 Heading home in the Alleghenies |
Morton Publication's Personal Page Timothy & Brenda Morton |
| Over the years we
have received several inquiries about us personally. I usually try not
to talk much about me and mine because it doesn't serve much purpose,
but I will a little, here. Some of the inquiries we received had to do with how young Brenda and I looked on our old web page, http://members.citynet.net/morton. Thanks for the complements but we are starting to "feel our age" so to speak. The picture on the old site was taken around 1998 or 1999. We were still in our 30's then—barely. The photo on the right was taken in 2002. I won't tell you my age, but I will admit to being born in 1960. Don't even ask about Brenda. |
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Here
are the most
recent pictures of us. Both were taken in 2005. I am at the top of
Seneca Rocks, a large rock outcropping in eastern WV. Brenda wasn't too
happy about me climbing up there when I told her. [I sneaked up there
one day she was away]. At right Brenda is at home, being beautiful like she always is. |
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| This is our son Chris' children, Andrew, Karisa, and Emily | This is Amanda and her Husband Shannon. They live about an hour away from us, but we still don't get to see them that often. |
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Like
all families we
have had tragedy strike us. This photo, taken in 1996, shows Brenda
with two children that are now with the Lord. The baby girl, Kaitlyn, died about a year later from a
restricted
bowel. She became in great pain one day and by the time her parents got
her to the emergency room she was dead. The blocked bowel poisoned her
system. Her death was a great shock to everyone, but she is with the
Lord. Scotty, the young man, was a foster child of ours. We kept him for about two years until the state decided he should go back into the mess of a "family" he came out of. We would have adopted him if we could. Once he was back with his "father" he had no guidance or restrictions. He was riding in a car with some of his "buddies" one night down a mountain road, going way too fast, and hit a power pole. Scotty and another boy were killed. Even though Scotty had slipped backwards some, he made a profession of faith when he was around 10 years old. We rest on that. |
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The Testimony of a Blood Washed Believer After the Lord dealt with me for several months, I became a born-again Christian in 1980 when I was nearly 20 years old. Before that I was a typical "good-ole-boy" who was raised on a fruit farm in the hills of central West Virginia and never thought much about God, the Bible, or "religion." Of course, I heard about God and the Bible since my early youth from my mother and others, but I never had much interest. I remember my mother used to watch some of the television preachers on one of the three or four television stations we could get, and sometimes I would watch a little, too. Most of them were of the "Charismatic" or "Pentecostal" persuasion [they were big at the time] and frankly, I thought they were phony. I remember a preacher called, Ernest Angely, who was on every week. I think he is still on. He went through this big show of supposedly healing people. He had fake, perfect hair, obvious makeup, and an effeminate manner. I thought he was a self promoting charleton. There was nothing about him that would draw me toward Christ. There were others, Rex Humbard, Oral Roberts, Pat Robertson Kenneth Copeland, and Jimmy Swaggart. Swaggart was probably the best speaker of all of them. With his meetings/concerts he was an appeal to many people. He wasn't too deep in the Bible, be he could—ah—deliever a message. I probably liked watching him better than any of the others because he was an entertainer. Before he "fell," there were some around here who thought he was near infallible. Although the Charasmatics has a stonghold on the air waves, one Baptist was on regularly as well, Jerry Falwell. This was back when Falwell was more scriptural and fundamental, and carried less belly. I often listened to him as well. He was the one in the bunch who emphasized people were "lost" and in need of salvation. That's what I needed to hear. About a year before I was saved I began to covertly read the Bible [it wasn't "macho" to read it in the open]. It didn't make much sense to me, but one reason was I was trying to read a "Good News For Modern Man" my grandmother gave me for my high school graduation. She was a United Methodist and that was supossedly the best "new Bible" of the day. Even then I knew that thing wasn't a real Bible. If I was associated with any denomination then it would have been the United Methodists. That is what both my parents were. They were not saved at the time, but that's what they were. I remember going to "Bible school" as a kid and no one