Posts by Faithful Witness

68

Why do Jehovah's Witnesses keep track of field service hours?

by Faithful Witness in

i understand that they claim to have the responsibility to preach to every corner of the earth, so they can encourage armageddon to come quickly.

(matthew 24:14 "and this good news of the kingdom will be preached in all the inhabited earth for a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.

what rationale do they have, for keeping track of their hours and literature placements?

Faithful Witness

Stand For Pure Worship:

Thank you for your reply. Your answer is interesting. Can you explain to me what you mean by "spiritual health?"

68

Why do Jehovah's Witnesses keep track of field service hours?

by Faithful Witness in

i understand that they claim to have the responsibility to preach to every corner of the earth, so they can encourage armageddon to come quickly.

(matthew 24:14 "and this good news of the kingdom will be preached in all the inhabited earth for a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.

what rationale do they have, for keeping track of their hours and literature placements?

Faithful Witness

So, the reporting requirement was created by the society. It has no scriptural basis?

68

Why do Jehovah's Witnesses keep track of field service hours?

by Faithful Witness in

i understand that they claim to have the responsibility to preach to every corner of the earth, so they can encourage armageddon to come quickly.

(matthew 24:14 "and this good news of the kingdom will be preached in all the inhabited earth for a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.

what rationale do they have, for keeping track of their hours and literature placements?

Faithful Witness

I understand why the organization requires it. What reason to JW's tell themselve and others, for reporting their time?

What answer will I get from my father, when I ask him why he turns in a time card each month?

68

Why do Jehovah's Witnesses keep track of field service hours?

by Faithful Witness in

i understand that they claim to have the responsibility to preach to every corner of the earth, so they can encourage armageddon to come quickly.

(matthew 24:14 "and this good news of the kingdom will be preached in all the inhabited earth for a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.

what rationale do they have, for keeping track of their hours and literature placements?

Faithful Witness

I plan to ask this question of my father, but am hoping to get a preview of what his answer might be. Thanks for any thoughts, from anyone who has turned in a time card!

68

Why do Jehovah's Witnesses keep track of field service hours?

by Faithful Witness in

i understand that they claim to have the responsibility to preach to every corner of the earth, so they can encourage armageddon to come quickly.

(matthew 24:14 "and this good news of the kingdom will be preached in all the inhabited earth for a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.

what rationale do they have, for keeping track of their hours and literature placements?

I understand that they claim to have the responsibility to preach to every corner of the earth, so they can encourage Armageddon to come quickly. (Matthew 24:14 "And this good news of the Kingdom will be preached in all the inhabited earth for a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.")

What rationale do they have, for keeping track of their hours and literature placements? Is there a biblical basis for this recordkeeping and reporting to an organization?

It directly opposes what I understand to be the meaning of the teachings in the sermon on the mount.

Matthew 6:1-5

“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."

From my understanding, a certain number of reported hours are required to maintain the different levels in the congregation hierarchy.

I've heard comments like, "It's like scoring points with Jehovah." Is this really what they think they're getting?

22

Alzheimer's hallucinations are demons?

by Once Blind in

my father has been suffering from alzheimer's for a couple of years now.

my mother keeps referring to his hallucinations as demons.

i haven't been to the hall in a while, i've been fading for 20 years now, but i find this amazing!

Faithful Witness

Once Blind:

I am an outsider, but wanted to respond to this question, in light of some comments made by our Baptist preacher a couple of weeks ago.

He suggested that there was a direct connection between our physical health, and our spiritual health. He made a statement close to, "If you are suffering from some physical ailment, pain or sickness, you have some sins that need to repent."

I would like to note that we go to a very small church, and his sermon was heard by a congregation that is about 70% senior citizens, many of whom have chronic pain and physical ailments that often go along with getting older. I was sitting there thinking, why don't I have these ailments? I'm a sinner...

- I have a personal observation that I made this week, in Matthew 9. There is the story of the paralytic that was brought by his friends for healing. It took four men to carry him. The crowd was so great, and the faith and perseverance of his friends was so strong, they took drastic measures to get to Jesus. They cut a hole in the roof, and lowered the man down in his bed. When Jesus saw them, he said, "Your sins are forgiven." That was probably not what they expected to hear (haha). The message here? What is more important? Forgiveness of sins or healing?"

