JANUARY 2021 34567...6 (1) Pray often. Christians who are under pressure can ﬁnd relief when they turn to Jehovah in earnest prayer. (1 Pet. 5:7) In answer to your prayers, you can

34567JANUARY 2021

STUDY ARTICLES FOR:MARCH 1–APRIL 4, 2021

WEALLwant to lead a calm and peaceful life. No one en-joys feeling anxious. At times, however, we may strugglewith anxieties. In fact, some of Jehovah’s servants mayask the same question King David asked Jehovah: “Howlong will I have anxious concern, with grief in my hearteach day?”—Ps. 13:2.

2 Although we cannot be completely free from feelingsof anxiety, we can do much to control such feelings. Inthis article, we will first identify some of the things thatmay cause us to feel anxious. Then we will discuss sixpractical ways that we can remain calm as we deal withour problems.

WHAT MAY CAUSE US TO FEEL ANXIOUS?3 We may have little or no control over some things

that could cause us to feel anxious. For example, we can-not regulate how much the cost of food, clothing, andshelter will rise each year; nor can we control how fre-quently our workmates or schoolmates will try to temptus to be dishonest or immoral. And we cannot stopthe crime that happens in our neighborhood. We face

1. Like King David, what may some of us ask?2. What will we discuss in this article?3. What pressures do we face, and how much control do we have overthem?

STUDYARTICLE 1

Keep Calm andTrust in JehovahOUR YEARTEXT FOR 2021:

“Your strength will be in keeping calm and showing trust.”—ISA. 30:15.

SONG 3Our Strength, Our Hope,Our Confidence

PREVIEW

Our yeartext for 2021highlights the importanceof trusting in Jehovah aswe deal with stressfulsituations now and in thefuture. This article willdiscuss practical ways thatwe can apply the counselfound in our yeartext.

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these challenges because we live in aworld where most people’s thinking isnot based on Bible principles. Satan, thegod of this world, knows that some peo-ple will allow “the anxiety of this systemof things” to keep them from serving Je-hovah. (Matt. 13:22; 1 John 5:19) Nowonder that the world is so full of stress-ful situations!

4 We might respond to intense pres-sures by becoming consumed with anxi-ety. For instance, we may worry that wewill not earn enough money to care forour needs or that we will get sick andmiss work or even lose our job. We mayalso be concerned that we will be un-faithful when tempted to break God’slaw. Soon Satan will cause those whomhe controls to attack God’s people, so wemay worry about how we will react tothat attack.We may wonder, ‘Is it wrongfor me to feel some concern about suchissues?’

5 We know that Jesus told his follow-ers: “Stop being anxious.” (Matt. 6:25)Does this mean that he expects us tofeel no anxiety whatsoever? Certainlynot! After all, in the past some of Jeho-vah’s loyal servants struggled with anxi-ety, but they did not lose Jehovah’s ap-proval.� (1 Ki. 19:4; Ps. 6:3) Jesus wasactually reassuring us. He did not wantus to become so anxious about the caresof this life that our service to God would

� Some faithful brothers and sisters suffer from an over-whelming feeling of anxiety or panic. Such a disorder is aserious health condition and should not be confusedwith the type of anxiety that Jesus was discussing.

4. How might we respond to intense pressures?5. What did Jesus mean when he said: “Stop beinganxious”?

be negatively affected. What, then, areways that we can control feelings of anx-iety?—See the box “How to Do It.”

SIX THINGS THAT WILLHELP US KEEP CALM

6 (1) Pray often. Christians who areunder pressure can find relief whenthey turn to Jehovah in earnest prayer.(1 Pet. 5:7) In answer to your prayers,you can receive “the peace of God thatsurpasses all [human] understanding.”(Read Philippians 4:6, 7.) Jehovahcalms our anxious thoughts by means ofhis powerful holy spirit.—Gal. 5:22.

7 When approaching Jehovah inprayer, open your heart to him. Be spe-cific. Tell him what the problem is, andexplain to him how you feel about it. Ifthere is a possible solution, ask him forthe wisdom to find it and the strengthto implement it. If the answer to yourproblem is beyond your control, ask Je-hovah to help you not to be undulyworried about it. When you are specif-ic in your prayers, in time you will seemore clearly how Jehovah has answeredthem. If the answer does not come im-mediately after you have been praying,do not give up. Jehovah wants you to benot only specific but also persistent inyour prayers.—Luke 11:8-10.

8 As you throw your anxiety on Jeho-vah in prayer, be sure to include wordsof thanks. It is good for us to count ourblessings, even when our circumstances

6. According to Philippians 4:6, 7, what can calmour anxieties?7. What should we keep in mind when praying toGod?8. What should we include in our prayers?

JANUARY 2021 3

are especially difficult. If at times youare unable to find the right words to ex-press your intense emotions, rememberthat Jehovah answers prayers as simpleas ‘Please help!’—2 Chron. 18:31; Rom.8:26.

9 (2) Rely on Jehovah’s wisdom, notyour own. Back in the eighth centu-ry B.C.E., the people of Judah feltthreatened by the Assyrians. In a desper-ate effort to avoid coming under the As-syrian yoke, they turned to pagan Egypt.(Isa. 30:1, 2) Jehovah warned them thattheir wayward course would end in di-saster. (Isa. 30:7, 12, 13) Through Isa-iah, Jehovah told the people how theycould find real security. He said: “Yourstrength will be in keeping calm andshowing trust” in Jehovah.—Isa. 30:15b.

10 How might we show our trust in Je-hovah? Consider some examples. Sup-pose you are offered a better-paying jobthat will require a substantial amountof your time and will interfere with yourspiritual routine. Or suppose that some-one in the workplace expresses a roman-tic interest in you, but the person is nota baptized servant of God. Or imaginethat a beloved family member gives youan ultimatum: “It’s either me or yourGod.” In each of these cases, you willhave a difficult decision to make, butin each instance, Jehovah will give youthe direction you need. (Matt. 6:33; 10:37; 1 Cor. 7:39) The question is, Willyou trust that direction enough to ap-ply it?

9. How can real security be found?10. What are some circumstances in which we canshow our trust in Jehovah?

11 (3) Learn from good examples andbad ones. The Bible contains many ac-counts that highlight the value of keep-ing calm and putting our trust in Je-hovah. As you study these accounts,notice what helped God’s servants to re-main calm in the face of extreme oppo-sition. For example, when the Jewishsupreme court ordered the apostles tostop preaching, they were not intimi-dated. Instead, they boldly declared:“We must obey God as ruler ratherthan men.” (Acts 5:29) Even after be-ing flogged, the apostles did not panic.Why? Because they knew that Jehovahwas on their side. He was pleased withthem. Thus, they continued preachingthe good news. (Acts 5:40-42) Likewise,when the disciple Stephen faced death,he remained so peaceful and serene thathis face looked “like an angel’s face.”(Acts 6:12-15) Why? Because he was as-sured of Jehovah’s approval.

12 The apostles had direct evidencethat Jehovah was with them. He hadgiven them the power to perform mira-cles. (Acts 5:12-16; 6:8) That is not thecase with us today. Even so, through hisWord, Jehovah lovingly assures us thatwhenwe suffer for the sake of righteous-ness, he is pleased with us and his spiritis with us. (Read 1 Peter 3:14; 4:14.) Sorather than dwell on how we might reactto severe persecution in the future, weneed to focus on what we can do nowto build our confidence in Jehovah’sability to sustain and deliver us. Just as

11. Which Bible accounts could we study in orderto keep calm in the face of opposition?12. According to 1 Peter 3:14 and 4:14, why canwe be happy when we are persecuted?

4 THE WATCHTOWER

HOW TO DO IT1. Pray often

2. Rely on Jehovah’s wisdom

3. Learn from past examples

4. Memorize Bible passages

5. Associate with God’s people

6. Keep your hope strong

“Your strengthwill be in keepingcalm and showingtrust.”—ISA. 30:15

6 THE WATCHTOWER

those early disciples did, we must trustJesus’ promise: “I will give you wordsand wisdom that all your opposers to-gether will not be able to resist or dis-pute.” We have the guarantee: “By yourendurance you will preserve your lives.”(Luke 21:12-19) And never forget thatJehovah keeps in his memory the small-est details about his servants who diefaithful to him. With that knowledge, hewill resurrect them.

