Gopher

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Posts by Gopher

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  8

  Do only a certain number of people find salvation?

  by rptrchic in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i'm curious to know whether the jws believe as the mormons do that only a certain number of people get to go to heaven or find salvation.

  thanks for your response.

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  Gopher

  rptrchic,

  Part of your question hasn't been answered... about the number going to heaven. The JW's quote Revelation chapters 7 and 14 literally, and say that 144,000 are selected to rule in heaven with Christ. Those of the "other sheep" class are the ruled ones, who have the hope of everlasting life in an earthly paradise. This number is not determined, but only a small number are said to make it through this world's end, and then all the billions who lived before get their second chance to learn about God and join those living forever on earth. Hope this helps.

  GopherWhy shouldn't truth be stranger than fiction? Fiction, after all, has to make sense.
  Mark Twain (1835-1910)
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  13

  Hi to all the Girl's and Boy's

  by Nute in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  officially been out of the organization since 1990 .... i have e-mailed some of you already .... a very nice group of individuals i must say.

  what does borg mean?

  i did rattle some cages with the last post by silientlamb, but i guess that's what it is all about listening to both the good and the bad.

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  Gopher

  Hi Nute,

  Welcome to our board! This place has helped many including me on the journey to self-discovery and new ways of thinking. You'll find out that free speech and honesty are generally highly valued here. The waters get rough some times, but hey that's humanity!

  Hope to get to know more about you, your input will be valued.

  BORG = Brooklyn Organization. Known to those inside the organization as "mother". To those outside, known as the "bastards from Brooklyn", the "brain dead from Brooklyn" and far worse. Submit to the BORG--- resistance is futile, bwaaa-haaa-haaa. (not)

  GopherWhy shouldn't truth be stranger than fiction? Fiction, after all, has to make sense.
  Mark Twain (1835-1910)
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  8

  Skimming off the top

  by gambler in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  this is an evil idea so be warned.

  i was just thinking back and it came to me how easy it would have been to steel money from the controbution boxes in the congos i use to attend.just volontier to clean the hall at the end of every month and skim away.no one would suspect a thing because cntrobutions are annonymous.and if you where in the right position at bethel you could skim some serious cash.and if somehow you ever got caught i think the sociaty would be reluctant to prosacute in a public court cause of the negative press.anyone else have this bad thought?

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  Gopher

  It would be difficult to steal the money from the hall's contribution boxes, unless you were the accounts servant. They have strict instructions to clear out all the money from the box after each meeting, and leave the box OPEN between meetings. So when the hall is being cleaned, the contribution boxes should be open and empty.

  Then 20-30 minutes before each meeting, they (or someone they designated) would go lock the contribution box.

  GopherWhy shouldn't truth be stranger than fiction? Fiction, after all, has to make sense.
  Mark Twain (1835-1910)
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  47

  American Words Unused Here. Vice-Versa Also.

  by Englishman in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  in the uk you never hear words such as:.

  railroad.

  mortician.

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  Gopher

  Baby Stroller

  Policeman

  GopherWhy shouldn't truth be stranger than fiction? Fiction, after all, has to make sense.
  Mark Twain (1835-1910)
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  18

  I Went To The KH Yesterday Afternoon

  by TheRecordCollector in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i went to the kh yesterday afternoon.

  i met a friend there that i haven't seen in a while.

  she and her husband used to be regulars there until her husband died, then she moved back to california to live with her daughter.

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  Gopher

  TRC,

  Perhaps the previous posters assumed you had some sort of long-standing JW background. Your post makes it clear, you are doing research for a good cause. It shouldn't take too many more meetings to figure out most of what JW's hear over a lifetime -- we heard it over and over and over again (eyes glazing over).

  Tera,

  Getting time in---it's one way the organization uses to measure the 'spiritual health' of individuals or groups. Without such statistics, they wouldn't have as much to use to 'beat up' (do they really think it's encouraging?) the publishers to do more, more, more!

  You noted that JW's like to count their hours, keep their time going. The old "place a tract on coffee break" trick is employed so that they can accomplish a full 2 hours by 11:30 or 11:45 in the morning. That way they've done a complete 'dose' of service to Jehovah, and they can relax the rest of the day (except for those who are diligent enough to study for their Sunday meetings).

