this will be the first time i have communicated with former witnesses in this manner, so please be patient with me as i figure out how this all works.. it would be great to find a brother in scotland who could trace the membership records of the knights templar division of the masonic lodge that russell belonged to.. if indeed he was a 32nd degree master mason in the order, then he would have been practicing secret rituals for a considerable number of years during his adult life in order to achieve the title of master mason and being referred to as "worshipful master".. small wonder he was so determined to have his father (a mason with powerful contacts) on board the original bible study group.. makes it somewhat more understandable how he was able to give lectures in carnagie hall, and attract financing donations during the early years of the society.. what more could the rich families in america that supported the early zionist movement ask for than to support zion's watchtower and it"s elitist form of heavenly class distictions.. there are claims that joseph rutherford was also a member of the same masonic lodge as his mentor charles russell.. all this begs us to ask can a rotten tree ever produce good fruit?
or can a crooked tree be made to grow straight?.
welcome your thoughts and comments.
Hi Oldguy ...welcome to jwn! Lots of speculation about
Russell & the Masons & just as many conclusions.
Personally I think he was tied to that organization.
There is a SEARCH button top left hand side of this
page, and many sites to research this subject.
We look forward to your introductory post.
clarity
1 - still think it's the truth ...came to this site cause danger is your middle name.. 2 - concerned, smoething's amiss but still believe.
3 - 98% sure it's bs, but still go for / with family.
4 - anger / denial, inactive with minimal attendance (ie memorial, spec talk etc).
Sail Away ....hi & welcome! Tell us more on your
introductory post if you are feeling OK about it.
clarity
from my yahoo answers question here: .
"the bible says of deborah: "now deborah, a prophetess, the wife of lappidoth, was judging israel at that time.
5 she used to sit under the palm tree of deborah between ramah and bethel in the hill country of ephraim; and the sons of israel came up to her for judgment.
Remember this lovely letter about not letting
women touch the Elders Manual......
"
| posted 3 years ago(1/5/2011) | |
|---|---|
Post 11238 of 17417 Joined 3/7/2007 |
This letter was sent as an addendum to the elders regarding their latest Elders textbook. I think you'll find this interesting and also disconcerting as well. TO ALL BODIES OF ELDERS Re: Spiral binding of Shepherding textbook Dear Brothers : Since the release of the new Shepherding textbook, several elders have asked about the possibility of having their textbook spiral bound. There is no objection if an elder personally spiral binds or laminates his own textbook or does so for other elders. If he has another baptized brother who is not an elder do the work for him, the elder must WATCH WHILE THE WORK IS BEING DONE. Outside companies, unbelievers, or sisters ARE NOT PERMITTED to do this work. The material in the book is confidential, and confidentiality MUST be preserved. Each elder should make the following notation next to the box on the title page of the Shepherding textbook : " See letter dated October 7, 2010, to all bodies of elders regarding spiral binding of this textbook. " Please be assured of our warm Christian love and best wishes. Your brothers , Christian Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses cc: Traveling overseers P.S. to secretary : This letter should be retained in the congregation permanent file of policy letters. |
sometimes people make special connections to animals.
sometimes they bond very deeply and are real friends.
yesterday was the end of such a friendship that lasted ten wonderful years.
Chris & Mrs .....I can hardly see the screen now from
the tears........................so very sorry sweety.
clarity
i finally registered on here after reading on the forum for almost two years on and off (more often the last year).
to give you some background on who i am i can say that i'm a girl in my late teens and live in western europe.
my mom is a jw and my dad is not.
Good morning Capstone.....aahhh to be young again!
So nice to read your post here ...a huge welcome to you!
Funny ....we are opposite ends of life, to me, just your youth
alone would be a fantastic advantage!!
My advice to you would be to slow down a bit, there is
no hurry....armageddon is not coming 'right around the
corner", you have tons of time! Show your mother respect
& really try to love her for who she is. Be kind, while you
begin your own path in life.
You have the world on a string sweety ...you can afford to
be nice about it.
Stand your ground with your head held high, yo u have seen
the fallacies & deception of a high control cult ...congratulations
and all the best to you.............
clarity
i am starting to write a book about survival/recovery for exjws or questioning jws... i hope to have an impact on the jw community.. .
in my first chapter, i discuss the negative effects of dfing and shunning.
the wts presents dfing in a positive light and indicates that jws should feel no compassion for those that have turned their back on jehovah.
1 - still think it's the truth ...came to this site cause danger is your middle name.. 2 - concerned, smoething's amiss but still believe.
3 - 98% sure it's bs, but still go for / with family.
4 - anger / denial, inactive with minimal attendance (ie memorial, spec talk etc).
A 5..........sometimes a 10 and then.....
out of the blue my granchildren hug me,
>
>
and then I still ... must stand and be a 5.
clarity
long time lurker, first time poster here finally looking to get some things off my chest.
i've always been a very curious person with tons of questions about everything, and i also care deeply particularly about societal issues like social injustice, racism, and homophobia.
that, coupled with how boneheaded all the elders in my congregation are (except for one), led me to ask even more questions that led me to find ttatt.. .
Letts Party ...hello, sending you & the wife a huge
welcome! Congrats on waking up!
Escaping a cult takes a lot of energy so get some
extra rest. Many of us on here, sat up all thru many
nights researching ..... going to bed, only to jump up
and run to the computer again because we kept
wondering & were excited to know more answers!
Pheeew........those were the days!
Cherish your freedom & the priceless ability to
see clearly now ...
Wonderful first post, look forward to seeing more.
clarity
i so clearly remember reading a quote from charles russell where he was asked which denomination he belonged to and replied that the only name he goes by is 'christian'.
but i can't find the quote anywhere!.
would anyone happen to know where it is located?.
Hi there Kosk...nice to see you onboard..welcome!
At the top left hand side of this page ...you will see
SEARCH ....you can just type-in your questions.
If that turns out fruitless :=), some one will come
up with an answer sooner of later.
I know what you are looking for because Ive seen it too!
clarity
saw my parents yesterday, and i brought up the subject of the jw.org signs with my mother.
her response blew me away.
"this is getting stupid".. what?
*
They might just as well add a bit more advertizing
to the KH buildings .......they could sell the space,
and then send the money to the world wide work!!!
hahahahhhahahahahhahaa ...what a bunch of dorks!
clarity
