Derrick

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Posts by Derrick

• 
  33

  I'm a Millionaire !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  by JH in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  hey everyone, i just won $2,000,000 playing loto quebec.

  look at the results below and my winning ticket.

  i played the 6/49 game.. .

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  Derrick

  Photoshop is quite a remarkable tool. What do you think of the new "Healing Brush"?

  Derrick
• 
  90

  Know what makes me terribly sad about some on these forums?

  by Derrick in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i find something very distressing not to mention terribly sad about some of you people (and to those who are not one of these people i kindly ask to please don't fly into some "i'm so insulted!

  " snit as if i'm wrongfully referring to you).

  to those people i'm referring to i say: you rightfully hope for the british and u.s. military to destroy that saddam monster and its minions of mass-murdering/worshippers throughout iraq.

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  Derrick

  By the way:

  When I post on NETSCAPE 7.02 all the linefeeds are stripped out of my post, leaving one big paragraph. I switched to Internet Explorer to post this message.

  So, you critics really should have said, "Derrick, why are you posting on Netscape again when you know it creates one big paragraph?" instead of jumping on this glitch to hurl more insults?

  Derrick
• 
  90

  Know what makes me terribly sad about some on these forums?

  by Derrick in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i find something very distressing not to mention terribly sad about some of you people (and to those who are not one of these people i kindly ask to please don't fly into some "i'm so insulted!

  " snit as if i'm wrongfully referring to you).

  to those people i'm referring to i say: you rightfully hope for the british and u.s. military to destroy that saddam monster and its minions of mass-murdering/worshippers throughout iraq.

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  Derrick

  For anyone interested in unsensational fact, I have not been to this forum SINCE MY LAST REPLY TO THIS TOPIC maybe 5 days ago. This is a classic and predictable response from a few bashers to claim I "hit and run" when in fact I replied to this topic, then castigate me for an absence. Believe it or not, I don't live on this forum. I have a life outside this forum and cannot visit more than once a week.

  Next, any intelligent individual who has any experience with forums recognizes that a poster does not have to prove they are not a hit-and-runner by following up with a reply such as, "I have read your responses and simply don't have anything further to add." That is considered a waste of bandwidth and rather rude.

  The expectation is that no social contract exists to reply without being labeled a "hit and run" type. The obvious reason is that if you had to reply to your posts no matter what, but it wasn't sufficient to reply "I can't think of anything to add at this point" (a waste of bandwidth), then you might NEVER POST. The expectation is that the initial post is sufficient in itself. For example, if I post "I believe in democracy," to which you reply, " then you are a complete and utter moron," and I fail to reply to you, then am I a "hit and runner"? Remember, if I simply reply, "I'm not going to qualify your comment!!!!" then you will accuse me of wasting bandwidth. You would have likely said, "Derrick, why did you even bother to post? If you were going to post, you should post a rebuttal to the accusation that you are a complete MORON for believing in democracy. Furthermore, YOU created the post and so YOU have the burden to prove democracy is something worth believing in!"

  One is NOT required to anticipate whether your post might generate replies, and abstain from posting if one thinks it's possible that someone will post something where you can't think of any to say in response.

  In fact, although I'm preaching to the choir, suffice it to say that lack of response is showing respect for others if one cannot think of a response!

  Suppose I sat there reading this topic and thought, "this is impossible! These people have absolutely no understanding of the teachings of JWs!" QUESTION: Should I flame the board by posting that as a reply? Should I simply post "I'm not going to qualify your idiotic responses" and then be accused of promulgating the very disruptive verbal tactics that many used over the years on this and other forums to start flame wars? And yet remaining silent is used as an excuse to attack me. For example, you post "I think democracy is the best way of life because ............." and I reply, "You are a total moron as usual! None of what you said has any logic to it! Democracy has failed because............." Then, five days later, you return and read my reply with a sigh, scratching your head. So you decide it's a waste of time to reply, and that anything you say will simply cause a firestorm to erupt. As a result, I post "YOU are obviously a hit and run poster, OR it is more likely you know my argument against democracy is RIGHT and you're too chicken sh*t to post a rebuttal! That figures!."

  But I keep forgetting the hypocricy of many here -- it's OKAY for them to do the very things that I'm criticized for doing because of course they are far superior to myself.

