Religion: I am a Jehova's Witness

"My beliefs offer me a refuge when things go wrong."

Walking through the streets of East Palo Alto, Paly senior Alberto Prado breaks off from the small group he is walking with and knocks on the pale blue door of a corner house. "We are going door to door to distribute publications related to the Bible," he says with a smile when the door opens. "Do you read the Bible? This magazine helps extract lessons from the Bible and relate them to real life."

If people do take interest in Prado's message, he comes back for more visits. He begins a Bible study with the aid of publications by the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, the main organization of Jehovah's Witnesses, to teach about the religion. Afterwards, people decide if they want to be part of the religion and, if they do, they are baptized.

Prado is one of the few Jehovah's Witnesses at Paly. Though there are over 6 million Jehovah's Witnesses around the world, the religion is not very well known. The religion began in the early 1870's during a Bible study group led by Charles Taze Russell in Allegheny, Pennsylvania, according to http://Watchtower.org, the official Jehovah's Witness web site. Jehovah is one of God's names in ancient Hebrew scripure, according to the Watchtower organization. Though Jehovah's Witnesses are Christians, they do not believe in the Trinity. They accept God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit as separate entities.

Prado shares his religion's teachings by preaching door to door two hours a week. "The purpose of a Christian congregation is to get people to know what God's purpose is, to spread the good news," he says. He preaches mostly to Spanish-speaking families. "Because most Spanish speaking people are pretty religious, most people are generally receptive," he says. Some people see preaching as an invasion of privacy, but Prado says, "I have thought about it, and it has been explained to me that preaching is akin to speaking to one's neighbors; there's no law against it, and it's not a bad thing to do. We do try, however, to keep out of homes where we have been specifically told not to trespass, or where there is a sign."

Prado says his religion's teachings meld well with his personality. "I like to stay neutral," he says. His opinion coincides with Jehovah's Witnesses' belief of refraining from taking part in government and voting. "Government is here because of God," Prado says. "But it is best to stay neutral and not get involved." Jehovah's Witnesses are also pacificists, and do not believe in participating in war.

Another unique belief of Jehovah's Witnesses is that they do not accept blood transfusions. They believe the Bible says to abstain from blood. "We interpret part of the bible to say the blood is sacred," Prado says. However, other alternative methods can be used, such as fractions and non-blood plasma expanders. In addition, Jehovah's Witnesses do not celebrate birthdays or holidays. "We have decided that these celebrations, being of pagan and not Christian origin, shouldn't be practiced by us," Prado says. "Although I hear all the time about presents and fun parties, I've pretty much gotten used to not doing this and it's not that much of a big deal anyway. We just like to have get-togethers whenever."

Recent Paly graduate Brittany Hampton, who is also a Jehovah's Witness, adds, "We don't have to wait around until Christmas to get presents or remember Jesus because we receive presents throughout the year. We don't have to wait around until Valentine's Day to get an occasional love card because we are able to do that throughout the year. We don't have to wait around for Thanksgiving in order to eat turkey and a big feast because we eat it throughout the year. Especially when I know what is behind these celebrations, it is something that I wouldn't want to support, knowing that I am celebrating pagan gods."

Even though he does not celebrate holidays, Prado has many opportunities to interacts with members of his congregation. The sense of community the religion brings greatly appeals to Prado. Occasionally, he attends circuit meetings with many congregations from all over California. "My favorite part of the religion is being able to make a lot of new friends and knowing that if I begin talking to someone I know they will be nice to me," he says.

However, Prado's religious beliefs do not affect his decisions in choosing friends. "Most of my friends are not Jehovah's Witnesses," he says. "They acknowledge that I have moral standards, but I would probably have those even if I was not a Jehovah's Witness. Religion is not a factor in my relationships." Prado's beliefs, though, do affect how he deals with everyday situations. He is most grateful that his faith gives him hope. "I would not be where I am now without my religion because I would not have a reason to do anything," he says. Prado says his faith also helps him deal with everyday stress. "Since I know that all will be well some day, I just never let anything get to me too much," he says. "I like to believe it [the religious teachings]. It gives me hope that we can indeed live life on Earth in a good way. God can take an active part in everyone's life."

Prado feel proud when his religion sends him apart from is peers. "I have always been seen differently because of the way I act, which I think is cool," he says. "People have actually noticed that I don't let negative things keep me down for too long, and all the times that this happens I say to myself, 'yep, this is a result of where you come from. Good job.'"

For Prado, practicing his religion entails attending five meetings a week. He belongs to the Spanish-speaking congregation located at 429 High Street. Prado attends two meetings every Wednesday and two meetings as well as a book study on weekends. At these meetings, an orator explains the week's assigned Bible reading, and various people give presentations to practice preaching. During the second meeting, the congregation reads a newsletter published by the Watchtower "which gives us a lowdown on what's going on at a national level with all Jehovah's Witnesses and comes with different kinds of advice; things like how to more tactfully present a specific magazine during preaching, or addressing an issue that comes up frequently," Prado says. Usually, 200 to 350 people attend each meeting.

Jehovah's Witnesses tend to be very closely knit; they take an extreme interest in what other Jehovah's Witnesses are doing around the world. On weekends, Prado studies a religious magazine. The most popular magazines are The Watchtower and Awake. "The Watchtower is more religiously based, and explains how to apply the religion to modern life," Prado says. "Awake is broader. Journalists go all over the world and relate their stories to the glory of God."

Even though Prado is a devout Jehovah's Witness, he believes that his views can relate to many different religions. "Anything I would say [about the religion] would apply to any other religion," Prado says. "It is important to remember the importance of family, relationships, and humility. God is love."

It bothers Prado when people make cult references about his religion. "It's just another religion, something to believe in," he says. He feels fortunate he has something so important to him. "My faith hasn't been severely tried as of yet," he says. "And I thank God for that."