Serena Williams Got Baptized As A Jehovah’s Witness In Florida

The former tennis player Serena Williams, renowned for her exceptional performance throughout a career spanning more than two decades, got baptized as Jehovah’s Witness on Saturday at the West Palm Beach assembly hall in Florida.

Serena Williams, who’s the younger one of the two successful Williams sisters has been a more successful tennis player than Venus Williams, winning 23 grand slam titles, the second-most of all time and the most of any player in the open era.

Here are some viral visuals from Serena Williams’ Baptism in Florida-

What do Jehovah’s Witnesses believe in?

The beliefs of Jehovah’s Witnesses include many that are both exclusive to them and widely held among traditional Christians. They teach that Jesus Christ is the son of God but is not a member of the Trinity because they affirm that God—Jehovah—is the highest. In this way, they believe that Jesus Christ is God’s representative. The name Jehovah translates as “He causes to become,” according to Jehovah’s Witnesses.

When did Serena start showing her faith?

Serena’s mother Oracene Price, a Jehovah’s Witness who converted in the 1980s, raised both Serena and her sister Venus as Witnesses.

Serena has lately been more public about the religion, which could be first seen in the US in the 1870s, and is now frequently heard crediting and thanking “Jehovah God” for her achievements as a tennis player.

Why don’t witnesses celebrate birthdays?

Before the U.S. Open this week, Serena Williams shocked fans by announcing that she would not be celebrating her daughter Alexis Olympia’s first birthday or any birthdays at all.

Due to her Jehovah’s Witness faith, she announced she wouldn’t be celebrating the birthday of her daughter Olympia.

“Olympia doesn’t celebrate birthdays,” she said. “We’re Jehovah’s Witnesses, so we don’t do that,” the tennis superstar told reporters at a U.S. Open press conference.

The official website  of Jehovah’s Witnesses states that members of the faith do not believe in celebrating birthdays. “because we believe that such celebrations displease God.”

“Although the Bible does not explicitly forbid celebrating birthdays, it does help us to reason on key features of these events and understand God’s view of them,”  says the website.

Jehovah’s Witnesses don’t just restrain from celebrating birthdays. Per their religious convictions, they also decide not to celebrate holidays like Christmas, Easter, and others that are celebrated around the world.

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