They misquote and mistranslate and add to God’s Holy Word. They are fanatically zealous and run a highly- organized religion using high-pressure tactics. I grew disturbed at the very unattractive light in which everyone seemed to put the Jehovah’s Witnesses. I was hated at public school because I would not salute the flag. I was mocked because I stood on street cor ners holding Watchtower and Awake magazines. I was laughed at because I was always busy with the good news work. Yet I was miserable. If is truly a wretched existence when you are hated for what you believe, but far more dark and lonely when you do not know why you believe as you do. I could not understand why the Je hovah’s Witnesses hated Christians so much. Jesus Christ loved. I knew that the fruits of the Spirit were love, joy, peace, etc., but I never displayed them nor did I note that anyone else in the organization displayed them. Finally, one day I could not endure any longer the way the society “ high- pressured” me. I threw my books away. I cut all ties with the Wit nesses and I went to seeking. I sought the truth, the real truth that set men free. I didn’t want my mind to be enslaved any more as once it had been. I wanted freedom. Jesus Christ gave me peace. He gave me love. He gave me Himself. What will you do the next time a Witness comes to your door? W ill you slam the door in his face? W ill you try to argue with him? W ill you ask him in to your home? I cannot answer these questions for you, but I can tell you what will happen if you slam the door in his face. You will give him more reason to think that he belongs to the true God because of the persecution. If you argue with Jehovah’s Wit nesses, they are so well-indoctrinated that usually they will win. They are taught how to be on the defensive. If you ask them into your home, you are asking for trouble. Literally they will haunt you and smother you with books. What can you really do? Be fore they get the upper hand, tell them that you believe in the Deity of Jesus Christ as an irrevocable fact. Then ask them if they acknowledge Him. Often they will back down. Ex plain to them that you have nothing in common with them because the very basis of your established belief is Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I praise God that He showed me the falseness and the hypocrisy of this organization, and made me His child and true witness.
Stranger A t Your by Lorrie Auvinen
Door
really never knew exactly when I was “ in” or “ out” of favor with the Al mighty. I know that as soon as my hours were reduced (hours spent in house-to-house work) and my book sales went down, at once I was placed in the “ inactive file.” I hated this more than anything and the only way I could get out of the bad light and into the society’s good graces again was to work up a good tally sheet. Suddenly things began to take on a different light. God was revealing to me some very important things. First, 1 was out selling what I thought to be the good news. Second, I didn’t really believe half of what they tried to force me to believe. Jehovah’s Wit nesses are anti-everything. Continual ly they run down the clergy. They literally hate Christians. They can not rightfully call themselves Chris tians because they deny Jesus Christ His Deity. They make Christ “ a god,” a lesser god than Jehovah God. They rob Jesus Christ of His true message.
''JC V i v i d l y I can remember my days v of pavement-pounding and door- knocking. Brightly I would speak to the householder: “ Good morning! I’m a member of the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society bringing to you the good news of the Kingdom.” Often times irate people would slam the door in my face. At first this hostility and rejection didn’t bother me at all because I had been well brain-washed into believing that we were God’s own because people hated us and re jected our message. But sometimes at the door people would take pity on me and I would “ sell” one of the books because they either thought I needed the money or that I was work ing my way through school. I wanted very much to be in favor with God and if this meant working hard, I would work hard. I was promised a place on the new earth if I were faithful. Of course, I had no right to hope for a heavenly dwelling-place where Jesus would be. Only the 144,- 000 chosen ones would go there. I
19
OCTOBER, 1962
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