13 We can also learn from the experi-ences of those who failed to keep calmand trust in Jehovah. Studying thosebad examples will help us to avoid mak-ing the same mistakes they made. Forinstance, early in his reign, King Asaof Judah relied on Jehovah when con-fronted by a massive army, and Jehovahblessed himwithvictory. (2 Chron. 14:9-12) Later, though, when the much small-er army of King Baasha of Israel cameagainst him, Asa paid the Syrians formilitary help instead of looking to Jeho-vah for salvation, as he had in the past.(2 Chron. 16:1-3) And near the end ofhis life when he developed a severe ail-ment, he did not rely on Jehovah to helphim.—2 Chron. 16:12.

14 In the beginning, Asa looked to Je-hovah when faced with problems. Butlater he failed to turn to his God for help,preferring to handle matters on his own.On the surface, Asa’s plan to turn to theSyrians for help against Israel may haveappeared to be very practical. But his

13. How canwe benefit from considering the expe-riences of those who failed to keep calm and trustin Jehovah?14. What can we learn from Asa’s mistakes?

success was short-lived. Jehovah toldhim through a prophet: “Because you re-lied on the king of Syria and did not relyon Jehovah your God, the army of theking of Syria has escaped out of yourhand.” (2 Chron. 16:7) We must be care-ful not to feel so confident about han-dling matters on our own that we fail tolook to Jehovah for guidance throughhis Word. Even when we are faced withan urgent situation, we should calmlyrely on Jehovah, and he will help us tosucceed.

15 (4)Memorize Bible passages. As youcome across Bible passages showing thatstrength comes from keeping calm andtrusting in Jehovah, try to commit afew key verses to memory. You mayfind it helpful to read them aloud or towrite them down and review them of-ten. Joshua was commanded to read thebook of the Law regularly in an under-tone in order to act wisely. These re-minders would also help him overcomethe fear that he might otherwise havefelt in his circumstances. (Josh. 1:8, 9)Many expressions found in God’s Wordcan give you peace of mind and heart insituations that would normally lead tofeelings of anxiety or dread.—Ps. 27:1-3;Prov. 3:25, 26.

16 (5) Associate with God’s people. Je-hovah uses our brothers and sistersto help us to keep calm and trust inhim. At our meetings, we benefit fromthe instruction presented from the plat-form, the comments made by the audi-

15. What might we do when reading the Bible?16. How does Jehovah use the congregation tohelp us to keep calm and trust in him?

ence, and the upbuilding conversationswe have with our brothers and sisters.(Heb. 10:24, 25) We can also be greatlyencouraged when we share our feelingswith trusted friends in the congregation.“A good word” from a friend can go along way in helping to lift the weight ofour anxiety.—Prov. 12:25.

17 (6) Keep your hope strong. OurKingdom hope serves “as an anchorfor the soul,” giving us stability de-spite challenging circumstances or anx-ious thoughts. (Read Hebrews 6:19.)Meditate on Jehovah’s promise of a fu-ture in which negative thoughts willbe gone. (Isa. 65:17) Picture yourselfin the peaceful new world, where dis-tressing situations will no longer exist.(Mic. 4:4) You will also strengthen yourhope as you share it with others. Do allyou can in the preaching and disciple-making work. If you do, you can “have

17. According to Hebrews 6:19, how can our King-dom hope give us stability despite challenging cir-cumstances?

the full assurance of the hope down tothe end.”—Heb. 6:11.

18 As this system of things comes to itsend, we will experience more challengesthat could produce anxious thoughts.Our yeartext for 2021 can help us toface those challenges and remain calm,not in our own strength, but throughour trust in Jehovah. During the com-ing year, let us show by our actionsthat we have faith in Jehovah’s promise:“Your strength will be in keeping calmand showing trust.”—Isa. 30:15.

18. What challenges can we expect in the future,and how can we face them successfully?

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PICTURE DESCRIPTIONS Page 5: (1) Throughoutthe day, a sister prays intensely about her anxi-eties. (2) During her lunch break at work, shelooks to God’s Word for wisdom. (3) She medi-tates on good examples and bad ones found inthe Bible. (4) She puts on her refrigerator anencouraging scripture that she wants to memo-rize. (5) She enjoys good companionship while inthe ministry. (6) She strengthens her hope bythinking about the future.

HOW WOULD YOU ANSWER?

˛ Why is it not wrong to feelsome anxiety?

˛ What are six things thatwe can do to help us keepcalm?

˛ Why is our 2021 yeartextso timely?

SONG 8Jehovah Is Our Refuge

“GOD is love,” wrote the apostle John. (1 John 4:8)That simple statement reminds us of a fundamentaltruth: God, the Source of life, is also the Source of love.Jehovah loves us! His love makes us feel secure, happy,and satisfied.

2 For Christians, showing love is not optional. It is acommandment. (Read Matthew 22:37-40.) When wecome to know Jehovah well, we may find it easy to obeythe first commandment. After all, Jehovah is perfect; heis thoughtful and gentle in the way he treats us. Butwe may have difficulty obeying the second command-ment. Why? Because our brothers and sisters—who areamong our closest neighbors—are imperfect. At times,they may say and do things that we feel are uncaring andunkind. Jehovah knew that wewould face this challenge,so he inspired some of the writers of the Bible to includespecific counsel on why and how we should show love toone another. One of those writers was John.—1 John 3:11, 12.

3 In his writings, John stresses that Christians mustshow love. In fact, in his account of Jesus’ life, Johnuses the words “love” and “loved” more often than theother three Gospel writers combined. John was about

1. How does God’s love make you feel?2. According to Matthew 22:37-40, what are the two greatest com-mandments, and why may we have difficulty obeying the second one?3. What did John stress?

STUDYARTICLE 2

Lessons From“the DiscipleWhom Jesus Loved”

“Let us continue loving one another, because loveis from God.”—1 JOHN 4:7.

SONG 105“God Is Love”

PREVIEW

The apostle John is be-lieved to be “the disciplewhom Jesus loved.” (John21:7) So even as a youngman, he must have hadmany admirable qualities.Years later, Jehovah usedhim to write extensivelyabout love. This article willreview some of John’swritings and will discusswhat we can learn fromhis example.

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one hundred years old when he wrotehis Gospel account and his three letters.Those inspired writings reveal that lovemust influence everything a Christiandoes. (1 John 4:10, 11) However, it tooktime for John to learn that lesson.

4 When John was a young man, hedid not always show love. For example,on one occasion, Jesus and his discipleswere traveling to Jerusalem through Sa-maria. A certain Samaritan village re-fused to show them hospitality. Whatwas John’s response? He asked aboutcalling down fire from heaven and de-stroying all the inhabitants of the village!(Luke 9:52-56) On another occasion,John failed to show love to his fellowapostles. He and his brother James ap-parently coaxed their mother into ask-ing Jesus to give them prominent po-sitions alongside him in the Kingdom.When the other apostles found out whatJames and John had done, they were fu-rious! (Matt. 20:20, 21, 24) Nevertheless,despite all of John’s flaws, Jesus lovedhim.—John 21:7.

5 In this article, wewill examine John’sexample and some of the things he wroteabout love. As we do, we will learn howwe can show love to our brothers andsisters. We will also learn about an im-portant way in which a family head canprove that he loves his family.

