Sir82 makes some good points on pg 1. I think that if shunning became a strongly encouraged conscience matter, we would still be shunned and need to support one another. JWN and such forums would live on.
Isaac
truthsetsonefree
JoinedPosts by truthsetsonefree
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47
Is DISFELLOWSHIPPING being phased out?
by african GB Member ini have an elder friend who is 'open-minded', so to say...he tells me what gets discussed at elder meetings, even though he does'nt give too much detail.. he says that they were instructed by the society not to hurry df'ing publishers, that they should try to reproof (1 timothy 3: 16,17) a sinner,,..that they should be a little considerate bearingf in mind that we are living in critical times of the end.. .
personally i know a few publishers(baptized or not) who now have children out of wedlock, and they were just "marked" or had privileges taken away..... the reason given is: "they realised that they have sinned, and they are fully repented, they gave enough evidence to jc that they want to be known as jw's".
now my question is : are they slowly doing away with the df'ing doctrine?.
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27
Change in Regular Pioneer application process
by Ultimate Reality inthis week a letter is being read that changes the process for the approval of regular pioneers.
in times past you had to fill out an application, submit it to the elder body (who would then add their comments), and it would be forwarded to "the branch" for approval.. this is being changed so that the elder body grants the approval instead of brooklyn or the local branch.
it looks like the lawyers are removing any and all direct contact between the rank-and-file and the gb.
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truthsetsonefree
I always thought the branch was an unecessary middleman. Lessening their workload at the branch level may be part of the reason for this in addition to any legal benefits. A few years back the SC was given the power to approve a lower yearly requirement for one year if a pioneer could demonstarte a genuine need and a reasonable guarantee that they could do the regular amount of hours the following service year. This would seem like a natural progression of that empowerment of the elders in this area.
Isaac
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Ex-Elders, how did you resign?
by dismayed inthis issue is coming up for me soon, the resignation.
a physical move is out of the question.
but the most likely scenario is that i will be in the same hall.
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truthsetsonefree
I was able to resign voluntarily and with the good graces of the body. Crying health concerns and burnout made that possible. I still wanted to make my voice heard however and so I sent an anonymous letter to the GB, Branch office and Service Department. Hint: Get some judicial envelopes before you resign. You can use them to mail your letter and guarantee that it will be opened as they will think it's a DF form. That's what I did and my letter did get through.
Check out my resignation letter if you'd like: http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/watchtower/beliefs/127812/1/A-Letter-to-the-Governing-Body
Isaac
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Did Noah's Ark have a Bilge Pump?
by VM44 inall wooden ships leak to some extent, so what did noah do about the accumulation of water?.
a bilge pump would have been essential.. did the noah's ark writer really know or have any experience about the construction of large wooden ships?.
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truthsetsonefree
Damn that wasn't in the specs.
(Genesis
6:14-16) . . .Make for yourself an ark out of wood of a resinous tree. You will make compartments in the ark, and you must cover it inside and outside with tar. 15 And this is how you will make it: three hundred cubits the length of the ark, fifty cubits its width, and thirty cubits its height. 16 You will make a tso′har [roof; or, window] for the ark, and you will complete it to the extent of a cubit upward, and the entrance of the ark you will put in its side; you will make it with a lower [story], a second [story] and a third [story]. -
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Kingdom Hall Mortgages....Interesting Info
by gringojj inhey guys its been a long time since i have posted but there was something i wanted to share that i had found and get peoples opinion.. in massachusetts south worcester county you can search real estate transactions from the past 40 years on a website called www.masslandrecords.com.. i was checking the history on the property at 700 worcester st southbridge , mass in worcester county which is the location of the kingdom hall.. it looks like from the records that the hall was first mortgaged back in the 60's by the wbts and then again in the early 80's by the wbts but then in the later 80's by mechanics bank which became bank boston.
that all makes sense.. the curious part is that in the 90's it looks like they expanded the property with the owners of the property being the southbridge kingdom hall corp but the mortgage of 60,000 was held by a member of the congregation.
i did a little more digging and it looks like this wealthy congregation member actually did a few mortgages over the years for other cong members for thier own houses.. has anyone ever heard of a cong member mortgaging a kingdom hall or other members?.
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truthsetsonefree
It makes sense though it's rare. In the Chatham Square project in NYC, an unbelieving husband outright donated a large sum to the Hall. Most dubs don't have that kind of money, but it would not be against the rules. Of course it probably wouldn't be recommended as if that member got df'd it would be a perceived conflict of interest on the congregation's part. How do you shun the person who holds your mortgage?!
Isaac
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Paradise Won't Be "Instant"
by cameo-d ini have heard that "paradise" will be achieved gradually; that it will take all of the thousand years to reach that state of perfection.. .
now, while you may be convinced that it will take all that time to bring the earth back to it's pristine state....suppose it applies to humans as well?.
imagine this scenerio: wounds and broken bones heal slowly and gradually; your bags and sags are still there, but since you have seen results of other people, you hang on that the promise will be for you, too.
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truthsetsonefree
Actually it's amazing. When it comes to these topics they say speculation is wrong. But they speculate about every other damn thing! Sir82 is right though about instant healing of serious conditions. They point out that Jesus healed maimed people. If he did it back then he can do it in the "new order".
Isaac
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How would you choose the pair of animals that got put on the ark?
by JimmyPage inlabradors or poodles?
siamese or calicos?
tough choices had to be made.
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truthsetsonefree
Good point Panzer. If some demons could send a herd of swine over a precipice, why couldn't God send errant humans into whatever he wanted them to?
Isaac
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How would Humans Behave in a World Without Religion and Governments?
by cameo-d inwell, any ideas, solutions, etc?.
how would you implement a "new system"?.
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truthsetsonefree
I think the story's metaphorical meaning, however, is that man needs diversity and dispersion to evolve fully and timely.
That is an excellent thought. I'd never considered that before.
On the thread topic, I think we may be seeing what would happen right now. What I mean is that the governments that we have now are the result of our tweaking, modifying and evolving our systems over millenia.
Isaac
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"Black People Will Turn White as They Near Perfection"
by cameo-d ini found this quoted by a few people on another thread and they attributed it to wt teachings.. i would like to know for sure....did wt actually teach this?.
or was some speaker making this up?.
if you are of african descent, and you heard this....how did it make you feel?.
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truthsetsonefree
Wow, what a crock of s**t in that 1927 Awake! Looks like Rutherford's writing. Can you imagine it? They actually were teaching the the Civil War and the abolition of slavery was the Devil's work! And they were supposedly already God's Channel! And these morons were writing from NYC. Henry Ward Beecher's church is near Bethel. Unbelievable! Thye can talk about how 100 years ago the Catholic Church believed this, yet they did as well and not a word. It makes me hate the GB.
Isaac
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Stories From My Bethel Pilgrimage
by cabasilas instories from my bethel pilgrimage.
i've wanted to put some of these memories into words for quite awhile, if only to help me remember my experiences.
many are positive, some are strange, and some are in between.
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truthsetsonefree
I've wanted to put some of these memories into words for quite awhile, if only to help me remember my experiences.
I thought I was a little crazy for doing this. Nice to know I'm in good company.
I seem to remember Jim Olson. About how old was he? I grew up in NYC and know a lot of bethelites. Richard Wheelock, also from the Factory, married my parents. I thought of him reading your story as he also died at bethel. His was a suicide.
Isaac