  And predictably, because I decide to criticize poor netiquette in this rather lengthy reply, you will use that to further attack rather than addressing my post.

  Replies I'll never get...

  "Derrick, it hadn't even dawned on me that you were gone between your last reply to this topic, and today! Sorry for the rash accusations that you hit and run!"

  "Derrick, whenever I post and feel for any reason that people make stupid or thoughtless replies, I don't respond and YES, they accuse me of being a hit and runner! So I know exactly what you're talking about."

  My continued stance on the worldwide destruction doctrine...

  The current Watchtower leadership IMO has engaged in manipulation of words on this teaching to keep the rank and file in line, WITHOUT actually teaching that non-JWs will be exterminated.

  If people in this religion refuse to simply tell their leadership "I'm going to do my best in the ministry knowing that the Bible says 'God is love' and those who are not reached with this vital message will be treated with perfect love, so all the speculation about non-JWs dying at Armageddon is inappropriate," then these people are not showing the spirit of true Christianity. The whole idea of reform is to remove those from leadership that use scare tactics to scare people into putting in more hours, attending every meeting each week at practically all costs, and donating more than they can afford to the Society's coffers.

  You are simply WRONG that the official teaching of JWs is that only JWs will survive Armageddon. The fact that the majority of Earth's population is not reached with the vital message is proof. Many haven't even heard of JWs! New generations keep coming as years go by who have never even heard of the Bible let alone Christianity! Your hurling insults that the Watchtower leadership is so bloodthirsty that they believe these innocents are going to die for not hearing a message from a manmade religious group isn't going to make it so. It's sort of like someone hating the heads of some big company because they mismanaged it, so they keep comparing those persons to Hitler or Saddam Hussein. They can make all the comparisons in the world and basically make complete idiots of themselves because those types of comparisons are based on out of control emotions and failure to reason in an emotionally agitated state of mind.

  You can keep villifying the Watchtower leadership all you want, and attack those like myself that try to point out both the positive and negative about these men, and even claim that I'm evil or insane of both for trying to remain balanced. It's no different than claiming that some news correspondent on CNN is "another wannabe Hitler who supports the molestation of children" simply because he refuses to claim that your personal enemy is literally evil. We see this all the time.

  If you say as an extreme example, "I believe the governing body has a torture chamber where they rape children, it's accessed through a hidden passage way from their conference room." and I say "I believe that is pure HOGWASH!" then it is your right to say, "your denial of what I just said proves that YOU are an evil child molester that ought to be locked up for life!!!!!!!!!" Far as I'm concerned that is just par for the course in this rabid civilization. And, you can claim that I'm engaging in "hit and run" because I remain silent and decline to defend myself -- you might even followup by saying, "the fact you didn't defend yourself when I accused you of being an evil child molester only proves that I'm right!!!!!!!!!!!!"

  Derrick
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  90

  Know what makes me terribly sad about some on these forums?

  by Derrick in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i find something very distressing not to mention terribly sad about some of you people (and to those who are not one of these people i kindly ask to please don't fly into some "i'm so insulted!

  " snit as if i'm wrongfully referring to you).

  to those people i'm referring to i say: you rightfully hope for the british and u.s. military to destroy that saddam monster and its minions of mass-murdering/worshippers throughout iraq.

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  Derrick

  I find something very distressing not to mention terribly sad about some of you people (and to those who are NOT one of these people I kindly ask to please don't fly into some "I'm so insulted!" snit as if I'm wrongfully referring to you). To those people I'm referring to I say: You rightfully hope for the British and U.S. military to destroy that Saddam monster and its minions of mass-murdering/worshippers throughout Iraq. Good! I hope they finally hit Saddam's bunker with one of their bunker busting bombs! And YET you people to whom I refer (and again I'm not addressing anyone else on this forum) have repeatedly criticized the annihilation of ALL the Saddams of this world by God himself?! Most people who haven't been on this forum long are probably stumped at wondering what moronic individual could possibly hope for the destruction of evil in Iraq by a nation and in the same breath severely criticize God for saving us all the trouble by wiping out ALL the Saddams (not just the Iraqi dictatorship and evil infrastructure)? Beats me. What triggered this post? I don't know, I was just grieving the losses of good Iraqi, American, British and other people during their quest to save this world from a reign of terror by a Hitleresque regime, and my thoughts drifted to this forum and its critics of God's plan to destroy ALL evil people. If given the choice of which is ideal: (a) well intentioned governments or (b) God, well, the choice is a no brainer and 10 on the "Duh" scale. However, it occurred to me that many of you (and rightfully so!) applaud the destruction of Saddam and his band of murderers -- to clean the Iraqi house if you will -- but SOME of you people have always attacked Christianity for longing for the day when Jehovah God iradicates every wannabe Saddam and bin Laden from the face of this Earth! Go figure. Derrick
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  33

