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Outstanding Assemblies in Korea and AlaskaThe Watchtower—1956 | September 1
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plane for the short one-hour hop over the mountains to their home congregation at Juneau, Alaska. Here again a group came to the airport to meet the travelers headed for New York. These little thirty-minute refreshers along the way certainly made the heart glad, both for the travelers and for the local congregation publishers. From the plane a fine view was enjoyed of the beautiful glacier of Mendenhall, as well as of the snow-capped mountain range along Canada’s west coast. From the Seattle airport Mt. Ranier could be seen in all its glory as a tall cone standing above the low clouds.
The transcontinental flight in the United States was rapid. It was good to see from the air the fine new structure the Society had been building since the summer of 1955 (now completed) at Brooklyn. Thus ended ten weeks of traveling, meeting missionaries, branch servants, special pioneers, circuit and district servants and many thousands of other publishers of Jehovah’s kingdom in far-flung areas of the South Pacific and Far East. Love shown by all these made one’s heart glad and the Society’s traveling representatives rejoiced that they had had the opportunity of serving their brothers and having wonderful fellowship with them in these many lands. Truly Jehovah and his enthroned King continue gathering together the “other sheep” from every nation, kindred and tongue, and the time draws nearer when all surviving mankind will be made one under their Creator. The thousands of Jehovah’s witnesses in all these countries expressed their warm love and greeting to all their fellow workers world-wide, and are determined to stick together in the New World society, giving Jehovah exclusive devotion.
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Questions From ReadersThe Watchtower—1956 | September 1
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Questions From Readers
● 1 Samuel 28:6 (NW) says: “Although Saul would inquire of Jehovah, Jehovah never answered him, either by dreams or by the Urim or by the prophets.” But 1 Chronicles 10:14 (NW) says about Saul: “And he did not inquire of Jehovah.” How can these two texts be harmonized?—N. M., Hawaii.
Apparently Saul made inquiry of Jehovah, but not in the right way or with the right motives. His heart was not clean in the matter and Jehovah could see this, so no answer was given to Saul from God. Then Saul turned to the witch of En-dor, or to the spirit medium located there. He made inquiry of the spirit medium, a practice condemned by God. Saul went through certain forms of inquiring of God, but he did not make inquiry of God in an upright, clean way, and for that reason God did not hear or answer Saul.
A person today may pray to God, but if the person is wicked or prays wrongly God does not hear the prayer. “You do ask, and yet you do not receive, because you are asking for a wrong purpose, that you may expend it upon your cravings for sensual pleasure.” “If one turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer is an abomination.” “The LORD is far from the wicked, but he hears the prayer of the righteous.”—Jas. 4:3, NW; Prov. 28:9; 15:29, RS.
In one sense it may be said that a person prays, in that he goes through the form of praying. But it may be said in another sense that he does not pray, since he does not do it in the way that is acceptable to God and as a result his prayer is never heard by God. So in the same way 1 Samuel 28:6 may say Saul inquired of God because he went through the form of inquiry, and 1 Chronicles 10:14 may also say correctly that Saul did not inquire of God, meaning he made no proper, acceptable inquiries.
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