Jehovah’s Witness actively do their part in American Fork

[Bible Speaks]

PRESS ARTICLE DEDICATED TO A CONGREGATION OF THE UNITED STATES.
THE ARTICLE SAYS:
The congregation gets up and joins in a song. They take turns sharing thoughts and answering questions from "The Watchtower". They enthusiastically help visitors by helping them find the Scriptures, songs and passages of their journals.

Members of the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses in Utah County are few, but they live their faith devoutly. In fact, the congregation is small, but the Witnesses still spend time trying to spread their beliefs. The American Fork congregation is one of four listed by denomination in Utah County. Others are found in Provo, Orem and Spanish Fork.

Jehovah's Witnesses honor Jehovah, whom they believe is the God of the Bible and the creator of all things. Because they "testify" or talk about Jehovah God and his Kingdom, they are known as Jehovah's Witnesses, according to the faith website.

Of course, there is a need for help in the ministry, so church leaders send volunteers to American Fork to help the church grow. Peggy Wilkerson and her husband, Tom, are two of those volunteers.

"At American Fork, we have a large territory and it continues to grow," said Peggy Wilkerson. "Then, we need help."

According to Peggy Wilkerson, the Witnesses send time sheets from their ministry to their headquarters in Warwick, New York. Church leaders can see if they cover their area well enough or if they need more people to help.

These people come from areas with larger concentrations of Jehovah's Witnesses, such as Colorado and California. The Wilkersons come from Wyoming.

Before the Wilkersons came to Utah, they served in Mexico for a couple of years. Like all volunteers, they had to make the trip and stay on their own. Then, the Wilkersons made a big decision when Tom retired after years of working for the oil and natural gas industry.

When I retired at the age of 62 and a half, I sold (our house), I packed everything we had and went to Mexico where the need was great, "he said.

Unlike the Wilkersons, Tirzah Fellows has lived in Utah most of her life, but her father moved to Spanish Fork from Kansas before she was born. Before that, he was serving as an elder in Kansas and moved to Utah to help the church grow, like the Wilkersons.
Err
Fellows is used to the members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints after all their years in Utah. She was the only Witness at her school in Utah, but she has appreciated it.

"There is nothing that would change," said Fellows. "Just because of how I grew up and how I raise my daughter."

Still, there are certain misconceptions that Fellows and other Witnesses should explain to their neighbors, schoolmates and co-workers. They do not celebrate parties, or salute the flag, or serve in the army or vote.

"Tessa (daughter of Fellows) knows why we do not celebrate the holidays, she knows why we do not wave at the flag," Fellows said. "It's not just because I told her, there's a reasoning behind this."

The fellows said their daughter is very proud to defend her faith in school and elsewhere. Fellows is the same way and refers to the Bible to explain why Jehovah's Witnesses do and do not do certain things.

Costco Pharmacy, where Fellows works, is one of the places where you have the opportunity to explain your beliefs to your co-workers from time to time. She feels that she has a good understanding of the beliefs of Latter-day Saints, which has helped her choose her words wisely with LDS partners.

She does not always bring out what is in the Bible to Latter-day Saints, but she loves when they ask questions.

"It strengthens my faith by talking about that," said Fellows.

However, he has realized that people ask less questions than in recent years about their beliefs.

"The ergent used to be fascinated (about my faith)," Fellows said. "They would say, 'You're not a Mormon ?! Well, what does that mean?'"

Despite all this, Fellows and Witnesses in American Fork continue to preach to their neighbors. It does not matter if it is one hour a week or 100, if you are doing your best.

"We know that Jehovah sees what we do," said Peggy Wilkerson. "(The ministry) is not for our glory."

According to Tom Wilkerson, Jehovah's Witnesses grow nationwide by some 250,000 people a year. There are currently 8.3 million members worldwide, and these members are counted only if they are active in their ministry. If they are not active for six months, then they are not counted as Jehovah's Witnesses.

For Jehovah's Witnesses in Utah, a growth of up to 1 percent is a great victory. It is difficult to find people who are interested in joining, but as long as they find people interested in having a discussion (not in a discussion), they believe they are doing their part in the growth of their congregation.

http://www.heraldextra.com/news/local/faith/jehovah-s-witness-actively-do-their-part-in-american-fork/article_2cb6023e-423d-504c-87f6-dc8c2303d783.html

[Guest Kurt]

Peggy and Tom Wilkerson pose for a photo. Both are Jehovah's Witnesses.