LOVE IS EXPRESSED BY ACTIONS6 We often think of love as a warm feel-

ing expressed by kind words. But for love

4. Did John always show love to others?5. What will we examine in this article?6. How has Jehovah revealed his love for us?

to be real, it must also be backed byactions. (Compare James 2:17, 26.) Forexample, Jehovah loves us. (1 John 4:19) And he expresses his love throughthe beautiful words recorded in the Bi-ble. (Ps. 25:10; Rom. 8:38, 39) However,we are convinced that God loves us notjust because of what he says but alsobecause of what he does. John wrote:“By this the love of God was revealed inour case, that God sent his only-begottenSon into the world so that we might gainlife through him.” (1 John 4:9) Jehovahallowed his beloved Son to suffer and diefor us. (John 3:16) Can there be anydoubt that Jehovah really loves us?

7 Jesus assured his disciples that he

7. What did Jesus do to prove his love for us?

Jehovah proved his love for us bysending his Son to earth to die for us(See paragraphs 6-7)

JANUARY 2021 9

had affection for them. (John 13:1;15:15) He proved the depth of his lovefor them and for us not just by what hesaid but also bywhat he did. “No one haslove greater than this,” said Jesus, “thatsomeone should surrender his life in be-half of his friends.” (John 15:13) Whenwe think about what Jehovah and Je-sus have done for us, how should we beaffected?

8 We prove that we love Jehovah andJesus by obeying them. (John 14:15;1 John 5:3) And Jesus specifically com-manded us to love one another. (John13:34, 35) We must not only expressour love for our brothers and sisters inwords but also show that we love themby what we do. (Read 1 John 3:18.)What specifically can we do to provethat we love them?

LOVE YOUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS9 John could have stayed with his fa-

ther and made money working in thefamily fishing business. But instead hedevoted the remainder of his long life tohelping others learn the truth about Je-hovah and Jesus. The life John chosewas not an easy one. He suffered perse-cution, and near the end of the firstcentury when he was an old man, hewas exiled. (Acts 3:1; 4:1-3; 5:18; Rev.1:9) Even while confined for preach-ing about Jesus, John proved that hewas thinking of others. For example,while on the island of Patmos, he re-corded the revelation that he receivedand had it sent to the congregations so

8. What does 1 John 3:18 say we should do?9. What did love move John to do?

that theywould knowwhat “must short-ly take place.” (Rev. 1:1) Then, likely af-ter he was released from Patmos, Johnwrote his Gospel account of Jesus’ lifeand ministry. He also wrote three let-ters in order to encourage and strength-en his brothers and sisters. How canyou imitate John’s self-sacrificing lifecourse?

10 You can prove that you love peopleby what you choose to do with your life.Satan’s system would have you spend allyour time and energy on yourself, tryingto make money or to make a name foryourself. Instead, self-sacrificing King-dom proclaimers all over the worldspend as much time as they can preach-ing the good news and helping people todraw close to Jehovah. Some are evenable to preach and teach full-time.

11 Many loyal Christians must work atsecular jobs full-time so that they cansupport themselves and their families.Even so, these faithful publishers sup-port God’s organization in any way theycan. For instance, some are able to pro-vide disaster relief, others can work onconstruction projects, and everyone hasthe opportunity to donate funds to theworldwide work. They do these thingsbecause they love God and their fel-low man. Each week, we prove that welove our brothers and sisters by attend-ing congregation meetings and partic-ipating in them. Although we may betired, we are present at those meetings.Although we may be nervous, we com-

10. How can you prove that you love people?11. How do many faithful publishers prove thatthey love Jehovah and their brothers and sisters?

10 THE WATCHTOWER

JANUARY 2021 11

ment. And although we all have prob-lems of our own, we encourage othersbefore or after the meeting. (Heb. 10:24,25) How grateful we are for the workdone by our fellow publishers!

12 John proved his love for his broth-ers and sisters not only by commend-ing them but also by imparting coun-sel to them. For instance, in his letters,John commended his brothers and sis-ters for their faith and good works, buthe also gave them direct counsel aboutsin. (1 John 1:8–2:1, 13, 14) Similarly, weneed to commend our brothers and sis-ters for the good things they do. But ifsomeone is developing a bad attitude orhabit, we can show love by tactfully tell-ing him what he needs to hear. It takescourage to give counsel to a friend, butthe Bible says that true friends sharpen,or correct, one another.—Prov. 27:17.

13 Sometimes, we prove our love forour brothers and sisters by what we donot do. For example, we do not get eas-12. What is another way that John proved his lovefor his brothers and sisters?13. What should we avoid doing?

ily offended by what they say. Consideran incident that happened toward theend of Jesus’ life on earth. He told hisdisciples that to gain life they had to eathis flesh and drink his blood. (John 6:53-57) That speech was so shocking thatmany of his disciples abandoned him—but not so his real friends, includingJohn. They loyally stuck with him. Theydid not understand what Jesus said, andthey were likely surprised by it. How-ever, Jesus’ loyal friends did not assumethat what he said was wrong and be-come offended by it. Instead, they trust-ed him, knowing that he spoke the truth.(John 6:60, 66-69) How important it isthat we do not become easily offend-ed by what our friends say! Rather, weallow them the opportunity to explainmisunderstandings.—Prov. 18:13; Eccl.7:9.

14 John also urged us not to hate ourbrothers or sisters. If we fail to heed thatcounsel, we leave ourselves open to be-ing manipulated by Satan. (1 John 2:11;

14. Why should we not allow hatred to fester in ourheart?

We prove our loveby what we dofor our brothersand sisters andfor our family(See paragraphs 11, 17)

3:15) This happened to some at the endof the first century C.E. Satan was doingall that he could to promote hatred anddivide God’s people. By the time Johnwrote his letters, men who showed thesame spirit as Satan had slipped into thecongregation. For instance, Diotrepheswas creating serious divisions in onecongregation. (3 John 9, 10) He was dis-respectful to traveling representativesof the governing body. He even triedto throw out of the congregation thosewho were hospitable to people whom hedisliked. Howarrogant! Satan is still des-perately trying to divide and conquerGod’s people today. May we never allowhatred to drive us apart.

LOVE YOUR FAMILY15 One important way that a family

head proves that he loves his family isby providing for their material needs.(1 Tim. 5:8) He must remember, how-ever, that material things cannot sat-isfy his family’s spiritual needs. (Matt.5:3) Note the example that Jesus set for

15. What must a family head remember?

family heads. According to John’s Gos-pel, while Jesus was dying on a torturestake, he was still thinking of his family.John was standing with Jesus’ moth-er, Mary, at the location where Jesuswas being executed. Despite being in se-vere agony, Jesus arranged for John tocare for Mary. (John 19:26, 27) Jesushad siblings who would no doubt carefor Mary’s physical needs, but it appearsthat none of them had yet become hisdisciples. So Jesus wanted to make surethat Mary was cared for physically aswell as spiritually.

16 John carried a heavy load of respon-sibility. As one of the apostles, he tookthe lead in the preaching work. He mayalso have been married, so he wouldhave had to balance caring for his fami-ly’s material needs with providing fortheir spiritual needs. (1 Cor. 9:5) What isthe lesson for family heads today?

17 A brother who is a family head mayhave a number of weighty responsibili-

16. What load of responsibility did John carry?17. Why is it important for a family head to care forhis family’s spiritual needs?

Jesus entrusted thephysical and spiritualcare of his mother toJohn. Family heads todaymust care for the needsof their household(See paragraphs 15-16)

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ties. For instance, he must be diligent inhis secular work so that his conduct re-flects well on Jehovah. (Eph. 6:5, 6; Ti-tus 2:9, 10) And he may have respon-sibilities in the congregation, such asshepherding and taking the lead in thepreaching work. At the same time, it isimportant that he regularly study theBible with his wife and children. Theywill deeply appreciate his efforts to keepthem physically, emotionally, and spiri-tually healthy.—Eph. 5:28, 29; 6:4.

“REMAIN IN MY LOVE”18 John had a long, eventful life. He

faced all types of challenges that couldhave weakened his faith. But he al-ways did his best to observe Jesus’commandments, including the order tolove his brothers and sisters. As a re-sult, John was sure that Jehovah andJesus loved him and that they wouldgive him the strength to overcome any

18. Of what was John sure?

trial. (John 14:15-17; 15:10; 1 John 4:16)Nothing that Satan or his system didcould stop John from feeling, express-ing, and showing love.

