Jehovah's Witnesses Find Dedication to Faith Defines Life

CLEVELAND--D.C. Jones vividly remembers being dunked underwater 53 years ago. And Darcell Williams says her immersion in a portable pool last month was an experience she, too, will not forget.

They're Jehovah's Witnesses recalling the key symbolic experience in their spiritual lives--their baptism.

A single message emerges: Theirs is a faith that demands what most Americans would consider great personal sacrifice.

Jones, 88, says that since his baptism in 1953, when he was 35, he has sought to "read the Bible at least one hour every day" and to "witness to others" whenever he has the opportunity.

And 17-year-old Darcell, a recent high school graduate, said she can imagine nothing more important in her life than the mission of a Witness.

That duty, she says, is to communicate--to as many people as possible--her belief that the Bible provides answers to many of life's questions.

Sometimes the answers Witnesses find put them dramatically at odds with mainstream society.

A widely known example is how, historically, most members rejected blood transfusions, even when doing so meant risking life. The church has clarified its stance--members now may receive certain blood products (instead of whole blood).

Despite the recent interpretation regarding blood, Jones maintains that he and most Jehovah's Witnesses believe the Bible--and its informed study--can yield "all that we need to know in life."

Indeed, Jehovah's Witnesses--6.6 million worldwide, including a little more than 1 million in the United States--dedicate what others consider free time to studying the Bible and taking its messages of salvation and hope to nonmembers in their communities.

That includes strangers members may approach on the street or in their homes.

"We don't just belong to a church. We go out from our homes and Kingdom Halls (the religion's worship and meeting centers) and 'make disciples of all the nations,"' Witness Jim Roach said, quoting Matthew 28:19 in the New Testament.

Continued on page 2: Jones dedicates 70 hours a month to a person-to-person ministry »