Jehovah’s Witness Bride Wears Simple Gown To Her White Wedding

[James Thomas Rook Jr.]

  I personally see no need for an ostentatious expensive wedding unless you come down the aisle on a steam locomotive, with laborers building train tracks ahead of you, and an army of  robed choir blowing trumpets and throwing handfulls of rose petals along the way!

Sacrificing virgins is out, as nowadays virgins are as scarce as volcanoes to throw them into.

[Melinda Mills]

(Revelation 19:6-8) . . .And I heard what sounded like a voice of a great crowd and like the sound of many waters and like the sound of heavy thunders. They said: “Praise Jah, because Jehovah our God, the Almighty, has begun to rule as king! 7 Let us rejoice and be overjoyed and give him glory, because the marriage of the Lamb has arrived and his wife has prepared herself. 8 Yes, it has been granted to her to be clothed with bright, clean, fine linen—for the fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the holy ones.”

(Psalm 45:11-14) 11 And the king will long for your beauty, For he is your lord, So bow down to him. 12 The daughter of Tyre will come with a gift; The wealthiest of men will seek your favor. 13 Inside the palace the king’s daughter is absolutely magnificent; Her clothing is adorned with gold. 14 She will be brought to the king in richly woven garments. The virgin companions following her are brought in before you.

(Isaiah 61:10) 10 I will greatly exult in Jehovah. My whole being will rejoice in my God. For he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; He has wrapped me with the robe of righteousness, Just like a bridegroom who wears a turban like that of a priest, And like a bride who adorns herself with her ornaments.

(Revelation 21:2) . . .I also saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God and prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

(Jeremiah 7:34) 34 I will put an end to the sound of exultation and the sound of rejoicing, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, for the land will be reduced to ruins.’”

As we can see from the above scriptures, elegance, beauty, richness, magnificence go along with a marriage/wedding.  It is a long held tradition.

Marriage is something truly special and not ordinary, and is related to joy and richness (not necessarily opulence). This is normal; so if people have reactions to a very simple ceremony or even a drab one, do not be shocked at their reaction.   But the decision to be simple is not to be criticized.  Both to be simple and to be ornate are decisions that must be respected.

(Colossians 2:16) 16 Therefore, do not let anyone judge you about what you eat and drink or about the observance of a festival or of the new moon or of a Sabbath…

Nothing is wrong with having special food or not having special food - the glory goes to God.  (1 Corinthians 10:31) "Therefore, whether you are eating or drinking or doing anything else, do all things for God’s glory".

Some girls want a picture of them being a queen for a day; a beautiful wedding dress affords them to have something close to this. Why would we deprive them of that.  If someone dressed up like that for a play or just to have a picture, we would hardly criticize them.  It is just a fantasy but not evil.

Here in Barbados you cannot go to the courthouse even for a copy of a document, dressed in jeans, low-cut blouses, armholes, slippers, etc. You will be turned back.  Traditions and rules allow for continuation of respect for time-honoured values.

We don’t want marriage or the traditions that go along with it to go further down the slippery slope. We have to pray for those who keep the status quo also, so we may continue our work until Jehovah brings the change. (1 Tim 2:2,3).  Jesus said he did not come to destroy the Law and the Prophets. (Matthew 5:17) 17 “Do not think I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I came, not to destroy, but to fulfill.   Time-honoured traditions surrounding marriage belong there as well.

Traditions that have a basis in God’s word and societal norms should be respected. Why should we throw everything out. If we throw out all the laws requiring honesty because the majority of people are no longer honest, how would that help? Same thing with throwing out the white dress.  And who said there are no virgins?  People are free to wear what they wish but they must not  expect people not to react. “All things are lawful but not all things are advantageous.”

[James Thomas Rook Jr.]

20 minutes ago, Melinda Mills said:

If we throw out all the laws requiring honesty because the majority of people are no longer honest, how would that help? Same thing with throwing out the white dress.  And who said there are no virgins?

In 1969 I lived in Hollywood, California, and they were going to have a "Parade of Virgins" marching down Hollywood Blvd. for some reason or another ... but one got sick, and the other would not march by herself.