19 Like John, we live in a world domi-nated by Satan, the hateful god of thissystem. (1 John 3:1, 10) While he wantsus to stop loving our brothers and sis-ters, he cannot make that happen un-less we allow him to do so. May we bedetermined to love our brothers and sis-ters, to express that love by what we say,and to prove that love by what we do.Then we will have the satisfaction of be-ing part of Jehovah’s family, and life willtruly beworth living.—Read 1 John 4:7.19. What does 1 John 4:7 encourage us to do, andwhy?

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PICTURE DESCRIPTION Page 11: A busy familyhead shares in disaster relief work, supports theworldwide work with his donations, and invitesothers to join him and his wife and children infamily worship.


˛ What did you learn fromJohn’s example?

˛ How can we show thatwe love our brothersand sisters?

˛ How can family headsprove that they lovetheir family?

SONG 88Make Me Know Your Ways

THE young man was 18 years old when he got baptizedin 1926. His parents were Bible Students, as Jehovah’sWitnesses were known at the time. They had three sonsand two daughters, whom they raised to serve JehovahGod and imitate Jesus Christ. As was true of all BibleStudents back then, this sincere young man partook ofthe bread and the wine each year at the Lord’s EveningMeal. However, his entire outlook on life was changed bya history-making talk entitled “The Great Multitude.”That talk was given in 1935 by J. F. Rutherford at a con-vention in Washington, D.C., U.S.A. What was revealedat that convention?

2 In his talk, Brother Rutherford identified those whowould make up the “great multitude” (King James Ver-sion), or “great crowd,” mentioned at Revelation 7:9. Un-til then, this group was thought to be a secondary heav-enly class that was less faithful. Brother Rutherford usedthe Scriptures to explain that the great crowd are notchosen to live in heaven, but they are Christ’s othersheep� who will survive “the great tribulation” and live

� EXPRESSIONS EXPLAINED: The other sheep include those who have beengathered throughout the last days. They follow Christ and have the prospect ofliving forever on earth. The great crowd are members of the other sheep whoare alive when Christ judges mankind during the great tribulation, and they sur-vive the great tribulation.

1. What effect did a talk delivered at a convention in 1935 have on oneyoung man?2. What exciting truth was revealed in Brother Rutherford’s talk?

STUDYARTICLE 3

The Great Crowdof Other SheepPraise God and Christ

“Salvation we owe to our God, who is seated on the throne,and to the Lamb.”—REV. 7:10.

SONG 14Praising Earth’s New King

PREVIEW

March 27, 2021, is aspecial day for Jehovah’sWitnesses. That eveningwe will observe the Me-morial of Christ’s death.The majority of those whoattend will be part of thegroup that Jesus calledthe “other sheep.” Whatexciting truth was re-vealed about that groupin 1935? What thrillingprospect awaits the othersheep after the great tribu-lation? And as observersat the Memorial, how canthe other sheep praiseGod and Christ?

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forever on earth. (Rev. 7:14) Jesuspromised: “I have other sheep, whichare not of this fold; those too I mustbring in, and they will listen to my voice,and they will become one flock, oneshepherd.” (John 10:16) These sheep-like ones are loyal Witnesses of Jehovahwho have the prospect of living foreverin Paradise on earth. (Matt. 25:31-33,46) Let us see how this flash of spirituallight changed the lives of many of Jeho-vah’s people, including that 18-year-oldbrother.—Ps. 97:11; Prov. 4:18.

A NEW UNDERSTANDING CHANGEDTHOUSANDS OF LIVES

3 A thrilling moment at that conven-tion came when the speaker asked theaudience: “Will all those who have thehope of living forever on the earthplease stand?” According to an eyewit-ness, over half of the some 20,000 peo-ple in the audience stood. Then Broth-er Rutherford declared: “Behold! Thegreat multitude!” That was followed bythunderous cheering. Those who stoodrealized that they were not chosen forheavenly life. They knew that they hadnot been anointed by God’s spirit. Onthe next day of the convention, 840 newWitnesses got baptized, most of whomwere of the other sheep.

4 After that talk, the young man men-tioned earlier and thousands of othersrightly stopped partaking of the breadand the wine at the Lord’s Evening Meal.One brother humbly expressed the feel-ings of many when he said: “The Memo-rial of 1935 was the last time that I par-

3-4. At the 1935 convention, what did thousandsrealize about their hope, and why?

took of the emblems. I realized that theheavenly hope had not been awakenedwithin me by Jehovah through his holyspirit; rather, I had the hope to live onthe earth and to share in the work ofmaking it a paradise.” (Rom. 8:16, 17;2 Cor. 1:21, 22) Since then, those of thegreat crowd have increased in numberand have been working side by side withthe anointed remnant.�

5 How does Jehovah view those whostopped partaking of the Memorial em-blems after 1935? And what if a baptizedWitness today sincerely partakes of thebread and the wine at the Lord’s Eve-ning Meal but later realizes that he orshe is not truly anointed? (1 Cor. 11:28)Some have partaken of the emblems be-cause they misunderstood their hope.But if they honestly acknowledge theirmistake, stop partaking, and continuefaithfully serving Jehovah, he will sure-ly count them among the other sheep.Even though they do not partake of thebread and the wine, they still attend theMemorial because they deeply appreci-ate what Jehovah and Jesus have donefor them.

A UNIQUE PROSPECT6 With the great tribulation just ahead,

it would be encouraging for us to reviewwhat Revelation chapter 7 further saysabout anointed Christians and the great

� EXPRESSION EXPLAINED: The word “remnant” refersto the remaining anointed Christians who are still aliveon earth and who partake of the bread and the wine atthe Lord’s Evening Meal.

5. How does Jehovah view those who havestopped partaking of the Memorial emblems?6. What has Jesus commanded the angels to do?

JANUARY 2021 15

crowd of other sheep. Jesus commandsthe angels to continue holding back thefour winds of destruction. They are notto unleash those winds on the earthuntil all anointed Christians have beensealed, that is, finally approved by Jeho-vah. (Rev. 7:1-4) As a reward for theirfaithfulness, Christ’s anointed brothersbecome kings and priests with him inheaven. (Rev. 20:6) All those who makeup the heavenly part of God’s family willbe eager to see the 144,000 anointedones receive their heavenly reward.

7 After telling about these 144,000kings and priests, John sees somethingexciting, “a great crowd” who surviveArmageddon. Unlike the first group,this second group is much larger andhas no fixed number. (Read Revela-tion 7:9, 10.) They are “dressed inwhite robes,” indicating that they havekept themselves “without spot” from Sa-tan’s world and have remained loyal toGod and Christ. (Jas. 1:27) They cryout that they have been saved becauseof what Jehovah and Jesus, the Lambof God, have done. All the while, theyare holding palm branches, which showsthat they joyfully acknowledge Jesusas Jehovah’s appointed King.—CompareJohn 12:12, 13.

8 Read Revelation 7:11, 12.What wasthe reaction in heaven? John sees all ofJehovah’s heavenly family filled with joyas those of the great crowd appear andpraise God. Jehovah’s heavenly family

7. As related at Revelation 7:9, 10, whom did Johnsee in vision, and what were they doing? (See cov-er picture.)8. What does Revelation 7:11, 12 tell us about Je-hovah’s heavenly family?

will be delighted to see the fulfillment ofthis vision when the great crowd comeout of the great tribulation alive.

9 Read Revelation 7:13-15. John re-ports that the great crowd have “washedtheir robes and made them white in theblood of the Lamb.” This signifies thatthey have a clean conscience and a righ-teous standing before Jehovah. (Isa. 1:18) They are dedicated, baptized Chris-tians, who exercise strong faith in Je-sus’ sacrifice and who have a relation-ship with Jehovah. (John 3:36; 1 Pet.3:21) Thus, they qualify to stand be-fore God’s throne to render him “sacredservice day and night” in the earthlycourtyard of his spiritual temple. Evennow, they zealously perform the great-er part of the Kingdom-preaching anddisciple-making work, putting the inter-ests of God’s Kingdom ahead of theirown.—Matt. 6:33; 24:14; 28:19, 20.

