My testimony to Jesus Christ
In 1990 I turned to the Bible for help and answers during a time of great stress in my marriage and family life. I secluded myself in my bedroom and began to read the Gospel books from the Living Bible. I did this over a few weeks when I could find time between work and family duties. I began to become very infatuated with this man JESUS. I never doubted he existed because I had heard of him before and had been to Jerusalem and Galilee when I was a teenager along with my family for a vacation my father saw as a good purpose… to visit the Holy Land.
But now I was learning about this good and perfect person who God sent us for our salvation and reconciliation to himself. When I got to the end of the book of John, I remember how I knelt and invited Jesus into my heart to lead me; and that I gave myself over to be one of his disciples. It was an emotional and life-changing moment. Instantly, The Holy Spirit filled me with an incredible sensation. I had tears of joy. I was never to be the same. I felt HIM dwelling inside me from that moment onward.
I immediately knew I must seek him out and find out if there were any disciples left on the earth. From what I knew about the churches, I had not sensed they were a group of disciples as I had come to know from the Gospel books I had just read. But I now knew more, and my eyes of perception were sharpened from the scriptures. I felt I had The Holy Spirit inside me leading me and I was not afraid to go to the various churches in my area in search of those who are called Christians as described from the scriptures. I went to perhaps 6 or 10 churches and their services and even would stop in to speak to pastors when I drove past a church I had not seen before. I did not feel the same spirit in them that I had in me. I kept looking. I knew what I was looking for and it was to find those that were like the disciples I had read about in the Gospel books of the Bible. Meanwhile, I decided to move to Canada where my wife had a family.
I immigrated to Canada with my family to start a new life in a rural area away from the madness of the cities and culture of California which was sliding into demonic liberalism to accommodate the Homosexual community in San Francisco. I read about the changes being made in government and how the cultural leaders and media were pushing God out of the public discourse and instead pushing society towards a “No rules, do what feels good,” moral attitude. I didn’t want this abomination and ugly disrespect for Godly principles to be the environment in which I would raise my children. So, we moved up north.
I continued my spiritual journey looking for the disciples and trusting The Holy Spirit to guide me and keep me from the empty places. I went to perhaps other 6 or 8 churches in the small village in our area with my wife sometimes accompanying me. But I continued to leave empty and unfulfilled spiritually. I could not understand why even the pastors I met seemed a part of the world as if they had never experienced The Holy Spirit as I had. Looking back now, it’s clear they were still “in the world” and had not had the same experience I had when I submitted my heart to Jesus.
So, I continued to pray every day to the Lord to lead me to his people or to lead his people to find me. This was my prayer as I knew that I needed help in reading and understanding the Holy Scriptures and I needed to be around those, who like me, had experienced The Holy Spirit (baptism in The Holy Spirit?) and who were pushing forward to become disciples of Jesus and bear witness to the Gospel of the Kingdom of God. But I was frustrated in not finding them yet still patient and enduring in asking the Heavenly Father to help me find the disciples.
One day I came home at lunch and my wife had prepared my meal. I sat at the table and there I saw a magazine. I started to read it and I got very excited. It was talking about God and that God had a name, Jehovah, and this magazine seemed to teach heavy scripture and from my viewpoint at that time, it was encouraging. Had I found the answer to my prayers? Had God led the disciples of Jesus to me? I didn’t know yet, but I was excited for it seemed the writer of this magazine knew God and was explaining Him. I exclaimed to my wife and asked, “Where did this magazine come from?” She replied that two ladies had come to the door and offered it and she, knowing I was searching for a church, accepted it and said to them, “My husband will be interested in reading it.” She was right. So where are these people now? I saw no local contact information. My wife told me the ladies said they will return.
I could hardly wait as I felt I had come across those that knew God and could teach Him to me. After all, I only had read the New Testament Gospel Books and knew little else, but wanted to know so much more. In a few weeks, the ladies returned and I answered the door. I then came out of the house and spoke with these two ladies (Jehovah’s Witnesses Sisters.) They impressed me as modest woman and they spoke softly. I agreed with their talk and when they invited me to the Sunday Public Meeting, I agreed. I attended my first meeting at the Kingdom Hall. After that meeting, the sister sitting near me who had come to my door asked me what I thought. When I affirmed that I liked what I heard, she offered a Bible study which I accepted. She arranged for Brother Catcher to meet up with me and I was so happy in anticipation and awaited his call.
