Before You Open the Door: The Truth Jehovah’s Witnesses Don’t Want You to Know by Rice David

Author:Rice, David [Rice, David]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Unknown
Published: 2014-07-31T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 9: How Do I Handle Jehovah’s Witnesses Who Call at My Door?

By now you have probably already seen enough to know that the Witness organization is not something you would want to get tangled up with. Your own freedom to decide and reason for yourself would be subject to the whims of seven men you will likely never meet. Your life would be turned upside-down. And your children would suffer even more than you.

So what do you do when a Jehovah’s Witness tries to engage you in a Bible discussion? Remember that they are not mean people. They can be insistent, but most of the time Witnesses will work on you slowly over a longer period of time. If you want to protect yourself, and help someone else at the same time, you must stay aware of what is happening. As always, be nice.

Most people will first encounter Witnesses at their own doorstep. How do you handle them then?

Most of the time, you will not be aware that they are coming. Witnesses realize that they are usually unannounced visitors. The best course is to not invite them in.

Witnesses are trained like salesmen, with many of the same techniques and strategies. They attend weekly training meetings that reinforce how to overcome objections and answer tricky questions without getting caught. They keep written records of who talks to them and what they talk about. They note details about your house, whether you have children, a dog, or if you have physical ailments. They use these in future visits.

The best thing to do is to give their pitch no place to land. A simple, “Thank you, but I am not interested,” and close the door is the best response. They do not take this personally. They are off to the next house.

In some places, Witnesses will call often. There is little you can do to prevent their knocking. They have won court cases that assure them they are allowed to call. Legally speaking, they are not “selling” anything, so they cannot be prosecuted for that.

If you feel you are being overly visited, ask the next Witness who calls on you to give you the name of their Presiding Overseer and their Service Overseer. Also ask for the phone numbers where you can reach these men. These are two local elders who are in charge of day-to-day congregation activities and door-to-door preaching. Contact them directly, by mail if you can, or visit the local Kingdom Hall during meeting hours. Let them know firmly but politely that you do not wish to be visited again.

Witnesses use small, laminated map pieces to organize their coverage of preaching “territories.” These are called Territory Cards. A Service Overseer can place a note on the Territory Card corresponding to your home area that specifies that your home is to be skipped. Individual “publishers” are instructed to look for those notes when they check out a Territory Card.

In most cases, if things even need to go that far, this will get you some measure of relief.

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