of interest. Then offer the book for a contribution of $3.

⁶ Your presentation may be varied according to the type of territory you are working. Review the material in the Reasoning book under “Religion,” pages 322-33, and under “Babylon the Great,” pages 49-53, for suggestions on how this can be done. It is urgent that we share fully in declaring this divine message of judgment and hope.​—Rev. 14:6, 7.

Memorial Celebration for 1989

¹ Wednesday, March 22, 1989, will mark the 1,956th anniversary of the Memorial of Christ’s death. When making our own plans to be in attendance, we need to think of others who may need an invitation or our personal assistance in some way. Now is the time to start making preparations for the Memorial and to think about inviting others.​—Please see “Things to Prepare for the Memorial” on page 4.

² How do we view attendance at the Memorial? We should view it as a privilege and as an opportunity to show appreciation for the sacrifice of Christ. If you know you will be away from your home congregation, be sure that you have the address of the Kingdom Hall in the area you will be visiting so that you can attend there.

USE SPECIAL INVITATIONS

³ You may start using the special Memorial invitations early in March. Remember, they are not to be used as handbills but should be given to interested ones personally. Because people often forget dates and times, it is suggested that we neatly write or type the Kingdom Hall address and the time for the Memorial celebration on the bottom or the back of the invitation. If possible, spend a little time with the person you are inviting to help him understand clearly the significance of the Memorial. Newly interested people may hesitate to go to the Kingdom Hall by themselves. Can you offer to provide transportation or arrange to meet them outside the hall? This will require additional time and effort, but your assistance will be appreciated. Also, a special effort should be made to help those who have known of the truth for some years but who have held back from attending meetings regularly.​—Luke 11:23; John 18:37b.

NECESSARY PREPARATIONS

⁴ Congregation elders will want to be sure that all arrangements for the Memorial have been carefully made well in advance. Be sure to select well-qualified brothers to pass the emblems. These brothers should be elders or ministerial servants, if available. Have a sufficient number of brothers prepared to do this so that the passing of the emblems will not be prolonged unnecessarily. After the servers have served those in the audience, the servers will sit down in the front row and the speaker will serve them. Finally, one of them will serve the speaker.

⁵ With the passing of each year, we come closer to the day when the Lord’s Evening Meal will no longer be celebrated. Only a comparative few of the anointed brothers of Christ remain. Jesus commanded that his death be memorialized until all of his brothers are with him in the Kingdom. (Luke 22:19; 1 Cor. 11:25) Until then, we will obediently and faithfully gather each year for the celebration of the Memorial with the greatest joy and appreciation.

[Box on page 4]

Things to Prepare for the Memorial

(See February 15, 1985, Watchtower, page 19.)

1. Has everyone, including the speaker, been informed of the exact time and place of the celebration? Does the speaker have transportation?

2. Have definite arrangements been made to provide the emblems?

3. Have arrangements been made for someone to bring a clean tablecloth and the required number of glasses and plates?

4. What arrangements have been made to clean the hall?

5. Have the attendants and servers been assigned? Has a meeting been scheduled with them before the Memorial to go over their duties? When? What procedure will be followed to ensure that all are served efficiently?

6. Are arrangements complete to help older and infirm brothers and sisters? Are arrangements made to serve any of the anointed who may be confined and unable to be at the Kingdom Hall?

Presenting the Good News​—Featuring The Watchtower

¹ The Bible strongly urges mankind to seek knowledge of God and of his Son, Jesus Christ. This knowledge is far more valuable than gold or silver. (Prov. 8:10) Why? Because such accurate knowledge leads to everlasting life. (John 17:3) However, accurate knowledge is not acquired or maintained without considerable personal effort. No wonder Solomon said: “If you keep seeking for it . . . , in that case you will understand the fear of Jehovah, and you will find the very knowledge of God.”​—Prov. 1:7; 2:4, 5.

² The world of mankind is in darkness as to God’s purposes, but valuable knowledge of Jehovah comes to us through the precious and timely articles published in The Watchtower. (Isa. 60:2) What a privilege we have in sharing this vital information with others! During April and May, a series of articles on the exposure of Babylon the Great and her execution will be featured.

WHAT CAN WE HIGHLIGHT?

³ The April issues of The Watchtower examine the identity of “Babylon the Great, the mother of the harlots.” (Rev. 17:5) After introducing yourself, arouse the householder’s curiosity in the April 1 issue by saying: “Since the first century, people have been intrigued by the visions and symbols of the Bible book of Revelation. One of the most mysterious of these is the great harlot Babylon the Great, described in Revelation chapters 17 and 18. What does this Babylon symbolize? With the help of this article ‘A Mystery​—Who Is the Harlot Babylon the Great?’ you will discover the answer.” By leaving the question unanswered, you may get the attention of the individual.

⁴ In the April 15 issue, the article “Babylon the Great Plays the Harlot” explains what is meant by harlotry in the spiritual sense. The “Divine Justice” convention talk on “The Infamous Harlot” and the Resolution are also included. Again, we can ask thought-provoking questions such as: Who is this Babylon the Great? Why is she condemned in such strong terms in the Bible? How does her destruction affect our generation and your future? Remember to keep the presentation simple by getting directly to the point, doing so in 30 to 60 seconds.

PLAN AHEAD

⁵ While we normally stress the second and fourth Saturdays as magazine days each month, it would be good to stress all five Saturdays during April since we have these important magazines to present. On magazine day, concentrate on making a brief presentation of no more than 60 seconds. A wide circulation of these timely issues of the magazines is needed in order to sound a warning for all to hear.​—Isa. 61:2; Rev. 18:4, 5.

⁶ April begins a new Watchtower subscription campaign. Unlike the brief presentation that is recommended for the weekly magazine day, we will want to use the Topic for Conversation when offering the subscription. Those who do not wish to subscribe to the magazines should be encouraged to accept the current issues of The Watchtower and Awake! for 50¢.

⁷ Do you fully appreciate the excelling value of The Watchtower? It is an important instrument for educating mankind in Jehovah’s ways of righteousness. (Matt. 5:6) In distributing this outstanding journal, we have the privilege of warning the nations of the impending destruction of Babylon the Great.

Theocratic News

◆ Australia had a new peak of 48,558 publishers in October. This is an increase of 3,144 over last October.

◆ Côte d’Ivoire reported a new peak of 2,926 publishers for October. The number of regular pioneers increases every month. Currently 18 percent of the publishers are pioneering.

◆ Cyprus had their fourth consecutive publisher peak in October with 1,168 reporting.

◆ Hong Kong was happy to report a new peak of 1,795 publishers and a new peak of 2,929 Bible studies for October. The congregation publishers averaged 16.4 hours.

December Service Report

Av. Av. Av. Av.

Pubs. Hrs. Mags. R.V. Bi.St.

Sp’l Pios. 261 127.4 81.7 53.8 5.5

Pios. 62,145 79.1 35.2 26.4 2.7

Aux. Pios. 30,213 58.0 25.5 16.1 1.4

Pubs. 688,001 9.6 6.1 3.7 0.5

TOTAL 780,620

Newly Dedicated Ones Baptized: 3,144

Congregation Book Study

Schedule for congregation studies in the book Life​—How Did It Get Here? By Evolution or by Creation?:

March 6: Pages 220* to 223*

March 13: Pages 223* to 227*

March 20: Pages 227* to 231

March 27: Pages 232 to 239*

* To or from subheading.