Posts by Phizzy

19

Convention attendance

by joe134cd in

just heard from a pimi cousin who recently attended a convention, and remarked about the low attendance.

peak was about 500. i remember that circuit, in years past, had attendances of 1000+.

it's been over a decade now since i last attended a jw convention.

True Beth, when I started to just "stir and open my eyes a bit" before fully "waking up", I cancelled my monthly donation, and never gave them a penny after that. I thought to myself "They don't need it, me and my wife do".

That was about 3 or 4 years before I woke up in any significant way.

Hopefully the low attendances are indicative of people waking up a bit, and maybe not donating as much, or even nothing. This will cause the org to take ever more obvious steps to raise money, and increase donations, as even a wealthy org. needs Cash Flow regularly.

Whatever they do to extort more money, it will make more people PIMO, and hence be counter productive, I sincerely hope !

19

New here

by AdamCzarnobay in

jw
friends

i left the organization in 2017.. was in several congregations in the north west of england.

i just wanted to say thank you to all of you that have posted on here over the years, it really helped me to see the truth about the organization.

i lurked here for many years under an anonymous login and then finally plucked up the courage to write my disassociation letter.. adam.

Phizzy

Welcome Adam !

It really warms my heart to hear of yet another person who has started walking on the Road to Freedom, the greatest freedom you will find along the way is Freedom of Mind ! That is to be cherished, and used.

"A Watcher" asked "Did you leave Jehovah too ?" my answer to that is "You cannot leave an Imaginary Fictional Character", which upsets believers, sorry believers, but I would rather live in the Real World, than remain deluded in any way.

All gods were invented by men. In the case of YHWH/Yahweh/Jehovah, we know when in History he was invented, and by which peoples, who introduced him to the Israelites.

May all go well with you in your new Free Life !

47

Leaked Annual Meeting Video: "Expect Sudden Changes" Jeffrey Jackson

by raymond frantz in

jw
friends

https://youtu.be/uxqqyrrffow?si=wo0jotyvjg76oljk.

well that's sort of related to the next talk on our program brother jeffrey jackson will discuss the theme don't be surprised by sudden changes, brother jeff you have our.

attention well i'm sure we all agree with this fact in recent years there have been a lot of changes even since the last annual meeting there have been many changes some of them perhaps are a little surprising or may seem to be sudden but you know brothers and sisters when we look back on how these changes have come we can see that jehovah has gradually prepared us for each of these adjustments and changes let's review some of the recent changes we've had what changes have we seen with regard to our understand understanding of bible teachings at the 2021 annual meeting we received an adjusted understanding of john 529 it was explained that the resurrection of judgment will not be a judgment of condemnation rather it will be more like a period of probation the unrighteous mentioned at acts 24:15 will have an opportunity to gain everlasting life but their names will not be written wr in the book of life at the time of their resurrection to have their names eventually written in that book these ones will need to respond positively to the great educational work that will take place during the thousand-year reign then at the annual meeting in 2023 we gained enhanced insight into what we do know and what we don't know concerning jehovah's judgments we learned that the door of opportunity for people to take a stand for the kingdom does not shut when the great tribulation starts with the destruction of false religion at that time perhaps some will be like the egyptians in moses day who took a last minute stand and joined the exodus of god's people at the same annual meeting we adjusted our views with regard to jehovah's judgments of those who died in the flood and those who were destroyed in sodom and gomorrah also at that annual meeting an adjustment was made regarding the reporting of our time and activity in our preaching work instead of focusing on reports we try to make good use of every opportunity to witness then we receive the 2024 governing body update number two in that update we saw the need to adjust how we interact with those who have committed serious sins and have been removed from the congregation what other major adjustments have we recently seen in our preaching work the emphasis now is on studing bible studies and making disciples not on distributing literature to that end the focus is on studying meaningful conversations not just on using memorized presentations were you surprised by these adjustments perhaps so but as we look back we see how one adjustment in understanding gradually helped us with the next adjustment isn't it true that gradually jehovah has prepared us and when we look back on it we see how logical this training has been to refine our understanding but events in the world likewise have changed it's true sometimes in the world you have sudden changes for example the pandemic but often times change in the world is gradual isn't it true with regard to the view of morality homosexuality abortion even what's acceptable and not acceptable with regard to conduct all of that has happened gradually in the world and it's not until you look back and see how different the world is today with regard to those matters that we see that there have been a lot of changes but this can be dangerous because as things gradually change we may get used to gradual change and forget that there are some sudden changes about to occur uh let's take our bibles please and if you turn with me to the book of luke chap 21 now this is an example of sudden change in luke chap 21 uh notice there in verse 34 the words of our lord jesus are recorded and he said in verse 34 but pay attention to yourselves that your hearts never become weighed down with oving and heavy drinking and anxieties of life and suddenly suddenly that they be instantly instantly upon you it's interesting to note that jesus had already said that this day he was referring to would occur at a time that we don't think is likely so what lesson do we learn from what jesus said it's a warning isn't it that we can't just sit back and think well things are gradually going to develop we know which way it's going and maybe it's not going to happen yet you know got a little bit more wiggle room there with regard to the schedule but you see that's dangerous thinking now what we're going to do is consider two examples of areas where perhaps we could be a little guilty with regard to that for example our view as with regard to the number of anointed ones remaining on the earth now for many years what did we think we thought well that number would go down and down and down and down now i don't know about you but me i you when that report came out just how many how many partakers and and what were we thinking we probably you maybe we didn't say it but we were thinking you know the number will go down down down down and there'll be just a couple of old guys in a wheelchair who will get their reward well i'm exaggerating but that was sort of the feeling wasn't it but now what have we seen in recent years those numbers have gone up and up and not only that younger brothers have been appointed on the governing body now i know what you're all thinking two new ones how old are they we know you're not googling now but you will be but you see we need to be careful about what we're thinking with regard to the number of anointed ones left on earth you see 19 years ago i was appointed on the governing body even i thought i was too young now they tell me i'm not so young anymore but do we see the point what does the bible actually tell us with regard to this well it doesn't say the number would just dwindle down to just having a few uh older ones left no the great crowd of other sheep will be judged on the basis of how they deal with

