Well the Convention was extremely long and boring but I decided to take specific notes on Brother Morris's talks for discussion here on JWD (and I was also able to get a few extra copies of the Creation DVD so if anyone wants one, PM me).
Overall, the brother is not a great orator and sometimes awkwardly raises his voice. I am aware that some of the friends were a little disappointed to say the least that we did not get a more "famous" GB brother at the first international convention, but he speaks for the GB, so same difference.
It felt like most of his talks were around a.) countering criticism about JWs and b.) keeping busy with the imminent End coming nearer
I also have the concluding prayer he made so you can hear his voice and his spontaneous words.
Point #1
We are like children playing outside innocently whose mother freaks out once she sees that the ignorant child finds a snake and starts playing with it. Although the child does not die, he comes to understand the danger after he must go to the hospital. Just because we might see something doesn't mean we see its danger.
Point #2
Spiritual blindness is much more dangerous than literal or mental blindness.
Point #3
Singing is a very important part of our worship to Jehovah and an astounding 10% of Levites were responsible for composing music, playing music and singing to Jehovah God in the past. Because Witnesses aren’t experts in music, Jehovah is providing us a timely provision with a new songbook with 135 songs, 42 of which are new! Some of the new songs include “Faithful women” and “Beautiful in Grayness”.
Point #4
Opposers (read: apostates) accuse Witnesses of judging but Jesus himself taught us to be “inspector of fruits or of people”.
Point #5
Apparently there are new words for the anointed; perhaps I hadn’t heard them before but they are “watchmen” and “watchtower class”. I found them to be new to me at least.
Point #6
Only Jehovah’s Witnesses declare God’s word in “all of the world” (China? The Middle East?).
Point #7
Jehovah’s name has been “restored” in the NWT because the Society felt God’s name not being in the NT was inconsistent with the OT, which is why it was added. Acts 15:14 indicates that it’s logical that 1 st century Christians knew God’s name and that it was taken out of the Greek Scriptures afterwards.
Point #8
Proof that God’s organization is the WTBTS: in the November 1 st 1939 Watchtower Jehovah indicated to His people that He did not want them involved in politics and the articles arrived RIGHT ON TIME (he sounds so awkward when he speaks! I’m sure he’s a nice man but that’s the truth!).
(Because I’m sure September 1 st , 1939 didn’t happen until after the magazine was published…and there were no warning signs or any type of political upheavals that might indicate imminent war.)
July 1 st 1945-- Christians should recognize the sanctity of blood and by 1961 no Witness accepted a blood transfusion. Medical organizations did not start warning of the risks involved with transfusions until afterwards. How can we deny that the JWs are not God’s organization?
Point #9
I found this part rather amusing…not sure if he did this on purpose but he said. “Let’s set the record STRAIGHT, we have brothers and sisters who used to be homosexuals. We can overcome conducts. We must hate the conduct, not the people.”
Point #10
Satan is promoting evolution nowadays providing so-called links and having people accept it as fact BLINDLY. Ummm…blindly? And surely JWs follow the Organization open-eyedly?
Point #11
Many of our young people live in big cities and haven’t seen creation up-close—now they can!
God’s creation reflects His wonderful qualities.
Like rage? Read: volcanoes?
Point #12
1914 and 1942 are two key dates. In 1914, WWI started and the Society taught that Christ had begun to rule and thrown Satan out of heaven. In 1942, the Society taught that the king mentioned in Revelation that was would rise again with a new name was the League of Nations, a few years afterwards the UN came into existence.
DO YOU REALLY NEED ANYMORE PROOF BESIDES THESE TWO DATES THAT INDICATE WITHOUT DOUBT THAT YOU ARE WITH JEHOVAH’S ONLY ORGANIZATION ON EARTH? SHOULDN’T WE ALL BE CERTAIN THAT WE ARE THE ONLY TRUE RELIGION!!!!!!!!!? (this is not paraphrased)
*claps*
That was disgusting. I wanted to be like, “Umm…of course we do. Two dates that were semi-accurate mean you must be guided by God?”