“Apostolic” Leader Becomes Truly Apostolic

AMONG the Africans in Southern Rhodesia, the Apostolic sect has a strong following. Its members wear long, white, flowing robes and its leaders carry a long shepherd’s crook and claim to speak in tongues, to prophesy and to heal. As a traveling representative of the Watchtower Society was about to give his Saturday evening discourse to a certain African congregation last May, more than a hundred of the Apostolic sect, accompanied by their leader, came and sat down to hear the talk on “Spiritual Healing.”

At its conclusion the speaker asked if any had questions, and one of the Apostolics rose and asked: “Does the speaker have the holy spirit and can he speak in tongues as we do?” However, before the speaker could answer him the leader of the group stood up and, turning to his followers, said: “Friends, there is no need to ask questions on what you have heard, for since we joined the Apostolic faith we have not heard anything like this. We must go away silently and check the Scriptures to see if the speaker was right.”

The following morning ten of the group showed up for preaching activity, asking to go along to see how the witnesses preached from house to house. They were impressed by the way the witnesses used their Bibles in giving the doorstep sermons.

Thirty of the Apostolics followed the Society’s representative as he went to the next congregation ten miles away. After further discussion the leader, who was also a “prophet” and “healer,” subscribed, together with his wife, two brothers and mother, for The Watchtower.

Within a month of their having first heard Jehovah’s healing message these five are having a share in making it known to others and are being trained in the truly apostolic way of preaching from house to house. The Apostolic flock, deprived of their leader and his family, have been heard to bemoan: “When you speak with Jehovah’s witnesses they even bewitch the Bible, for when we go home to check the Scriptures all the chapters we read support their teaching.”