Posts by LaFrancia

15

The August Study Watchtower: what is the big deal?

by ukpimo in

i have been following a number of posts discussing the august watchtower study magazine.

i really don't believe this common idea being passed around that it's being timed for the annual meeting.

here's why.. the august watchtower will be available on servers not long before its public release.

LaFrancia

It seems but I cannot say with 100% certainty that the W August 2024 also deals with the topic of dissociation. 3 paragraphs of this magazine were published by someone and are the following:

Understanding dissociation in light of the Scriptures

3 What about those who decide to write a letter disassociating themselves from the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses? It is critical to distinguish between disfellowshipped individuals, who are removed from the congregation due to unrepentant transgressions, and those who voluntarily disassociate. 1 Corinthians 5:11-13 clearly states, “But now I write to you, do not associate with anyone who claims to be a brother or sister but… This counsel is specifically addressed to those within the congregation who persist in committing serious sins without repent. However, those who dissociate no longer identify themselves as brothers or sisters in the faith. They have made a personal choice to depart, which is different from being removed for moral misconduct. Therefore, the strict exclusion applied to unrepentant offenders does not apply directly to them.

4 Respect for religious freedom is a principle supported throughout the Bible, which emphasizes the importance of individual choice in matters of faith. Jesus himself demonstrated this respect when he allowed the rich young ruler to leave instead of forcing him to follow him (Matthew 19:16-23). Furthermore, when many disciples chose to leave, Jesus asked the Twelve, "You don't want to leave too, do you?" (John 6:66-70), showing his respect for their freedom of choice. This respect for personal choice is echoed in Galatians 5:13, which states, “You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free.” These examples illustrate that Jehovah and his son Jesus value individual choice in serving him.

5 When someone dissociates, they are no longer considered part of Jehovah's Witnesses, thus becoming part of the world. Jesus' teachings provide clear guidance on how to deal with those who are not part of Jehovah's organization. In Matthew 5.44-48, Jesus teaches to "love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you", emphasizing that Christian love should extend beyond the community of believers. However, it is important to remember that if a dissociated person becomes an apostate, actively opposing the faith, he or she should be treated as one who spreads false teachings. Jude 1:4

Questions to consider

3. How does 1 Corinthians 5:11-13 help us understand the distinction between disfellowshiped people and those who voluntarily disassociate themselves?

4. What are the biblical principles that respect individual religious freedom?

5. In what ways should Christians interact with dissociated apostates?

24

They must also change the treatment of those who dissociate themselves from the JWs. It is inevitable

by LaFrancia in

from reddit ex jw, a user posted this material of a hypothetical new light on dissociated people......i'm posting it only for the record, nothing else is known.

it seems that the topic has been deleted either by the moderators or by the user himself.

understanding dissociation in light of the scriptures.

LaFrancia

The translation is from another language. The topic was on Reddit english (and then disappeared), it was translated from English to Italian and now I copied it from an Italian website and translated it into English, so the errors are from the Google translation I use. I hope I have clarified this point for you

263

Where is Tony?

by Athanasius in

jw
friends

on february 22, 2023, anthony morris iii was officially removed from the governing body of jehovah's witnesses.

a few months later it was revealed that the watchtower bought him a house in lumberton, north carolina.. however, and correct me if i am wrong, since leaving the gb nobody has reported seeing tony attending jw meetings or participating in field service.

in fact nobody has reported seeing him anywhere, not even at a local liquor store.

LaFrancia

After 16 months still no photo of Tony and no information from PIMO or POMO that he frequents his congregation. Is Tony in witness protection? Will it be hidden in some branch in Africa? Nobody knows, but how many things he could tell

24

They must also change the treatment of those who dissociate themselves from the JWs. It is inevitable

by LaFrancia in

from reddit ex jw, a user posted this material of a hypothetical new light on dissociated people......i'm posting it only for the record, nothing else is known.

it seems that the topic has been deleted either by the moderators or by the user himself.

understanding dissociation in light of the scriptures.