Phizzy

Changing the "truth", there fixed it for you Van. Truth does not change, only mere opinions posing as truth do.

You are correct Van, Russell changed what was "truth" with amazing unabashed frequency, so did the org. in all the intervening years. The slight difference with the latest changes is that they are not going to be able to openly label them as "New Light from Jehovah", but they do this subtly by implication, to give the impression they are guided in what they do from Heaven.

If they truly were, they would not have been over the years, as they are now, desperately reacting to circumstances, they would have been forewarned and have been proactive before problems grew.

May I add my thanks to those who leaked the nonsense before it happened as well, it is a pleasure to know what is about to happen before the Rank and File J.W's do !

2

Merian-Webster - New Covenant Defination

by Riley in

noun.

: a promise of redemption by god to people as individuals rather than as a nation and on the basis of god's grace rather than a person's adherence to the law.. i guess the dictionary is written by apostates.

.

Phizzy

" I guess the dictionary is written by apostates." LOL, Merriam-Webster must be produced by Apostates, the devil has inspired them to give totally false definitions to words that contradict the correct definition given by The Faithful Slave.

J.W's BEWARE ! The Merriam-Webster Dictionary will destroy your faith !

( I doubt we will ever see the above from the Org. they trust that very few J.W's ever pick up a Dictionary).

24

The Creation Story of Genesis 1 in its literary context

by Leolaia in

genesis 1 , the priestly (p) account of creation, has often been compared with the enuma elish, the akkadian creation myth.

some have claimed that p is dependent on the latter, but this is highly improbable.

in terms of similarities, most note the parallel of marduk splitting the body of the sea-monster tiamat and creating the heavens and earth from it, and elohim's division of the thwm "watery deep" (hebrew cognate of akkadian tiamat) into the heavens, earth, and seas.

Phizzy

Moses did not write anything, he is a fictional character, as is Noah et al. The first few Books of the Bible were written in Judah by Jews from Babylon after the Exile circa 500-450 BCE. They were writing an invented, fictional Foundation Myth for the Nation they hoped to build in Judah.

16

Sacred Days

by Riley in

yesterday was remembrance day/veterans days in canada.

we had a couple younger half wits in the cong in field service yesterday.

both are trying to climb the ladder with the entire elder body ready to die in the next 10 years.. i just of thought it was a dick move to go door to door about the merits of fighting for freedom or not fighting on such a sacred day.

Phizzy

When I was in my mid-teens I went D to D on Christmas day, I always worked alone, as I never gave a traditional J.W "presentation" and fellow J.W's would know I was a rebel.

It was amazing how many of the guys who answered the door thought it was funny to offer me a drink, I guess they thought I would refuse, not 15 year old me ! I accepted every one, and ended the morning decidedly squiffy, but was good at hiding that by then.

When in my late 20's, I decided it was rude to call on Christmas Day, or similar days, so never went out then. In my 40's I got disgusted by the number of J.W's who turned out for F.S when the C.O visited, most were hardly seen any other time, so I never went out on C.O visits. I was never questioned about that, despite being a M.S.

