Carmen Erwin

is he really dead ?Hmmm

I have heavily invested in  a lesser precious metal... lead.
Oh wait ... I prepared for the Zombie Apocalypse..

I guess the first point I could address is how someone with serious unresolved questions and concerns about a couple of our teachings could still participate in promoting our publications and our meetings to interested persons. Won't those persons be faced with unresolved questions too?
This gets to the claim by some that 85 percent of what we present is not worth it, and 15 percent is worth it, but that 15 percent is valuable enough to ignore the 85 percent.
If those were the real numbers then making a convert would be very hard to justify. And in any case we would always have to spend a lot of time telling our Bible students that there are a lot of things we don't understand ourselves. 
But the numbers aren't that bad, because we really don't spend the amount of time on the areas where more people have unresolved questions. For example, let's just look at the two magazines that were common to many of the carts today. One is the Watchtower No.3 2019, and the other is the Awake! No.2 2019.
The Awake! has the cover is "Six Lessons Children Need to Learn." There are short articles on Self-Control, Humility, Resilience, Responsibility, Adult Guidance, and the Need for Moral Values. I am critical of a lot of things, but I found every single word to be well written and useful. It makes a nicely presented way to discuss such important topics with children. Or it just makes it simple to keep a prioritized list of ideas in a parent's mind to remember as they come up. And all of it leads to the fact that Bible principles are the foundation of these lessons, even if might seem at first like mundane lessons about the amount of time spent on entertainment media.
So on to the Watchtower. The basic questions that religion should answer are the same questions that people ask all over the world. They are the questions that don't really overlap with science, and although they might overlap a bit with "philosophy" it's really the place of true religion to show why the Bible's view gives the best and most satisfying answers. 
These are the questions of "What is the meaning of life?" "Is God to blame for suffering?" "What happens when we die?"
Those are the same questions called "Life's Big Questions" on the back of the Awake!
So the Watchtower starts out with an article on "The Sad Reality of Death." Nothing questionable or inappropriate here. Science is mentioned as a possible source of answers, here, and in the next article "The Search For Long Life." The idea is clear and obvious, that "We are Designed to Live" just as the next article shows. Again, I see nothing that any naysayer, except atheists, might find wrong or questionable. In fact, up to this point, atheists might still be following along, too.  After all, it does not overwhelm with scriptures, but uses them in unobtrusive ways.
Now the question of "Why Do We Grow Old And Die" gets into the Biblical aspects, on page 8 of 15. It's all clearly the correct Biblical answer, however. Granted, some religious and science-oriented religious persons can take Adam & Eve as allegorical in some way, which is common. But even so, the rest of the Bible clearly uses the exact example as the explanation about death on earth.
And therefore page 10 begins discussing the hope, when death is conquered. There is a very clear explanation of the Ransom here. Using Scriptures throughout this article. There is a paragraph or two on "When" but it is not done with the idea that "we know something about the date that no one else knows." Someone might wonder why it only mentions "millions" being resurrected, but this isn't said in such a way that we are telling people that it won't be billions, or thousands; it's just presented as a way of stating a happy hope in the resurrection. It mentions the "last days" but exactly the way the scriptures use the expression.
In detailing "How Can You Have More Than This Life?" on page 12, the appeal is to those who want to see a better earth, and who would like to live forever under much better conditions. It's an invitation to learn more. And the next article shows how the road to that better life will produce side effects of contentment, more satisfying priorities, better marriages, and even better health (overall) in this life.
I find BOTH of these entire magazines to be 100 percent valuable, well written, and they touch on no unresolved or unresolvable questions. And we all know that some of our talks and other publications cover this same material exactly as these articles do, sometimes with more examples, more verses, more detail -- but the same ideas.
We are offering exactly what people should be looking for, satisfactory answers to important questions.
When an interested person gets to all the meetings, they will soon discover that time is spent on the meaning of Ezekiel, for example, the history of the organization, and a lot of emphasis on urgency in preaching on account of the times we're living in, and the overall timing of Jehovah's purpose. Some of this material will likely result in questions that they will find ways to resolve, or else just accept and wait for a resolution in time.
But it's not the gist of our preaching and disciple-making. I think most people who come into the organization will remember the Big Questions, and that those were the primary reasons they joined with us. Those questions are answered in a more appealing and satisfying way than other religions are answering them. And we back up our answers with the Bible. Our teachings regarding war, neutrality, Trinity, hellfire, paradise earth, the challenge to Jehovah's sovereignty, etc., will make even more sense to interested persons when they remember that the first attraction was to the way the Bible answered those big questions. Those were the questions that build a primary foundation around the teaching of God's Purpose, Eternal Life, the Ransom, the Resurrection, etc.
So even if chronology and some of the specific prophetic interpretations can result in unresolved questions, for now, it's not like this needs to be such a big part of Witness thinking. We can participate in every major aspect of our worship with joy and without being overly concerned with these unresolved questions. And when they finally are resolved, I'm sure we'll see them as relatively unimportant compared to the big things.

