Posts by Listener

53

Sept 1 service meeting mystery revealed

by Saltheart Foamfollower in

the letter has appeared at last - just for uk.

it is a money grab for the new bethel which has been approved.

there is a video to be shown - just watched it - brief summary of uk bethels, why current one is too small, why we need money to build a new one.

Listener

They just changed their contribution arrangement. The JWs have now committed themselves to their pledge and these funds go into the Branch who then decides what large projects will be completed. Now it seems they are asking for even more money and ignoring the pledged money which was supposed to be pooled for projects such as this.

25

Telephone Conversations Today with 2 Elders Re: Shunning - Or Not?

by abbasgreta in

my alcoholic and aged jw mother is now extremely ill and is being cared for in every respect by my non-jw brother.

3 sisters visited him yesterday and were adamant.

that i (disassociated and shunned by her for nearly 3 years) was able to 'visit her any time' and that ' there was nothing to stop me seeing her' as long as i. didn't discuss spiritual things with her.

Listener

The amount of rules is crazy and to hear these elders follow them is even crazier.

I would say to the elders that I had every intention of speaking about spiritual matters to her as it was her only chance of learning the real truth.

89

Members of the writing department has resigned

by hardtobeme in

jw
friends

this is what i found at anointedjw.org.

i don't know if it's true.

on august 25, 2014, we received the following comment and inquiry: .

Listener

One thing is without question, all the good writers have already left.

89

Members of the writing department has resigned

by hardtobeme in

jw
friends

this is what i found at anointedjw.org.

i don't know if it's true.

on august 25, 2014, we received the following comment and inquiry: .

Listener

I agree with Millie, it sounded convincing until you get to the part about the GB. The GB are a very secretive mob and would unlikely express their concerns (if they had any) to anybody, it would compromise their positions.

10

A JW encounter in Hong Kong

by Listener in

last week i was in hong kong on a holiday and ran into some jws.

i was in a large shopping mall and noticed a number of jws holding out a pamphlet to passerbys.

before i knew it there was one walking towards me and stopped right in front of me stopping me from moving forward.. the jw was virtually shoving the pamphlet towards me and said i would like to offer you this pamphlet that directs you to a web site that will answer all your questions that you have about life.

Listener

Last week I was in Hong Kong on a holiday and ran into some JWs. I was in a large shopping mall and noticed a number of JWs holding out a pamphlet to passerbys. Before I knew it there was one walking towards me and stopped right in front of me stopping me from moving forward.

The JW was virtually shoving the pamphlet towards me and said “I would like to offer you this pamphlet that directs you to a web site that will answer all your questions that you have about life”. I found it really offensive and although I was on holidays I was angry and decided to stop and talk. I said ‘really, are you a Jehovah’s witness?” He said ‘why, yes we are”. I only knew because I had seen the strange looking pamphlet on here and again I was annoyed because he did not introduce himself as a JW and made the bold claim that their website would provide all the answers that I could possibly have. This is a bold faced lie.

I had little patience at this stage and said I am sorry to hear that you are a JW. He put on that fake expression of looking sad and asked ‘sorry to hear that, what makes you say that’. I then decided to take my conversation into one direction and said it was because the JWs are not following what the bible says but rather follow what a few men tell them.

I thought I would start out with a simple example and mentioned the idea about not celebrating birthdays and how the bible did not support that idea. He looked relieved as he knew the answer to that. He nodded his head and said that my feelings were understandable and he himself had for many years had a problem with that teaching until he looked into it further and understood why they don’t. He then went into their normal explanation of how the bible mentions it twice etc. Etc. I then said that the bible does not state it is wrong. He then said “Oh, yes, it does not say it directly but what is more important for us to do is to get an understanding of how God feels about these things”. I couldn’t believe he just said that but I let it drop until later in our conversation.

I then mentioned a few of their teachings, such as the FDS and this generation and how they had made so many changes. The JW female next to him piped up and proudly stated that there had been many changes in their teachings. I mentioned that it was important to understand why they are making all these changes.

