Posts by WinstonSmith

336

The New Diary of Winston Smith

by WinstonSmith in

we had to go off grid for a time, time and half a time as we thought we had been outed.

fortunately it was a false alarm, but it was a stressful time.

i asked for my original diary thread to be deleted in case there could be anything on there to identlfy mrs smith and i. i am always very careful when posting, and am sure there was nothing on there, but felt it best to have it removed in order to be as cautious as a dove.

WinstonSmith

Hello Honeybucket,

This is great news! The fact that he is even talking about it says a lot. Be careful not to jump in and avalanche him with info. Now is a key time to maybe focus on just one or two things. I think the UN NGO thing is a biggie as the UN letter clearly states that members have to follow the ideals of the UN charter as a key part of their membership. The new light is a fresh one that might be worth pursuing. Instead of going after the new light itself, may be take another tack. Someone said to us it was not a big deal. We replied with "Remember the DVD we watched just a few weeks ago, that we discussed in the Service Meeting? The one about the history of the organisation? This is out of date now. There will be heaps of books out of date now. We'll all have to be careful not to offer old light or say the wrong thing!" Pick a couple of subjects an become an expert on them.

So happy to hear about this progress. Stay in touch and let us know how things go.

Bringing them down one by one - EXCELLENT

336

The New Diary of Winston Smith

by WinstonSmith in

we had to go off grid for a time, time and half a time as we thought we had been outed.

fortunately it was a false alarm, but it was a stressful time.

i asked for my original diary thread to be deleted in case there could be anything on there to identlfy mrs smith and i. i am always very careful when posting, and am sure there was nothing on there, but felt it best to have it removed in order to be as cautious as a dove.

WinstonSmith

Hello, I hope you are having a nice weekend wherever you are!

If you are going to a meeting today, keep these thoughts in mind as you go through the WT study: Jehovah Congregates His Joyful People

Paragraph 2 says that in this study we will review scriptural precedents for modern day conventions. The next paragraph then give us Exodus 20:18 and Deutoronomy 4:9, 10 and calls this the first large gathering of God's people for the purpose of instruction. How does what is described set a precedent for modern day conventions? There was a million people in the desert, under a volcano, that was so scary to the people that they asked one guy to act as an intercede. Does any of this sound like a modern convention? The only similarity is that a group of people got together.

From the end of paragraph 5 to the start of paragraph 6 we make a giant leap from the border of the promised land all the way to Ohio, 1919. The focus of the festivals in Israelite times was to celebrate and reflect on the relationship that an individual, a family, and the nation had with their God. The focus of the 1919 convention was getting people pumped to sell books.

Funny, in the list of conventions mentioned, nothing is said about the 1966 "God's Sons of Liberty" convention where the book Life Everlasting in Freedom of the Sons of God was released. A book in which it was heavily implied that the end of this system would come in the 1970s, and which was followed by numerous WT and AW articles on the same subject, and Circuit Assembly public talk titles such as "Who Will Conquer the World in the 1970s?"

Paragraph 13 says that people travelled from many different nations to come to Jerusalem for the Pentecost festival. Acts 2:5-11 is placed at the end of the paragraph to back this thought up. But read verse 5. This indicates to me that these people lived there, not that they travelled there. Only verse 10 talk about people traveling - the sojourners forms Rome.

What was the purpose of the ancient festivals? Was it to listen to talks, or was it to offer animal sacrifices? How do these in any way compare to modern day conventions? The only similarity is that a bunch of people get together. And maybe some singing?

Paragraph 17. The real reason things have changed is that there is no way they would ever get people along to an eight day morning, noon, and evening nowadays. They market this change as being loving, but reality is quite different. For example, the was a lot of private uproar among my elder friends when they found out they had to take a week off work for the recent elders school.

Did you notice the subtle dig in paragraph 18? The releases help 'sincere' people appreciate scriptural truths. Does that mean that if you read these books and are not moved by them, that you are not sincerely seeking scriptural truths?

