i noticed a young brother with a beard being given more privelages within our hall.
when he first grew his beard, he lost his privelages.
but more and more recently he has been helping out a lot more.. the cobe is old school and a stickler for rules, but with the hall becoming more empty these days, and the need for young brothers, he seems to have relaxed on this particular watchtower/man made rule.
Imagine if Jesus appeared before them.
Jesus: Behold, the son of man is with you. I have a lifesaving message for you all...
Elder 1: Thanks Jesus but you'll need to shave and put this white shirt on before we can allow you on the platform.
Elder 2:Also, can we have you latest ministry report slip please?
Elder 3: And a letter from your previous congregation confirming that you're a baptised witness in good standing.
i've been lurking here for a couple of weeks now.
i'm starting to "awaken" and it is all that has been occupying my mind.
i've always, always had doubts, some of which i expressed to family members who always had the same replies:.
Welcome Pom
Let me just say that we all understand. Every one of us have been through the exact same things as you. I've been out about a year and a half. I had little doubts for years that I ignored and just focused on the good things JWs have.
For me it was the rules upon rules, interfering elders, this snitching culture and this idea that we need magazines to study the bible and the governing body to have a relationship with God.
Read up on JWFacts.com and also there's a book by ex Governing Body member Ray Franz. It's absolutely worth the read, it'll open your eyes and make you wise about some things. PM me for a copy of you wish.
Come back and vent. It's good to air your feelings. We'll look after you on here and support you.
hi all,i have been studying with the witnesses for more than 6 months and regularly attend both midweek & weekend meetings, and i am nearly at the end of the "bible teach" book.
my boss is adamant i attend team christmas functions.
she knows about my studying and potential baptism next year, and has suggested that i attend and just not participate in activities like kris kringle.
It's worth remembering that the book What Does The Bible Really Teach? has been updated at least once since it was first publish... so the first time they published it it wasn't actually "the truth".
How can we be sure they've got it right this time?
according to the watchtower:.
who received the ransom payment?.
why did the ransomer need to be paid?.
The non-JW christian gospel simply ...
A perfectly righteous god cannot overlook sin. Therefore we are alienated from god by our sin.
Sinless Jesus took on himself all of our sins and vicariously received the punishment for them on the cross. "He who did not know sin he made to be sin for us..."
God could then be righteous when he declares sinners to be righteous whose penalty has been paid by Jesus.
Disclaimer - I am not defending this idea as either rational or moral.
I get ya.
Which begs the question: why create hell in the first place? Why not just forgive the sin? Even if you must punish Adam and Eve why punish the children that havent been born yet?
according to the watchtower:.
who received the ransom payment?.
why did the ransomer need to be paid?.
I always had a secret problem with the ransom. I couldn't quite understand it. I couldnt understand why if we were christians and we accepted Jesus sacrifice and accepted Jehovah as our God, why did we need to do anything else? Why was i racked with guilt for buying a porno mag or saying a swearword or going to the office xmas party?
As i understood it the Watchtowers teaching is that Jesus died for mankinds sins. And that we're still sinful but when we die can be resurrected to paradise because Jesus blood paid the price of our sinful state. But it wasnt enough to believe in Jesus, you had to be a JW and knock on doors and obey all the new light.
Yet the born agains said that accepting Jesus means that Christ died for your sins, so your sinful state is paid off right now. That made more sense to me.
But anyway, i don't believe in such nonsense anymore.
i've now seen a couple of references to this and did a little digging before leaving for work.
i saw someone on reddit in july saying that someone on the inside said a change was coming in 2018 with the jw message, and i've now seen two references to this in the past week.
help a former brother out.
It's some who's misunderstood exactly what the Jan 2018 changes are. As we know, starting Jan 2018 their mags are being severely reduced and online content gradually reduced too. Also, the ministry will be primarily focusing on conversations rather than placing literature willy-nilly.
Rather than face facts and see this as a cost-cutting measure. The over zealous, blind-sighted ones are thinking it's them changing their message to "one of judgement". It's the only big change they've had in a while affecting their ministry.
No official word of this 2018 message of doom has come from Bethel nor printed in any of their mags or on the JWBroadcasting.
Fear not. 2018 will roll by just like 2017 did. The only message of judgement will be me when i get my gas bill after Christmas.
taking a walk down memory lane at those looooonnnnngg, tedious conventions... .
