Charles Trombley, a former Jehovah's Witness, had asked for his newborn daughter who had been born with lump feet. Three days after she was healed of abnormality. He talked about the healing of his friends (who were all Jehovah's Witnesses). The following is an excerpt of what happened, nearly three months later, from the book "Kicked from Jehovah's Witnesses." Names of people are fictitious.

I knew I had time enough to get a visitor from the local church, who would check up on me. "Are you sick? Have you fallen victim to false teachings? You take good care not to lose interest? "Normally, caring unit have been estimated - but in those circumstances, I almost shuddered just thinking about it.

Finally it happened - one Saturday morning at around 10:30. There was a knock on the kitchen door.

"We have a visitor," I told Gladys when I went to the door. "Wonder who it could be?"
Something made me look out the window before I opened the door.

"Gladys! It's Lawrence, "I whispered eagerly."Are you ready?"

Lawrence was one of my best friends, and he had helped me to build our house. We hunted together and spent many hours with each other before the Bible. He was also a local supervisor. I opened the door and invited him.

"Hello, old chap, glad to see you. It was a while ago, "I said with a smile and reached out.
He walked past me into the kitchen, but showed no signs of wanting to settle. His terse behaviour showed that his mission was of a purely commercial nature.

"Where have you been?" He asked sharply. "We have been missing you in the hall."

"I have been ... a little dazed, "I replied, deliberately controlling my voice and my movements so he would not notice my nervousness." Do you remember how Darlene was born with lump feet?"

"Yes ... and I am sorry - but what does that have to do with your absence?" he replied with some vehemence. Personal beliefs and even friendship has a singular ability to lose significance when official business must be operated.

"Yes ..." I began gently and looked straight at him, "Jehovah has healed her!" I stood there without adding a word and waited for the explosion I knew would come.

"He did not!" Lawrence exclaimed excitedly. His face was coloured as if he had been insulted. I understood his feelings. Whenever a JV in doubt, the emotions run immediately forward to the boiling point.

"The only thing I know for sure," I said with a thoughtful smile, "is that although she was born handicapped, she is now fully fit."

For a moment he stood there, speechless. I pulled out a chair from the table, I sat down and motioned for him to do the same, but he declined my offer with a hand motion.

"Do not be silly, Chuck. It was the devil that did it! "He said with firmness in his voice.

"Wait a moment. You will of course, study the Bible, and you may very well do so. Your Bible says in John. 10:10 that the thief comes only to steal destroy and kill, "I explained slowly and carefully, hoping to appease his hostility." If it was the devil that healed my baby, he is after all not so crazy!" It just flew out of me, totally unintentionally. Now I understood exactly what Solomon said in Proverbs when he talked about the impossibility of taking back what you said.

Without saying a word to Lawrence turned around and walked with firm steps out of the house, leaving the door wide open behind him. Outside I could hear his screeching tires when he crashed off the house. Without looking at him I knew that he did not even bother to look around. I also knew that this was not the last I would hear about it. He would now make a full statement to the parish servant at the Kingdom Hall. He would undoubtedly say that "Brother Trombley has been fooled into believing that Jehovah has healed his daughter and has consequently fallen into error." Since he had not taken the time to listen to the whole story, his report would be misleading.

Thursday the following week came the following.

I was at home, relaxed and reading when it knocked hard on the front door. When I opened I was met by two men. I recognized one of them as a deacon from the Kingdom Hall, but the other was a total stranger.

"Come in brothers. This was a surprise, "I lied. I had been waiting for them ever since Lawrence rushed away from the house and entered me as a traitor by the Organization.

They stepped in and answered my greeting with a nod. I tried to act calm and confident, took their coats and laid them neatly on the bed. When I came back to the living room, Gladys was there with a questioning facial expression.

"Honey, this is Tony DiNardo from the Kingdom Hall and ...?" I stopped to give him an opportunity to introduce the other man:

"This is Frank Marsh, the Country Servant."

The Protestant point, he would have called the district superintendent or bishop. He had an influential post, and he was a direct representative of the Society in Brooklyn. The Parish Servant was pastor of the local church.

After shaking hands, lame, but politely, they sat side by side on the sofa, and left the two chairs at the other end of the room to Gladys and me. At their feet I noticed they choose until brown portfolios, often called "portable munitions store". Inside were several different Bible translations, including Society's translation "A New World", a copy of the JV's concordance, a sizeable stack of tracts and the magazine "Watchtower".

I felt uncomfortable, and I was convinced that it was noticeable. I was dry in the mouth, and I held up my hands so as not to tremble. I cast an eye to Gladys direction and felt that she was tense. None of us had anything to fear for the physical but the psychological pressure was the worse. I waited in silence for them to begin the conversation.

