Danny, thanks for keeping us up to date. I just emailed the writer of the article and attached this letter:
Dear Ms. Webster,
I am compelled to write this letter in response to the short article that you recently wrote for your paper regarding the Jehovah’s Witnesses. In the article you make a statement regarding a certain belief of the Jehovah's Witness religion. I wish to inform you that the statement you made is false.
In the article it stated that the Jehovah's Witnesses do not believe that only they will be able to win salvation. I am writing to tell you that this statement is a clear deception of what this religion truly believes, and I know this, as I was one of them for nearly 12 years. When representatives of the religion made this statement to you, they knew that they were lying as not telling the full truth is the same thing as telling a lie, please let me explain.
While the Watchtower organization and individual Jehovah’s Witnesses are careful to not tell the outside world that only the Jehovah’s Witnesses will be saved, this is truly what they believe and teach. When they say that others may win salvation (as if anyone can “win” salvation from Christ), they mean only those who become Jehovah’s Witnesses and part of their organization BEFORE the tribulation or God’s judgment comes upon all men. Their belief is that although most of the world is not Jehovah’s Witnesses right now, through their door to door preaching they hope to convert them to their faith. If people do not convert to the Jehovah’s Witness faith now while there is still time to do so, and God’s judgment comes, they will be destroyed, they and their families as well.
Therefore, by saying others can be saved is being deceptive to the public. As they are leaving out the part that others can win salvation only IF and WHEN they convert to the Jehovah’s Witness faith prior to the judgment time. They do not believe that when the time comes if you are a Catholic, Baptist, Protestant or any other Christian faith that you will be saved. The Watchtower Organization, which is the Publishing Company for the Jehovah’s Witnesses continually makes the claim in their books and magazines that the only way to be saved, is by joining their organization. And this was the case prior to my joining and since I have left. The fact that I believed this teaching and taught it, well I am still ashamed of it although I have been out of this religion for over 2 years now. Here is a quote from the book I studied to become a Jehovah's Witness called “You can Live Forever in Paradise on Earth”:
Page 255, second paragraph states: Do not conclude that there are different roads or ways that you can follow to gain life in God's new system. There is only one. There was just the one ark that survived the flood, not a number of boats. And there will be only one organization - God's visible organization (The WT Society) - that will survive the fast approaching "great tribulation". It is simply not true that all religions lead to the same goal. You must be part of Jehovah's organization, doing God's will, in order to receive his blessing of everlasting life.
This is just one quote but there are thousands and thousands of them just like this one. Any brief look into their literature will show this. The Jehovah's Witnesses believe only those in their organization who believe what they do are saved because they believe that all other Christian religions are really misled and worshiping the Devil. They also believe everyone and everything in this world that is not Jehovah’s Witness is Satanic. This includes the people, governments, social systems, everything. All current and former members of this religious cult know this to be true. And as I stated earlier I am still ashamed to have believed and taught this rubbish.
I am writing so that your readers will know the truth and I ask you to please print a retraction to this story.
Thank you in advance,
Lillian Cruz, Boston MA