November 22

The Greater Happiness of Giving​—Do You Experience It?

THE banquet room’s houselights have been dimmed. The music has been muted. The dancers have stopped. A spotlight plays its beam on a pyramid of gaily wrapped boxes. There are big boxes and little boxes. There are square ones and round ones, pink ones and blue ones, silver-colored ones and gold-toned ones. Fancy ribbons and bows adorn them all. Nervous hands of an excited bride carefully unwrap each, while a self-conscious groom offers silent assistance.

There are toasters and blenders for the kitchen; china and silverware, tablecloths and matching napkins for the dining room. There are towels galore and washcloths aplenty, and bed sheets and pillowcases to last a lifetime. There are enough clocks for every room in the house and cookbooks with more than enough recipes to satisfy the taste of every gourmet.

As the gifts are opened there are “oohs” and “aahs” and heartfelt expressions of gratitude by the newlyweds. They have experienced the happiness of receiving from those who knew the joy of giving.

Weddings, anniversaries, Christmases, birthdays, and a host of other celebrations are all social mores in which gift giving is an expected and accepted part of the rituals. But because it is expected in many countries, it often works a hardship on the giver that detracts from the joy of giving. There is, however, the spontaneous giving, the giving that is not expected. It delights the receiver, whether the gift is little or big, and it brings the giver the greatest happiness.

Admittedly, those who have more are able to give more. For example, America’s 19th-century industrialist Andrew Carnegie could have been his country’s first billionaire. Instead, he gave away 90 percent of his fortune over a period of 18 years. When his secretary warned him that he was depleting his personal capital, he happily replied, “Delighted to hear it my boy, keep it up.” That same era saw John D. Rockefeller, one of the richest men in the world, give away $750 million in his lifetime. It has been written that singer Elvis Presley “would hand out Cadillacs by the dozen” and thoroughly enjoyed doing so.

Not a New Custom

The giving of gifts is a custom almost as old as man himself. From earliest times it has played an important role in the lives of people. Abraham’s aged servant gave gifts of jewelry to Rebekah after seeing evidence that Jehovah had assigned her as a wife for Isaac. Also given were “choice things to her brother and to her mother.” (Genesis 24:13-22, 50-53) After the adversity suffered by Job was over, he was presented with gifts by his brothers and sisters and former acquaintances​—each one giving “a piece of money and each one a gold ring.”​—Job 42:10, 11.

When the unnamed queen of Sheba traveled to Jerusalem to visit King Solomon, she was moved by his God-given wisdom and pronounced his servants happy for being able to hear and benefit from this wisest of men. So moved was she that she presented Solomon with gifts of 120 talents of gold (worth about $50,000,000) as well as precious stones and much-prized balsam oil. She may have depleted her tiny kingdom’s treasury by a considerable sum, but doubtless she experienced the joy of giving. Solomon too was to experience the joy of giving, for he gave her gifts in return that apparently exceeded the value of the treasures she had given him.​—2 Chronicles 9:12; American Translation, Moffatt.

The early Christians made gifts or contributions in behalf of their needy brothers. The apostle Paul wrote of the Macedonian and Achaian Christians, who, although poor, expended themselves beyond their actual ability in giving to their brothers in want in Judea. “They have been pleased to do so,” Paul said.​—Romans 15:26, 27.

Gifts That “Speak”

Today, it is obvious that gift giving continues to be a basic human way of establishing and strengthening the bond of love and friendship, to let others know that we care.

There are gifts from one marriage mate to another, simply to say, “I love you”​—a simple box of candy or a bouquet of flowers. There are gifts from children to parents. And what loving parents are not always giving to their children? There are gifts to soothe a broken heart, to cheer a depressed soul, to say “get well soon,” to express appreciation for kindnesses shown and hospitality extended, or merely to say, “I had a wonderful time.”

There are gifts to the needy, to disaster victims whom we may never see and from whom we may never receive an expression of thanks. A basket of fruit for the sick, houseplants for the shut-ins, a piece of jewelry for a dear friend​—little things that mean a lot. It is giving with the joy that comes from the heart. These are the gifts that are often the most cherished.

Of all the occasions for giving, none are as visible as the worldwide pageantry of Christmas. It is an orgy of gift giving rooted also in the distant past. It is a celebration dreaded by many and eagerly anticipated by others. It can mean the difference between financial disaster and a horn of plenty. Even though gifts are exchanged between friends, the ritual can bring them closer together or drive them apart. This paradox of Christmas giving will be considered in the next article.

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Toys can be fun, BUT YOU ARE YOUR CHILD’S BEST GIFT!

Christmas Giving​—A Time of Joy or Depression?

THE following letter addressed to Santa Claus is typical of many written by young children and given to parents and teachers on the promise that the letters will be duly mailed to the North Pole:

“Dear Santa Claus:

“How are you? I am fine. I hope you will have a nice Christmas. I hope you have a lot of nice toys because there are a lot of nice things I want. First, I would like to have a baby brother. My daddy says you don’t have babies at the North Pole, so you can bring me a puppy instead. I want a shotgun, a machine gun, a ten-speed bike and a tape recorder. Oh, by the way, Santa, this will be the last letter I will write you as I will not believe in Santa Claus next year. But I believe in Santa Claus this year.”

Do you recognize this letter? Does it have a familiar ring? Does it perhaps sound like one you wrote when you were a child? Millions of such letters are received each year at post offices in many countries from hope-filled children and addressed to that mythical purveyor of gifts they so fondly know as “Santa Claus.”

Few write the word “please” and even fewer write “thank you.” Some tug at the heartstrings, others smack of greed. The younger the child, the less he asks for. The older the child, the greater the number of gifts it takes to satisfy him, thus raising his expectations for greater and more lavish gifts the following year.

There are toys designed for every period of a child’s life. There are toys that teach, that test skills, that direct thoughts toward violence. There are toys that stand up to hard play and those that fall apart after a few days of use. There are safe toys and toys so dangerous that officials fight to have them removed from the market. There are toys that appear to be demon-inspired in design​—balls with grotesque faces so dreadful they could cause nightmares, yet they were last year’s best-sellers, notwithstanding parental objection. For over two months before the event, children are tuned in to Christmas. Supposedly, the joy of giving and receiving pervades the air.

The Fall Into Depression

But alas, in a few days the thrill is gone. The child has squeezed all the fun and enjoyment from his gifts, be they many or few. The reality has not lived up to the expectations. Boredom has set in. The tinsel of Christmas and all the gifts received were not the cure-all he expected. Commenting on this, child psychologist Dr. Nancy Hayes says that Christmastime “is a period of the highest rate of depression and suicide among children.” She notes that many youngsters become depressed when Christmas does not provide the “magical solution to problems.” Imagine, too, their further devastation on learning that Santa Claus is only a myth, that their parents went to great lengths to perpetuate a lie.

So it is from infancy that children are taught to ask for, write for, and expect gifts at Christmastime​—and it is not limited to children. Friendship among adults is sometimes measured by the value of the gifts exchanged. Often the bond is strained to the breaking point because one person gave a gift of greater value than the one he received. Possibly at no other time of the year does the expression “It’s the thought that counts” mean so little.

Credit cards approach the limit of their purchasing power. Checks written cause bank accounts to become overdrawn. Forays in crowded stores jammed with shoppers fray the nerves. The scene of clawing, grabbing shoppers literally fighting over disappearing items on sale can make even the stouthearted retreat. Aching feet, plus being in a quandary over what to buy, make this rite of winter a nerve-shattering ordeal. It takes its toll on Christmas shoppers.

