Thanks yknot. Some interesting pictures there. Check out the top-right corner of page 3 with a young TJ giving a talk. Beside Ted is a chart of field service statistics. I've heard that, years ago, congregations maintained such charts on the information board--perhaps even including the statistics for each publisher. This is probably one of those charts--though it appears to be cumulative for the entire congregation.
Olin Moyles Ghost
JoinedPosts by Olin Moyles Ghost
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87
Official: Ted Jaracz's Funeral Brochure
by yknot ini received this generous offering from 'anonymous brother'.
his comments : hmmm...why do i not see such things at most jw funerals?.
please give your 'thank you' to "anonymous brother'.
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21
Not Allowed to read other religious literature? Quotes Required Please
by ThomasCovenant ini've tried some searching but can't find instances where reading other religious literature is discouraged.. is it true?.
thanks.
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Olin Moyles Ghost
Thanks for the quotes, JWFacts. As someone who was raised "from infancy" as a devout JW and spent decades in the organization, it was always crystal-clear to me that reading "false religious literature" or anything that argues a religious position contrary to what the WTS teaches was off-limits.
Perhaps a brief experience may best illustrate how Witnesses view literature that disagrees with their views. Some time ago, I had a conversation with a family member who is a long-time JW, regular pioneer, has been on many assemblies/conventions (demos/experiences, not talks, because she's a woman), and is an expert on WTS doctrine. At the time, I was having some concerns about whether the Bible is actually inspired. I told her that I was interested in digging into the issue by reading what the experts in the field had to say.
She told me that there was plenty of information on this subject on the WT Library CD. I told her I had read that material, but that I recognized that the WT material was severely slanted in one direction, and I wanted to read what the experts in the field had to say. I asked if there was anything wrong with that. She responded that Satan controlled the world, and thus I should be wary of such books. She also related the experience of a friend of hers who was having some doubts about the Bible, but that after really studying the WT literature on the subject concluded that her doubts were unfounded. She encouraged me to follow a similar course.
I replied as follows "So it seems like you're saying that it's ok to research this issue as long as everything I read is on one side of the issue. Anything that argues in favor of a different conclusion is from Satan and can't be trusted. Doesn't that seem a bit circular?" She acknowledged that it sounded strange, but that it boils down to faith.
In my experience, this sort of mentality is not the exception--rather it is the rule among JWs.
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the finished mystery and the DVD
by Paulapollos inas i have been considering our modern-day history due to our new dvd, and the claims of alice and debator that jw's are god's organisation, it came to my attention that the food at the proper time that caused jesus to select us must, of necessity, contain much that is spiritually beneficial.
therefore, i thought it only proper to provide nourishing morsels of the spiritual feast provided by the lord's channel at the time of his inspection, which of course was primarily the 1917(?
) the finished mystery.
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Olin Moyles Ghost
Black sheep: neither of them have been willing to admit that the WT was selected in 1919.
But this is what the WTS teaches. So, are these WTS/JW apologists denying this doctrine? If so, aren't they "apostates"?
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Strasbourg court declares illegal dissolving of Jehovah's Witnesses in Moscow
by behemot inthe european court of human rights declared illegal on thursday a ruling by a russian court in 2004 to dissolve the moscow branch of the jehovah's witnesses.. it ordered russia to pay 70,000 euros to the movement's members.. russia's committee of salvation ngo lodged a suit demanding a halt to the activities of the jehovah's witnesses in moscow in 1995. the christian-based movement responded with a countersuit at the strasbourg court in october 2001.. in march 2004, a moscow district court dissolved the organization, which russia considers a sect, and banned its activities.
it said the "sect" encouraged its younger members to disown their families, commit suicide and neglect their civic duties.. the strasbourg court said the moscow court's ruling lacked sufficient grounds and was "too strict a measure.".
under the european convention on human rights, russia or the applicants have three months to appeal the ruling in the court's grand chamber.. the jehovah's witnesses, with up to seven million believers worldwide and 300,000 in russia, have already been banned in a number of former soviet republics.. the group, best known for its door-to-door evangelistic work, was founded in the united states at the end of the 19th century.
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Olin Moyles Ghost
I'm glad the ECHR made this decision. People should have the right to believe whatever nonsense they choose. Stupid beliefs should be countered rather than banned. Banning the JW religion simply plays into the Watchtower leaders' hands.
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Theodore Jaracz of the Governing Body died this morning
by Altar ego inbro.
jaracz died this morning, wednesday, june 9, 2010 at about 7:30 am.
he was 84 years old.
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Olin Moyles Ghost
lepermessiah: you refer to Herd as an "army man." Did he serve in the US armed forces before becoming a JW? If so, that would make two veterans on the GB (Morris served in Viet Nam). With only 8 members after Mr. Jaracz's untimely passing, that would make 25% of the GB U.S. military veterans. Kinda odd for a pacifist religion.
