My Testimony by Dorothy Banks

As a child I always believed in God, and often prayed to Him, but never got any answers. I eventually came to the conclusion that God `was up there somewhere` and had made us human beings, then left us to get on with our lives, and do the best we could. All I wanted to do was be happy by meeting my Mr. Right, getting married and having kids, and living `happily ever after`. But, I soon found out that life was not `just a bed of roses` and life can become pretty awful. I married my Mr. Right just before I was 18, and that began one of the unhappiest times in my life. My husband drank, and it was not until we were married and lived together, that I found out the drink caused him to be violent. Only months into my marriage was I seeking help from a counsellor. It seemed that in all the 3 years we stayed together, and produced 2 lovely daughters, we were continually `giving it another go`. If I prayed before, it was never as much as I was praying then, but still no answers. I finally went back to my mothers with my 2 girls, and obtained a separation, and eventually a divorce, on the grounds of cruelty.

The violence didn't stop even though I was back with my mother, my husband wasn't going to let me go easily, so he would come round when he was drunk, causing trouble. After a few warnings from the police he finally kept away, and at 22 year old I was free again.

I married again, my present husband Ray, when I was 25, and over the years we had a son and a daughter, and have been married now for 39 years.

Though I now had a happy marriage, there was something missing, and I suffered with my nerves and took nerve tablets.

Then something happened to change my life completely. Two Jehovah's Witnesses came to my door, and the following week I was starting a `bible study`. I thought at last God had come into my life by sending His people to me, and for 6 months I believed I was in God's true organisation. But, still no answers to prayers, God was still far away, up there somewhere, but not showing any interest in me. But, I didn't give in, I became a JW and stayed with them nearly 3 years. Then I left confused, not knowing if I had done the right thing or not. Still, now I had greater faith in God, and I prayed and asked if I had done wrong by leaving the JWs then show me, and if they didn't have the truth, then to show me where I could find the truth.

At last God was going to do something to show me He was real, and was interested in me. Ray saw a house exchange in our local paper, someone at Bridlington wanting to exchange with someone in Rotherham. We all agreed as a family we would like this, so we wrote a letter saying we would like details. Three days later we had a lady come to our door, she said she lived round the corner, and was the sister-in-law of the couple wanting the exchange. So we invited her in and we chatted about things. Then she surprised us by asking if we would like to go to Church with her. She said she had been a Christian 38 years and knew Jesus. I flatly refused when I heard it was a Pentecostal Church. The JWs had taught me to keep away from this Church. We met this lady a few more times, in her home, and though we were supposed to be talking about the exchange, somehow we always got onto the subject of the Bible. In my heart I was still a JW and I would defend them to the end, but this lady and her husband had a greater knowledge of the Bible than me, and they started to show me scriptures I never knew were there! I became very confused. Part of me wanted not to talk about spiritual things, I just wanted to proceed with the exchange, but another part was wanting to find out if I had been deceived by the JWs.

Our meetings went on for a few weeks, the couple at Bridlington came to look at our house and liked it, and we discovered they too were Christians and had lived on our street at the other end. The confusion in my head wouldn't go away, so I said I would like to go to the Church, just once, to satisfy my curiosity. Well, that was it, God spoke to me in a very clear way, I had no doubts that He was answering my prayer to show me the real truth. I wanted to go to Church again, this time as a family. Two weeks later Ray and I both surrendered our lives to Christ, we were born again, and Christ, by His Spirit came to live inside me, I was full of joy and knew my searching days were over, at last God was no longer `up there somewhere`, He was in my life.

That was almost 32 years ago, and what He has done in me, and with me is a remarkable story. Perhaps another time I will tell it. How God took me, a nobody, and changed me into a completely different person, and gave me a Ministry to do, seeking to win JWs for Jesus.

We never did move to Bridlington, we didn't want to leave the happiness we had found. The couple in question did eventually get back to Rotherham and lived just down the road from us.