Said one salesperson: “You see people running around, getting a present for so and so, and they’re really grouchy. People don’t give presents with joy.” Is it any wonder, then, that a clergyman called Christmas “the annual season of depression and neurosis”?

What compounds the frustration is the fact that many gifts are purchased and given as an obligation, often with selfish motivations. Said one professor of sociology: “The giver has not only the anxiety of trying to guess what the recipient would like, but also the added anxiety of projecting a suitable image of himself.”

What is the busiest day of the season? Often the day following Christmas. Then the stores are crowded to capacity with gift receivers returning their gifts, many for the cash value. Yet, had they been given cash as a gift, they would have resented it as a vulgar offering. Thus, the utter frustration, the jangled nerves, the weary bones, the grouchy crowds, the picking through literally hundreds of pieces of merchandise, the packing, the wrapping, the tying of bows, all has often been in vain. So many gifts received with so little appreciation!

For so many, Christmas is not ‘the season to be jolly.’

Giving Requires No Season

But what a joy it is when families get together and enjoy the companionship and love of each one! The bringing of gifts, too, can be an outward expression of heartfelt love. Jesus himself encouraged Christians to “practice giving.” And what Christian or non-Christian is it who does not often quote Jesus’ words, “There is more happiness in giving than there is in receiving”? (Luke 6:38; Acts 20:35) Surely, giving requires no season. But there is another reason why Christmas giving is questionable.

The real problem with Christmas is that it is founded on a falsehood. The season professes to represent the birthday of Jesus. How can this be, however, when the Bible does not give the date of his birth? In actuality, Christmas is timed to coincide with the “birth” of the sun​—a ritual of sun worship.

In his book The Story of Christmas, Michael Harrison writes: “First of all, it must be noted that, despite the efforts of innumerable scholars, it has not yet been proved upon what day . . . Christ was born.” The Bible makes clear only the date of his death, and it is this date alone that Jesus commanded his followers, true Christians, to celebrate. Is it any surprise, then, that The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge makes this point: “There is no historical evidence that our Lord’s birthday was celebrated during the apostolic or early postapostolic times”?

Now consider these questions objectively: Would Jesus approve of a celebration that professes to honor him, yet is steeped in pagan rites and customs? Would he condone this festive holiday when more murders are committed than at any other time of the year and when non-Christian drunken bouts and lascivious living are an accepted way of life? Would he sanction a season noted for its depression, neurosis, and suicides? To true Christians the answer must be obvious.

Rather than setting aside a certain time of the year for giving joyfully to others, the generous soul will find that the giving that brings happiness to the giver and joy to the receiver is always in season. Gifts of our time, our energy, our sympathy; gifts of kindness and thoughtful words; and, yes indeed, material gifts that are needed​—all such giving brings joy and happiness to both giver and receiver.

The Happiness of Giving Enhanced by Grateful Receiving

REFLECT back to the newly wedded couple mentioned in the first article. Can you see them privately going over each gift received, commenting on how each item is just the thing they need? Can you see the bride carefully putting the sheets and pillowcases on a special shelf for easy access, the dishes in the cupboards, the silverware in the drawers, the toaster on the kitchen counter for quick daily use?

Together they carefully hang each picture in just the right place, the clocks in the most convenient locations. They decorate their hand-me-down dining table with one of the new tablecloths. The matching napkins in their gift napkin rings add a touch of class.

They are particularly fond of this gift​—an electric can opener. The bride expects to use this convenience often. It was given them by a dear friend who they know could not afford one for herself. And this bedspread, made by an aged aunt with arthritic hands. It must have taken her months to do all the fancy needlework. What a labor of love!

They cherish each gift. Take back any single item and swap it for something else or for cash? Never! Now comes the most loving part of all​—their expressions of thanks. Will they take the time to do it?

Have you been the recipient of a material gift, an expensive or an inexpensive one​—a bouquet of flowers, a basket of fruit, a simple houseplant perhaps? Did some dear friend clean your house when you were ill or cook a meal for your family when you were unable? Did you thank them?

What a simple word “thanks” is. With one tiny expulsion of breath one can say it. Yet how often the expressing of it is ignored. Once a taxi driver returned a man’s wallet left in his cab. What a gift! The owner took the wallet without a word. Imagine how crushed the taxi driver was by this ingratitude. He lamented, “If the guy had only said ‘Thanks.’”

An issue of this magazine reported on a group of high-school boys who had formed a club for the purpose of aiding people. “They assisted stranded motorists by fixing flat tires, gave them gas if they unexpectedly ran out, and helped them in other ways,” the article said. ‘They took no money for their services. They asked only that the motorists write a “thank you” letter for their club files.’ What were the results? A club spokesman said: “You know, to date we have received only two letters, although our club records show we have assisted over 150 motorists in the two years we’ve been organized.”

How profusely would you thank someone who had saved your life? Imagine what a gift that person had given you! Yet, one man risked his life to save passengers on a sinking ship, pulling 17 from the clutches of death, after which he had to be carried exhausted to his home. When asked years later what stood out in his memory of so gallant a rescue, he replied: ‘Only this, sir. Of the seventeen people I saved not one ever thanked me.’

Is it a sign of weakness to say “thank you” for an act of kindness, a material gift, or a gift of life? Would these ever thank Jehovah God, the Great Life-giver, for their own life? If they cannot thank someone whom they can see, is it likely they will thank the One whom they cannot see?​—1 John 4:20.

Is it any wonder that so many of today’s youths find it difficult to express heartfelt thanks for a gift received or an act of kindness shown? If parents do not say “please” and “thank you,” their children are not likely to do so.

Lack of appreciation is one of the identifying marks that we are living in “the last days.” The apostle Paul warned: “In the last days critical times hard to deal with will be here. For men will be lovers of themselves, . . . unthankful.”​—2 Timothy 3:1, 2.

How to Show Appreciation

The designing and selling of thank-you cards is big business. Many of the cards express the sentiments beautifully. It is convenient to purchase these and send them to those who have given gifts or extended acts of kindness. But in addition, would it not be a loving and kind thing to add a personal touch, to write on them our own words of appreciation in our own handwriting​—perhaps naming the gift received and how much we appreciate it and the happiness we have received or expect to receive from its use?

Along with this, where possible, would not a cheerful oral expression of gratitude, a handshake, a warm embrace, or other gesture of affection be appreciated by the giver? If we complain that time does not allow for our doing so, then think of the time, effort, and money the giver expended in our behalf. The giver’s happiness in giving is enhanced by our appreciation shown.

We do well to remember the words of the greatest giver of all, Jesus: “There is more happiness in giving than there is in receiving.” (Acts 20:35) Soon, in the coming earthly Paradise of righteousness, not only will all human inhabitants daily thank Jehovah God for the gift of life but they will also show loving appreciation to one another for neighborly acts of kindness. May we show appreciation now and have the approval both of Jehovah and of our neighbor.

Watch Out! Spies About!

SHE knew that her husband was a spy. He had been passing information to a foreign power for years. He even bragged to her about it. Should she go to the police or keep quiet? What would you do under such circumstances? Would loyalty to principle or to your family get the upper hand? What about the fear of scandal? Finally, the woman informed the authorities. But she was in for a big surprise.

The above is one of so many spy stories that have hit the headlines in recent times. Perhaps you also recall the following:

Norway, January 1984: A top Norwegian diplomat arrested and charged with passing highly sensitive documents to a foreign power.

India, January 1985: Government officials and businessmen held on charges of violating the Official Secrets Act.

Federal Republic of Germany, summer 1985: Number of suspected agents, including a counterintelligence chief, defect to German Democratic Republic.

Russia and Britain, September 1985: Each country expels 31 of the other’s diplomats, journalists, and commercial employees, many of whom are accused of spying.

