Dear 4winds, At first, I would like to give you a very warm welcome on this board ! You wrote a beautiful post which shows beautiful qualities. Your story and the feelings that show therein are more than less the "raison d'être" of this forum and that which many members here feel, manage to entertain and/or have to cope with. Getting to know the truth about the truth puts us at one crucial milestone of our spiritual path and what to do next is one of the toughest decision ever to make. We all are different, have different personalities, have had different walks of life and good/bad fortunes in our lives and despite what happened next in our respective cases, our deep love for Jehovah got us gathered here and we all want that the greatest requirements ever to follow, having love for Jehovah and for our neighbor, become a reality here on this bd to live and enjoy for our own spiritual sake and especially for God's glory. I concur and can relate to many thoughts and feelings developed in your post and may therefore become an avid reader of the future fruitage of your thoughts. Well, I also have to catch up with many other things in the meantime.... PS: What's difficult with English is that we never know if the person we're writing to is a woman or a man. So... Are you a sister or a brother ? I have a strong hunch that you are a sister but I may be wrong....
Thanks. We shall see, but I feel a development in the ministry like we have today at "lifted up" Bethel will in time develop into things that will have all JWs pondering what is going on, but the moment of awareness will vary as it does with things like this. Not everyone is even on the same page of admitting Bethel has some enormous problems, lol. Once one gets out from under the fear of man, right in the congregation for starters, at least with me, I saw that fear itself should not be in the congregation and if it is, and it is, then there is a reason. JWs have allowed this to morph into a modern inquisition, by a modern collective pope (GB), and the "ecclesiastical" corporate hierarchy is fully there. In fact JWs are a form of clergy based tyranny even the Catholic Church had to abandon. So it seems a new error in Bethel, is really just the old error under a new veneer. The symptoms can be denied while in the forest, but when one steps out, it is the black forest obscured by the trees of tradition and the routine of the play. Imo it cannot waffle on in this kind of deception indefinitely, nor can it go unexposed at global scale in the long run, and that repeats the same patterns in Israel, Jerusalem and Christendom as in time they headed for exposure. Imo Bethel has to join that lot. What I wonder is what scale of global events will be necessary to bring this all out, as in the past, it has been in a larger context of development when God has, in the past, also tumbled a house needing a smack. That is what I ponder now, not if but when and how big it will become for Bethel, JWs and the global context. I do not think this can be wrapped up quickly either. Well good day; thanks.
I am a brother, I know what you mean. In its own way this kind of communication is interesting for this and other reasons where the "package" is not the first thing one sees, rather than the "content" which can take time to unravel. Like with JWs, I did notice a little to much "package" focus overall, and now a turd has formed in Bethel's "content", lol, and JWs have yet to get to the core goodies to understand what is really INSIDE of Bethel. At times this is surreal. But I think Christ had a similar effect on the apostles and disciples and some in Jerusalem, it was time for a big change, and I feel the same time has approached on Bethel and its malaise. Now that a move is coming up I think I am going off the JW radar, but for a while I have tried to instill in certain JWs a need to stay awake and that maybe things are not exactly as they are trying to appear. My goal is to stay balanced in faith and preaching, and to me the web is just as valid as door to door, and today far more efficient. And in the meantime I also do not want to "over correct" and consider the whole JW ministry a lie from top to bottm, just because of a lawlessness that formed, imo, with the GB dictatorship, ca. 1976. I see many on the Web vary in how much balance they have kept when assessing this modern apostasy. And this is imo, because the core focus of God's Kingdom versus the 8th King, which has to culminate eventually, has been lost by some. The basic principles clarified in th JW ministry remain true to me as to where the world is still heading, with or without a valid JW ministry, THAT reality does not change, but I feel some JWs going xJWs are not perceiving the purpose of the apostasy is to blur this focus and to knock people off the narrow path by over correcting. I feel the Bible is the anchor, but important JW clarifications to God's purpose in that Bible is the battleship chain, and in time they will be battling the Lord Jehovah and his Christ, THAT does not change. Thus we cannot place our faith in the bowels of the fully off-course Bethel Titanic, only the anchor and chain will remain, and in that sinking JW misplaced faith will be tested, it is predictable what adulation of man and organization will equate to "CURSED is the man who places his trust" in sinner humans. (Jer 17:5) In reality it is God, Christ and the person. The org and GB have inserted themselves unlawfully in that relationship as "middle men", and sinful "middle men" at that who do not address nor change their ways, they too have lost total focus in their Bethel elite citadel where they don't wear the same suit or underwear twice, and all that on the JW dollar, as