Posts by Faithful Witness

66

Waiting for the JWs to come to my door...

by Hortenzie in

i read about the new tract distribution and thought to myself how should i react, when they come to my door.

finally today, after finishing my morning coffee, i got an idea!

i'll take the tract, look at it, look at them, and with a nice smile rip it up and hand it back to them with :"have a great day!

Faithful Witness

I doubt they will bring the tract pamphlet to my door, after a recent interaction I had with a local elder who came to my door. They seem to be afraid of me. I hope they will come, and I appreciate the fact that you have made a plan for their visit. I think I have decided on my approach also. It's different from yours, but the organization has hurt me and my family in ways different from yours.

I am going to refuse the tract, and try to give a quick explanation. I actually have a great compassion for the JW people, and actually love and miss some of our so-called "friends" we used to enjoy fellowship with outside the KH.

This would be better phrased as a question, but I'm not sure if they will take the time to listen. I know this is supposed to be a hasty, hit and run placement of literature, so they can add another point to their score card for the month.

"I usually accept your literature, but I am going to pass this time. I have come to a realization about your preaching work. Your reward will be greater with Jehovah God if you do NOT report your visit to my house today. Please do not make a note of this visit on your card."

I don't think they will be allowed to discuss or address my concern, but I will welcome it. I am even going to place my (black) NWT Bible near my front door, with the proper passage flagged with a bookmark. Matthew 6:1-4. I have sincere concerns about their teachings, but this recent realization about their time cards, is really bothering me. Why do they report everything they do, to gain approval of men?

Perhaps Loveyourneighbor can answer. No JW will answer any of my honest questions that keep coming up, as I continue my personal study of the book of Matthew.

“Take care not to practice your righteousness in front of men to be noticed by them; otherwise you will have no reward with your Father who is in the heavens. 2 So when you make gifts of mercy, do not blow a trumpet ahead of you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be glorified by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. 3 But you, when making gifts of mercy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your gifts of mercy may be in secret. Then your Father who looks on in secret will repay you." (NWT, Matthew 6:1-4)

Do you report all your righteous work, to be noticed by men? That is not what Christ commanded.

11

What is "theocratic warfare?" Is this official doctrine of JW's?

by Faithful Witness in

i have never heard of "theocratic warfare," until i started reading blogs from, and interacting with ex-jw's online.

are there any articles that mention this practice?

i never once heard of it while we were studying.. now i'm wondering how many times it's been used on me.

Faithful Witness

Be like the serpent? That's a new one... they sure make leaps in logic. No wonder my mother is so confused about what she doesn't believe, but still goes out and attempts to preach.

14

Bible study last night Keep yourselves in gods love Ch 15

by DS211 in

last night my wife and i studied with elder and started chapter 15 of the "in gods love book".

"for many people in todays world, work is anything but a pleasure.

how is it possible to see good for our work under such circumstances?

Faithful Witness

Matthew 6:1-4 (and beyond)

“Take care not to practice your righteousness in front of men to be noticed by them; otherwise you will have no reward with your Father who is in the heavens. 2 So when you make gifts of mercy, do not blow a trumpet ahead of you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be glorified by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. 3 But you, when making gifts of mercy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your gifts of mercy may be in secret. Then your Father who looks on in secret will repay you."

By reporting their every work, to get credit from the society, who in turn publishes it and brags about how much work they are doing, they are canceling their reward from Jehovah God.

What justification do they use, for reporting their service? No one else does that, yet many others (not JW's) are serving without recognition from men.

27

What Are The Expectations...Now??

by Cold Steel in

the society has been teaching that you-know-what is right around the corner for so long that it's lost all credibility.

what are the expecations like now?

do people still expect it to happen very soon, or are more people planning on things like higher education?

Faithful Witness

wash towel = Watchtower

And the answer to your other question about 1975: The society never made any prophetic claims about the year 1975. The blame goes onto overzealous JW's, who got too excited for Armageddon and made foolish decisions and statements.

113

Elders receive a report that I am openly displaying false religious symbol

by confusedandalone in

when you look at the image above what do you see?

a sneaker or an outward display that i am now following after another religious group?.

well yesterday i had a 10 minute conversation with an elder who finally got the balls to call me.

Faithful Witness

This is one for the books. Shoe colors? It is very sad to see how small their world has become, that this is the best they can do.

14

Questions During Meetings...Grounds for Suspicion?

by Cold Steel in

with so many meetings during the week, it seems like the opportunity to raise questions would be rich.

i just wondered how probing questions are handled in most kingdom halls.

are they taken as an indication of an inquisitive mind or a potential source of stumbling for weak members?