Switzerland, December 1986: Married couple charged with espionage.

France, March 1987: Members of spy network arrested on suspicion of having fed classified space center know-how to a foreign power.

United States, April 1987: U.S. Marine guards recalled from Russia, Austria, and Brazil for investigation into spy charges.

Inundated with reports like these, you may be left guessing at terms such as “moles” and “counterintelligence.” Are there really more spies these days or simply more of them being caught? Could any of this affect you personally? You may be surprised to know just how much the world of espionage touches your life.

Back Into the Cobwebs of Spying

Peering into the past points us to a partnership of long standing: politics and the military. Webster’s dictionary defines espionage as “spying by special agents upon people of a foreign country or upon their activities or enterprises . . . the accumulation of [such] information . . . for political or military uses.”

Among the earliest to organize a secret service were the Egyptians. King Thutmose III used spies to smuggle 200 soldiers, sewn in flour bags, into the city of Jaffa. About 400 B.C.E., Chinese Sun Tzu wrote a book called Ping Fa (The Art of War), in which he stressed the importance of good intelligence organization. In the 15th century, European countries began to use their embassies in foreign capitals for spying. Diplomacy and espionage tiptoed hand in hand across European frontiers. Plumed in the colors of nationalism, the once fellow travelers became kinsmen.

Nationalism swept abroad in Europe and with it the need for armies, diplomats, and agents. Techniques were developed for making and breaking codes. Intelligence (gathering and analysis of information) and counterintelligence (preventing others from getting secret information) became separate parts of the espionage web. Cardinal de Richelieu (France) and Frederick the Great (Prussia) spun notable spy networks. The threads of Britain’s secret service were at one time spun by Daniel Defoe, author of Robinson Crusoe.

All developments were offset, though, by one great obstacle: communication. Agents relied on ship, horse, or carrier pigeon to transmit messages. Opposing armies could still assemble within a short distance of each other without knowing it. In 1815 Napoleon drew faulty conclusions about enemy troop movements a few miles away. He lost Waterloo and an empire. Intelligence was revolutionized much later by the technology of our century.

Out of the Cloak-and-Dagger Age

This century of conflict has thrust new challenges on intelligence services. Offshoot branches of secret service flourish in a climate of mistrust. “Fear is the very soul of the espionage business,” states German newsweekly Der Spiegel. “The shakier the world situation, the more secure [spying] as a profession becomes.” As a result, “there is not a country on earth that believes it can manage without a secret service.” Spying thrives on suspicion and breeds it; hence the multitude of intelligence fields: strategic (needed by top-level planners), military (army, navy, and air), economic, scientific, geographic, and so on. Each adds its piece to the jigsaw.

Intelligence has indeed broadened its horizons. Formerly, classified data was mostly to be found along the corridors of political power or within military preserves. Today’s rootstock of national secrets, though, is more broadly based. Why so?

The huge arms buildup since World War II means that several nations produce sophisticated weaponry. But the country that also has the technology to process split-second decisions or aim its firepower more accurately clearly holds a trump card. This know-how is in the hands of manufacturers of everything from ball bearings to video games.

Hundreds of companies and millions of employees have thus become targets for the industrial spy. In the United States alone, over four million people have access to some 20 million secret documents. Do you work with so-called sensitive information or does a family member? That information may be of value to someone on the lookout for classified data.

Such are the spoils of undercover warfare. The network that sneaks off with expertise developed at enormous cost in another land has a prized trophy. Yes, intelligence setups can save huge sums of money. But they also run up immense budgets. The Sunday Times book review quotes an estimate that intelligence worldwide costs a staggering $29 billion a year. It is said to employ over a million people. Even the United Nations’ budget is dwarfed by such figures. Fischer’s Weltalmanach puts that at less than $1 billion and the payroll at 40,000. The colossal expense of espionage is met out of public funds, taxes you pay.

Itchy Fingers and Itchy Feet

Agents used to ply their trade out of principle, for country or ideology. For instance, Oleg Penkovsky, famous spy of the 1960’s, allegedly leaked to the West details of Russia’s military situation at the time of the Cuban missile crisis. Der Spiegel then wrote that he did it because of his political ideals and went on: “Only once did he receive money. He was given 3,000 rubles [then worth about $3,330] for expenses, 2,000 of which he returned.”

Spies nowadays have baser motives. Time wrote: “Most recent converts to espionage care little about politics, and are rarely trapped by blackmail. Mainly, they are either hard up or greedy for cash.”

“The public has ceased caring about secrets,” writes The Sunday Times, “assuming them all to have been given away long since.” Why this erosion in public respect for confidentiality? Partly because some leading politicians leak secrets to the media to press home personal advantage. And many others follow suit. In a recent dispute between two government ministers in Britain, one published extracts of a confidential letter so as to embarrass the other.

In the case mentioned at the start, the husband betrayed not only his employer but also his family. Unknown to his wife, he had drawn their own son into the espionage net. Both men went to prison.

Books and films portray the spy world with bronzed heroes, minicameras, and clandestine rendezvous. Newspapers herald the unearthing of the latest mole, that is, an agent who infiltrates the intelligence service of the opposition and tunnels his way into a key post. This media image is completely out of focus with reality. Moles and minicameras are used but to a very small degree. Collecting intelligence information is mostly a tedious affair. It involves poring over trade journals and finance or scientific magazines to glean seemingly trivial details that together build an intelligible whole. And yet, some people are still attracted to the undercover realm in search of thrills.

No More Lies, No More Spies

The espionage web casts a broad shadow, even beclouding the lives of outsiders. They pay for it. They live in the climate of suspicion it breeds and feeds on. They are confronted by its dazzling image. The wise course for Christians is to resist totally the greedy, dishonest, and immoral world of spying.​—Compare 1 Timothy 6:7-10; Colossians 3:5-10.

How different things would be if we had one world government that dispensed with nationalism to unite citizens, not divide them! How splendid if officials gave a shining example in trustworthiness and honor and if love, not fear, prevailed! All that is exactly what the Kingdom of God will achieve.​—Revelation 7:9, 10, 16, 17; 2 Peter 3:13.

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What About Spies in the Bible?

The term “spying” was known in Egypt and Canaan by the 18th century B.C.E. at the latest. Joseph, who was then the chief food administrator of Egypt, used a ruse to identify the motives of his ten half brothers, insisting that they were spies.​—Genesis, chapter 42.

Over two hundred years later, Moses acceded to the request of the Israelites and dispatched 12 men to spy out the land of Canaan.​—Numbers, chapter 13; Deuteronomy 1:22-25.

Joshua sent Israelites to have a look at the cities of Jericho and Ai before each battle.​—Joshua 2:1; 7:2.

A spy was expected to take a close look at the land in order to gather information about it. The Hebrew word translated “spy” depicts someone who wanders through the land on foot, observing intently what he sees.

Note that when the tribe of Joseph wanted details on the city of Bethel before trying to capture it, they employed spies. (Judges 1:22, 23) Various translations of the Bible tell us that they “sent scouts” (The Living Bible), “made a reconnaissance” (The Jerusalem Bible), or “sent men to reconnoitre” (Moffatt).

Hence, spying mentioned in the Bible is a far cry from the grossly immoral world of espionage of today.

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Napoleon drew faulty conclusions. He lost Waterloo and an empire

Papal Visit Reopens Old Wounds

DURING the pope’s visit to Germany last May, he referred to “the hardships the Church faced in the Nazi era.” The Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger reported this, then added: “He failed to mention that some leading Catholic clergymen were lacking in courage, preaching sermons in support of denominational schools but not against persecution of the Jews.”