  Kingdom Ministries - The Jig is Up!

  by Stephanus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i got this email earlier:hi, did you know that you may not publish the kingdom ministry at any way?

  please remove that page.. didn't think it would amount to much - just another dub throwing his weight around on an apostate site he shouldn't be visiting.

  however, i just received a demand from my web host to remove the kms or lose my website.

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  Derrick

  My suggestion is to let a foreign friend host the KM on a foreign site that is outside U.S. or any other jurisdiction capable of pulling the plug. Someone from another country can volunteer to maintain it. You can send them the pages password encrypted using the free strong encryption/compression utility WinZip (www.winzip.com) then wash your hands legally of the mess. That way you're untouchable. A similar situation occurred when the Society tried for many years to track down the administrators of a dissident web site called Hourglass2 Outpost (H2O) run out of Australia, supposedly so their local elders could initiate appropriate disciplinary action (and I suspect to encourage them to shut it down). H2O was run from a few other countries outside the U.S. as a backup. It seems there's a lesson in there. You simply need to outsource your KM pages to foreign friends who are willing to host them on a site out of U.S. jurisdiction (perhaps on one of those islands somewhere, you know, the places where people stash currency in Swiss-style numbered accounts, lol). Then dontcha forget to submit that site to every search engine in the world.

  Derrick
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  41

  War is a tragic reminder that only Christ is able to establish world peace!

  by Derrick in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  the truth is that humanity needs the god who created this vast universe -- who is known as allah to many, and jehovah to many, or worshipped under a myriad of other names but indeed is but one -- to eliminate the forces of evil in this world through his son, jesus christ.

  as a matter of fact, the bible promises christ will reign as king on his throne from the heavens for the millennium it shall take to establish world peace.. if you are visiting this site out of curiosity about the beliefs of jehovah's witnesses and have this sinking feeling of dispair in your heart as this world descends into social and economic conflict and chaos, then you should be aware that a higher intelligence is about to intervene and save mankind from extinction.

  that intelligence created this universe and its laws of physics to house intelligent life, and what you simply know as "love" eminated from this intelligence!

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  Derrick

  Hello everyone, I appreciate your thought provoking replies. A few of you postulated that my not posting any followup on this topic implies that I have committed "hit and run" which is not necessarily the case. Sometimes those who post and don't return review the replies, and think "hmmm... what more is there to say?" This is one of those cases (grin).

  However, I will say this, it is obvious many simply refuse to exercise faith based on the general direction this topic is heading.

  Someone implied the Watchtower Society knows when WWIII will commence not because they are divinely inspired but because they are perhaps Satanically inspired? If I read incorrectly between the lines on that one, then can you please clarify yourself in a followup? I know there has been speculation that those inside the Watchtower continue to practice Masonic rites in secret, are tied to the modern Illuminati and those behind the scenes who control world governments like puppetmasters, and so forth. However, I have examined many web sites making these claims and with all due respect believe that these sites lack definitive proof. What is needed is solid evidence. You said to do my research but failed to point me in the right direction. Did you have a web site about Russell, Rutherford and modern Watchtower leadership ties to the secret organization you claim has "planned" World War III and this present Iraq crisis? I would appreciate the links in that direction.

  After all these replies, mostly unfavorable as regards the Bible and its Divine Author, I'm disappointed but not surprised. However, Farkel's tersely humorous reminder when he said something to the extent that "in 2,000 years Christ has done dick, Rick" did manage to crack the ice under our feet. A brief and rare moment of humor passed when that cracked ice completely gave way and we plunged into the icy waters of rancid doubt and pure scorn.