And so I met with Brother Catcher at his home. We talked and read scriptures. He had not yet presented a Watch Tower publication book. We just met and talked and I remember him introducing Jehovah and the idea of theocracy (aka, the Kingdom of God.) But I also remember objecting to his introducing a theocracy (Kingdom) under the name of Jehovah and cited this scripture:
Mathew 28:18-20, BSB
18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
I said to him, isn’t it Jesus we should be focused on? He is the Son, not the Father, but the Father gave him all authority so should we not be looking to Jesus to follow rather, than as Brother Catcher presented it to be the name of the Father (Jehovah) we should serve? Are we not serving the Heavenly Father when we serve the Son? In other words, should we not be calling ourselves Jesus Witnesses, not Jehovah’s Witnesses? It was a subtle but important distinction to me.
Over the next weeks and months, I agreed to study the, "You Can Live Forever in Paradise Book.” So much knowledge of The Heavenly Father and Jesus was opened to me. I continued to study weekly and gradually added the Theocratic Ministry and Group Book Study meetings to my schedule in addition to the already attending to the Sunday Public Talk and Watchtower study meetings. My marriage continued to be under stress until it finally broke and my wife returned to our house in California with our children. Then, my acceptance and inclusion into the Catcher family household became even more important to me, from a social perspective and they certainly served as a healing influence.
I have to say that to this day, I am so grateful this family took me in emotionally, spiritually, and physically in the sense that I was at their house several days every week for study or supper and was very happy to have a new family. Brother Catcher and his loving wife and their great kids were a blessing to me; I believe they were a gift to me from God. I was under a great deal of emotional trauma from an unstable life and there was a great healing that took place when I associated with this family in the environment of sharing and learning their faith and myself learning more and more Bible truth.
I learned more about God and Jesus and the Kingdom and soon I would be out in the ministry going door to door to spread the good news.
But what I didn’t fully realize at the time, was that among many of the true things l learned from scriptures were also doctrines of men being interwoven with Bible truth. Just to add some reflection, now after 30 years, the false teachings interlaced with Truth will eventually be disproven by The Holy Spirit to a seeker of Truth; these false teachings cannot stand the testing of scripture. Enlightenment comes from leading a prayerful life dedicated to Christ. The Truth eventually succeeds and a lie will be exposed. This journey took me 30 years to come back to Jesus from the spiritual damage that ensued after being stumbled by a false teaching; which I will now discuss.
With no disrespect for the Catcher family, because I have only love for them, but I must divulge what has been made clear to me. I can only give the credit for these clarities to The Holy Spirit. God called me back after 23 years of having walked away from the JW organization due to a Watchtower article that retracted their previously false declaration of the fulfillment of the event of Jesus separating the sheep and the goats (Mathew 35:31-33). See a recap article issued on July 15, 2013 in the LINKS section that addresses corrections in the Governing Body’s (GB) thinking regarding the separating of the sheep and goats. The previous teaching declared in 1989 by the GB was that Christ Jesus was now separating the sheep and goats by using the Jehovah’s Witnesses in their door-to-door ministry. However, in 1995 they retracted that declaration and corrected themselves by acknowledging that Jesus would do the separating when he returned in the future at the time of the Tribulation. (See attached WT July 15, 2013, Page 8 of 8 Paragraph 19).
It was in 1995 when they first retracted their claim that publishers were helping Jesus to separate the sheep from the goats at the door. That article of retraction caused me to lose faith in the legitimacy of the organization’s claim to be the exclusive channel for God to man at this time of the end and bolt out from them. The 2013 article I referred in the prior paragraph, says that the governing body and/or “discreet slave” does NOT have authority over Christ’s sheep pending the beginning of the Tribulation. I think many of the sheep still believe the GB does have authority from God though the GB now claim that authority will not be granted by Jesus until the time of the Tribulation (per this Watchtower article). Many of the rank-and-file JWs are still living under the authority of the governing body who actually says they don’t yet have that authority. Why? Because the governing body continues teaching, they do have that authority and are the only channel God is using with mankind. In other words, they contradict themselves yet still want the power over the members’ lives in an extraordinary manner and the members grant them this authority over their lives.
