“The Truth Will Set You Free”

NIGERIA, situated in western Africa, is a multitribal country of widely differing customs and many languages. About as large as Texas and New Mexico combined, it has a population of about thirty million, one half of which are Moslems. Some 13,000 witnesses of Jehovah carry on their activity, mostly in the southern part of the country, where nominal Christianity largely prevails, but where there is also much primitive juju worship and paganism.

Although the various religious sects of Christendom have labored for years among these people, they have not succeeded in making even a dent in the superstitious beliefs of the natives. Most of their converts continue to hold their pagan superstitions and will attend church in the morning and then go to the forest and participate in fetish ceremonies in the evening. On the other hand, when the light of truth brought by Jehovah’s witnesses penetrates the African mind, superstition and demon worship are banished completely, so much so that the onlookers marvel greatly.

To give an illustration: In one village a gale broke off some branches of a large tree that was believed to be inhabited by spirits and was regularly worshiped. Although the road was blocked, not one villager would dare touch a branch for fear of being struck dead by the juju. So what did they do? They sent for Jehovah’s witnesses to clear away the mess because they knew the juju had no power over them. Likewise, when juju processions pass through villages terrorizing the population, Jehovah’s witnesses calmly walk by in the road, while others flee to their homes in terror. It has been recognized throughout the native villages that the juju has no power over Jehovah’s witnesses. Truly Jesus said: “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”—John 8:32, NW.

Judging from the foregoing, who is bringing the truth that sets men free to the Nigerians, the popular sects of Christendom or the unpopular witnesses of Jehovah?

Bricklayer Insists on Preaching

In Northeastern Finland, where religious bigotry rules, much intolerance and prejudice have been shown against Jehovah’s witnesses. The public schools have become the very strongholds of false religion, and Jehovah’s witnesses have not been able to rent the school auditoriums for the purpose of holding their public Bible lectures. Recently one of Jehovah’s witnesses, who is a pioneer minister, solved the problem at least as far as one of these schools was concerned.

Even as the apostle Paul made tents so as not to be a burden to others, so this minister lays brick. He was offered a job at a school that had repeatedly turned down the request of Jehovah’s witnesses to rent their auditorium. The bricklaying minister replied that he would be glad to lay the brick provided they would let him give a Bible lecture in the school auditorium. The school board met and discussed the matter and finally decided that if the bricklayer wanted to preach the Word of God, then honoring their religious traditions required them to give him permission to do so and he could choose his own subject for his sermon. Two weeks later the auditorium, with a seating capacity of 200, was packed out by the townspeople, who listened to the pioneer minister speak on the subject “Is the Bible Practical for Our Day?” When the lecture was concluded some of the visitors were heard to respectfully remark: “And to think that this young preacher is at the same time our school bricklayer!”