Beards Keep You Young, Healthy & Handsome, Says Science

[Dave]

How does he eat? I tried growing a beard once. I've got a couple of bald spots on my face so it doesn't look the prettiest. But I sure enjoyed it when I tried – that was before I got the truth about 25 years ago. I wore a moustache on and off for many years – even while I was an MS and elder. Full beards aren't really acceptable if you want privileges in NZ. My wife tolerated my facial hair, but my daughter when she reached her teens once told me how much she hated it. I got lots of compliments when I got rid of it. I got the message and never grew it back. Maybe in the new system, I'll go all Grizzly Adams for a spell. This thread got me delving back into some old photo albums...

That's me on the left, with my older brother (not a witness) and his son who's now about 27 years old. This was taken about a year or 2 before I got the truth and is pretty much how I looked the first time I attended a meeting.

[Joey]

So how about really long side burns? My husband has very long side burns and a bushy mustache.At the assembly yesterday a dozen friends asked me about it. He said there's nothing wrong with it,they should mind there own business.

This is the only reference I can find about facial hair.

Extreme hair styles can easily lead one into a trap of the Devil also, and cause others to stumble. For example, a young man in the United States was making fine progress in his study of the Bible, and he was moved to share with an experienced Witness in preaching to others about the good things he was learning from the Bible. From early youth he had let his beard grow, and since some in the business community wore beards, he felt that his wearing one in preaching to others would be acceptable generally. But in speaking to a lady he was unable to do more than introduce himself, when she said: "I'm sorry, young man, I do not want to become involved in student revolt." No amount of explanation after this sufficed to clear up the misimpression. After the conversation ended with the closing of the door, he asked the experienced Witness what had happened. He was invited to consider his appearance in relation to what he claimed to be, a servant of God. Not wanting to be responsible for even one person's being stumbled so as to miss the way to everlasting life, this new Kingdom publisher shaved off his beard. Would you be willing to do the same or to make similar adjustments if your appearance gave the wrong impression in a certain community? (question)

[Dave]

The experience related in that article reminds me of a time years ago when I used to wear winklepicker shoes. Despite their unusual shape I found them to be quite comfortable and once wore them in the ministry.

One householder I spoke to remarked on my shoes. The elder I was working with at the time later helped me to appreciate that anything about our appearance that draws attention in any way to US and not the KINGDOM MESSAGE could be a stumbling block if that's all they remember about our call.

The same could be said about facial hair.

That's not to say I stopped wearing my beloved shoes altogether, as there was nothing wrong with the shoes in themselves. In the ministry, what we wear and how we groom ourselves has the potential to stumble others, or at least distract them, which could mean the same thing in view of our life saving message. That may seem to be narrow-mindedness on the part of the people we speak to, but if we're truly interested in doing all things for the sake of the good news, then we'll make that sacrifice.

Obviously, it's easy enough to change a pair of shoes at a moments notice. As for facial hair, you do'nt put it on and take it off that quickly or easily. It's a bit more of a permanent statement we make about ourselves.

[Joey]

Nice comment Dave,Thanks.

[pinkpopcorn]

Dave you made me look this up because I had no clue what Winklepickers are!

Winklepickers, or winkle pickers, are a style of shoe or boot worn from the 1950s onward by male and female British rock and roll fans. The feature that gives both the boot and shoe their name is the very sharp and quite long pointed toe, reminiscent of medieval footwear and approximately the same as the long pointed toes on some women's high-fashion shoes and boots in the late 2000s. The pointed toe was called the winkle picker toe, because in England, periwinkle snails, or winkles, were a popular seaside snack, which is eaten using a pin or other pointed object to extract the soft parts out of the coiled shell carefully, hence the phrase: "to winkle something out", and from that, winklepickers became a humorous name for shoes with a very pointed tip.

