by nurse 20 Replies latest jw friends
http://www3.baylor.edu/Church_State/bkorderreply.html
Ask for the article about blood transfusions in volume 47, Autumn 2005 by Kerry Louderback-Wood.
They'll know which one you are referring to as there have been thousands of requests for the information.
Scully
Would you mind if I printed that out and gave it to my Dr?
Now I need to make sure that document of yours is in the Best of
Hi nurse
I know the people above mentioned the Best of part of the board. One of the posters here has posted a lot of info in The Best of... Lee Elder - Blood
I'm not sure if I included all of his posts in this other topic The Best of... WTS and Blood But I think it would be good to check them both out
Welcome to the board!
I agree that depression is common problem with JW seniors.
Many JW's get satisfaction and purpose by going out in field service and attending meetings. When their health fails and they can no longer keep up the pace, they may feel useless. The Watchtower articles try and counteract this by occassionally printing an article reminding them that whatever they are able to do is valued (even fifteen minutes of witnessing a month).
Also, older JW's never intended to reach old age. They fully expected Armageddon to come before their death and to be able enjoy 'eternal life' in a renewed, paradise earth. I find many older JW's to be unprepared either financially or emotionally for old age.
And often they are suspicious of secular sources of support or counselling, so it can be a challenge to get them to talk about their problems with a professional.
*** w03 5/1 pp. 30-31 Does Jehovah Notice What You Do? ***
We may feel that we could never match the exploits of such spiritual individuals as Moses, Gideon, and David, but we can imitate their faith. And we can remember the simple acts of faith that Abel, Enoch, and the widow of Zarephath performed. Jehovah is interested in all acts of faith—even small ones. When a God-fearing student refuses to accept drugs from a peer, when a Christian worker rejects immoral advances on the job, or when an older Witness faithfully attends congregation meetings despite fatigue and poor health, Jehovah sees it. And he rejoices!—Proverbs 27:11.
Do
You Notice What Others Do?Yes, Jehovah notices what we do. Hence, as imitators of God, we should be alert to recognize the efforts of others. (Ephesians 5:1) Why not take a closer look at the challenges your fellow Christians face in order to attend congregation meetings, to engage in the field ministry, even to go about their daily life?
Then, let your fellow worshipers of Jehovah know that you appreciate their efforts. They will be glad that you noticed, and your concern may serve to reassure them that Jehovah notices too.
***
w03 9/1 pp. 30-31 Do You Treasure Elderly Fellow Believers? ***Do
You Treasure Elderly Fellow Believers?WHEN the people of ancient Israel were in a covenant relationship with God, they were commanded: "Before gray hair you should rise up, and you must show consideration for the person of an old man, and you must be in fear of your God." (Leviticus 19:32) Thus, respect for the aged was a sacred duty, linked to being in subjection to God. Although Christians today are no longer under the Mosaic Law, it reminds us that Jehovah views the elderly who serve him as valuable and precious. (Proverbs 16:31; Hebrews 7:18) Do we reflect Jehovah’s view? Do we treasure our elderly Christian brothers and sisters?
He
Treasured His Older FriendOne Bible account that highlights the showing of respect for older ones is found in the book of Second Kings. It contains a description of how the prophet Elijah was succeeded by the younger prophet Elisha. Consider what took place on Elijah’s last day as a prophet in the ten-tribe kingdom of Israel.
That day, the elderly prophet was directed by Jehovah to travel from Gilgal to Bethel, from Bethel to Jericho, and from Jericho to the Jordan River. (2 Kings 2:1, 2, 4, 6) During that trip of nearly 30 miles [50 km], Elijah three times urged Elisha to stop following him. However, just as young Ruth centuries earlier had firmly refused to leave Naomi, so Elisha refused to leave the older prophet. (Ruth 1:16, 17) Elisha stated three times: "As Jehovah is living and as your soul is living, I will not leave you." (2 Kings 2:2, 4, 6) At that point, Elisha had already assisted Elijah for some six years. Yet, he desired to serve with Elijah as long as possible. In fact, the account adds: "It came about that as they were walking along, speaking as they walked, why, look! . . . Elijah went ascending." (Verse 11) Elijah and Elisha were conversing until the very last moment of Elijah’s ministry in Israel. The younger prophet apparently was eager to absorb as many words of instruction and encouragement as possible from the older, more experienced prophet. Clearly, he treasured his older friend.
‘As
Fathers and Mothers’It is not hard to see why Elisha loved the older prophet as a friend—even as a spiritual father. (2 Kings 2:12) Just before Elijah’s assignment in Israel ended, he said to Elisha: "Ask what I should do for you before I am taken from you." (Verse 9) So to the very end, Elijah showed concern for the spiritual welfare of his successor and for the continuation of God’s work.
Today, it is heartwarming to note the same fatherly and motherly concern in our older Christian brothers and sisters as they freely share their knowledge and wisdom with younger ones. For instance, longtime volunteers serving at the branch offices of Jehovah’s Witnesses willingly help new members of the Bethel family to acquire the skills they need to perform their service. Likewise, traveling overseers and their wives who have been visiting congregations for many years happily share their wealth of experience with those who are being trained to serve as traveling ministers. Moreover, in congregations of Jehovah’s Witnesses around the globe, there are older brothers and sisters who have been serving Jehovah faithfully for decades and who gladly share their practical wisdom and experience with newer members of the congregation.—Proverbs 2:7; Philippians 3:17; Titus 2:3-5.
The heartfelt concern shown by these dear older Christians makes the showing of respect to such older ones truly a pleasure. Therefore, we want to imitate Elisha’s example in deeply appreciating elderly fellow believers. As the apostle Paul reminds us, let us continue to treat "an older man . . . as a father" and "older women as mothers." (1 Timothy 5:1, 2) By doing so, we greatly contribute to the proper functioning and progress of the Christian congregation throughout the world.
Another point would be if your patient is in some sort of extended care facility, he would be surrounded by people who celebrate holidays such as Birthdays, Valentines, Christmas or Easter. JWs do not celebrate much of anything, and in fact think celebrating those holidays is a bad thing to do. Many of the recreation department's activities would be planned with those themes, not only for fun, but to help orient the patient as to time of year. So even if surrounded by people, the patient could feel very alone.
Also, they may not be up to date with the childhood vaccinations most people take for granted. For many years Jehovah's Witnesses did not give their children inoculations to certain diseases (I believe smallpox was one), although they pretty much ignore this prohibition with their children now. As a result, many of their older generation do not even know which vaccines they had or didn't have as a child.
Tammy
Though finding data to support this would be impossible, aside from anecdotal evidence from ex-JW's, abuse of alcohol is prevalent among JW's. Even if they don't abuse alcohol in their later years, the years of doing so earlier can't be a good thing.
Dave of the "anecdotal evidence" class
There are not many restrictions these days apart from blood. In the past the Golden Age was filled with Medical quackery. Vacinations were banned until the 1950s and organ transplants were banned during the 1970s. This site has some of the old quotes. http://www.reexamine.org/quotes/admin-site-map.htm#medical
