Crystal

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Posts by Crystal

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  64

  DID ANYONE EVER ENJOY GOING IN SERVICE?

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i was raised with a bookbag in my hand.

  every saturday and sunday our family was out in service.i vacation, temporary and auxillary and regular pioneered.

  i never enjoyed it but did it because i was supposed to do it.

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  Crystal

  I never liked it.It was very embarassing when one of my school mates opened the door.I would have rather been ANYWHERE else.I just wanted to be like other kids and sleep in late and watch cartoons.I just knew "Jehovah" would make sure I would die at armaggedon..I had graphic nightmares about it.What a mind trip!
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  2

  JW/ Do they have a death wish???

  by Crystal in

  1. social
  2. current

  kazakstan: muslim villagers lash out at sect .

  the recruiting tactics of the jehovah's witnesses are bringing them into conflict with muslim villagers in the southern oblasts.

  by olga dosybieva in shymkent (rca no.

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  Crystal

  Kazakstan: Muslim Villagers Lash Out at Sect

  The recruiting tactics of the Jehovah's Witnesses are bringing them into conflict with Muslim villagers in the southern oblasts.

  By Olga Dosybieva in Shymkent (RCA No. 139, 20-Aug-02)

  A religious conflict is brewing in a small south Kazakstan village whose Muslim residents are increasingly angry at the recruiting methods of the Jehovah's Witnesses organisation.

  The villagers of Kainar-bulak made a verbal appeal to the city administration of Shymkent at the beginning of August, complaining that the religious group was enticing the community's children to join its ranks by offering them chocolates and sweets to attend services.

  Their parents, who are mainly Muslim, are categorically against the young generation joining the sect and consider such recruitment methods to be "dishonest to say the least", according to village activist Raushan Nigmatulina.

  However, Robert Shibelgut, a spokesperson for the Jehovah's Witnesses, denies this charge and told IWPR that material incentives are never used to attract new members. He describes the practice of giving treats to the village youngsters as "a manifestation of sympathy and goodwill towards poor children". Living on a minuscule unemployment benefits or from occasional jobs, the majority of village residents are unable to afford regular treats for their children.

  This is not the first time there has been anger at the activities of the Jehovah's Witnesses, some of whom are local Muslims and Christians who have adopted the new faith. At the beginning of this year, the aksakals (elders) of the Nauryz village, located in the south of the provincial centre of the city of Shymkent, sent an official letter to the authorities with an appeal to do something about the group.

  The elders of the village said, "We are Muslims, and our children will also be Muslims. The Jehovah's Witnesses should get out of our village or we will solve the problem by force."

  The letter was examined at a meeting of the akimat (regional government), and the proposals were sent to the city prosecutor's office. However, officials studied the document and could not see any violation of the law, so the religious group was given a mild warning and asked not to force the situation.

  The stand-off has already erupted into violence elsewhere in the province. Three years ago, in the Makhtaaral district, a group of angry citizens waited for Jehovah's Witnesses to return from a church service to voice their complaints, which resulted in a fight, though there were no casualties on that occasion.

  According to information from the department for work with religious organisations, there have been no official complaints about the Jehovah's Witnesses except the letter from Nauryz, and there have only been verbal grievances by Christians and Muslims.

  The situation may yet end in conflict. Ordinary citizens are appealing to the authorities for support and protection, while government representatives can only shrug their shoulders if everything is done according to the law.

  The Jehovah's Witnesses are a protestant sect that was founded in 1872 in Pennsylvania, USA, by Charles Russell. Until 1931, it was called "The International Bible Students' Association".

  According to information from the social and political department, there are 62 religious organisations officially registered in Shymkent. More than 30 are Islamic, and the rest are Christian - Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant - Buddhist, and Jewish. Relations between the region's traditional religions and the new arrivals are not always cordial.

  Father Oleg, a senior Orthodox priest in Shymkent, said that the Jehovah's Witnesses try to establish complete control over a person's actions. He alleged the group was totalitarian and dangerous not just for individuals but for the entire state.

  In spite of this official disapproval, representatives of such professions as doctors and teachers have joined the group. A doctor at one of the ambulance stations in the town, who preferred to remain anonymous, said: "There are two of us working at the station, and my colleague is a member of the Jehovah's Witnesses."