I brought up their false predictions about the timing of Armageddon and mentioned 1914, 1919, 1925, 1975 and before the end of this century (being last century). There wasn’t much response here but he did mention he had never heard of the ‘before the end of this century’ idea. So I said how it was stated in their publications a couple of times but he wouldn’t find it on the CD Rom because the org. Had changed the wording and it could only be found in original Watchtower magazines.

After all this small talk I said to him that these things were not my greatest concern and I was troubled about a much more serious matter. He was very interested and asked me to explain. I then talked to him about the org. teaching that Jesus was not the mediator for most of mankind in a strictly legal sense even though 1 Timothy tells us he is. He said he did not get this understanding according to their teachings. By this stage he had told me he was a 42 year old Elder from Canada who was brought up in the truth since he was 6. I told him that this certainly was a teaching of the JWs and all he needed to do was type in ‘Jesus mediator anointed’ into his CD rom when he got home. I then proceeded to explain the repercussions that this teaching has, including the idea that the other sheep were not part of the New Covenant.

I again told him to look it up in his CD Rom which he said he would do, as he couldn’t say much about it I then went on about their beliefs being man’s teachings and not God’s.

In conclusion I told him that my JW sister, who was nearly 50 had just recently got married. She is a strong believer and she married a non believer. She had done this in secret, virtually eloping and none of the JWs new about it or knew that she had been dating. I said this was very sneaky as she knew that by doing it this way she would not be disciplined. He said that was absolutely correct and she would not be disciplined. I then said, now isn’t that very interesting. Here the bible makes it very clear not to marry outside of ‘ones kind’. This instruction is direct and unmistakeable. Yet when we consider the ban on celebrating birthdays which is not anywhere near as clear in the bible the organization will disfellowship a person for disobeying their command regarding this but not for marrying a non believer. He had nothing to say about this.

He wrote down on a slip of paper his telephone number and said I could call him anytime. I thanked him for it and I was stunned when he said ‘so aren’t you going to give me your number?’ Talk about being forward but it seems that they have public preaching down pact in Hong Kong. I told him I live in Australia and am on holidays but I could give him my email address. He said great and he would look up the issues I had presented and get back to me. Somehow I don’t think he will because at one stage he asked me if I had been reading outside material to which I told him I certainly had as it provided me with an open view and recommended JW Facts to him and the benefit of that website.

When I was leaving the mall I noticed another bunch of JWs at the entrance and they were just as forward by actively approaching passerbys, blocking their passage and trying to engage them in conversation. It was such a contrast to the literature cart I had seen a couple of days before where the JWs there were like statues, speechless and non engaging.

I was very nervous to start with and know I did not handle this as I should have but I think by making an effort it will give me more courage to speak confidently in the future.

20

Anyone Else Havng Trouble Logging In Today?

by Joe Grundy in

or is it just me (again)?.

getting 'server not found' etc.

messages..

Listener

Yes. I am using Internet explorer and google. I cleared my cache and still no success after many repeated attempts. I used google chrome and the yahoo search to finally logon but still have problems opening some threads.

10

Wouldn't Being "Mentally Diseased" Give You a Pass at Armageddon?

by TTATTelder in

wouldn't being "mentally diseased" give you a pass at armageddon?

the wt claims that apostates are "mentally diseased".

most of us are aware of this claim on this forum.

Listener

Watchtower 71 1/15

Can it be stated flatly that only baptized witnesses of Jehovah will survive Armageddon?—A. S., U.S.A.

It would be misleading to answer this question with either a simple “Yes” or a “No.” The Scriptural answer of necessity must be a “qualified” one, and it is easy to see why.

At 1 Corinthians 7:14 the Bible shows that God can consider as “holy” the minor children of a Christian parent. Though they are young and not yet to the point of being personally responsible to Jehovah, their parent is trying to develop in them a love of God and of the way of righteousness. It seems clear that at the time of the destructive war of Armageddon God will preserve them on the basis of the family merit of the Christian parent, even though the children are not yet dedicated and baptized.

The reply must also be “qualified” because the Bible does not pointedly say how God is going to handle certain unusual cases, such as those involving mentally retarded persons who never had the capacity to learn about Jehovah and his purposes. Regarding these unbaptized persons, it is possible that family merit may apply as in the case of minor, irresponsible children who have a faithful believing parent or guardian.

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