Jehovah's Witnesses is a
millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with
nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream
Christianity.
[3] According to August 2013 organizational statistics published in the 2014 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses, worldwide membership exceeded 7.9 million adherents involved in
evangelism,
[4] convention attendance exceeded 14 million, and annual
Memorial attendance exceeded 19.2 million.
[5][6] Jehovah's Witnesses are directed by the
Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses, a group of
elders in
Brooklyn, New York, which establishes all doctrines
[7] based on its interpretations of the
Bible;
[8] they prefer to use their own translation, the
New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures.
[9] They believe that the destruction of the present world system at
Armageddon is imminent, and that the establishment of
God's kingdom on earth is the only solution for all problems faced by humanity.
[10]
The group emerged from the
Bible Student movement, founded in the late 1870s by
Charles Taze Russell with the formation of
Zion's Watch Tower Tract Society, with significant organizational and doctrinal changes under the leadership of
Joseph Franklin Rutherford.
[11][12] The name
Jehovah's witnesses, based on Isaiah 43:10–12,
[13] was adopted in 1931 to distinguish themselves from other Bible Student groups and symbolize a break with the legacy of Russell's traditions.
Jehovah's Witnesses are best known for their door-to-door preaching, distributing literature such as
The Watchtower and
Awake!, and refusing
military service and
blood transfusions. They consider use of the name
Jehovah vital for proper worship. They reject
Trinitarianism,
inherent immortality of the
soul, and
hellfire, which they consider to be unscriptural doctrines. They do not observe
Christmas,
Easter,
birthdays, or other holidays and customs they consider to have
paganorigins incompatible with Christianity.
[14] Adherents commonly refer to their body of beliefs as "the truth" and consider themselves to be "in the truth".
[15] They consider secular
society to be morally corrupt and under the influence of
Satan, and most limit their social interaction with non-Witnesses.
[16] Congregational disciplinary actions include
disfellowshipping, their term for formal expulsion and
shunning.
[17] Baptized individuals who formally leave are considered
disassociated and are also shunned. Disfellowshipped and disassociated individuals may eventually be reinstated if deemed repentant.
The religion's position regarding
conscientious objection to military service and refusal to
salute national
flags has brought it into conflict with some governments. Consequently, some Jehovah's Witnesses have been persecuted and their activities are banned or restricted in some countries. Persistent
legal challenges by Jehovah's Witnesses have influenced legislation related to
civil rights in several countries.
[18]
Thats all my research btw....Maybe?