  Here we are, sitting on our butts at the bottom of a slippery slope, completely polarized in our complete doubts and absolutely unyielding in our willingness to consider anything beyond what we can see, smell and touch. It's too bad in that many of you will discover that reality is not at all what you think it is, and I'm afraid y'all may find this out "real soon now."

  I bid all of you well, and wish you peace.

  Derrick
• 
  41

  War is a tragic reminder that only Christ is able to establish world peace!

  by Derrick in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  the truth is that humanity needs the god who created this vast universe -- who is known as allah to many, and jehovah to many, or worshipped under a myriad of other names but indeed is but one -- to eliminate the forces of evil in this world through his son, jesus christ.

  as a matter of fact, the bible promises christ will reign as king on his throne from the heavens for the millennium it shall take to establish world peace.. if you are visiting this site out of curiosity about the beliefs of jehovah's witnesses and have this sinking feeling of dispair in your heart as this world descends into social and economic conflict and chaos, then you should be aware that a higher intelligence is about to intervene and save mankind from extinction.

  that intelligence created this universe and its laws of physics to house intelligent life, and what you simply know as "love" eminated from this intelligence!

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  Derrick

  The truth is that humanity needs the God who created this vast universe -- who is known as Allah to many, and Jehovah to many, or worshipped under a myriad of other names but indeed is but One -- to eliminate the forces of evil in this world through his Son, Jesus Christ. As a matter of fact, the Bible promises Christ will reign as king on his throne from the heavens for the millennium it shall take to establish world peace.

  If you are visiting this site out of curiosity about the beliefs of Jehovah's Witnesses and have this sinking feeling of dispair in your heart as this world descends into social and economic conflict and chaos, then you should be aware that a Higher Intelligence is about to intervene and save mankind from extinction. That Intelligence created this universe and its laws of physics to house intelligent life, and what you simply know as "love" eminated from this Intelligence! Your very consciousness and emotions and desire for world peace eminated from this Intelligence. That is why you must act quickly.

  The blueprint for the future of this planet and all life on it was translated into a book that has survived flawless translations over the millennia, and that book is known as the Bible. Regardless of the translation you choose you can rest assured that it communicates God's plan for human civilization on this planet and its peaceful existence for eternity. Long after our Sun has extinguished its fires we will be living somewhere in this vast universe with the One who made life and the very fabric of space and time possible! Get out the Bible and open it to the beginning, then read it! If it is difficult to understand, visit your local bookstore or an online bookseller and purchase the New International Version or any other modern version! Then read it as you would any non-fiction book with the understanding that it will enlighten you to the truth of the reason behind the existence of life in this universe.

  This is a good time to discover through the pages of the Bible the startling truth behind the invisible supernatural forces that cause human barbarianism, wars and bloodshed throughout the history of civilization to today! Your eyes will be opened and like myself you will likely feel like the early primitive peoples who lived deep under the forest canopies until they had the courage to enter the open fields in the darkness of night and look up at the Moon and ocean of stars above! What a shock they must have felt discovering that true "reality" was really hidden under a veil of forest trees above which was a vast sea of mysterious lights. What a shock modern scientists must have felt realizing that sea of lights is filled with infinite earthlike islands like our own. And what a revelation it will be to read the Bible and discover the very laws of physics that govern the ocean of space above has intelligent design - filled with an infinite number of conscious entities both human and non-human (and some whom the ancient writers of the Bible wrote were not from Earth but appeared human during their visits).

  Yes, the Bible is truly eye opening and an excellent literary work as well. You will do well to read one of its modern translations if you have not done so. If you are seeking the truth, it is right there within your grasp. If you are a busy profesional you might consider visiting your bookstore or online bookseller and obtaining a cassette or CD-ROM narration of the Bible to play in your car. As the world economy slides deeper into turmoil and chaos this is a good time to discover that no matter what happens you can look to the future with hope and positively know that good will triumph over evil and that even if your body dies your soul and consciousness will live forever. This absolute truth will carry you through the most difficult times that may lie ahead for the world, and strengthen you to live life to the fullest today.

  You will not be afraid of what others fear because you will know the truth, and that is why the truth will set you free!

