Special Worldwide Campaign Brings Positive Message to Community
Myron Smith Sr. and his wife Paula stay focused on the Bible’s hope for a better world.
Milwaukee will be one of the thousands of communities around the globe that will receive a powerful message of hope this November as Jehovah’s Witnesses embark upon a special campaign focusing attention on the Bible’s hope for a better world.
The goal of the campaign is to distribute a special edition of The Watchtower magazine containing the cover series, “A Better World is Near.” More than 36 million printed copies of the magazine are expected to be distributed in some 230 languages to communities in 240 lands around the globe. In addition, the digital publication is available on various platforms in nearly 400 languages.
The magazine addresses the age-old “doomsday” question “Is this world going to end?” with a comforting answer that may surprise many readers. While many religions have predicted the “end of the world,” the magazine reveals the Bible’s clear message: the earth is here forever and will never end! However, the magazine also explains the powerful truth that wickedness will soon be gone, quoting the Bible book of Psalms where it promises that the “lawless one” will be no more. (Psalm 37:10, Rotherham translation)
Myron Smith Sr. and his wife Paula are two such Christians who are keenly aware of the need for a better world.
When purchasing a home in Milwaukee nearly 50 years ago, their neighborhood was considered a safe place to raise their four children. In recent years, however, the area has seen an exponential increase in violent crime.
One morning in April 2021, Myron returned inside after enjoying Bible reading on his front porch. Moments later, he heard gunshots and glass breaking. He yelled to Paula to get on the floor and take cover. They soon discovered stray bullets had shattered their bedroom and basement windows as a car next door was fired upon.
“It saddens us that when we hear gunshots we have to dive on the floor, as if we lived in a war zone. It emotionally drains you,” Myron said. “It really makes one appreciate that we need something better.”
“People are longing to hear a positive message and this is the best news possible,” said Robert Hendriks, U.S. spokesman for Jehovah’s Witnesses. “A better world is not just a dream, it’s inevitable. In fact, it is the central theme of the entire Bible.”
This positive message has been the hope of millions around the world who have prayed for ‘God’s Kingdom to come,’ a familiar refrain of many Christians taught by Jesus in what some refer to as the Lord’s Prayer.
Though the threat of crime adds to their everyday anxieties, the Smiths find comfort from their hope in the Bible’s promises for a better world. They spend time each week talking about these promises with ones in their community.
Myron especially enjoys sharing scriptures from Revelation chapter 21 with others. “It describes a time when we won’t have tears, and death will be no more. Pain and outcry will be gone,” he said. “We look forward to that time when we won’t have these situations or people who rob us of our peace.”
“God’s Kingdom is the only hope for mankind,” Paula added. “We know that a better world is near; it is coming.”
The Watchtower has been carrying a similar message about God’s Kingdom for more than 100 years and remains the most widely translated and circulated magazine in the world. The Watchtower No. 2 2021 edition is available for free online at jw.org, where anyone can also request a free printed copy by scrolling down on the homepage to “Request A Visit.”
For more information, please call (718) 560-5600.
Click below for a direct link to the online version of the magazine:
https://www.jw.org/en/library/magazines/watchtower-no2-2021-may-jun/