(boy, they weren’t kidding when they spoke about being long-suffering and having endurance!).
but what were some of your convention highlights, or lowlights, from back in the day?.
Oh man.
I never actually took notes. There was nothing said that was new or worth writing down. I can remember every convention being very boring. And the only memories i have are not of the talks but of the dramas and the people i'd speak to in the breaks.
from facebook:just saw my jw mother after not seeing her for more than 2 years.
when i do see her, it is brief, she never asks about my life, doesn't ask about my 4 children her grandchildren, doesn't ask about my grandchildren...her great grandchildren, she doesn't ask about my other 2 brothers that she is also alienated from, she doesn't ask about my brothers family.
she doesn't talk about the jw/org either.
Wait...the guy does have a point. Why would Satan be wasting his time on the Jehovah's Witness organization if they didn't have the truth? None of you guys can explain that one!
There's just as much critics of the Mormon Church too, Cold Steel, (which you yourself are a member of) by ex-members. I myself was am a huge critic of that church even in my JW days.
Does that mean the Latter Day Saints have the truth?
i dont know if it's due to the last convention, the recent broadcasts, the internet or just plain fatigue - but since the convention i've had a few people contact me via facebook messenger asking how i am then cutting to the chase asking me what it's like "on the outside" or "how did you adjust after leaving?
" and asking me how they can leave the wt but keep their families.. my reply is always the same, i show real genuine interest and concern and listen to their situation.
then i suggest a fade, how to fade, to ignore or reject elders visits, to not talk about their doubts to active jws under any circumstances and finally point them to this site.
Why are they talking to you do you think? Your dfd right ? Did you tell all these people before your dfing that you DAd or what? It’s just the common practice when you hear someone being dfd is to think they had sex with someone there not supposed to. I don’t get it? But good on you!
My Facebook page (we all know JWs are a nosy bunch when it comes to DFd individuals) is set to Friends only. But i occasionally post things publicly that shows those JW lurkers how great my life is outside of the cult. Me in cool places, me in Uni, me all smiles with my daughter celebrating her birthday, and sometimes i'll deliberately share a post regarding the ARC or elders letters.
This, coupled with me attitude when i see JWs that know me. I dont cross the street but neither do i run up to them and act all over-the-top "look at me talking to you" kind of thing. I just smile, say hi as i pass and leave it there. Seems to show them that im no threat. Just another face on the street.
from facebook:just saw my jw mother after not seeing her for more than 2 years.
when i do see her, it is brief, she never asks about my life, doesn't ask about my 4 children her grandchildren, doesn't ask about my grandchildren...her great grandchildren, she doesn't ask about my other 2 brothers that she is also alienated from, she doesn't ask about my brothers family.
she doesn't talk about the jw/org either.
Coincidentally, look what was posted in the comments of one of my YouTube videos:
(LETS GET THE SHOW ON THE ROAD, FOR EVERY COMMENT OR RESPONSE I GET, THIS MESSAGE WILL GET RE-PASTED) SO IT'S YOUR CALL ON HOW MANY TIMES YOU WANT THIS WARNING TO APPEAR. THESE ROTTING SNAKE APOSTATE MESSENGERS ARE HATERS TO THE MOST EXTENT, THIER FATHER SATAN AND ALL OF HIS FOLLOWERS ATTACK JEHOVAH'S ORGANIZATION SO MUCH MORE THAN ANY OTHER RELIGION INCLUDING MORMONS WHY????? BECAUSE JW'S HAVE THE TRUTH, WHY WOULD SATAN AND HIS APOSTATES WASTE THEIR TIME ATTACKING A FALSE FAITH THAT SATAN ALREADY HAS CONTROL OVER? A NO BRAINIER JEHOVAH'S VENGEANCE AND WRATH WILL COME DOWN SO MUCH HARDER ON APOSTATES THAN THE REST OF THE WORLD,,, MARK MY WORDS DEUTERONOMY
