November 8

Europe’s Largest Peace Conference​—What Did It Mean?

HUNDREDS of millions of people are barely aware that it took place. Of those who heard of it, few understand what it was about or what it all means.

Yet, from July 30 to August 1, in Helsinki, Finland, there took place the largest gathering of heads of government in European history.

Presidents, prime ministers and other top leaders were there from thirty-three European countries and from Canada and the United States. Tiny “vest-pocket” states like Monaco, Liechtenstein and San Marino (total population about 20,000) were gathered with the world’s superpowers, enjoying equal voice. Even the Vatican had its delegate there, representing it as one of Europe’s independent, sovereign states (accorded this status in 1929 during dictator Mussolini’s regime). From all Europe only Red China–oriented Albania was absent.

“This is a day of joy and hope for Europe,” exclaimed Finland’s President Urho Kekkonen in addressing what he called an “unprecedented” gathering. “We have all the reason to believe that . . . through the process of détente we are advancing in the direction of stable and enduring peace.”

United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim declared: “This conference will be historically noteworthy, not for Europe alone, but also for the whole of mankind.”

And, in the religious services of Finland’s Lutheran state church, a prayer was offered on the preceding Sunday, saying in part: “You God of peace and hope, we thank You for Your guidance in that You have allowed the nations of our continent to turn to the way of peace and conciliation. . . . Safeguard the nations of Europe and of the whole world against new wars and acts of violence.”

What brought about this “Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe”? After so many thousands of years of European wars, culminating in two conflicts that went on to engulf the whole world, would this unusual meeting now produce a “continent of peace,” as so many of the speakers expressed the hope? What, really, was accomplished?

Thirty Years of Unfinished Business

World War II ended thirty years ago on September 2, 1945. But did you know that a general peace treaty has never been signed between the major participants in that war? Did you know that this is why neither Eastern Germany nor Western Germany has yet been able to join the United Nations?

Yes, the end of World War II left many things unresolved. As historian Theodore Ropp says: “An uneasy peace, more like a cease-fire, returned to a war-weary world.”

Much of this uneasiness involved the Soviet Union’s new borders. Early in the war, the Soviet Union had annexed Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. Later it took over portions of Romania, Finland, East Prussia, Czechoslovakia and almost half of Poland. And the war’s end found Communist troops occupying six eastern European countries: Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and the eastern half of Germany. Within a short time all of these were converted into Communist nations as “satellites” of the Soviet Union.

But the Soviet’s new boundaries were not officially recognized by the Western nations. So, since 1954 the Soviet Union has been pushing for a European security conference that would ratify its borders, formally acknowledging Soviet dominance over eastern Europe. The declaration that was to be produced by this conference would, in effect, be viewed as a substitute for a German peace treaty, still unsigned after thirty years.

Greater stability was part of the Soviet aim in advocating the conference. Several East European areas​—Hungary, Poland and Czechoslovakia—​had been scenes of attempted uprisings against Communist rule in the 1950’s and 1960’s. With the Soviet’s political sphere of control acknowledged in all Europe, things would hopefully remain quiet.

Another probable motivation was the Soviet Union’s concern over the rising power of Red China. Surprisingly, the enmity between these two great powers of the world of Communist “comrades” is often more intense than the enmity that either of them shows toward the “capitalist” nations, including the United States. The Chinese-Soviet frontier is continually manned by thousands of troops on both sides. The Soviet Union could face its giant Asian opponent with far greater confidence if it could feel measurably secure about its frontiers back in the West. The European security conference was expected to make this possible.

Why, then, should the western European nations and the United States and Canada join in on such a Soviet-inspired meeting? The answer: Détente​—that French word meaning “an easing of strained relations,” especially in a political situation. The Western powers, although basically the wealthiest in the world, nevertheless must now cope with serious problems. If improved relations with the Soviet Union ‘would somehow ease the crushing financial burden that the present arms race and the maintenance of large foreign-based military forces now require, these nations would feel that it was worth it. None of them want to see the world again walking a political tightrope, precariously balanced between peace and the threat of a nuclear war, as was the case during the “cold war” period that followed World War II.

Besides this, as a price for their participation in the conference, the Western nations pressured the Soviet Union to include in the new East-West declaration various principles that would supposedly lead to greater freedom in several vital areas of life.

What, then, did the “unprecedented” gathering actually produce?

Peace and Security in Four “Baskets” of Agreements

The Declaration, called the “Final Act,” was signed in Helsinki on August 1, 1975, by the thirty-five participating nations. Its introduction declared that all the participating nations recognized “the close link between peace and security in Europe and in the world.” Also, that they were conscious of the need for each to make “its contribution to the strengthening of world peace and security and to the promotion of fundamental rights, economic and social progress and well-being for all peoples.” They pledged to support the United Nations in achieving this goal.

The rest of the Declaration was divided into four categories, called “baskets.”

The first renounced the use of force for settling disputes. It declared the inviolability of existing frontiers and promised advance notice of major military maneuvers.

The second called for expanded cooperation in industrial, scientific and environmental problems, and for expanded tourism.

The third expressed the promise of freer exchange of people, publications and information between all participating countries.

The fourth called for follow-up action to put the provisions of the Declaration to work, with future meetings to review this.

Two of the “baskets” had some remarkable provisions. “Basket” one, for example, said:

“The participating states will respect human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the freedom of thought, conscience, religion or belief, for all without distinction as to race, sex, language or religion.

“Within this framework the participating states will recognize and respect the freedom of the individual to profess and practice, alone or in community with others, religion or belief acting in accordance with the dictates of his own conscience.”

“Basket” three represents the thirty-five nations as saying:

“They confirm that religious faiths, institutions and organizations, practicing within the constitutional framework of the participating states, and their representatives can, in the field of their activities, have contacts and meetings among themselves and exchange information.”

Does this mean that genuine freedom of worship will now be allowed throughout the realm of European Communism? Will individuals be allowed to meet freely without fear of retaliatory actions? Could even a minority like Jehovah’s witnesses do that in Russia? On their face, the provisions would indicate that. But how much force do these declarations and all the others actually have?

How Firm a Foundation for Peace and Security?

In speaking to the assembly body, U.S. President Ford warned: “The people of all Europe and, I assure you, the people of North America are thoroughly tired of having their hopes raised and then shattered by empty words and unfulfilled pledges. We had better say what we mean and mean what we say, or we will have the anger of our citizens to answer.” He added that every nation signing “should know that if these are to be more than the latest chapter in a long and sorry volume of unfulfilled declarations, every party must be dedicated to make them come true.”

Yet even before leaving the United States to attend the conference, the president stated: “I would emphasize that the document I will sign is neither a treaty nor is it legally binding on any participating state.” The so-called “Final Act” is thus merely a declaration of intent. There are no provisions for enforcing its terms or penalizing those violating them. At best, it can have no more strength than the Declaration of Human Rights produced long ago by the United Nations, which declaration many nations, including the Soviet Union, signed and then proceeded to ignore.

The Swiss delegate referred to the document as ‘broth from 35 cooks.’ Of its 30,000 words, many expressions are vague and ambiguous, often deliberately so. When a reporter told a delegate who had shared in the document’s wording that he could not understand a certain long sentence, the delegate replied: “You are not supposed to understand it. Neither do we, and, what’s more, we meant it that way.” Ambiguity was often the only way to agreement.

Many leaders stressed that the conference was just one more step, perhaps a modest one, toward an ultimate goal. Soviet leader Brezhnev stressed that ultimate goal in saying of the conference results: “There are neither victors nor vanquished . . . It is a gain for all who cherish peace and security on our planet.”

“Peace and security”​—those words were spoken very often at this gathering. And why? For one reason, it is because rule of the earth by human political governments has never brought true peace and security to the people. U.N. Secretary-General Waldheim, in fact, pointed out that the very nations participating in the conference were responsible for 80 percent of the entire world’s military spending.

But the greatest significance of this conference is that it is one more evidence of the truthfulness of Jehovah God’s prophetic Word, the Bible. Nineteen hundred years ago God inspired the apostle Paul to write that the day would come when the nations would, not only talk of their dire need for “peace and security,” but reach the point where they could claim that they had attained it for all the earth. When that day does arrive, what then? The Bible’s prophecy says:

“Whenever it is that they are saying: ‘Peace and security!’ then sudden destruction is to be instantly upon them just as the pang of distress upon a pregnant woman; and they will by no means escape.”​—1 Thess. 5:3.

That destruction will not result from an all-out nuclear conflict. It will result from God’s own war, a war fought on behalf of his own sovereignty over this planet, which is his own creation, and on behalf of all peace-loving persons who want to live under the righteous rule of his Son’s kingdom. Learn now why that kingdom is the government meriting your full trust as the one means to attain true peace and security​—not for a few years—​but everlastingly.

[Map on page 4]

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THE SOVIET UNION’S CHANGED FRONTIERS IN EUROPE

RUSSIA BEFORE WORLD WAR II

EAST EUROPEAN NATIONS THAT HAVE COME UNDER RUSSIAN DOMINATION

Since 1954 the Soviet Union has sought recognition of its post-World War II frontiers. The European summit granted this.

