Grateful for the Work of Jehovah’s Witnesses

WHAT do honest-hearted people think when Jehovah’s witnesses call at their homes? Yes, what are their sentiments regarding the efforts of the Witnesses to talk to them about the Bible and its lifegiving message? Consider what this couple in Los Angeles, California, have to say about it:

“One Sunday morning an elderly woman called at our door. She was foreign and a little difficult to understand. At that time I did not fully understand her purpose in calling at our home but she did make it clear that she was engaged in a Bible educational work. I listened to her for two reasons. The first was that I admired the fact that she had so much faith in her religion that she went out of her way to share her beliefs with me. I know that it was not easy for her to do this, because she did not speak good English. How could I not listen to her? She cared so much for me, a perfect stranger, that she came to my home just to share with me the things that she had learned. The second reason I listened to her was because I had an interest in the subject.

“My wife was an Episcopalian and I was a Lutheran. We had tried both churches and were not only disappointed but even disgusted. We tried other churches, too, but we were never satisfied. I felt that there had to be more to religion than just congregating, donating, singing songs and once a week listening to half-hour sermons that never taught anything worth while. So when this elderly lady came to our home, we were searching, and we were definitely interested in what she had to say about the Bible. The first visit was short and she left with us a book explaining the Bible. It was only fifty cents. How could I refuse?

“This woman was very kind. She did not forget us. Two weeks after this first visit she returned with the presiding minister of the local congregation of Jehovah’s witnesses. I was so impressed with their interest in us and his knowledge of the Bible that we started to study the Bible with them immediately.

“Our progress was slow, as there were many problems along the way, but we continued to learn. After we were studying for a couple of months my wife came to me and said, ‘Bob, I am very confused and disturbed because the things we are learning are so different from what I have been taught all my life.’ Then she asked me if we could discontinue our Bible study. I had to disagree with her, for I did not share her feelings. I replied, ‘No, Sharon, I will not discontinue our study. I am learning and I am grateful that they are willing to spend their time teaching us the things that they have learned.’ Well, almost immediately my wife’s mind was relieved. Soon she became as eager as I was to continue our Bible study.

“It was not always easy to accept the things we were being taught, even though each point was heavily supported by the Bible. There were conflicts with our family and friends. Many things that we were doing needed changing. It was difficult for us to give up pagan holidays. It was also difficult for my father to understand and accept the changes in our lives, and this made it hard on us, too. But we realized that we were on the right track and we continued studying. Sometimes things came up that we could not understand or fully accept at the time, but we were counseled by the one studying with us not to let any single point become a stumbling block or stand in the way of our progress in learning the Bible. We took his advice and remembered the points that were not too clear. We even wrote them down. Later, through continued study, we found that these points were cleared away, one by one.

“We were invited to attend the meetings of Jehovah’s witnesses, and after a constant flow of these invitations we began to attend them. First, the public talks on Sunday, then the local Bible study on Tuesday evening, then the Watchtower study, and finally the Theocratic Ministry School and service meeting. Before long we were learning more and more. Yes, the more we learned the more we wanted to learn. It was not long after this that we began going out and sharing what we were learning with others as did that kind elderly lady.

“Now there are not enough hours in the week. The truth of God has become a very important part of our lives and no one is going to stop us from continuing our fine progress.”