Posts by aniron

The WTS tells the JWs that the WTS is helping people, but won't actually tell them how they are helping or who they are helping, nor will they provide any video, pictures or news paper articles.

Exactly they always say how much they are helping. We read and see all the other agencies Red Cross etc going in and helping. I've even read of churches in neighbouring States loading up cars and trucks to take food in, for anyone who needs it. Not waiting for some order to come from headquarters to do it. You can bet that a couple of months from now the WT will have an article in a Watchtower or Awake about how they helped those poor people in the disaster. But when you read it closely you see that they only helped other JW's. As to what they were doing in the Astrodome. You can bet there were ten times more other churches there helping. You can be sure they would never print in a magazine how the Catholics were there helping out. I remember reading about how a guy having a study with JW's went with them to Florida after a hurricane. They helped all the JW's and when they finshed the guy said "Now we can help the other people" . He was told "No we only help our brothers and sisters in the truth." He said "In that case you are not the "truth" because the "truth" would help anyone who needs it. Like the Good Samaritan." WIth that he told them were they could stick their study and went off to help others.

22

JW says high gas price fulfills bible prophecy...the end is near

by DevonMcBride in

jw
friends

here's a gem from a jw group on myspace.

http://forum.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=messageboard.viewthread&entryid=5886853&adtopicid=27&categoryid=0&issticky=0&groupid=100229164&mytoken=20050903180812.

okay so i know this doesn't directly effect me because i don't quite drive yet, but indirectly it does effect me.

aniron

Ah yes...you'd LOVE to be able to pay $3 a gallon....but alas...someone has to pay for socialism.

Well when we get "socialism" in Britain will you please let us know. Because we been waiting for it since 1997.

23

Those who saw 1914...

by OldSoul in

let's do a little exercise:.

if the generation that saw 1914 will not die before armageddon, as specifically stated by the prophet class (the faithful and discreet slave, per current understanding), how many are left?.

i'll be generous and say that a nine year old could grasp the sharp 1914 changes jws cleave to...well, cleave to religiously, i suppose.. according to the population division of the department of economic and social affairs of the united nations secretariat, world population prospects: the 2004 revision, accessed online at esa.un.org/unpp, sept. 1, 2005, there are about 265,000 persons age 100 or older (that is, who were alive in 1905) in 2005. in other words, world-wide there are fewer from the "generation" that saw 1914 than many city populations in the u.s. alone.. now, suppose for the sake of ludicrous forebearance, we say that the prophet class is allowed a mulligan (a concept flatly disallowed by deuteronomy 18:20-22 and 1 john 4:1).

aniron

There is roughly say about 8,500 of the "anointed" left on the earth. Most in their 70's to 90's. But the WT don't really give a damn about 8,488 of them. All they are concerned about are the 12 who make up the "Governing Body". As we know the recent new members of the GB are in their 50's. An age when at one time it was considered you couldn't really be one of the "anointed" because they were all chosen by 1935. As long as they can keep saying the GB is made up of the "anointed" that will keep the rank and file happy. Because according to the WT only the "anointed" can dispense "food" at the right time. These are the only ones who can speak for Jehovah. So as time goes on will we see members of the GB gradually being replaced by "younger anointed" ones?

22

JW says high gas price fulfills bible prophecy...the end is near

by DevonMcBride in

jw
friends

here's a gem from a jw group on myspace.

http://forum.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=messageboard.viewthread&entryid=5886853&adtopicid=27&categoryid=0&issticky=0&groupid=100229164&mytoken=20050903180812.

okay so i know this doesn't directly effect me because i don't quite drive yet, but indirectly it does effect me.

aniron

Okay so i know this doesn't directly effect me because i don't quite drive yet, but indirectly it does effect me. Paying 3 dollars and change for ONE GALLON of gas is insane. i remember when gas was like 98 cents a gallon. The reason for this post is not just to get all you guys super angry at the idiots that run our government today, but to just bring out something else in this.

It makes me laugh the way you Americans moan about what you pay for petrol (gas). We here in Britain would LOVE to be able to pay $3 a gallon. At the moment an average gallon here is costing between $7 - $9 a gallon.

I think the scripture you are referring to is Revelation 6:5,6

5 When the Lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, "Come!" I looked, and there before me was a black horse! Its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand. 6 Then I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures, saying, "A quart [ of wheat for a day's wages, and three quarts of barley for a day's wages, and do not damage the oil and the wine!"

The WT also linked this scripture and ones from Daniel to the oil crisis in the 1970's.

4

Does Anyone Know of ......

by aniron in

.

does anyone know of a website that has tracts/leaflets about the jw's , that can be printed off.. that can be used to distribute locally to warn people about their teachings.

i seem to recall seeiing one but can't remember it.

aniron

Does anyone know of a website that has tracts/leaflets about the JW's , that can be printed off.

That can be used to distribute locally to warn people about their teachings.

I seem to recall seeiing one but can't remember it.

34

Check These Hotties! The 2006 Governing Body Calendar!

by Ingenuous in

jw
friends

ebay item 6556708674

aniron

You have got to be kidding!!!

Isn't this tantamount to creature worship.

