Okay, I've got 5 min. to type!

Where to begin?

Well, I guess the beginning is always good.

So, one day, a couple women knocked at my door. They were Jehovah's Witnesses, wanting to share with me what the Bible really teaches. As I'd seen them knocking on neighbor's doors, I was expecting their arrival, and I smiled and welcomed them in, knowing I was likely one of the few people who'd taken the time to listen to what they had to say. Well, that time has continued on, and now it's nearly been a year--not that we've really met every week for a year. In there I had a baby, five months ago now actually, so there've been a number of months we just plain didn't connect. During that time, though, we went through the first couple chapters of the book What does the Bible Really Teach. Yes, we've gone painfully slowly--as in, a tiny paragraph per visit. But that was my lack of communication on my part. Ms. J, a sweet black woman who's been leading all the discussions (there's always someone else with her, although who has usually varied), wanted to be sure I was understanding what she was trying to teach, and as I was a tired, pregnant, stay-at-home-mom to my four-year-old, she felt it best to go nice and slow. Maybe she was right. Ha, actually, I'm sure there were likely days where that was the case. However, in general, I probably should have just been upfront and let her know we could cover things much quicker, that I was getting bored. Sure, we had some nice conversations, but we weren't covering a lot of doctrine. Yes, God and Christ are separate beings. That's throughout the Bible--although, of course, I know most other Christian faiths read those verses differently. (My understanding is that the idea of Trinity came from Neoplatonism--at least I think that's what my Early Christian History professor at Brigham Young University--Idaho taught.) Yes, God loves us. Yes, the Bible is a book that can bring us closer to God. Etc. But what's different between our two faiths?

A lot. Probably after my son was born in March was when we finally started hitting the differences, although I guess maybe a bit before that as well. Anyway, Jehovah to them is God the Father. Jehovah to me is Christ, and God is Elohim, although really in LDS doctrine both God and Christ are Gods, which I know is confusing to some Christians (back to the whole Trinity idea). JWs believe God is a spirit. I believe God has a body of spirit and flesh, an immortal and glorified version of us. (But I recognize that others may have a totally different version of what we're made of as well!)

Today, I was finally--after two months of waiting for us to actually connect, which is a story in and of itself--able to discuss with her more of the differences between our beliefs. I've shared a couple different things here and there but nothing much and nothing really in depth. And, of course, now I've possibly covered way too many things with her in one sitting, leaving both of us with too many things to think about. The big difference about this visit is that she was alone. She's never come alone before. Oh, and another big difference is that both of my kids were napping soundly the entire visit. (Well, actually, my preschooler woke right as she was leaving.) I wonder if having a moment like that open--just the two of us with no other distractions--was why it took us two months or so to actually have this discussion.

What were those differences? Well, I'll just have to tell you next time. ;) I said I had five minutes to type, and it's certainly been many more than that. I'll also have to write down the ground rules I made for myself--one of which I'm tempted to break so that I'll have a better understanding of the basic history of the JW faith, but I guess I can always just ask Ms. J that too. No breaking the rules, right? ;)

Another thing to write about is why I'm meeting with Ms. J in the first place. I can answer that quickly, although I am pushing it time-wise. I enjoy learning about different religions but understand how little I actually know. I've learned over the years that the best way to learn about something is by asking someone directly involved--skip the whole hearsay aspect we normally depend upon so much when learning things. I am recalling now that this concept was actually stated by a Catholic leader in a LDS-made video. If you want to learn about Catholicism, ask a Catholic. If you want to know about Judaism, ask a Jew, etc. So, having heard of Jehovah's Witnesses and not knowing a thing about them--outside of the fact that they're Christian--I figured, well, here's my opportunity. So, there's my not so short explanation.

You'll have to forgive any rambling or topic jumping. I'm a little too good at both. The fact it's currently 1:09 a.m. doesn't help minimize them either, though. Goodnight!