Posts by jst2laws

7

A Caterpillar's Diary

by jst2laws in

if you are critical of spirituality you will find plenty of material at which to poke fun.

if you are in a mystical/spiritual mood you might enjoy it.

may i tell you about my caterpillar friends?

jst2laws

James,

Very nice thought. I understand. I have my wings.

Thanks for the kind pm too.

Steve

7

A Caterpillar's Diary

by jst2laws in

if you are critical of spirituality you will find plenty of material at which to poke fun.

if you are in a mystical/spiritual mood you might enjoy it.

may i tell you about my caterpillar friends?

A Caterpillar's Diary

by jst2laws in

if you are critical of spirituality you will find plenty of material at which to poke fun.

if you are in a mystical/spiritual mood you might enjoy it.

may i tell you about my caterpillar friends?

jst2laws

Thanks Jgnat and Auldsoul,

I imagine the WTBTS has it's own "nourishing" banana leaf, and all the other leaves are false ones

Yes. But then, many other panana tree leaves think theirs is the only one going to sea. BTW, this is where I meditate.

Steve

7

A Caterpillar's Diary

by jst2laws in

if you are critical of spirituality you will find plenty of material at which to poke fun.

if you are in a mystical/spiritual mood you might enjoy it.

may i tell you about my caterpillar friends?

If you are critical of spirituality you will find plenty of material at which to poke fun. If you are in a mystical/spiritual mood you might enjoy it.

May I tell you about my caterpillar friends? A colony of them lived in a row of banana trees along a river that flowed through a parched land. There were only banana trees as far as you could see, and there were only those caterpillars in the banana trees. The caterpillars often spoke together about “The Island”. The island had every type of plant to eat, perfect weather, and no birds to threaten them. But the island was in the sea, far away, and the caterpillars had no way to get there.

One day several caterpillars got together and formulated a plan. “Lets chew off these banana tree leaves near their base and they will drop into the river. We can ride them down the river to the sea and there will be the paradise island. It would work. So all the caterpillars went to work on their own leaf and soon they were riding the current of the river heading to the sea. It didn’t matter how big or small the leaf was, nor the shape. All the banana tree leaves were heading down the river to the same destination, the island in the sea that had everything.

The caterpillars were each enthusiastic. Yes they had what they needed to eat and plenty of life’s water to drink from the river. Although the river meandered, was a slow mode of travel, and had some dangerous rapids it was taking them where they wanted to go. And their individual banana leaf had taken on a symbolic meaning to each caterpillar: survival, and the way to the paradise. They had become rather protective of their own leaves.

One day a butterfly landed on one of the leaves. The butterfly discussed with the caterpillars their plan to ride the banana tree leaves down the current to the sea, to reach the Paradise island. The butterfly shared with them a secret: They did not have to ride the banana tree leaves to the sea. If they just believed they can do it, they could become butterfly’s and leave the river behind. They could FLY to the sea.

This sounded good to the caterpillars. Their goal in life truly was to get to the paradise island in the sea. The meandering river and their decomposing leaves were a hazardous means of getting there. Flying would be a direct route and almost immediate.

“But . . . . .”

Steve

9

reexamine.org has District Convention Operations Manual and PSAs

by reexaminer in

jw
friends

www.reexamine.org now has two new items available from our downloads page: .

(1) district convention operations manual.

(2) public service announcements.

jst2laws

WOW,

(1) District Convention Operations Manual
(2) Public Service Announcements
Organized to Do Jehovah's Will
English
German
Polish
Pay Attention to Yourselves and to All the Flock
English
German
Polish (as MS-Word document)

What a "loving provision from Jehovah God".