Part Two

The Start Of A New Life In Christ

Now that I had given my life to Christ, and He had given me the assurance that I belonged to Him, I just longed to be like Him, and make myself available for whatever plan He had for my life. But, I was nobody, I was so shy and introvert, and so bad with my nerves I wondered how He could ever use me, or make me like Jesus. Since surrendering my life to Christ I was given a faith like never before, and I instantly knew that I would not take nerve tablets again, I would trust Jesus. And that is what I did, I stopped the tablets, and it never bothered me one bit, I was free of them. I also found myself filled with love for everyone, I just wanted to hug everybody and tell them I loved them. But, the ones I felt the most love for, were Jehovah's Witnesses, I had to get through to my old JW friends that I had found Jesus, and that they were being deceived.

I did go and see 3 different friends who I had when I was a JW, though they didn't want to know me since I had left them, but I didn't care, I had to tell them about this wonderful thing that had happened to me. But alas, I got the same reaction from them all, they said I had gone over to the devil's side, and had become all emotional! I was emotional, Jesus lived in me, I was full of love, didn't that explain why I was so emotional!!! I went back home disappointed, I knew they were wrong, I knew their organisation was wrong, but, I didn't know why they were wrong. I had to find out. I went to the local library and asked if they had any books on JWs, or their organisation, The Watchtower and Bible Society ( WTS). They said they would do a search at other branch libraries and see what they could get for me. Eventually they contacted me and said they had got me 6 books. I was very excited and read through them as quick as I could. I could hardly believe what I was reading. Not one of the books painted the WTS in a good light, and they told all about the past history of this religion, and the many erroneous teachings and scandals that had gone on. The more I read the more I could see how God was answering my prayers, when I had prayed for Him to show me if they had the truth, and if not, to show me who had. He had shown me the truth, now He was showing me why JWs do not have the truth. I had to start and write down all the things I was learning, not just about JWs and the WTS, but I was reading my Bible every day (I put aside my JW bible, and used a King James) and seeing the scriptures in a whole new light. All the doctrines I had been taught by JWs, I was discovering were all false. I bought a Greek Interlinear and started to compare Bibles, the JW bible was altered to suit their own doctrine. God was opening up to me a brand new world, and I couldn't learn fast enough. Now at last my prayers were being answered, all the time, and God was showing His love for me in so many wonderful ways.

Four months after becoming a Christian, I was asked to give my testimony at Church, I was terrified, I had never spoken in public and still retained a lot of my shyness, and yet deep down, I knew this was something I had to trust God in, and right up to the moment I was due to stand up and walk to the front of the Church, and up onto the platform, I was petrified. As soon as I stood up and starting walking, I felt like I was floating out, and I stood and looked down on those people, and spoke like I was in a dream, I couldn't believe it was me, and I was enjoying it!! This was to be one of the many times over the years that I would speak in different churches or house groups.

For 5 years my love for JWs grew, and uttermost in my heart, was, I wanted them to find Jesus. Though I was continually learning more and more about God's Word, and also becoming more familiar with the errors of JWs, I felt I was doing nothing. Oh, I would occasionally be asked to go and speak to someone who was studying with JWs, and I had been asked to give my testimony at various Churches, but my longing for JWs would not go away. I was witnessing to anyone I could, but my main delight was when I could get to talk to a JW. God had been working out His plan for my life, and I didn't know it. All I had been learning over 5 years, was God preparing me, for a Ministry which was to span over many years. God was about to show me how He now was going to reveal His plan for me. I will speak about this in part three of my testimony.

Part Three

Moving on in God's work

It was now 1976, I had been a Christian for 5 years Jesus had answered many prayers, and had done many things in my life to make me more like Him. I continued to witness to whoever I could, but, uttermost in my heart was to win souls for Jesus. The longing to win Jehovah's Witnesses never went away, and I had learnt quite a bit about them now, but I still wasn't having the satisfaction of seeing any come to Christ.