[Picture on page 5]

FOUR “BASKETS” FULL OF AGREEMENTS

Peaceful settling of disputes. Frontiers inviolable. Freedom of thought, religion.

Industrial, scientific and environmental cooperation. Expanded tourism.

Freer exchange of people, publications and information, including that by religions.

Follow-up action to implement provisions. Future meetings for review of fulfillment.

Breathing Atoms by the Billions

● Atoms are everywhere. Every material thing around you​—everything you can see, feel, touch, smell or taste—​is composed of tiny invisible atoms. This means that the very air you breathe is made up of these minute particles of matter. “Consider how many atoms there are in a breath of air,” wrote Heinz Haber in The Walt Disney Story of Our Friend the Atom. “Under normal conditions,” Haber continued, “a human being inhales and exhales about one pint of air with every breath. This means that about 16 times in every minute you are inhaling and exhaling no less than 25,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 atoms!” So, on the average, you inhale no less than four hundred thousand billion billion atoms every minute of your life. That is a figure so big that you must add twenty-one zeros after the four hundred​—400,000,000,000,000,000,000,000! And how many atoms will a person breathe in a lifetime? Never mind trying to figure that one out. It’s bound to be an astronomical number so big that it runs off the end of your abacus. It’s mighty nice, then, that these atoms come in such tiny little packages.

Hinduism​—Can It Meet Your Spiritual Needs?

NEVER before has man been in greater need of spiritual guidance, but where can such guidance be found? In recent years many have abandoned the religions of Christendom and Judaism to seek this guidance in philosophies and practices that have their roots in Hinduism. What about you? If you were to adopt Hindu viewpoints, would they satisfy your spiritual needs?

Hinduism possesses a vast body of sacred literature, including the Vedas and the Upanishads. Can one learn from these writings factual information about the Creator and how to serve him? What does Hinduism have to say about the origin of the earth and the earliest history of mankind?

You will find its writings disappointing in this respect. With regard to the origin of the world, for example, the Rig-Veda, among the most ancient and authoritative of Hindu religious texts, says:

“Who knows, then, whence it first came into being? He, the first origin of this creation, whether he formed it all or did not form it, . . . he verily knows it, or perhaps he knows not.”

There are, of course, some tales in Hindu writings that depict the world’s creation, such as the one that tells of a golden egg splitting into two halves to form the heavens and the earth. But few would be inclined to take such accounts seriously.

Under its heading “Hinduism,” the Encyclopædia Britannica (1974 edition) observes: “The core of [Hindu] religion does not even depend on the existence or nonexistence of God or on whether there is one god or many.” Could a religious system that is so vague about the supreme Creator satisfy your spiritual needs to know and serve God?

Transmigration and “Karma”

What about the purpose of life and a hope for the future? A belief widespread in Hinduism involves transmigration and “karma.” “Transmigration” means that humans have within themselves an invisible, spiritual soul, which is their real self. At death the soul is said to “transmigrate” or pass over into another body. Persons who believe this feel that they have lived innumerable lives before and will continue to pass from one life to another in a virtually endless cycle of rebirths.

“Karma” (deeds) means that acts done in one life determine what type the next one will be. Your present status in life, therefore, is viewed as the direct result of whether you conducted yourself properly or poorly in the life that preceded the present one. One of the Hindu scriptures, the Chandogya Upanishad, explains the law of karma in this way:

“Those who are of pleasant conduct here​—the prospect is, indeed, that they will enter a pleasant womb, either the womb of a Brahmin [priest], or the womb of a Kshatriya [the military], or the womb of a Vaisya [farmer or merchant]. But those who are of stinking conduct here​—the prospect is, indeed, that they will enter either the womb of a dog, or the womb of a swine, or the womb of an outcast.”

Could these views satisfy your need for spiritual guidance? Have they truly benefited residents of India, where Hinduism is practiced in its many forms?

Some Effects of Hindu Teaching

Because there is little specific information in Hindu scriptures about the supreme Creator and how to approach him in worship, many Hindus resort to primitive religious practices. In its article “Hinduism,” the Encyclopædia Britannica (1974) says concerning India’s “lower castes”:

“These castes are content to escape the powers of the evil eye; to manipulate those spirits dwelling in wells, trees, stones, water, and ground; to counteract curses, witchcraft, plague, and cholera; and to worship village godlings who may give rain or a bountiful harvest. They believe in astrology, horoscopy, divination, and the reading of omens and auspicious moments.”

And what has been the effect of the teaching of transmigration and karma? Professor John Noss writes in Man’s Religions: “Hindus have come to speak of the process of rebirth as ‘The Wheel.’ They look upon it with despair. . . . their hearts have failed them at the prospect of a possible thousand million rebirths stretching out their length before them.”

A further bad fruitage of this doctrine is the belief that one’s “caste,” or social level, is determined by deeds done in one’s previous life. This gives little incentive or opportunity for persons in the lower social strata, especially the “outcasts,” or “untouchables,” to improve their lot in this life. Concerning this, the New York Times of September 22, 1974, reported the comments of Satyavani Mathu, a former welfare minister in charge of “Harijans” (untouchables) in a state of India:

“No one cares. All these years of independence, all these constitutional guarantees, and Harijans are still outcasts, the lowest of the low. In practically every village, Harijans can’t take tea in the same hotel as caste Hindus, can’t take water from the same well.

“It’s a disgrace. Hinduism says that Harijans were born to be slaves. And caste Hindus accept this and don’t implement policies in favor of Harijans. They say, ‘How could you be our equals?’”

Interesting, too, are the following excerpts from the Hindu code of Manu concerning women:

“Though destitute of virtue, or seeking pleasure elsewhere, or devoid of good qualities, yet a husband must be constantly worshipped as a god by a faithful wife. . . . At her pleasure let her emaciate her body by living on pure flowers, roots, and fruit; but she must never mention the name of another man after her husband has died. . . . By violating her duty towards her husband, a wife is disgraced in this world; after death she enters the womb of a jackal, and is tormented by diseases, the punishment of her sin.”

As to the effect of Hindu principles on millions of the inhabitants of India, writer Mulk Raj Anand commented: “Unfortunately, the reassertion of Hindu Dharma [custom] in the code of Manu, with a more rigid caste system, with its degradation of women, and its insistence on ritual, preserved the discriminations which were to divide Indian society for all time.”​—The Illustrated Weekly of India, November 17, 1974, p. 13.

In view of this, what has attracted so many in Western lands to Hindu beliefs and practices in recent years?

A Way of “Escape”

The book Man’s Religions points out: “The motive of much Hindu . . . and Buddhist thought in India has been escape.” In what sense?

A popular form of Hindu philosophy holds that the invisible “soul” within each person, his real self, is actually separate from his mind and body. The soul is considered to be part of an all-encompassing primary cause (sometimes called “God”) in the same way that rays that emanate from the sun can be viewed as part of the sun. According to this teaching, when a person realizes that his real self is a part of God and that fleshly existence is the result of imprisonment of the soul in a physical body, he can lose desire for further physical life. He leaves off performing deeds to assure an improved life in his next incarnation. Since there is no longer any karma in the ordinary sense for such a person, he escapes from the rebirth cycle. Some say that a person who achieves such a state has attained “Nirvana,” though this word has become more popular in Buddhism.

Knowledge of this strange “oneness” with God, however, is not attainable by normal intellectual processes. Instead, it comes “by an ecstatic flash of certitude in the midst of deep meditation,” according to Professor Noss. A classic Hindu text, the Bhagavad-Gita (the Lord’s Song), describes such a meditation procedure in these words attributed to the god Krishna:

“A devotee should constantly devote himself to abstraction, remaining in a secret place, alone, . . . remaining steady, looking at the tip of his own nose, . . . he should restrain his mind and concentrate it on Me . . . a devotee whose mind is restrained attains that tranquillity which culminates in final emancipation and assimilation with Me.”

This procedure is related to “the Yoga system” of Hinduism. According to another Hindu writing, Yoga can bring about “a trance in which the mind, now emptied of all content and no longer aware of either object or subject, is absorbed into the Ultimate, and is one with the One.” A person who gets to this point may experience feelings of tranquillity or even ecstasy. Superhuman mental and physical powers, such as clairvoyance and levitation, have been known to result from this special type of meditation.

A school of Chinese Buddhists that stressed such a practice pronounced the Sanskrit word for meditation (dhyana) as “ch’an,” and in Japan it became “zen.” Have you heard of the popular practice of “transcendental meditation” (TM) today? This, too, is related to the aforementioned Hindu views.