Faithful Witness

My husband, we now realize, must have been "marked" in some way. We were bible students who asked a lot of questions. A few months before we finally stopped attending meetings, the elder at the podium started ignoring his raised hand. He would look directly at him, then call on someone else. At the time, we didn't know why. My husband (computer software engineer) kind of thought the guy (also an engineer) was intimidated, and wanted to maintain his apparent position as the smartest guy in the room.

Questions are not allowed. You might be able to twist comments and make observations, but that would not happen without consequence.

23

False Prophecy Part 3 With A Jehovahs Witness Elder

by Watchtower-Free in

jw: they are not.. kw: but if they were, would you want to know?.

jw: they are not.. kw: im not saying they are.

jw: no.. kw: really?

Faithful Witness

Also, interesting to note that he uses a quote from the Sermon on the Mount, to say "THIS is all that matters," referencing the teachings of Jesus Christ.

The sermon in Matthew begins with the following instruction:

“Take care not to practice your righteousness in front of men to be noticed by them; otherwise you will have no reward with your Father who is in the heavens. 2 So when you make gifts of mercy, do not blow a trumpet ahead of you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be glorified by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. 3 But you, when making gifts of mercy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your gifts of mercy may be in secret. Then your Father who looks on in secret will repay you." (Matthew 6:1-4 NWT)

Why are the JW's required to report every hour of field service, every bible study they conduct, every return visit they make, and every magazine they replace? They are taking their rewards and recognitions from men. If they stopped requiring JW's to report their time, how many would still go out in field service? This is not a commandment of Christ, but of the GB of an organization.

23

False Prophecy Part 3 With A Jehovahs Witness Elder

by Watchtower-Free in

jw: they are not.. kw: but if they were, would you want to know?.

jw: they are not.. kw: im not saying they are.

jw: no.. kw: really?

Faithful Witness

I wonder how long he will remain as your "friend."

Great efforts on your part, and impressive that you kept such control of the conversation.

15

How long will it be

by joe134cd in

jw
friends

just wanting estimations on "how long do you think it will be before the society allows internet witnessing as another avenue of preaching".

i feel it will only be a matter of time.

they have to do something to counteract all the negative stuff.

Faithful Witness

I agree with sspo. I can't see them encouraging internet witnessing efforts. They are currently warning people to stay away from the internet. The GB does realize that people who are smart enough to use a computer and internet forums, are more likely to have capabilities of independent thought. They do not want a public, two-way conversation to happen about their beliefs.

They could be better served if they used some modern technology though... I'm wondering why they never took advantage of television broadcasting? Imagine the funds they could raise, and the numbers they could reach over the public air waves.

The communication from the society has to be ONE WAY only. They do not accept comments from JW's. Why would they accept comments from non-believers? Maybe some pop-ups and YouTube videos, with comments prohibited... only coming directly from the GB, of course.

You will be hard pressed to convince someone to become a JW, through use of the internet or a forum like this. You will lose JW's to apostate reasoning, exposing them to satan's twisted comments. You need to keep them isolated and only associating with other indoctrinated ones. Go out in cars, to empty houses, to avoid risk of exposure to the public in any way.

The work is about quantity of time. Nothing more. They don't actually want to reach anyone new. They are struggling to maintain.

27

What Are The Expectations...Now??

by Cold Steel in

the society has been teaching that you-know-what is right around the corner for so long that it's lost all credibility.

what are the expecations like now?

do people still expect it to happen very soon, or are more people planning on things like higher education?

Faithful Witness

The end is definitely coming soon. The tower is falling, and the beast is lashing out in a last ditch effort to grab as much cash and ruin as many families as possible before the GB loses all its power.

To answer your question from the perspective of my JW mother, here is a conversation I had with her recently.

Mom: "I really feel like something is going to happen in 2014."

Me: "Oh! What do you think is going to happen?" (I have been reading ahead, so already know something is coming).

Mom: "I don't know, but it's going to be big."

Me: "What makes you think that?"

Mom: "You know, the millenium... and I just have a feeling..."

Me: "You do realize that a millenium is 1,000 years, and not 100 years, right?"

Mom: "Yes. I just feel like next year is going to be important for some reason."

If you want to see how desperate they are becoming, take a look at the November 15, 2013 Watchtower Study Edition. It reads like psychotic rantings from the Nazis. They are really starting to panic, as they realize that people might wake up and leave the organization.

100 years and counting...