The beatification rites for Edith Stein​—a Jewess converted to Catholicism—​also became a focal point of controversy. Jews objected to her being represented as a Catholic martyr. The Nürnberger Nachrichten said: “Edith Stein was beatified as a martyr for the Christian faith, which is not strictly true. She was sent to her death in the gas chamber at Auschwitz in 1942 as a Jewess, not as a Catholic nun.” One Catholic group claimed that the beatification was an attempt to gloss over the “embarrassing silence of the Catholic Church after the Nazis came to power.” Another Catholic group said that the beatification “dare not blind us to the fact that the Catholic bishops offered next to no resistance, but rather openly cooperated with the National Socialistic system.”

Some critics demanded an admission of guilt for the silence of the Catholic Church during the Holocaust, but none was forthcoming. “During his meeting with the bishops the previous evening,” the report in the Süddeutsche Zeitung said, “the pope exercised the greatest caution in touching this thorn in the conscience of the church. During the Nazi dictatorship, the Apostolic See sought by means of the concordat ‘to prevent the worst’ but was ‘unable to arrest the calamitous developments.’ The pope said he saw no reason to accuse the German bishops of guilt because of their silence.”

Who Suffered the Agony of the Holocaust?

LAST June the American Jewish Congress sent an open letter to Pope John Paul II. It was published in The New York Times, June 26. It protested the papal audience granted to Kurt Waldheim, the president of Austria, accused of being involved in the Nazi killing of Jews during World War II. Waldheim was cited as the symbol “of current efforts to diminish, falsify and forget the Holocaust.”

After acknowledging that the agony of the Holocaust could not be undone, the letter said: “But surely the most sacred command of our generation is memory: not to forget how silence became indifference, indifference became complicity, and finally turned into a nightmare of slaughter for millions upon millions.” Waldheim, the letter said, “wishes to inflict on the victims of the Holocaust the final indignity of forgetfulness.” The pope was then castigated because he “put moral principle aside” and received Waldheim at the Vatican. The letter continued:

“Is it possible, Your Holiness, that in Waldheim’s forgetfulness [of the Holocaust] there is an echo, however distant, of the Church’s forgetfulness as well? Has Your Holiness dealt with the indifference of the Catholic churches in Europe to the fate of the Jews during World War II? Not a word on the subject has been uttered in any of your Papal visits to various European countries and to the Death Camps. Despite the extraordinary heroism of so many individual Catholics, isn’t it true that, along with so much of the rest of the world, the official churches were largely silent and abandoned the Jews in their agony? And if the Church, to which millions look for moral guidance, cannot yet come to terms with its past, if it cannot respond to the demands of sacred memory, what hope is there for others?”

Of course, the attempted genocide of millions of Jews does cry out for remembrance. But reflect a moment. When the letter mentions the Holocaust, is it not presented exclusively as a Jewish holocaust? Was it not “to the fate of the Jews” only that the Catholic churches were accused of indifference? And according to this letter, was it not ‘much of the rest of the world and other churches’ that “abandoned the Jews in their agony?” Only the Jews? Did not others in addition to the Jews suffer?

The book The Forgotten Holocaust shows that there were three million non-Jewish Poles caught up in the Holocaust. A History of the Modern World refers to the millions of other people involved in it. Even of the German Jehovah’s Witnesses, non-Witness sources have reported that “some 10,000 were imprisoned” and “more than two thousand perished in concentration camps.”

The Holocaust is not to be regarded, therefore, as an assault on the Jews alone. Hitler was determined to exterminate any group of people that did not bow to his doctrine of Aryan superiority. Jehovah’s Witnesses were included because they believed and applied the Bible principle at Acts 17:26, 27.

The Li River​—Where Adjectives Fail

FROM its headwaters in the mountains, the Li River comes tumbling southward. By the time it reaches the bustling city of Guilin in southeastern China, it has widened out and moves sedately by this ancient city sprawled on its western bank.

Guilin is different from Western cities. During rush hour its streets are solid bicycles. A sprinkling of taxis and trucks work their way through the mass, horns honking. The cyclists pedal blithely along, quite oblivious as they are missed by inches. No one upset, no angry screaming, no tempers flaring. Different from rush hour in New York or Rome or Mexico City. It’s different, but there’s no loss for words to describe it.

Farther along the Li, small communities perch on the banks. Down at the river’s edge, children play and wave at the tourist boats that chug their way southward. Women wash clothes and vegetables in the water. Men herd water buffalo along the riverbanks. A short way inland, farmers work in rice paddies, some planting by hand, some plowing with water buffalo. Different, but describable.

But all along the Li River are mountains, rows upon rows of them, jutting straight up into the sky. Very different mountains, and indescribable. For all the other exotic sights on the Li River boat trip from Guilin to Yang-shuo, there were adjectives adequate to describe them, but for these strange mountains there were no adjectives.

For 5 hours and 50 miles the boat traveled down the Li river, and for 5 hours and 50 miles those mountains were never out of sight. Rows of them close up, more rows behind them, and still more rows beyond, until they were so faint in the distance that they looked unreal. To capture what adjectives couldn’t, cameras clicked and greedily ate up roll after roll of film. Surely, here a picture would be worth a thousand words!

But the cameras also failed to capture the eerie feel of these bizarre pinnacles jumbled together as far as the eye could see. The boat’s crew served a hot meal for lunch. All went down to eat except this observer, who was much too fascinated to leave the upper deck. He could fill his stomach anytime; this feast for his eyes would soon pass by. What his camera missed, his memory must retain.

“According to geological survey,” one travel folder says, “Guilin was originally a vast expanse of sea. As a result of repeated crustal movements, the limestone once on the sea bed rose and became land. With weathering erosion and rainy solution, the limestone took shapes of forest of peaks, solitary summits, underground rivers and caves. It is this unique Karsta formation that has made the landscape in Guilin the most marvellous in the world.”

If that last statement is a little exaggerated, it is forgivable exaggeration. Surely, this jungle of limestone pinnacles through which the Li River weaves and winds its way is unforgettable. We cannot be positive just how it came about, but we can be certain who brought it about. If adjectives fail to describe the Li River mountains, how much greater their failure to describe their Maker. “Jehovah is great and very much to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable.”​—Psalm 145:3.

[Footnotes]

[Box/​Picture on page 17]

The Icing on the Cake

That’s what it seemed like to us. After the Li River trip we went to a nursery school in Guilin. In the classroom four-year-olds played games, did little dances, and then sat and listened fascinated as the visiting American lady sang a child’s song. It was about a girl and her ‘dear little dolly with eyes of bright blue.’ Of course, they didn’t understand the words, but they were captivated by the soft voice and the gentle lilt of the simple tune, and by the miming of the story as the dolly was being dressed, went out to play, and was finally ‘rocked to sleep at the close of the day.’ They sensed the mood. Faces glowed. There were smiles. Some sat very still, entranced. When we left they happily waved their good-byes.

They stole our heart.

Young People Ask . . .

Does Being God’s Friend Matter?

A FRIEND is a special person. The Bible describes a true friend as one who sticks closer than a brother, is constant in his loyalty and friendship, comes to the aid of his companion in distress, and gives counsel to him in faithfulness. (Proverbs 17:17; 18:24; 27:6, 9) Could there be a relationship any better than this?

Many youths sincerely believe that being God’s friend has much more to offer. Yet, perhaps you agree with others who feel that such a relationship with God is impossible or impractical. ‘Lots of people claim they have faith in God,’ they may say, ‘but even believers still suffer and go through life just as those who don’t have faith in him.’

So, what’s the difference? Does getting close to God really matter? Can being God’s friend benefit you at all? The experiences of some teenagers today have shown that the benefits of intimacy with God are unique and surpass the closeness that you can develop with any other friend. How so?