Another method of gaining freedom from the cycle of rebirths and an ‘awareness of union’ with God is called bhakti. This is a way of special devotion to a Hindu divinity, sometimes accompanied by ecstatic dancing and chanting of a phrase or prayer known as a “mantra.” A magazine article published by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness declares:

“Bhakti-yoga is the process of elevating oneself to the platform of [Krishna] consciousness. . . . This chanting of Hare [Krishna] . . . is the simplest and most expedient means for developing [Krishna] consciousness. . . . When you have mastered the chanting and are fixed in continuously resounding the name, [Krishna] will then appear in the soul’s eye, and He will dance upon your tongue. You will then taste the Supreme; your thoughts will be absorbed in [Krishna], and your consciousness will be perfect.”

Do you feel that these Hindu viewpoints about “escape” could satisfy your spiritual needs? Would it benefit you to take up this type of meditation or the devotional dancing and chanting that have induced ecstasy in some persons?

Can It Meet Your Needs?

It will be instructive to consider the Bible’s view of these matters. Scholars throughout the world have been impressed by the Bible’s historical accuracy, its freedom from myths and its peerless principles for human relations. The Scriptures, at Acts 17:26, 27, set forth the most basic of human needs, saying: “And [God] made out of one man every nation of men . . . for them to seek God, if they might grope for him and really find him.”

Is that not what you wish to do? But could you successfully “grope for” and “find” the true God in writings that speak of a vague “ultimate” reality or that urge worship of numerous mythological gods and goddesses?

As to the practices of Yoga-type meditation, and bhakti-style dancing and chanting, keep in mind that they are based on the fundamental Hindu belief that man has within him an invisible “soul” that can both transmigrate and be “absorbed into the Ultimate.” But does that teaching represent the truth?

Considerable scientific investigation has been made to prove whether humans have a spiritual soul that departs from the body at death or not. But in spite of diligent efforts and much expenditure of money, no scientific evidence of the departure of such a soul has yet come forth. When a person dies, it still appears that he dies completely, with nothing automatically surviving.

Interestingly, the Bible agrees with this. Did you realize that the Scriptures never speak of man as having an immortal soul that separates from the body at death? On the contrary, the Bible declares that the human soul is the whole person. (Gen. 2:7; Ex. 1:5; 1 Pet. 3:20; 2 Pet. 2:14) When a person dies, therefore, the soul dies. (Ezek. 18:4, 20) And, according to the Scriptures, “the dead . . . are conscious of nothing at all.”​—Eccl. 9:5.

The idea of gaining “oneness” of the soul with a transcendental reality through meditation or any other mystic practice, therefore, is simply not true. There is no separate soul in humans to achieve such oneness. Could you benefit lastingly from a procedure that is based on a religious lie?

The Scriptures warn of the existence of “wicked spirit forces in the heavenly places,” and urge people to resist them by putting on “the complete suit of armor from God.” (Eph. 6:11, 12) To succeed in that type of warfare requires that one serve God with one’s “whole mind” and with one’s “power of reason.” (Matt. 22:37; Rom. 12:1) Could you heed that counsel by engaging in a practice that represses normal consciousness? Might not that open you up to possible influence by demonic forces? Under hypnosis, for example, an individual becomes subject to the control of another intelligent person, the hypnotist. And, according to the Encyclopædia Britannica (1974 edition), the initial step toward being hypnotized is for a person “to relax in comfort and to fix his gaze on some object.” Is that not the same as the initial stages of Hindu meditation?

The Bible definitely associates clairvoyant powers, such as are possessed by advanced practitioners of Yoga, with demons. (Acts 16:16-18; Deut. 18:10-12) Would it be wise to devote even brief periods of time each day to procedures that in more developed stages lead to demonic influence? Surely these are not ways truly to satisfy your spiritual needs.

Persons who desire a fine relationship with the Creator must seek this according to God’s own requirements, which are found in the Holy Bible. Why not investigate and see for yourself if the Bible’s logical, factual presentation of divine truth does not convince you that it is truly the word of God? (2 Tim. 3:16) If you would like assistance in learning basic Bible truths, Jehovah’s witnesses will be glad to aid you.

How to Make Retirement Rewarding

RETIREMENT! The very thought of it appeals to many hardworking persons. They fondly think of it as a time of freedom from toil and freedom from responsibilities; a time for doing as they please; a time for recreation and “fun.” And it has proved to be just that for not a few, as extensive surveys made by two large universities have shown.

On the other hand, in a great many instances it appears that retirement has turned out to be anything but a blessing. According to researchers, “The ‘Golden Years’ featured in American advertising are too often years of apathy, depression and despair.” Another report tells how retirement often leads to headaches, depression, stomach trouble, oversleeping, irritability, loss of interest and the drinking of more alcoholic beverages.

One of the directors for the American Association of Retired Persons says that “a lot of [retirees] are bitter. They think: ‘The company didn’t want me and they turned me out.’” More or less agreeing with them is Dr. F. H. Cookinham, who at the age of ninety-one years is the oldest practicing physician in California, and who after fifty-eight years of practice still makes house calls: “Many a man who is retired at age 65 is at his very best. Retirement is a crime against 50 per cent of them.” A research couple, who made a global tour investigating the lot of retired persons in European lands (including Russia), China, Japan, as well as the United States, came to the conclusion that “the problem of the isolated oldster is, in fact, present in most of the world’s developed nations, whatever their system of government.”

After a man reaches the age of sixty-five he can expect to live, on an average, some thirteen years more; a woman can hope to live seventeen years more. Of course, for the 25 percent (in the United States) that keep on working, retirement poses no immediate problem, but it may well do so for the rest. Retirement marks a big change in one’s life and therefore one should plan and prepare for it, even as one planned and prepared for marriage and for one’s career in life. Says one authority on the subject: “You should condition yourself [for it] emotionally, financially, and even physically . . . If a good job of preplanning was done before retirement, a lot of these problems would go out the window.” One noted financial institution, the Royal Bank of Canada, recommends that you begin learning about retirement at the age of forty. The new Encyclopædia of Occupational Health and Safety, issued by the International Labor Organization, states that you should begin planning at least five years ahead of time. And an Australian labor publication recommends that for a happy old age you should begin while still a teen-ager by adopting a balanced diet.

Planning Financially

Planning for retirement involves a number of factors. To begin with, there is the matter of income. Today most persons living in developed countries can expect to receive some form of “Social Security.” This may be enough to live on even though it may amount to only half of what you had been earning. Can you exact a pension? That will help. Planning ahead may also mean having savings in a bank, investing in insurance and in stocks or bonds or real estate. All such aids are in keeping with the Biblical injunction to consider the ant, which makes provision during summer and harvesttime for the winter ahead.​—Prov. 6:6-8.

Planning and preparing for retirement also mean conditioning yourself to getting accustomed to more modest circumstances. Prepare yourself to spend less on food, clothing, shelter and recreation. Take an inventory and determine what is more important to you and what is less. Here also the old saying applies, “It is never this AND that, but this OR that.” Should you find that you will need added income, explore the possibilities. There are many of them, your kind being determined by your abilities, your resourcefulness and where you happen to be living. You might be able to start a small business, such as raising herbs or growing mushrooms, or you might be able to start a modest cleaning service, even as others have done.

Have you a hobby that upon retiring can be turned into a profitable business? For example, there was a railroad engineer who used to make violins as a hobby​—he coming from a violin-making family. Now as a retiree he makes violins full time to his heart’s content. One retired woman makes rag dolls and sells them; a pair of retired oldsters make wooden models of old-time stage coaches and sell them. If you are an American farmer, you might consider the “Green Thumb” projects, as thousands of other retired farmers have done. Three days a week they plant grass and trees, clean out lakes and ponds and build picnic tables and fireplaces, for which they receive some $40 a week.

Truly many are the avenues open to you for solving the problem of income upon retirement if you will but realistically plan and prepare.

Planning Your Location

Retirement planning also includes the matter of location, where you want to live upon retiring. In the United States many retirees move to some state that has a favorable climate, such as Florida, California or Arizona. Thereby they not only escape the rigors of winter weather, which bring great discomfort to all old folk, but most likely also effect a saving on fuel and clothing bills.

A number of individuals move to Latin-American countries when they retire. In this way they are able to enjoy not only a mild tropical climate but also an economic advantage that such dollar-hungry countries offer retirees in the form of a tax-free status. Those of Jehovah’s witnesses who have taken advantage of such retirement offers enjoy the added opportunity of taking the ‘good news of God’s kingdom’ to these countries where the need is perhaps greater than ‘back home.’

To save on both work and expenses it may also be advisable to move to a smaller house or apartment. But there is something to be said against moving into a settlement consisting entirely of retirees. At least that is what certain European social planners have found. One would also do well to consider the relative advantages and disadvantages of living in the city, in the suburbs or in the country. Among other factors to consider are those of transportation and nearness to one’s friends and relatives, to one’s place of worship and to shopping centers.

Keeping Well Though Retired

Once having retired, of prime importance is your health. Who wants to die? Health both makes you want to live and enables you to live as long as possible. Your two main concerns as regards physical health are diet and exercise, activity. As you get older you will need less food and specially so since most likely you will lead a less active life. But if you have time on your hands and lack interests, you may be eating more instead of less and so hurry yourself to an early grave.

