fader here - last meeting was in autumn 2005. lurker on this site and others.
not one to get all controversial.. typical situation, pretty much a born in and left the church at age 38 and never looked back.. i'm 53 now, parents getting older - late 70s but very active, dad is still an elder.. parents, in laws, brother and brother-in-law still uber active jws.. my family (wife and 2 adult children) out since 2005.. we have stayed close to our parents - we have treaded religion lightly and have had a pretty good relationship and have kept our personal lives and beliefs/opinions separated from them.
this was intentional - as we love them and do not want anything to cause shunning since they are getting older and want to be there for them and we respect their beliefs.. got this letter today.
PS: we suspect that after reading this letter you will be outraged and then text, or call on the phone, or drive down to express your negative thoughts and feelings towards us, the congregation and the organization. Please don't. Our hearts hurt enough already.
the watchtower—study edition | march 2020. love and appreciation for jehovah lead to baptism.
( this picture is not from the article!
i found it online to add a little color to the paragraph).
The Watchtower—Study Edition | March 2020
( THIS PICTURE IS NOT FROM THE ARTICLE! I FOUND IT ONLINE TO ADD A LITTLE COLOR TO THE PARAGRAPH)
2 The Ethiopian acted immediately on what he had learned from the Scriptures. (Read Acts 8:27-31, 35-38.) What motivated him? He obviously appreciated God’s Word; he was reading a passage from the book of Isaiah as he rode in a chariot. And when Philip spoke with him, the man developed an appreciation for what Jesus had done for him. But why had the official traveled to Jerusalem? Because he had already developed a love for Jehovah. How do we know? He had just been worshipping Jehovah in Jerusalem. This man had apparently left the religion of his birth and had joined the only nation that was dedicated to the true God. It was this same love for Jehovah that motivated him to take yet another vital step, that of getting baptized and becoming a disciple of Christ.—Matt. 28:19.
Paragraph 2 is so dishonest! Where is Jesus? Nowhere to be seen, as usual in Watchtower land!
The Ethiopian eunuch just read about the good news about Jesus. He gets baptized after Philip explains the scripture that he is reading. The scripture is about Jesus. That understanding led to Ethiopian to get baptized, not the ''LOVE FOR JEHOVAH''!
32 This is the passage of Scripture the eunuch was reading:
“He was led like a sheep to the slaughter,
and as a lamb before its shearer is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
33 In his humiliation, he was deprived of justice.
Who can speak of his descendants?
For his life was taken from the earth.”[a]
34 The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?” 35 Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.
i was just wondering this morning about all the kingdom halls and branches being sold to "babylon the great" and other businesses.
every single kingdom hall and bethel branch that has been sold was "dedicated to jehovah" by the watchtower corporation.
a special meeting with a guest speaker gives a talk and then offers a prayer dedicating the building to yhwh.
You would definitely get counseled for going to a church service, church wedding, church funeral, painting a church, cutting the lawn or maintain a church building !!!... But if the Watchtower Society sells a Kingdom Hall building to a church, then that's ok!!
The French Speaking Baptist Church of Stratford is now located in the former Jehovah's Witnesses Kingdom Hall at 494 Milford Point Road.
The Jehovah’s Witnesses sold the building at 494 Milford Point Road to the French Speaking Baptist Church of Stratford for $400,000 in June 2019.
https://www.jw.org/en/news/jw/region/guatemala/police-and-fire-department-officials-in-guatemala-benefit-from-bible-based-workshops/.
i am surprised that a government authority is calling on a religious organization to give their police and fire department officials instructions to behave in a better way with the guatemalan population.
the organization of jehovah's witnesses is well known to separate families (shunning) and have in the past protected numerous pedophiles within their organization ( maybe they are still doing it now somewhere in secret, who knows ?
Under the direction of the Central America branch, these workshops are held twice a week and last approximately 15 minutes. They address subjects such as how to improve relationships with others, how to properly use authority, and how to work as a team.
Watchtower Society: Please clean your own Organization first, then you can instruct others on how to improve their own organization!
during the pyeongchang 2018 olympic and paralympic winter games, which were held from february 9-25, 2018, and march 9-18, 2018, brothers and sisters in korea engaged in a special campaign to offer the many international visitors bible-based publications free of charge.. .
here are protesters exercising their rights to free speech at a 2019 international convention in melbourne, australia.
just like the jehovah's witnesses have rights to hold up magazines while olympic attendees walk by, protesters at the jehovah's witness convention are not given their rights to walk around with their signs and protest.
From: jwinformed.org
How did Watchtower representatives react? On the first day of the protest, all seemed to be relatively normal without hinderance, however, matters changed on the second day. A significant number of convention attendants exited the stadium and formed a physical barricade in front of the protest area, in an attempt to block the activists’ messages:
Jehovah’s Witness Convention Attendants Attempt to Block Protestors’ MessagesDespite their efforts, the attendants dispersed relatively promptly after Victorian Police advised the protestors that they had the right to simply stand in front of the barricade. Following this attempt at silencing their critics, Watchtower did not attempt any further direct physical suppression of the event, however, attendees of the convention who spoke to the activists were reportedly disciplined for doing so, with one active Jehovah’s Witness being rejected entry back into the stadium.
