What's good a-ebody?? Just thought I'd share this email with yall real quick. It still amazes me that I was a Jehovah's Witness for 27 years and never thought twice about these types of talks other than I need to make sure my act is together when the end comes, and now I can't even read/hear it without getting mad. The blatant form of mind control is so evident it's just ridiculous. Anyway my aunt in GA FWD me this email about a talk a member of the Governing Body gave, so now it's got my parents and wife talking about how I'm not gonna make it cause I havent been to the hall in 2 months.....or service either....I'm not gonna tell my family until January that I've decided to no longer be a JW. My fade is going great, but times like this make it hard on me, cause I have to "act" like I care and that I'm concerned about my spirituality in a Watchtower sense when I really don't care. Nuff talkin' though, yall check out the email and share ya thoughts, peace.
"Had Special Assembly Day Saturday..AWESOME. [Like it wouldn't be].
Brother Morris (he's a member of the Governing Body) was awesome, of course. He wasn't raised in the truth. In fact, he discussed his experiences in Vietnam . Has raised three sons. In other words, he understands real life. But, gave very pointed counsel. Word for word, "Brothers and sisters if you are not having your family worship night, you will not be ready for survival at Armageddon . The Governing Body has worked hard to convey the seriousness of this arrangement. It cannot be underestimated. Now, you have a choice as to whether or not you will listen to the counsel, but remember, you've been warned." Then in another part of the talk he asked, "Since time and unforeseen occurrence befall us all, you could die this afternoon. As you sit there are you certain that your course of life would guarantee that you are in Jehovah's memory, and you would receive a resurrection?"
Then he talked a lot about materialism too, hitting it hard. He said "It's not wrong to have a house, but are you caught up in the American Dream , that you HAVE to have a house?" Then he went on and talked about the bursting of the housing bubble and the government giving houses to people who shouldn't have had them; with no verification of income, and inadequate income, etc. He said 'Many brothers and sisters got caught up in that. But you know, two years before the bottom fell out, we had a Circuit Assembly about keeping your life simple. Those who followed Jehovah's counsel have avoided so much heartache. So what about today's counsel? The "Time Left is Reduced", is our theme: Will you follow the counsel today? The way you live your life in these hard economic times, does it show you are trusting in Jehovah for your necessities? Or does it show you are trusting in yourself and your material things, and taking matters into your own hands?'
Then he gave an experience of a sister they met when they were still doing circuit work. She was a middle-aged sister, and very faithful. She had them over for lunch to her small and simple apartment. He said he knew the sister had a nerve problem, some kind of a mental condition, like an anxiety disorder, but he never knew why and didn't ask. During the course of conversation, she opens up to them and tells them that she used to have a house. And she was bent on having the perfect house. Perfect decorating, perfect furniture, everything just so. She came home one night and her entire house was engulfed in flames. She lost everything. As a result, she had a nervous breakdown and has never fully recovered. She said that it taught her a lesson and she vowed NEVER to be that attached to material things, because she realized how fleeting these things are. Then he said to the audience, "Brothers and sisters, How attached to material things are
you? How would you feel right now if you lost everything?"
Then he discussed the importance of daily Bible reading. He said he and Sister Morris, no matter where they are in the world, every morning have their cup of coffee and read their Bible. Not together. He said Bible reading is a personal thing. He then asked the audience "How many have a cup of coffee every morning?" Almost the whole audience raised their hand. Then he said, "Brothers and sisters, if you can have a cup of coffee every morning, then you can read your Bible every morning."
Also in talking about materialism, he talked about debt and credit cards. He pulled out his credit card. He said 'Now we have to have a credit card these days. Even I have one. You can't even rent a car without one. But you know what credit cards are? Plastic anesthesia. Why is that? Well, let's say you need some clothes. So you go to the store to buy them knowing how much you want to spend. But you get there and the retailers, because it's their job, have signs all over, "Two for One", " 50% off". Suddenly you think, well I don't NEED two, but if they're 50% off, then I should probably get two for when I need them later. Oh wait, I'll get one for my husband, and the kids, of course. You walk up to the cash register, the cashier swipes the card and guess what, pain free. The card swipes, you feel nothing: until the bill comes. Now imagine when you go to the store you're counting out the actual cash you are spending. A little more painful
isn't it? Suddenly how much you're spending is real, and you're feeling it. Be careful with credit cards. If you don't have the cash to back up the credit card swipe , don't spend it.
Let's see what else
He talked about being in the truth for a long time, we are always getting counsel. We always need to be making adjustments. He said "Often times I hear, 'Well Bro. Morris this is just the way I am!" Well, you know what, Jehovah may not LIKE the way you are. (the audience started laughing) He said 'This is not a union: seniority doesn't mean salvation."
He repeatedly said with all his counsel "This is not the Governing Body saying this. This is Jehovah speaking to you.' He also kept saying after each point of counsel, "Remember it's YOUR choice whether or not you will listen, but just know you've been warned.'
He also emphasized remembering that the day of Armageddon has been set. Nothing about our life is going to change that day. If we preach more it's not going to change that day. That day has been set. So, when we're going through hardships, be careful that you don't say, 'If only Armageddon would come I wouldn't be going through this.' Remember, it's not about you. Remember the big picture. It's about Jehovah's universal sovereignty. And don't say, "I hope that Jehovah holds out a little longer so that Uncle John will make it through." Jehovah said when the anointed are sealed, the angels will release the four winds . Nothing about when Armageddon comes depends on us or our lives. We just need to obey and keep preaching. He gave the example of the huge project that's being done in Waikill. He said that they just showed the Bethel family a 15 minute video the other night about the renovation and new building project that will be done over the
next 4 years. He said after the video was shown he overheard a dear old sister who's been there forever say, 'Well, I guess that means Armageddon won't be coming in the next four years." He said, 'Now I didn't say anything to her and embarrass her in front of everyone, but I thought to myself, Oh my goodness we approved the showing of that video and I don't remember that being part of the dialogue." So, he said that night he went back and re-watched it. He said, "Brothers and sisters, we are going to be in the midst of Kingdom activity when the end comes. We will be building, we will be preaching, we will be planning conventions, building Kingdom Halls . There's not going to be a pause when the end comes. We need to keep going, keep carrying out Jehovah's will. And I'm pretty sure when the end comes no one is going to say, 'Oh no, we didn't get to attend that convention! I was so looking forward to it.'" Keep putting Kingdom interests first.
Then at the end he talked about, 'how ready are we for the end? Are we really ready? Is our faith really strong? We need to make adjustments now. He said, "I was in Vietnam . I have seen mass death....human casualties. I have smelled burning human flesh after a helicopter crash. I saw only a glimpse of what it will probably be like at Armageddon. We must be prepared."
There was a ton more, but those were some high points for me
*The Will of Jehovah never takes you to where the power of Jehovah will not
protect you. ----
*We don't change the message in the Bible. The message in the Bible
changes us. ----
*You can tell how big a person is by what it takes to discourage him.---
* "I've learned that if someone says something unkind about me,
I must live so that no one will believe it."
^^^ So controlling isnt it??? I get pissed reading these type of things, why are they still telling people what they can and can't do in EVERY aspect of their lives?!?! FOH!