"Mr. Trombley," began DiNardo (the term "brother" was already skipped), I have received complaints that you were rude to a brother who was simply trying to fulfil his mission to verify your loyalty to Jehovah's Organization. "

My immediate reaction was to immediately say how it was with that, but I held back. Better to wait and see what Lawrence had reported.

"We want to be fair, so we would like to hear your version of the story. Jehovah requires a clean organization, as you know, "he said and raised his eyebrows. There was no trace of a smile on his face - it was completely expressionless, which I interpreted as part of his psychological attack.

"If you tell me what the complaint, and I'll plead guilty or innocent, or come up with an explanation," I suggested, trying to keep my voice low-key.

"The report says that you claim that the Lord healed your newborn daughter's lump feet, and when you were reproved on this false assumption, and heard the biblical truths about it," you answered in an undignified manner. Is it true?" he asked.

He put his hand into his bag and took up the greyish-green book that I recognized as the Watchtower Bible. His behaviour told me that he was prepared to immediately disagree, whatever I said.

"If you believe that I told Lawrence that the Lord healed my daughter, so, you're right. It was just what he did! "I played solid." And besides, I told Lawrence that it was impossible for me to change their mind. But he did not prove from Scripture that I was wrong. "

I excused myself and went across the room to my desk, where I picked up my Bible.

"If Lawrence had reported the incident just as it was, then he would also have said that according to John 10:10, the devil just to damage, destroy and kill. Furthermore, I told Lawrence that if it was the devil that healed my daughter, then he is not so crazy after all. Did he do it? "I did not wait for his answer, but continued:" We had no opportunity to discuss further, for he immediately went away from here, mad as a hornet. "

"You just can not believe in the healing after the thorough training you have received," said the country servant sarcastically. He held the Bible to me as a pointer and said: "That false doctrine, we have uncovered long ago!"

He lowered his arm and leaned back with a satisfied smile. The tension continued to increase as we increasingly made our positions clear. The two men were attentive when I described my new found faith and my absolute belief that Jehovah had made himself known to me through this healing miracle, but it soon became clear that their polite attention was just a tactical move. By pretending to be interested in my arguments and let me talk, they hoped that I would talk to fail myself. I saw it clearly, and realized that they knew very well what they did.

"My daughter, who used to be handicapped, is now healed!" I repeated again. "Are you prepared to definitively and for all eternity state that Jehovah certainly had nothing to do with this healing and suggest that there is only a work of Satan? Are you prepared to take that decision despite the realization that you, if you're wrong, make yourselves guilty of blasphemy? You know the eternal consequences of such. Would you do it? "

Suddenly I felt as bold as a prophet. But before I had the opportunity to force a response, or continue, changed the subject. I understood that they "fled". This is an old Watchtower Feats that if used skilfully, can help one to escape from an untenable situation.

"Is it true that your in-laws once were Jehovah's Witnesses?" said Marsh.

"Yes, it's true," I replied without adding any more. I wanted them to continue to find out what they really wanted to.

"Why did they leave the Society?"

Now I understood their tactics. They used the lawyer's work. By asking certain questions they hoped to get me in a position to kick the legs of me so that I fell. I was now even more cautious with both my words and my thoughts.

"They walked out because the now-deceased Judge Rutherford closed the door to heaven for all but the 144 000 when he came with his teachings of the New World. (According to J: V:'s teaching is the 144 000 All the Christian faithful who lived from Pentecost to 1914. They are the body of Christ, the true church - the only thing that can be born again and become a Spirit-filled. According to Rutherford, only those 144 000 get into heaven. But all other Jehovah's Witnesses may become members of the New World, which is the spiritual body which will become the Kingdom of God on earth.) They just could not find any truth in such an assertion. Rutherford said that the Holy Spirit had been excluded from all but "the remnant" - i.e. those of the 144 000 who were still alive. (Note that J: W: has changed this doctrinal point, and now teaches that the earth-bound witnesses may have some measure of the Spirit, even though they neither are nor may be born again.)

"You know," I continued, "my father-in-law had been in the Society since 1914 and had seen this change happen. He felt that there was no biblical basis for such extremes, and when his sons were denied communion in remembrance of the meal, he simply left out and Society. "

"Did he feel that his sons were part of the remnant?" DiNardo said in a loud voice.

"They had all of actual experiences with the Lord, and each of them had the features which indicate that a life transformation occurred. Is it possible for young people of today to be part of the remnant? "I asked.

