Posts by respectful

24

Elder/MS requirement for marriage talk? (Wedding not in KH)

by respectful_observer in

okay team,.

some family friends who are engaged are getting some flack around the particulars of their wedding ceremony (surprise!

"strain out the gnat, gulp down the camel", and all that).

respectful_observer

Okay team,

Some family friends who are engaged are getting some flack around the particulars of their wedding ceremony (surprise! "strain out the gnat, gulp down the camel", and all that).

They are both baptized and in good standing, he is born-in, she is not. She (understandibly) is planning on having her sisters as bridesmaids (plus some JW girlfriends). Suddenly the elder who'd previously agreed to deliver the wedding talk refuses to do so since there are some non (NOT ex) JWs in the wedding party. On top of that, he's now scared away any other non-elder/MS brothers they've ask to step in to deliver the talk.

I've done a fair amount of searching on the web, on this site, looked at any BOE letters I can find, etc. Found lots of written (and a reference to quite a few unwritten) rules when the ceremony is held at the KH, or when being performed by an elder/MS. But is anyone aware of any rules (written or otherwise) when it comes to having a baptized JW who is not an elder or MS give the wedding talk at a non-KH venue when members of the wedding party are not JWs?

73

The con is completed - comments from the US branch's LDC chief

by sir82 in

jw
friends

recently attended a special assembly day.. guest speaker was thomas chicky, a member of the us branch committee and the head of the us ldc (which has replaced the rbcs).. the last talk of the day is scheduled for an hour.

it was the usual boring mumbo-jumbo.

he appeared to have blasted through his hour-long outline in just about 45 minutes, so he "treated" us to informal comments on recent developments.. he commented on the new wt complex in fishkill ny.. then he dropped the bomb (well, to anyone with ears and at least 2 functioning synapses).. the following is not a word for quote, but presents the gist of his comments:.

respectful_observer

freddo 17 minutes ago

@respectul_observer

Very good!

Now read Luke 12 v 18 - 20 ...

Haha! Those are exactly the verses that popped into my head earlier when I was writing that! Great minds think alike.

73

The con is completed - comments from the US branch's LDC chief

by sir82 in

jw
friends

recently attended a special assembly day.. guest speaker was thomas chicky, a member of the us branch committee and the head of the us ldc (which has replaced the rbcs).. the last talk of the day is scheduled for an hour.

it was the usual boring mumbo-jumbo.

he appeared to have blasted through his hour-long outline in just about 45 minutes, so he "treated" us to informal comments on recent developments.. he commented on the new wt complex in fishkill ny.. then he dropped the bomb (well, to anyone with ears and at least 2 functioning synapses).. the following is not a word for quote, but presents the gist of his comments:.

respectful_observer

"The money collected so far has to be well in excess of $1 billion (see my original post).

They must be doing something with all that cash....but what?"

Perhaps they see themselves as a modern day Joseph with his storehouses before the big famine, socking away as much cash as possible right now (while they still have it). Of course the actual reasons for any future "financial famine" would be debatable. Something along the lines of...

....................

In Genesis, Jehovah warned Pharaoh through a dream that the land would suffer an extended famine. (Gen 41:1-7) However because Joseph was a true worshiper of Jehovah and found to be "discreet and wise" (Gen 41:33, 39), he understood the warning and was able to act. Joseph was truly discreet and wise during the seven years of abundance by "stockpiling grain in very great quantity, like the sand of the sea, until finally they gave up measuring it because it could not be measured." (Gen 41:49)

Jehovah God has warned of yet another "famine" to come, this time for false religion's Babylon the Great (Rev 18:8). By means of divine judgement her "great riches [will be] devastated" (Rev 18:17).

In stark contrast to Babylon the Great, true worshipers today enjoy the oversight of a modern day "Joseph"-- another "faithful and discreet slave." Like Joseph, this slave is wise and has heeded the divine warning. Rather than suffering the impending financial devastation of Babylon the Great, this "faithful and discreet slave" has, like Joseph, wisely stockpiled "grain in very great quantity". Such discreet wisdom will allow Jehovah's worshipers today to continue to flourish as a global brotherhood.