However, if you are living alone, the opposite might be your problem. It has been said that for a man to enjoy his meals he must have someone to cook for him, and for a woman to enjoy eating she must have someone for whom she can cook. If you are living alone you may not be taking in sufficient nourishing food. Make certain that you get enough protein and also vitamins and minerals. You might get enough of the latter in fruits and vegetables but, then again, you might find that you benefit from taking supplements of these.

Just as important as the right diet, if not more so, is getting sufficient exercise. Thus the chairman of the American Medical Association’s Committee on Aging once stated: “Idleness can kill. . . . When you retire, you quit and go home. And that is when the problems start.” That those who keep active after sixty-five live longer is the conclusion reached by Dr. R. M. Hamblin, a research scientist who conducted a study on the subject for the United States Veterans Administration. One who expressed similar sentiments was the late Dr. J. F. Montague, a prominent authority on intestinal and stomach disorders. He continued active until he died, well along in his seventies. He held that a robust and healthy man should “never retire.” Instead, he said, “a man may withdraw his activities into those that are less arduous and more pleasing to him, but I don’t think a man should ever retire.” In this regard it has been observed that God said nothing to Adam in the garden of Eden about retiring. He was to keep working “until you return to the ground.”​—Gen. 2:15; 3:17-19.

You simply must get some physical activity if you are to stay well after retiring. This can be in the form of some kind of exercise, such as swimming or walking or knocking a little ball around a golf course. It would be ideal, of course, if you could get your activity as a by-product of doing something useful or purposeful. That such activity might be even more effective in avoiding heart attacks than watching one’s diet is the opinion expressed by Dr. Walter C. Alvarez, noted medical author. He says: “Perhaps walking a mile a day would help [a man] more than being starved. . . . the worst thing a person past middle age can do is not to exercise enough. Perhaps our enemy is not so much gluttony as sloth.”

Keeping Young in Spirit

Physical well-being, however, is only one side of the coin. The other side is mental and emotional well-being, keeping young in spirit. That requires that you have interests; that you keep being curious, wanting to learn and being concerned, wanting to do things. That these qualities can extend into old age was shown by an article that appeared in the New York Times, January 23, 1974, and which was entitled: “Old Age: A Case of Spirit, Not Chronology.” It told of five New York women, all over seventy-five years old, who were leading busy, rich and full lives. One travels, entertaining women’s clubs, college and church groups by telling stories; another is out entertaining guests six or seven nights a week and is learning Spanish; another does volunteer work with youngsters two days a week and does not mind walking three miles to do it; and so forth. As one of them put it: “I’m too interested in the things I’m doing to have time to be old.”

Yes, those concerned with improving the lot of retirees stress keeping up your interest and curiosity in things. They report that many retired persons who complain of being bored often are just too lazy to do something to make life interesting for themselves and of benefit to others. Thus some who complained of being bored were too lazy to visit the senior citizens center even though it was within walking distance. And when they were offered rewarding and not at all too strenuous things to do, they claimed that they were too busy​—too busy doing what? Nothing but idling around!

The fact is that you cannot spend all your time in recreation any more than you can spend all your time eating or resting and sleeping. These are merely means to an end. That is why one retired professor of medicine objects to the very word “retirement,” which means to withdraw or retreat and suggests doing nothing. In its place he would substitute the expression “the Elective Years,” in that then one is free to elect or choose what one would do, as well as when and how much of it to do.

Love of God and of Neighbor

Those whose profession is to help to make retired persons more happy and contented tell that the most unhappy retirees are those who lead extremely selfish, self-centered lives; those whose chief concerns are materialistic. Now​—no longer able to pursue their greedy goals—​they must learn to think of others if they would be happy and contented. It has been said that the most important words for the retiree are “Keep busy.” But it must be at something rewarding, for the Creator gave us a moral sense, a conscience, the ability to reason and make right decisions. The doctor who at ninety-one years still keeps making house calls illustrates that point. He certainly has no financial need, but his heart and his mind require him to keep serving others. Confirming this, Dr. Hamblin stated that retired people live as long as they feel they are needed.

Making the same point is retired, onetime public relations man Henry Legler. In his book How to Make the Rest of Your Life the Best of Your Life, he says: “The retiree who opens his mind and his heart to some form of church or community service can find satisfactions that are far more enduring than the triumphs of a business career.” Incidentally, he speaks from experience.

And that ‘man does not live by bread alone,’ but has spiritual needs also has been noted by the Great Teacher, Jesus. (Luke 4:4) Thus we are told that “the White House Conference on Aging has suggested that the churches​—which may be doing more for the aged than any other organization—​are not doing enough . . . The churches, the report hinted, are taking better care of the social needs of the elderly than of their spiritual needs. They are providing lectures, movies, bus tours and church suppers, but are doing too little in the area of ‘nourishing the spiritual life of our older population.’”​—The Cleveland Press, January 5, 1974.

But there is one religious group that is not making. this mistake, namely, the Christian witnesses of Jehovah. They stress the spiritual side of life: personal Bible study, attending Christian meetings, serving God and man. Far from being bored, retirees who are Witnesses are happy, busy and productive. At the headquarters of the Watch Tower Society there are some forty members who are more than sixty-five years old, thirteen of them being over eighty years old. These continue to work a number of hours each day and are happy doing it, for their spiritual needs are well taken care of. Similarly, some 5 percent of the 20,000 full-time pioneer ministers in the United States are over sixty-five years old. One of these, who died in 1973, had kept busy until she was ninety-nine years old!

Yes, you can make “the rest of your life the best of your life.” But it requires preparing and planning, giving thought to practical factors such as income, location and physical well-being. And, above all, it requires giving unselfish service to God and your fellowman.

Life in the Ocean’s Three-Dimension World

THE ocean is a veritable reservoir of life. Not only does its surface occupy more than. 70 percent of the earth’s area, but its tremendous depth, averaging well over two miles, makes it a three-dimensional world of enormous capacity having many levels throughout its entire domain.

Life is found in any part of the ocean, at every depth. Along its shores it teems with intensely active life. At a lower level, on the continental shelf, life is also very active. Farther out, in the open seas, most life exists in the higher levels near the surface. But even in the abyssal depths of the deepest trenches life is there, performing its part in the ocean’s ecological system.

The Food Chain

Obviously the countless billions of sea animals require a prodigious amount of food. Though there are great quantities of seaweed, such as in the Sargasso Sea, it is by no means the primary food source. In fact, seaweed plays a very small part. Actually, more than 90 percent of the basic organic material that builds and fuels all life in the sea is synthesized within the lighted layers of open water by the many varieties of “phytoplankton.”

Phytoplankton are microscopic plants that float near the surface where they can utilize the sunlight. They must have light to do their work and to live, just as most earthly plants need sunlight. Phytoplankton manufacture food by photosynthesis, a process utilizing energy from sunlight to convert mineral nutrients in the ocean into food. This is vital for animals, since they cannot synthesize their own food.

So, just as vegetation on land provides the basic food for all land animals, plant life forms the food foundation for the ocean dwellers.​—Gen. 1:29, 30.

Great layers of phytoplankton drift in the ocean, usually being most dense where “upwellings” bring mineral nutrients up from the ocean floor, or where currents carry such food. The primary eaters of the phytoplankton are small animals called “zooplankton.” These sink below the surface to a depth of from 1,000 to 4,000 feet during the daytime and rise again nightly to engage in a frenzy of feeding. Other small fish that eat phytoplankton and some that feed on the zooplankton accompany this migrating host, all together forming what is known as the “deep scattering layer.” So thick is it that during the early use of sonar depth finders this layer was often mistaken for ocean bottom, resulting in inaccuracies in maps of the ocean floor. During wartime submarines took shelter below the “deep scattering layer,” safe from detection by the sonar of destroyers.

Eating the zooplankton are the “nekton” (meaning “swimming”). These predators include thousands of varieties of fishes. In the food “pyramid” roughly 1,000 pounds of ocean plants (at the bottom of the pyramid) will support 100 pounds of plant-eating animals (the next step in the pyramid). This, in turn, will produce ten pounds of meat-eating marine animals. Finally, ten pounds of fish will build one pound of human flesh. To supply the market with ten pounds of fish therefore requires the ocean to supply 1,000 pounds of microscopic plankton “fodder.”

Some idea of the monumental task the ocean performs in producing food is grasped when we consider that the fur seals using the Pribilof Islands in the Bering Sea as a breeding ground​—these seals alone—​consume some three and a half billion tons of fish a year. What a bountiful food source is the ocean, a handiwork of the Creator! As the psalmist wrote:

“How many your works are, O Jehovah!

All of them in wisdom you have made.

The earth is full of your productions.

As for this sea so great and wide,

There there are moving things without number,

Living creatures, small as well as great. . . .

All of them​—for you they keep waiting

To give them their food in its season.

What you give them they pick up.

You open your hand​—they get satisfied with good things.”

​—Ps. 104:24-28.

