Jehovah's Witnesses literature

Jehovah's Witnesses have been producing a large amount of literature since 1879. The most well-known publications are the "Watchtower" and "Awake!" magazines, and the book, "What Does the Bible Really Teach?". Their literature is now distributed free of charge, however voluntary donations are accepted.

Watchtower Society literature

Some literature produced by Jehovah's Witnesses is for specific groups. Instruction manuals for elders and pioneers respectively entitled "Pay Attention to Yourselves and to All the Flock" and "Shining as Illuminators in the World" and the book "Organized to Do Jehovah's Will" prepared for the member individuals are examples. Other books that are studied also at their meetings include "Benefit From Theocratic Ministry School Education", "Reasoning from the Scriptures" and "All Scripture is Inspired and Beneficial".

Some publications are designed for specialized use such as the brochures "Apply Yourself to Reading and Writing" and "Learn to Read and Write" for assisting the persons to learn reading and writing and "Good News for All Nations", which contains a message in multiple languages. Also, publications designed for certain religious groups are used in their public ministry. The brochure "Will There Ever be a World Without War?" and the tract "A Peaceful New World, Will it Come?" are geared toward the Jewish community. The Brochure "The Guidance of God" is directed towards those of the Muslim faith. "Our Problems, Who Will Help us Solve Them?" and "Why Worship God With Spirit and Truth?" are for those with Buddhist or Hindu beliefs.

Most of the literature produced by Jehovah's Witnesses is designed for use in their evangelizing work. Examples include general subject publications such as the "Watchtower" and "Awake!" magazines and Bible study tools such as the "Knowledge That Leads to Everlasting Life" book and "What Does God Require of Us?" brochure. Secondary publications for study include the books "Worship the Only True God", "You Can Live Forever in Paradise on Earth" and "What Does the Bible Really Teach?".

Watchtower publications

See: List of Jehovah's Witnesses literature

Jehovah's Witnesses make vigorous efforts to spread their beliefs throughout the world in a variety of ways, with particular emphasis on the written word. A wide variety of books, magazines and other publications have been produced, some in as many as 432 languages. Their publications make extensive use of secular references and quotations from the Bible.
* New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures (NWT) is a modern-language translation of the Bible published by the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc (a legal entity in the service of Jehovah's Witnesses). This is the Bible translation primarily used by Jehovah's Witnesses.
* "Awake!", published in 78 languages, is a general-interest monthly magazine covering many topics from a religious perspective. It has an average circulation of 34.2 million copies per issue.

* "The Watchtower, Announcing Jehovah's Kingdom", published in 167 languages semimonthy, focuses mainly on doctrine. With an average circulation of just over 37 million copies, "The Watchtower" is the most widely distributed magazine in the world ["The Watchtower", February 1st, 2005, p. 32.] , and is available in various editions and media formats. Both "The Watchtower" and "Awake!" are published simultaneously in dozens of languages. In addition to the formats mentioned above, both magazines are available in various audio and electronic formats and some of the articles from these magazines are available online. After the end of each year, the issues are collected and re-released in a printed annual edition, commonly referred to as a bound volume. In addition to this, the "Watchtower Library" computer program contains several decades worth of articles for both magazines and is updated on an annual basis (until 2003, this was only done biennially.) New books, brochures, and other items are released from time to time, major releases being announced at their annual conventions. Additionally, a number of audio cassettes, videocassettes, and DVDs have been produced featuring various aspects of the group's beliefs, practices, organization, and history. Some of these also provide dramas based on various Biblical accounts. Recent years have seen a proliferation of material available on their website.

ee also

* List of Jehovah's Witnesses literature

References