My eldest daughter was courting a Christian boy, and one day when he came to our home, he handed me a tract, it was called "Who is Jehovah-The Mystery of God?" as I read it I realised it had been specially written for JWs. I was overjoyed, at last, someone with the same burden as me, to win JWs for Jesus. On the back of the tract was a box to fill in to send for more similar tracts, and it asked if you were a JW, an ex-JW, or a Christian wanting to win JWs for Christ. Did I want want to win JWs for Christ!!! it was all I wanted to do for 5 years!! So I filled it in, and sent it off, and soon I had a letter from a Christian man called Eric Clarke who lived in Kent. He was involved in a special kind of Ministry, along with other Christians, in various places, seeking to win JWs for Jesus. So I was introduced to "The Help Jesus Ministry" which was a shortened version of "Help Jesus to Help Jehovah's Witnesses Find Christ" I discovered that there were other Christians, some of them ex-JWs, who, just like me, had a great desire to win JWs for Jesus. So I began the Ministry that I now know God had been training me for, and which I still do today, though I have had to slow down somewhat over the last year, because of illness.

Eric came up to see me, bringing me a box of assorted tracts, tapes & videos, and I started as a Consultant for "The Help Jesus Ministry" For 2 years I was pushing "warning" tracts through householders doors, telling some of the errors of JWs, and to contact me if they needed any help. I did all my own estate, then parts of other estates, but nothing happened, no one contacted me. I felt disappointed and kept telling myself that perhaps God was using the tracts in some other way, maybe stopping `bible studies`. Then in September 1978 I decided to place an advert in our local "Advertiser" which reached about 40 districts around Rotherham. If I didn't get any response, then maybe I had got it wrong about winning JWs. But, I did get some response, a letter from a lady who had been studying with JWs 6 months, and was having doubts! That lady eventually left the JWs and found Jesus as her Saviour! She was `my/The Lords` first convert, and I was jumping for joy!! I decided I would carry on with these adverts, changing the wording and gradually making them larger and larger! I kept this up for 5 years, and in that time God used me to win 5 different people out of the JWs, 4 were deep into studies, and one was a real JW! In that 5 years I had 30 letters from people asking for my literature, and the 5 that came out and gave their lives to Jesus was part of that 30.

Because these all lived fairly locally, I was able to visit them, and Nurture them, and try to get them settled in a Church. Now, I was beginning to enjoy my Christian life more, now I felt I was doing a small part in winning souls for Christ.

In 1983 I was asked by a Christian newspaper called "The New Life" if I would consider putting my advert in their paper. I knew I couldn't afford to pay for 2 adverts, so I stopped the one in the "Advertiser" and started one in "The New Life" This newspaper went all over the British Isles, and even abroad, so now the letters started coming in more frequently, and I knew that I would have to start some kind of filing system, and I needed a copier to copy my letters and also various tracts. So, my dining room, with a set of cupboards and drawers became my `office` It seemed I was also accumulating many publications of the JWs, every time a JW left the organisation, they would give me all their JW books. Soon I was busier than ever, receiving letters, writing to people, sending tracts, tapes & videos, going to meet people, talking with people on the phone, My life became very exciting. I was being asked to go and speak in Churches and house groups, and though I still had some of my shyness, I trusted God to do His work through me, and He did. Over the years I have seen many JWs leave and come to Christ, not all that I have spoken to, but many to satisfy my longing soul to see them won for Christ.

My little dining room `office` was eventually moved to a small office that was our outhouse, which Ray made into an office for me, then eventually he built me an extension on the back of the house, and then, when the last of our children married and left home, one of the bedrooms became my office, while another one became my computer room. I thank God for saving me, for leading me in His will, for giving me a purpose in life, and teaching me that however low we have sunk, however insignificant we feel, He has a job for us to do. He doesn't leave us to do it alone, He just asks for a surrendered life, and He will do the rest. God took me, a nobody, ready for the scrap heap, forgave all my sins, washed me in His blood, and made me a instrument of His Love and Blessings. He loves you too, with an everlasting love, He sent Jesus to die on a cross to take the punishment for your sins. He has a plan for your life, if only you will surrender to Him, and accept Jesus as your Saviour. He waits with open arms.

God Bless You. "You Shall Know The Truth And The Truth Shall Set You Free" John 8 : 32.

By Dorothy Banks

September 2003

Dorothy can be contacted through her web site at http://www.helpjesus.org.uk