A big thank-you to Don Mears for his excellent article "Jesus Loves Me? I Didn't Know!" in the Dec. 23 WN.
As someone who grew up in the WCG from infancy, I have been surprised to learn how dissimilar my church memories are from those of my parents and other first- generation members. Sometimes it seems as if we attended two different churches!
By the time I reached adulthood, the departure of my peers from the WCG, which began as a trickle, had become a flood.
For those who remained, the pressure of practicing performance-based salvation took its toll as we moved into our 30s and beyond, often visible in a litany of depression, failed marriages, psychosomatic illnesses and even suicide.
Unfortunately, many church youths were ultimately driven away not only from the WCG but from Christianity and God himself. This, of course, is the greater tragedy.
Like Mr. Mears, I too weep for generations of grace-starved youths, and pray for the day when every one of his lost and hurting sheep accept Jesus' welcome back into the fold.
Audrey Webb
Charlotte, North Carolina
My husband, Jay, now 30, was born into the WCG, and I have attended since I was 7, more than 20 years ago.
As teens, we both reacted differently to the teachings, practices and opinions of the church.
My husband saw hypocrisy and subsequently rebelled in a typical teenage fashion, while I struggled to be the perfect model Christian.
As a result I formed few close relationships with kids at my high school. I feared that someone might lead me astray, that I might do something unforgivable like be tempted to wear make-up.
I had visions of my baptized mother gone when I returned home from school. She would leave a note telling me how sorry she was for having to leave me to go to the place of safety.
When I was 20 I got baptized but that just made things worse. Baptism to me was a commitment to perfection, and I always failed.
I never formed a true relationship with Jesus until I understood grace.
Now, my husband and I look back on these experiences not with anger but with gratitude that there is a God so concerned about us that he would no longer sit back and let us reap the consequences of legalism. We now enjoy the gospel in its fullness.
Diane Randall
Utica, New York
The Dec. 23 article by Randal Dick, "Madagascar: These Are My Precious Children," is inspirational.
I am a widow and cannot do much to support the church, but I can pray. I am dismayed at the situations people have to live in. I will pray for these people in other parts of the world, less fortunate than I.
Helen Mills
Houston, Texas
Jan. 27, 1998, WN, page 6
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