LaFrancia

It looks like 3 paragraphs taken from an outgoing W. Could it be that they are contained in the delayed W August 2024? One thing is for sure, after the defeat in Norway and the loss of state money and funds, they are forced to make changes to their discriminatory policies

24

They must also change the treatment of those who dissociate themselves from the JWs. It is inevitable

by LaFrancia in

from reddit ex jw, a user posted this material of a hypothetical new light on dissociated people......i'm posting it only for the record, nothing else is known.

it seems that the topic has been deleted either by the moderators or by the user himself.

understanding dissociation in light of the scriptures.

LaFrancia

From Reddit ex jw, a user posted this material of a hypothetical new light on dissociated people......I'm posting it only for the record, nothing else is known. It seems that the topic has been deleted either by the moderators or by the user himself

Understanding dissociation in light of the Scriptures

3 What about those who decide to write a letter and dissociate themselves from the life of Jehovah's Witnesses? It is critical to distinguish between disfellowshipped individuals, who are removed from the congregation due to unrepentant transgressions, and those who voluntarily disassociate. 1 Corinthians 5:11-13 clearly states, "But now I write to you, do not associate with anyone who claims to be a brother or sister but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a slanderer, a drunkard or a swindler. Do not even eat with such people." This advice is specifically aimed at those in the congregation who persist in committing serious sins without repenting. However, those who dissociate no longer identify themselves as brothers or sisters in the faith. They made a personal choice to remove themselves, which is different from being removed for moral misconduct. Therefore, the strict exclusion applied to unrepentant offenders does not apply directly to them.

4 Respect for religious freedom is a principle supported throughout the Bible, which emphasizes the importance of individual choice in matters of faith. Jesus himself demonstrated this respect when he allowed the rich young ruler to leave instead of forcing him to follow him (Matthew 19:16-23). Furthermore, when many disciples chose to leave, Jesus asked the Twelve, "You don't want to leave too, do you?" (John 6:66-70), showing his respect for their freedom of choice. This respect for personal choice is echoed in Galatians 5:13, which states, “You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free.” These examples illustrate that Jehovah and his son Jesus value individual choice in serving him.

5 When someone dissociates, they are no longer considered part of Jehovah's Witnesses, thus becoming part of the world. Jesus' teachings provide clear guidance on how to deal with those who are not part of Jehovah's organization. In Matthew 5.44-48, Jesus teaches to "love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you", emphasizing that Christian love should extend beyond the community of believers. However, it is important to remember that if a dissociated person becomes an apostate, actively opposing the faith, he or she should be treated as one who spreads false teachings. Jude 1:4 warns against ungodly people who distort Jehovah's grace and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ. In these cases, strict separation must be maintained to protect the congregation.

Questions to consider

3. How does 1 Corinthians 5:11-13 help us understand the distinction between disfellowshiped people and those who voluntarily disassociate themselves?

4. What are the biblical principles that respect individual religious freedom?

5. In what ways should Christians interact with disassociated apostates?

33

Are the halls of the Kingdom filling up, are they the same as before the pandemic or are they emptying?

by LaFrancia in

i open a new topic, to find out how it's going in your area.

from what i see as a southern european in my constituency the situation is patchy.. the congregation where i am now has 30% old people on zoom but also young couples with almost all their cameras off.

no increase but a slight decrease in the total number of publishers.. circuit assemblies: before covid you couldn't find a free seat if you arrived 10 minutes before the start.

LaFrancia

From what I have heard and seen, the halls are emptying not at great speed, but for Jehovah's Witnesses who are always accustomed to growing and building new kingdom halls and forming new congregations it is a great blow and defeat.

The situations are patchy, but in general just look at the official numbers: congregations are decreasing, baptisms are decreasing, 70% of them are children born in. But obviously we still don't have the decline of the Catholic Church because we have the elders who watch over the flock and keep them in line. It's not just Zoom, there's a lot more awareness that the JW system no longer holds up and people are leaving or cooling off. We have recently reinstated 3 disfellowshipped brothers, but 4 elderly brothers have died, and no one has been baptized at the assemblies for at least 4 years. Nearby 2 congregations were closed and merged with others. There is no growth but a slow emptying and there are no new ones entering, very rare.

