How They Found the Truth
“HOW did you get the truth?” Is this a strange question to you? Probably so. But among Jehovah’s witnesses it is one often asked and one that they delight to answer. In fact, when Witnesses become acquainted with other Witnesses they almost always ask this question in the course of their association.
The Witness who is asked this question understands it to mean: How did he learn God’s truth as taught in the Holy Bible? What was his experience in his taking up God’s pure worship with the hope of gaining eternal life as promised by man’s Creator?—Titus 1:2.
Hearing such joyful experiences enhances one’s appreciation for the happiness that comes to those finding God’s truth. This spurs one on to try to help others to get this truth that leads to eternal life. Most importantly, these experiences strengthen one’s faith in God. They show how powerfully Jehovah’s truth is at work today and how he is leading sincere people to it.—1 Thess. 2:13.
Those Who Searched for It
Many honest-hearted persons find that their spiritual needs are not satisfied by the teachings and traditions of their church. You may be one of these. Some persons have searched for the truth of God by visiting churches of different denominations in hopes of finding the one that teaches it and practices it. They have prayed to God to help them to find the true religion based on the Bible.
In New York one such person who searched for God’s truth and found it said: “In my early youth I went to both the Methodist and Catholic churches. This was because my uncle was a Methodist minister and my mother was of his faith, while my father was a Catholic. When I grew older my father insisted that I become a Catholic, and I did so. I became very involved in the church’s activities, even serving as an altar boy. I felt that I wanted to be near God and to serve him.
“In the course of time I noticed that certain church practices were not in accord with the Bible. Its various money-raising schemes bothered me. For example, they set up boxes in the vestibule of the church with attendants to collect money from those entering and leaving. Even my father complained that the church was getting to be like a theater where you have to pay to enter. I remembered learning that Jesus threw out money changers from God’s temple.—Luke 19:45, 46.
“I now began searching for the truth of God by going to the Episcopal church and Baptist street meetings. I even planned to go to a synagogue to see if the truth was there. The week I planned to do this was when I finally found the truth. A witness of Jehovah who called on me but could not speak English well was returning with one who could. We met by chance in a park near my home. I was coming home from a Baptist street meeting and my Bible was under my arm. I asked the Witness if she could explain the Bible and she said that she thought she could. ‘Fine,’ I said, ‘explain the meaning of Revelation 17!’ and I handed her my Bible.
“I had asked others about this but none could explain it. This Witness took my Bible and began explaining the various symbolisms in this chapter and I knew that she was telling me the truth of God. After explaining many verses, she turned to Matthew 24:3-8 and showed how World War I, the famines, pestilences and earthquakes since 1914 C.E. were a fulfillment of the prophecy concerning ‘the conclusion of the system of things.’ I easily saw the truthfulness of this, and my excitement knew no bounds. I asked her what I should do and she told me about the meetings at the Kingdom Hall.
“After we parted, I danced home singing: ‘I found the truth! I found the truth!’ Within two weeks I was attending the meetings, having a Witness help me learn the Bible and going out and telling others what I was happily learning. In my heart I know that God saw to it that I met one of his Witnesses that warm June evening twenty-four years ago and I have happily served as one of them ever since.”
Spiritual Emptiness Stimulates Curiosity About Truth
Not everyone goes out investigating various religions. Yet the feeling of spiritual emptiness often causes persons to inquire of others when the opportunity presents itself. This is what led a family living in upstate New York to find the truth. The wife reports:
“My husband and I were good Catholics, faithfully attending Mass with our two sons. One day I said to my husband, ‘Dear, we went to church again this morning and what did we gain? Nothing! I feel empty. What do you think?’ He replied that he felt the same way. I then said, ‘Someday I think we are going to stop altogether!’
“Just about the time this feeling was developing, we met one of Jehovah’s witnesses whom we were hiring to pave the driveway of our home. As we talked to him he mentioned his religious activities and we became curious about his religion. We asked him many questions about it and, seeing that our curiosity was actually interest; he arranged to help us learn the Bible. In a short time we saw that we had inadvertently found the satisfying truth of God!
“Our priest, noticing that we stopped attending Mass, came to visit me. I told him that we were now studying the Bible with Jehovah’s witnesses. ‘God help her!’ he exclaimed and added, ‘Think of your children!’ I asked him to prove from the Bible the teachings of the church. All he could say was that they were a mystery or a church tradition. He could not put his finger on one scripture in the Bible. He left completely frustrated. I was thrilled, for his inability to show Biblical support for Catholic teachings strengthened my conviction that I had found the true way to worship God. I think that I thanked Jehovah a hundred times that afternoon for helping me to take my stand for his truth.”
How One Who Had Lost Faith Found the Truth
Some persons who have lost faith in God nevertheless have hearts that are receptive to God’s truth. Consider, for example, the experience of a former World War II naval officer. His observations of the inhumanity of war, the clergy’s conduct during the war and his subsequent college training in Massachusetts left him an agnostic. He tells what happened when he went to New York city to visit his relatives who are Jehovah’s witnesses:
“My Witness relatives knew how I felt about religion and did not try to preach to me. One day I read one of their booklets exposing the hypocrisy and false doctrines of the church. I found that I agreed with many things it said. So I began reading more of their literature, usually when they were not home. At last I learned the answer to a question that was very perplexing to me! Why was wickedness so rampant in the earth if there was a God? I found the Bible’s answer: God was permitting it only for a specific time, but soon it would end, along with this corrupt system of things. I rejoiced to learn that a new order would be established on earth righting the wrongs afflicting mankind over the centuries.—Rom. 9:17; 2 Pet. 3:13; Rev. 21:3, 4.
“Before many weeks passed, my intensive reading made me realize that I had found the truth of God. During this time I attended some churches in New York city to compare what they were saying with what I was learning. It was immediately obvious to me that the message of the churches was shallow, unscriptural and thoroughly unsatisfying. Since then my faith has increased yearly as I have observed with delight the Bible’s prophecies undergoing fulfillment.”
Yes, the truth of God is a precious treasure that brings great happiness to those who find it. (Ps. 119:162) Not only does it open up the prospect of everlasting life in paradise but it frees one from false religious ideas, fear of man and enslavement to sinful practices that bring grief.—John 8:32.
Have you obtained Bible literature from Jehovah’s witnesses, perhaps the book The Truth That Leads to Eternal Life? If so, then no doubt the Witnesses have called back offering to help you to learn the Bible. We urge you to take advantage of this offer now, trusting that you too will experience the joy that comes to one who finds the truth!