Father to Son: Please Come Back to the Amish

August 1, 2009

Dear Son,

We got your letter yesterday. Mom said when Laura read your letter she just cried, it was hard for us too. Laura was also hoping you will still come back home before long and be Amish again, but the way we understand the letter, you must feel that we didn't try to teach you the truth, but to my knowing, we didn't try to teach you anything different than the truth, the way we understand the New Testament. And I still wouldn't have hopes for myself or any of my children to leave the Amish and go out in the world and seek the modern things that are forbidden.

I believe it is the way you wrote about the different people that can be saved, if they believe in God - if that's the way they were raised. But we read too that it's "not everyone who saith Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of God" -- Mat 7:21. But I really don't want to argue with you about the Bible, as I see you got your way to look at it, and we hope with God's help we can stay the way we are to our end. We hope if we strive to yield 100 fold -- Mat 4:8, or even if we could get it as far as 30 or 60 fold.

I think in your heart you still know better; we didn't tell you to do what you did. So we don't hope it will lay on us to be responsible for what you are doing.

There is one thing we hope you think about and that is if you get married and ever happen to get a divorce case, it will be past for you to come back to the Amish, which we could hope that would not happen for you. I didn't want to write too much or don't want to make you feel bad over me. Also just wish the good Lord could help us so it wouldn't be such a big burden. But thanks John what you wrote to Laura that you are glad that she is joining church. We hope she can do well. She helps us out a lot. We were glad that she changed her mind to not leave us. We wish you only the best. Only Dad

^{This letter has been published with permission from the owner. Names have been changed.}