  "Many patients call me in emergency situations, although we work according to schedule. People in the village say that instead of prescribing treatment, my colleague calls on them to pray and join the sect."

  Shibelgut told IWPR that there are no foreign missionaries at work within these areas, only members of the local population who have converted. "We are engaging in greater contact. We speak with people everywhere, preaching in homes, work places and on the streets. We don't wait for people to come to us," he said.

  Sociologist Elena Eliseeva suggests the group is popular because it offers people a method for surviving in the world. For many, the sect has filled a moral vacuum left following the fall of the Soviet Union and the economic hardships that followed, which have affected professionals and state employees worst of all.

  Vladimir Jarinov, head specialist in the department for work with religious organisations, told IWPR, "Recently we held a roundtable session with representatives of religious organisations, government structures and police officers. All of the participants spoke disapprovingly of the work methods used by the Jehovah's Witnesses."

  "The group was officially re-registered with the Justice Ministry of Kazakstan on October 17, 2001. Accordingly, we should work with them as we do with other religions, and not allow ourselves to be biased just because something is not liked," he added.
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  New Kingdom Hall for Palmyra, Virginia

  by Ray in

  1. social
  2. current

  http://www.timesdispatch.com/news/more/mgb872c5d5d.html

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  Crystal

  Isn't that just heart warming that they don't smoke or curse.They fail to mention that they harbour child molesters!! [email protected] EMAIL:
  All employees can be reached via email by using the first initial of the staff member's first name, followed by his or her last name and @timesdispatch.com. For example, the address for Executive Editor Bill Millsaps is [email protected]
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  12

  Tragic JW car crash

  by Crystal in

  1. social
  2. current

  august 26, 2002 .

  kids lost in wreck mourned

  alcohol believed factor in accident that killed 5 on trace .

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  Crystal

  [Petite but outspoken, Joslin Miller entertained her relatives at family reunions with her witty remarks, Martin said.

  "She said, 'When I grow up, I want to do what I want to do,' " James Martin said]

  This comment struck me .Wonder if she felt limited because of the cult.Too bad she did'nt get to live long enough to do what she wanted...who knows...maybe she would of come to this site someday....so sad!!
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  25

  NEVER MEET ALONE WITH A SISTER!!!

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  do you know why the society says this?

  regardless of whether the meeting is for the purpose of shepherding, sharing bible advice,or simply giving encouragement, "she could develop romantic feelings for the elder.it is possible for an elder to develop improper feelings for a sister he is comforting or counseling.

  it is especially important never to meet with a sister alone when the sister being assisted has been a victim of abuse, suffers from depression,or for any other reason is in a delicate emotional state.a woman in such an emotional may be more vulnerable and may be prone to develop improper feelings toward an elder meeting with her.

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  Crystal

  Oh yeah...someone hold me back!!Those elders just turn me on!!Those hot looking suits they wear!!Grrrrrrr!!
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  12

  Tragic JW car crash

  by Crystal in

  1. social
  2. current

  august 26, 2002 .

  kids lost in wreck mourned

  alcohol believed factor in accident that killed 5 on trace .

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  Crystal

  My exact thoughts outcast..
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  12

  Tragic JW car crash

  by Crystal in

  1. social
  2. current

  august 26, 2002 .

  kids lost in wreck mourned

  alcohol believed factor in accident that killed 5 on trace .

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  Crystal

  August 26, 2002

  Kids lost in wreck mourned

• Alcohol believed factor in accident that killed 5 on trace

  By Theresa Kiely


[email protected]

Two Jackson families are in mourning after losing all of their children in one of the deadliest crashes ever on the Natchez Trace Parkway.

Natchez Trace Parkway Ranger Joe Mangino said authorities think alcohol was involved in the Saturday evening accident in which David Lee Lawrence, 23, of Canton, ran a stop sign as he traveled through the intersection of Ratliff Ferry Road and the parkway.

Mangino said Lawrence's vehicle plowed into a car driven by Jackson resident Lisa Miller. The Chrysler 2001 Sebring carrying Miller, 34, her two children and a close friend's three children was hurled into a thicket of trees.

