us to lay our heads, increasing our consciousness of His leading as we worked to magnify his name and purposes.

AND THEN BETHEL

Up to this time I had many changes. But then came one we did not even imagine. We were called into Bethel, the branch office of the Watch Tower Society in Australia! After sixteen years of full-time preaching and traveling, being called to the “house of God” proved to be a providential change our bodies needed. We could stay put for a while in one place. We also felt the need of the spiritual fellowship that Bethel provides. We had been giving out much spiritual food, and now we would be receiving even more spiritually.

While we were at Bethel, the government lifted the ban on our work. It was a glad day, just like returning from captivity. There was no more apprehension. However, the experiences the brothers had strengthened them and they could confidently anticipate future activities.

I have been at Bethel well over twenty years now. They have been years crowded and busy as I attended to my duties in the shipping department. I am happy to be here at Bethel, where I have experienced overflowing Christian love. I am also so grateful for its kindly discipline through the years. Also, I have been able, by God’s undeserved kindness, to attend to the duties as a school servant and as an overseer in a local congregation.

Although I travel no longer, I still have God leading me and pray for that guidance forever. My continued happiness will mean completing my ministry of praising Jehovah to the end and following wherever God decides to lead me.

There are letters of recommendation too; that is, individuals that have been the fruitage of my ministry in this harvesttime. They, too, are worshiping God at his “temple.” This has been an untold blessing to me and adds to my thanks to our Great Shepherd. I thrill when I see how copiously Jehovah is using these living letters of recommendation to share the burden of older shoulders by carrying on what we shortly will relinquish on this earth. They are reaping the seed previously sown in God’s field of cultivation, and even if I were only an onlooker I would rejoice. But thanks to Jehovah, I have had a share too.

The years from 1922 until now have seemed to me much less than “a watch during the night,” as Psalm 90:4 states. During that time I have received great blessings as I sought the leading of our heavenly Father in taking care of the Kingdom interests he gave to me. Now I want to continue to be a faithful steward to all eternity, knowing that the faithful God will lead me forever.—Ps. 31:3.

Helping Others to Find God to Be True

EVERY dedicated Christian witness of Jehovah has found God to be true. There is no question in his mind that “it is impossible for God to lie.” Has not God caused to be recorded more than seventy instances of his backing up his word with his oath so that his servants might have the utmost confidence in his word? (Heb. 6:18) With the apostle Paul, each one of these witnesses says: “Let God be found true, though every man be found a liar.”—Rom. 3:4.a

They let God be found true whenever there is a dispute between God and the word of men, for they have found Bible principles, Bible history and Bible prophecies to be dependable. More than that, they give the truth to God s Word by their very actions, even as Jesus did by his obediently fulfilling Bible prophecies.—John 9:4.

Having for themselves found God to be true, they have the obligation to show love of God and neighbor by helping others also to find that God is true. So they look for those with the will to believe God by going from house to house offering to study the Bible with those they meet, by offering Bible literature to passersby on busy thoroughfares and by being alert for opportunities to ‘preach the word’ incidentally. Only by engaging in such activities can they hope to locate those willing to be helped to find God to be true.

After finding those with ears willing to hear, what will the zealous Christian minister do? Place Bible literature with them and let it go at that? By no means! If we would help others to find God to be true we must keep calling back upon them time and again, pointing out to them why we know that God is indeed true, that we can depend upon his promises and his prophecies. How necessary such return visits are the 1966 Yearbook of Jehovah’s Witnesses repeatedly shows. For example, see page 198, paragraph 3.

But all this we will do only if we have a keen appreciation of our privileges as well as of the peoples’ need. And we must take a genuine interest in these persons, even as did the apostle Paul when teaching the newly interested ones at Thessalonica. Why, he says of himself and those with him: “We became gentle in the midst of you, as when a nursing mother cherishes her own children. . . . we were well pleased to impart to you, not only the good news of God, but also our own souls, because you became beloved to us.”—1 Thess. 2:7, 8.

Such a mental disposition includes much. It means being tactful, dependable, punctual, patiently teaching them, not easily discouraged because of a lack of progress or dependability on their part. Rather, let us make certain that we ourselves manifest the right appreciation, that we are dependable, that we have a keen love of the truth. If we consistently manifest these qualities in our teaching and conduct, we can hope to help others to find God to be true.

[Footnotes]

Questions From Readers

● Is it proper for dedicated Christians, who are supposed to be exemplary in morals, to imitate the extreme styles of clothing and grooming of the morally decadent world?—W. R., U.S.A.

We all have personal likes and dislikes in connection with clothing and hair styles, but it is not our personal opinion on these matters that is to light the roadway for others; the Bible does that. It says at 1 Timothy 2:9, 10: “I desire the women to adorn themselves in well-arranged dress, with modesty and soundness of mind, not with styles of hair braiding and gold or pearls or very expensive garb, but in the way that befits women professing to reverence God, namely, through good works.”

Notice that the apostle Paul does not give many details. The Bible allows for considerable variety, so we can express our own individual taste in clothing. However, he does encourage Christian women to be neat, to have “well-arranged dress,” and most women who are Jehovah’s witnesses are exemplary in that regard. He also says that they should dress “with modesty and soundness of mind.” Dress that is modest is not lavish, nor is it indecent; it does not embarrass others who observe the wearer. But, as we all know, many of the styles worn by women in the world today are not modest; they are designed for showy display and to make a woman look sexually attractive. They both embarrass and disgust clean-minded observers.

Worldly boys, too, like to wear certain types of clothing that draw attention to them. They are usually styles that have come to be associated in the public mind with groups that have low morals or are defiant of the law. But since true Christians do not keep “running with them in this course to the same low sink of debauchery,” they are wise if they avoid anything in their dress that would make it