Do Jehovah's Witnesses do volunteer work to help the less fortunate?

Answer 1

Yes, certainly they can, and frequently they do, with much charitable disaster relief as well as literacy programs.

For example, the National Office for Adult Literacy (a department of the Ministry of Education) in Burundi, Central Africa, formally recognized the Witnesses' literacy program awarding four of it's teachers for "the hard work put into teaching others to read." Similar programs are run in other countries such as Brazil and Mozambique.

However, you don't hear Jehovah's people talking much about it though because of what Jesus said at Matthew 6:3, 4 - "When making gifts of mercy, do not let your left hand know what your right is doing, that your gifts of mercy may be in secret; then your Father who is looking on in secret will repay you."

As a worldwide organization, as well as individually, members are heavily involved in volunteering their time, energy and money for disaster relief. For example, when the horrific earthquake struck in Haiti, witnesses from France and the Dominican Republic arrived within hours, along with tons of supplies. This group helped not only those of their own faith, but many non-believers as well. See Galatians 6:9,10 and John 13:34,35. But again, although they are quite often the first ones on the scene, they do not blow their trumpets, so to speak. (See Matthew 6:1,2)

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