35

U.S. Branch Letter in September KM

by TheListener in

september km, page 1 - u.s. branch letter.

dear kingdom publishers:.

with the start of the new service year, there are 9 new circuits in the united states branch territory, making a total of 41 new circuits in the last five years.

aniron

Honesty

The first Circuit Assembly I attended had over 3,000 attendees. The last Circuit Assembly I attended had just a little over 1800 attendees. The first District Assembly I attended had over 13,000 attendees. The last District Assembly I attended had about 3500 attendees. The reason I was given for the difference is that the circuits and districts were smaller because of the huge increases in the brotherhood. I bought it until I started looking at the yearly Service Reports and wondered why no real increases in the numbers of active JW's.

Likewise my experience here in Britain. I remember the Circuit Assembly having 2-3000 attending in fact we had to split it into two weekends. Because not all would fit into the 1800 seater assembly hall. So they split the Circuit into two, because of the "huge increase of those finding the truth". That was late 80's if I recall right.

Also at our District Convention we would get 18-20,000 over the 3-4 days. I think the peak was 22,000 in early 90's.

From what I have been told now, Circuit Assemblies are making 900-1000 in attendance and this years District Convention had 14,000 attending.

At the beginning of the year when I left I recall seeing in a Kingdom Ministry a 125,000 JW's in Britain, with peak of 132,000. Then when I left at the end of the year this had dropped to 120,000. I used to think, where have 12,000 witnesses gone?

I think they are up to 125,000 now mainly through getting "inactive" ones back in. Certainly can't be through anything else. Because a Circuit Assembly last year for the first time ever, had no one to baptise.

The WT is running scared. More and more information is getting through to its members. Things that at one time they could keep quiet they no longer can, UN, peadophiles, etc. Plus the falseness of their teachings. They also shoot themselves in the foot over changes in teachings like the "1914 generation" in 1995. It makes their own members question whats going on. Now they have two new GB members "young" guys in their 50's. Yet its not all that long ago they were saying ones of such an age could not be of the "anointed" those that claim to be must be mistaken.

Also those of us who have left are no longer frightened to make such things known to family and friends who are still JW's. Which is why they try to cracked down on the shunning policy and enforce it strictly.

Its slow process but eventually the WT will become a shadow of its self. Not quite disappearing, there will always be the die hards who will cling on to the beliefs. Just as the Bible Students who hung on to Russells teachings have done.

31

The Number One Reason Why I Am Not a "Watchtower Apologist"

by logansrun in

jw
friends

a number of people of late have noticed the concilliatory stance i take towards the jehovah's witnesses -- both as individuals and even as an organization.

they have quite rightly pointed out that i appear to "defend" the organization and it's members from attacks that i feel are unwarranted or unnecessary.

too often, i feel, this forum becomes a gripe session in which mighty ex-jw throngs feel the need to paint the organization or individual jws as totally devoid of any good qualities whatsoever.

aniron

I agree with most of what has been said on here.

Not all JW's are bad. In fact I still miss some of them they were good people. When I knew them as JW's.

Some of those very same "good ones" became vicious when I left. Totally different people. But they were just following a pattern set down by the WT.

But also there is the tendancy of some ex-jW's on here to think that because you leave the WT you have become a raving atheist.

Ranting on that "There is no Jehovah" is about as helpful as to those of us still with a faith in God as being an "apostate" is to a JW.

Many on this forum either are Christians trying to help JW's.

Or are JW's who have seen the real Truth of Gods Word and the lies of the WT, of which I am one.

It wasn't lack of faith in God that made me leave the WT, but that I had been lied to for over 20 years about that God and who He really is. I always say that I left a man-made organisation , NOT God.

There is a Jehovah! But I now understand who He really is in connection with Jesus Christ.

So don't take it for granted that all us ex-JW's who write or look at this forum have chucked our faith in the bin.

15

RANT: Desultory ramblings of a frustrated cult member

by dorayakii in

jw
friends

after almost a year of living abroad, away from my parents and away from anything even remotely watchtower related, having allowed myself to not worry about these silly little things (yet convincing my parents that i was still going); now that i've been back for about 6 weeks, i feel that i have to put on a double effort to cover over things that i've said or done, and avoid using "suspect" words or phrases like "cheers" or "good luck".

its driving me crazy at the moment, and 10 times more than it was doing before i moved out.

today, i had a mini panic attack at having told a "worldly" friend of mine "good luck".

aniron

Someone said this above

Unfortunately, being an elder's son is going to continue to put you in these situations. You probably don't want to hear this, but elder's sons' just don't fade away. If the children in his house are not actively worshipping, he can be dismissed as an elder.

This may be true sometimes. But I have known plenty of Elders whose children have either not become JW's or have left, and have been DF'd. But they still continue to be Elders.

We had one Elder one of his sons was constantly being "reproved" but became a MS, who later ran off and married a lap dancer and has now stopped going to meetings. He had two daughters who were pregnant when they got married. His wife is taking Valium, has done for years.

Yet this Elder would go round as if he was Gods gift to the congregation. If you weren't at a meeting he'd want to know why etc.

He recently had to resign as an Elder. Why? Because he was caught smoking!!!

I know of other Elders whose children have been DF'd or have even DA'd.

One had 5 children and not one of them has become a JW. Yet he is well respected and in "'good standing".

One left for 5 years, came back, a year later he is a MS, another year back to being an Elder.

Being an Elders son may be difficult in some respects. But I also know that Elders sons are treated differently.