I could not post the pics of the shoes. Go here for that. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winklepicker

[John_boyRBi8]

I have a beard at the moment; I haven't managed to shave for a week due to having done my back in. I had a lovely trimmed beard when I came back into the truth after a few years away, but I shaved it off after seeking an update on the dress code. I asked the CO what the current understanding was, he said there was no scriptural precedent, but I probably wouldn't be asked to do anything as part of the assembly in future in case people thought "it was OK to have a beard and I started a trend". He was joking, but there was a serious side to the point. Also, I went to a Circuit Assembly and spotted someone else with a beard - I immediately concluded that he was an interested person! I decided then and there that I was going to remove mine (we do judge by appearance, whether we want to or not). I might just shave the 'tache off and go for the Pastor Russel look, what do you think?

[John_boyRBi8]

We have a brother in our congregation who wears fabulous shoes; you might say hey are the modern day equivalent of winklepickers (very big in Pakistan apparently). I don't think they detract from the Kingdom message, we are encouraged to be well turned out.You may, of course, counsel me on my covetousness of his shoes. I tend towards the more comfortable end of the market, as I wouldn't last a single hour in those shoes on the ministry...

[John_boyRBi8]

Wow! That was soooo Eighties...

[stuagu]

whatever you do brother.... not the pastor russell look please!

[Brother_Bliss]

i know no brother can get baptised with a beard

Wrong!

We just had a brother get baptized with a beard at our last Circuit Assembly. I am hoping to see another one get baptized this coming Sunday at our Special Assembly Day. There is no "no beard rule".

one study had a cleft pallet and had to shave it off. It was very stressful and embarrassing for him.

Shame on them for putting this baptismal candidate in such a stressful and embarrasing situation. Where is the love?

no brother can hold any privileges if he grew a beard thats from mikes to prayer to m/s etc:perplexed:

That's congregation specific. As we can see from several comments here, there are brothers who serve as elders and ministerial servant who sport good looking beards.

[Brother_Bliss]

So two people here, one from Austria and one from the UK have brothers with beards. So, is this taboo in the US only then?

Pretty much

In this previous discussion on beards

http://www.jwtalk.net/forum/read.php?10,120170,page=3

I told you to grow a beard if you wanted to. This was your response to me:

1. I don't want one.

2. My wife doesn't want me to have one.

3. My goal is to be an asset to the congregation to the fullest extent possible, and my local body would probably frown on me growing one. I would rather be on the servant body than grow a beard.

Have you changed your mind on growing a beard? Curious minds would like to know.

Nope. Just causing a little trouble here, that is all ;)

[Brother_Bliss]

i have never seen a serious brother here in Zambia and even in our literature with a beard too.in our magazines a person wit a one denotes a non-worshiper.

I would call moses, abraham and many others in our magazines with beards serious brothers. And Jesus has a beautiful beard on the front of the memorial/special talk invite that we are giving out this month.

^ Best. Answer. Evah! :-D

I am a black brother and I have a soul patch. Because of my skin color it is not prominent and it not a low one, basically a tiny "v" shape. I have been serving as an Elder for 18 years. The only time I was ever approached was by the District Overseer's wife. She asked me about it and I told her it is my "flavor saver".

She laughed...

That's funny. Ironically, we had a black elder several years back who sported a soul patch as well in addition to his mustache. He's moved away now, but a few months back I was talking to an elder and another brother and the elder mentioned how soul patches were a no-no....

... and I'm thinking "Uh, were you blind?" - That brother served in our congregation for probably 5 years and was appointed an elder all with his soul patch intact.

But I know if I grew one I would be berated constantly

[Brother_Bliss]

In the U K a neat beard is very common in business and the serious media - so what is the problem?????

Exactly. Here in the USA, at least in my area, mustaches are OUT - long gone, and those who sport one, especially young folk, generally look silly. But a mustache combined with a goatee or a neatly trimmed full beard is actually depicted as professional and businessman-like.

I remember working at Taco Bell and then delivery pizza in the mid-90's and there were company policies against facial hair of all sorts. Now when I go to these places, everyone has them. Times change, and if they are no longer considered a sign of rebellion in modern day culture wherever we happen to live, then growing one should be permissible, no matter how "old school" certain brothers are with their views.

This is the only reference I can find about facial hair. (cites 1975 article)

^ Case in point. That was 40 years ago. And even then, nothing has ever been published that said beards were a no-no.