The “Red Tide”

Occasionally a certain type of microscopic sea life known as “dinoflagellates” undergoes a “population boom,” concentrating in astronomical numbers. They multiply to such a high density that large areas of water are turned red, brown or amber by their pigments​—a phenomenon known as a “red tide.” The concentration may become too great for their own survival, and they produce in the water a very toxic substance that kills fish and seabirds in the area. The poisons released from the water into the atmosphere by breaking waves are irritating to the human respiratory system, sometimes causing the temporary closing of coastal resorts. A high yield of hydrogen sulfide may result that can blacken houses painted with white lead in a nearby coastal city.

Marine Methods of Protection for Survival

One may wonder how any particular form of sea life can avoid extinction in the face of all its predators. But the various kinds of marine life have many different ways of survival as a species. One way is by superprolific reproduction. The tiny diatom, most numerous of microscopic plants, may have a billion descendants in one month. The haddock lays up to nine million eggs at a time. The oyster lays up to 500 million eggs a year. One billion mackerel off the south shore of Cape Cod produce an estimated sixty-four trillion eggs during the mating season. The eggs and the young of fish and other sea animals are quickly gobbled up by a whole host of predators of every description. In the case of the mackerel, it was estimated that out of every million eggs only one to ten fish survive to maturity. The mortality rate is between 99.98 percent and 99.99 percent. Yet there are plenty of mackerel, haddock and oysters. The same is true of many other animals, such as clams, shrimps, and so forth. It is only the predator man that tends to unbalance matters and that threatens to destroy entire species.

Other fish, instead of relying altogether on numbers, protect their eggs or young. In the case of some sharks, the eggs are hatched and the newborn fish live for a time in the mother’s hinder parts. Some fish fasten their eggs down to rocks, plants, and so forth; some shield them with foams and membranes. In other species the male carries the eggs in his mouth or in a pouch (as does the sea horse) until they hatch. Often, however, the young are on their own after they hatch. But the dolphin, a mammal, continues to guard its young from enemies.

Since practically all sea animals have predators on the hunt for them, camouflage is frequently employed. The butterfly fish, for example, has an eye spot on its body to direct the attacker away from the head. The backs of open-sea fishes are green or black because the sea, seen from above, has that appearance. But looking from below, the ocean surface appears silvery or whitish. Correspondingly, the underside of most fish is of this color.

The sea cucumber has perhaps the strangest method of protection. When in danger, he simply expels his intestines. Evidently the hungry predator prefers to make a meal out of the intestines rather than the leathery, tasteless bag that is left. Then the “empty bag” grows new intestines. Stinging cells help the more static or stationary animals, such as the man-of-war, to hold off their enemies. Others rely on speed, alertness, size or strength. Some of the deep-sea squids possess a unique protective device. They discharge a luminous cloud to cover their escape. Other fish emit strong flashes of light to throw predators off target or temporarily “blind” them.

In the ocean’s three-dimension world, where vision is limited to a distance of about a hundred feet, and where the surrounding medium is much heavier than air, the Creator has provided equipment that land animals do not have. One of these is a “sixth sense,” possessed by most of the fast-swimming fishes. This consists of a longitudinal system of canals that run from head to tail, called the “lateral line.” It enables the fish to sense even very slight changes in outside pressures. In this way thousands of fish in a “school” can stay together and move in perfect unison, quickly changing direction as one body. Also, from quite a distance they are warned of approaching enemies. By this sense they can also avoid bumping into obstacles, such as the glass wall of an aquarium.

Hunting Equipment

One of the most amazing features of the ocean’s ecological system is the interdependence of life there, and the balance of life that is maintained. While those that are hunted by predators have protective equipment, the hunters are themselves provided with the most sophisticated means of locating and catching their prey. And while enough fish are captured by the hungry predators to supply them with food, enough individuals survive to keep each species in existence. If there were no predators that liked to eat oyster eggs or young turtles, the ocean would soon be overrun by oysters or turtles. But if oysters and turtles were completely wiped out by their predators, the predators would go out of existence also. Only an all-wise Creator could have provided the conditions and designed the hunting and protective equipment to achieve such a delicate balance as this.

As to hunting equipment, starting near the bottom of the food “pyramid,” we find, according to the description of one oceanographer writing in Scientific American (September 1969), “eyes in microscopic herbivorous animals, filters of exquisite design, mechanisms and behavior for discovering local concentrations, complex search gear and, on the bottom, attachments to elicit the aid of moving water in carrying out the task of filtration.” Certain sea snails use large, often sticky, transparent nets, some as large as six feet in diameter. By this means they catch the most minute microorganisms for food. One-celled amoebas locate food by chemical means.

Quite a few near-surface organisms are luminescent. But in the deeper ocean levels where sunlight hardly penetrates, if at all, at least two thirds of the sea animals produce light. Says the above-mentioned researcher: “Some fishes, squids and euphausiids possess searchlights with reflector, lens and iris almost as complex as the eye.” Others, he says, may have luminosity that mimics a small group of luminous plankton, while some do “fishing” with a light that dangles in front of them. The unwary fish that approaches the “bait” is quickly swallowed up.

The octopus uses eyes similar to man’s to locate his food. Dolphins and certain whales possess long-range hunting sonar. They emit sounds and their highly sensitive hearing detects the echo. It is thought that the sperm whale may be able to locate prey over long distances, perhaps miles. Sharks have a keen sense of smell, blood from a wounded fish attracting them from a distance.

Life in the Abyssal Depths of the Ocean Bed

On the ocean floor, two miles or more below sea level, in near-freezing temperature, pressures are tremendous and black darkness pervades. Yet even there life persists. But it seems to be more leisurely, and the population is much more scarce. Sea cucumbers up to a foot and a half in length march slowly over the muddy bottom, “eating” the mud, that is, taking in the oozy mud to get from it the tiny organisms there, or to search out the “detritus,” waste organic matter that has drifted down from above. Few of the creatures there are as large as a mouse; most are smaller than honeybees. Nets with a mesh finer than one hundredth of an inch bring up tiny clams, worms and crustaceans.

Some of the fish and other animals in the abyssal blackness are blind. Walking in a stately manner are creatures with spindly, stalklike legs with fuzzy feet, to keep them above the mud. “Brittle stars,” relatives of the starfish, sometime litter the ocean floor. Even in depths of 3,600 feet or more, an occasional ray fish swims by, looking for food on the bottom. The sea floor is covered with tracks and trails. Photographs taken 35,800 feet down in Challenger Deep southwest of Guam show a few odd animals an inch or two long. Some have the appearance of small shrimps. In the tremendous pressures at such depths man is still unable to answer affirmatively to the question that God asked Job: “In search of the watery deep have you walked about?”​—Job 38:16.

The Future for Ocean Life

Now, oceanographers are highly concerned at the danger to sea life due to the greed of commercial fleets that possess advanced scientific instruments to hunt, catch and kill on a massive scale. But even more feared is pollution, also primarily the result of greed and lack of care, which has spread to an unbelievable extent, making formerly prolific fishing waters practically devoid of fish.

Such things are saddening. But the believer in God’s Word has full confidence in His ability to replenish the sea with teeming life just as he originally purposed when he commanded the sea’s inhabitants: “Be fruitful and become many and fill the waters in the sea basins.” (Gen. 1:22) Since there is such interdependency between life in the sea (both plant and animal life) and that on land, we can be sure that God will have both sea and land populated with the creatures essential to man’s everlasting welfare and happiness. This he will accomplish during the thousand-year reign of his Son, when man will be at peace with animal life, both on land and in the sea, exercising proper, loving dominion over them.​—Gen. 1:27, 28; Ps. 8:4-8.

[Picture on page 17]

Meat-eating marine life

Plant-eating animals

Ocean plants

I Was the Mayor

IT WAS my good fortune to be raised in a family having sound moral principles. As a result, I was taught to be honest, sincere and truthful​—characteristics that would strongly influence important decisions that I would have to make later in life.

From Catholic Action I went on to politics, feeling that a person should contribute actively to the political and social development of society. In other words, he should become an integral part of the historic moment in which he lives.

And so it was that, in the 1970 local election, I was elected to the city council and, in turn, by the city council to the office of mayor. This was in Campagna Montferrato (Alessandria), Italy. In my new position I found myself thrown into the political arena with its bureaucracy pitted against its citizens, the latter particularly in the role as taxpayers.

It soon became evident to me that corruption had reached all levels of society, with the politician operating out of personal interests, in order to remain in power. Thus the decisions made were strictly partisan. Whenever something constructive was proposed, it was soon blocked by bureaucracy. So it was never possible to complete anything in less than six or seven months.

In these circumstances I struggled to have honesty and uprightness prevail, trying never to lose sight of the interests of the entire community. It was possible to change a few things, but, oh, how many enemies I made!

I noted that the majority of my fellow citizens desired to see justice done, but only by the other person. Whenever it was a question of their personal interests, they sought favors of a friend, or they looked for a compromise or a loophole, or they attempted to frighten the administrator, or they resorted to immoral violence to gain personal privileges.