While Babylon the Great's financial waters are drying up, true Christians today are able to build new Kingdom Halls, Assembly Halls, branch facilities, and remote translation offices-- all thanks to this faithful slave's adherance to Divine warning. What a privilege it is for each of us to continue to contribute all we can to this modern storehouse until it too becomes like the "sands of the sea", giving evidence of Jehovah's blessing!

...........

Just a thought.

73

The con is completed - comments from the US branch's LDC chief

by sir82 in

jw
friends

recently attended a special assembly day.. guest speaker was thomas chicky, a member of the us branch committee and the head of the us ldc (which has replaced the rbcs).. the last talk of the day is scheduled for an hour.

it was the usual boring mumbo-jumbo.

he appeared to have blasted through his hour-long outline in just about 45 minutes, so he "treated" us to informal comments on recent developments.. he commented on the new wt complex in fishkill ny.. then he dropped the bomb (well, to anyone with ears and at least 2 functioning synapses).. the following is not a word for quote, but presents the gist of his comments:.

respectful_observer

"To the extent that I've had access to people at the higher levels of that organization, it's become clear to me that they viewed the rank and file with contempt. They set up these scams not because it will result in the most money, but because the flock can't be trusted and don't deserve the truth."

See a discussion on their version of "truth" here: https://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/4704316277391360/2-words-truth-russian-wt-writers-too?page=0&size=20

13

JWs and taking blood

by dogon in

i have a brother who works in the medical profession and in particular surgery rooms.

he had a jw woman who needed blood.

while the jw elders were there she said no blood.

respectful_observer

Does the hospital liaison committee take it upon themselves to visit you in the hospital and talk to your doctors as soon as they hear you're sick, or do they wait for an invite? I'm guessing the first one.

I imagine they take it upon themselves to visit "out of concern" but then put the screw to the JW patient to gather private medical information on the patient's diagnosis, treatment options, etc. Then I suspect they "suggest" to the patient to "alllow" them to speak on his/her behalf to the medical staff regarding his/her firm decision to refuse blood. I'm sure they also are carrying blank blood cards/DPAs for the JW patient to fill out (in their presence) just in case the JW patient had "forgotten" to have one completed (or "misplaced" it) before their arrival.

13

JWs and taking blood

by dogon in

i have a brother who works in the medical profession and in particular surgery rooms.

he had a jw woman who needed blood.

while the jw elders were there she said no blood.

respectful_observer

Neither me, nor my other half, have carried a blood card/DPA in 8+ years. We've had many reasoned conversations together on the issue, and I've been told over and over my logic is unassailable. Of course my other half continues to insist that blood would be refused if the circumstance ever arose, yet refuses to fill out or carry a blood card.

Personally I suspect we're at the point in our relationship where there a level of trust that we both know the other would do what was needed for the other person and be smart enough to never speak of it again.

10

2 words for truth in Russian, for wt writers too?

by prologos in

ny times article: "--- 2 words for truth in russian,--" pravda, the malleable truth, and istina, the unchangeable cosmic reality.

it looks like wt writers like that, or think like that.

wt is constantly changing the surface truth, but can not change the underlying reality, no matter how many groups they overlap.

respectful_observer

Interesting thought.

It reminds me of a conversation I recently had with a former elder who is now wide awake (I thought for sure he'd already been a long standing member here, but I was the one to make him aware of the whole ARC issue only a few weeks ago). After he watched sections of the ARC coverage that addressed the concept of "theocratic warfare", he postulated the theory that the GB knows the actual "truth" of things-- that it's likely Jesus died on a crucifix instead of a solitary stake; that Jerusulem wasn't destroyed in 607 BCE; that there's really nothing wrong with birthdays; that the sacredness of blood means it should only be used for the most sacred duty-- preservation of life. Yet, they see it as their justifiable duty to continue teaching "The Truth" (vs. the actual truth) because their job is to keep people's faith strong and keep them in the Organization-- even if it means they utilize "theocratic warfare" strategies with their own flock.

