Newly Enlightened

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Posts by Newly Enlightened

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  35

  UN (again!)

  by zound in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  hi guys, i'm new to the site.. sorry to bring up an old topic.

  but just wondering if anyone knew if the brochure referred to in the infamous un letter of 2004 is available to read anywhere?

  this is the brochure of 1991 (before the supposed "changed language that we cannot subsribe to").

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  Newly Enlightened

  Welcome Zound. Glad to have you here with us. There is quite a bit of info on the website below.

  I'm not sure if it has the info you seek on the UN & WTBT$

  http://www.jwfacts.com/watchtower/united-nations-association.php
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  67

  The 1927-1946 "Messenger" CD by request!

  by Atlantis in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  from one of the friends here:.

  nevada do you still have those messengers with rutherfords pictures?.

  tx.

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  Newly Enlightened

  BOC: I got my copy of the Oct/1/2012 BOE letter on here from Atlantis. So if you look thru his post of BOE letter you should find it. Plus, my cousin the elder verified that the copy I had was legit then asked me where I got it
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  34

  I'M SERIOUS!!!! If you eat cupcakes you will die at the Big "A"

  by Gojira_101 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i was just doing dishes not really thinking about anything in particular, and all of a sudden this experience came flooding back and i started crying.. a few years ago i went back to one of the states i lived in to see/visit my friends (before i learned ttatt, i was still a happy borg at this time).. the friends i were staying with had two young girls, one was 3rd grade and the other was preschool.

  so one day the father comes home after picking up the older girl (i think she was 7, 8...i'm not sure exactly this was several years ago) and she was all red and looked like she had been crying.

  i noticed she had some blue at the corner of her mouth.

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  Newly Enlightened

  Yep, you're right WH. I wish some child psychologists could see how JW's treat their kids. My dad used to beat me with a 2 inch leather belt and tell me that he would beat the devil out me.
• 
  34

  I'M SERIOUS!!!! If you eat cupcakes you will die at the Big "A"

  by Gojira_101 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i was just doing dishes not really thinking about anything in particular, and all of a sudden this experience came flooding back and i started crying.. a few years ago i went back to one of the states i lived in to see/visit my friends (before i learned ttatt, i was still a happy borg at this time).. the friends i were staying with had two young girls, one was 3rd grade and the other was preschool.

  so one day the father comes home after picking up the older girl (i think she was 7, 8...i'm not sure exactly this was several years ago) and she was all red and looked like she had been crying.

  i noticed she had some blue at the corner of her mouth.

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  Newly Enlightened

  Unbelievable. Now, after you've been out you look back and see how ridiculous everything is.
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  6

  Freemason's & Mormon similarties.....

  by Newly Enlightened in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i know there is some controversy whether or not c.t.

  russell was a mason.

  i won't go there.

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  Newly Enlightened

  I know there is some controversy whether or not C.T. Russell was a Mason. I won't go there. And I know that this isn't the usual WTBT$/JW topic but Hubby & I were watching a documentary last night about the founding father's of U.S.A and their membership in the Freemason's and how this country was set up according to their beliefs. It was very interesting. But they brought up a points.... Even tho the Mason's aren't christian per se, they do still have some similarities with the beliefs. Here are a few things I found interesting. At initiation theya re given a white apron. When they die they are buried in this apron. The docu brought out that the Mormon's have a similar belief and inferred that the LDS religion was started by a Freemason Joseph Smith.

  Freemason’s White Apron

  Masonic historian William Harvey, in his detailed dissertation on the subject, entitled The Mason’s Apron, asserts, “We are told that the Apron is the badge of Innocence and the bond of Friendship … In addition to being the badge of Innocence and the bond of Friendship, the apron is an ever-present reminder of that purity of life and action which should at all times characterise a Freemason … the apron is an emblem of all that is highest and best in human life … When first invested with it we are conjured to let its pure and spotless surface be to us an ever-present reminder of rectitude of life and purity of conduct; and a never failing argument for higher thoughts, nobler deeds, and greater achievements. What is all this but an appeal to the best that is in us to make this world a better place for ourselves and our fellow-men?”

  He adds, “The apron is the most comprehensive symbol of our faith.” We should not overlook the nature and gravity of this last statement as it is in such contrast to Christianity where Christ is the exclusive focus of the believer’s faith.