  The pamphlet you refer to which they use at their midweek evening meetings is "Our Kingdom Ministry". I find it strange that it could be given to non-publishing children, and yet not to bible students. And of course, these are NEVER permitted to be given to disfellowshipped individuals. Oh no, it's way too sacred!

  GopherWhy shouldn't truth be stranger than fiction? Fiction, after all, has to make sense.
  Mark Twain (1835-1910)
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  5

  jw.com reaches 4000 posters

  by Gopher in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  on 01-01-2002, it is official!

  the amazing number of 4000 users has been reached.

  i wonder if that number can be doubled in the coming year????.

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  Gopher

  On 01-01-2002, it is official! The amazing number of 4000 users has been reached. I wonder if that number can be doubled in the coming year????

  GopherWhy shouldn't truth be stranger than fiction? Fiction, after all, has to make sense.
  Mark Twain (1835-1910)
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  23

  What are you doing New Year's Eve?

  by larc in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  what will you be doing new years eve?.

  my wife and i will stay home, watch the big doings on tv, and at midnight, my wife will take a frying pan and a big spoon, go to the front door, bang hell out of the pan and yell at the top of her voice, happy new year.!.

  hey, we live on the edge, don't we??

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  Gopher

  Waiting,

  I was at the Colombian just outside of Sarasota, Florida -- at St. Armand's circle. (Again, a Cuban restaurant.) All I can say is --- DELICIOUS!!! Thanks for bringing back a wonderful Florida / culinary memory.

  GopherWhy shouldn't truth be stranger than fiction? Fiction, after all, has to make sense.
  Mark Twain (1835-1910)
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  2

  What is Apostatefest?

  by gilwarrior in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  xena told me that it was held in dallas last week.

  it sounds to me like a place where ex-jws meet.

  so what is it exactly.

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  Gopher

  Gil,

  That IS it! Exactly!

  Very informal gatherings, no conversions, no baptism, no religious songs. Alcohol is allowed. Free conversation is allowed. It can be small, it can be big. It can be spur of the moment, it can be planned 2 months in advance. No elders, no program. Food is usually involved.

  GopherWhy shouldn't truth be stranger than fiction? Fiction, after all, has to make sense.
  Mark Twain (1835-1910)
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  41

  Underwear...

  by Serena in

  1. social
  2. relationships

  this is the strangest thing that i have ever seen, and i have to ask cuz it's just sooooooo wacky, i'm just wondering what the hell it means: the jw guy that i have been seeing, well, he sometimes would wear two pairs of underwear?????

  is this usual to witnesses, or is he just trying to protect his goodies?

  or is he just a freak?????

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  Gopher

  This reminds me of the old joke....

  Q. Why did the golfer wear two pairs of pants?

  A. Because he was afraid he'd get a HOLE in ONE!

  GopherWhy shouldn't truth be stranger than fiction? Fiction, after all, has to make sense.
  Mark Twain (1835-1910)
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  17

  intro/ brief vent

  by Axelspeed in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  hello..new to the board, though i have lurked for a while.

  this is surprising because just a few months ago it would have been unthinkable.

  if some even thought that i hinted in this direction, ....i dont even want to try and explain the repercussions.

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  Gopher

  Hi Axelspeed,

  I have little to add, the above posts should be helpful. I loved your take on independent thinking, that it's really the ONLY kind of thinking! Man, you ARE thinking!!

  This part, you're being hard on yourself:

  Maybe this is just desserts for one who has through the eyes of the organization unwittingly looked at the world in such judgmental terms…

  Don't fall into that trap of self-flagellation! The WT Society builds artificial walls around each of us, and this is especially true of those of us (like you and me) who have been trapped in the organization since we were born. With their man-made rules, they make you stand out from the world, and then to keep you "holy" (separate from everyone else), they disparage any attempts at positive contact with the non-JW world other than witnessing to them! So it turns out just as the WT Society hopes, if you leave, you leave as an isolated one (at least at first).

  However, in time the void gets filled. Best wishes on your decisions, and I hope you'll stick around here for a while!

  GopherWhy shouldn't truth be stranger than fiction? Fiction, after all, has to make sense.
  Mark Twain (1835-1910)