Steve

20

The Jensen Letters

by IT Support in

the jensen letters is the name given to a series of letters between an elder in the united states and the watchtower society, over the period 1998 to 2003, and neatly illustrate the plight of thinking jehovah's witnesses trying to make sense of the society's blood policy.

they are remarkable in terms of both the incisive questions asked about critical aspects of the blood policy and the society's incompetent attempts at 'spin' and sidestepping awkward issues.

even more remarkably, they conclude with the writer's letter of resignation as an elder!

jst2laws

I hope a lot of people are downloading the PDF version of these files to their computers. I have printed out countless copies over the last 4 years (yeah, a lot of paper) and given them to relatives and JW friends. It is a lot to read but a few will do it. One of my favorite quotes:

I have not heard back from you. That hurts, and it leaves me bewildered. My sincere concerns are very serious ones, and your replies have not resolved them with the Bible. (April 6, 2001 seventh letter)

Steve

17

Old committee notes.

by Gregor in

as an elder in the late '70's i served more than my share of time on judicial committees.

the jc was made up of three elders: the presiding overseer, wt study overseer and bible study overseer.

since these positions rotated yearly, the average elder would serve three years straight on the jc.

jst2laws

Gregor,

Thanks for posting this. A lot of the people here were on the other side of the JC room and feel worse about their experience then we do. But it is good for you all to come out and show such feelings.

We all did what we thought was right. The young couple reluctantly reporting what they thought was a sin, and the elders (some of them) reluctantly playing the role of judge and counselor. There were some among them that seemed to enjoy that part of the job, and others who would come home sick to their stomachs and loosing sleep.

I hope we are all past it enough to sleep now.

Steve

41

Is there any way I can just cream skim the Truth????

by HiddenQuestioner in

jw
friends

i have been lurking for some time and only recently started to post if you have seen my posts, i have always represented myself as a loyal jw and one who is planning to stay in however, lately my faith and commitment as a jw has been tested and, without going into details, i am having problems of faith and life that i could really use some help on.

if so, you might ask, why dont i just leave?

well, i have a wife that is a very devout jw and she would be crushed and very upset if i quit she believes it all 100% and lives to worship the borg in fact, she would be very upset if she even knew i was visiting this site.

jst2laws

Hello Hiddenquestioner, A plan is good, and this is a good plan. You should go with it. But allow yourself flexibility to alter your plan as time goes on. You see, it is you that has changed not the organization, whether you like it or not. The organization has always been what you see it to be now. You will continue to change, see things differently, and while this will be painful it is a good thing. But there are other options. Try some of the suggestions of Jgnat. Keeping an open mind and hanging out here is good, but don't think you will remain stagnant. As time passes, take a moment to ask yourself "Is this working for me?" If not, try something a little different. And don't write your wife off to quick. I was sure mine would turn me into the elders but I took at a chance and revealed my plan. Although the outcome was not entirely what I hoped for, she came on out of the organization with me. There is no painless way to leave this thing. That is what I hate about it. You either stay and sacrifice your life, or leave and sacrifice MOST of your life. But that is temporary. In time there is Happiness again. Keep us posted. Steve PS A tongue in cheek hello to the always gentle Farkel

21

Are Cats for True Christians?

by jst2laws in

it has been a while since we have heard from the circuit overseer, carlo.

i'm glad to see his website is still up although it is missing some great stuff.

please check the aritcle "are cats for true christian", for new light.

jst2laws

It has been a while since we have heard from the Circuit Overseer, Carlo. I'm glad to see his website is still up although it is missing some great stuff. Please check the aritcle "Are Cats for True Christian", for new light. http://www.dbhome.dk/carlo/co.html Steve

28

Woohoo, just been DF'ed !!!

by Genesis in

jw
friends

yesterday i was annonced as the kingdom hall : genesis is no more a jehovah witness !

im so glad i made it, but in the same time i have remorses, but thats a phenomenon called homeostasis, the mind try to take things to normal...

so i have so much things to plan,do think !

jst2laws

Good for you Genesis

Its so good to be free to think, it worth all the efforts and pain

Good point, I'm glad for you have arrived at this realization. And good of you to assure lurkers that it is "worth all the efforts and pain." IT IS. Steve