Hi all:
I was browsing on the web under the Yahoo categories for JW's. One the sites is at the following address:
http://www.angelfire.com/ky/proclaimer/index.html
It purports to be the site of a CO. In the correspondence column, which you can only get to by putting the year of Jerusalem's destruction according to the WT (that'll keep those apostate dummies out!) he answers questions from bros. and sis.
All fair and good, so far. But some of the letters and his replies were so screwy that it made me wonder: is he really who he says he is?
Can anyone give enlightenment to a newbie apostate?
Expatbrit.
Here's a couple of examples from his column:
Dear CO:
My 20 year old daughter was recently disfellowshipped for fornication (she got pregnant and isn't married). My husband and I have completely cut her off, thrown her out of the house, refused to help with any financial or emotional support, and won't speak to her, just as the elders have counseled. When the baby is born, we want to be able to see it and of course, bring it into The Truth. However, our daughter is very angry and is totally unrepentant, and has even been exhibiting some apostate attitudes.
She just can't see how much she is hurting us.
My question is would it be considered "theocratic warfare" to get custody of the baby once it is born? She obviously will be an unfit mother, condemning her own baby to death by turning her back on Jehovah's organization. I am hesitant to ask our own congregation elders about this matter because since my daughter's disfellowshipping it seems that many in the congregation have been keeping their distance from my husband and myself. I am hoping that if we can get the baby into the truth we will be back in the good graces of the congregation once again.
Signed, Sister Goodmother
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Dear Sister,
as your elders have so wisely counseled you, you should continue to shun your daugher. This is the most loving thing you can do for her in this situation. The Watchtower warns us that parents can have only limited contact with disfellowshipped adult children for "family emergencies or urgent family business" and to visit grandchildren. Now, it is up to your own conscience as to what you personally consider to be family business.
I know of one elder who considered summer vacations family business and invited all three of his disfellowshipped children and their families to spend two weeks in a rented cabin on the lake. However, he did follow the guidelines of "not eatting with such a person", therefore he ate his meals in a separate room. Considering that you want to show your congregation that you are spiritually strong, I would advise you to follow the guidelines from the faithful and discreet slave to the letter, avoiding all contact whatsoever. There is no reason you ever have to see this baby at all.
I know many many parents who have disfellowshipped children and these children have gone on to have families and the faithful parents have never even seen these grandchildren. What strong examples of trusting in Jehovah and his appointed organization we can see before us!
If you want to get back in the good graces of your congregation, you must show how spiritually strong you are. Have you considered pioneering? Now that your daugher is out of the house, you and your husband should have more time for service. Perhaps you could both pioneer. This would truly make Jehovah happy.
A dutch sister has asked us:
Dear Brother CO.
Can you give us some advises on litterature to abstain from?
Dutch Sister
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Dear Fellow Witnesses of the true God Jehovah,
With all the anti-Watchtower information that has been spreading all over the world via the Internet, it becomes all the more important to stay close to Jehovah and his organization. To this end, the enclosed information should be very helpful in protecting the brotherhood from whatever misleading information is out there by keeping formost in mind the REAL issues that are are involved in one's relationship with Jehovah God and his Son, Christ Jesus.
After very careful consideration, it is felt the most important advise that will protect all faithful Witnesses is this: Under no circumstances should anyone read the book "Crisis of Consicence" by the former member of the Governing Body, Raymond Franz! As the March 15, 1986 warned us...
When a fellow human tells us, 'Do not read this', or 'Do not read that,' we may be tempted to ignore his advice. But remember, in this case Jehovah is the One who tells us in his Word what to do..If, out of curiosity, we were to read the literature of a known apostate, would that not be the same as inviting this enemy of true worship right into home to sit down with us and relate his apostate ideas?
Therefore it is out of respect for the wisdom Jehovah God that we never read anything that the Governing Body tells us not to read.
The fact that everything in "Crisis of Conscience" is true is NOT the issue!
It matters not that Pastor Russell, Joseph Rutherford, Nathan Knorr and even Frederick Franz prophecied many things that never came true. Neither does it matter that the men of the current Governing Body routinely misrepresent the organizations' history in their efforts to cover up their mistakes. Those who have left the organization, for selfish reasons, have never been able to accept these facts.
Some of you may have heard about what the Society has allowed the brothers to do in Mexico. And that is that elders, Circuit and District Overseers and even members of the Bethel family, were permitted to illegally bribe government officials in order to have them falsify a military certificate ("cartilla") which says that they had succesfully completed Basic Training which then enrolled them in the Mexican Army First Reserve.
But our response to that is, "So what?" In what possible way does that affect our relationship with Jehovah today? Does the Governing Body's conduct relative to Mexico change the fact that "this good news of the Kingdom will be preached in all the inhabited earth for a witness to all the nations?" Of course not! - Matt. 24:14
And then there is this matter of Malawi, Africa. Just because 20,000 or so of the brothers and sisters in that country were forced to leave their homes and country; many of them robbed, beaten, raped and murdered just because the Society had an opposite policy in that country from the one they had in Mexico is no reason to stop going to meetings is it? That was over 20 years ago! What does that have to do with anything today? Do any of these things change the fact that we are living in "the last days," or that Jehovah has a "faithful and discreet slave" that is providing us with our "food at the proper time?" The answer is obvious to all honest-hearted persons. - Matt. 24:45-47
And another thing, What is the motive of Mr. Franz for including all this negative information in his book? If he is so concerned about helping people then why doesn't he repent and come back to Jehovah's organization where he can again share in the joy of proclaiming the Governing Body's latest message, whatever it might be!
