We used to have a circuit overseer who had a phrase he used over and over again. "In the world it is get now but pay later. In the truth it is pay now (with our time, goods, finances, energy, youth, etc) and get later."
Promises, promises.
Lost in the fog
JoinedPosts by Lost in the fog
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Besides Everlasting Life What Do Jehovah’s Witnesses Offer To Anyone?
by minimus ini have been thinking... why would anyone want to join the religion or actually stay in the organization.
i understand that people don’t want to lose their loving family and dear friends so some stay in.
but what does anyone really ever get because they are jehovah’s witnesses??.
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Fast and Furious Actor, ex-JW.
by Lost in the fog inluke evans still finds birthdays ‘weird’ after being a jehovah’s witness.
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https://metro.co.uk/2019/11/13/luke-evans-still-finds-birthdays-and-christmas-weird-after-being-a-jehovahs-witness-for-16-years-11097283/.
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Lost in the fog
Luke Evans still finds birthdays ‘weird’ after being a Jehovah’s Witness.
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I got a Sympathy Card in the mail
by Butterfly607 ini haven’t been to a meeting in months.
just got a sympathy card in the mail from a “sister”.
i don’t know her beyond her face.
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Lost in the fog
We used to have a brother in our congregation who suffered from a serious mental health issue. He was well intentioned and if he heard a talk from the platform about sympathising with the brothers and sisters who were not well he was genuinely concerned and moved to action.
The only trouble was he would buy Sympathy cards to send... as in the cards you buy offering sympathy following a death. You can imagine how freaked out some of the recipients were getting those in their mailbox!!
The elders took him aside and instead of acknowledging his good intentions and suggesting that he buy Thinking of You cards instead, they read him the full riot act and put restrictions on him. He tried to kill himself, and ended up in hospital. When he was well, he was then chastised for trying to kill himself.
In the end, he left the religion. I don't blame him. But I always think about him because he was treated badly especially in view of his emotional state by power hungry men.
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are the witnesses now considered "clergy " ?
by lancelink inyears ago when i was a jw, one of their cornerstone teachings was that they were nothing like babylon the great.
i remember being taught that the witnesses not using any type of clergy class distinction was proof that they had the right religion.. well, recently we had this article in the local paper, and an elder who was no doubt the presiding overseer tried to use the clergy class excuse to get out of answering questions regarding a child abuse case.
here is the statement that really got to me.
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Lost in the fog
I know that you can choose to opt out of doing jury duty in the UK if you are a minister of religion.
So brothers and sisters were stating on their application form that they were so they could get out of doing it. Then the WT Branch sent out a letter saying that only congregation elders could use this cop out clause.
So the irony is that on the one hand every witness is told during the baptism talk "today you are qualified as ministers of God" they aren't allowed to say so in any secular setting until they have qualified as an elder.
Elders can choose to use their rights as a Minister of Religion to not be on a jury, BUT it is a conscience matter. The brother who is the coordinator of the congregation I used to be in, was twice on jury duty. He told us about one case which was a murder with his words "but we nailed the bastard!" I reckon you can all guess what he is like on judicial committees as well...
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It isn't only the witnesses.
by Lost in the fog inat last we have a statement that it's not all about the jws because to listen to them you would think that it was.
u.s. commission on international religious freedom database lists religious prisoners across globe - washington times.
https://m.washingtontimes.com/news/2019/nov/6/us-commission-on-international-religious-freedom-d/ .
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Lost in the fog
At last we have a statement that it's not all about the JWs because to listen to them you would think that it was.
U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom database lists religious prisoners across globe - Washington Times
https://m.washingtontimes.com/news/2019/nov/6/us-commission-on-international-religious-freedom-d/
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Creepy display
by neat blue dog in.
i dunno about you, but if i walked up to this display at an expo i'd be a little creeped out..
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Lost in the fog
We saw a similar creepy photograph recently. Talk about fixed denture smiles, although the girl 3rd from the left is definitely having to force her smile.
A friend said that they looked like 5 aliens, adding "Are they really tracts in their hands and not stun guns!" Lol.
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Did You Ever Get Hit On By An Elder?
by minimus inthe organization stresses to elders to be careful with members of the opposite sex.
never be alone with a sister whether it be in field service or paying a visit by means of a shepherding call.
do you know of any elders that flirted or were overly “touchy” with females?
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Lost in the fog
I used to find it hilarious that older elders would hand out this advice to younger elders, but had no problem giving lifts to an entire car party of sisters. Who knew whether the last one was dropped off at the roadside or inside.
And for the ministry we had one Service Overseer who would only work with teenager sisters, putting a helpful arm around their "shoulders" to steady them at the door. Mind you it caused several to stop going out on the work, and a couple to leave the religion entirely. But when it was raised at an elders meeting, all his cronies had a holier than thou attitude and how dare you impune this fine upstanding older man....
Excuse me while I go outside and throw up.
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Update/Change In OD Coming Soon
by mr_doubtful inthere will be an update/change in the od book coming soon.
i have it on good word that this change in the od book has already been pushed out & notified to the “higher ups”.
newwww light!.
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Lost in the fog
I don't think most witnesses read any of the books now that they are online. It's not like having a real book.
It used to be that when you qualified as an unbaptised publisher you were given the OD book as if it was a golden key to baptism.
It doesn't hold the same excitement to say OK you qualify and you can download this book if you haven't already done so but please be aware that if you download all the books you need to study you'll have no gigs left on your device.
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Not official representatives?
by Lost in the fog injust copying this article from a us newspaper website.
it was the section of the article that said, ".
when a reporter asks about jehovah's witness beliefs, a church elder refers her to the website jw.org, explaining that the quinoneses and wellses aren't official church spokespersons.".
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Lost in the fog
Just copying this article from a US newspaper website. It was the section of the article that said, "
When a reporter asks about Jehovah's Witness beliefs, a church elder refers her to the website jw.org, explaining that the Quinoneses and Wellses aren't official church spokespersons."
So despite the fact that they were baptised as MINISTERS and are REPRESENTING Jehovah and ADVERTISING the Kingdom from door to door, they are NOT actually spokespeople for the (church) congregation.
Makes you wonder why they bother going out!
Making a 1.5 minute heavenly pitch - Laredo Morning Times.
https://www.lmtonline.com/local/article/Making-a-1-5-minute-heavenly-pitch-14803641.php
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The "figurative" heart
by Sour Grapes inabout 25 years ago i gave a talk about how when the bible talks about the heart that it is the literal heart and how the heart and the brain are connected by nerve tissue.
the watchtower even stated that some people who received a heart transplant would take on some of the personality of the donor.then all of a sudden the borg changed and said that when the bible refers to the heart that it is figurative.
then when ever the watchtower referred to the heart it always put the word figurative in front of it.. does anyone know why there was a change in the use of the word heart?
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Lost in the fog
I remember those Heart talks as well. The trouble is that dyed in the wool JWs believe every single word printed in the WT as gospel. It does not matter if it flies in the face of common sense or scientific fact, it was in the WT therefore it must be true.
I remember being taught about the ice age forcing up mountain ranges at school, but the circuit servant had given a talk saying that geology science failed to accept that the flood caused the upheaval. As a child I didn't know what to believe but erred on the side of the WTS to be ridiculed in my classroom. I now know how silly I was to do so. But, I just give that as an example of the mind control of never going against the spoken or written words of the WTS. And I reckon that the majority of the JWs still would not do so even on pain of ridicule or worse.