A Visit with Far-reaching Results

While I was struggling in the midst of all these difficulties, on Christmas Day in 1972 a man and a woman came to my door, and they began talking to me about God and the Bible, saying that a change was imminent on the earth. Rather amazed, I consented to talk with them briefly. They left with me the book The Truth That Leads to Eternal Life and some magazines, promising that they would return to inquire as to what I thought about this literature.

After reading a few pages of the Truth book, I stopped, for it seemed so ridiculous. But I spoke about it to my wife. We asked ourselves: ‘To go to the doors and say such things these people must have some reason, some basis; if what they say is from the Holy Bible, how is it that they have understood it whereas our Catholic Church with almost two thousand years of history hasn’t understood it?’

As was our habit, the following Sunday we went to Mass, because we were sincere practicing Catholics. After the parish priest had explained the Gospel, he advised his audience not to listen to those who identified themselves as “Christians” or as “Jehovah’s witnesses.”

The next Sunday, having learned that Jehovah’s witnesses had again visited the homes of the town, the priest became angry and said in a categorical manner not to listen to them, as they were Protestants that did not believe in Christ and, besides, they sought in an aggressive manner to make people accept their ideas. In succeeding weeks the priest frequently railed against Jehovah’s witnesses, calling them “greedy wolves.”

But my wife and I, moved by curiosity, or perhaps due to our reaction to the environment that surrounded us, received these Christians known as Jehovah’s witnesses into our home, contrary to what our parish priest had advised. To our surprise we found that their intentions were peaceful and that their manner was meek.

As Catholics, we felt that we had the true religion, and, hence, our discussions with the Witnesses were with the objective of aiding them to understand that they were in error. But the more we continued to study the more we understood that we were the ones in error. More than once we turned to our parish priest, who, however, was not able to give us the necessary explanations.

Moved now by our thirst for truth, we engaged in discussions with individuals whom we believed to be well informed in regard to the Bible, both Catholic and Protestant. Many important points were discussed. However, neither the Catholic theologian nor the Protestant pastor could find a Scriptural basis to support his theories. Hence, we could only conclude that the truth was found in the Holy Scriptures, and was being preached only by those who were keeping Jesus’ command to love one another, thus identifying themselves to be his true disciples.

The average Catholic receives in adolescence a religious training based on rites and prayers learned by rote, after which his spirituality is supposed to be satisfied through the Sunday Mass. He is given to understand that his salvation is in the hands of the priest performing the various sacraments. His conscience may become seared and hardened and, in the end, such a person often becomes insensible, corrupt.

Gradually I saw the errors of the Catholic Church on the doctrinal level exposed. Let me cite those that principally impressed me. For example: How can the Trinity doctrine be justified when one reads what is written at John 14:28? Or how can the doctrine of the immortality of the soul be sustained in the light of Genesis 2:7; Ecclesiastes 9:5; Job 14:13 and Job 34:14, 15? And if we examine the conduct of the churches of Christendom, the violence they have committed throughout history, and particularly in the recent world wars, and if we compare this conduct with John 13:34, it certainly is evident that such conduct is incompatible with true Christianity.

From all of this it was easy to conclude that the teachings of the Catholic Church were false, so little by little I abandoned her, and together with my wife I began to attend the meetings in the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses. As our knowledge increased, we realized that Jehovah’s witnesses are truly God’s people.

The Mayor’s New View of Politics

The world of politics began to bother me even more than previously, because now I began to see that the dishonesty and the selfishness among politicians were due to their lack of spiritual discernment and of knowledge of God’s Word the Bible.

It was clear that my continuing in politics would do nothing to solve the social struggles in the midst of which I lived, because my efforts would require that I lower myself to compromises and corruption. Otherwise I would be crushed and put aside. To my mind, society could be changed only if men’s hearts were changed and not just by some honest persons engaging in the various social activities.

This is confirmed by the fact that the world is what it is, not because persons morally upright have not tried to better social conditions, but, rather, because the upright efforts of the few have been overcome by the wickedness of the many.

Now I was able to see why the political and administrative forces were, are and ever will be unable to solve the social problems that daily confront them and why large areas in the southern part of this country are without drinkable water and electricity, why there are national insurance systems with frightening deficits, why there are insufficient educational facilities, unrestrained pollution, runaway inflation, and why delinquency and violence are on the increase.

Nevertheless, as the mayor (a job I had assumed when still a Catholic) I had a responsibility toward my fellow citizens that still remained. At the same time my knowledge of the truth made it clear that my position was not acceptable to Jehovah. It was necessary for me to act without compromising in this regard and in accordance with Christian principles. After thinking the matter over I decided to go to the prefect and explain to him my intention to resign from the office of mayor. He was quite understanding and assured me that he would arrange things so that the remaining members of the city council would be able to complete their mandate without the necessity of holding early elections. This was exactly what I desired​—to avoid giving the community the expensive burden that holding early elections would mean.

Thus I was able to resign. Now my wife and I felt tranquil and serene about the choice that we had made. It was now our desire to dedicate ourselves to Jehovah and publicly to symbolize it by water immersion. This we were able to do.

So now my wife and I are happy to be numbered among Jehovah’s people and to offer ourselves for the service of the true God, doing so with deep love and appreciation and with a sincere desire to help others also to acquire this great happiness of heart.​—Contributed.

“Witnesses . . . to the Most Distant Part of the Earth”

“FOR THIS I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth.” (John 18:37) In these words Jesus pointed to his principal activity when on earth.

He trained his followers to do the same work. After his death and resurrection, Jesus indicated to his disciples the scope that this witnessing work would attain, saying: “You will receive power when the holy spirit arrives upon you, and you will be witnesses of me both in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the most distant part of the earth.”​—Acts 1:8.

With regard to the fulfillment of this prediction, Sunday, September 7, 1975, was an important date. This was graduation day for the twenty-six students of the 59th class of Gilead, the missionary training school for Jehovah’s witnesses. Since its beginning in 1943, Gilead has trained and sent out thousands of missionaries to remote areas of the earth. As a result, the Witnesses are now active in 207 lands and islands of the sea.

This class was an international one, with students from eight different lands and islands of the sea. Before coming to school they had spent an average of ten years in preaching activities. Upon graduating, the students received assignments to twelve different countries.

What motivates persons to volunteer for missionary training at Gilead? A Danish student observed: “The Scriptures, at 1 Corinthians 6:19, 20, state: ‘You do not belong to yourselves, for you were bought with a price.’ We have dedicated, not a part, but all of our lives to Jehovah. It has always been my attitude that, if Jehovah wanted me to do something, I would do it if nothing stood in the way.”

A student from the United States expressed another reason for wanting to be a missionary: “I like people and enjoy working with people. Missionary work furnishes grand opportunities to show love for Jehovah and to ‘widen out,’ as the apostle Paul puts it, in displaying love for fellow humans.” (2 Cor. 6:13 ) Similarly a student from Puerto Rico remarked: “If you move away from a congregation in an area where there are many of Jehovah’s witnesses, there is always someone to take over for you. But this is not the case in many foreign fields. When you see the great need for help in these places, it makes it worth all the sacrifice in the world.”

Gilead’s course of instruction takes only five months. But what an action-packed period it is! During that time the entire Bible is read and studied book by book. World history is scrutinized in the light of Bible prophecy. Special attention centers on God’s promise to bless all mankind by means of Abraham’s “seed.” (Gen. 12:1-3; 22:18) And the course includes detailed examination of prophecies concerning the “parousia” (presence) of Christ.

Did the students appreciate the instruction received? A young woman from Greece commented: “No other school on earth can help one learn what one really needs from God’s standpoint. This course was the most important thing, indeed the ‘stepping stone,’ of my life.” Another student said: “The kindness and tact of our instructors made my wife and me determined to develop these qualities ourselves. Having been a schoolteacher, I appreciated that we were never put ‘on the spot’ in an embarrassing way. When we get to our assignment in Zaïre, we want to display the same patience and kindness with people to whom we bring the good news.”

Many of the students made favorable comments about the opportunity of living together with some 1,700 of their fellow Christians who make up the Brooklyn Bethel family. One commented: “Being here has definitely helped me to develop Christian qualities. Due to living together with so many fellow Christians, every day has afforded opportunity to show that we are looking out for the interests of others, rather than putting ourselves first. For me this has been a ‘crash course’ in being considerate.”

The graduation program at the Assembly Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Queens, New York, was attended by the students, their relatives and friends, and by members of the Bethel family. The first portion of the graduation exercises featured several short talks to the class.

In one of these, E. A. Dunlap, registrar of Gilead, pointed out that speakers at most of the world’s graduation exercises fail to give the students a real purpose in life. Often the graduates sense the difficulties of just keeping afloat in this world. “But how is it with you students of this 59th class of Gilead?” asked Dunlap. He urged that they not miss the purpose of their special training, namely, “to go to a foreign land and carry the message of Bible truth to its inhabitants.”