Dealing With Pressure

Some young people, now pursuing a deeper relationship with God, say that being God’s friend has aided them in restraining hostile feelings. Eighteen-year-old Virginia, who was deeply affected by her parents’ separation, confesses: “I held a grudge against my father. I was always angry. As a result, I began hating other people. I would try to make my friends miserable. I wanted others to experience what I was suffering!”

Now, after studying God’s Word, Virginia happily admits: “What a change has come over me! I don’t despise Dad anymore. I have come to realize that he is just a victim of a rotten system backed up by Satan the Devil. I respect him and get along better with everyone now.” Yes, Bible knowledge helps youths like Virginia to understand the reason for today’s anxieties and to learn how to cope with them.

Being close to God can help you deal with seemingly overwhelming pressure. Juana is a 19-year-old girl whose father is an alcoholic. “Sometimes Dad comes home drunk and beats us up,” she says. How does she endure this situation? “When I feel depressed, I know I can go to Jehovah God in prayer and feel strengthened.” Getting to know God and imitating his fine qualities​—such as mildness and long-suffering—​have also helped Juana to learn how to deal with her father.​—Galatians 5:22, 23.

It may not always be easy for you to show respect for your parents and to give them their due honor. But what helps is for you to be convinced of the power of God’s Word, the Bible. The apostle John says that the spiritually strong “young men” in the congregation to which he wrote had even “conquered the wicked one” because ‘the word of God remained in them.’ (1 John 2:14) Hence, Bible counsel such as the following has helped youths like Juana and Virginia: “When being reviled, we bless; when being persecuted, we bear up; when being defamed, we entreat.”​—1 Corinthians 4:12, 13.

Too, the apostle Peter says that a fine example​—“chaste conduct together with deep respect”—​may win over those who cause you pressure in the first place. (1 Peter 3:1, 2) Although Peter directed these words to Christian wives, you can benefit from this counsel as well.

Of course, it is not always easy to put up with pressure, but pouring your heart out to Jehovah in properly motivated prayer can ease the stress. How refreshing it is to know that Jehovah wants to help and has the power “to do so much more than we can ever ask for, or even think of”! (Ephesians 3:20, Today’s English Version; Jeremiah 9:24) Furthermore, the Bible assures us that God “is not far off from each one of us.” (Acts 17:27) Yes, you can have a friend who is always within reach.

Higher Moral Standards

Being God’s friend has also helped youths cultivate higher moral standards that bring contentment and peace of mind. (Matthew 6:13; Psalm 141:3, 4) Sixteen-year-old Sofia admits that she had sexual intercourse with a boy when she was only 14 years old. Looking back, Sofia says: “It wasn’t until I began studying the Bible that I decided to stop dating him.” Since then, she has resisted immoral conduct and says that Bible knowledge has fortified her relationship with Jehovah.

Premarital sex is common in many parts of the world. In Mexico alone, 90 percent of the youths are said to have had a sexual relationship before marriage! As a result, many teenagers have suffered the consequences, such as a premature marriage or an illegitimate childbirth. During just one year, more than one million babies were born to teenage girls in Mexico!

Today, there is often overwhelming pressure to get sexually involved at an early age. But rather than just plunging into sexual immorality, why not first examine the consequences? Besides the immediate physical results, consider how God is affected if we break his law. Satan has challenged God, claiming that under test humans will not be faithful to Him. So Jehovah urges: “Be wise, my son, and make my heart rejoice, that I may make a reply to him that is taunting me.” (Proverbs 27:11) Think about it: Will you break God’s law and make Satan happy and God sad?​—Compare Psalm 78:38-41.

The greatest protection against immorality is for you to develop a personal, intimate relationship with Jehovah.

No Superhuman Temptation

On the other hand, some youths are hesitant about getting involved with God. “I’m so scared,” says one 14-year-old girl, “that when I accept God, he’ll totally take over. I’m so much my own person, but I want to open my heart. I’m really torn apart and confused. I just want to learn and start slowly. I feel if I’m rushed, I’ll get scared and give up.” Do you feel this way?

If so, you can be comforted by the fact that God will help you through any problem in life. “It is no superhuman temptation that you have had,” says the Bible. “And God can be depended on not to let you be tried beyond your strength, but when temptation comes, to give you a way out of it, so that you can withstand it.” (1 Corinthians 10:13, An American Translation) What more could you ask?

But you cannot pray for help and then read immoral literature, go to immoral movies, or daydream about or flirt with one of the opposite sex. Although prayer has a high priority​—just as communication is essential in any personal relationship—​you must work for what you request in prayer!​—Luke 11:9, 13.

A Bright Future!

However, the price you must pay​—the effort involved in maintaining your friendship with God—​is very small in comparison to the many future blessings that God promises. Says 17-year-old Noe: “Jehovah offers us a bright future: life in eternal happiness on a paradise earth! This is something that no man can offer!”

God’s Word promises that “just a little while longer, and the wicked one will be no more . . . The righteous themselves will possess the earth, and they will reside forever upon it.” (Psalm 37:10, 29) As the generous Giver of “every good gift and every perfect present,” Jehovah takes delight in rewarding his faithful young Witnesses with blessings.​—James 1:5, 17; Psalm 35:27; 84:11, 12; 149:4.

So being God’s friend does matter. God cares for you. When you have a problem, he wants to help. He is always available. He has the power to help you with any problem in life. And only Jehovah can give you everlasting life​—the exclusive possession of the friends of God.​—Revelation 21:3, 4; Matthew 25:46.

[Picture on page 18]

“Abraham was called ‘Jehovah’s friend.’ Jesus called his followers ‘my friends.’ . . . So I too can become their friend!”

I Sought a Simpler Life Through Drugs

I SAT in the dimly lit cell on a dirty old piece of foam rubber. My mind reviewed the day’s events. How could we have been so stupid as to get caught!

If only we had remained calm and not panicked, our car wouldn’t have been pulled over by the police. If only we had got rid of those marijuana butts and hidden that bag of pot before the police looked in the ashtray. How did I get into this mess? My mind drifted back over the years . . .

As a teenager, I was tall and skinny and therefore felt awkward and out of place. I was extremely shy and had few friends. Yet, I wanted to be popular at school, to be cool. Gradually, I began to grow my hair longer, wear faded jeans, and sit in the back of the class with other cool kids.

Then one day it just happened. I was out in the smoking area with some kids. A marijuana cigarette was passed in my direction. Not wanting to be looked down on, I joined in and smoked it. Soon I found myself drawn into a new circle of friends. At last I had gained a measure of popularity and had many friends.

Later I began taking harder drugs. It was all exciting and adventurous, sneaking around getting high and doing other things a loose way of life entailed. I began to tell myself that life would be much simpler if everyone smoked pot. Why? Because it helps you to appreciate the beauty around you and to relax, therefore it must be good for you. So I reasoned. But now, in this dirty cell, reality had hit me smack in the face.

My parents did not know that I had been using drugs. How badly they would be hurt when they found out! After what seemed an eternity, the cell door swung open. An officer told me that my father was there to bail me out. It was a tense ride home.

My father called a lawyer to help me face the court officials. He was a friend of the family and was perplexed to hear that I had got into trouble. Later at the police station, the lawyer spoke with the local officials in my behalf. Anxiously I awaited the outcome.

Finally, it was decided that I was to be released, since I had no previous record of arrests. The lawyer kindly counseled me to center my attention on other pursuits instead of drugs. I told him I would for sure. But words are cheaper than actions.