Stay strong, keep fighting.

40

New James Bond Film: Skyfall

by leavingwt in

i had an opportunity to see skyfall in the theater yesterday.

it's almost as good as casino royale, with some parts of it being even better.

the opening sequence was a real thrill, one of the best.

WinstonSmith

Just saw it. Loved it. A most excellent addition to the franchise!

"What makes you think this is my first time?"

What exactly has James done for King and country...?

17

wow

by Theredeemer in

jw
friends

it has been a long time since i have posted here, so, here it goes.

i have been back and forth for the last two years on whether or not to stay in this religion or not.

most of me wanted to stay for the same as many others, fear.

WinstonSmith

A high five for you and your dear wife from me and my dear wife :-)

336

The New Diary of Winston Smith

by WinstonSmith in

we had to go off grid for a time, time and half a time as we thought we had been outed.

fortunately it was a false alarm, but it was a stressful time.

i asked for my original diary thread to be deleted in case there could be anything on there to identlfy mrs smith and i. i am always very careful when posting, and am sure there was nothing on there, but felt it best to have it removed in order to be as cautious as a dove.

WinstonSmith

You know what's funny Giordano, is after the talk I told the same story to Mrs Smith!

Makes me laugh every time :-)

Hope you all have a flippin' awesome weekend!

3

Jesus Christ any PS3 gamers?

by DubR in

if u are a hardcore ps3 gamer (at least lvl 10) holla at ur boi.

im sure there are hundreds of gamers on here so leave ya psn name or pm me.

l8r.

WinstonSmith

I'm a big fan of Bioshock. Don't play online though.....

336

The New Diary of Winston Smith

by WinstonSmith in

we had to go off grid for a time, time and half a time as we thought we had been outed.

fortunately it was a false alarm, but it was a stressful time.

i asked for my original diary thread to be deleted in case there could be anything on there to identlfy mrs smith and i. i am always very careful when posting, and am sure there was nothing on there, but felt it best to have it removed in order to be as cautious as a dove.

WinstonSmith

I ate huhu grubs once. They taste like crunchy peanut butter.

Maybe, since I'm a kiwi, I'll just take some fush n chups....

336

The New Diary of Winston Smith

by WinstonSmith in

we had to go off grid for a time, time and half a time as we thought we had been outed.

fortunately it was a false alarm, but it was a stressful time.

i asked for my original diary thread to be deleted in case there could be anything on there to identlfy mrs smith and i. i am always very careful when posting, and am sure there was nothing on there, but felt it best to have it removed in order to be as cautious as a dove.

WinstonSmith

We just got invited to an "International Dinner"

Everyone is going to "Bring a dish from their country of nationality" and we are going to eat them while we "enjoy christian association"

Please, please, pleeeease let Armageddon come before the weekend!

336

The New Diary of Winston Smith

by WinstonSmith in

we had to go off grid for a time, time and half a time as we thought we had been outed.

fortunately it was a false alarm, but it was a stressful time.

i asked for my original diary thread to be deleted in case there could be anything on there to identlfy mrs smith and i. i am always very careful when posting, and am sure there was nothing on there, but felt it best to have it removed in order to be as cautious as a dove.

WinstonSmith

Hey Oz!

You are so right mate, I went through a phase of calling prayer 'talking with your eyes closed.' People only see what they want to see. When something goes their way they say Jehovah answered their prayers. Yet they conveniently forget the thousand other times the subjects of their prayers never materialised.

I tend to waver between faith and not being sure about anything. Does that make me agnostic? Not sure. I think it makes me human. I do believe in being good to others to whatever extent we can at any given time. I believe that there are some words of Jesus that we should live by, namely love God, love your neighbour, and treat others how you want to be treated. I'm also aware these are not necessarily ideas that are original to the bible. On the odd occasion when I do pray it is generally addressed to God, Jesus, Gaia, Buddha, Mother Nature whoever might be out there. It's more of an inner monologue than anything specific. Other times I'm like "thats a big ol' empty sky up there."