ever talked about people being lost and needing to be saved. They just talked about "joining the church" if someone expressed any interest in "religion." There was nothing there then, and there still isn't. I remember seeing on a sign these words at the church several years after I knew the truth, "Salvation is a process, not an event." In other words, they are all continously working towards salvation in a process that won't be completed until they are judged at the general judgment of all men. Hogwash. However, in spite of the heresy of the Methodists and the confusion of the Charasmatics, the Lord was able to get the gospel to me and work on me with it. After reading some tracts and other short materials and the Holy Spirit convicting me with His words, one night alone up in my room, I admitted I was a sinner and confessed Jesus Christ as my Savior. The Lord let me know He heard me. I actually felt a rush through my body and a peace that assured me I was redeemed. I became a new creature that day. I didn't rush out and tell anyone, at least not yet. I just relished in the thoughts of being a Christian for several days. Thinking of the Lord and His salvation was almost a constant thought. After a few days I told some family members and began to actively seek to learn more about this wonderful God who made a provision for puny me in His salvation. I read everything I could find that looked religious. I read Charismatic tracts, Church of Christ literature, Baptist pamplets, Methodist church bulletins, etc., and as a result I became somewhat confused. Even though I generally thought the Charismatics were kooks, I gave them the benefit of the doubt and began listening to them on the radio. I remember listening to one guy who was a Baptist Charismatic. He believed most of the Baptist doctrines, including eternal security, but added speaking in tongues. He talked of being "baptized in the Holy Ghost with the evidence of speaking in other tongues" along with the other Charasmatics and insisted believers needed a second work of grace. Not knowing any better I asked the Lord for it, But nothing happened. I asked again, but, again, nothing happened. I began to think somethings was wrong here. When I was saved all I did was confess my guilt and ask for salvation that is in Jesus Christ and it happened. With this Baptism in the Holy Ghost thing, nothing happened. I began to look at what people said a little more closely after that. Nevertheless, from listening to preachers and reading the Bible, I began to see the truth in the Baptist doctrines, Independent Baptist especially. The Charismatic confusion had less influence. The Methodists didn't tell me the truth when I had been among them for years so I had little more than contempt for them. People cannot offer you anything when they have nothing themselves. Along about 1983 I began listening to Christian radio in the late evening. It was mostly a Charismatic station about 80 miles away, but they also had some other preachers. At about 10pm a program came on called "The Theological Seminar of the Air" by Peter S. Ruckman. It was a different broadcast to say the least. This preacher was not afraid to name names and expose error. He said most of the "scholars" were "liars" and deceiving the public about the Bible. He insisted the King James Bible was the pure word of God and claimed no one could prove one error in it. He also said there were no "original autographs" in existence which are often referred to in books and commentaries. This was a surprise. Nearly everything I read said the King James Bible was full of error and not true to the original autographs, but if the original autographs don't exist—the scholars did lie! I made it a point to listen to Ruckman every week. I even taped some broadcasts. The more I listened the more I liked, However, I knew nothing about Ruckman and his ministry and didn't know how to get any information. There was no contact information on the program. In the meanwhile I was attending home Bible studies with some relatives and occasionally their Presbyterian pastor would join us. One time I asked this "seminary boy" if he ever heard of Peter Ruckman. He thought for a moment and said, "Yes, that guy is a nut. I think I might even have one of his newspapers that somebody gave me." I asked if I could see it and he brought it the next time. He thought that reading it would deter me from listening to Ruckman any more, but he was wrong. After seeing that first issue of the Bible Believers Bulletin, my Bible studies went in a whole new direction. After reading some of Ruckman's material and material of some others, I become more and more convinced the King James Bible was the pure word of God. In 1984 after studying and praying about it for nearly a year I publically revealed my allegiance to the King James Bible of 1611. I put aside my Amplified Version and bought me a leather bound King James Bible. It is laying on my