  Freemasonry points to this white garment as the ultimate picture of purity and spotlessness. The donning of this garment is said to be indicative of the righteousness of the wearer. We cannot underestimate the importance the white robe or white apron plays in secret society thinking. Plainly, it is not a mere a badge of recognition between members nor simply a garment of decoration for special ceremonies, but it is an emblem of great honour and spiritual signification among the secret fraternal family. It represents a virtuous standing through human attainment. It denotes righteous living, something man cannot achieve outside of Christ and the Christian new birth.

  Masonic writings praise the merits of this white apron and present it as a proof that there is some special virtue within the make-up of the Mason wearing it. One can come to no other conclusion but that it is intended to represent the idea that man is justified through his own good works. The member and his white garment are inextricably connected. He has become a new man – a pure man, all by being inducted into the Masonic Lodge by means of ritualistic initiation.

  Not only does Freemasonry continually try to identify the whiteness of the lambskin apron with the character of the candidate, it also constantly elevates the apron as the Mason’s sole hope of salvation and therefore way of access into heaven. The Lodge endeavours to relate the purity of the white apron to the “life and actions” of the Mason. It promises the candidate that if he follows the example of the lambskin apron he will one day stand before the Great White Throne and here the immortal words: “Well done, thou good and faithful servant! Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord!” (Matthew 25:21, 23).

  Not surprisingly, the white robe endowment conferment plays a crucial part in the Mormon temple initiation ceremony. Its founder, Joseph Smith, was a zealous high-degree Freemason. Before receiving his white robe, symbolising his innocence, the Mormon candidate must go through a washing and anointing ceremony in which he is firstly stripped of all his worldly clothing, washed by his instructors, symbolising the removal of his sins. He is then anointed with oil in recognition of his supposed innocence, which thus enables him to be endowed with his robes of purity.

  The Mormon lecturers then teach: “Brother, having authority, I place this garment upon you…which you must wear throughout your life. It represents the garment given to Adam when he was found naked in the Garden of Eden, and is called the garment of the holy priesthood. Inasmuch as you do not defile it, but are true and faithful to your covenants, it will be a shield and a protection to you against the power of the destroyer until you have finished your work on the earth. With this garment I give you a new name.”

  The Mormon lecturers then declare, “Brethren, you have been washed and pronounced clean, that through your faithfulness, you may become clean from the blood of the sins of this generation. You have been anointed to become hereafter kings and priests unto the Most High God, to rule and reign in the House of Israel forever.” Finally, alluding specifically to these white garments, the Mormon lecturer affirms (in close keeping with Masonry), “these endowments are to prepare you for exaltation in the Celestial Kingdom.”

  Like the fraternal world of secret societies, Mormonism takes these material garments as a symbol of the initiate’s supposed innate purity and presents them as his assumed guarantee of heaven. In keeping with Masonry it associates salvation with the reception of this garment – with it they obtain “a new name.” The mysterious awe with which these supposed garments of spotlessness and innocence are held, reveals the idolatrous nature of Mormonism. The veiled language used in the Temple ceremony exposes the hidden Occult significance of its teaching. In reality this garment is symbolic of Satan’s deceptive religion of good works.

  Secret societies, the cults and the Occult foolishly point their initiates to a man-made white garment as a sign of moral cleanness, and as their hope in this life of salvation. Scripture on the other hand points men to the Saviour and what He has secured for sinners. As the Mason departs this life, at the point of death, his Lodge colleagues’ eyes are directed toward the lambskin apron for their example and eternal hope around the grave. The white apron follows him into the grave. At the Mason’s burial the “Worshipful Master” repeats the assurance that all Masons receive when they first joined the Lodge and receive their own white aprons.

  http://www.evangelicaltruth.com/entered_apprentice_white_apron.html
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  15

  Born-ins... Did your parents let you watch the 1960's children's animated series "Davey and Goliath"?

  by Calebs Airplane in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  my parents used to let us watch this series growing up.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wei5oek53h8&list=plsg87pnp-rju50meptced92tlyyym7wir.

  ... until one day they noticed it was actually a production from the evangelical lutheran church of america... .

  then, it became prohibited.... the only explanation they provided us thereafter was that this cartoon was made by satan and his demons.. .