Hey, I'm just a dude doing the best I can with the tools I've got.

336

The New Diary of Winston Smith

by WinstonSmith in

we had to go off grid for a time, time and half a time as we thought we had been outed.

fortunately it was a false alarm, but it was a stressful time.

i asked for my original diary thread to be deleted in case there could be anything on there to identlfy mrs smith and i. i am always very careful when posting, and am sure there was nothing on there, but felt it best to have it removed in order to be as cautious as a dove.

WinstonSmith

Hello everyone,

Hope you are having a good week!

Have had a very interesting series of chats with my sister over the last few days. Her and her husband (both pioneers and he is a MS) have been having some trouble in their marriage lately. They have just been through the wringer with the elders and the CO, and my sister has come out of it absolutely exasperated at the way she was treated. One of her comments was "I just want to tell them all to go to hell!" This has been festering for over two years and has now come to a head.

Let's just say Winston is endeavouring to eeeeeeever so lightly prod and point out the unscripturalness of what she has been told. I'm playing on the whole secret elders book / women are a second class citizen / opinions of men angles. I'm taking it from a "I used to be an elder so I have some inside info on all this for you" aspect.

Watch this space....

In the meantime, here are some notes from a recent public talk. These are just notes and not necessarily my opinion. I am reporting, not supporting.

What Kind of Prayers Does God Answer?

Pretty much everyone these days has a mobile phone.
They are useful, but they come at a cost.
All of us have a way of communicating that is free and the person we speak with is always there and ready to pick up.
Sadly not many people know how to use this way of communication, so their prayers go unanswered.
1986 was declared as a year of peace and many religious groups got together and prayed for this peace to come. Obviously these prayers went unanswered.
One reason prayers don't get answered is that they go to the wrong person.
Acts 2:21 says that those who call on God's name receive help. There are many different religions and they all have different books, but only our book tells people what God's name is. People's prayers don't get answered because they are praying to the wrong person.
Psalm 115:5, 6. People think they are praying to God, but they aren't because there is no reply.
Is there a channel that people need to go to? John 16:23.
Prayers must be offered through Jesus or else they just go nowhere.
Our motive is important too. People often turn to God when there are natural disasters and pray for the safety of the families. If the family member has died, then God gets blamed and that is not fair. Our motive needs to revolve around God's will.
When we make an emergency call, we have to be specific to the operator on the details of where exactly the ambulance or police need to go. Our prayers should be specific too.
Remember though that Jehovah will not answer prayers such as those that some make to win the lotto. It is better to pray for God's kingdom to come. For the preaching work to be successful. These are the things with which Jehovah is concerned.
Jehovah blesses the efforts of his faithful servants, so it is important that we follow through on the things we pray about.
Psalm 119:105. The answers to many of our prayers are provided in the bible this is why we have to study the bible.
Zechariah 4:6. Holy Spirit answers our prayers too.
One lady was left with three kids after her husband died. She prayed for comfort from God's word. Next day a JW called and said in his presentation "I have come to give you comfort from Gods word." When the lady heard the exact words that she had prayed, she commenced a study and is now a JW.
In WW2 there were a number of sisters in a prison. The guards threatened the sisters one day with forcing the sisters to put their hands in hot oil. All of the sisters prayed. Most of them prayed for release and deliverance. This sister instead prayed to maintain her faith no matter what. The guards left them alone. Looking back, the sister was grateful that she prayed in a way that focused on Jehovah.
One sister was a successful pioneer and then she came down with depression. She prayed for help to get over it. Soon after she received an invitation to go to Bethel. She was not sure if she could do it due to her condition. She decided to go anyway. A few months later she realised that her depression had disappeared.
What prayers does Jehovah listen to?
Those that are earnestly seeking Jehovah.
Those who have faith that he will answer.
Those that want to have a relationship with Jehovah.
Those that are specific and followed up with actions.
Isaiah 55:6.