10 The great crowd who come out ofthe great tribulation are assured ofGod’s continued care, for “the One seat-ed on the thronewill spread his tent overthem.” The promise that the other sheephave longed to see fulfilled will be fullyrealized: “[God] will wipe out every tearfrom their eyes, and death will be nomore, neither will mourning nor outcrynor pain be anymore.”—Rev. 21:3, 4.

11 Read Revelation 7:16, 17. Right9. According to Revelation 7:13-15, what are thoseof the great crowd doing now?10. Of what are the great crowd assured, andwhat promise will they see fulfilled?11-12. (a) As revealed at Revelation 7:16, 17,what blessings are in store for the great crowd?(b) What can the other sheep do at the Memorial,and why?

16 THE WATCHTOWER

now, some of Jehovah’s people are suf-fering physical hunger because of op-pressive economic conditions or asa result of the ravages of civil unrestand war. Others are imprisoned fortheir faith. However, those of the greatcrowd are thrilled to know that on es-caping the destruction of this wickedsystem of things, they will always havean abundance of physical and spiritu-al food. When destruction is unleashedon Satan’s system of things, the greatcrowd will be spared the “scorchingheat” of Jehovah’s anger that he willpour out on the nations. After the greattribulation ends, Jesus will guide theseearthly survivors to the “waters of[everlasting] life.”Just think: The greatcrowd have a unique prospect. Of allthe billions who have ever lived, theymay never die!—John 11:26.

12 The other sheep have a marveloushope for which they are thankful to Je-hovah and Jesus! They were not cho-sen for heavenly life, but they are in noway less precious, or less valuable, to

Jehovah. Members of both groups canpraise God and Christ. One way they doso is by attending the Lord’s EveningMeal.

GIVE YOUR WHOLEHEARTED PRAISEAT THE MEMORIAL

13 In recent years, approximately 1 outof every 1,000 who attend the Memori-al partakes of the bread and the wine.Most congregations do not have any par-takers in attendance. The vast majori-ty who attend the Memorial have theearthly hope. Why, then, do they attendthe Lord’s Evening Meal? Theyattend forthe same reason that people attend afriend’s wedding. They attend becausethey want to show their love and supportfor the couple who are getting married.Thus, those of the other sheep attendthe Memorial because they want to showtheir love and support for Christ and theanointed. The other sheep also attendto show their appreciation for the sacri-fice that the Memorial commemorates, a

13-14. Why should everyone attend the Memorialof Christ’s death?

Joyful members of thegreat crowd of othersheep coming outof the great tribulation(See paragraph 10)

18 THE WATCHTOWER

sacrifice that makes it possible for themto live forever on earth.

14 Another important reason why theother sheep attend the Memorial is inorder to be obedient to Jesus’ com-mand. When Jesus instituted that spe-cial meal with his faithful apostles, hetold them: “Keep doing this in remem-brance of me.” (1 Cor. 11:23-26) So theycontinue to attend the Lord’s EveningMeal as long as some anointed ones arealive here on earth. In fact, the othersheep invite everyone to attend the Me-morial with them.

15 At the Memorial, we have the oppor-tunity to praise God and Christ in songand prayer. The talk that will be giventhis year is “Appreciate What God andChrist Have Done for You!” It will deep-en our gratitude for Jehovah and Christ.As the emblems are being passed, thoseof us in attendance will be reminded ofwhat they symbolize—Jesus’ body andhis blood.We will recall that Jehovah al-lowed his Son to die in our place so thatwe could have life. (Matt. 20:28) Every-one who loves our heavenly Father andhis Sonwill want to attend theMemorial.

15. How can we personally praise God and Christat the Memorial?

THANK JEHOVAH FOR THE HOPEHE HAS GIVEN YOU

16 The difference between the anoint-ed and the other sheep is not their valueto God. Both groups are equally pre-cious to him. After all, he paid the sameprice, the life of his dear Son, to pur-chase both the anointed and the othersheep. The difference between the twogroups is that theyhave different hopes.Both groups must remain loyal to Godand Christ. (Ps. 31:23) And remember,God’s spirit can work with equal forceon all of us. This means that Jehovahsupplies his holy spirit to each individu-al according to what is needed.

17 Anointed Christians are not bornwith the heavenly hope. It has to beimplanted in their heart by God. Theythink about their hope, pray about it,and are eager to receive their rewardin heaven. They cannot even imaginewhat their spiritual body will be like.(Phil. 3:20, 21; 1 John 3:2) Even so,they look forward to meeting Jehovah,Jesus, the angels, and the rest of the

16. In what ways are the anointed and the othersheep alike?17. To what are the anointed remnant looking for-ward?

The bread and the winepassed at the Memorialremind us that Jesus diedin our place so that wecould have life(See paragraphs 13-15)

anointed. They long to take their placeamong them in the heavenly Kingdom.

18 The other sheep cherish a hope thatcomes naturally to humans, the pros-pect of living forever on earth. (Eccl. 3:11) They look forward to the day whenthey can help turn the entire planetinto a paradise. They yearn for the daywhen they can build their houses, planttheir gardens, and raise their childrenin perfect health. (Isa. 65:21-23) Theylook forward to exploring the earth—itsmountains, forests, and seas—and tostudying Jehovah’s abundant creation.Above all, they are thrilled to know thattheir bond with Jehovah will grow everstronger and closer.

19 Jehovah has given each of his ded-icated servants a wonderful hope forthe future. (Jer. 29:11) The Memorial ofChrist’s death gives each of us a grand

18. To what are the other sheep looking forward?19. What opportunity does the Memorial give eachof us, and when will the Memorial be held thisyear?

opportunity to praise God and Christfor what they have done for us so that wecan enjoy unending life. The Memorialis without question the most importantoccasion for true Christians to meet to-gether. It will be held after sundown onSaturday, March 27, 2021. This yearmany will be able to attend this impor-tant occasion in relative freedom. Oth-ers will attend despite opposition. Somewill face the challenge of commemorat-ing this occasion while in prison. As Je-hovah, Jesus, and the heavenly part ofGod’s family look on, may every con-gregation, group, and individual have awonderful Memorial observance!

When the Memorial falls on a Saturday, asit does in 2021, no weekend congregationmeeting will be scheduled. For this reason,no study article has been provided fornext week


˛ What spiritual truthwas revealed about the“great crowd” in 1935?

˛ What prospect awaitsthe great crowd afterthe great tribulation?

˛ How can each of uspraise God and Christat the Memorial?

SONG 150Seek God for Your Deliverance

THE Bible foretold that in the last days, people wouldlack “natural affection.” (2 Tim. 3:1, 3) We see thisprophecy being fulfilled today. For example, millions offamilies have been divided by divorce, leaving the par-ents angry with each other and the children feeling thatthey are unloved. Even families who stay in the samehouse may become virtual strangers. “Mom, dad, andthe kids are all disconnected from each other and con-nected to a computer screen, tablet, smartphone, or vid-eo game console,” says one family counselor. “Althoughthese families live under the same roof, they barely knoweach other.”

2 We do not want to be molded by the world’s lovelessspirit. (Rom. 12:2) Instead, we need to cultivate tenderaffection not only for our family members but also forthose who are related to us in the faith. (Read Romans12:10.) What is tender affection? It is a term that specif-ically describes the warm friendship between close fam-ily members. That is the kind of love we should cultivatefor our spiritual family, our Christian brothers and sis-ters. When we show tender affection, we help maintainthe unity that is a vital part of true worship.—Mic. 2:12.

3 To help us cultivate and show tender affection, let ussee what we can learn from Bible examples.

1. In what ways do we see a lack of natural affection today?2-3. (a) According to Romans 12:10, for whom should we have tenderaffection? (b) What will we consider in this article?