The congregation rises and joins together in song. They take turns sharing thoughts and answering questions from “The Watchtower.” They eagerly assist visitors by helping them find scriptures, songs, and passages from their magazines.

The members of the JehovahÂ’s Witnesses Kingdom Hall in Utah County are few but live their faith devoutly. In fact, the congregation is a small one, but the Witnesses still spend time trying to spread their beliefs. The American Fork congregation is one of four listed by the denomination in Utah County. Others are located in Provo, Orem and Spanish Fork.

Jehovah’s Witnesses honor Jehovah, who they believe is the God of the Bible and creator of all things. Because they “witness” or talk about Jehovah God and his Kingdom, they are known as Jehovah’s Witnesses, according to the faith’s website.

 

Of course, there is a need for help in the ministry, so the leaders of the church send volunteers to American Fork to help the church grow. Peggy Wilkerson and her husband, Tom, are two of those volunteers.

“In American Fork, we have a huge territory, and it continues to grow,” Peggy Wilkerson said. “So, we need help.”

According to Peggy Wilkerson, the Witnesses submit time slips of their ministry to their headquarters in Warwick, New York. Church leaders can see if they are covering their area well enough or if they need more people to help.

These people come from areas with larger concentrations of JehovahÂ’s Witnesses, like Colorado and California. The Wilkersons come from Wyoming.

Before the Wilkersons came to Utah, they served in Mexico for a couple of years. Like all volunteers, they had to make the trip and support themselves on their own dime. So, the Wilkersons made a big decision when Tom retired after years of working for the oil and natural gas industry.

“When I retired at the age of 62 and a half, I sold (our house), packed up everything that we had, and went to Mexico where the need was great,” he said.

Unlike the Wilkersons, Tirzah Fellows has lived in Utah most of her life, but her father moved to Spanish Fork from Kansas before she was born. He was serving as an Elder in Kansas prior to that and moved to Utah to help the church grow, like the Wilkersons.

Fellows is used to members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints after all her years in Utah. She was the only Witness at her school in Utah, but she has appreciated that.

“There’s nothing I would change,” Fellows said. “Just because of how I was raised and how I’m raising my daughter.”

Still, there are certain misconceptions that Fellows and other Witnesses have to explain to their neighbors, schoolmates, and co-workers. They donÂ’t celebrate holidays, salute the flag, serve in the military or vote.

“Tessa (Fellows’ daughter) knows why we don’t celebrate holidays. She knows why we don’t salute the flag,” Fellows said. “It’s not just because I told her. There’s reasoning behind it.”

Fellows said her daughter is very proud to stand up for her faith at school and other places. Fellows is the same way and refers to the Bible to explain why the JehovahÂ’s Witnesses do and donÂ’t do certain things.

Costco Pharmacy, where Fellows works, is one of the places she gets a chance to explain her beliefs to her co-workers from time-to-time. She feels she has a good grasp on Latter-day Saints beliefs, which has helped her choose her words wisely with LDS co-workers.

 

She doesnÂ’t always bring up whatÂ’s in the Bible to Latter-day Saints, but loves when they ask questions.

“It strengthens my faith talking about it,” Fellows said.

However, she has noticed that people ask fewer questions than they did in past years about her beliefs.

“People used to be fascinated (about my faith),” Fellows said. “They would say, ‘You’re not Mormon?! Well what does that mean?’”

Despite all of this, Fellows and the Witnesses in American Fork keep on preaching to their neighbors. It doesnÂ’t matter if it is one hour a week or 100, if they are giving their best effort.

“We know that Jehovah sees what we do,” Peggy Wilkerson said. “(The ministry) isn’t for our glory.”

The JehovahÂ’s Witnesses grow nationally by about 250,000 people a year, according to Tom Wilkerson. There are currently 8.3 million members throughout the world, and these members are only counted if they are active in their ministry. If they are not active for six months, then they are not counted as JehovahÂ’s Witnesses.

For JehovahÂ’s Witnesses in Utah, a growth of even 1 percent is a huge victory. ItÂ’s hard to find people who are interested in joining, but as long as they find people who are interested in having and discussion (not an argument), they believe they are doing their part in growing their congregation.

Daily Herald