Carla, I did not say I had seen a form but was asking if someone had actually, seen a form. In the past, people at the meeting when a confidential count was to be made without signing or putting a name on it, that they were willing to donate outright or give a monthly donation to see if there was a possibility of getting enough money. No form, just blank piece of paper, no name or signature, confidential to everyone. Now I know other religions that have members sign a pledge of what they will donate monthly (some national headquarters, have a minimum donation, like $50 a month to be an official member) and sign it like a contract. So far nothing like that that I know of in the WTS. The congregation is told they are expected to donate $8.50 per publisher to headquarters, voluntarily probably not, but guilted into it.
Posts by blondie
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42New meeting format
by ExBethelitenowPIMA injust watched november broadcast very different order to the leaked agm .
be good if someone did a deep dive on the difference and why the changes?
i didn’t time the items but it should be easy to see if edited?.
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30
Who will be killed at Armageddon?
by ExBethelitenowPIMA inif the current doctrine is that only baptised witnesses are going to survive and everyone else burns them what about this new update new light that some from before the flood and sodomites will be resurrected?.
but didn’t he mention at the agm something about there is no point jehovah killing them and then resurrecting them again?
it seems they are confused about what they teach and that’s why brother jackson joked about “is this what we used to believe or what we believe now?”.
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blondie
I thought the WTS taught that the deadline of preaching being able to respond favorably to the WTS message, was until the great tribulation started. In 2021, "Our Kingdom-preaching work will not be finished until Jehovah says it is over. How much time is left for people to come to know Jehovah God and Jesus Christ? (John 17:3) We cannot say. We do know that until the great tribulation begins, any who are “rightly disposed for everlasting life” can still respond to the good news.Acts 13:48 How can we help these people before it is too late?
and in 2022:
As mentioned in the preceding article, the political elements of this world will soon turn on Babylon the Great, the world empire of false religion. (Rev. 17:16,17) This action will mark the beginning of the great tribulation. Will this result in a flood of new ones deciding to turn to the worship of Jehovah? No. To the contrary, (Revelation chapter 6) shows that at that critical time, people who are not serving Jehovah will seek protection from the political and commercial systems of this world, which are compared to mountains. Since those people will not take a stand in favor of God’s Kingdom, Jehovah will consider them to be opposers.—Luke 11:23; Rev. 6:15-17).
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No Reporting of Time, Tithing is OK, Now WT Teaches a "Rapture" - What's Next?
by Sea Breeze inthose who will be taken to heaven will first need to be “changed, in a moment, in the blink of an eye, during the last trumpet.” therefore, while we do not use the term “rapture” here because of its wrong connotation, the remaining faithful anointed will be gathered together in an instant of time.
- the watchtower—study edition | july 2015. ok so they refuse to use the word "rapture".
kinda like they refuse to use the word church and clergy (except when it suits their purposes in court cases).
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blondie
SeaBreeze,
Your comment here:
Ok so they refuse to use the word "rapture". Kinda like they refuse to use the word church and clergy (except when it suits their purposes in court cases). But, it's the same thing.
Reminds me when the WTS finally said all the anointed must be in heaven, shortly after the GT starts) for the Marriage of Jesus and the Bride. Considering how young current GB members, are is the end long off, based on the current life term of humans? Then that means they would have to go heaven before they die a natural death on earth. Sounds like the "rapture" to me.
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The Saddest Thing About Tony Morris's Removal
by NotFormer ini've mentioned before how i've wondered how tony morris must have felt when he was sacked.
yes, i know he's a rehensible human being who got served a healthy dose of karma, or, if you like, divine judgement.
to go from having all there is to have within the world he lived in, to where he is now; that's a long fall.
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blondie
Yes, the individual members of the GB want to go with the majority, That is how "unanimous" decisions are reached. Much like BOEs, while some may not vote the same, to be united those elders must change and agree with the majority. The individual GB members has seen how it goes if the minority does not support the majority. The WTS/GB as a whole comes before any individual. (reporting not supporting) Rule: Individuals must not embarrass the WTS.
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How Saturnalia became Christmas
by BoogerMan inthe transition from ancient to present and pagan to christian: .
4th century ce, after which a new winter holiday began to be celebrated in rome: christmas.
but how was the pagan festival of saturnalia celebrated, and how did it influence and morph into the christmas celebrations that we know and love?.
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blondie
Basically, the Roman Catholic Church by decree of the Pope, created holy Christian days to be celebrated at the same time pagan days were, rather than trying to stop the direct pagan worship. The same way they built churches on the pagan sites of worship.
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"Vaccines are filthy pus" - said the "faithful slave"
by BoogerMan in"death after vaccination: rhhe dayton, ohio herald, contains a picture of a beautiful little girl and the following pathetic account of what happened as a result of filling this little one’s veins with filthy pus, in place of the pure blood which god made to circulate there.
" .
from golden age, march 24, 1926. https://jws-library.one/?file=data/1926/g_e_19260324/g_e_19260324.html#bookmark22.
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blondie
Haha, there are many more ideas in the past of the WTS, they have let "die" by not publishing those publications any more. But then the WTS hides behind "the light gets brighter."
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No Divine protection for Jehovah's Witnesses' gatherings. JW Death toll rises around the world.
by Balaamsass2 ingrowing up as a jw in the 1960s and 1970s, a common refrain from the yearbook, local elders and circuit overseers was how jws were protected at meetings, conventions, and in the field service by "the angels".
experiences of "divine intervention" during service, ww2, in communist lands, and conventions were common.
the internet and google are regularly debunking this myth in the 21st century.