If they themselves say they have not been given authority by Jesus at this time, do not worry about your spiritual standing with God if they kick you out (dis-fellowship you.) You have not necessarily lost your standing with God. If you repent of any wrongful act (sin,) you can be restored to Him by The Holy Spirit. You do not need to return through a “year of process” to be confident you are forgiven. You are forgiven by God as soon as your repentance is sincere. (See Titus 3:5, 2 Cor 7:10) and note the word “renewing of The Holy Spirit.” Learn to separate their claimed authority over your standing before God and what the scriptures actually say about your relationship with God.
I left the Watchtower Jehovah's Witness (WTJW) organization because of the WT article in 1995 (Oct 15, 1995 pp 18-23 p4; no longer available on their website) that RECANTED a previous statement/doctrine of prophetic fulfillment that said the "publishers" were helping Jesus separate the sheep and goats at the door. I walked away spiritually stumbled and damaged that day after reading that article. Why? They claimed (and still do) to have "exclusive authority" from God as HIS ONLY channel of communication to mankind at this time in history near the end of days. So then, if they are the modern fulfillment of Mathew 24:45 (…who really is the discreet slave…?) as they claim, I asked myself, how could they then be wrong? How could they teach something so profound as... a disciple of Jesus Christ, while in the door-to-door ministry, is “assisting” Jesus to sort out those for life or those for destruction…and then say "Oops, made a mistake on that one." You can’t claim you are the exclusive channel for God’s communication with mankind and then keep correcting your doctrine. God is not incorrect anytime. You are, therefore, a false prophet.
Some may say, "How dumb to believe them from the beginning." But there is a lot more going on than you realize if you think this. For those not yet learned in the scriptures but longing to know God, the appeal of a vast library of easy-to-read literature on various Bible topics and indeed on revealing “a master plan” of God, is strong. I learned more there than perhaps I could have anywhere. I also was able to serve my God declaring the Good News of the Kingdom to the public. But I also learned, sadly, false doctrines (more than just the sheep and goat example) that had been slipped into the teachings of Bible Truth. God led me there for a reason and in trusting Him I have survived the damages done to me. Always put your trust in God, not in man.
1 Peter 1:21 BSB
Through Him you believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and glorified Him; and so your faith and hope are in God.
Psalm 146:3 BSB
Put not your trust in princes, in mortal man, who cannot save.
This organization promotes and exercises complete control over members’ lives and their beliefs with the authority to dis-fellowship and cause the entire full worldwide membership including your own member family to shun you. And they will dis-fellowship if you, being baptized by them, believe anything contrary to their doctrine. The people are not horrible, but it is the system they belong to that has strict rules.
Their WT article (Oct 15, 1995 pp 18-23 p4) recanted a prior statement of a belief that you would have been unwise to question among JWs or in the Kingdom Hall, before that article because the position on the separation work through the door-to-door ministry was still doctrine. That told me how abusive spiritually they were (and still are.) “Believe us or else; oops, we made a mistake, undo that thought.” And for those that died over the blood transfusion prohibition that we later qualified and modified, so sorry you died thinking you were being faithful to God when it was the Governing Body that demanded obedience to this, not God. But believe everything else we say (until we recant or clarify that.) But don’t object to our teachings at any time out loud or else we will hold a judicial committee and label you as apostate and then dis-fellowship you before the congregation and all members must shun you. The pain of this dis-fellowshipping to a young person can be mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and physically devastating. So much BLOOD GUILT is on those men from the very beginning of their false utterances.
When I read the answer to the last question in the WT article that day (the recanting of the timing of the separation of the sheep and goat doctrine,) it was surreal. I literally had The Holy Spirit pressing on me that I must leave because they had taught us the prophesy was already being fulfilled, but that day, changed it. When I walked away from the Kingdom Hall and the Organization, I realized that I had lost my ability to pray to God (they succeeded in hijacking it.) My mind had been so conditioned that I could not have a relationship with God except under the auspices of the governing body authority (so called the anointed) such that I could not pray for 23 years. I walked away from the WTJW and was angry at God for leading me to this false prophet and I gradually slipped into sin. My spirit was grieving and my mental state was experiencing cognitive dissonance. I was a spiritual and emotional wreck for many years. In retrospect, this false prophet was very clever. They interweave doctrinal lies into scriptural truth and teach a perverted version of Truth that is destructive to one’s soul. See my rebuttals and note their wrong and destructive teachings regarding the commemoration of the Lord’s Supper.