These elderly men at the Brooklyn Headquarters are fully aware of Mexico, Malawi and all the false prophecies that the organization has been involved in since the very first issue of the Watch Tower magazine of July, 1879. There are other faithful brothers all over the world who are aware of many of the same things, but it doesn't bother any of these spirirually mature ones.
Why not? Because they understand the REAL issue today, so deep into "the conclusion of the system of things," is LOYALTY!... Loyalty to Jehovah's spirit-directed organization! And as the Governing Body has explained, We cannot be loyal to Jehovah unless we are loyal to his organization. And the only way that such loyalty can be shown is by following the men of its Governing Body no matter what they say or do. - Matthew 24:3
Theocratic ones recognize the Divine wisdom as was expressed in the May 1, 1957 Watchtower which is just as true today as it has always been in the God's "spiritual paradise." The pronoun "we" has been changed to "you" in order to make it easier for the reader to see where they stand in relation to the Governing Body...
You (i.e. all Jehovah's Witnesses who are not members of the Governing Body) shall not be unsettled by any thing that happens. If something comes up that you do not understand you will wait patiently until it is made clear to you. If you feel something is wrong you will wait on Jehovah. You will not forsake (the Governing Body's) teaching by immedately beginning to criticize and find fault. You will realize that Jehovah knows what is going on in his organization, and if he is willing to permit it, who are you to insist it should be different? If you really have faith, you will know that if something is wrong, Jehovah will straighten it out eventually.
And so it doesn't matter what the Society and its leadership has ever done in the past, or will yet do in the future. Jehovah knows everything that they have done, and that is what matters. Surely he would not be pleased if we were to try to run ahead of his organization by presumptuously claiming that we know better how things should be done.
There may be some of you will be be surprised to learn that all of the Society's most prominent men have put Jehovah's name on several of their own personal speculations that never occured or came true. But just because they have made some false propheies, does that make them false prophets according to Deuteronomy 18:20-22? Not at all! They simply made the same kind of mistakes that Jesus' apostles made in the first century when they asked him, "Are you restoring the Kingdom to Israel at this time?" - See Acts 1:6
For those who are less mature, consider what one elder said about the ongoing misinformation that the Governing Body keeps providing for us...
"If they told us the truth about the Society's history the organization would fall apart! And so they can't tell us the truth."
Now stop and think... If we had been told the truth about the Society's record of false prophecies, would we have studied very long? Or if we had been allowed to see how often the Governing Body is less than honest about the Society's history, would we have ever been baptized as one of Jehovah's Witnesses? Probably not. So then, can you now see the wisdom of not being told the truth?
There are several other advantages to being misinformed like this.
First of all, when one doesn't know the truth about his own religion he doesn't have to feel guilty when he passes misleading formation on to others. And too, can you imagine how difficult it would for the immature ones if they came to know these things to soon...If, for example, they realized that most of what they believe about the organization's history is just a fairy tale, they might use that as an excuse to start missing meetings! How do you think Jehovah would feel about those who would show such lack of respect for his arrangement?
It is hoped that everyone will recognize that the conduct of the men of the Governing Body has NEVER been at issue! Rather, isn't the important thing, that "all speak in agreement" and that there is "love among yourselves?" And aren't these the most important things which identify those who worship "the God of truth" and those who do not? - See 1 Cor.1:10 and John 13:35
And there is one more thing to consider: Who wants to find out that he/she has been mislead for so long? There aren't many people who can face such reality. So rather than face it, why not adopt the same attitude as one elder (who also has served as a temporary Circuit Overseer when called upon) who said...
"I would rather go to my grave being deceived than to find out that the Society isn't who they say they are."
True, it may not be easy for everyone to reason this way, but isn't it worth trying since he is one of the most respected elders in his assignment?
So then, what can we learn from all this? Will we "immitate the faith" of the Governing Body since they are so "faithful" and "discreet" (Hebrews 13:7)? It will help eveyone to do so if it is kept in mind that since Jesus is not our Mediator, then our only hope of salvation is if we follow them. - 1 Timothy 2:5; Psalm 146:3
Remember, "The time left is reduced." So may we worship Jehovah "in truth" as we continue to warn all those in false religion that very soon now "the God of truth" will destroy "everyone liking and carrying on a lie." - 1 Cor. 7:29; John 2:24; Revelation 22:15
Your bro CO.
Dear bro CO
I'm quite new on the Net, and I'm hoping you will be able to help me.
Lately, I've noticed some changed and strange behavior among the young sisters at the Kingdom Hall(we have quite a few in their lately teens and early 20s). It seems that many have been missing meetings lately. When questioned they all say the same thing, that they're at the ice cream parlor. I must confess I've a bit of a "sweet tooth" myself. However, it seems to me that too much sweets like this can only have a harmful effect on their bodies.
Something rather odd occurred the other day. A few of the young sisters were visiting our home. After a short while, they all left in a hurry, once again, to get some ice cream. As they were leaving, one young sister dropped a scrap of paper from the notebook she had with her. On it, there was a word my husband and I had never seen before. It is spelled, "Fellatio". We thought it might be some type of new dance, or perhaps one of these musical groups which are all the rage among the youth.
She explained(although rather quickly and nervously) that it was a brand new ice cream flavor from Italy. Could it be that she somehow knew deep down of the potential harm all this sugar could be doing to her young body? If so, it would seem that she and the other young ones are too busy satisfying their cravings to think of the consequences.
I'm really concerned about these young sisters. Could anyone give some advice on how to help them? Perhaps some of the younger ones out there(who've been in the same situation as these sisters) could offer some helpful solutions from their own experience. Furthermore, does anyone know if this new, foreign ice cream has alcohol or some other such ingredient which makes it habitforming, as it has seemingly done to these young ones? This prospect really worries me!
Kind thanks in advance for your help!
A Concerned Sister.