i remember a few years back at a circuit assembly, a few bros were introducing themselves to the co, they made sure to mention that they were an ms or an elder from such and such cong.
i was also an ms, but was the only one that introduced themselves by just my first name.
i was so irritated and blown away at the arrogance by these bros, trying to impress men with titles!
I think the announcements at the Conventions and Assemblies is more about adding weight to the words the guy is going to say, and not an ego thing. (By the way its in the instructions for the talks and for the chairman)
Having been a speaker at many conventions, and being involved on different levels, I am pretty shure its not what you are thinking, though you could tell some elders LOVED that, and some did NOT want any attention.
'in order to extend mercy, the committee must be convinced that the wrongdoer has a changed heart condition and that he has a zeal to right the wrong and is absolutely determined to avoid it in the future.'.
shepherd the flock page 91. i remember this is one of the first things that concerned me as an elder because it seemed to sound like a person is guilty until proven innocent rather than 'love believes all things', especially given the word 'convinced' appears in bold.. then in a training video one elder said something like 'unless we are convinced of repentance the shepherd the flock book says we must disfellowship'.
that was the begining of the end for me as i thought surely true christians would reason the other way round and show mercy wherever possible.. any thoughts?.
What it all means is that any Judicial Committee is at best a Coin Toss.
All depends on the Elders you get - the mood they are in - the last Committee they were on - and how good an Actor you are.
i have two questions.
1. if you work on kingdom hall construction, are you allowed to count your time in lieu of field service?
an old thread here indicated that if you are pioneer, you can count your time.
You are not able to deduct personal MEALS as an expense in the USA for taxes.
If you were hosting a business meeting with a client or potential client you could deduct 1/3 of that meal.
for years theologians and historians have researched who the historical person known as jesus was and how much of the biblical account could be verified.
countless books have been written going into great detail.
this has been a controversial subject with some even claiming that jesus never existed.
Well how can you refute: William Durrant born in 1885,
Albert Einstein the world leader in historical studies born 1879,
Rudolf Bultmann professor of a false religion born 1884,
and Michael Grant author born in 1914.
I mean really - what better spokesmen for facts on this matter could you have?
Next month will feature Proof the World is Flat using the unimpeachable testimony of Hecataeus of Miletus!
Stay Tuned!
jehovah's witnesses accept jesus as christ, the son of god.
they try, in their own way, to live by his teachings and imitate him.
they pray, read the bible and meet together regularly for worship.. i won't minimise any of the harm and damage they cause but for the life of me, i can't see how anyone can credibly deny that they are christians.. why do so many former jws have a problem with this?
We are all now under Satans Control!
the last talk at the assembly made an interesting statement, "we can show faith by following direction if we're asked to move to another kingdom hall for better use of dedicated christian funds".
this statement has everyone talking.
i spoke to multiple individuals and they heard the same thing at different assembly's.. i know they have been "evaluating" all kingdom halls the last year or two.
I have also heard from reliable sources that Jersey City Assembly Hall is on the chopping block.
They thought about selling it in the past as well, but it is a HARD sell. The building is protected as a historic site, and anyone who buys it - must keep it generally as is. So it would have to be a theater or something serving the same use really.
PLUS - it's a giant Money Maker for them.
They have over 40 assemblies a year there and congregations that meet weekly.
Can you say CONTRIBUTIONS!
It always startled me why having a 2 day assembly cost us about 20K?
Does the heating air and maintenance really cost that much? NO.
so our congregation is full of hardliner elders, 3 of them, who are not gentle, kind or loving.. people have either moved away or quit trying because one elder inparticular was going to drive them crazy with all his rules and nit picking and being righteous over much.
(and he is pissed that he hasn't been accepted to the school.
hmmm, i wonder why!).
Most bodies of elders have bullies on them that create a dominant spirit or attitude in their congregation.
It sounds like the bullies won....
The Bullies always WIN - that what the GB want - they don't want LOVE they want BULLIES who will toe the line and pound the congregation.
See Elders who act "like fictitious jesus" would let people live by their conscience, not meddle in things that are of no business to them, support those who are down or need help with something other than a Pointless Shepherding Call to read a scripture and them guilt them for whatever problem they are struggling with.
So since the Borg have nothing to do with Love - it's not part of the SOP.
I could go on...
i was at my assembly when this was discussed last week.
of course i hadn't prepared and i heard "no rules about limits", or at least i thought i did.. here's the direct quote from the watchtower study article.. "although the bible does not provide specific rules about the kinds and limits of love play that might be associated with natural sexual intimacy, it mentions displays of affection.
the watchtower (study edition) august 2016 : making christian marriage a success, paragraph 8.. what say you?.
And remember no-one gets undisfellowshiped if the Governing Body changes the rules.
YUP!!! Not just for this - how may other things were BAD until they were ok - and as you said no undisfellowshiping
Didn't they use to counsel.......to pray before sex?
In that - you should pray as a couple when going to bed.
ShirleyWan hour agoGiordano - I remember during a talk the Brother said that "on the wedding night the couple should offer a prayer to Jehovah"
UHG UHG!! What scriptures answered why?
RELIGION IS DISGUSTING and Man's worst Invention!!
just found out that in the congregation we used to attend there are two young brothers, both are sons of elders and recently engaged to girls in neighboring congregations.
instructions are that they may not sit together at assemblies or meetings.
but get this….they can’t even ride in the same car even if their parents are also in the car.
There was a congregation near me (elders were like nazis) who from the platform an elder told a dating ADULT couple that one of them should move their seat.
No not at all a cult.
this book has been recommended to me a few times.
is it worth reading?.
how could i get a copy without paying the massive amount stated on amazon and ebay?
In a word YES!
