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A LOCKER

HELD

TREASURE

Jane Walker (pictured above) was brought up as a We were not permitted to attend a church, to do so would
Jehovah’s Witness but she – and other members of her mean immediate disfellowshipping. There was a sense
family – had their eyes opened to Christianity through of superior knowledge and a very judgmental attitude
a Hospital Testament. Jane shared her testimony at from “knowing the truth” as they called it and knowing
Connexions 2025. Here’s her story: that other Christians didn't have that. My Dad became a
ministry school servant, a very high up elder and we used
"In the 1970s, my Mum lost her father - he was only 65 to rehearse what to say on door-to-door visits and to
years old. She was very vulnerable when the Jehovah's this day I can still recite it. God knows our hearts. We did
Witnesses came knocking at the door and told her about
the resurrection, the result of which was that we got very believe that what we were doing was the right thing.
much involved with them. When my Mum went into hospital, she investigated her
The regime was very strict: meetings, door to door work, locker and found a New Testament Psalms and Proverbs.
no celebration of any significant days – birthday, Easter, She turned to John 1:1 which says, "In the beginning was
the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was
Christmas were all not celebrated. Following fashion God." Mum thought, “but I don't believe in the trinity so
trends was out of the question and we had to wear
modest attire; my twin sister and I wore frumpy clothes what's going on?”
and boys’ shoes. At the same time Dr Gwyn Jordan, a wonderful Christian,
One day a week we would come home and be expected met my dad on the train. Dad was reading the Watchtower
to sleep from 4pm to 6pm to be woken to attend a and the Awake magazines and Gwyn said, "Oh I don't
believe all of that! Do you want to come back to my house
meeting at the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses from and have a study?" From this meeting we believed that
7pm to 9pm. At the meetings we would learn how to talk the Jehovah's Witnesses were wrong, and we decided to
to people at the doors and were given information from come out of the organisation and go to a church just to
the organisation. We were not allowed to read anything
else apart from that provided by the Jehovah’s Witnesses, see what it was like. We were disfellowshipped; everybody
that we had spoken to and that we'd been friends with
for example, the Watchtower Bible and Track Society of for 10 years were no longer able to talk to us anymore as
Pennsylvania. We would study a book called “Paradise we were “of the devil”. This meant my grandma was no
Lost and Paradise Regained” and we learned that regular longer able to talk to us but eventually the Holy Spirit
religion, including all the churches that were about, were
depicted as the harlot spoken about in Revelation 18. worked and had His way. My Grandma was baptised in the
name of Jesus Christ at the age of 80 and has now been
Saturday mornings were spent in twos going to people's promoted to glory.
homes and tell them about Jehovah and warn them of
the impending battle of Armageddon that was going to Others left the Jehovah’s Witnesses and became
come and how everybody, apart from Jehovah's Witnesses, Christians and all because of this little book that was
would be killed. On Sundays we'd be at meetings in placed in the hospital locker."
the morning and the evening - it was a life completely
devoted to the organisation.

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