Depression and Attempted Suicide

I continued to associate with my old friends. So because of peer pressure, I resumed taking drugs. After a time the thrill was gone. But I could not do without them. I needed a boost to get away from the problems around me and help me through the day. My friends and I could not enjoy ourselves without drugs. Even on a beautiful day on the lake waterskiing, we would all mourn and say, “Oh, if we just had some pot!”

Eventually I began to experience periods of deep depression. Life had no purpose. I had nothing to look forward to except getting high. I began to contemplate suicide. One day I swallowed almost everything in my grandmother’s medicine cabinet in an attempt to overdose. But to my dismay, I awoke again the next morning.

One evening when I was not on drugs, I climbed up on the roof of our house. I was particularly struck by the beauty of the night. The moon was full, huge gray clouds were blowing across the sky, and the tall pine trees were swaying in the breeze. ‘Is there someone behind this serene beauty and order in nature?’ I wondered. ‘Is there some higher purpose in life than just living like an animal, seeking to satisfy one’s physical desires?’ I was becoming aware of my spiritual need.

I began reading about reincarnation. I looked into Zen Buddhism. I also dug out an old Bible, dusted it off, and began to read the “New Testament.” There I found some thoughts that I liked, such as Jesus’ words: “All things therefore whatsoever ye would that men should do unto you, even so do ye also unto them.”​—Matthew 7:12, American Standard Version.

‘Who on earth applies such things?’ I wondered. ‘Who can explain the Bible to me?’ I decided to go around to different churches to find out. But because of my shyness, I could not even bring myself to get out of my truck to enter any of them.

The Answer in a Secondhand Book

One evening I tried to pray to God. “Please help me to find those who truly apply Bible principles,” I asked. A week later I was looking around in a secondhand shop. Among some used books, a small blue one entitled The Truth That Leads to Eternal Life caught my eye. I bought it and read it through. It explained the Bible’s main doctrines and supported the statements with Bible quotations. I decided to follow the advice on page 138 about attending the meetings at one of the Kingdom Halls of Jehovah’s Witnesses.

I had never spoken to any of the Witnesses before. But I remembered my mother once telling me that a man who did upholstery work for her was a Witness. She had warned me never to talk with him about religion, since he would talk my ears off. I looked him up in the phone book and gave him a call and asked where the Kingdom Hall was.

The upholstery man met me on the porch of the hall and took me inside. He began introducing me to everyone who came by. I was surprised that they all knew one another and that the hall was alive with friendly conversation instead of being quiet, as I thought it would be in a church. I must have looked odd to them, dressed in a T-shirt and blue jeans and with my hair hanging over my shoulders and down my back. But no one made me feel different. They welcomed me.

After the meeting, Mr. Parciacepe, the upholstery man, asked me if I would like to study the Bible. I accepted. As the study progressed, I saw the need to make changes in my life. My dress and grooming changed. I broke free from drugs. I replaced my former associates with new friends from among Jehovah’s Witnesses.

The Lawyer and His Client

In 1979, about a year after I was baptized as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses, I was able to enter the ministry full-time. The first summer I was doing that, something unexpected happened.

One of the Witnesses, a lawyer by profession and an elder in the congregation, decided to visit some of the local lawyers in town to tell them about our beliefs. He took me along with him. One of the lawyers we visited turned out to be the one who helped me years ago when I was arrested for drug possession.

My companion explained the purpose of our visit and then introduced me. As we shook hands, a look of surprise and disbelief came over his face, and then he smiled broadly and exclaimed: “Ladd Stansel! I would never have recognized you! You have certainly changed!”

After the initial shock wore off, I showed him a copy of the book that I had first read and said: “This book has really helped me to understand the Bible’s principles and to see the importance of making these changes. I would like you to have a copy of it.” Taking the book, he thanked me kindly. As we drove away, we wondered how this had affected him.

A few days later we found out. My mother and my lawyer companion received very touching letters from my former defense lawyer. He wrote that he had witnessed a miracle​—the transformation of an insecure drug-using teenager into a fine young man who was now able to contribute to the community.

These last seven years have been of great help in my maturing process. In 1981 I was accepted to work as a volunteer at Bethel, the world headquarters of Jehovah’s Witnesses in New York. My life became even more enriched when last year I married Sue, who joined me in serving at Bethel.

So it was not drugs that simplified my life​—quite the contrary! It was by shunning drugs and serving my Creator, Jehovah God, that my life became simple and filled with contentment and happiness. (Matthew 6:22)​—As told by Ladd Stansel.

[Picture on page 23]

Ladd and Sue Stansel today

“We’ll Be Back in 2004!”

THERE were crushed bodies everywhere. Casualties were crawling around as best they could. Those that were hale and hearty were up in the trees​—by the thousands. But they too were in the last phase of their life span. They were the 1987 generation of cicadas.

The periodical cicada is a flying insect that makes its appearance in the eastern United States once every 17 years. Different broods pop up in different years, although on the same 17-year cycle. We were watching what the scientists call brood number ten. Its cousins in other regions operate on a shorter life cycle from egg to its final, mating, adult stage. According to one source, there are over 1,500 species of cicadas.

The Methuselah of the Insect World

They last appeared in 1970​—when U.S. forces were still fighting in Vietnam, the civil war in Nigeria had just ended, Salvador Allende was about to become president of Chile, and former French president Charles de Gaulle died. Ever since then, the cicadas had been lying low.

This extraordinary creature, anywhere from one to two inches long, has a brownish black head and body and diaphanous wings. It has two red eyes that are really compound eyes, with three simple eyes in between.

Where we stayed in Baltimore, Maryland, they were everywhere​—on the bushes, in the trees, on the fence and doors. Out in the garden, we had to walk carefully. They settled just as readily on my shirt or my wife’s blouse​—much to her consternation! But don’t worry. They are harmless. They don’t bite or sting.

The ones we were watching had already lived a full life before ever appearing around our friend’s apple tree. They start life as eggs laid in slits cut by the female in the branches and twigs of trees and bushes. These eggs then become tiny nymphs that fall to the ground and burrow their way down to a root, usually about two feet down. There they start their 17-year wait​—not hibernating but sucking on the sap of the plant. And down there under the ground, they go through five different molts, or stages of change, as they slowly attain maturity. Theirs is the longest insect life cycle known to man. They are the Methuselahs of insectdom!

“An Amazing Demonstration of Biological Complexity”

Then comes the step that baffles scientists​—what triggers their exit from below exactly on time? One biologist stated: “It’s an amazing demonstration of biological complexity.” I could not help but think how it demonstrates the diversity and intricacy of the Creator’s handiwork.​—Romans 1:19, 20.

Scientists speculate that hormones perhaps play a role. Anyway, in Maryland it happened this year in the months of May and June. Around the base of the tree trunk in our friend’s backyard, hundreds of little tunnel openings began to appear, some in the form of a chimney. Out staggered the cicadas in their penultimate form​—pale brown, wingless insects about an inch long. Now what do they do? We watched some as they laboriously headed up the tree trunk to pick out anchorages for their final metamorphosis.

There they wait briefly, and then the miracle occurs. The cicada breaks open its own back casing and starts emerging, new head and shoulders first, revealing what appears to be an albino cicada. Then, within hours it fills with color. It is no longer a pale brown, earthbound insect​—now it can fly. The tree was already covered with thousands of their empty shells. And the cicadas were everywhere around us, flitting about from twig to twig and leaf to leaf.

Insect Noise Champions

In the heat of the day, we didn’t just see them​—we heard them! Multitudes of males were vibrating their drumlike abdominal tymbals at anywhere from 120 to 600 vibrations per second. We caught one cicada in the house, and it showed its annoyance by a strange rasping, clicking sound. However, the sound of thousands of them in unison seemed like that of wind howling through a distant tunnel. In fact, the cicada is considered the noise champion of the insect world.

