..you can fool some of the people

yesidid

Did anyone on the board have a sudden; “this is it, it’s wrong, wrong all wrong” moment.

Mine was an interesting one.

We, [my husband and I] were having questions and doubts for many years. We both thought it was Jehovah’s organization, but like Israel of old, was making some mistakes which would be corrected in God’s own time.

Then this quote in the Greatest Man book registered. How many times did we study that book? Why did it take so long to compute?

Keep in mind when reading this, that in 1914 the society believed that Christ had arrived invisibly in 1874. They taught that until at least 1929.

** gt chap. 131 Final Appearances, and Pentecost 33 C.E. ***

While they are still looking on, Jesus begins rising heavenward, and then a cloud obscures him from their sight. After dematerializing his fleshly body, he ascends to heaven as a spirit person. As the 11 continue gazing into the sky, 2 men in white garments appear alongside them. These materialized angels ask: “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus who was received up from you into the sky will come thus in the same manner as you have beheld him going into the sky.”

The manner in which Jesus has just left the earth is without public fanfare and with only his faithful followers observing. So he will return in like manner—without public fanfare and with only his faithful followers discerning that he has returned and has begun his presence in Kingdom power.

*** gt chap. 132 At God’s Right Hand ***

A careful study of Bible prophecies, including Jesus’ own prophecy regarding the last days, reveals that “the Lord’s day” began in the history-making year 1914, yes, within this generation ! So it was in 1914 that Jesus returned invisibly, without public fanfare and with only his faithful servants being aware of his return . In that year Jehovah gave Jesus the command to go subduing in the midst of his enemies!

Suddenly I realized they were completely dishonest. That was printed only to deceive.

They knew when that book was first published in 1991 that “ only his faithful servants being aware of his return ”, was deceptive. And if it accidentally got past in the first edition, why do the later editions say the same thing?

They say GB members check the material. Either that is true and they willfully let it go, or they have lied about the material being checked.

At that moment I realized they were a corrupt group of men protecting their own interests.

It was all over.

yesidid

proudassmonkey

ok i think i am a dumby dumb head or i haven't had enough sleep recently or something but i have read and reread your post and i still have NO clue what your point is. although i am sure that you have a point and i am sure that it is valid.

my aha moment came reading a book by Ayn Rand called 'Atlas Shrugged' :

"this was her world, she thought, this was the way men were meant to be and to face their existence- and all the rest of it, all the years of ugliness and struggle were only someone's senseless joke. She smiled at him, as at a fellow conspirator, in relief, in deliverance, in radiant mockery of all the things she would never have to consider important again. he smiled in answer, it was the smae smile as her own, as if he felt what she felt and knew what she meant.

'we never had to take any of this seriously did we?' she whispered.

'no, we never had to'"

it was at that moment in reading this one page i realized i never to take any of what i was taught seriously. it never had to mean a damn thing to me again. it took a long time for me to be able to get enough courage to live in that way. but i am so proud of me for doing it.

melissa

Euphemism

P.A.M.... I think that yesidid's point is that the Society claimed that "[Jesus'] faithful servants [were] aware of his return," when in fact it wasn't until 1929 that they "realized" that Jesus had actually returned in 1914 (and not in 1874, as they had previously taught).

Clear as mud?

yesidid

Dear Euphemism,

If I had been privileged to have a son, I would have wanted him to be just like you.

You are not only articulate and intelligent; you are also sensitive and kind.

Thank you for explaining the meaning of my post so succinctly.

Please stay nearby I may need you on future occasions.

yesidid

Sorry Euphemism,

I forgot to say thanks

yesidid

Adam

Mine was not a single moment, but occured over the time we spent studying the Revelation book. By the time we were done I was still going to meetings, but in my heart I had decieded that the JWs weren't for me. All these quotes they took and said "the words mean this which is representative of this event." They gave no explanation other than "we know this because the faithful and descreet says it is so and they get thier info from Jehovah." I needed more proof than that and they had none. I also realized and that there were hundreds of people and organizations out there that had very different interpretations for that wacky book (I personally think john had lost his mind by then or had etten the brown acid) and their own set of explanations as to why their interpretations were right. But no one had incontravertable proof that their version was the right one.

