They Yearned for Bible Knowledge
MANY people today would like to gain a better understanding of the Holy Bible. But all too often their church has disappointed them in providing the needed help. Among the disappointed ones have been sincere Catholics. Consider the expressions of two of these and how they found the Bible understanding they sought.
From Chicago, Illinois, comes this experience:
“I was a very devout Catholic, being a member of two very active societies. In Puerto Rico I belonged to ‘The Legion of Mary.’ We marched down the streets in long processions, carrying images of Mary and other saints. We also used to call at the homes of church members, encouraging them to come to church and praying the rosary with them if they would let us.
“In the United States I became a member of the ‘Holy Name Society.’ As such I was put in charge of the gambling tables. At our various meetings I would collect the money from the tables and help the priests raffle off the gifts, usually large amounts of money.
“During all this time I was never encouraged to read the Bible. In fact, I can’t even remember ever seeing one in the hands of the members of either society.
“Then, several years ago, my brother bought me a Catholic Bible. As I read it I began to have some serious doubts about what I had been taught as a Catholic. I wondered why Catholics used repetitious prayers and called the priest ‘Father,’ when the Bible condemned this. [Matt. 6:7, 8; 23:9] When I tried to read Revelation, I really became curious. I asked many people of different religions what it meant but got no answers.
“About this time some of Jehovah’s witnesses called at my door leaving ‘The Watchtower’ and ‘Awake!’ At first I threw these magazines away. But one day I picked one up and began reading it. Here at last was something that made sense, and it was about the Bible. The next time the Witnesses called I invited them to come in to answer my questions.”
What was the result? This man began studying the Bible and eventually became a baptized witness of Jehovah. He adds: “Now I can call on people’s homes with something to give them—God’s Word—and I do not have to ask for money!”
A woman living in Minnesota relates:
“At the age of fifteen I entered the Academy of the Sisters of Christian Charity in Wilmette, Illinois. This was, not only an Academy where a Catholic girl might receive a high-school education, but also a novitiate where nuns are trained, and take their vows.
“It was during the final year as a novice that I began to see how unnatural this life really was. For instance, the nuns shunned particular friendship. If anyone was seen too often with one person, she was summoned to the superior and warned. I was warned several times. Once the superior threatened one of my friends that she couldn’t make her final vows if she continued our friendship. On another occasion a nun who had already made her vows was told she could no longer speak to me, look at me, or even smile at me in the halls of the convent. Now I knew and my friends knew that we had healthy friendships, but I watched the overprotective superiors try in this way to stem the problem of homosexuality in the convent. The strange part of it was that they discouraged the girls who just honestly wanted friendship and never did catch the ones who were interested in perversion!
“Five months before I was to make my Church vows I asked to leave. I clung to the hope that God was truly with me in this decision.
“Later I took a job as an airline stewardess, but this was promptly ended when I met the man who was to become my husband. Despite my experiences in the convent, I remained a very staunch Catholic. In fact, I insisted that he become a Catholic before we were married. However, shortly after that my eyes were slowly being opened to the fallacies of the Catholic religion. Then one day Jehovah’s witnesses came to my door. I was so hungry for some solid Bible knowledge that I immediately accepted their offer to study the Bible with me.”
This woman is now a baptized witness of Jehovah and rejoices in having found healthy, wholesome friendship among persons who, from the heart, refer to one another as “brother” and “sister.”
If you find yourself in a position similar to these former Catholics, why not ask Jehovah’s witnesses to study the Bible with you? They will gladly do so without cost and at your convenience.