I AM Jehovah's Witness!
[NSB Translation Notes]
A message from the Translator:
As long ago as I can remember I have been searching for the Truth from the Holy Scriptures. I was also on a personal quest to find the church organization that taught the Truth. When I was a young boy I attended church with my older sister at the First Methodist Church in Le Mars, Iowa. I always enjoyed the reading of the Gospels. The music was also very nice and it was accompanied by the large pipe organ attached to the wall in back of the pulpit. But the most appealing feature was the half hour sermon. I listened attentatively to the minister hoping to hear some profound Bible truth, but it never came. The minister constantly quoted worldly poets and noted authors. What a big disappointment! Finally I gave up on such an endeavor and quite attending that church.
The next church I attended was Central Baptist Church at Sioux City, Iowa. It was far more exciting then the Methodist Church. The songs were filled with pep and the preacher spoke with enthusiasm. It was altogether an exciting experience. I remember the words of one very beautiful song: "now I belong to Jesus and Jesus belongs to me." But the preacher never adequately explained how to belong to Jesus. He kept calling us to go down to the alter and cry and carry on and ask for forgiveness and be saved. There was a lot of crying and people kept saying, "I've got Jesus in my heart." But I knew these people and they didn't act as if they had Jesus anywhere let alone in their hearts." As human beings go they were kind and loving people but something seemed phony about the whole arrangement.
When I was 16 I tried to organize a youth organization for Christians in the town. I was invited to speak to the Free Methodists first. They were very kind to me and wanted me to attend their church, however I found them to be very much like the Baptists. There was a lot of emotion and very little knowledge of the Bible.
Then there was the Assembly of God. Now these people were very loud. They shouted a lot during the worship service. It was difficult for me to concentrate on God's Word while everyone was shouting, jumping up and down, and waving their arms in the air above their heads. They said they were seeking Holy Spirit and then someone was talking in a guttural language. Someone next to me explained they were speaking in tongues. But my Bible tells me that God is a God of order, not disorder, and this experience was not an orderly ordeal. So I moved on.
Later I found out that each one of these religious organizations taught that God is some kind of mysterous Trinity, a man made doctrine that originated nearly 3oo years after Jesus Christ lived on the earth. After studing the Scriptures I found out that Jesus and the Apostles never taught that God was a Trinity. So the Trinity Doctrine was evidently one of the key teachings that could be used as a way to eliminate the false teachers and false religious groups. "Hear, O Israel: Jehovah our God is one Jehovah" (ASV) (Deuteronomy 6:4)
Have you ever attended a church service in a private home? I did. A few years after I graduated from high school I met a group of people who were called "two-by-twos." They refered to themselves as "the Truth" and "the Way." They were in groups of 10 or 20 people in each congregation. Some times they drove to nearby towns and met in larger assemblies. Their ministers served without pay. They were supported by donations and lived in the homes of the members. (Matthew 10:8-10) Many of their practices were identical to the 1st century Christians and it felt right to be with them, but they believed in the Trinity. The small congregations offered a friendly and loving experience. However, I soon moved on and continued my quest for truth.
During the decade of the 1960s Garner Ted Armstrong, on "The World Tomorrow" radio broadcasts, presented irrefutable proof that Christmas was a pagan holiday and that the human soul was not a spirit that separated from the body at death to live on for all eternity. That just about seperated me from church membership for life. I was then searching for a church organization that believed that God is the God of the Bible, one single being to whom all of our devotion is owed (not a Trinity), that the soul dies, and that Christmas was a false practice that should be avoided. Armstrong preached that Christians should continuee to keep the Sabbath Holy just as it says in the Hebrew Scriptures. While I could see this truth in the Bible, I could also understand the need to keep everyday holy. Jehovah's Witnesses are constantly trying to keep every single day holy to Jehovah God. Many Witnesses are out in service doing the preaching work every single day of the week! Witnessing to others about God's Kingdom is a very important part of worshiping the true God.
The list of precious Bible Truths was growing and it was becomming more and mere difficult to find a group of people who believed as I then believed. I pretty much gave up on the quest for truth for the next ten years. It was always present in the back of my mind and I read from my Bible from time to time in hopes of some revelation.
The year was 1980. I was 41 years old. I was a loan officer at a savings and loan. The banking world was suffering from double digit inflation and people were defaulting on their home mortgages. Our two daughters were now teenagers who were rebelling against parental authority, and life looked bleak. The constant tension in our family lead my wife and I to seek advice from the Holy Bible but we didn't understand much of what we read. One of Jehovah's Witnesses, a sister, left the Awake Magazine featuring articles about the worldwide effects of hyperinflation in our door. It was part of her personal ministry, her heartfelt desire to attract me to read Bible truth and later when I met her I thanked her for leaving the magazine in my door. I mailed in the coupon on the back of the magazine and six months later in May of 1981 I began studying with Jehovah's Witnesses and immediately started attending meetings at the Kingdom Hall at Newton, Iowa. I made my dedication to serve Jehovah one year later in 1982.