Jehovah’s Witnesses and the public paid attention to the activists’ messages, with large numbers of people stopping to read the signs and engage in conversation. The activism event repeatedly advertised information resource jwfacts.com and the website author, Paul Grundy reported 603 new visitors in Victoria during and directly following the convention. On several occasions, cash donations were offered to the group by individuals passing by who wished to support the cause.
The protest was viewed as being well organised, peaceful and professional. The organisers of the protest are to be commended for their great work and the protestors themselves for their brave acts of activism.
during the pyeongchang 2018 olympic and paralympic winter games, which were held from february 9-25, 2018, and march 9-18, 2018, brothers and sisters in korea engaged in a special campaign to offer the many international visitors bible-based publications free of charge.. .
here are protesters exercising their rights to free speech at a 2019 international convention in melbourne, australia.
just like the jehovah's witnesses have rights to hold up magazines while olympic attendees walk by, protesters at the jehovah's witness convention are not given their rights to walk around with their signs and protest.
The Watchtower Society can dish it out by can't take it!
during the pyeongchang 2018 olympic and paralympic winter games, which were held from february 9-25, 2018, and march 9-18, 2018, brothers and sisters in korea engaged in a special campaign to offer the many international visitors bible-based publications free of charge.. .
here are protesters exercising their rights to free speech at a 2019 international convention in melbourne, australia.
just like the jehovah's witnesses have rights to hold up magazines while olympic attendees walk by, protesters at the jehovah's witness convention are not given their rights to walk around with their signs and protest.
During the Pyeongchang 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, which were held from February 9-25, 2018, and March 9-18, 2018, brothers and sisters in Korea engaged in a special campaign to offer the many international visitors Bible-based publications free of charge.
Here are protesters exercising their rights to free speech at a 2019 International Convention in Melbourne, Australia. Just like the Jehovah's Witnesses have rights to hold up magazines while Olympic attendees walk by, protesters at the Jehovah's Witness Convention are not given their rights to walk around with their signs and protest. DOUBLE STANDARDS, ANYONE!
Below is a youtube video screenshot from:
2015 yearbook of jehovah’s witnesses.
a letter from the governing body.
''we also deeply appreciated your “loving labor” in connection with the construction of various theocratic facilities around the world.
Somebody do have the video reference ? Date ?
2015 yearbook of jehovah’s witnesses.
a letter from the governing body.
''we also deeply appreciated your “loving labor” in connection with the construction of various theocratic facilities around the world.
Data-Dog said:
I take that speech by Sam Herd as proof that the GB are not in charge, but owned, probably by the same group of Xian’s or the group who own Xianity who helped Trump get into office and laid their hands upon him. Sheesh, the WBTS was in bed with Jared Kushner and made a Billion dollars..
I believe that the Watchtower Society and all its incorporations are just another money-making business disguised as a religion. Charles Taze Russell incorporated this religion to sell books and magazines. Throughout its 140 year history, how many books, Bibles, magazines, and real estate properties have been sold?
The Watchtower Society pays no taxes and all labor is done by volunteers. It owns stocks and invests in Hedge Funds. Just like a corporation, they lay off workers to reduce medical costs. After long-serving Bethel members and Circuit/ District Overseers reach a certain age, they are pushed out for much younger members whose medical costs won't be a burden. The Watchtower Society is reducing personnel, publications, and projects because of all the pedophile lawsuits.
I believe the Watchtower Society is run by a group of lawyers and owned by a corporation whose identity will never be discovered. The Governing Body members are used as a front by this unknown corporation.
2015 yearbook of jehovah’s witnesses.
a letter from the governing body.
''we also deeply appreciated your “loving labor” in connection with the construction of various theocratic facilities around the world.
2015 Yearbook of Jehovah’s Witnesses
''We also deeply appreciated your “loving labor” in connection with the construction of various theocratic facilities around the world. We urgently need such facilities, as the number of Jehovah’s people continues to increase. (Isa. 60:22) Just imagine, our peak publishers this past year was 8,201,545, while our Bible studies averaged 9,499,933 each month. As a result of the increase, many branch offices are in need of expansion or renovation. Of course, this also means that we need more Kingdom Halls! At the same time, remote translation offices are needed in many parts of the earth so that our translators can live and work in the area where their language is spoken.''
Here is a somber Samuel Herd ( the smug smile is gone from the above photo) reading an announcement on how this joyful letter ( that was printed in the ''2015 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses) really worked out!
Please, Mr. Herd, tell the Bethel family and worldwide members that facilities were constructed, branch offices expanded or renovated, and new Kingdom Halls built with their '' dedicated funds''?
Here is ''just the opposite'' news Mr. Herd was made to read:
'' A good number of special full-time servants will be returning to the ranks of Regular Pioneers''
'' We would need to reduce personnel, reduce the number of publications''
'' Put some non-essential projects on hold''
'' Reduce or eliminate various services at Bethel"
