I was born a Roman catholic more than fifty years ago. I was baptized as an infant with water sprinkled on my little forehead as had been the practice by this church for centuries. A few years later I was confirmed a catholic by the anointing of oil upon my forehead by the bishop of the diocese where I lived. As I grew up, I was taught catholic catechism. As I remember it now, it was all about mortal sin and the fires of hell or time out in purgatory when I die if I wasn't a good little boy. Heaven and hell I had some idea (totally wrong as I discovered later) but purgatory I had none whatsoever. My elders told me it was a sort of limbo, neither here nor there sort of thing. I couldn't grasp the concept and so left it at that. Lord God Yahuwah first shed a little beam of His light of truth upon me while I was yet a teenager. At that time, a preacher man, an American named Herbert W. Armstrong and the publisher of a magazine entitled 'The Plain Truth', was warning the world of the deception of the Roman catholic church, among other equally important issues. I read those magazines, sent to me at no cost, with a strange eagerness to know more. Claims were supported with biblical passages and I was urged to check for myself what was being told. Soon, I realized something was terribly wrong with the Catholic church. Here was a picture of Mystery Babylon. As I was still very young and dependent upon my parents, I could not leave that church without being frowned upon by my parents, siblings and friends.
Meanwhile, I continued to attend mass on a weekly basis. Sunday was the day of obligation and a mortal sin was committed if I failed to attend. Confession to the parish priest was necessary for the salvation of my soul, I was told. I didn't argue as I had very little knowledge of the Bible and what was taught I took as Gospel truth. Years went by and at one point, in my thirties when I had already met my future wife, I even contemplated joining a seminary with the intention of becoming a catholic priest. I even went as far as joining a bunch of seminarians for a week for a hands-on experience of the life of a priest. At the end of it, I was faced with two choices; formally enrol with seminary or marry my girlfriend who was and still is a devout catholic. In prayer, I put forth these two choices before Almighty Yahuwah, asking for guidance. My future wife found herself in a bad situation. Having fallen in love with me, it was difficult to let me go.
Not that I was leaving her for another girl but that I was intending to become a catholic priest, a noble intention from any catholic's point of view. In the end, I chose her over the priesthood. How fortunate my decision in the light of Yahuwah's revelation of new truth in every generation! After my marriage, Yahuwah began to shed more light upon me. I still went to church as usual but my heart was elsewhere. As time went by, I had continued to researched the writings of numerous bible scholars and discovered they said the same things about the catholic church. I studied the Scriptures on this subject and found, to my amazement, they were right on most counts. As such, I took to studying Luther considering he was a great reformer. For a while I was a Lutheran at heart. At this point in time, no one had yet seen the light of the true Sabbath. Lutherans, too, kept Sunday as their day of obligation. Other Protestants were also into Sunday worship. Only the Seventh Day Adventists were keeping Saturday as their Sabbath. So I looked to them for inspiration. By this time, the internet was fully functioning and I found a great treasure trove of knowledge readily available. Feasting my eyes on them, I found the writings of one Joe Crews. He showed how the SDA was the true church of God. This was when I first found out about Ellen G. White.
I shared this new knowledge with my kind and lovely wife but to no avail. Still, I had not left the catholic church due to my dear wife's insistence that I stay put. All this while Yahuwah had not deserted me. He knew I'll soon come around and see His marvelous light. Soon, I was led by Yahuwah's Spirit to the website of World's Last Chance and Mr.Galal Doss. His challenge to the world to prove Sunday was substituted for Saturday in the Bible attracted my attention. As far as I know, up to now, no one has succeeded. I took up the offer of the free 4-book set, read it all and was convinced to the core of the deceptions of the catholic church. Meanwhile, I continued checking out other websites that offered interpretations on Revelation. I knew we were living in the end times as prophesied by John the Apostle Evangelist. Israel's establishment as a state was the pointer among other indications. I kept up the search for more truths and finally, I found myself back at World's Last Chance and a new truth of the Sabbath. The luni-solar calendation as ordained by Yahuwah was the true method of determining His true Sabbaths and New Moons and Holy Feasts. This happened only a few months ago. I now want to keep His Sabbaths/Feasts and the luni-solar calendar is the one I peruse. I thank Yahuwah for Mr. Galal Doss and friends for this timely revelation of His true Sabbaths. Currently, I am taking the online e-courses available at the site. I ask for all of you to pray for me that I fully comprehend the teachings contained in the courses. I am sharing all this with my wife with the hope that she, too, will see His marvelous light in due time.
Philippines.