“I’m a Jehovah’s Witness” – Josh

“What’s that????” -Everyone

Our very own senior, Joshua Alvarado, is asked this question almost everyday. Some other frequently asked questions are: “What’s a Jehovah’s Witness?” and “Do you believe in Jesus?” Well, if you’ve ever wondered what exactly being a Jehovah’s Witness entails, wonder no more! I sat down with Joshua to clear a few things up.

The Jehovah’s Witness religion expands across 235 countries and territories and is centralized around North and South America. Jehovah’s Witnesses are Christian, so yes, they believe in Jesus. The name of the religion is Jehovah’s Witness because in their bible God’s name is Jehovah. Another unique characteristic of Josh’s religion is that they don’t celebrate any holidays, including Christmas and birthdays, in fact when asked what his favorite part about being a Jehovah’s Witness is Josh replied, “I don’t ever have to buy my parents gifts.”

Every Thursday and Sunday Joshua travels to one of two churches; he gets to pick whether he wants to go to the English-speaking or Spanish-speaking church. However instead of a sanctuary Josh meets in a “Kingdom Hall”, and instead of a church service he attends “meetings.” A typical meeting consists of a lot of audience participation including audience members going up to the stage and sharing. Members also have the opportunity to give sermons every now and again; once Josh even preached on the temptations that can lead teens astray!

While many churches have some manner of disciplinary action that can be used when a church member does something that goes against the church mandates, as a Jehovah’s Witness a church member can be disfellowshipped from their church, meaning that they are not permitted to speak to other members and must arrive late and leave early to all meetings so as not to interact with any other members for a period of two years. Also, if Joshua were to convert in the future he would no longer be able to speak to other Jehovah’s Witnesses, including his parents.

Being a Jehovah’s Witness presents a few challenges to the average teen. You’re not allowed to watch R-rated movies and you don’t get presents on your birthday or for Christmas (not even from Santa!!); however ultimately Joshua enjoys the tight knit relationships that he has formed through his religion. As Joshua, our favorite Jehovah’s Witness, travels to Colorado College (so proud) next year, we wish him the best of luck in his continuous dedication to his religion, and hope that this article prevents any further questions!