STUDYARTICLE 4

Keep CultivatingTender Affection

“In brotherly love have tender affection for one another.”—ROM. 12:10.

SONG 109Love IntenselyFrom the Heart

PREVIEW

Jesus said that his dis-ciples would be recog-nized by the love theyhave among themselves.All of us try to live up tothat requirement. We canstrengthen our love for ourbrothers by cultivatingtender affection—the kindof love that is shown byclose family members.This article will help usdevelop and maintaintender affection for thosewho are related to us inthe faith.

20

JEHOVAH—“VERY TENDERIN AFFECTION”

4 TheBible reveals Jehovah’s beautifulqualities. For example, it says that “Godis love.” (1 John 4:8) That descriptionalone draws us to him. But the Bible alsosays that Jehovah “is very tender in af-fection.” (Read James 5:11.) What awarm way of expressing the depth offeeling that Jehovah has for us!

5 Note that James 5:11 links Jehovah’stender affection to another quality thatdraws us to him—his mercy. (Ex. 34:6)One way in which Jehovah shows usmercy is by forgiving us for the mistakeswe make. (Ps. 51:1) In the Bible, mercyinvolves much more than forgiveness.Mercy is an intense feeling that springsfrom inside a personwhen he or she seessomeone in distress and is moved to try

4. How does James 5:11 help us to appreciate thedepth of Jehovah’s love?5. How does Jehovah show mercy, and how canwe imitate him?

to help the person. Jehovah describesthe intense desire he has to help us asbeing greater than the feelings that amother has for her child. (Isa. 49:15)When we are in distress, Jehovah’s mer-cy moves him to help us. (Ps. 37:39;1 Cor. 10:13) We can show mercy to ourbrothers and sisters by forgiving themand not holding a grudge when they dis-appoint us. (Eph. 4:32) But a primaryway we can show mercy is by support-ing our brothers and sisters through thehardships they face. When love movesus to be merciful toward others, we imi-tate Jehovah, the supreme example oftender affection.—Eph. 5:1.

JONATHAN AND DAVID—“BOUNDTOGETHER IN CLOSE FRIENDSHIP”

6 The Bible contains accounts of im-perfect humans who showed tenderaffection. Consider the example of

6. How did Jonathan and David show tender af-fection for each other?

Difference in age did nothold Jonathan and Davidback from being boundtogether by tenderaffection(See paragraphs 6-9)

JANUARY 2021 21

22 THE WATCHTOWER

Jonathan and David. The Bible says:“Jonathan and David became bound to-gether in close friendship, and Jonathanbegan to love him as himself.” (1 Sam.18:1) David was anointed to succeed Saulas king. After that, Saul became resentfulof David and tried to kill him. But Saul’sson Jonathan did not join his father inthis murderous campaign against David.Jonathan and David promised to remainfriends and always to support each other.—1 Sam. 20:42.

7 The tender affection between Jona-than and David is all the more re-markable when we consider some fac-tors that could have prevented themfrom becoming friends. For example,Jonathan was some 30 years older thanDavid. Jonathan could have concludedthat he had nothing in common withthis much younger and less experiencedman. Yet, Jonathan did not view ortreat David as an inferior.

8 Jonathan could have been jealousof David. As King Saul’s son, Jonathancould have insisted that hewas the right-ful heir to the throne. (1 Sam. 20:31)But Jonathan was humble, and he wasloyal to Jehovah. So he fully support-ed Jehovah’s choice of David as futureking. He was also loyal to David, evenwhen this incurred the wrath of Saul.—1 Sam. 20:32-34.

9 Jonathan had tender affection forDavid, so he did not view him as a ri-

7. What is one factor that could have preventedJonathan and David from becoming friends?8. Why, do you think, was Jonathan such a goodfriend to David?9. Did Jonathan view David as a rival? Explain.

val. Jonathan was a skilled archer anda courageous warrior. He and his fa-ther, Saul, had a reputation for being“swifter than the eagles” and “mighti-er than the lions.” (2 Sam. 1:22, 23)Therefore, Jonathan could have boast-ed about his own heroic exploits. How-ever, Jonathan was not competitive orresentful. On the contrary, Jonathanadmired David for his courage and reli-ance on Jehovah. In fact, it was afterDavid killed Goliath that Jonathan be-gan to love David as himself. How canwe show such tender affection for ourbrothers and sisters?

HOW CAN WE SHOWTENDER AFFECTION TODAY?

10 TheBible tells us to “love one anoth-er intensely from the heart.” (1 Pet. 1:22) Jehovah sets the example for us.His love is so intense that if we areloyal to him, nothing can break thatbond. (Rom. 8:38, 39) The Greek wordrendered “intensely” conveys the ideaof stretching outward—even straining.At times, we may need to “stretch” and“strain” in order to have tender affec-tion for a fellow believer. When othersupset us, we need to continue “puttingup with one another in love, earnestlyendeavoring to maintain the oneness ofthe spirit in the uniting bond of peace.”(Eph. 4:1-3) When we work to maintainthe “bond of peace,” wewill lookbeyondour brothers’ faults. We will try our bestto view our brothers as Jehovah does.—1 Sam. 16:7; Ps. 130:3.

10. What does it mean to “love one another in-tensely from the heart”?

JANUARY 2021 23

11 It is not always easy to show ten-der affection for our brothers and sis-ters, especially when we are aware oftheir faults. Apparently, this was a chal-lenge for some first-century Christians.For example, Euodia and Syntyche like-ly had no problem working “side by sidewith [Paul] for the good news.” But forsome reason they had difficulty gettingalong with each other. So Paul urgedthem “to be of the same mind in theLord.”—Phil. 4:2, 3.

12 How can we cultivate tender affec-tion for our brothers and sisters today?When we get to know fellow believersbetter, we may find it easier to under-stand them and to develop tender affec-tion for them. Age and background neednot be a barrier. Remember, Jonathanwas about 30 years older than David; yet

11. Why might cultivating tender affection be dif-ficult at times?12. How can we cultivate tender affection for ourbrothers and sisters?

he developed a close friendshipwith him.Could you take an interest in someonewho is older—or younger—than you? Bydoing so, you can show that you “havelove for the whole association of broth-ers.”—1 Pet. 2:17.

13 Does having tender affection for fel-low believers mean that we will feelequally close to everyone in the congre-gation? No, that would not be realistic.It is not necessarily wrong to be drawnmore to some than to others because ofhaving similar interests. Jesus referredto all his apostles as “friends,” but he hada special affection for John. (John 13:23; 15:15; 20:2) However, Jesus did notshow favoritism to John. For instance,when John and his brother James askedfor a prominent position in God’s King-dom, Jesus told them: “To sit down at myright hand or at my left is not mine togive.” (Mark 10:35-40) In imitation of

13. Why might we not feel equally close to every-one in the congregation?

Euodia and Syntychewere admonishedto be of the same mind—something that maynot always be easyto achieve with a fellowbeliever(See paragraph 11)

24 THE WATCHTOWER

Jesus, we should not show favoritism toour close friends. (Jas. 2:3, 4) Doing sowould promote a divisive spirit—some-thing that has no place in the Christiancongregation.—Jude 17-19.

14 When we show tender affection forone another, we protect the congrega-tion from a spirit of competition. Recallthat Jonathan did not try to competewith David, viewing him as a rival to thethrone. All of us can imitate Jonathan’sexample. Do not view your fellow work-ers as rivals because of their abilities,“but with humility consider others supe-rior to you.” (Read Philippians 2:3.)Keep in mind that each person in thecongregation has something to contrib-

14. According to Philippians 2:3, what will help usavoid a spirit of competition?

ute. By keeping a humble view of our-selves, we see the good in our brothersand sisters and benefit from their faith-ful example.—1 Cor. 12:21-25.