Though I never renounced God and Jesus, I always stood firm in their sovereignty over me, but no longer prayed. As I continued to encounter individuals who seemed to be hurting in their lives, I bore witness to them about the healing power of God. I would even find a local Kingdom Hall to get literature as I traveled around the country to place with an individual. I knew no other resources and was still confused about what had happened to me and unsure about which way to go. My heart was still for Jesus, I just didn’t know how to relate to him. I had rejected the Watchtower; but I had not yet come to know Jesus free from the false teachings of a high-control religion that does not promote a personal relationship with God and substitutes its authority for that of our mediator, Jesus Christ. Spoiler Alert! Your salvation has nothing to do with the opinion of any religious leaders. Your salvation is determined solely by the Holy Bible.
In 2019 when having a painful recovery from surgery I turned and cried out to God because I had reached my limit in separation from Him and felt the urgency to reconcile my relationship with Him. I again felt The Holy Spirit confirming in me that I was reaching out to my Heavenly Father and His SPIRIT was acknowledging me. I didn’t know where to start my relationship back towards Him. Although this might be hard for some to understand, the thought to enter a church in Christendom was not yet possible. For I still held they practiced a man-made (which is idolatry) version of Christianity. So, I returned to the Kingdom Hall in a new city I had moved to.
I told myself I will find out if my leaving the Watchtower was due to their false teachings, or was it me that messed up my spiritual calling. Therein began the disappointment. Jesus said deep brotherly LOVE would be the sign among his disciples. But it soon became clear to me as I began to try to reintegrate into the local Kingdom Hall that there was only a "pretense of love" within this congregation. The “love bombing” was real but then, over time, if you are not fully participating and agreeing to a new book study, it becomes evident a “condition” is attached to the measure of love and friendship they would show. Despite that I was praising God for having let me live long enough to repent again and was expressing my desire to serve him again, when I reached out for establishing a new friendship with this brother, he wanted to meet only on the basis of me studying one of the newer books published by the Watchtower Society. I was leery of repeating the indoctrination process again.
Other conditions that affect whether one is considered “good association” is: the effort and consistency one makes to comment during the reading of Watchtower articles, ones’ meeting attendance, and how much time one spends in the public preaching ministry. In one of the last online Zoom meetings I attended (during Covid) a "sister" commented that "our salvation may depend on how much we comment, our meeting attendance, and how often we go out in service." A light bulb went off. This is a works-based earn-your-salvation organization. You dare not leave them lest your salvation be at risk. This is a belief they instill in all members.
But let me fair about one thing. I had become mobility impaired and the young brothers would come pick me up for meetings and some helped me move when I lost my house. There are some beautiful people that are in this organization. But that type of comment of that sister is an example of what they teach and believe. But what does the Bible say about salvation (any mention of comments at meetings? …talks before the congregation? …meeting attendance? …or ministry statistics?)?
The experience I had was...THE LESS you participate in the full program (I call their program the 'arbitrary performance standards set by the Governing Body' which are subject to change from time to time and contradictions) the LESS love you will get. If you pull back from participation, you may be considered “bad association,” or spiritually weak (weakness synonymous with weakness in the 'Program' and you are to be avoided but encouraged to do more too. But Jesus said LOVE is the KEY to know if you are among real Christians. How can love be conditional then? Love is love and there is a special love among the disciples even if some are struggling or are weak in faith. This is the very time to shore up your brothers and sisters in Christian Faith.
If you are stronger in faith to God, time spent with weaker brothers around you may help build up their faith in God. But here the faith in God is supplanted by faith in the governing body teachings. Unless you are strong in the organization’s program, then maybe you aren’t the best to be around. To be fair, I don’t want to come across as saying everyone is judgmental, but then I do remember on multiple occasions reading WT articles warning members to be aware of those inside and outside the congregation that might be considered “bad association.” And it was made clear that what constitutes bad association is not only those living sinful lives, non-believers having a worldly disposition, but also included lukewarm Christians.