As far as the "demons" of alzheimer's disease?? ... I would explain to your mother that this there is actually a chemical change in your father's brain. It has to be very difficult for her to live and watch her husband go through these confusing times. I am sorry to hear that your family is going through this. People get older, bodies fail. It is good that you are there to help them both through this process.

My parents are new JW's, and I will tell you that my mother's health has actually taken a turn for the worse since she was baptized. The stress that the JW's are under right now, is manifesting itself physically within the congregation. She has a rash that appears at random on her face or body, along with the exaserbation of existing medical conditions she has suffered for years.

Meeting attendance and field service are NOT going to improve your father's physical or mental health. From what I understand, Alzheimer's is a degenerative disease.

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

Funny story (sort of)...

My sister (never a JW, but studied it for about 6 months), was visiting my JW (converts) parents. She had her 4 kids with her, and the 12 month old got into Grandpa's man purse and spread those little pamplets all over the floor. (My sister was grumbling about her kids being exposed to the magazines at all). Of course, my sister put them all back in the bag and got it away from her toddler's exploring hands.

She got home, and one of the pamphlets had been stuck in her door. She started asking her kids if one of them brought it home, or if it was stuck to their shoe or what... (she just moved 2 weeks ago, so the JW who left the pamphlet does not know her).

In the same conversation, she was lamenting the fact that we all are expected to tip-toe around the JW's at holiday time. They refuse to come to my house for "religious reasons," and are offended by being in my home... yet we are expected to expose our children to their strange beliefs and practices, and go to their home, where there is no escape from viewing the JW publications and the "lack of joy and holiday spirit."

Anyway, that's off-topic. Hortenzie, I understand your motives. I hope you do get the chance to interact with the JW's during this campaign. I hope that someone will come and visit me, while I am at home.

I didn't read through all the comments here, so forgive me if this is a repeat question:

If the pamphlet leaves their hands and goes into yours, does it count for the score card? Even if they see you tear up the paper in front of them, will they take credit for sharing the news with you?

I'm assuming the answer is yes. In that case, I wonder if their watching you reject the message in such a violent way, will reinforce their perception of being persecuted by the world. Will it make them realize that this is the reaction that they are getting from just about everyone who is forced to bring this literature into their home, even if it is to go to the burning bin? Will they ever realize that those hours and numbers on the time card, are just being calculated to please men?

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

Splash: You're right! I forgot about that one... every righteous move, must be recorded on a card and reported to men for their approval and recognition. This is PROOF that JW's are doing the work - just read the yearbook! They can prove they are the chosen by Christ, by the very magnitude of their efforts.

I didn't even mention that it was this very question about 1975, that made our bible study conductor give up on us as bible students. We did not have to push nearly as hard to get him to agree to get an article we requested, that predicted 1975 and the end of the Armageddon. He was 77 years old, born-in JW, and obviously had fielded this question before. He agreed quickly, to come back with the requested article.

Here is the punchline...

He came back the following Wednesday, with a typewritten, transcribed copy of the article. It was so clearly a fake, we didn't even bother to read it. That night, he exposed himself for what he truly was... a co-conspirator in the spreading of lies. He was an active elder in 1975, and he knows full well what happened back then. He denied it had ever been predicted. We then confirmed that they are liars, from the top of the org, to the top of the congregations.

I tend to believe that many below the level of elder, don't actually know much truth about the organization they serve. And yes they do, they serve an organization. They do not serve Jehovah God or Jesus Christ.

1975 and their other false prophecies, are ambitious topics to tackle.

Why put so much energy into past teachings, when their current ones are so malicious and obviously contradictory to the teachings of Christ?

How about something current, like their field service reports, worshipping a body of men, the validity of the the organization's appointment at all, and of course the current issue of the Watchtower, warning them to obey inhumane instructions that are soon coming in 2014. As an elder, he may already know what these instructions will be. Does he have a limit? He should draw a line in the sand (the sand his religious beliefs are built upon), so he knows where he will stop...

Will he sell it all and go live in a hole underground? Will he buy weapons and arm himself for the war against Satan's army? Will he drink poison and die for the organization, certain Jehovah will deliver him? What is he willing to force people to do, in the name of supporting the org and its instructions?

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.