&t=1955s IN DUE TIME JEHOVAH WILL PULL THE BREATH OF LIFE IN HEBREW WORD (RUA) (PSALMS 146:4) FOR ALL ETERNITY,,, YOUR BODIES ARE ROTTING AND CELLS ARE DEFORMING EVERY DAY THAT PASSES BECAUSE YOU ARE MADE UP OF SINFUL FLESH AND BONE,,, COVERED ONLY BY OLD RAGS,,, YOUR MOCKING LAUGHTER IS NOT GOING TO SAVE YOU, TIC TOC TIME RUNS OUT BY THE MINUTE, THE BREATHS ARE COUNTED AND ONE LESS BREATH OF LIFE, EVERY TIME YOU BREATH, ETERNAL NON EXSITENCE IS NOT IF, BUT WHEN. JEHOVAH GOD WILL BRING VENGEANCE SOON JUST AS YOUR FATHER SATAN ( JOHN 8:44) IS SO PATIONATE IN ATTACKING JEHOVAH AND HIS ORGANIZATION,,, I AND WE ALSO VERY PATIONATE TO DEFEND IT IN AS MANY TIMES AS WE HAVE TO, AND YES I AM NOT ABOUT TO RETYPE THIS WARNING EVERY TIME. IV'E NOTICE THAT OPOSTATES LAUGHTER SOUND VERY DEMONIC, IT'S NO SURPRISE THAT THE LAUGHTER IS FAKE AND DEMONIC, BECAUSE YOU HAVE INHERITED YOUR FATHERS TRAITS (JOHN 8:44), but don't fool yourselves, even though you are making your father Satan proud for OBEYING HIS COMMAND, he also wishes ALL APOSTATES were ALREADY dead why? because THEY have already proven unfaithful TO JEHOVAH, AND SATAN KNOWS AT THIS POINT THEY HAVE NO HOPE OF RESURRECTION, BUT ON THE OTHER HAND those that continue to maintain faithfulness,,,,, he Satan does not want them to die until he takes them with him, IF A SERVANT DIES FAITHFULL, HE OR SHE will return in the TIME OF resurrection, AND BY THE WAY YOU AND ALL OF YOUR FOLLOWERS are selfish, REBELIOUS arrogant, revengeful, hateful, AND MOCKERS TO SAY THE LEAST. IF ANY OF YOU, OR YOUR FAMILY MEMBERS GET STRUCK WITH A TERMINAL ILLNESS, heart attack or an unforeseen accident A CONDITION OF eternal nonexistence will follow. The bible gives a historical fact of children that were mocking a servant of God, JUST BECAUSE OF HIS BALDNESS and were ripped apart by a large bear (2 kings 2:23,24), at the special talk for October 2017 live from Warwick, The governing body made adjustments on how the preach work will take place starting Jan 1 2018, and that is because the apparent situation that is going on with North Korea, natural disasters, EARTH QUAKES NOW HITTING IRAQ AND IRAN FOR THE FIRST TIME, MASS KILLINGS, just to mention a few, NO TIME TO WASTE WITH PEOPLE THAT JUST DON'T TAKE FURTHER STEPS FOR BAPBTISM the great tribulation is just around the corner with Armageddon to follow. YOU APOSTATES DO NOT TEACH ME ANYTHIN NEW,, I HAVE BEEN A GREEK AND HEBREW SCHOLAR AND GREEK TEACHER FOR OVER 30 YEARS, and based on the original Greek I have researched, you AND YOUR adversaries are dead wrong, Jehovah's organization IS THE ONLY TRUE RELIGION, AND JEHOVAH IS THE ONLY TRUE GOD AND YOU AND YOUR FELLOW APOSTATES ARE THE POISONOUS DESCENDANTS OF THE WICKED ONE. EVEN WORLDLY UNBELIEVERS DO NOT REFLECT AS MUCH HATRED TOWARDS JEHOVAH'S WITTNESSES AS YOU, BUT AGAIN YOU HAVE LEARNED YOUR FATHER TRAITS. ONE CLARIFICATION IS THAT NOTHING FRIGHTENS JEHOVAH'S ORGANIZATION,, FOR THOSE FRIENDS AND THE CUROIUS : PLEASE REFLECT AND RETRACT FROM IN TAKING POISONOUS MESSAGES FROM THESE ROTTING SNAKES( ECESIASTICS 3:19,20) (PLEASE DO NOT LISTEN TO APOSTATES) WARNING: DO NOT DONATE MONEY TO THESE DESTRUCTIVE OFFSPRINGS OF THE DEVIL HIMSELF, THEY HAVE BECOME PROCLAIMED ADVERSARIES OF OUR CREATER JEHOVAH, THEIR ETERNAL DESTRUCTION IS AT HAND BY JEHOVAH'S WRATH, OR YOU WOULD BE PARTAKING AND REAPING THE SAME FINAL CONSEQUENCES
Crazy! There's one in every congregation.