Fortunately, the female is silent, which led one ancient Greek wag to write: “Happy are cicadas’ lives, for they all have silent wives.” But there was one consolation​—at nighttime the males all piped down and let the neighbors sleep.

But we were witnessing the beginning of the end of their cycle. In the hot, humid atmosphere of late May and June they were mating. The females were getting ready to lay their eggs. Soon the adults would be ending their three weeks of life above ground by dying. Some weeks later, the eggs would hatch as tiny nymphs that would fall to the ground and start burrowing their way to the roots and the sap of the trees. But they would leave behind them an implicit message: “We’ll be back in 2004!”​—By Awake! staff writer.

[Pictures on page 25]

Cicadas emerge from holes about half an inch in diameter

Cicada emerging from its husk

White cicada freshly emerged from its husk

Mature cicada waiting to mate

The Miracle of Language​—How We Acquire It

HAVE you ever been at a loss for words? Such moments are rare, for we usually delight in communicating our thoughts and feelings. Language allows us to do that. One authority asserts: “Thought is impossible without language.”

True, in the animal world, creatures manage to exchange information without words: birds sing, lions roar, dolphins whistle, bees dance. Other creatures use postures and movements, touch and sound​—even smell—​as communication methods. ‘Keep your distance!’ ‘Look out!’ ‘Come and join me!’ These are animal messages that come across clearly!

Animal communication, though, is quite limited. Language, on the other hand, allows humans to talk about anything they observe or imagine. Education professor Dennis Child thus claimed: “Language is a human being’s finest asset.” But how do we acquire this wonderful asset? And how can parents help their children to develop it?

Language and the Brain

How we learn to talk has intrigued scholars for centuries. Remarkably, young children who are barely able to walk and feed themselves learn to speak without even knowing the rules of grammar and without any special tutoring! Writes linguist Ronald A. Langacker: “[The child] masters . . . a linguistic system. He does this on the basis of indirect and fragmentary evidence, and at an age when he is not yet capable of logical, analytical thought.”

Most scientists thus believe that the ability to learn a language​—not the specific language—​is inborn, an ability that unfolds during a child’s early years.

At first, though, a child’s brain is too immature to master speech development. This, of course, does not stop a baby from trying. Indeed, some researchers believe that a tiny baby’s babbling is a part of speech development, a rehearsal of sorts for his later enunciating of words. As the baby struggles with vocalization, his brain is also rapidly preparing itself for speech. Though a child’s body develops relatively slowly in his preteen years, his brain reaches 90 percent of its adult weight by age five. (It reaches its full adult weight by about age 12.) That means that the first five years of life are a critical learning period, particularly the first two.

During that time, billions of nerve cells in the brain’s cortex grow and branch, forming a densely interconnected web. Between 15 and 24 months of age, a dramatic spurt in brain-cell growth occurs. Now the brain is ready to handle the learning of language. Thus, it is critical that a child be exposed to language during these early years.

Interestingly, the Bible speaks of a young man Timothy who was taught the Bible “from infancy.”​—2 Timothy 3:15.

Helping Children Develop Their Language Skills

Mothers play an important role in a child’s speech development. A sensitive mother recognizes her baby’s signals and will talk with her baby often, long before it understands what she says. Nevertheless, the groundwork for speech is being laid. Soon the child responds to the mother’s words with words of its own. Researcher M. I. Lisina says: “It is clear that children’s speech emerges mainly as a means of interaction with surrounding people.” So fathers, siblings, grandparents, and friends can also share in the child’s speech development by means of conversation, storytelling, and reading.

Swedish psychologist C. I. Sandström further observed that children who did best linguistically “had on average much better contact with adults. The families usually had breakfast together, and the children were allowed to take part in the conversation.” Conversely, youngsters with poor language ability “usually had breakfast alone” and “did not take part very much in the conversation at supper.” Family togetherness at mealtimes thus encourages language development.

Taking your child with you on outings also provides you fine opportunities to develop his speech by explaining things to him in simple terms. Together, look into the mouth of a flower, watch a caterpillar eat a leaf, or a spider spin its web. Use your child’s natural inquisitiveness to expand his language. Talk about the animals you see at the zoo, the shells and pebbles along the pathways you walk, and the varieties of food you enjoy. True, all of this takes time and patience, but the results are so worth while!

Parents have found another very valuable aid in teaching children at a young age to speak. This is by letting them listen regularly to the cassette recording of My Book of Bible Stories.a

New words, new phrases and expressions, new depths of understanding will not only color your child’s speech but increase his intellectual capacity. And when you show how natural wonders relate to their Maker or discuss God’s purposes, a child’s love and appreciation for the Creator also deepen.​—Deuteronomy 6:6-9.

Fortunately, the potential to enlarge the quantity and improve the quality of language is not limited to our youthful years. Each day, we can further perfect our ability to communicate by learning new words and practicing good grammar. In this way, we take part in the continuing miracle of language, and rarely are we at a loss for words.

[Footnotes]

From Our Readers

Loss of a Child

After reading the articles on the loss of a child, I just had to commend you for such factual and realistic articles. (August 8, 1987) My wife and I have been able to relate to everything you said because we recently suffered the loss of our five-and-a-half-year-old son due to a heart attack. We have had all the feelings of guilt, anger, and so forth, that you listed in your article. Also, we have been through all the “Expressions That Don’t Always Comfort” and more besides. We look forward to the new world very much. Only when I have my little boy back in my arms will the hurt really disappear. Once again, thank you for such a loving and understanding series of articles, which we are sure many will, like us, be able to relate to and be helped.

K. I., England

I can’t tell you how much I appreciated your articles on facing the loss of a child. Our son committed suicide last August. Your information made me feel so normal. I didn’t know so many people felt as I do. But as much as I needed that information on the various stages a person goes through after the death of a child, I couldn’t understand why suicide was connected with ordinary death, as it is on page 15. No death is ordinary, I know that, but suicide is so tragic because the hope of the resurrection is not always there. I don’t know if I’ll ever see my boy again.

J. D., United States

The item about George, who committed suicide, was included, not to indicate that suicide is ordinary death, but to show how George’s father was able to cope even with this tragedy through the comfort of certain scriptures. Yes, committing suicide is very serious and tragic, but in each case the assurance is always there that Jehovah and his Son, Jesus Christ, will do the right thing. Jehovah knows all the circumstances involved, the degree of responsibility, and the possibility of repentance. We can put complete trust in him to apply his mercy to the fullest extent possible in harmony with his will.​—ED.

Taking Another’s Life

I am writing you in regard to a statement made in the article “World Peace​—How and When?” (June 8, 1987) The statement is made regarding Jehovah’s Witnesses: “They have become peaceful persons, and under no circumstance will they take the life of their fellowman.” Does this mean that we cannot use deadly force to protect ourselves or our family?

H. N., United States

The expression ‘take the life of a fellowman’ implies a conscious effort to kill another. A true Christian would not do this. If attacked and unable to flee from his assailant who is determined to inflict injury or death, a Christian may try to ward off the blows or even strike out in defense, perhaps using whatever was at hand to protect himself or others. But his actions would be defensive only. He would not try to kill or punish his attacker but only try to neutralize the attack. If the attacker was to receive a fatal blow, it would be accidental, not intentional.​—ED.

Watching the World

Productive Vacations

Parents should turn children’s vacations from school into productive time, says Mexican psychologist and university professor Rafael Martínez. By careful advance planning, parents can coordinate the instruction given at home and at school. According to the report in Mexico City’s daily El Universal, Martínez pointed out that “the school is an educational center that should in no way substitute for the education that parents should give their children.” Among other things, he suggests a flexible schedule that includes training in domestic chores, some occupational activity, and helping handicapped and needy persons. Martínez advises that “vacation time should not mean total leisure and rest but, rather, a change in activity.”

