Mum feeling depressed but they're the happiest people on earth

by not bitter 13 Replies latest jw friends

  • not bitter
    not bitter

    Saw my mum a couple of hours ago and she was saying how low she was feeling. Basically miserable and doesn't like anyone. She wouldn't tell me anything other than that but I kind of know whats eating at her. I was so dying to say to her

    ''But mum, you're the happiest people on earth. What do you have to be so miserable about''

    I didn't of course because I wouldn't be so cheeky to my mother.

    So I was wondering, where does it say that JW's are the happiest people on earth? I mean I remember hearing it but is it written down in WT literature? In which case, are they not going against the slave if they are not the happiest people on earth?

    I know I'm being pedantic. It just makes me laugh because they are no better than anyone else. They experience the same problems life has to throw as the rest of us but they think they're so much better.

  • AnnOMaly
    AnnOMaly

    *** km 2/02 p. 1 The Happiest People on Earth ***

    The Happiest People on Earth

    1 "Happy is the people whose God is Jehovah!" (Ps. 144:15) Those words describe Jehovah's Witnesses as the happiest people on earth. ...

    ... 2 Reasons for Being Happy: Jesus assured us that happiness comes from being "conscious of [our] spiritual need." (Matt. 5:3) Continually studying the Bible and attending all our Christian meetings satisfies that need. Learning the truth of God's Word has set us free from religious falsehood and error. (John 8:32) The Scriptures have also taught us the best way of living. (Isa. 48:17) Because of that, we enjoy wholesome Christian fellowship within our happy association of brothers.-1 Thess. 2:19, 20; 1 Pet. 2:17.

    3 We derive great contentment from obeying God's high moral standards, for we know that this safeguards us and makes Jehovah happy. (Prov. 27:11) A newspaper reporter noted: "Despite all their strict standards, Jehovah's Witnesses do not appear to be unhappy. To the contrary. The young as well as the older [ones among them] present an appearance of being unusually joyful and well balanced."

  • Gopher
    Gopher

    When I was JW, I remember having the phrase "we are the happiest people" drummed into my head. They even had a Kingdom song "Jehovah's Happy People". They published a book in 1980 "Happiness - How to Find It".

    Happiness supposedly came because you were spiritual and following the organization's program (study, prayer, field ministry, association) to a proper extent.

    The flip side of this is that you had to act happy or you weren't being spiritual. And if you confessed to not being happy, you'd be told to increase your study, prayer or field ministry.

    Thus, if any JW isn't happy, apparently it is THEIR fault because they weren't doing enough of one or more elements of the study-prayer-service-association program.

    It couldn't possibly be due to belonging to an overly-demanding cultlike group. It couldn't possibly be anything the organization expected from them, even if all they ever said was "do more do more do more" and if you didn't do more you were somehow inadequate.

    /end of rant/

  • cptkirk
    cptkirk

    hehe, if that is a rant, then i am adolph hitler :p

  • ABibleStudent
    ABibleStudent

    Hi not bitter, If you love your mother, take her out to meet non-JWs, who might share similar interests with her. If she is happier going on outings with you and meeting non-JWs, eventually she will not want to go to the KH and talking with JWs.

    Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,

    Robert

  • sspo
    sspo

    They are the happiest people on earth...... thanks to Prozac!!!!

  • LostGeneration
    LostGeneration

    Stolen from Blondie here : http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/watchtower/bible/182548/1/Happiest-People-Reference

    *** w99 10/1 p. 8 par. 13 "For Everything There Is an Appointed Time" ***Of course, the fact that Jehovah’s servants "weep" over the sorry state of world affairs does not preclude their being happy. On the contrary! They are actually the happiest group of people on earth.

    *** w99 10/1 pp. 6-7 "For Everything There Is an Appointed Time" ***

    [Pictures on page 6, 7]Although Christians "weep" because of world conditions . . .

    . . . they are actually the happiest people in the world

    *** w97 5/1 p. 23 Messengers of Godly Peace Pronounced Happy ***

    [Pictures on page 23]The messengers of godly peace are the happiest people on earth today

    *** w95 1/15 p. 12 par. 7 The Joy of Jehovah Is Our Stronghold ***Our close relationship with Jehovah makes us the happiest people on earth.

    *** w93 5/1 p. 21 par. 24 Expanded Activities During Christ’s Presence ***Such loving labors have made the slave class the happiest people on earth today, and they have made millions of other people happy too

    *** w89 3/1 p. 3 How to Identify True Ministers of God ***In fact, as a group, they are the most privileged, the most successful, and by far the happiest group on earth today, as you will see in the next article.

    *** w88 3/1 p. 17 My Life in Jehovah’s Spirit-Directed Organization ***Indeed, in every country, Jehovah’s people are the best and the happiest!

    *** w75 2/1 p. 92 par. 21 Keep Looking, Keep Moving Forward with Jehovah ***The happiest people on earth are Jehovah’s people and they are chiefly among the poor as concerns the things that the world prizes highly

    *** w71 9/15 p. 564 par. 22 Set Apart from the World ***All who seek a place in the redeemed society of mankind thereby come into association with the happiest people on earth—Jehovah’s witnesses. These are the only people who know for a certainty where they are going.

    *** w62 9/1 p. 530 par. 22 Add to Your Knowledge Every Day ***In the New World society of Jehovah’s witnesses you find people from all walks of life, many of whom lack diplomas from man’s centers of learning; yet these people know the Bible, they are teachers. They accept with eagerness the obligation of teaching others God’s Word. They do it year after year with the same love of God and appreciation for spiritual food as when they first tasted it. They are the happiest and most peaceful persons on earth.

    *** w60 2/1 p. 74 par. 17 How Happy the Mild-tempered and Peaceable! ***Now Jehovah’s witnesses are blessed above all others because they are the happiest, most peaceful and contented people on earth

    *** km 2/02 p. 1 par. 1 The Happiest People on Earth ***"Happy is the people whose God is Jehovah!" (Ps. 144:15) Those words describe Jehovah’s Witnesses as the happiest people on earth.

    *** km 2/94 p. 5 par. 16 "Objects of Hatred by All the Nations" ***We are the happiest people on the face of the earth, knowing that ‘on becoming approved we will receive the crown of life.’—Jas. 1:12.

  • LostGeneration
    LostGeneration

    -Hitler

  • not bitter
    not bitter

    Ha! Thanks for the quotes

  • Apognophos
    Apognophos

    Your mother would probably be happy in a local church. She might meet some people she feels closer too, and would still have the satisfaction of living a "godly" life in the same way that AnnOMaly's KM excerpt describes. She'd just have to learn to let go of the "Babylon the Great" mentality, and that's a big thing for a Witness to get over.

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