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blondie
In the Draw Close to Jehovah book (2022 version) these are some interesting WT explanations about Personal Protection: (reporting not supporting)
What Divine Protection Does Not Mean
13 The promise of divine protection does not mean that Jehovah is obligated to work miracles in our behalf. No, our God does not guarantee us a problem-free life in this old system. Many faithful servants of Jehovah face severe adversities, including poverty, war, sickness, and death. Jesus plainly told his disciples that as individuals they might be put to death because of their faith. That is why Jesus stressed the need for endurance to the end. (Matthew 24:9, 13) If Jehovah were to use his power to effect miraculous deliverance in all cases, Satan would no doubt taunt Jehovah and call into question the genuineness of our devotion to our God.—Job 1:9, 10.
14 Even in Bible times, Jehovah did not use his protective power to shield each of his servants from untimely death. For example, the apostle James was executed by Herod in about 44 C.E.; yet, shortly afterward, Peter was rescued “from Herod’s hand.” (Acts 12:1-11) And John, the brother of James, outlived both Peter and James. Clearly, we cannot expect our God to protect all his servants in identical ways. Besides, “time and unexpected events” overtake us all. (Ecclesiastes 9:11) How, then, does Jehovah protect us today?
Jehovah Provides Physical Protection
15 Consider, first, the matter of physical protection. As Jehovah’s worshippers, we can expect such protection as a group. Otherwise, we would be easy prey for Satan. Think about this: Satan, “the ruler of this world,” would like nothing more than to eliminate true worship. (John 12:31; Revelation 12:17) Some of the most powerful governments on earth have banned our preaching work and have tried to wipe us out completely. Yet, Jehovah’s people have remained firm and have continued to preach without letup! Why have mighty nations been unable to put a stop to the activity of this relatively small and seemingly defenseless group of Christians? Because Jehovah has shielded us with his powerful wings!—Psalm 17:7, 8.
16 What about physical protection during the coming “great tribulation”? We need not fear the execution of God’s judgments. After all, “Jehovah knows how to rescue people of godly devotion out of trial, but to reserve unrighteous people to be destroyed on the day of judgment.” (Revelation 7:14; 2 Peter 2:9) In the meantime, we can always be certain of two things. First, Jehovah will never allow his loyal servants to be effaced from the earth. Second, he will reward integrity keepers with everlasting life in his righteous new world—if necessary, by means of a resurrection. For those who die, there is no safer place to be than in God’s memory.—John 5:28, 29.
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The ''dreaded'' birthday cake
by RULES & REGULATIONS inthe watchtower—study edition | september 2023. study article 39. let mildness be your strength.
11 if a workmate asks, for example, why we do not celebrate birthdays, consider: could he be wondering whether we are allowed to have a good time?
or might he feel that our position will dampen the company’s team spirit?
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blondie
I always wondered why the WTS celebrates the "memorial" even though it was only established with Jesus apostles, privately, and then only the anointed (all Christians then were anointed). When members of the WTS started being mostly non-anointed jws, for 3 years, the non-anointed were not invited, since they were not to partake and were not part of the group. Then they started inviting. Jws I knew personally then, some did not feel "called" to go to heaven and there was not an "earthly" hope offered, so they partook anyway. They said they were relieved when another choice, to live forever in a paradise earth" was explained, they could stop feeling they were eating improperly.***
jv chap. 16 p. 243 Meetings for Worship, Instruction, and Encouragement ***
Particularly beginning in the 1930’s, prospective members of the “great multitude,” or “great crowd” of other sheep, began to manifest themselves. (Rev. 7:9, 10, KJ; John 10:16) These were at that time referred to as Jonadabs. For the first time, in its issue of February 15, 1938, The Watchtower specifically invited them to be present at the Memorial, saying: “After six p.m. on April 15 let each company of the anointed assemble and celebrate the Memorial, their companions the Jonadabs also being present.” They did attend, not as partakers, but as observers.
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46
Nobody else understands
by ElderBerry inif you once were fully pimi and truly believed jw doctrine to the core like i once did, when you come to the reality that it is not the truth at all it can be extremely devastating.. i think only other ex jws could ever understand.
i wasted my entire life i thought the real life was yet to come to wasted the best years knocking on doors.
now i’m so angry.. i can understand why so many top themselves when they realise it was all lies..
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blondie
I think this applies to too many jws who can't explain their own doctrines, Ignorance is bliss.
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FDS 1919 Declaration Date
by NotFormer indid rutherford have any "prophetic" justification for 1919 as the date that jesus declared him (ahem, the wt organisation) the fds?
such as some calculation attached to 1914?
that in 1919, jesus would come looking for his true organisation?.
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blondie
This is so complicated, the original "scriptural" reason has been adjusted at least once. It is no longer used by the WTS to make application of these scriptures. The WTS also has not mentioned a 7,000 year "creative day" that it used to establish 1975 as the end of 6,000 years of the 7th Creation Day, which then left 1,000 years within the creative day of the Reign of Christ over the paradise on earth (after Armageddon). The WTS lets old doctrine just disappear in its publications (no longer published). In newer versions of publications still accessible on the Watchtower Online Library (WOL) has been edited to put in "thousands of years" instead of 7,000 years (stopped being used in 1987.