Thoughts On Thanksgiving For Those That Will Not Be Spending The Holiday With Their Family Members

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    Hailey Stevens
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    When I was a member I remember feeling like my faith was constantly being tested by the group.  By this I mean that I often felt as though I had to choose between the WMSCOG and my family (or my "physical family" as I was enouraged to call it back then).  I remember that the WMSCOG claimed that Thanksgiving was a pagan holiday.  They would instead replace the holiday with a "prayer service" in the church.  During one of the services, the pastor explained that the meal that my family ate on Thanksgiving was "food sacrificed to idols" since there would be a prayer of thanks said over the meal to "a different Jesus".  Recently I decided to look at his claims a little bit more closely.

    What does it mean to sacrifice food to idols?  In the Old Testament, animals were killed and burned as part of a religious ceremony and offered to God at the altar by the high priest.  I have never seen my family go out and kill a turkey and shed its blood as part of a religious ceremony on Thanksgiving (or any other day for that matter).  So why would the WMSCOG consider Thanksgiving dinner to be a sacrifice to an idol?  Is it just because my family prays over the food before we eat it?  We do that every day.  Why would this meal be different?  It isn't.              

    But it seemed to me that the WMSCOG wanted me to choose between spending time with my family and spending time with them.  Thanksgiving was painted as evil, therefore there was no other choice but to spend it with other members of the organization.  I remember choosing to spend time with my family despite their claims and being treated like a lesser being for it.  When I got together with my family on Thanksgiving, I was considered to have celebrated the so called pagan holiday.  Aren't WMSCOG members "celebrating" the holiday as well when they get together for the prayer service?  The WMSCOG doesn't typically hold prayer services on Thursdays, so how would getting together with other members on that day have been any different than what I did with my family?  It wouldn't have.  

    For those readers that are not aware, the WMSCOG replaces Christmas and New Year's Eve with a prayer service as well.  So for those of you that have a family member in the WMSCOG, do not be surprised if you don't see them during these holidays either.  As you can see here, WMSCOG members deny the organization's efforts to separate members from their families while at the same time attempting to justify their actions by taking Scripture out of context.  I sympathize with you all as I have experienced, and will continue to experience this holiday season, similar heartache because of my family member's choice to spend all of their time recruiting for the WMSCOG.  

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