  Warm regards to you and your loved ones,

  Derrick
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  18

  Would you ride this rollercoaster?

  by DanTheMan in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  http://www.topthrilldragster.com/public/inside_park/rides/thrill/ttd/specs/index.cfm

  this time i think they've gone too far.

  i'll usually ride just about any amusement park ride, but i don't know about this one.. anybody want to meet me at cedar point this summer?

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  Derrick

  Re: Would you ride this rollercoaster?

  Don'tcha love a meaty metaphor. To answer your question posed in the subjectline of this topic, let's suppose you had ridden the rollercoaster in Paradise World Theme Parks for years. One day you learn its old, rickety and poorly maintained tracks have a high probability of abrupt failure. There are even disturbing news articles about some who have flown off the tracks and landed in the crowds 100 feet below. Is it not only wise and even prudent under these circumstances to discontinue your favorite ride it until such time as it is properly maintained and operating safely?

  Let the reader use discernment...

  Derrick
• 
  29

  New Order Mormons Forum - JWs Can Learn From LDS Mistakes!

  by Derrick in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  can jws learn from the latter-day saints mistakes?

  i recently ran across a forum for mormons (http://www.aimoo.com/forum/freeboard.cfm?id=319220) that brings back memories of the jw forum hourglass2 outpost (h2o) when it started in the year 1996 (and believe it or not still exists at http://www.geocities.com/hourglass2.geo/).

  this new mormon forum is named appropriately "new order mormons" (http://www.aimoo.com/forum/freeboard.cfm?id=319220) and is on the same isp forum site as the h2o forums.

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  Derrick

  Blackguard wrote:
  Your comment,"I find the LDS and JWs similar in many subtle ways", is more profound than you might imagine. Poster scorpion aparently recognized the occultic theological similarities as did an individual, whom you self-righteously labelled an "x-file conspiracy theorist", recognize the corporate connections. C.T.Russell and Joseph Smith were not only residents of Pennsylvania, but both were Illuminists, practisers of gnostic traditions. Their occultic theology was virtually identical because of their connections to Masonry. While the artificial religious person, aka the Watch Tower corporation, may not be directly controlled by the Mormons both still have the common philosophic parent that direct the affairs of both juggernauts. I reccomend that to maintain your own peace of mind you do not investigate these claims lest you stumble upon the truth of this matter. (William Huntington Russell is considered to be the originator of Skull & Bones in the USA, not Joseph Russell).

  In other words C.T. Russell and Joseph Smith were sworn members of the Illuminati as well as practicing Freemasons? Is it possible they knew one another and attended the same Masonic Lodge? That could explain a lot.

  By the way have you seen the recent movie "Tomb Raider"? I was curious about the accuracy of the movie's treatment of the Illuminati and application of poet William Blake's famous quote?

  Derrick
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  29

  New Order Mormons Forum - JWs Can Learn From LDS Mistakes!

  by Derrick in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  can jws learn from the latter-day saints mistakes?

  i recently ran across a forum for mormons (http://www.aimoo.com/forum/freeboard.cfm?id=319220) that brings back memories of the jw forum hourglass2 outpost (h2o) when it started in the year 1996 (and believe it or not still exists at http://www.geocities.com/hourglass2.geo/).

  this new mormon forum is named appropriately "new order mormons" (http://www.aimoo.com/forum/freeboard.cfm?id=319220) and is on the same isp forum site as the h2o forums.

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  Derrick

  Mary wrote:
  What exactly could we possibly learn from them?

  For one thing, we can learn to be joyful in our worship to Jehovah through Jesus Christ as the Mormons express through their beautiful temples and choir. Look at the beautiful temples of the past and Ark amongst other historical monuments in the temples of Jehovah over the millenniums and as documented in the Old and New Testaments (Hebrew and Greek Scriptures) of the Bible and the joyfulness that people experienced worshipping the Creator. The Scriptures have emphasized song and musical instruments, and the Mormon Church is considered by many as second to none in this area. Do we listen to musical instrument accompanyment in our Kingdom Halls during worship services? No... we sing to the accompanyment of recorded music for the most part.

