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Written by Sherry Jansma
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Saturday, 05 June 2010 10:19 |
 Nils and I arrived at Bethel in 1966, not long after Ray and Cynthia Franz. Since Cynthia and I were both assigned as housekeepers, we became friends, and it was through her that I came to know Ray. Cynthia always spoke of her husband with profound love and respect. One time when she became extremely ill and the doctors were unable to accurately diagnose her condition, Ray devoted himself to her care, researching her symptoms until he was instrumental in discovering the problem. During her lengthy illness, his love, patience, and tender care for her were obvious to all of us. A man's character is often defined by the way he treats his wife.
Therefore, it wasn't surprising to me to hear the following comments from a group of friends at Bethel. One evening, we were sitting around a table in the dining room. The conversation drifted to a common problem at Bethel --- whom could we trust? So often if we needed help or advice involving a personal weakness, we might be tempted to confide in a mature overseer. However, so many Bethelites, after baring their souls, soon experienced some sort of disciplinary action taken against them or a mysterious disappearance of former privileges of service, such as speaking assignments or table seating. As a result, we decided there was no one we could turn to, except for Ray Franz. The general consensus of opinion in that group of Bethelites was that Ray was loving and kind, fair and trustworthy. If we confided in him, we would not be disappointed.
Little did Nils and I realize then how instrumental Ray would be in helping us leave the organization and subsequently come to Christ. I'm sure the Master has already said to him, "Well done, good and faithful servant!" (Matt. 25:21) |
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Written by Sherry Jansma
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Friday, 05 February 2010 15:34 |
 When Nils and I were asked recently to teach a class on the Jewish festivals, my first thoughts on the subject raced back to what I had been taught as one of Jehovah's Witnesses. The Watchtower Society spends a great deal of time and effort on Old Testament events and how they have had a greater fulfillment in the New Testament and in modern times. So when I thought of the Passover and how it was fulfilled, I could sum up my Watchtower recollections in a sentence or two - Jesus was the true Passover lamb whose blood was shed to deliver all people from bondage to sin and death; none of his bones was broken; and we should celebrate the Lord's Evening Meal once a year as the Passover was celebrated by the Jews. What else was there to know from the Watchtower perspective? A whole lot more, as Nils and I discovered in researching the Passover. My faith was so strengthened in God's attention to detail and in Jesus' role in the fulfillment of prophecy that I want to present the main points of our study here for your review, in hope that you will be equally impressed.
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Written by Sherry Jansma
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Wednesday, 14 October 2009 15:38 |
The first time my husband Nils and I attended a Bible study at a local church, we didn’t want anyone to know that we were Jehovah’s Witnesses. So we wore blue jeans, used aliases, and prominently displayed our King James Bibles. But in spite of all these covert actions, we apparently gave ourselves away within the first ten minutes of the study. As someone later told us, “We knew you must be Witnesses. You kept using the name Jehovah.” Well, why wouldn’t we? From the year 1931 when Joseph Rutherford plucked the name “Jehovah’s Witnesses” out of the Old Testament (Isaiah 43:12 NWT), the Watchtower Society has written, spoken, revered, sung, and called upon the name Jehovah so many times that, to Jehovah’s Witnesses, it has become synonymous with eternal salvation and divine protection. On the other hand, the majority of Christians place the same significance upon the name of Jesus. They quote John 5:23 where it says, “. . . in order that all may honor the Son as they honor the Father. He that does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him.”
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Written by Sherry Jansma
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Friday, 28 August 2009 15:03 |
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[For those of you who want more detail on my last blog: “Watchtower Crime Scene—Where Did the Body Go Part 1,” click here for Part 2.]
A nightmare to a typical Christian might be the act of tripping with the Communion tray at church and flinging permanent stain-causing wine all over everyone in the first few rows. A nightmare to a typical Jehovah’s Witness might be the act of accidentally partaking of the wine when he or she wasn’t “worthy” to do so. How on earth has the Watchtower Society managed to convince millions of people worldwide to simply pass the bread and wine at the Lord’s Evening Meal instead of partaking of it? Believe it or not, they have accomplished this by simply switching an adjective for an adverb when discussing Paul’s words at 1 Corinthians, chapter 11.
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Written by Sherry Jansma
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Wednesday, 19 August 2009 16:35 |
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The Watchtower Society has to get rid of the body, the body of Jesus, that is. If they can’t convince Jehovah’s Witnesses that Jehovah disposed of Jesus’ body at his resurrection, then their entire two-class system (144,000 chosen ones going to heaven and the rest of faithful humans living forever on a paradise earth) is in big trouble. It’s doubtful that anyone would knowingly choose an eternity of “either/or”---either life in heaven or life on earth—if, by the resurrection of Jesus’ body, the Bible is promising all of us a body like his after we die, one that can live both in a new heaven and on a new earth! So how does the Watchtower Society get Jehovah’s Witnesses to believe that Jesus was raised as a spirit? One way is by conveniently leaving out the context.
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