So for them, "The Truth" is whatever they see as most likely to keep the flock's faith strong at the time and keep them in the Org (pravda), not the actual truth on any one matter (istina).

23

Standing for the National Anthem?

by eyeslice2 in

we are currently living in a country where at the cinema the national anthem is played before the start of the movie and it is law that you stand.

does anyone know what current jw thinking is on this?

i know there has been various changes over the years.

respectful_observer

Growing up in the U.S. I was always taught to stand respectfully for the flag salute, but to remain seated for the National Anthem. The "rule" was always do one less step than what would be considered "participation". Since most people simply stand for the National Anthem (vs. singing), standing would be viewed as participation.

I recently postulated to a group of JWs whether that would change, as recently some prominent sports stars have refused to stand for the National Anthem to show solidarity with the "Black Lives Matter" movement. Suddenly sitting for the National Anthem is seen as a political statement instead of simple non-participation.

18

My mother's treatment. Unreal.

by quellycatface in

jw
friends

i disassociated myself 3 years ago but have never told my mother, as she lives quite a distance from me in the uk.

i've have told her that i no longer go to meetings, neither does my son, who is 16.. i haven't seen her for 3 1/2 years.

i offered to come visit this week but she was incredibly offhand with me and said she couldn't meet with me today as she was on the ministry!!

respectful_observer

I spent $1700 traveling several states away to visit my elderly mom on short notice, so the flight was expensive. "The Friends" 😬 said she was unwell and I should come. Of the five days I was out there, I saw her three times. The last day of my trip, Sunday, she left me sitting in a motel room while she went to the meeting; afterwards she went to lunch with "the friends." She texted me at 4:30 in the afternoon that she was free and I could come over now.

She wonders why I didn't come visit her this year. Gee, I wonder why.

Sounds like my parents, and we are still "in"! My parents are disappointed we don't "reach out" more, but have learned to stop bringing that up and pestering us on the issue. Instead they are just passive aggressive in expressing their feelings on how important theocratic activities are.

Although they constantly lament that they never got to see us (we lived several hours away), whenever did come out for a weekend visit, would they adjust they're schedules? Nope. They still went out in service on Saturday; still went to KH cleaning and held all their Bible studies; still went to the meeting on Sunday and took the speaker out to hospitality afterward. After everything was finally done about 3:00 on a Sunday, we would start packing up for our drive home. They would immediately start in on how they barely got to spend any time with us all weekend!

We finally had our fill when circumstances moved us a 12hr+ flight from them, to where it's unlikely we'll be back for several years. We proposed coming out for one last weekend visit to spend with the family (out-of-town siblings and spouses included). Brother-in-law couldn't come at all because he had a talk out on Sunday. Mom and Dad still went out in Saturday service and still left us to go to the meeting on Sunday (they're trying to reinforce a "spiritual routine" with my 7 year old nephew). Meanwhile, we took my brother and his wife out to a nice champagne brunch. By the time they made it back from the Sunday meeting, we were packing up for our trip home. They're getting to the age where it's obvious they'll never learn.

And they wonder why we aren't close as a family?!

38

"We Had No Idea How Manipulative He Can Be!"

by pale.emperor in

very stressfull and upsetting evening was had last night.

i dropped my 2yo daughter off to my ex-wifes home.

all seemed good until i got home.

respectful_observer

"Do not make it about religion in the courts, simply make it about behaviors."

Yup, what pbrow said.

JWs love to frame issues that should be handled in a court of law into a "congregation matter". I've seen this several times first-hand with a good friend. Whenever he caves to his ex wife and handles it with the congregation he loses-- custody, school choice, financial matters, you name it; when he stands firm and refuses to bring the brothers in and forces the courts to oversee, he wins...every time.

respectful_observer

Posts by respectful_observer

freddo 17 minutes ago