  Another thing, we can learn to have balance in our lives. The Bible says that for everything is a season, and in the preaching work the Latter-Day Saints assign the missionary work to youth and volunteers. Forcing everyone to go out in the field with the threat of being declared spiritually weak by the congregation elders is just plain disfunctional. Compare the success of the LDS missionary work to the JW missionary work in growth. For that matter, look at the growth of the Catholic Church where nobody is expected to cover territories and wake tired folks from their rest on Saturday mornings and compare that to ours. The truth is that the Apostles never expected everyone in the congregation to preach the gospel by knocking on everybody's doors. A new paradigm for the preaching work in this century is necessary if the organization is to experience the growth enjoyed by other faiths such as the Mormons.

  Gumby wrote:
  They haven't learned a damn thing from their mistakes for over a hundred years. Why do you think they would admit from learning anything from Christendom, or change their ways now? Dream on pal.

  I'm sorry you feel that way, Gumby, I really do, but you know what? I completely understand your lack of faith that miracles can occur in the Jehovah's Witnesses religion. Reform for many skeptics is really on par with expecting Moses's ancestor to rise and part the Red Sea... the whole concept of reforming the Watchtower is considered by many as optimistic as trying to renovate an old house filled with dry rot and irreversible termite damage.

  However, those who have seen the power of God in their lives such as I have know that, to put it bluntly, supernatural events that will shock the most hardened skeptics will happen. Such reformations have occurred in the dark ages to the disbelief of millions, and so why should God not illuminate our lives today by reforming the unreformable?

  JT wrote:
  It claims to speak for god like moses did, it sets up rules that impact the lives of millions, proclaims that if you don't share thier view you and i along with 6 billion folks will die at the very hands of god himself and you are suggesting they "Set up a Choir"

  I laughed a little at your stark candor, JT, and then realized that as perverse as it may sound the answer is "yes"! Listening to a good choir is a spiritually and emotionally healing experience both for those performing and those in the audience, and the spiritual power of good music should not be underestimated.

  And jest I did not.

  Farkel wrote:
  From that comment, it's obvious you are still a dub. You haven't learned nothin'. All those years on your own board, all those facts on your own board, all those horror stories of a web of lying, deceiving, false history, arrogance, manipulation and using up human lives by the Watchtower Organization and FOR the Watchtower Organization, and you still think the WTS and dupes like you STILL need to "learn something?"

  The wealth of information on H2O over the years has indeed been a learning experience, believe it or not, Farkel. All those horror stories, the web of lies and deceit, their arrogance, the elderly master manipulators pulling the levers behind the curtain in "Oz" and living high off the hog on the Farm in Patterson, the used up human lives they thought would become fertilizer in the gardens of post-Armageddon survivors... it forever had its impact upon myself and countless others passing through the Hourglass portal.

  All this, Farkel, you correctly pointed out but failed to recognize is in fact, with all due respect to your disagreement, all the more reason why the "dupes" in the Watchtower and myself and countless others in the organization need to learn something! Because those who fail to learn can be likened to the prophet outside the ancient city of Nineveh in the book of Jonah.

  Farkel wrote:
  Geeez, Rick. Are you STUPID or something?

  No... actually, I'm pretty smart.

  Gumby wrote:
  So this Rick....had his own board and knows all the history behind the borg and still doubts?

  I would reeeeeeeeeally like to hear from you rick and HOW a person can do this. I'm really serious.....I want to know. I've seen joelbear long for family and friends to the point of wanting to return ....but you. You actually were serious in your comment? Please explain.

  It's really very simple, Gumby. The Governing Body are human beings for whom Christ died, and so is everybody else. Everyone and I mean everyone will stand before the throne of God in the final judgment. True Christians are those who rise above all the petty-anny b.s. the world dishes out and forgives again and again (up to 7 times? 77 times?...) and believes that through faith Jesus Christ can move mountains if this will serve God's will. If the Bible says that even the secular authorities serve God's purpose, then certainly God can use the 6+ million JWs worldwide as part of accomplishing his will. It is a serious mistake for anyone to simply write them off when there is so much potential.

  The comment about them forming a choir similar to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir was meant as a generalized comment, an effort symbolic of spiritual progress, because obviously there are many areas of this church that need positive changes. One could argue the lack of a choir is the least of their concerns, but my point is that unless you start at the grass roots level to bring joy to people in worship then you miss the whole point that the God of love is a joyful God that created humans for the purpose of enjoying eternal life to the fullest.