Concern for Workers

Japanese companies have gained great expertise in many areas. They are, however, reluctant to reduce the work force when it is necessary. One company even temporarily reduced the workweek to three days to avoid laying off any of its employees. Normally, Japanese workers are accustomed to lifetime employment with their company. Some firms even educate their employees’ children and then take them into the firm. But because of economic changes and the need to be more competitive in world markets, as well as a glut of workers on certain levels, some companies have had no choice but to reduce their work force. Great effort is made to find new employment for the workers, out of loyalty to one another.

Pigpen Playpen

When pigpens became playpens, piglets “had an average daily gain that was four-percent higher than penmates that weren’t so favored.” That report, published in the Calgary Herald on the results of scientist Al Schaefer’s work at Agriculture Canada’s Lacombe Research Station, spells good news for hog producers. Schaefer’s research indicates that when pigs have playthings to occupy their time, they grow better. He experimented with an ordinary automobile tire hung on a chain that was slung across their pen. The pigs played with the tire “by pushing the tire back and forth along the chain or biting the rubber.” In this way, the aggressions of the more pugnacious pigs in the pen were diverted toward the “toy” instead of their more timid pen mates. As a result, after a two-year study, pigs in these pens who went to market had fewer bruises and less meat loss.

Stardust Diamonds

Researchers from the U.S. National Bureau of Standards and the Enrico Fermi Institute in Chicago, studying a meteorite’s fragments, have made an interesting discovery. Some of the meteorite consists of tiny diamonds. In subjecting the meteorite’s fragments to X-ray and electron diffraction, the researchers saw the clear diffraction pattern of diamond, reports New Scientist. Scientists believe that the diamonds must have condensed from carbon atoms emitted by a star and conclude that “possibly nature makes diamond more efficiently than even the best laboratory synthesis discovered so far.”

A Long Sleep

Miners claimed an extraordinary find when they recently excavated for gold in the bleak Siberian region of Yakutia, just above the Arctic Circle. Thirty feet [9 m] below the surface of the polar tundra, they discovered a triton, a tailed amphibious animal resembling a newt (salamander), trapped in the permafrost. The news agency Tass asserts that, to the amazement of the miners, after a while in the sun “it crawled slowly . . . on its five-fingered limbs, turning its head, with round bulging eyes, from side to side.” It died after a few days. Soviet scientists say that in a state of reduced animation, known as anabiosis, it is possible for such creatures to live for hundreds, even thousands, of years.

Attacking Music Pirates

The recording industry has been fighting pirates who unlawfully tape records and sell them. One firm has developed a system that “notches,” or cuts out, a narrow band of frequency in a recording so that circuits set up to react to the notch will automatically shut off a tape recorder. However, experts who have auditioned the process insist that the notch drastically affects the music. Thus, musicians, technicians, and record buyers are concerned that the notch, intended to stop those victimizing the music industry, will ruin many years of technology designed to achieve lifelike sound recordings, making them the new victims.

“Seeds of Rebellion”

In July of this year, 110 New Jersey teachers were arraigned in court for defying a court order to end an illegal strike. The presiding judge, Paul R. Huot, said that their “defiance of his back-to-work order had corrupted the students and inspired disrespect for law and contempt for the courts,” reports The New York Times. Concerned that society is drifting away from respect for law, social decorum, and discipline, the judge said: “Things aren’t black and white anymore. Everything is gray. We’ve lost good manners. We’ve lost courtesy. We’ve lost decency.” The reason? “Fewer people recognize the difference between right and wrong,” says Huot. “The sin now is getting caught, not the violation.” Placing the blame on parents, he explained that they tell their children to obey the law, while they themselves cheat on taxes, pad expense accounts, or violate speed limits. “I think we’re growing seeds of rebellion in this country like mad.”

Music to Their Ears

To gather and destroy rats, the legendary Pied Piper of Hamelin played his musical pipe. Recently, a “Pied Piper” has appeared in Tokyo, luring rats away with modern musical pipes. Today’s “Piper” is a company specializing in environmental hygiene, and after 20 years’ research, according to The Daily Yomiuri, it has perfected a suction-pipe system to remove rats from high-rise buildings. Pipes with holes about every seven feet are laid along floors and walls. The music? Rats communicate by ultrasonic waves with frequencies of 20 to 38 kilohertz, and even waves from computer wires attract them. The pipes release ultrasonic waves to “call” the rats, who then enter the holes and are sucked along to a disposal section, suffocated by carbon dioxide, and immediately wrapped in a vinyl sheet for sanitary removal. From Hamelin to Tokyo, the conclusion is the same: Addiction to piped music can be hazardous to rats.

Fines, Fines, and More Fines!

The metropolitan area of São Paulo, Brazil, with its estimated 12 million inhabitants, has its traffic problems. In one month, a total of 1,218,491 traffic fines were issued. By the end of the year, three million of the four million vehicles in the city are expected to have been fined. Every month, nearly 30,000 vehicles are fined Cz$1,290 (about $30, U.S.) for parking on sidewalks, reported O Estado de São Paulo. Still on the books, though not enforced, are fines for driving a herd of oxen through the streets (Cz$1,149) and for parking a horse-drawn cart on the sidewalk (Cz$384). Leaving on a windowsill an object that could fall on a pedestrian may mean a fine of Cz$99. One incident, still remembered by many, was when a pig being raised on the terrace of a bakery became frightened and jumped over the edge and landed on a pedestrian, breaking his arm. This fine was collected.

Troubled Waters

According to Israeli sources, water supplies for Israel and Jordan may be seriously jeopardized by important works undertaken by Syria, their neighbor to the north. The project under way is to divert the flow of the largest tributary of the Jordan, the Nahr al Yarmuk, to irrigate “24,700 acres [10,000 ha] of land” to the north. To this end, large lakes have been dug, connected by a network “of over 160 miles [260 km] of open canals.” Syria is planning to move 500,000 inhabitants into the southern Golan Heights area.

Yellowstone Park, Devil’s Monument

The oldest, biggest, and most famous national park in the United States. Located primarily in Wyoming and established in 1872, it covers some 2,220,000 acres and is visited by more than two million persons yearly. Rugged mountains, deep canyons, thundering waterfalls, sparkling lakes, evergreen forests, and lush meadows​—a magnificent setting for the bear, elk, and bison that roam its precincts and for the eagles, swans, and pelicans that raise their families there.

Yellowstone gains much of its fame from the thousands of hot springs and hundreds of geysers​—foremost among them Old Faithful, shown here. It used to erupt on an average every 65 minutes, but in recent years it has not been quite so faithful.

DEVIL’S TOWER, First National Monument

Wyoming was also first with a national monument. Looking like a huge, petrified tree stump, Devil’s Tower was declared to be such in 1906. Said to be of volcanic origin, it thrusts its bulk 865 feet into the sky. Geologists say it is the remnant of a volcanic intrusion. As time passed, it was eroded into its present form.

Indian legend says seven little Indian girls were chased by bears and sought refuge on a low rock, and to save them, the gods raised the rock high up into the sky. The girls, the legend says, are still visible as seven stars, the Pleiades. The enraged bears clawed the sides in a vain effort to reach them​—the claw marks still being visible as the fluting on the sides of the tower.

That is the legend. But one thing is certain: Behind the magnificence of the first national park and the first national monument is their Creator, the living God Jehovah: “He is firmly establishing the mountains with his power.”​—Psalm 65:6.

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