Faithful believers in Jehovah God and his son Jesus Christ attempt to live a life that is completely dedicated to serving the True God thru his son. The Holy Scriptures are God's Word. We believe in what the Bible says and we try to obey it. (2 Timothy 3:16, 17)
As one of Jehovah's Witnesses I believe in Jesus Christ as my personal Savior. He is my Savior, my heavenly friend, and my king! Jesus serves as our Intermediary who provides a channel for prayer to God. He paid the ransom price to redeem us from our sins. This allows us to have a close relationship with our Heavenly Father. Most brothers and sisters take their dedication to God very serious. This is a personal mater and we each want to have Jesus Christ and Jehovah God in our hearts! Jesus can be in your heart.
Do you remember Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians? It’s found at Ephesians 3:17-19. Notice that being ‘rooted and established on the foundation involves having Christ ‘dwell in our hearts’. Christ dwells in our hearts when we let his example and teachings affect our feelings and actions. It is more then just an emotional indwelling. It requires obedience! (1 Peter 2:21)
Some former Jehovah's Witnesses claim that the Witnesses are all slaves of the Watchtower Society. They say JWs are forced to believe and obey things against their own will. I have never found this to be true. I have exercised my own free will in all matters of faith and doctrine over the past 26 years. I believe the teachings of Jehovah’s Witnesses because I have proved them to be true according to the Holy Scriptures. You too can do the same!
One former Witness complained: "Later on, we actually counted up all of the material that the organization expected Witnesses to read. The books, magazines, lessons, etc. added up to over three thousand pages each year, compared with less than two hundred pages of Bible reading assigned - and most of that was in the Old Testament. The majority of Witnesses were so bogged down by the three thousand pages of the Society's literature that they never got around to doing the Bible reading." That is not true! The average Jehovah's Witness does read from the Holy Scriptures and that includes the weekly Bible reading. Nearly every paragraph in all of these magazines and books refer the reader to the Bible. As for me, I spend the majority of my time reading directly from the Bible.
Hateful anti-Witness and anti-Watchtower apostates claim that "JWs are forbidden to read the Bible alone, forbidden to read a personal letter from a non-JW friend with a Bible verse in it, forbidden to think for themselves when it comes to religion but must blindly accept anything the "organization" teaches and they are likewise forbidden from visiting any religious website other than the JW official one at "watchtower.org." My answer to this: Witnesses are lovingly cautioned to stay away from apostate material offered in person, thru the mail, and on the Internet. When you have Truth from the Holy Scriptures why stray to other teachings that are not Bible truth.
They charge that the "watchtower wants 100% information control." They say "the Internet is a serious threat to the organization. My answer to this is I spend the majority of my time reading directly from the Bible. No one has ever forbidden me from reading my Bible. The Watchtower publications all direct the reader to read the Bible. I have never blindly accepted any teaching from the Watchtower organization or any other religious organization. I have published the New Simplified Bible and NSB Translation Notes on the Internet. The Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society has NOT tried to prevent me from doing this. The Brothers have not attempted to discourage me from publishing on the Internet. And if they did I would do what my Bible trained conscience told me to do.
Some people complain that Jehovah's Witnesses are brain washed and indoctrinated by use of constant repetition to teach and think the same as all other Witnesses. Brain washing is the wrong way to describe Christian training and study offered out of love and desire for unity. (2 Timothy 3:16, 17) (Ephesians 4:1-6) Jehovah's Witnesses are doing their best to live a faith that is as close as possible to the first century Christians:
*Jesus sent the disciples out in pairs to preach door-to-door and village-to-village. (Matthew 10:1-14) Witnesses actively go door-to-door in the ministry. (Matthew 28:18-20)
*Jesus told his followers "do not be part of the world." (John 16:6) (John 18:36) (1 John 5:19) Witnesses are not part of the political, social, or religious world. (James 4:4)
*Jesus taught his followers to love God and love their fellow man. (Matthew 22:37) JWs actually go to extremes to try to obey this command. In fact Jehovah's Witnesses refuse to go to war in order to avoid killing their fellowman. This is because it is impossible to show love while killing someone. (John 13:34, 35)
*Jesus showed his disciples how to pray. (Matthew 6:9-13) The first thing he taught them is to pray that God’s name be blessed. He said, "let your name be sanctified." God's name is translated from the abbreviation YHWH found nearly 7,000 times in the Hebrew Scriptures. It can be transliterated YHWH, Yahweh, Jehovah, or the LORD. The important principle here is that the name is respectfully used in prayer and worship. JWs are at least trying to honor God's name!
*Jesus said to "go into all the world and preach the good new of God's Kingdom. Jehovah's Witnesses have worldwide ministry with nearly 7 million ordained ministers working day and night to fulfill this great commission!
You too may be searching for Bible Truth. I invite you to talk to Jehovah's Witnesses. They will be happy to assist you. You can contact them by calling your local Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses. You can also contact them by going to their Website at: watchtower.org. They will lovingly help you compare the teachings from the Scriptures and your own church. You are absolutely under no obligation to attend meetings or make contributions.
When home computers became more affordable I bought one and obtained as much Bible software as I could afford. Then I began to translate and write the New Simplified Bible.
My Very Best Regards,
James R Madsen, NSB
(Last Update: May 25, 2008) (This page is under construction. More to come later)
The New Simplified Bible is not affiliated with any Bible publishing society or religious organization. It is not related to the publishing and preaching work of Jehovah's Witnesses and it is not endorsed by the Watch Tower Society.
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