Patrick Low Personal testimony

Like many typical Chinese Singaporean, I grew up in a Buddhist cum Taoist family committed to ancestral worship. I believe that there is a God and since I am a Chinese, I will always reply when queried by others that I am a Buddhist, although I was merely following what my parents were doing then without much understanding… And like many Singaporean, I was also exposed to the Christian Bible stories since young. Especially the fact that I have sisters who went to Mission school and they never fail to come home and narrate those stories of Jesus to the younger ones. Although I was amazed by Jesus’ stories, I merely thought that he is a good teacher and just another god for the Christians. My concept of religion then is that it must and is always about teaching people how to be good and that all religions are the same and as such, it doesn’t matter whether you are a Buddhist, a Christian, a Muslim or a Hindu. All religions lead to the same path!

A very normal but turned out a very significant day in my life happened when I was in my Junior College Year 2. As usual, I was waiting for my bus to go to school when I was approached by 2 Mormon missionaries at the bus stop. Since they were very decently dressed and seem like harmless guys, like most Singaporean, I stood there and ‘entertained’ them while hoping for my bus to come quickly. Before my bus came and we parted, they posed 3 very simple and yet profound questions that have since stuck with me till this day:

1. Where do you think you are from?

2. Why do you think you are here?

3. Where do you think you are going after this life?

Even after we have parted ways, I could not help but was constantly bugged by those 3 questions. (And of course I was bugged by their constant phone calls to meet up for Seekers Session to study the Bible with them) It was through that prompting that I decided to find out for myself the answers to those questions. I started poring over those materials that were offered to me over time through people on the streets. And of course, the Bible and a small little yellow booklet… I came to a point when I realized that I could not just relegate Jesus as merely a good teacher and not God Himself! He has not given us that option. Because of that realization, I decided to commit myself in following Jesus as my God. I read the little yellow booklet that taught me how I can invite Jesus into my life. Frankly speaking, even though I prayed that prayer to invite Jesus into my life, I could not help but wonder how could such a simple procedure gain me entrance to a relationship with God and heaven? After that incident of inviting Jesus into my life, I decided to start attending church and an obvious choice was to follow the Mormon missionaries to their church. I started to learn more about God through the eyes of the Mormons and at the same time, I was reading my Bible and books about the Christian faith. It was through the process that I struggled between what the Mormon Church teaches with what I understand from the Bible and other resources. One of the greatest struggles was to debate how could such seemingly ‘godly’ people—the Mormons—be wrong with their teachings? They seem so pious, religious and sincere. I was simply unable to come to terms with it. However, I finally came to a point that even if someone is very religious and sincere about following his belief, he could still be sincerely wrong! It is the same with many other religions. In any religions, it will not be too difficult to find man and woman who are very religious and have done many good deeds. The bottom line to all these good deeds is still how we measure up to what the Bible reveals to us. I learned that the yardstick has to be The Bible alone! Having settled that, I decided to leave the Mormon Church and started looking around for another church that will honor and teach only the Bible truth. I was church hopping for a few months before I finally found my present church in the early Jan of 1990. I have since been baptized and sent out as a missionary by the church with my family of four in June 2002.

One of the things that challenged me to becoming a missionary is the very enthusiasm of the Mormon. Every able Mormon guy will set aside at least 2 years of his lives to be a missionary. The family will come alongside supporting their endeavor as they save up to make that sacrificial act! It is so amazing to see how as a church they mobilize their members for Mission. I remember when I was on my first mission trip in Japan during my university days when I met Mormon missionaries almost everywhere I went. It was also during that trip that I attended a Revival Meeting for Japan when the speaker challenged us: “If we claim to have the truth, what are we doing about it?” I knew within my heart that like any people, the Japanese are susceptible to deception and it will be difficult for them to resist false teachings as well. What more when the Jehovah Witness and the Mormons are so aggressive in their outreach to these people. Incidentally, Japan who is known to be a missionary graveyard has one of the fastest growth of new religions and cults in the world. I am convinced that Japanese are spiritually hungry for the knowledge of the true God and if we are able to present the truth in a way that they can understand in their own cultural background, the day will soon come when the blessings of God will pour out upon this land!