A Search for the Truth of God
I WAS raised a Roman Catholic. At the age of fifteen, due to family difficulties, I had to move into a Protestant foster home and soon saw that the Catholic church was not right in many of its teachings. So in 1961 I became a member of the United Church of Canada and became fairly active in it, attending it regularly for about a year.
The minister of the Trinity United Church in Port Coquitlam, British Columbia, would often preach about how much more money they needed, as his wife needed a washer and dryer, and so forth. Although I knew very little about being a Christian myself, in time I saw the hypocrisy of the church. All they were concerned about were their rummage sales and efforts to raise funds to build a $100,000 church.
I did not believe in the Holy Bible whatsoever, because my previous training taught me that it was not inspired of God. However, I did believe in God and Jesus Christ.
We had some friends who are Jehovah’s witnesses. When they called on me, I would talk to them and, being curious about their teachings, I would ask questions, although I was not too interested. I would take the weekend paper and look up and down the church page praying to be shown the true religion—anyone but Jehovah’s witnesses. I was determined that they were wrong, and I set out to prove it.
I decided to see the United Church minister at Queens Avenue in New Westminster, thinking that he would give me some ammunition to fire back at the Witnesses. Instead he was very vague about everything, and to top it off, he said that he admired the Witnesses and wished that his people were as zealous.
I felt confused as to what was the right religion and where I would find it. I would pray to God night after night to help me find the truth about life.
The Witnesses would still call on me. Each time I spoke with them, by quoting the Bible they would refute any ideas that I was starting to accept. Though I had no faith in the Bible, I decided to study it with them, as I had nothing to lose. My husband did not like the idea, but I explained to him that I was not through searching, that I did not want to take the Witnesses’ word for anything and that I was going to prove my faith from other sources.
I liked what the Bible said about creation and other subjects. It made more sense than anything I had come across. I felt I would like to find out if the Bible was true. Refusing to accept the Watch Tower Society’s literature on this subject, I went to the library and read books on Bible archaeology, and I was amazed to find that the Bible is historically accurate! Now I had so many questions about different things that I phoned the Witnesses and talked with them for a few hours. I decided from then on to attend their meetings and learn all I could.
I was so happy that I was beside myself. However, I still wanted one last chance to prove that this is God’s truth. Naturally, I was shocked to learn how Christendom is saturated with paganism, right down to the cross and church steeples. I wondered if perhaps there was a good reason for this paganism. Surely, they are intelligent people. So I decided to find out their side as to why they allowed their religion to become infected with paganism.
I went to see my stepmother, who was a Roman Catholic all her life, and I asked her about church doctrines of pagan origin. She could not answer me at all! She just said that they believe the Bible but they do not base their church on it but on the sacrifice of the mass. She suggested that I visit the priest at St. Peter’s church in Westminster. The priest with whom I spoke is the director of all the priests in British Columbia. When I confronted him with the things that I had learned, he replied: “Sure they are pagan but the Church says it is O.K., so it is O.K.” He did not believe the Bible at all. He does not accept the virgin birth, the resurrection or, in fact, creation, but believes in evolution. By this time, I asked him pointedly, How can you call yourself a priest and teach others?
He went on to explain that he also admired Jehovah’s witnesses and that he wished his people were as enthusiastic as they are. I asked him why they were not. If they really felt that their faith was right, they would have the same enthusiasm. He answered: “In the first few centuries when Christianity was new, the Christians were all zealous, but human nature set in. Give the Witnesses a few more years and they will be just like us.”
I shot back, “Never!”
Shortly after this discussion, I phoned a professor of religion at the University of British Columbia. I stated that I had been looking into different religions and at this time I was studying with Jehovah’s witnesses. I asked him if he could give me some information that I could use to stumble them. He said: “We just study religion. We are not interested in which one is the truth.” Now I was completely satisfied that the Witnesses were right when they referred to their belief as “the truth.”
I had prayed and searched for so long that when I came to realize that God’s truth is found in the organization of Jehovah’s witnesses, there was no need to wait before I dedicated myself to God. After six months of study I made this dedication and was baptized in symbol of it. My husband has decided to study the Bible too. How I rejoice that I made sure of all things and am now holding fast to what is fine and true!—1 Thess. 5:21.—Contributed.