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  Newly Enlightened

  Nope. I couldn't even watch Carl Kolchak: Night Stalker which I would sneak out to my g'ma's apartment to watch. I loved that show! My parents felt it was demonic!
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  16

  !!!!INTERESTING DEVELOPMENT!!!! this morning. Family member hears TTATT.

  by Gojira_101 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  so my husband's brother called him this morning.

  i will call his brother earl (fake name :) so earl calls him out of the blue, hubby hasn't talked to him in a few months.

  earl was never baptized and left jw's in his later teens and the family has also thought he was a low life and the black sheep of the family.

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  Newly Enlightened

  Awesome Kids! So proud of you all and so happy you have your brother Sweetie. You did forget JW Survey in your list.

  Keep us informed!
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  40

  My experience today

  by leaving_quietly in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  discussion with wife today led to her questioning whether i believe or not.

  i told her that i just can't roll over and accept everything new thing they say just like that.

  we were, of course, talking about the "new light".

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  Newly Enlightened

  Here's one for you, right from the Reasoning Book. This is what did it for us. pg 89 under subheading 'Cross'. In that first paragraph you will notice a quote from the IMPERIAL BIBLE Dictionary. There a few [...] in there. When you go to the ACTUAL source. Link below. The IBD says something quite differently that what is quoted in the Reasoning Book and is actually pro-cross.

  Why

  doWatchTowerpublicationsshowJesusonastakewithhandsoverhisheadinsteadofonthetraditional

  cross?

  The Greek word rendered “cross” in many modern Bible versions (“torture stake” in NW) is stau·ros

  ′ . In classical Greek, this word meant merely an upright stake, or pale. Later it also came to be used for an execution stake having a crosspiece. TheImperialBible-Dictionary acknowledges this, saying: “The Greek word for cross, [ stau·ros ′ ], properly signified a stake, an upright pole, or piece of paling, on which anything might be hung, or which might be used in impaling [fencing in] a piece of ground. . . . Even amongst the Romans the crux (from which our cross is derived) appears to have been originally an upright pole.”—Edited by P. Fairbairn (London, 1874), Vol. I, p. 376

  What the IBD actually says:

  The Greek word for cross, (stauros), properly signified a stake, an upright pole, or piece of paling, on which anything might be hung, or which might be used in impaling (fencing in) a piece of ground. But a modification was introduced as the dominion and usages of Rome extended themselves through Greek-speaking countries. Even amongst the Romans, the crux (from which the word cross is derived) appears to have been originally an upright pole, and always remained the more prominent part. But from the time that it began to be used as an instrument of punishment, a traverse piece of wood was commonly added: not however always then. … There can be no doubt, however, that the later sort was the more common, and that about the period of the Gospel Age, crucifixion was usually accomplished by suspending the criminal on a cross piece of wood.
  … But the commonest form, it is understood, was that in which the upright piece of wood was crossed by another near the top, but not precisely at it, the upright pole running above the other, thus "a cross" and so making four, not merely two right angles. It was on a cross of this form, according to the general voice of tradition, that our Lord suffered.
  ... It may be added that crucifixion was abolished around the time of Constantine, in consequence of the sacred associations which the cross had now gathered around it."

  Imperial Bible Dictionary pg 376

  http://archive.org/stream/theimperialbible01unknuoft#page/376/mode/1up
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  29

  Apostacitis

  by Rufus T. Firefly in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  apostacitis is a term denoting a condition with which the watchtower society has become thoroughly infected, particularly since the year 1981 when sincere christians who merely resigned from the organization over principled differences in belief became viewed the same as unrepentant wrongdoers (1 cor.

  5:11) and as those rejecting the good news about the christ (2 john 9-11).

  there was a time when news of one becoming an apostate was so rare among witnesses that it sent shockwaves throughout the organization.

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  Newly Enlightened

  Welcome, glad to have you with us. Sounds like you have many more stories to tell.
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  6

  A small gift for all of us that have been abused by the WTBT$

  by Brother of the Hawk in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  my first poem, i've written in over 30 years.. to all of my new friends and those yet to come.. the powers to be.

  my day started early, 2:30 am.

  i lay in bed to wonder, who i am.. midlife has come, my light is growing dim.

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  Newly Enlightened

  Thank you Sweetie. It was very touching!