Without bothering to answer my question, they continued with their questions, because I could not get them to lose the thread.

"And have you spent time with them?" asked the country servant.

The question, I realized instantly, was designed to entrap me further. Jehovah's Witnesses are not allowed to have any contact with those who have left the Society, or who for some reason have been excluded.

Without waiting for my answer, "continued Marsh, and his voice was now more determined," You know that your in-laws according to Matt. 24:48 is the "evil servant" who has left the Jehovah's Witness true body. You may not have anything to do with them! Through the years, many have moved back from the truth and been misled. "

I tried to interrupt and explain that the father had never said or done something against society, but he would not listen.

"And did he not form another sect, in competition with the Society, called" Christian Family Circle? "

"Well, we have associated with them, but no, he did not form a different sect! CFC is a family circle - no more no less! It is built by our family - and friends - and nowhere in Scripture is a ban on family relationship, unless it is purely pagan or ungodly. The only error in-law did was that he allowed himself to deny Judge Rutherford's learning - and Judge Rutherford has been proven wrong on several points since then!"

"Wrong? What do you mean?" they exclaimed in their mouths at each other.

This was the organization's sore point, and I intended to expose it completely.

"Excuse me, but he was more than wrong - he was a modern false prophet! He prophesied that all the eminent persons from Abel to the Old Testament were the last prophets should arise and come back to earth as people in 1925. The judge was even a palace like mansion in San Diego, which he named Beth Sarim, which they would live in. When they did not show up, the judge lived there himself until his death. Can anyone deny that? "

"Yes ..." one of them tried to explain.

"Please let me finish talking," I said," Deut. 18:2 says that if someone speaks in the name of Jehovah, and there he is talking about does not happen, then do not Jehovah spoken. If I remember correctly, it was the 25th of September 1920 as Rutherford's speech "Millions now living will never die ', and in it he predicted all dead Witness the resurrection. He said that death would end in this moment of Resurrection, and no longer were funerals needed to take place. Minutes show that the Society sold the property after his death in 1942, in the hope that his name and his false prophecies would soon be forgotten. "

I knew they would do everything possible to circumvent this troublesome issue, and at the first opportunity squeeze me from a different angle - and I was determined to continue with the subject until we had reached a verdict. I just got barely time to catch my breath, but went on directly.

'My stepfather was an honest man. When 1925 passed without anything happening, he saw how Rutherford cleverly changed the emphasis to door-to-door work.

My stepfather was aware that our founder, Pastor Charles Taze Russell, also made predictions that never came true. As late as 1907 he said that if the 1915 went without the elect occurred and the natural Israel was established, then his chronology proved to be wrong. He predicted that the Kingdom of God would destroy the pagan world in 1915 and that the Great Tribulation would end then. "

I deliberately went into some detail to be sure that they understood what I said, and also with the hope that they, if they had not done it before, at least now would realize the enormous contradictions.

"And something happened to this?" I asked and waited for an answer. They stared blankly at me.

"Not one detail of the prophecies of Rutherford and Russell met," I continued. "And yet the Society accepts most of their teachings as gospel. Isn't this dangerous, brothers? "I asked.
One of them mumbled something about getting more and more light. I certainly was not expecting this sort of thinking an hour ago when they came into the house, but it was impossible to retreat now.

"To change the subject again," said DiNardo, "I understand that your in-laws said that the Society is wrong to preach the good news that we are God's true Israel. Is it not true that they teach a literal return of Jews to Palestine? "

The answer to that question was well known. My wife's father had written study booklets by himself that emphasized this truth, but these men did not seem aware that Rutherford had changed this doctrine from Russell's original version, though they both claimed to be Jehovah's channels through which new truths conveyed. This was just one of the 148 curriculum changes that took place during Rutherford's leadership.

"I'm glad you brought it up here," I said. "Look up Romans chapter eleven in your Bibles. There are many truths in verses 25-32 that are worth noting. The first is in verse 25, where Paul says that God's true Israel has blinded until the Gentiles is over - which of course is the Armageddon. Right? In verse 27, I see that Israel will not have their sins removed until after the Deliverer from Zion will. In verse 28 shows that they, Israel, are enemies of the gospel to the Gentile Christians sake. Finally, in verse 32, God includes them (Israel) all in disbelief.
Now if you put together all of this logically, arise some delicate issues. If the society is the true Israel, which it claims to be, walking there when in the dark? And there will continue to do it all the way to Armageddon? If it is Israel, is it not the enemy of the gospel? And has not God, then shot it aside as unfaith? If the Society is the true Israel, then this is the only logical conclusion one can draw. What do you say about it?