  Scorpion quoted:
  Did the Watchtower borrow from the Mormons?

  WATCHTOWER TEACHING

  Dead leader still active
  “…though Pastor Russell has passed beyond the veil, he is still managing every feature
  of the Harvest work.”
  -Studies in the Scripture, Vol. 7, p.144

  Earlier Mormon Teaching

  Dead leader still active
  “Joseph Smith holds the keys of this last dispensation, and is now engaged behind the
  vail in the great work of the last days.”
  -B. Young, Journal of Discourses, Vol. 7, p. 289

  Watchtower Teaching

  God’s throne at star Alcyone “Alcyone, the central one of the renowned Pleiadic stars…from which the Almighty
  governs his universe.”
  -Studies in the Scriptures, Vol. 3, p.327
  “…the group Pleiades. And the reasonable suggestion has been made that that center
  may be the heaven of heavens, the highest heaven, the throne of God.”
  -The Watchtower, May 15, 1895, p. 1814
  (Society’s reprints)

  Mormon Teaching

  God’s throne at star Kolob “And I saw the stars… that one of them was nearest unto the throne of God…the
  name of the great one is Kolob…Kolob is set nigh unto the throne of God, to govern
  all those planets….”
  -Abraham 3:2, 3, Pearl of Great Price (1842)

  Watchtower Teaching

  Men will become Gods “Now we appear like men, and all die naturally like men, but in the resurrection we will
  rise in our true character as Gods.”
  -The Watch Tower, December, 1881, page 301

  Mormon Teaching

  Men will become Gods “God himself was once as we are now, and is an exalted man…and you have got to
  learn how to be gods yourselves…the same as all gods have done before you…until
  you attain to the resurrection”
  -Joseph Smith, History of the Church, Vol. 6, pp. 305-306

  Watchtower Teaching

  Pyramid prophecies “THE TESTIMONY OF GOD’S STONE WITNESS AND PROPHET, THE
  GREAT PYAMID IN EGYPT…Call to mind that the full end of Gentile power in the
  world and the time of trouble which brings its overthrow, will be in the end of A.D.
  1914…If the inches of the floor-lines of these passages represent a year, each…
  -Studies in the Scriptures, Vol. III, 1891 (1903 edition), pages 313 (title), 362-363

  Mormon Teaching

  Pyramid prophecies
  “…a new witness that the Lord seems to have brought to light, by the opening of the
  Great Pyramid of Egypt… There seems to be a prophetic spirit running through the
  construction of all that cast superstructure, pointing forward to the very end…Allowing
  one year to a cubit inch… the generation that will close up the times of the Gentiles.”
  -Orson Pratt, Fiftieth Annual Conference Report of the Mormon Church, 1880, pages
  86-87

  WATCHTOWER TEACHING

  God’s channel
  “Unless we are in touch with this channel of communication that God is using, we will
  not progress along the road to life, no matter how much Bible reading we do.”
  -The Watchtower, December 1, 1981, pg.27

  Earlier Mormon teaching

  God’s channel “Do we realize that this is the channel through which the mind and will of God our
  Father is made known to us?…and it is among the privileges of every man and every
  woman to approach the Lord through this channel and learn his mind and will
  concerning them.”
  -Journal of Discourses, Vol. 18, 1875, p.98

  Watchtower Teaching

  Generation prophecies “Most important, this magazine build confidence in the Creator’s promise of a peaceful
  and secure new world before the generation that saw the events of 1914 passes
  away.”
  

  Earlier Mormon teaching

  Generation prophecies “We believe in these promises as much as we believe in any promise ever uttered by
  the mouth of Jehovah. The Latter-day Saints just as much expect to receive a
  fulfillment of that promise during the generation that was in existence in 1832 as they
  expect that the sun will rise and set to-morrow. Why? Because God cannot lie.”
  -Journal of Discourses, Vol. 13, May 5, 1870, p. 362

  Taken from David Reeds 1991 Spring edition of Comments from the Friends

  I had no idea! These remarkable similarities are quite shocking. It's as if both faiths, the JWs and the LDS, are controlled by two major corporations that seem totally separate but are secretly owned by one holding company. Those early quotes you posted make me wonder if there were ties between the early Watchtower and the Mormons and Freemasonry?

  Derrick