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A Plea to Jehovah's Witnesses
I want everyone to
know that the reason this web site exists is because of the
love I have for Jehovah's Witnesses. If you have viewed the
content of this site, you may find that hard to believe,
however, please read on and allow me to explain. In my 35
years as a Jehovah's Witness I met hundreds of wonderful
people and developed close friendships with many of you. I
know that Jehovah's Witnesses are good, hardworking and
conscientious people whose goal in life is to serve Jehovah
in the manner He prescribes. Jehovah's Witnesses spend much
of their time going from house to house in an effort to
reach others with the kingdom message. I know that the house
to house work is not easy. It was not for me but we do it to
save our neighbors from the destruction in the last days of
this system of things. I have a very deep respect for the
dedication and sincerity of Jehovah's Witnesses. Why then do
I have a web site that features the failed prophecies and
teaching errors of Jehovah's Witnesses?
During the 35 years
that I was a Jehovah's Witness I never doubted that I was a
part of the one true religion. I truly believed that the
Watchtower Bible and Tract Society was indeed, God's
spokesman. I was a very active Jehovah's Witness. After
being baptized I became a ministerial servant and later an
elder. I served as a book study conductor, pioneered, was on
the hospital visitation committee, and served as the
Theocratic Ministry School overseer for over 17 years. I
gave assembly talks, wedding talks, funeral talks, Memorial
talks, special talks, served on
countless judicial committees
and I gave a public
talk nearly every month during the 20 years I was an Elder. My
entire life revolved around "the truth". I never looked beyond
the Society for answers to Bible questions. I accepted
without question everything the Watchtower Bible and Tract
Society taught as "the truth".
Due to health
problems my 95-year-old grandmother moved in with our family
in the early 1990's and needed 24 hour care. The added
responsibility of caring for my grandmother decreased my
meeting attendance and field service time. In time I had to
give up my responsibilities as a book study conductor,
later I had to resign as Theocratic Ministry School overseer
and eventually my appointment as elder.
With less
responsibility in the congregation and more responsibility
at home I began to spend less time at the Kingdom Hall.
During my evenings at home with my grandmother I did a lot
of personal Bible reading. The more Bible reading I did the
more I began to question the teachings of the Watchtower
Bible and Tract Society. I remembered the thought in the Paradise
book:
"How should you
feel if proof is given that what you believe is wrong? For
example, say that you were in a car, traveling for the first
time to a certain place. You have a road map, but you have
not taken time to check it carefully. Someone has told you
the road to take. You trust him, sincerely believing that
the way he has directed you is correct. But suppose it is
not. What if someone points out the error? What if he, by
referring to your own map, shows that you are on the wrong
road? Would pride or stubbornness prevent you from admitting
that you are on the wrong road? Well, then, if you learn
from an examination of your Bible that you are traveling a
wrong religious road, be willing to change. Avoid the broad
road to destruction; get on the narrow road to life!"
I had used this
example so many times in my preaching work as a Jehovah's
Witness to get others to examine their religion. How could I
be honest with Jehovah and myself if I were not applying the
advice given by the Faithful and Discreet Slave? I decided
to examine the road map I had been following for all these
years and began to do some research. I started with some of
the older publications of the Watchtower Bible and Tract
Society that I had in my personal library but never read.
Much to my amazement, I began to see the teachings of the
Watchtower Bible and Tract Society in a different light. I
was amazed to learn about Beth Sarim, an expensive mansion
that Jehovah's Witnesses built in 1929 for the
soon-to-return-princes and was actually deeded to David,
Gideon, Barak, Samson, and others. During the Great
Depression years Judge Rutherford used this mansion as a
summer home. See
Beth Sarim. I discovered
that Jehovah's Witnesses were very adamant about the end
coming in 1881, 1914, 1915, 1918, and 1925. Publishers sold
their homes, quit their jobs or took other life changing
measures to prepare for the end in those years just as I did
and saw many others do in 1975. I was astonished at the
number of failed prophecies I discovered. The more research
I did the more failed prophecies I found. I have listed some
of them on this web site under
Failed Prophecies. My
research of the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society's own
literature made me doubt that they were the Faithful and
Discreet Slave mentioned in Matthew chapter 24.
Discovering this
information was very disturbing, but even more disturbing to
me was that when the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society,
Jehovah's "Faithful and Discreet Slave", referred to these
past teachings in publications such as the Proclaimers book
they glossed over and misrepresented many of those
teachings. I felt that was neither faithful nor discreet.
My confidence in
the teachings of the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society had
been severely shaken and that motivated me to investigate
the New World Translation. I did not want to rely on the
interpretations of others so I enrolled in a New Testament
Greek class. I completed 2 semesters with a B average. I
completed most of a third semester but was unable to finish
due to health problems. I do not by any means pretend to be
a Greek scholar but I learned enough Greek grammar to see
that there was no way John 1:1 can be translated the way the
New World Translation committee did. Translating John 1:1 to
say that Jesus is "a god" violates basic Greek rules of
grammar. Also if John 1:1 is translated to say that Jesus is
"a God", He must be a true God and could not be a false God.
This conflicts with John 17:3 which says Jehovah is the
"only true God". I discovered other scriptures where the
translators of the New World Translation had added, omitted
or changed words in order to hide the Deity of Jesus. See
New World Translation Errors.
After much prayer
and deliberation I wrote a letter to my local congregation
to inform them that I no longer considered myself to be a
Jehovah's Witness. Reflecting on my discoveries I realized
that had my grandmother not moved in with our family, I
might never have had the time to do the personal Bible
reading that
opened my eyes to the truth. Because the Bible reading and research I did was
so time consuming, keeping up with my congregation
responsibilities prevented me from doing this research
earlier.
I realize that if
you are an active Jehovah's Witness your time to research
the road map you are following is limited as well as
discouraged. I have put vital information on this web site
should you decide to "refer to your own road map", as I did.
I encourage you to explore the information on this web site
prayerfully and with an open mind in addition to the many
other web sites about Jehovah's Witnesses. See
Related Links. If the
Watchtower Bible and Tract Society is truly Jehovah's
Faithful and Discreet Slave, they should be able to stand up
to the closest scrutiny. Jehovah's Word holds up under the
closest examination, so should His true slave.
If you are hesitant
to read material about Jehovah's Witnesses published by
anyone other than the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, I
fully understand. I encourage you to prayerfully read the
Bible's book of John, in a popular translation other than
the New World Translation prayerfully, with an open mind and
with the goal of understanding the identity of Jesus
Christ.
Thank you for
taking the time to read this and I pray your efforts to find
the truth are successful.
Email Cal Lehman with your
comments, good or bad I would love to hear from you. |
