase Field stadium on Thursday morning, fixing broken seats, setting up equipment and establishing baptism pools.
They power-washed seats, swept and mopped up dirt and scraped gum off the undersides of chairs.
Delegates see this convention as an opportunity to be surrounded by support and love in the wake of mass shootings around the country.