00:00:08 My parents were both Jehovah’s Witnesses
00:00:11 by the time I was born.
00:00:12 So I studied the Bible,
00:00:14 attended meetings, and went out in service with them.
00:00:19 Growing up in the truth, I knew
00:00:21 that living by Bible standards is what’s best for me.
00:00:24 And my parents were always so zealous
00:00:26 when it came to spiritual things.
00:00:29 So when I think back,
00:00:31 I just didn’t want to let them down.
00:00:34 Following Bible principles is not burdensome
00:00:37 or even that difficult.
00:00:40 Honestly, if we do as it says in the Bible, then we benefit ourselves.
00:00:45 But at times, I was curious
00:00:47 how my life would be if I wasn’t in the truth.
00:00:51 It was just so fun to be around my school friends.
00:00:54 Overall, I had a good time at school.
00:00:58 I got along with my classmates, and my teachers liked me too.
00:01:01 So being in school was a pretty good experience.
00:01:05 My parents always told me not to get too close to my classmates,
00:01:10 but in my opinion, my friends
00:01:12 had good conduct and were good people.
00:01:14 I didn’t understand why they were so worried.
00:01:18 In my high school,
00:01:20 there were a lot of kids who went to church
00:01:23 and many of the teachers had religious backgrounds.
00:01:25 One day, there was an incident when the entire school found out
00:01:29 I was one of Jehovah’s Witnesses.
00:01:32 I knew that some people might be prejudiced
00:01:34 against Witnesses, but I was surprised
00:01:37 to see how everyone could change so suddenly.
00:01:40 I started spending more time with my classmates,
00:01:43 but the more I hung out with them, the more I saw
00:01:46 that we were living completely different lives.
00:01:49 Their conversations would be about trips they went on over the weekend
00:01:52 and what they bought on their latest shopping trip,
00:01:55 but when it came to me, all I had done was spiritual activities.
00:01:58 It felt like I was missing out.
00:02:01 I felt alone and like an outcast.
00:02:05 I knew in my head that Bible principles are right and beneficial,
00:02:09 but when I was actually put in that situation,
00:02:12 I wasn’t so sure anymore.
00:02:16 I started to feel like I wasn’t as cool as my classmates,
00:02:20 so when they started to talk about their life goals,
00:02:22 I couldn’t bring myself to tell them what my goals were.
00:02:26 So I started thinking,
00:02:29 ‘What would be the right way for me to act?’
00:02:32 Opening up to my parents about my situation really helped.
00:02:36 One day for family worship, we decided
00:02:39 to discuss that topic.
00:02:42 We read Matthew 5:11:
00:02:44 “Happy are you when people reproach you and persecute you
00:02:48 “and lyingly say every sort of wicked thing
00:02:50 against you for my sake.”
00:02:53 But how can you be happy when persecuted?
00:02:57 I thought to myself, ‘But I’m not happy right now.’
00:03:00 My mom shared Mark 8:38 with me.
00:03:03 The part in the scripture where it says
00:03:05 that if we are ashamed of Jesus Christ,
00:03:07 he will be ashamed of us
00:03:09 really hit me.
00:03:11 I realized that deep inside
00:03:13 I had been ashamed of being a Witness.
00:03:16 While I was going through all of this,
00:03:17 a brother gave a public talk in our congregation
00:03:21 and read Matthew 19:29.
00:03:24 There it says that everyone who has left
00:03:27 what is important to them “for the sake of [Jehovah]
00:03:29 will receive a hundred times as much.”
00:03:32 So I decided to try leaving what I thought was important to me
00:03:36 and seeing what results and blessings I might receive.
00:03:40 About that time,
00:03:42 my parents helped me to associate with brothers and sisters
00:03:45 who were participating in many different forms of full-time service
00:03:49 so that I could hear their experiences.
00:03:52 That helped me to decide
00:03:54 which direction I wanted to go in my life.
00:03:56 One thing that was really great about this decision
00:04:00 was that I was able to meet many new brothers and sisters.
00:04:03 I realized that there were so many people
00:04:06 who had the same thoughts and goals as I did.
00:04:09 These were my true friends.
00:04:12 The next time the topic of our future goals came up with my classmates,
00:04:16 I was able to speak up confidently.
00:04:18 I am really thankful to my parents
00:04:20 who helped me to find the courage to do that.
00:04:23 I’ve felt that Jehovah truly keeps his promises.
00:04:27 Come to think of it,
00:04:29 Jehovah has kept his promise to reward me
00:04:31 a hundred times as much
00:04:33 if I choose to live by the Bible’s principles.
00:04:38 I am really happy now,
00:04:41 and I am confident that if I follow the Bible’s teachings when I make decisions,
00:04:46 I will always have the best results.
