Bible Truth Restored My Respect for Marriage

THIS experience was related at a convention of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Madison, Wisconsin:

“As a young boy of Irish Catholic background, I had always wanted to serve God. Therefore, I entered a Catholic seminary for my high school education. At the seminary, I found the Bible was not stressed. Rather, the emphasis was placed on philosophy, theology, church law, ritual and external garb. All of this quickly wore off.

“Soon some great changes began to take place in my life. After high school I went to a large university, was married and then fell away from the Catholic faith.

“After falling away from Catholicism, my wife and I returned to ‘nature’ for religion. I also became engrossed in acquiring wealth and decided to divorce my wife and free myself of marital responsibilities. During this time I was working for a real-estate firm. It was customary at this office for parties to be held on every occasion​—on birthdays, on Halloween, on Christmas; or they were just plain summer parties.

“I noticed that one worker who had recently become one of Jehovah’s Witnesses no longer participated in the parties, although at one time she was the ‘life of the party.’ I chided her about this change. She kindly informed me that it was her new religion that caused such a change for her, and she immediately offered me an opportunity to study the Bible with her. I accepted, and we had our first discussion after work that afternoon.

“Compared to my former religion, in which almost anything goes, I could see how the Bible changed this woman’s life. She was always considerate and would meet at my convenience, and she tactfully helped me to understand Bible principles. As a result, I changed my plans for divorcing my wife and later became one of Jehovah’s Witnesses. These changes for the better have been based on the truth of the Bible and will not quickly wear off.”