Thank you, Mephis! Wow. Shoulda known the WT was cherry picking again.....
And yes, Vidiot, I laughed too at the euphemism, "without artifice". More like bumbling, uneducated, ill prepared, presumptuous, fools.
it is not obvious if someone has already put the responses and excuses to the findings of the royal commission, by watchtower on this forum somewhere, sorry if it is already posted.
click on the link below, and scroll down to 'submissions' near bottom of page and you can download the full document.
if this link doesn't work.
Thank you, Mephis! Wow. Shoulda known the WT was cherry picking again.....
And yes, Vidiot, I laughed too at the euphemism, "without artifice". More like bumbling, uneducated, ill prepared, presumptuous, fools.
it is not obvious if someone has already put the responses and excuses to the findings of the royal commission, by watchtower on this forum somewhere, sorry if it is already posted.
click on the link below, and scroll down to 'submissions' near bottom of page and you can download the full document.
if this link doesn't work.
OMG, they are so full of themselves.
Here is one excerpt from the WTs submission:
"....
9.26 On a global basis the honesty, candour, and quality of the elders’ evidence should be acknowledged by the Commission along the lines of that reported by Janet Fife-Yeomans at page 32 of “The Daily Telegraph” on 1 August, 2015: While people from other churches dragged to the Royal Commission have obviously been coached by PR gurus and lawyers in how to present themselves and say the right thing, the Jehovah’s Witnesses were totally devoid of artifice."
as a good jw i never smoked a joint or nibbled on some brownies.
Oh, and would also like to add that for anybody new to Cannabis, always start SMALL, only a puff or two (whether smoking or vaporizing) and then wait. Many first-time users feel nothing at all the first time or two and conclude that there is no effect, or that pot doesn't do anything for them. It is almost like the body has to "learn" or recognize what marijuana is.
So start small, wait, and see what happens. When you do notice an effect, you will probably feel a slight shift of perception, somewhat similar to the feeling of having a glass (or more!) of wine or alcohol, where suddenly the room feels louder, brighter, more vivid. And then you may feel a wonderful sensation of relaxation and well-being. You may also experience a drop in blood pressure, making you feel a bit dizzy or light headed. This passes quickly. Some people also notice an increase in heart rate, and this too passes quickly. If you have any heart irregularities or damage, using Cannabis may be contraindicated for you. Though not toxic, there are some effects not desirable for certain situations or compatible with other medications. It is not innocuous, despite its safety and non-toxicity.
It can also be a lot of fun, enabling great conversation, laughter, insight, compassion, clarity, energy, or peace, connection, stress relief, sensitivity, serenity, awareness, wonderment, appreciation, and creativity. It's like it relaxes the brain, too, and opens up new possibilities and ways of looking at things. I like to think of it as a "balancer" yet sometimes it can make you feel unbalanced. It is very mysterious, cool plant - it feels like a gift from the universe. It has the ability to be BOTH stimulating and sedative, one of the few or only plant/drug capable of doing this. So there is a "shaman-like" quality about marijuana. Very cool. And when energized and yet feeling so at peace and connected to everything, there is (for me, anyway) a side effect of wanting to put flowers in my hair.... and start painting, singing, writing novels, composing poetry and songs.... Dancing, exercising, riding bike, walking dog... Cleaning house... All at the same time.....
as a good jw i never smoked a joint or nibbled on some brownies.
I am fascinated by marijuana. It is such an incredible plant. It's use is not for everyone, though.
As to uncomfortable psychological effects, yes, I have experienced this too. Certain strains can produce effects like paranoia and anxiety more so than other strains.
Bob Marley had a saying, "Pot reveals you to yourself. But don't believe everything it tells you, either!"
I have found that the inner journey that one can embark upon when using certain Sativa-dominant strains (more likely to cause psychological discomfort than Indica strains) can definitely be uncomfortable. Cannabis can reveal a person's insecurities and flaws and highlight them in vivid, painful light. It is not easy to face personal demons, but some of these insights were helpful toward beginning an acceptance and love for myself, and to heal wounds from the past, and to notice whether these impressions are true, false, or a bit of both. Cannabis can make one painfully self-aware or self-conscious.
It is much more enjoyable to have an outward-journey than an inward journey.
So while it is not for everyone, many people can find a strain which is useful for them and their needs. There are medical strains which have little to no THC (which gives most of the psycho-active effects) and these high-CBD strains are proving very helpful with pain, spasms, seizures, among other conditions.
we have done this before but we have a fair number of newbie's on this site and some are struggling with the question about other belief systems and non belief.
where are you now in your own mind?
here's a quiz http://www.selectsmart.com/nontheism/ that is pretty accurate, at least in my case as to where i am at this point in my life.
Well I don't know how accurate are my results, I did not use the slider at all, so every question or answer carried the same "weight". But I got:
Unitarian Universalist - 100%
Secular Humanist - 94%
Jehovahs Witness - 0% - YAY!!!