But yea, insensitive, rude and ignorant to call on certain days, I sense too the Public are now pissed off that they call at any time !

19

Convention attendance

by joe134cd in

just heard from a pimi cousin who recently attended a convention, and remarked about the low attendance.

peak was about 500. i remember that circuit, in years past, had attendances of 1000+.

it's been over a decade now since i last attended a jw convention.

Phizzy

" You mean assembly! " Yea, it's funny how many of the old J.W special words have changed, always it seems they change to make things sound more acceptable.

Maybe in the case of "Assembly" a widely circulated joke spurred them on to change it, here is the Joke , now out of date of course : " A guy drives past a building that has the sign on it " Jehovah's Witnesses Assembly Hall" and he thinks to himself " So that is where they build those Robots !"

With one of the latest to change it as usual was done for Legal reasons, the change from "Disfellowshipped" ( a crap word anyway) to "Removed", to try to fool the Courts that their practices in this regard have changed, they have not.

On the matter of attendance , I would dearly love to know what the current ones in my area are, Kent, U.K, as I think it is great that the numbers go down ! I am sure they have in my area, but I attended my last "District Assembly" as it was then called, in 2006, and my last K.H Meeting in early 2008, so have no way to find out.

24

The Creation Story of Genesis 1 in its literary context

by Leolaia in

genesis 1 , the priestly (p) account of creation, has often been compared with the enuma elish, the akkadian creation myth.

some have claimed that p is dependent on the latter, but this is highly improbable.

in terms of similarities, most note the parallel of marduk splitting the body of the sea-monster tiamat and creating the heavens and earth from it, and elohim's division of the thwm "watery deep" (hebrew cognate of akkadian tiamat) into the heavens, earth, and seas.

Phizzy

PP you said to me : " I'd much appreciate a thread from you, sharing something you learned recently.."

Thanks for the thought, I will maybe find time to do that, but at present things are a bit hectic in my life, I have a lot of writing to do in the form of a Novel, and I will have to immerse myself in that, and have to live with the characters in my head for a while ! My Mentor told me he wanted me to finish it by the end of December, I have not really started it ! He said to me the other day "You cannot keep making excuses", which is true, the guy is too bloody perceptive, he sees through my procrastination.

But I find it refreshing to turn off from one thing for a while, and put the old grey cells to work on something different. I am always amazed at the depth of study possible when it comes to the Works we find in the Bible, so it still fascinates me as an area of study.

Keep your grey cells working, I find doing so is good for "the soul", the old body won't do what it used to do, and does some things it shouldn't, but if we can keep our minds in Olympic quality fitness, that is a great thing for us !

24

The Creation Story of Genesis 1 in its literary context

by Leolaia in

genesis 1 , the priestly (p) account of creation, has often been compared with the enuma elish, the akkadian creation myth.

some have claimed that p is dependent on the latter, but this is highly improbable.

in terms of similarities, most note the parallel of marduk splitting the body of the sea-monster tiamat and creating the heavens and earth from it, and elohim's division of the thwm "watery deep" (hebrew cognate of akkadian tiamat) into the heavens, earth, and seas.

Phizzy

Thanks PP, for the info from the Talmud, and for reviving a Thread by Leo, yourself and other contributors. It will do some new members here good to see what a "Study in the Scriptures" should look like !

I miss the in-depth stuff, which mainly disappeared with Leo, who perhaps felt her contributions were "casting pearls before swine" ?

Thank you for being here still ! You always give me more of an Education, and spur me to further research.

4

Ten Mind Games Jehovah's Witnesses Play

by Sea Breeze in

jehovah's witnesses are masters at changing definitions of words to redirect thoughts.

they have done this effectively with common theological terms.

the result is that even when people leave, many still think the jw's have "some truth" and that maybe its just the leadership that is the problem.

Phizzy

I realised that Proverb referred to the life course of a Righteous man ONLY, when I was in the org. it was patently a misuse of its obvious meaning to extend it to greater enlightenment on Scripture etc. it simply has nothing to do with that.

I also thought that the "Righteous man" in the Proverb could equally be someone who lead a morally upright life without necessarily being a worshipper of Jehovah.

It is a stand alone Proverb, probably originating outside of Israel. I also while still in ,and in fact years before I actually left, realised the profligate use of Trigger Words by the Org to exercise Mind Control over the members. But at the time I just thought it was designed to guide new converts, which it was of course, but was far more insidious than I then realised.

These things were just some of the matters that made my Cognitive Dissonance rise to screaming level, and I finally properly examined the org's Doctrines and Practices, and then felt compelled to walk away.