15 When we face unexpected trials, Je-hovah comforts us through the ten-der affection and practical help thatwe receive from our brothers and sis-ters. Consider what happened to onefamily after attending the Saturday pro-gram at one of the 2019 “Love NeverFails!” International Conventions in theUnited States. “We were driving back toour hotel,” relates Tanya, a mother ofthree, “when another vehicle lost controland veered into our lane and crashedinto us. No one was hurt, but we got

15. What do you learn from the experience ofTanya and her family?

Younger and older elders can develop astrong bond of friendship with one another(See paragraph 12)

out of the car and stood on the free-way, stunned. Someone on the side ofthe road was waving us over to the safe-ty of his car. It was one of our broth-ers who had also just left the conven-tion. And he wasn’t the only one whostopped. Five delegates from Swedenalso stopped. The sisters gave my daugh-ter and me the warmest hugs, whichwe desperately needed! I assured themthat we would be OK, but they wouldnot leave us. They stayed with us evenafter the paramedics arrived, and theymade sure we had everything we needed.Through every step of this ordeal, we feltJehovah’s love. This experience intensi-fied our love for our brothers and sisters,and it deepened our love and apprecia-tion for Jehovah.” Can you recall a timewhen you were in need and a fellow be-liever showed you tender affection?

16 Consider what results when we showtender affection for one another. Wecomfort our brothers and sisters in theirtime of need. We strengthen the uni-ty among God’s people. We prove thatwe are Jesus’ disciples, and this attractshonesthearted ones to true worship.Above all, we glorify “the Father of ten-der mercies and the God of all comfort,”Jehovah. (2 Cor. 1:3) May all of us con-tinue cultivating and showing tender af-fection!

16. What reasons do we have for showing tenderaffection for one another?

��

PICTURE DESCRIPTIONS Page 24: A youngerelder who benefits from the experience of an old-er elder is warmly welcomed in the older brother’shome. They and their wives show gracious hospi-tality to one another.

CAN YOU RECALL?

˛ What is tender affection? ˛ What did you learn from theexamples of tender affectionshowed by Jehovah as wellas by Jonathan and David?

˛ How can we show tenderaffection today?

SONG 130Be Forgiving

LEARNING TO LOVE JEHOVAHHarvey was the eldest of four brothers.

His family came into the truth in MidlandJunction, Western Australia, during the des-perate economic times of the 1930’s. Har-vey grew to love Jehovah and got baptizedat age 14. He soon learned not to turn downtheocratic assignments. As a lad, he oncedeclined to read The Watchtower at themeeting, thinking he was not qualified. Butthe brother talking with Harvey reasoned,“When someone in Jehovah’s organizationasks you to do something, he thinks you arequalified!”—2 Cor. 3:5.

I embraced the truth in England, asdid my mother and my older sister. My fa-ther accepted the truth much later, but atfirst he was opposed. Against his wishes, Igot baptized when I was not quite ten yearsold. I set the goal to pioneer and then to be-come a missionary. However, my fatherwould not allow me to pioneer until I turned21. I did not intend to wait that long. Sowhen I was just 16, with his blessing I moved

LIFE STORY

We Learned Never to SayNo to JehovahAS TOLD BY KATHLEEN LOGAN

FOLLOWING a typhoon, the riverchurned with mud and boulders.We needed to reach the otherside, but the raging waters hadwashed the bridge away. Myhusband, Harvey, and I, along withour Amis-language interpreter, feltscared and helpless. As the brotherson the other side watched anxiously,we began to cross. First, we droveour small car onto the back of aslightly larger truck. Then, withoutropes or chains to keep the car inplace, the truck slowly drove into

the torrent. The passage seemedendless; yet, we made it safelyacross, all the while beseechingJehovah in prayer. That was in 1971.We were on the east coast of Taiwan,thousands of miles away from ourplaces of origin. Let metell you our story.

26 THE WATCHTOWER

to Australia to live with my oldest sister, whohad migrated to that country. Finally, when Iturned 18, I started pioneering.

In Australia, I met Harvey. We sharedthe desire to serve Jehovah as missionaries.We got married in 1951. After pioneering to-gether for two years, we were asked to takeup circuit work. Our circuit consisted of alarge portion of Western Australia, so wewere often driving through vast dry and re-mote areas.

OUR DREAM IS FULFILLEDIn 1954, we were invited to attend

the 25th class of Gilead. Our dream of be-coming missionaries was within reach! Wearrived in New York by ship and began a rig-orous Bible study course. As part of the cur-riculum, we had to study Spanish, which waschallenging for Harvey because he couldnot roll his r’s.

During the course, the instructors an-nounced that those interested in an assign-ment to Japan could sign up for aJapanese-language class. We decided thatwe would rather let Jehovah’s organizationchoose our assignment. Shortly afterward,

Albert Schroeder, one of the Gilead instruc-tors, learned that we had not put ournames down. He said to us: “Think about itsome more.” When we hesitated further,Brother Schroeder said: “The other instruc-tors and I have signed you up. See if youcan get your tongues around Japanese.”Harvey easily adapted to this language.

We arrived in Japan in 1955 when therewere only 500 publishers in the whole coun-try. Harvey was 26, and I was 24. We wereassigned to the port city of Kobe, wherewe served for four years. Then we weredelighted to be invited back into the travel-ing work, and we served near the city of Na-goya. We loved everything about our as-signment—the brothers, the cuisine, thecountryside. Before long, however, we hadanother opportunity to avoid saying no toJehovah.

A NEW ASSIGNMENT BRINGSNEW CHALLENGES

After three years in the traveling work,the Japan branch asked us if we would be

On our wedding day in 1951

Gilead graduation at Yankee Stadium in 1955

JANUARY 2021 27

28 THE WATCHTOWER

willing to go to Taiwan to work among theindigenous Amis people. An apostasy hadarisen there, and Taiwan needed a brotherfluent in Japanese to help remedy the situa-tion.� We loved our work in Japan, so thiswas a hard decision. But Harvey hadlearned never to turn down an assignment,so we agreed to go.

We arrived in November 1962. Taiwan had2,271 publishers, most of them Amis. Butfirst, we needed to learn Chinese. We hadonly a textbook and a teacher who did notspeak English, but we learned it.

Soon after arriving in Taiwan, Harvey wasassigned to be the branch servant. Thebranch was small, so Harvey could care forhis office responsibilities and still work withthe Amis brothers up to three weeks permonth. He also served as district overseerfrom time to time, which included giving

� Although Chinese is now the official language ofTaiwan, Japanese had been the official language therefor many decades. Thus, Japanese was still the commonlanguage among the various ethnic groups inTaiwan.

talks at assemblies. Harvey could have giv-en the talks in Japanese, and the Amisbrothers would have understood. However,the government allowed religious meetingsto be held only in Chinese. So Harvey, stillstruggling with the language, gave the talksin Chinese while a brother interpreted theminto Amis.

Taiwan was then under martial law, so thebrothers had to obtain permits to hold as-semblies. Obtaining permits was not easy,and the police often delayed issuing them. Ifthe police had not issued the permit by theweek of the assembly, Harvey would just sitin the police station until they did. Since thepolice were embarrassed to have a foreign-er waiting in their station, the tactic worked.

MY FIRST MOUNTAIN CLIMBDuring the weeks we spent with the

brothers, we would normally walk for anhour or more at a time, climbing mountainsand wading across rivers. I remember myfirst mountain climb. After a quick break-fast, we caught a 5:30 a.m. bus to a dis-tant village, crossed a wide riverbed, and la-bored up a mountainside. It was so steepthat the feet of the brother climbing in frontof me were at my eye level.

That morning, Harvey worked with somelocal brothers in the ministry, while I wit-nessed alone in a small hamlet whereJapanese-speaking people lived. By aboutone o’clock, I was feeling faint becauseI had not eaten for several hours. When Ifinally met up with Harvey, there were noother brothers around. Harvey had bar-tered some magazines for three raw chickeneggs. He showed me how to eat one bymaking a small hole in each end and suck-ing. Although it did not seem very appetiz-ing, I tried one. But who would get the thirdegg? I got it, since Harvey did not feel ableto carry me down the mountain if I passedout from hunger.

