A Better World is Near

Don Stefani of Meridian began playing music at the age of 8, which led him to pursue a musical career. He started performing at the age of 12, and as a young adult, he trained as a vocalist five days a week for two years with the goal of becoming a professional musician traveling the world.

Then one day, the call came. He was hired as the lead singer and guitar player in a band for a 6-month tour in New York City.

Although his dreams were realized, there was another side: Don was involved in parties and drugs.

“I lived a very immoral lifestyle at the time,” Don said. “It was very self-centered and kind of dangerous, actually.”

Despite his accomplishments, he felt turmoil and desperation.

“I could be surrounded by a room full of people at a big party where everybody’s carrying on, having a great time, and for a while, I’d be having fun,” Don said. “And then I’d look around and think, ‘Why are we doing this? This isn’t living. I want something better.’”

Don needed to change, and he took action. In 1984, he started studying the Bible with Jehovah’s Witnesses. “I was really motivated to leave my lifestyle behind,” Don said. “The Bible showed me a better life; it showed me the world I imagined in my mind — how it should be.”

Finally, he had answers and discovered contentment more valuable than any amount of fame could provide. Today, nearly 40 years later, Don and his wife Linda eagerly share the same hope from the Bible that motivated them, in order to help others find what they may be missing.

Meridian is among 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 the future.

“I’ve talked to many people that want something better,” Don said. “They desire a better life, and they don’t understand why things have to be how they are. You can study the Bible and find out exactly what the reasons are for the way things are today. So it can give you relief right now.”

Linda agreed, “I’m taking part in the campaign because I want people to realize that there is something better in the future.”

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.

“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.”

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)

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.

“The changes in my life have given me relief,” Don said. “And to have the knowledge of what the future holds — the hope the Bible holds out to us — really allows me to deal with the things that are going on in the world.”

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 2021 number two edition is available free online at jw.org, where anyone can also request a free printed copy by scrolling down on the homepage to “Request A Visit.”

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/