Now I have to see what the heck a "Unitarian universalist" is! lol
download links (get 'em while they're hot!).
imitate jehovah-- morning.
imitate jehovah -- afternoon.
I watched a bit here and there, thank you for posting this. It's just so horribly boring now, crushingly boring, mind-numbingly boring, dreary, depressing, full of drudge and gloom.... Horrid, awful. Did I mention boring??
And they expect people to be *drawn* to them, lol.
But I am glad to have these links.
so what scriptures do you think will never make the cut?i will start off with one to warm you all up.. 1 corinthians 4:6 - do not go beyond the things that are written,.
Psalms 146:3 - "Do not put your trust in princes (nobles), nor in a son of man, who cannot bring salvation."
watchtower released at tv.jw.org a new gb video with samuel f. herd, with the theme:.
why reduce the number of special full-time servants?.
it seems there is a reason to release this special message.. http://tv.jw.org/#en/video/vodstudio/pub-jwbrd_201511_4_video.
thanks to mr. jwfacts we now have a copy of this letter.
i would have posted it on his thread but there was already 2 pages of replies and i didn't think the link would be seen.. thank you again mr. facts!.
.. click the green download button.. http://wwwb.fileflyer.com/view/bbduxaa.
Amazing. The hubris, the arrogance. Asking "humble, spiritual shepherds of the flock" to evaluate and guess at a person's educational qualifications, certifications, accreditations, degrees, etc.
They would get better results just coming out and asking the congregations... But no, it has to be secret and hush-hush, lest any of the rank and file start wondering too much and begin asking questions.....
losch's refusal to appear in court when subpeona'd to give testimony before a judge over his involvement in child abuse cover up and endangerment lawsuit .
i think such conduct should take away his freeness of speech and label him as a supreme hypocrite for giving such a talk about letting one light shine when he seems to be afraid to let his light shine in a court of law.
this man's hypocrisy knows no limits, and is extremely shameful.
Holeeeeee, I actually just sat through that and watched the whole thing.... Many times pausing it to shut him off.... But I did it, I got through it.
So!! - they're all all about Christian works now, are they? As in giving to others, including -- gasp -- non-jws and even opposers? (Not a word about "apostates" or where they fit in (and don't)...
They are all about providing food and clothes to other people if they see a need? Even a hint about helping homeless people? Although when making a point about helping fellow JWs in the congregation, they made sure, in a crafty way, that that person had better be in good standing.... and that there are plenty of other ways to do good works, too, by sharing in the construction work and Bethel work and relief work and missionary work....
I am thinking that they must be really feeling some heat from recent INVESTIGATIONS into their CHARITABLE STATUS, because he mentioned NUMEROUS TIMES that the preaching work IS *NOT* the only way we can do good works to others (the actual word or any derivative or form of the word 'charity' was never mentioned). And they made sure that firstly, some of these other ways of doing good works could be in the building work, and bethel work (ironic that now most of that is being shut down!!) and relief work,
*** not only for JWs, but for others too!! ***
Did you catch that????? This 'new light' which kept "flashing" (repeating) throughout the broadcast????
The wording was, nearly every time, that they could do these things for non-JWs too!!!
If doing relief work & other good works such as providing food, clothing, and even yes, shelter! In your own home too!! - for other people too (non-JWs) is already a given, why even mention it??
I will ask again: If doing good works like physical help and providing of needs is already a given, Why such special mentions of these (new) ways JWs can help do good to others?? And why mentioned so often?? And with scripture references that most JWs have never been made aware of before!!!???!!!??? Ah ha!!!!!! Caught you there, WT!!!
oh, somebody mirror this quickly, get this broadcast & downloaded safely somewhere, because they are in a huge battle (against Satan, of course) about their charitable status! And if that happens, it means they will have to - gasp - pay TAXES
And now my brain is going into overdrive, because perhaps they are expecting to lose and that is why they are having all this stoppage of work and bethel lay-offs, etc??????
And did you notice his demeanour?? Where is his joy?? Near the end of the video, he gave this huge sigh as he picked up his bible.... Oh yes, WT & GB, we have learned well from you how to spot a liar and to see a person who has "no joy in his work....."
...
It's weird because I am finally SEEING what everybody has continually said, about their panic and stress and money problems and court cases and pedophile lawsuits.... It's like my eyes are again, peeling back another veil, my brain is shedding another layer, to spot their deceptions and now their worry and discouragement.....
Yet they keep plugging on.... How long before one (or more, hopefully!!) of them steps out like Ray Franz did?? Oh one can hope.... I think he's caught up in it and you get the feeling like he, Herd, and Morris just want to run away from it all. The others.... still seem to be hanging in there, believing it, working for it, "trusting in Jehovah", but I think some of these guys want out and probably they don't know how.....
... (Heh, "probably".....* )
...
...
* inside joke.... ;)
(Zephaniah something, "... Probably you might get saved...") !!!!