AlanF

An excellent catch, yesidid!

This sort of deception -- which is nothing more than lying -- is common in Watchtower literature. It's especially common in places where the Society wants to deceive its readers into thinking that Russell and company got a lot of important teachings right, when in fact the present Watchtower Society teaches hardly anything that Russell did and would disfellowship for apostasy any JW who tried to go back to Russell's teachings.

Note how the deception works, using your quotation:

" A careful study of Bible prophecies, including Jesus’ own prophecy regarding the last days, reveals that “the Lord’s day” began in the history-making year 1914, yes, within this generation ! So it was in 1914 that Jesus returned invisibly, without public fanfare and with only his faithful servants being aware of his return . In that year Jehovah gave Jesus the command to go subduing in the midst of his enemies!"

The words imply that Jesus' invisible return in 1914 was seen in 1914 by the Bible Students, but don't actually say it. If the reader makes the obvious (but completely wrong) conclusion, then it's his lookout. Each of the three sentences can be argued (within the JW framework) to be correct when taken alone. But juxtaposing them like this, so as to imply that the Bible Students were aware in 1914 that Jesus invisibly returned in 1914, is a lie.

The first and third sentences are 'true' in terms of current JW teaching. They do teach that "the Lord's day" began in 1914, and that in that year Jesus went "subduing in the midst of his enemies". But the second sentence is extremely misleading on its own, being another misleading juxtaposition of 'true' statements. The fact is that until somewhere between 1929 and 1943, the Society officially taught that Jesus invisibly returned in 1874. So in 1914, it can be argued (again within the JW framework) that the Bible Students were "aware" of Jesus return -- but that return was in 1874, not 1914! A clear statement like "his faithful servants were aware in 1914 of his return in 1914" would be a lie so obvious that even Watchtower writers couldn't justify it, but a fuzzy statement like "his faithful servants were aware of his return", without actually specifying when they were 'aware' and exactly what they were aware of, allows these dishonest writers to claim that they were not actually lying. But anyone with half a brain understands that deliberately putting words together like this -- with the intent to deceive readers into believing something that is untrue -- is most certainly lying.

AlanF

xjw_b12

Good post yesidid. Excellant use of highlighter. Where did you pick up that trait ? LOL

BTW you are no longer a newbie. If someone asks you whether you made it to the next level, you can now say yesidid !

tyydyy

My "moment" was while killing time one evening. I must have been very bored 'cause I was looking though a bible atlas (not published by the witnesses) that had been on my shelf for years. The atlas noted that Jeruselem fell to the Babylonians in 587 BCE. I knew that couldn't be right but wondered how they could have gotten it wrong. I found another bible atlas and it said the same thing. Hmmm At that point I decided to take my research to the internet. I intentionally avoided the ex-jw sites and stayed with the archeological experts. I couldn't find anyone who agreed with the JW date. That's when I started looking at the "Apostate" sites and my mind exploded. Within a matter of minutes a lifetime of isolation and brainwashing fell like a house of cards. I decided to show my wife (Xena) what I'd discovered. As soon as I'd finished bringing her up to speed I announced that if they were wrong about this they could be wrong about every thing. I told her that I couldn't be a JW anymore. With almost a sigh of relief she said "OK" and we began making plans for our exit.

TimB

stillajwexelder

there were many moments -- but the absolute killer for me was when Randy Waters critiqued the Daniel book and the one about when events of 3000 years ago were fulfilled between 2 watchtower articles published in 1938 -- and then when I saw the immortal -- so you believe a talking snake approaching a naked women who ate some fruit is the cause of all the worlds problems -- then I knew why I was on this board and in effect no longer able or willing to tolerate any more Bu-----t from the WTBTS

..you can fool some of the people

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