good as robbing God as well, for these men DID NOTHING for the foundational ministry but to ruin it from the inside since 1994 but in the 1976 mentality. (Rev8:10-11) And now since 1976 as the benchmark of this development, it is "1/3" of the ministry in time, the last "1/3" of almost 40 years, that has been a slow trajectory to ministerial corruption, apostasy and veneration of men and other JW idols slowly developing to the scale it is now. (Rev8:12) At some point it can no longer be defended, but the opposite, it has to be exposed, and thus the personal ministry just takes on a new phase, but the direction is the same: God is not one to be mocked, ESPECIALLY by those claiming to represent him. Bethel is heading for the fan, and once a peak opened it seems my eyes went full open very quickly and the Web really aided the process as did the news of the UN NGO that I received late because of being too busy, imo. I know why they keep JWs too busy now, so as not to see the fan Bethel is going to hit. Its a tragic comedy, it is funny, yet not funny at all, know what I mean? LOL, sigh Good day, thanks
A warm welcome to John S, a new member to our forum. If you have followed our discussions before registering, you may know us, even more than we know you (Personally, because of lack of time, I very rarely read other discussion boards). We can't wait to know you better and share encouraging and spiritual thoughts all together, for God's glory. This forum is made up of JWs, of people being or having been in close relationship with the JWs. Some are anointed and some others belong to what we customarily call the Great Crowd. We all come from many different countries and walks of life. We all have in common though a very deep love for Jehovah, for his Word, for the truth, even though the latter may seem harder to reach and for our brothers and sisters, whatever may be their stand regarding the WT. Be welcome, John !
Hi John: Welcome John. I did the math and if I am correct you have been walking "with God's Spirit" for about 7-8 years now, is that correct? 60 now minus 36, minus 16=8. My question to you as one who "claims" to walk by spirit (of God), and I don't mean that negatively but anyone can claim that. I have no reason to doubt your claim, but how can I be sure? I will do what the Bible advises at 1 John 4:1... Beloved ones, do not believe every inspired statement,*+ but test the inspired statements* to see whether they originate with God,+ for many false prophets have gone out into the world.+ 1 John 4:1 My test to you and anyone else who claims to be adopted as a "Son of God" is this. What exactly is the Holy Spirit? And since Jesus/Michael is now a Mighty God, does he also have a Holy Spirit, and if so, from where did it come? Was it already present or was it "created"? frank
Frank, This thread is dedicated to welcoming the new members. Please, if you have questions to ask John, could you start a new thread in a more appropriate section ? Thanks !
Hi Utuna: Of course, my mistake. I didn't actually realize what thread I was on. Sorry! I did welcome him though. frank
John S.: There is a new thread where I ask the same question as here. Please answer if you will at the new Thread I think is titled question for John S. frank
Rolling out the welcome ...mat ....if these were the "old days" we'd have a basin to wash your feet , and a meal to share ...mine will be on a separate plate ...but I expect the bread to be passed around ...and I might actually reach for your glass , if it's full of wine ...
Thank you for the hospitality Sister Poetry, I did enjoy your Facebook page, and beautiful pictures and poems , of course. I , myself , have lived mainly in South Mississippi for nearly 40 years, but I was raised in Humboldt County, CA. I pioneered there till I was 22, then moved south largely to escape having to witness to 'enlightened' atheists, who didn't mind being ugly, rude, and obnoxious at the door or on the street corners..... Of course, they were probably thinking the same of JW's, who wished to convert them, and their life style or beat them over the head with judgement... So; just returning the favor. Door-to-door there was hard as it was in Boulder, CO...where I found the same flavor of response. Since I only witness online, things have changed dramatically. We are in survival mode now; like nursing war casualties; wounds-deeper than physical by far. So....we must never feel what we are doing is not important, but restoring life to people who would like to just give up all. Or like poor , sick, and lame sheep who have lost their family , friends, and peaceful pastures.... So....thanks again for opening your site; campfire; home...to another lame sheep. Our home, too, is open to you all. Be blessed by our Father and his hard-working Son, all. He never stops, and is ever concerned for all our hopes, feelings, and needs.(John 10:1-16)
Yeeesss indeed !!! You said in one of your posts that you felt here at home ! That's a good thing ! May you find here what you were looking for in knocking at our door, my dear brother and friend !
Welcome bristolmaid......I hope you enjoy some fun and words of encouragement here.....it's nice to be around ones who know TTATT...look forward to some conversations with you..... sis thinking
Oooh thanks for the welcome... Interesting how we give our genders away with our pseudonyms. I should have called myself the British bastard....or something, but due to the holiness of this site I realise I must be very well behaved....so hello dear wallflower and thinking....um, thinking is a good one though...yes! That one is quite genderless.... I am pleased to be here and hope I don't offend anyone with my sense of humour...