Also in my congregation we have 3 new inactives, and in the congregation next to ours, two families have dissociated themselves by sending a letter with the reasons

33

Are the halls of the Kingdom filling up, are they the same as before the pandemic or are they emptying?

by LaFrancia in

i open a new topic, to find out how it's going in your area.

from what i see as a southern european in my constituency the situation is patchy.. the congregation where i am now has 30% old people on zoom but also young couples with almost all their cameras off.

no increase but a slight decrease in the total number of publishers.. circuit assemblies: before covid you couldn't find a free seat if you arrived 10 minutes before the start.

LaFrancia

I open a new topic, to find out how it's going in your area. From what I see as a Southern European in my constituency the situation is patchy.

The congregation where I am now has 30% old people on Zoom but also young couples with almost all their cameras off. No increase but a slight decrease in the total number of publishers.

Circuit assemblies: Before Covid you couldn't find a free seat if you arrived 10 minutes before the start. Now you can arrive late and find many empty seats. We no longer show the video before the summer meeting where it was said to leave the seats free and not rush to grab the seats, it is no longer needed there are many empty ones...:-)))

A nearby congregation had 60% on zoom at times. Another congregation less than 5% on zoom and the room returned to the situation before covid.

The trend is downward in my area and patchy with exceptions

100

The August 2024 Watchtower controversy and potential further changes

by ukpimo in

as an educated guess, the august 2024 watchtower may be delayed because 2 complicated subjects need to be discussed in this issue which haven't yet been approved to be included in the revised shepherding textbook.

perhaps the revised shepherding textbook must be finalised before this watchtower is released publicly.. the 2 subjects may be as follows:.

how to shepherd and appoint brothers based on the removal of the hour requirements, getting to know the brothers instead (does this mean prioritising appointing men who have auxiliary pioneered during the co visit and campaigns or men who are regular pioneers?).

LaFrancia

"opening the door" is the wrong phrase, I don't know why Google translated it that way. I meant "slam the door".....:-))

100

The August 2024 Watchtower controversy and potential further changes

by ukpimo in

as an educated guess, the august 2024 watchtower may be delayed because 2 complicated subjects need to be discussed in this issue which haven't yet been approved to be included in the revised shepherding textbook.

perhaps the revised shepherding textbook must be finalised before this watchtower is released publicly.. the 2 subjects may be as follows:.

how to shepherd and appoint brothers based on the removal of the hour requirements, getting to know the brothers instead (does this mean prioritising appointing men who have auxiliary pioneered during the co visit and campaigns or men who are regular pioneers?).

LaFrancia

I'm making a guess based on how they think at Warwick Bethel. Perhaps risky, but plausible.

The GB decides to make a "plan" to review and change all current disfellowshipped policies, appointments, rules, meetings, etc.

GB decides to implement it only if it loses in Norway, I remember Morris being very against it in one of his JW videos. Morris does not vote in favor of the plan and resigns from the GB, opening the door in his own way. Morris tight pants is capable of it.

GB takes revenge on Morris (Morris has an NDA) and deletes many but not all of his videos.

GB loses in Norway and this fact they understand as clear proof that they must implement the "plan" immediately without wasting any more precious time, as the halls of the kingdom are emptying, the brothers vanish.

Morris has popcorn and soda and follows the events in shorts and a tank top on his couch

This is Fantasy Theocracy

100

The August 2024 Watchtower controversy and potential further changes

by ukpimo in

as an educated guess, the august 2024 watchtower may be delayed because 2 complicated subjects need to be discussed in this issue which haven't yet been approved to be included in the revised shepherding textbook.

perhaps the revised shepherding textbook must be finalised before this watchtower is released publicly.. the 2 subjects may be as follows:.

how to shepherd and appoint brothers based on the removal of the hour requirements, getting to know the brothers instead (does this mean prioritising appointing men who have auxiliary pioneered during the co visit and campaigns or men who are regular pioneers?).

LaFrancia

A Bethelite told me it was removed. However, he did not know whether Morris attended the meetings. Perhaps it has become inactive. The governing body certainly punished him by deleting many of his videos. in one case they eliminated him from a video and replaced him with another GB member. who says exactly the same words