Kingdom Proclaimers Report
“The Truth Will Set You Free”—And Bring Happiness
IN BRITAIN, Bible truth has set over 113,000 persons free, and more are embracing the truth every day. Truly Jesus’ words are having fulfillment: “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:32) This freedom results in happiness, as the following experiences from Britain show.
◻ While Penny was in the house-to-house ministry, relates the branch office, an elderly lady told her quite abruptly, “I’m busy.” Penny replied that she would call again. A few days later, at a time she would not normally call, she was doing not-at-homes and inadvertently called at the same house. The elderly lady opened the door and invited Penny in. “I knew you would come back,” she said, “and I’ve been waiting for you.” They discussed the Kingdom hope, and the lady said she hoped that it would prove true. She was 79, and her husband had died three years earlier. She had received no comfort from her church and could see no reason to live. She wanted to die. Later, after Penny had started a Bible study with her, she told Penny that she had been contemplating suicide but knew it was wrong. She had prayed to God that he would give her comfort and help her to regain hope. Gradually, as she studied, her despair turned to hope, with deep conviction and gratitude to Jehovah. She severed her lifelong connection with the church, was baptized at 80 years of age, and is now a regular publisher with great zeal. Truly, the truth of God’s Word has set her free and brought her great happiness.
◻ The truth about God’s Kingdom brings freedom from false religious bondage. It can also change one’s personality, and this change often impresses others and helps them to see the truth, as the following experience shows.
A young woman knocked on the door at the home of a Witness and asked for a Bible study. What brought this about? The woman’s parents were studying the Bible with Jehovah’s Witnesses, and the effect it had on her parents—especially her father—was so dramatic and impressive that the daughter was truly amazed. Her father, who had been smoking 80 cigarettes a day, gave up smoking entirely when it was explained to him that Jehovah disapproved. Almost immediately afterward he returned to his employers a whole stock of goods he had stolen from them over a period of time. The daughter felt that anything that could affect her parents in such a way surely had to be investigated. Now the parents are baptized, and the daughter is attending all the meetings.
The truth that Jesus proclaimed brought happiness to those mentioned above and countless others. It can do the same for any who accept the truth of the Bible and apply it in their lives.—Psalm 19:7, 8.