Harvey and me with other missionariesin Kobe, Japan, in 1957

JANUARY 2021 29

A BATH WITH A DIFFERENCEAt one circuit assembly, I faced an un-

usual challenge. We were staying in abrother’s home right next to a Kingdom Hall.Since the Amis consider bathing very im-portant, the circuit overseer’s wife pre-pared a bath for us. Harvey was busy, sohe asked me to go first. The bath consistedof three receptacles: a bucket of cold water,one of hot water, and an empty basin. To mysurprise, the circuit overseer’s wife hadplaced them outside the house in directview of the Kingdom Hall where brotherswere helping with the preparations for theassembly. I asked her for a curtain of somekind. She brought me a sheet of transpar-ent plastic! I considered retreating into theshadows behind the house, but there geesepoked their heads through the fence, readyto nip anyone who got too close. I thoughtto myself: ‘The brothers are too busy tonotice that I am taking a bath. And if I don’tbathe, they will be offended. Let’s get onwith it!’ So I did.

LITERATURE FOR THE AMISHarvey realized that the Amis brothers

were struggling to progress spiritually be-cause many were illiterate and they had noliterature. Since the Amis language had re-cently begun to be written using Romancharacters, it seemed practical to teach thebrothers to read their own language. Thiswas a huge undertaking, but eventually thebrothers were able to study by themselves.Amis literature became available in the late1960’s, and in 1968, The Watchtower inAmis began to be published.

However, the government restricted publi-cations that were not in Chinese. So to avoidproblems, the Amis Watchtower was circu-lated in various forms. For example, for sometime, we used a dual-language Mandarin-Amis edition of The Watchtower. If anyonewas curious, we were ostensibly teaching thelocal people Chinese. Since then, Jehovah’sorganization has supplied much Amis-language literature to help these dear peoplelearn Bible truths.—Acts 10:34, 35.

A. Crossing a shallow river in Taiwanto go witnessing

B. Dressed in Amis ceremonial clothing

A

B

A PERIOD OF CLEANSINGDuring the 1960’s and 1970’s, many Amis

brothers were not living by God’s standards.Since they did not fully understand Bibleprinciples, some were living immorally, get-ting drunk, or using tobacco and betel nut.Harvey visited many congregations, tryingto help the brothers understand Jehovah’sview on these matters. On one such trip,we had the experience mentioned at theoutset.

Humble brothers were willing to makechanges, but sadly, many others were not,and the number of publishers in Taiwandropped from over 2,450 to about 900 dur-ing a period of 20 years. This was very dis-couraging. However, we knew that Jehovahwould never bless an unclean organization.(2 Cor. 7:1) Eventually, the wrong practiceswere cleaned out, and with Jehovah’s bless-ing, Taiwan now has over 11,000 publishers.

From the 1980’s on, we saw the spiritualcondition of the Amis congregations im-prove, and Harvey could spend more timeamong the Chinese. He was delighted tohelp the husbands of a number of sistersbecome believers. I recall that he said howhappy he was when one of these menprayed to Jehovah for the first time. I toorejoice to have been able to teach manyhonesthearted ones to draw close to

Jehovah. I even had the joy of serving atthe Taiwan branch with the son and daugh-ter of one of my former Bible students.

A SAD LOSSNow, though, I am without my partner.

After almost 59 years of marriage, my dearHarvey died on January 1, 2010, after bat-tling cancer. He had spent nearly six de-cades in full-time service! I still miss him ter-ribly. But how happy I was to support him inthe early days of the work in two fascinatingcountries! We learned to speak—and inHarvey’s case also to write—two difficultAsian languages.

A few years later, the Governing Bodydecided that because of my advanced age,it would be best for me to return to Austra-lia. My first thought was, ‘I don’t want toleave Taiwan.’ But Harvey taught me neverto say no to Jehovah’s organization, so Iwas not about to do that. Later, I cameto see the wisdom of the decision.

Today, I work in the Australasia branchduring the week and with a local congrega-tion on the weekends. At Bethel, I am gladto use my Japanese and Chinese to givetours. Yet, I earnestly await the promised dayof the resurrection, knowing that Harvey, wholearned never to say no to Jehovah, is nowsafe in His memory.—John 5:28, 29.

I am glad to use myJapanese and Chineseto give tours at Bethel

30 THE WATCHTOWER

A STONE block with an inscription, dated toabout 700-600 B.C.E., belongs to the BibleLands Museum in Jerusalem. The stone wastaken from a burial cave not far from Hebronin Israel. The inscription states: “Cursed beHagaf son of Hagav by Yahweh Sabaot.”How does this inscription support the Bi-ble? It shows that God’s name Jehovah,written YHWH in ancient Hebrew letters, waswell-known and used in daily life during Bi-ble times. In fact, other inscriptions from theburial caves show that those who used thecaves as places to meet and hide frequentlywrote God’s name, along with personalnames that include forms of God’s name,on the walls.

Commenting on these inscriptions,Dr. Rachel Nabulsi of the University of Geor-gia said: “The repeated use of the name

YHWH is important. . . . The texts and theinscriptions show the importance of YHWHin the life of Israel and Judah.” This sup-ports the Bible, wherein God’s name, writtenYHWH in Hebrew letters, appears thousandsof times. Often personal names included thedivine name.

The words “Yahweh Sabaot,” inscribed onthe stone block, mean “Jehovah of armies.”This seems to indicate that not only thename of God but also the expression“Jehovah of armies” was commonly usedin Bible times. This also supports the Bible’suse of the phrase “Jehovah of armies,” whichappears 283 times in the Hebrew Scriptures,mostly in the writings of Isaiah, Jeremiah,and Zechariah.

DID YOU KNOW?

How does an ancient inscriptionsupport the Bible?

Stone inscription: “Cursed be Hagafson of Hagav by Yahweh Sabaot”

JANUARY 2021 31

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The Watchtower (ISSN 0043-1087) January 2021 is published by Watch-

tower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc.; Harold L. Corkern, Pres-

ident; Mark L. Questell, Secretary-Treasurer; 1000 Red Mills Road, Wallkill,

NY 12589-3299, and by Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Canada,

PO Box 4100, Georgetown, ON L7G 4Y4. ˘ 2020WatchTower Bible and Tract

Society of Pennsylvania. Printed in Canada.

IN THIS ISSUE��

Study Article 1: March 1-7 2Keep Calm and Trust in Jehovah��

Study Article 2: March 8-14 8Lessons From “the Disciple WhomJesus Loved”��

Study Article 3: March 15-21 14The Great Crowd of Other SheepPraise God and Christ��

Study Article 4: March 29–April 4 20Keep Cultivating Tender Affection��

LIFE STORY 26We Learned Never to Say No to Jehovah��

DID YOU KNOW? 31How does an ancient inscriptionsupport the Bible?

FEATURED CONTENT INJW LIBRARY AND ON JW.ORG

BIBLE QUESTIONS ANSWEREDWhat Does the Bible Say AboutCaregiving for Elderly Parents?The Bible offers practical advice thatcan help caregivers.

In JW Library, go to PUBLICATIONS˛ARTICLE SERIES˛ BIBLE QUESTIONSANSWERED.

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EXPERIENCESAn Expedition up the Maroni RiverA group of 13 Witnesses set off to share theBible’s message of hope with isolated peoplein the Amazon rain forest of South America.

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34567˙January 2021 � Vol. 142, No. 2 ENGLISH

This publication is not for sale. It is provided as part of a worldwideBible educational work supported by voluntary donations. To makea donation, please visit donate.jw.org.

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from themodern-language New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures.

COVER PICTURE:The great crowd dressed in white robes andwith palm branches in their hands, standingbefore the brilliance of the throne of Godand before the Lamb (See study article 3,paragraph 7)
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JANUARY 2021 34567...6 (1) Pray often. Christians who are under pressure can ﬁnd relief when they turn to Jehovah in earnest prayer. (1 Pet. 5:7) In answer to your prayers, you can