“They Practice What They Preach”

SINCE World War II Jehovah’s Witnesses in Italy have grown from a few hundred individuals to over 81,000 active preachers. This growth, as well as the spiritual quality of the Italian Witnesses, has not escaped the attention of the press in Italy.

Well-known Jesuit Virginio Rotondi wrote in “Il Tempo” of October 8, 1978: “[Jehovah’s Witnesses] know what they are talking about. . . . they quote a particular verse in a particular chapter from the letters of St. Paul, St. Peter, or St. John. . . . Furthermore, the new ‘converts’ soon start putting into practice and ‘preaching’ what they have learned wherever they may be. I must paradoxically admit that those Christians are experiencing an undeniable phenomenon of growth.”

Then on August 12, 1979, “La Stampa” pointed out that Jehovah’s Witnesses in Italy are “the only religious community having such a surprising growth rate. However, they practice what they preach . . . Their preaching is not just words but a way of life . . . they are the most loyal citizens anyone could wish for: they do not dodge taxes or seek to evade inconvenient laws for their own profit. The moral ideals of love for neighbor, refusal of power, non-violence and personal honesty (which for most Christians are ‘Sunday rules’ only good for being preached from the pulpit) enter into their ‘daily’ way of life.”