Another speaker, G. M. Couch, overseer of the Bethel home, asked: “Will your future days in missionary assignments be as pleasant as the past ten years or so during which you have served Jehovah? Did you ever consider that missionary work may be even more pleasant? In some of your missionary territories people will invite you in at nearly every house and permit you to speak to them about the kingdom of God.”

Among others who addressed the students was F. W. Franz, vice-president of the Watch Tower Society. He pointed out that Christian missionary activity went on in the first century by divine appointment. Likewise today Jehovah God and Jesus Christ have directed missionaries of Jehovah’s witnesses to go to remote parts of the earth. In conclusion of the first part of the program, N. H. Knorr, president of the Watch Tower Society and of the School, emphasized that Bible principles should have a beneficial effect on the students’ personal lives. “Our conduct day by day, the way we deal with others and the speech we employ,” he observed, “speak loudly about the truth that God has given to us. Our very lives back up the Word of God.”

Following a brief intermission, the class presented an entertaining program that featured French, Danish and German songs, instrumental music and some original interludes. Then the students put on two Bible dramas. The first one portrayed events in the days of the Israelite king Josiah. Just as Josiah rooted out appendages of false worship from ancient Israel, so the audience was urged to get rid of any lingering fascination for the unchristian thinking and practices of the present dying system of things. The second drama stressed the need for all Christians, especially elders, to “take the lead” in showing honor to one another.​—Rom. 12:10.

After some concluding remarks by N. H. Knorr, the program ended with prayer and song. The events of the day left the students more determined than ever to take their place among the thousands of missionaries who are serving as “witnesses” of Jehovah God and Jesus Christ to the most distant part of the earth.​—Isa. 43:10, 12; Acts 1:8.

[Picture on page 24]

59th Class September 1975

Fifty-ninth Graduating Class of the Watchtower Bible School of Gilead

In the list below, rows are numbered from front to back and names are listed from left to right in each row.

(1) Dohn, E.; Monnett, G.; Karathanassis, M.; Lundquist, J.; Fossett, P. (2) Horton, M.; Lucas, J.; Boulais, D.; Angerhuber, E.; Grøndrup. A. (3) Sanchez, P.; Pedersen, R.; Ayrault, Y.; Karathanassis, C.; Angerhuber, H. (4) Fosset, M.; Smoot, M.; Sanchez, M.; Grøndrup, M.; Dohn, T. (5) Fourcault, J.; Horton, W.; Monnett, J.; Lundquist, B.; Devito, J.; Lucas, L.

What Is the Bible’s View?

How Can You Be Saved?

YOUR life is precious, is it not? You want to live. Imagine yourself in a small boat, tossed about in a raging storm at sea. Would you not be very concerned about saving your life? Once Jesus’ apostles were in such a situation, and they cried out: “Lord, save us, we are about to perish!”​—Matt. 8:23-27.

Whether you have ever been in such a dangerous situation or not, you and all other humans face a more urgent need to be saved.

All of us have a desperate need for salvation from the imperfect, sinful and dying condition inherited from our common forefather Adam. (Rom. 3:10-12; 5:12) Both our intense need to be saved, and the result if we are, are highlighted in Romans 6:23: “The wages sin pays is death, but the gift God gives is everlasting life by Christ Jesus our Lord.” But just how can we be saved out of death and receive eternal life in perfection and happiness?

Millions of persons have accepted answers such as those found in a tract distributed by a Baptist church: “Dear sinner, do not make this a difficult matter. There is one simple step between you and Jesus. When you trust Him, everything else is settled, and you have repented, you have come to Christ, you have received Him, you have done everything necessary to be saved. Take the answer in Acts 16:31 at face value: ‘Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved!’”

However, according to the Bible is that “everything necessary to be saved”? Can you now, simply by believing in Jesus, get saved once and for all time? If so, why did the apostle Paul, who spoke the words at Acts 16:31, write to spirit-anointed Christians, “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling”? (Phil. 2:12, Authorized Version) And if once a person has believed that he is thereafter completely saved, why did Paul write, “for now our salvation is nearer than at the time when we became believers”?​—Rom. 13:11.

Since your life is involved, you surely want to know what the Bible does say as to how you can be saved for eternal, happy life.

The Creator did not ignore the plight that we as imperfect humans face. Bearing out the psalmist’s refrain, “Salvation belongs to Jehovah,” God made a provision by which we can be saved. (Ps. 3:8) If you desire to be saved from sin and its effects, you must look to Jehovah, “our Savior, God, whose will is that all sorts of men should be saved and come to an accurate knowledge of truth.” The Bible urges us to call on Him in faith, being concerned with his will.​—1 Tim. 2:3, 4; Joel 2:32.

Some persons might take exception to this, having in mind Paul’s advice to the jailer in Philippi, “Believe on the Lord Jesus and you will get saved.” Why would Paul urge that if he knew Jehovah to be “our Savior”? The answer rests in Jesus’ role in the outworking of God’s purpose involving our salvation.

When God’s angel announced to Joseph the coming birth of Jesus, he said: “You must call his name Jesus [meaning, Jehovah is Salvation], for he will save his people from their sins.” (Matt. 1:21) Yes, the fundamental provision that our loving Father has made for the saving of humans is the ransom sacrifice of his only-begotten Son. God’s Word repeatedly stresses Jesus’ vital role in our obtaining salvation.​—John 3:16, 17.

For instance, on the day of Pentecost 33 C.E. the apostle Peter gave a masterful discourse that concluded: “Know for a certainty that God made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you impaled.” Cut to the heart by what they heard, the listening Jews and proselytes wanted to know what they must do. They already worshiped Jehovah, accepted the Scriptures and believed in the holy spirit. Yet what else did they need?​—Acts 2:36.

Peter told them to “get saved” from that crooked generation. How? They had to accept Jesus as the Messiah, the one about whom Peter not long afterward said: “There is not another name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must get saved.” (Acts 2:38-40; 4:12) Similarly, after teaching in Philippi about “the way of salvation,” it was appropriate for Paul to tell the jailer to believe in Jesus so as to get saved.​—Acts 16:12, 17, 31.

It is imperative to note, however, that in both instances the apostles showed that more was required than simply ‘believing in Jesus.’ Peter said that in addition to having faith in Jesus believers had to repent, be baptized and seek forgiveness of sins on the basis of Jesus’ sacrifice. (Acts 2:38) And Paul first “spoke the word of Jehovah” to the Philippian jailer and his family, after which they were baptized. (Acts 16:32, 33) Can you see the bearing this has on your course if you want to get saved?

Far more is required than simply saying “I believe in Jesus” or “I accept Jesus as my Savior.” Certainly accepting and exercising faith in Jesus as our ransomer is necessary. But the salvation through him comes only to those who conform to the conditions on which it is offered. We have mentioned some of those conditions: A person must know of and have faith in Jehovah, accept his Word, recognize the operation of his spirit, repent and be baptized.​—Heb. 11:6; Matt. 28:19; Acts 3:18.

When once a person has met these conditions, salvation is possible. Then to the question “Are you saved?” he can give the truthful reply, “Yes, thus far I am saved.”

‘But,’ someone may ask, ‘why do you say “thus far”? Were not the early Christians sure that they already were saved?’ In a sense, yes, for they met the conditions for being forgiven and saved from their sins. We read: “By this undeserved kindness, indeed, you have been saved,” and “according to his mercy he saved us through the bath that brought us to life.”​—Eph. 2:8; Titus 3:5.

Yet, they knew that they had not been completely saved for all time. Having accepted Jesus, God’s means of salvation, they had to continue in the way of salvation. That is why they were told: “Keep working out your own salvation with fear and trembling,” and, “Now our salvation is nearer than at the time when we became believers.” (Phil. 2:12; Rom. 13:11) They had yet to make their salvation sure for all eternity by enduring in the way of salvation.​—Matt. 10:22; Rev. 2:10.

Thus, once you are in the way of salvation, exert yourself to stay in it. You cannot earn salvation by works; faith is what is needed. (Rom. 3:10-12; Gal. 3:11) But you do need to exercise your faith by practical works that give proof of it. (Jas. 2:14-17, 26) That is what the apostles did. They especially gave emphasis to the preaching work that Jesus commanded be done by Christians. They realized, as we must, that rather than merely giving salvation to anyone who says he has accepted Him, Jesus “became responsible for everlasting salvation to all those obeying him.”​—Heb. 5:9.

Watching the World

Racial Harmony

◆ Evidence of racial harmony among true Christians appears in National Geographic for October 1975, though the magazine had a different objective in carrying a full-page picture of a black witness of Jehovah baptizing a white gentleman in Alabama. The accompanying caption reads: “An event once impossible​—public interracial baptism in a Tuscaloosa motel pool—​goes unnoticed except by the Jehovah’s Witnesses in attendance. While hardly a commonplace scene, it conveys a message: What the law guarantees, people learn to accept in a spirit of mutual tolerance and civility. Alabama is getting on and going on.” Jehovah’s witnesses agree with the Bible’s position that God “made out of one man every nation of men” and that He “is not partial, but in every nation the man that fears him and works righteousness is acceptable to him.”​—Acts 17:24-26; 10:34, 35.

