it is not “preach the good news” nor is it “believe in jesus and get saved” neither is it “believe in the governing body of jehovah’s witnesses and get saved” although in practice they do teach this.
no, everything they claim depends on a belief in another doctrine which logic decrees cannot be found in the bible.
the leadership of jehovah’s witnesses put absolute faith in a protestant doctrine which is given a latin name, sola scriptura, meaning “by scripture alone”.. good evidence of the governing body believing in the primacy of this doctrine was when being questioned by the australian royal commission, they resorted to the ‘authority’ of scripture to defend their stance on having “two witnesses” when they are investigating child abuse cases.throughout the hearing they paraded their naive trust in the bible as the highest possible authority proudly ignoring the fact that most people regard it as having been superseded by modern scientific evaluations of what is true.. .
"The sole purpose of our existence as a Society is to announce
the Kingdom established in 1914 and to sound the warning of
the fall of Babylon the Great [in 1918]. We have a SPECIAL
message to deliver."
--- Fred Franz's words to Bethel family, November 17, 1979.
https://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/143902/sole-purpose-society
Edited to add: If you are unable to check out the above link, these words of Fred Franz were recorded by Ray Franz, in his book, Crisis of Conscience.
if you have a look at the december broadcast on jw tv they tell you that they wont be showing you a normal format for december but the 143rd event of gilead because the watchtower does not have the resources other wise to translate it many different lanuages.. with all the cuts the watchtower have made and are going to make you would have thought that they would have lots of resources.
SBF: What you wrote earlier about changes that would allow you to return appealed to me on a level of personal sentiment and nostalgia for things past.
Even some non-believers have stated that they are drawn to the pageantry and mystery certain church services offer. Why, even former Bethelite Tom Cabeen became Catholic. I do miss the camaraderie and spiritual atmosphere that was the center of my life for decades. As I wrote on your "Methodist" thread, it all began with my going to The First Methodist Episcopal Church as a child.
i'm sure many of you are aware of the jwtalk site, a message board which has yet to succumb to apostasy (give it time).. some of the forums there are visible to the public, and i've seen some crazy stuff.
here is a sampling:.
"satan is really trying his best to make things worst for the witnesses, knowing the 6,000 years is almost up, from eve's creation!".
Just as with metal, there is a limit to the number of times it can be twisted before it snaps. -- westiebillie11
EXCELLENT!
The buttons are truly out of alignment and, certainly, shockingly out of color (colour) context with the gray (colour and grey, for SBF and steve2) suit. I would suggest replacement buttons from the following list of color (colour) options: Pearl Gray (grey); Cadet Gray (grey); Payne's Gray (grey); or Taupe Gray (grey).
i'm sure many of you are aware of the jwtalk site, a message board which has yet to succumb to apostasy (give it time).. some of the forums there are visible to the public, and i've seen some crazy stuff.
here is a sampling:.
"satan is really trying his best to make things worst for the witnesses, knowing the 6,000 years is almost up, from eve's creation!".
To carry this further . . .
It seems that resurrected ones of the 24-elders group may be involved in the communicating of divine truths today.
NO! I dispute this vague, non-committal and mealy-mouthed supposition -- It seems -- that those 24 elders are perhaps, possibly, maybe directing matters on behalf of The Lord's chosen ones. The evidence shows beyond all doubt that the consecrated are directed by Heaven in their carrying out The Great Architect's Divine Plan of the Ages.
It does not seem to be so -- it is so!
SBF: This is dead serious.
i'm sure many of you are aware of the jwtalk site, a message board which has yet to succumb to apostasy (give it time).. some of the forums there are visible to the public, and i've seen some crazy stuff.
here is a sampling:.
"satan is really trying his best to make things worst for the witnesses, knowing the 6,000 years is almost up, from eve's creation!".
I don't need Jerry to send me a copy of the Revelation book because I have Mom's copy, seriously underlined, with her own commentary (valuable to me since she was of the anointed and now is directing matters on earth from heaven):
11 What, then, can we deduce from the fact that one of the 24 elders identifies the great crowd to John? It seems that resurrected ones of the 24-elders group may be involved in the communicating of divine truths today. Why is that important?
https://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/171939/governing-body-channels
http://www.grammarbook.com/punctuation/quotes.asp .
would someone please make this link clickable?.
cc.
In terms of self-assessment, Smith made various pronouncements on what he considered his best work. These included the six stories in [The] Double Shadow (i.e., "The Voyage of King Euvoran," "The Maze of the Enchanter, " "The Double Shadow," "A Night in Malnéant," "The Devotee of Evil" and "The Willow Landscape") and the individual stories "The Eternal World" and "The City of the Singing Flame." He named "The Uncharted Isle" as the best "or at least favorite" of his "straight science fiction" stories. Toward the end of his life, Smith considered his "masterpiece" to be the blank verse play, "The Dead Will Cuckold You" (1951, 1956) set in Zothique, one of his last completed works. Of his Zothique story cycle taken as a whole, Smith said it was "in no wise inferior to Dunsany and Cabell." Regarding his poetry -- which he took the most seriously of all his creative work -- Smith felt (writing in 1936) that he had produced his best work in the years 1913-23.
http://alangullette.com/lit/smith/sorcerer.htm
Note: Book titles are italicized -- The Double Shadow -- whereas, individual stories or poems -- "The City of the Singing Flame" -- are placed within quotation marks.
my dad's phone rings.
its a secretary from his dermatologists office.. her:.
"just calling for "mr. wasa sr." to remind him his appointment is next wednesday at 2pm.".
Regarding phone or any other sort of good manners, a friend called one day, ever her cheerful, friendly self. As usual, she went into her usual lively tale about her comings and goings. Never a "how're-you-doing?" interchange. Never, then or in any past conversation (always one-way).
I gently interjected, "Mary, when we talk you never ask how I'm doing."
Being a kind and aware soul, she realized her penchant for barging right in, apologized, and we went from there.
Sometimes, people need little reminders that it's a conversation, not a soliloquy.
my dad's phone rings.
its a secretary from his dermatologists office.. her:.
"just calling for "mr. wasa sr." to remind him his appointment is next wednesday at 2pm.".
Thanks, smiddy!
Don't know why both were deleted. Try again . . .
In the film The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, a caller started chatting up Judi Dench about a service in her deceased husband's name. Ms. Dench said her husband was dead. The agent kept talking about the service, totally oblivious to the poor widow's lament.
Later, as the story unfolded, Ms. Dench became an adviser on proper phone etiquette in that very company.
i have been going through old papers and photographs since my mother passed away.
it has reminded me of some of the reasons that i really hate november.
this year has added to it obviously.. thirty-four years ago, my father passed away in early november.
My first thought, Dorothy McGuire.