Blood samples were taken from both Miller and Lawrence to determine whether alcohol use was a factor in the accident, but "at this point, there is no evidence that she was at fault," Mangino said.

The children who died:

• Miller's daughter, Joslin Miller, 7, and son, Kenneth Miller, 10, both Boyd Elementary students.

• Alexis, 7, and Ashley Bradley, 9, both Boyd students, and their 11-year-old brother, Jorian Holloway, a student at Chastain Middle School. The three are the children of Louis and Nichelle Bradley of Jackson.

"They were just great kids," Louis Bradley, his voice hoarse with pain and hours of crying, said Sunday afternoon.

"They loved each other so much. If my wife spanked one of our kids, Sister Miller's daughter cried. She felt her pain. They were like brothers and sisters."

Both families are Jehovah's Witnesses.

If charges are filed against Lawrence in the five children's deaths, they likely would be through the Madison County district attorney's office, Mangino said. There are no federal statutes to address driving under the influence, Mangino said.

"Lawrence had been on a boat prior to the 7:07 p.m. accident," said Mangino. He said Miller, a private-duty nurse, was able to speak to him at the accident scene.

Miller "saw him coming by. There was nothing she could do. Two girls were thrown from the car sometime after it flipped, possibly two times," Mangino said.

Lawrence was in critical condition Sunday with head injuries at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, said Barbara Austin, a hospital spokeswoman. Miller was listed in stable condition at UMC.

The children were scattered on the ground when Mangino pulled up behind Farmhaven volunteer firefighters. Lawrence likely hit his head on the windshield of his 1997 Nissan Altima as the impact threw him from the car, Mangino said.

The sight traumatized even seasoned volunteers and law enforcement officials, Mangino said.

Hours later, they met at the Farmhaven Fire Department for a stress intervention session run by American Medical Response, said Mickee Ramsey, 20, a member of the fire department and an AMR emergency response technician.

"These were just innocent little kids who never harmed anyone," Ramsey said. "You always remember the bad calls. None of us will forget this one."

Nichelle Bradley picked the five children up after school every day. Miller wanted to repay her kindness by taking her children to a picnic Saturday, Louis Bradley said.

Afterward, Miller drove northbound on the trace to drop off her daughter at the Kociusko home of her maternal grandparents, Betty Jean and James E. Martin Sr.

"My son Jorian had the highest grade point average in his fifth- grade class at Boyd," Bradley said. "Lexi was the one who always wanted to be pretty.

"Ashley was my tomboy. She could walk on her hands. She begged us to put her in gymnastics, but we were afraid she'd get hurt."

Family members say Miller, a single mother who divorced last year, was heartbroken that her ex-husband and her two children's father, Arthur Miller, did not postpone his Sunday wedding date.

At 3 p.m., he married Tynette Solomon, a co-worker at Double G Coatings in Byram. The ceremony and reception were at the Hilton Hotel in Jackson.

He would not comment.

James E. Martin Jr., a former Marine, said his sister and her two children moved to a small apartment following the divorce. "Kenny missed his dog," James Martin said. "He had to give it away. He loved cartoons, especially Japanese animation, and he was a math whiz. I was already lobbying my sister to let him play football."

Petite but outspoken, Joslin Miller entertained her relatives at family reunions with her witty remarks, Martin said.

"She said, 'When I grow up, I want to do what I want to do,' " James Martin said. "She drove with me on a trip back north to Illinois. Joslin loved Celine Dion. She tortured me all the way home to Mississippi. By then, she knew every word of every Celine Dion song.

"I'm angry about it, but it's done," Martin said of the wreck. "I put it in God's hands. The shock of losing both her kids hasn't hit Lisa yet. They've got her sedated."

Lawrence was cited July 28 for littering and speeding by a state trooper, said Hinds County Sheriff's Department's Sgt. Steve Pickett. The accident is being investigated by the Madison County Sheriff's Department, the Mississippi Highway Safety Patrol, the National Park Service and the Ridgeland Police Department.

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To help pay for burials of the five children, call Kingdom Hall of Witnesses Minister Larry McQuater at (601) 366-1076 or send donations to Kingdom Hall of Witnesses, Box 9744, Jackson MS 39209.