desk, all ragged and torn, as I type. I told the Presbyterian pastor my conclusion and he then thought I was nuts, too. He adhered to the Nestles 26th edition his Greek teacher gave him in seminary and "preferred" the NASV as an English translation. After this when we were discussing the Jehovah's Witnesses I asked him about John 1:18 in the NASV saying Christ was a "begotten God" just like the Jehovah's Witnesses believe, and he was left speechless. He couldn't understand whyt the NASV said that. [A few years later this "preacher" decided to leave the ministry and enter politics. Maybe because he didn't have anything to preach?] Along with my decision for the King James Bible, my convictions began to become more Independent Baptist. Not that the Baptists are right on everything, but that they are right on the important things: eternal security, premillennial, immersion, new birth, need for salvation, hell, second coming, etc. The problem was there were no Independent Baptist churches in my area. This area of the Appalachians was settled mainly by Methodist circuit riding preachers [back when the Methodists believed something] and few other churches were around. But the Lord takes care of things like that. My father, who was not yet a Christian, worked with a Baptist preacher who in the early 80s started a small church about 20 country miles away. In 1985 my father had a heart attack and the Baptist preacher, Alva Blankenship, came to see him one evening after work after my father returned from the hospital. He led my father to the Lord that day. No Methodists came, no Charismatics came, just a simple country Baptist preacher who was saved while peddling moonshine. In fact, he had a load of moonshine in his car when a faithful brother led him to the Lord in 1973! Needless to say, we went to hear "Alvie" preach at his church [Trinity Baptist] and later became members. A few months later he asked me if I would consider teaching some classes on the King James Bible. I agreed and prepared the lessons, however I had never spoke in public like this and was "nervous." My first lesson "left much to be desired," but I think I did a little better on the others because the Sunday School Superintendent asked me to help him teach adult Sunday School. After a few months he stepped down and I taught the adult class myself, sometimes taking several hours every night after work to prepare a single lesson. I cast aside the anemic "Sunday school literature" and just used the Bible. I taught there for over 10 years until we were essentially forced out by another pastor. In the late 1980s I thought about writing a small book on the eight major doctrines of salvation. I had never written much before and it was a challenge. I bought a typewriter and began pecking. I first wrote the text on a yellow legal pad and then proceeded to type in on paper while making corrections. It seemed to take forever. Especially when I would make mistakes and have to type a page all over. Nevertheless, it was finally finished. My brother-in-law worked for a large printer and got me a good price on getting it printed. It was originally called "Christian, Do You Know." I gave nearly all of them away and had to get it printed again. I changed the title to "More Than Forgiven." About 1991 I undertook another writing project about the King James Bible. I wanted to show people the simple evidences that indicate it is the pure word of God without dwelling on all the boring manuscript stuff. By that time I had gotten my first computer [a 286-12 mhz with 1 meg. of ram, a 40 meg. hard drive, and DOS 3.1] and the Wordstar word processor was amazing. It made text correction a breeze. It even has a spell-checker! After a few weeks "Which Translation Should You Trust" was born. It was printed in 1993 and is now out of print after two printings. We have distributed over 5000 copies. In early 1998 we got the Internet and in April I tried my hand at making a website. It was very basic, and contained no graphics. Later I got a little more savvy with html and updated it. The most recent update was in August 2005. We have had over 40,000 hits on our site and many, many emails. Most who take time to write tell us they enjoy the site and the "different" articles. Others, though, take issue with our material, some vehemently. I have been called everything, including "Antichrist" and "devil". That is fine. It keeps me balanced and on my toes. I am primarily a Bible teacher, although I do preach when the need arises [See Called Into The Ministry]. I have never been a pastor. I have never felt that was my calling. I also write material for this website as I get time. The Lord has been very kind and gracious to this vile dog. He has delivered me from my sins and hell, given me a fine wife and family, supplies all my material needs, and allows me to teach and preach His word. What more could a Christian want? In Christ, Tim Morton Morton Publications |