Sharks Foiled

◆ The Moses sole, a flatfish the Red Sea, emits a white poison that is lethal to small marine animals, even when greatly diluted in water. But it may also be a shark repellent of a sort. During a recent experiment, flatfish were fastened to bait lines. When a shark attacked what appeared to be easy prey, its opened jaws were paralyzed by the poison and so it merely moved away. Only after the poison’s effects had worn off minutes later could the shark close its jaws.

Fewer Nuns

◆ During the last four years, Roman Catholic nuns have decreased in number by 24.6 percent. Their worldwide total now stands at 609,369. The greatest decrease took place in Canada and the United States, with a drop of 38.5 percent.

Fraud Rise

◆ During the 1964-1965 fiscal year, financial institutions, including banks, reported 2,835 cases of fraud, resulting in 604 convictions and losses totaling $20.4 million. But during the year ending June 30, 1975, reported cases reached 10,181, with 1,511 convictions. The financial loss was put at $188.7 million, of which $33.9 million was recovered. Shedding some light on the upsurge is this remark by a banking official: “Many U.S. attorneys won’t even prosecute a case involving a couple of thousand dollars. The embezzler is quietly fired, any benefits he may have coming are attached to recover the loss, and he is out of the banking industry forever. And that’s the end of it.”

Ban on Hypnosis

◆ This past February, during a school party in Domina, Israel, sixteen-year-old Yaffa Suissa was put into a trance, but the hypnotist was unable to bring her out of it. A medical hypnotist spent an entire week restoring the girl to consciousness. Because of this incident, on September 9 Israel’s Education Ministry banned hypnotic performances at school parties unless explicitly approved by principals and the students’ parents.

Yoga Peril

◆ On June 1, Robert Antosczcyk, a yoga teacher in Ann Arbor, Michigan, secluded himself in his room, telling acquaintances that he was going to attempt astral projection. In this state, supposedly one’s “soul” travels through the universe’s “astral plane.” However, two days later twenty-nine-year-old Antosczcyk was dead. His body was discovered in a yoga posture assumed in deep meditation. Reportedly, the young man’s health had been excellent and he was not a drinker, smoker or drug user. Though pathologists did not know why he had died, one suggested that Antosczcyk may have entered a state of meditation so deep that his heart had slowed down greatly and was unable to pump sufficient blood to the brain.

Widely Used Languages

◆ Chinese headed a recently published list of principal languages. It is spoken by 750,000,000 people. Ranking second is English, used by 350,000,000. Next is Hindi, spoken by 250,000,000. Spanish is fourth, with 220,000,000, and in fifth place is Russian, used by 145,000,000.

Criminals on the Payroll

◆ Employee dishonesty has reached alarming proportions. Writing in Industry Week, Michael L. Johnson remarks: “One observer says that about half of those who work in plants and offices steal to a greater or lesser extent, and about 5% to 8% are said to steal in volume.” One may wonder whether some of these individuals would change if they recognized themselves as the criminals they have proved to be. Godly persons desire to ‘conduct themselves honestly in all things.’​—Heb. 13:18.

TV Viewing Record

◆ The Japanese now hold the world’s record for watching television. Daily they spend 7 hours and 17 minutes, on an average, watching TV programs, compared with 6 hours and 11 minutes for residents of Canada and the United States.

Surgical Stapling

◆ A device similar in appearance to a stapler that you may have at home is being employed by some surgeons. It uses cartridge-loaded silk sutures. Among reported advantages are reduced time and expense in the operating room. Also cited is less tissue trauma, which often means faster postoperative recovery for the patient.

Quake Takes Its Toll

◆ An earthquake that registered 6.8 on the Richter scale ravaged the village of Lice in eastern Turkey on September 6. Over 1,000 of 8,000 residents lost their lives. Reportedly, at least another thousand died In nearby villages, and some 30,000 were rendered homeless. Back in 1966 inhabitants of Lice were offered government aid to establish dwellings on safer ground, but a mere 150 families did so. Whereas their reinforced-concrete houses withstood the tremor with little damage, the old hillside dwellings of stone and mortar were destroyed.

Trade Decline

◆ The yearly report of the International Monetary Fund reveals that the volume of world trade dipped in the first half of 1975. Marked growth was noted only in the imports of oil producers. The first half of 1975 saw an export drop in industrial lands.

Signs of the Zodiac

For the first time, ancient signs of the zodiac have been found in an astronomical chart discovered in China. It appears on the ceiling of a twelfth-century tomb recently unearthed in Hopei Province. The chart contains both the Chinese system of mapping the heavens and zodiacal signs for the twelve-constellation division common in the West and that had its origin in Babylonia.

African Elephant Endangered?

◆ Wildlife experts are expressing fears that the African elephant may be near extinction within ten years. Why? Because more and more elephant country is being taken over for human habitation and agricultural purposes, and also because many are being killed illegally to supply the growing trade in ivory. Illustrating the heightened demand is the fact that from 1930 to 1970 Kenya’s ivory exports usually ranged between 20,000 and 90,000 pounds annually. Then there was an upsurge. In 1973, Kenya alone exported almost 900,000 pounds of ivory. It is noteworthy that for years, until 1969, ivory sold for about $2.80 per pound, but the price had risen to approximately $36 a pound by 1973. Prior to 1970 most of the demand was met by “found ivory,” from the tusks of animals that had died naturally.

1,900-Year-Old Palace

◆ The remains of a two-story building thought to be the palace of a Mesopotamian queen have been unearthed in the Old City of Jerusalem. Covering 1200 square yards south of the temple area, the structure seems to have been built by Queen Helena, a convert to Judaism who took up residence in Jerusalem about the year 30 of the Common Era, when Jesus Christ began his ministry in that region. Benyamin Mazar, who is in charge of this archaeological project, believes the palace was demolished along with Jerusalem’s temple when the Romans destroyed the city in 70 C.E.

High World Unemployment

◆ At the end of July, there were more people out of work in the Western world than at any time in the past 40 years. In Australia, Canada, Japan, western Europe and the United States, an estimated 15 million people were unemployed. Another 5 to 6 million could find only part-time work. There are serious doubts that unemployment can be drastically reduced in the near future, even with improved economic conditions. “The days of full or nearly full employment are a thing of the past,” states U.S. News & World Report.

Tense Generation

◆ The use of drugs that have a calming, sedative effect is growing rapidly. About 15 percent of the adults in western Europe and the United States now are reported regularly using just one of many such drugs available, Valium. Last year, fifty-seven million prescriptions for Valium were filled in the United States alone. That figure, declares the New York Sunday News, “seems almost to suggest that we are a nation of neurotics.”

More Elderly

◆ In 1940, according to Social Security officials, there were 11.7 Americans aged 65 and over for every 100 persons of working ages 20 to 64. Today, there are 18.3 for every 100. At the present rate, in a few decades there would be nearly 30 elderly for every 100 of working age. Why the increase? Because, since 1960, the expected number of births per woman aged 15 to 44 has plunged from 3.7 to 1.85. While the birth rate has thus been cut in half, better health measures are enabling more people to live longer.

Better for Babies and Mothers

◆ Studies are showing that the sooner a newborn baby is placed in contact with the mother and can benefit by the mother’s love the better it is for the baby. The mothers are also found to build a closer attachment to the child. In a hospital in Guatemala City, Guatemala, one group of mothers were given their infants almost immediately after delivery. Another group were separated from their babies until twelve hours later, which is routine there and in most hospitals in North America. The earlier maternal attachment of “fondling, kissing, . . . gazing at and holding the baby close” proved better for both babies and mothers.

Safer at Work

◆ Many may believe that the greatest hazards to life and limb are at their place of work. Not so, says the U.S. National Safety Council. Three times as many workers are killed off the job. In 1973, they suffered nearly half again as many injuries after work as they did during working hours. And after-hours accidents are rising much more rapidly than those at work. Why? One safety official suggests that “the American worker has more time to do more things to get him into trouble.”

Lure of the Log Cabin

◆ A century ago in the United States log cabins were not an uncommon sight, but people do not expect to see many of them today. Yet the number of log homes is rising. Of course, the builders​—perhaps a man and his family—​usually do not start by chopping down trees. Rather, a “kit” is purchased from one of over 50 companies producing them. One couple bought a “kit” for $11,800 and finished their log house for some $27,000. Would-be builders do well to check first with local authorities to determine whether log cabins are allowed in a chosen area.

Moonshine Market Slump

◆ Makers of illegal whiskey, called moonshiners, have flourished for years in some sections of the United States. But the government’s revenue agents are breaking up fewer stills these days, at least in northern Georgia. They now average about one a month, compared with a monthly average of ten in the past. But it seems that the business is down due to the tripling of sugar prices in the last two years.

How Old Is Man?

Evolutionists say, Hundreds of thousands of years.

But the Bible says, Only six thousand years.

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Take Lifesaving Action Before It Is Too Late

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What should you do to save yourself?

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