Once, I said to a brother that had helped me at my place: “Brother, I love you and your wife “unconditionally.” Wow, you should have seen the deer in the headlights look on his face. I must have said something horrible (they are not used to that type of sentiment). When he moved from our neighborhood, he never said goodbye. Apparently, I was not speaking “cult language.” You obviously cannot love unless it is qualified as "conditional love." Love is based on performance. At that point I was NOT performing fully to plan though I was not saying anything contrary to their doctrinal beliefs. I can give you dozens of examples where the LOVE as Jesus embodied was not cultivated in the congregation. It was usually a restricted love.
Please know that I do not regret the association with JWs. They were a loving people towards me. In my mind, I was happy to use the support they provide to serve Jesus and to show my commitment and dedication to Him. I now understand my declarations in the door-to-door ministry while mostly using Bible scripture to witness to Jesus and the Kingdom of also included, to a degree, Watchtower doctrines. For the false Watchtower doctrines I taught, I ask God to forgive me.
Thinking back, I was so “on fire” for Jesus, I ignored the teachings I was skeptical about. What I mean by that is I said to myself, “I don’t really understand that teaching or I can’t see it scripturally, but I am getting so much good from learning things in the Bible and living among good human beings, I am going to overlook those for now so I can serve God.” Those are my feelings towards my first congregation in Canada. In that small mountain community, life seemed like a dream to me. I had been accepted into the small extended family of the congregation (about 100 people) and I was happy to have such a large family. I don't hold any animosity or resentment towards those I loved despite having discovered they are still captive in a false religion.
The truth is that the Organization’s indoctrination methods are effective. They are subtle. Soon the unsuspecting, with less knowledge of scriptures, will eventually have his/her faith in God hijacked. You will begin to substitute the worship of the Organization instead for the worship of God. You will come to accept the governing body of “anointed” as the only ones Jesus made a covenant with for a kingdom and the rest of the congregation aka “The Great Crowd” are the anointeds’ “friends.” Your Christ has just been taken from you when you believe them.
The “anointed” are between Jesus and the Great Crowd. That is why only the anointed partake at the memorial supper and everyone else passes the emblems of Christ’s blood and body without partaking. A two-class system of those saved is established, and the Great Crowd of believers are cautioned NOT TO PARTAKE as the New Covenant is only between Jesus and the anointed, not to include the Great Crowd of believers. This is a clever way the Devil’s deception gets millions to disobey Jesus’s commandment to partake if you want life.
I see the past as a learning experience I needed to go through (God led me and let me) so I could eventually discover HIM personally and outside of the interference/deception from the doctrines of men. Thus, I continue growing in a personal relationship with Him (between HIM and myself.) He certainly has opened my eyes to understand how false teachers are everywhere in the world. Many preachers and teachers and churches claim they are teaching "The Truth." But it all comes down to SCRIPTURE. The SCRIPTURES are the TRUTH. JESUS CHRIST is the TRUTH. Not any religion is The Truth.
John 17:17 BSB
17Sanctify them by the truth; Your word is truth.
John 14:6 KJV
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
He said know the truth and the truth shall set you free (John 8:32.) He means FREE from BONDAGE to false teachings. The Bible is our TOUCHSTONE of TRUTH.
Jesus said there would be love among his disciples, and he also said
God is Spirit and we must worship him in spirit and truth
John 4:23-24 BSB
23 But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. 24God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
Practicing Truth is critically important for acceptable worship to God.
He wants us to really get to KNOW HIM and the Messiah He sent forth
who is Jesus Christ. Our eternal life is dependent upon this.
John 17:3 NWT
3This means everlasting life, their coming to know you, the only true God, and the one whom you sent, Jesus Christ.
Here are a few of the doctrines of the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society that may help you to turn away from this False Prophet and turn to Jesus Christ. These are a few of the doctrines The Holy Spirit has brought to mind to help me deconstruct the parts of their doctrine which are false, and embrace Biblical Truth. As Jesus said in…
Mathew 4:4 BSB
But Jesus answered, “It is written:
‘Man shall not live on bread alone,
but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.
It is the words of God that is our food, the food of life, not the words from a man-originated communication. Do you want a relationship with your creator? Then, read His Holy Bible and put aside the Watchtower publications. An old "questions from readers" said that if a person stops reading the Watchtower magazines and only reads Scripture, it can be expected that in about two years that person will be out of the truth. What is the Truth if it is not scripture? It IS Scripture, so hold fast to the words of God and reject the doctrines of men.