Marsh seemed annoyed at me at all, dared to suggest such an interpretation, he blushed.
"If that's the way that father was teaching, that Israel is the natural Jew," I added, "which is the nation's natural re-establishment not only possible but probable."

Something had happened inside me. Nothing of what I said was deliberately planned. I realized now that the Holy Spirit had taken over and given me wisdom. With a voice that was still calm and sure, I concluded. "Perhaps this is why so many sincere people in society seem to be so completely blinded for the actual biblical truths such as healing and the supernatural. Jesus is not dead, or dissolved gases, or maintained in the sky as a memorial, as Russell and Rutherford learned. He lives, and Gladys and I have living proof of that! "

Without waiting for their reaction, I turned to Gladys. "Get the baby and let them see a real miracle!"

She got up and disappeared into the bedroom. I turned to the two officials and continued to talk about what I believed.

"I am convinced that Russell was wrong on at least two points: miracles have not ceased to occur, and Jesus did not return in 1874

(Since Russell's prediction was not wrapped, the Organization quickly choked all the talk about the mistake, and began talking about 1914 as the decisive year.)

Rutherford proved out to be an unreliable teacher when he predicted that the resurrection would take place in 1925, which never occurred. It has become increasingly difficult for me to accept the Society of Jehovah's Austrian manager, with all its contradictions and changing doctrines.

As I see it seems the Bible very firmly establish that the apostles and prophets, as well as healing and other supernatural gifts, will not be removed until the Assembly taken up to heaven. Consequently, I turned myself to believe in the Bible just as it is written, without going to other sources to get my thoughts controlled. I feel simply that the Society has robbed me, and I intend to fully withdraw any promise that the Word says is right! "

My defence was completed. There was nothing to add to boost or lower middle position. They had listened, but they had definitely not heard.

DiNardo began to speak." You realize that you are, but Jehovah's study aids, can not get the right foods at the right time. Only through these means is given divine truth. It is impossible to find or keep the truth without them. "

He did not sound angry, just annoyed. Our attention shifted suddenly to Gladys, who came into the room with the baby.

"Do you see your feet?" I said and pointed at them. "They are completely normal. Look at them! Who did it? Was it Jesus or the devil? Does something as wonderful as this look like a work of the devil? "

"Mr. Trombley, did you ever get baptized as a Jehovah's Witness?" DiNardo said calmly, and avoided the question.

"I was baptized as a Bible student," I explained. If I understood the meaning of baptism by immersion and transfer, and if my life was consecrated to the service of Jehovah, would you then say that I was baptized? "

"You know the truth," warned DiNardo, "and you will have to be accountable to Jehovah for having rejected his organization. There is no other way to survive Armageddon major devastation; there is no other salvation than his theocratic organization. You know it! "
"No, I do not know," I protested. "Not anymore. What I know is that the Society has been wrong on several very important points. I personally feel it necessary and proper to reconsider the whole system. Do you not teach that a religious organization is identified by the fruit? If the Christian clergy, with all his liberal views and amazing, reflecting the evil of their organizations, can not the Society be judged by the same principle? For that reason, I have drawn this conclusion: I must reject the Society until further notice. Nothing else would be honest.

DiNardo added back the Bible in his purse. "Our Society would also like to be honest," he said. We acknowledge our past mistakes, but our knowledge will grow as the light increases. It is not fair of you to judge the society and its present truths in the context of Russell and Rutherford! "

Instinctively I knew that the afternoon talks were rapidly coming to an end.

"We must go now. We have some other visits to make. "

"But, dear friends," I said challenging while we were waiting for Gladys to come along with their overcoats, "Russell and Rutherford were just as sure as you are. You still preach their main teachings, you deny still healing, you still preach that the gifts do not exist; you still deny Jesus' physical resurrection and His literal return. "

"We must go," repeated one of them in that they reached for their coats.

"Don't you know that the crux is whether it was Jesus or the devil that healed my daughter? It's the big question, and I can not, and would not, deny that Jesus did it! If it means exclusion, may it then be so. I'm sorry, but I can not deny what God has done. To do so would be blasphemy, and I fear God more than I fear the Society of intimidation and judgments. "
I helped them with their coats, and added seriously. "I appreciate your concern for my spiritual well-being and for that you stopped by. There is only one desire in my heart - to all my brothers in the Society should know the living Christ and His power as I do. Would you pray with us before you go? "I asked.

"No, we can not do so!" stammered the two of them at once.

Then they went, without looking back, out of the car. I could see how one of them nodded in reply to a comment from the other. It was not hard to guess the meaning of their conversation.

Translated from a Swedish origin by:
Mikael Lillieros