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Who Are Your Past Circuit Overseers? It's a small world..
by mentallyfree31 inwho were your past circuit overseers?
i'm sure a lot of us actually know mutual people, as the co's relocate all over the country.. here's a few from the southeast us: (let me know if you recognize any names and post yours too please...).
ellwood johnson (new york/philadelphia area for several years also).
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Olin Moyles Ghost
Ever heard of Kevin Wright? See http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/jw/friends/158681/1/Anyone-remember-this-former-C-O-Kevin-Wright
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Who Are Your Past Circuit Overseers? It's a small world..
by mentallyfree31 inwho were your past circuit overseers?
i'm sure a lot of us actually know mutual people, as the co's relocate all over the country.. here's a few from the southeast us: (let me know if you recognize any names and post yours too please...).
ellwood johnson (new york/philadelphia area for several years also).
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Olin Moyles Ghost
StAnn, you have a PM.
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Memorial Service at Khall - would you go (even as a DF'd exJW)?
by babygirl30 ini ask because a friend of mine (who stays in touch once in awhile) had made it clear to me about 6 mos ago that he didn't care if i was df'd or not - that he still would speak to me and check up on me.
well his parents are both disabled, and his father recently died in the house!
so he sends me a text telling his father passed - and i told him i would call him.
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Olin Moyles Ghost
If it were me, I would go to the service to support your friend. You will cringe throughout the sales pitch / memorial talk, but that's not why you're there (and, to be frank, that's not why anybody's there).
You may be surprised about how various JWs treat you. I've observed that some JWs use funerals as an "excuse" to treat DF'd people like human beings. Now, most times this has been in the context of DF'd family members of the deceased, but sometimes this applies to others too.
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If I'm so intelligent how did I get drawn in to it all?
by Lozhasleft ini consider myself an intelligent woman...maybe not strong on the 'common sense' front, but academically i've done pretty well...so...how on earth did i not see through it all when i was studying in the beginning???.
i remember worrying about their 'sales pitching' styles and their arrogance of believing they had the 'truth' ...but still i got involved and became totally immersed in it all.
i feel like i sacrificied our whole family to them, who now shun me.. yesterday, my new son in law, he's a lawyer, asked me how i could have believed it wasnt a cult (topical word this week here) he said he didnt understand how i could have been persuaded to believe it all and trust them with so much and for so many years...... i feel ashamed of myself that i did and that i brought all this upon our family...anyone else relate?.
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Olin Moyles Ghost
Certain parts of Watchtower doctrine appeal to logic--especially when compared to traditional Christianity. For example, Witnesses love to harp on the Trinity doctrine using arguments such as "who was Jesus praying to?" and "who resurrected Jesus?" and "Jesus said the Father is greater than I am," etc.
They use similar arguments to deconstruct other traditional teachings (Hell, immortal soul, etc.). If you buy those arguments, then you've just excluded almost all major Christian religions. Combine that with the appealing promise of living forever on a paradise earth, and I can totally understand how folks get sucked in.
Of course, there are plenty of Watchtower doctrines that are laughable (trumpet blasts of Revelation, 2300 days of Daniel, etc.); confusing and contrary to common sense ("generation," Jesus isn't your mediator); and slanderous of God (only JWs will survive the "imminent" battle of Armageddon).
But Witnesses don't emphasize these teachings or their history of false prophecy, which should be enough to convince a fair-minded person that the Watchtower is not "God's visible organization." Unfortunately, it takes a while for most to figure this out. By then you're often in so deep that it's tough to get out.
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Witnesses "can't take the heat"
by Olin Moyles Ghost inhave you ever heard a witness say something like "why do apostates have to keep talking about the wts/jw faith?
why don't they just go on with their lives?
if they've found something better, why don't they just focus on that instead of us?
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Olin Moyles Ghost
Have you ever heard a Witness say something like "why do apostates have to keep talking about the WTS/JW faith? Why don't they just go on with their lives? If they've found something better, why don't they just focus on that instead of us?" I've heard such statements and I've seen such statements written by purported JWs on this and other websites.
When I hear/read such statements, the old adage about a "pot" and a "kettle" comes to mind. If there is any religion in the whole world that has absolutely no right to complain about criticism, it's the Watchtower / JW faith. This is a religion that requires its members to actively recruit people to leave other religions in favor of the WT/JW faith. This is a religion that has consistently, for many decades, denounced every other religion in the world as part of the harlot of Revelation. This is a religion that used to picket in front of churches on Sundays wearing signs that religion is a snare and a racket. (note that I have no problem with the WTS doing this; I'm a fan of free speech; but I do have a problem with double standards and hypocrisy--if you can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen)
Some of the JWs who have made such statements are first-generation Witnesses. In other words, they left another religion to join the Witnesses. After joining the Witnesses, they regularly engage in the "preaching work" which involves distributing WT literature that denounces other religions (for example, remember the "End of False Religion is Near" tract campaign a few years back?). Imagine the outcry that these Witnesses would make if ex-Witnesses embarked on such a campaign!
So, how can a JW keep a straight face while complaining about other people criticizing the JW/WT faith. Talk about double standards! As a wise man once said, "if you can't take the heat...get out of the kitchen."