Most Witnesses are quite satisfied with a midweek meeting, a weekend meeting, and meetings for service, a study night with the spouse or family, and some additional time for talk preparation, additional personal study, prayer, meditation and contemplation. For many, due to various circumstances, it's hard enough to keep up even a minimum in each area mentioned.
But for others, it's obvious that they (we) spend quite a bit of time on this forum, too. And for some, I'm guessing, they spend some time here, and even seek out other places, too, where Witnesses talk or are talked about. It's pretty obvious that when it comes to how we spend our free time, there are much more fruitful pursuits. We could be visiting sick or shut-in brothers and sisters, or just doing something loving for someone else, perhaps even taking on some additional employment to able to help out those who are having financial difficulties. And not to judge anyone of course, because it's likely that many of us already engage in such additional activities, and yet we still find ourselves coming to a forum such as this.
I don't think anyone of us would think we are "witnessing" here, at least not in the typical sense of how we define sacred service. I do think that some think they are "witnessing" when they defend the status quo against those who might raise questions. And some non-JWs and ex-JWs likely think they are "witnessing" by exposing the real truth about the truth, as some would call it. However, when JWs, defenders of JWs, or even non-JWs find they are not resolving questions in their defense of a certain position, there is often a lot of anger that gets shown, and the focus of anger gets all the attention instead of the unresolved question. (Of course, that's probably a tactic for some who would rather not admit that some questions are still unresolved.)
I won't try to address the reasons that other people might be here, but I can repeat my own reasons.
I have unresolved questions of the type that would not be addressed by others in the congregation, nor by the ones responsible for  "creating" those unresolved questions in the first place. JW.ORG is not going to include a "questions and comments" section any time soon, and if they did it would become a complete mess in a hurry. So I use this site as a kind of substitute for a JW.ORG questions and comments section.
Because of that kind of utilization of this forum, I don't include a lot of comments about the areas of agreement because I have no question about them, no issue, and these are the areas where we can comment and speak up freely at the Hall, or to anyone around us who's interested in talking about such things. If this is our situation, however, that kind of skews the impression we might give to others about the Witnesses, why we believe, why we share our beliefs, and how much we appreciate our association with a world-wide brotherhood of fellow believers.
Speaking for myself, I know we've done a bit of this on the JW Closed forum, but perhaps it's a good idea now and then to share our positive public views on this part of the forum, too. When I get a chance, I'll add something more specific to my next post.
 

Holy spirit is God’s free gift to those who sincerely seek it. It can enhance not only your abilities but also your desire to do your best in his service. “God is the one that, for the sake of his good pleasure, is acting within you in order for you both to will and to act.” The precious gift of holy spirit, coupled with our earnest efforts to keep “a tight grip on the word of life,” will allow us to “keep working out [our] own salvation with fear and trembling.”—Phil. 2:12, 13, 16.
With complete confidence in God’s spirit, then, pour your heart into every assignment, become skilled at what you are given to do, and look to Jehovah for assistance. (Jas. 1:5) He will give you what you need to understand his Word, cope with life’s problems, and preach the good news. “Keep on asking, and it will be given you; keep on seeking, and you will find; keep on knocking, and it will be opened to you,” and this includes receiving holy spirit. (Luke 11:9, 13) Indeed, keep on supplicating Jehovah that you may be like faithful ones—both ancient and modern—who were guided by God’s holy spirit.
WE  ALL  CAN  PLEASE  JEHOVAH  AT  HIS  HOLY SPIRIT !   ❤♥☼♥❤
SATAN does a good job and most people succumb to his sly traps anyway.
Give away so much time for a trivial topic ....??

What a good idea!

Its  so  nice,  but  all  is  past !  We're  living  today,  times  alot  have  changed,  yes. The  Bible  never  changed  but  our  times changing !

Thank  you  my  dear  Brothers & Sisters....   Our  thinking  maybe  the  right  way,   YES,  Jehovah's  plan  will  be  the  BEST  and  coming  TRUE,  ALWAYS 
THANK  YOU 

I  like  your  words  my  dear  sister @Carmen Erwin....  ONLY  Jehovah  knows  that  DAY !!!!   YES      

This is not the first time I’ve heard this from trump. And yes only Jehovah knows and he will succeed we must keep on the watch! ?

Prophecies are rarely appreciated when they are being fulfilled and is is usually after fulfillment that people recognize that a prophecy has been fulfilled. Nothing wrong with keeping on the watch, but better to not get in to debt thinking that you won't have to pay it back. We don't know the day or hour, but we can certainly discern the season. Cheers.

REALLY ??   I  not  knew  that  Brother @John Houston...  bec. living  in Germany !
But  also  without  D. TRUMP  -  JEHOVAH  has  the  BEST  plan  and  it  comes  TRUE
HE  created  the  whole  world  and  ALL  is  in  HIS  hands !!
When  ALL  is  over,  then  we  all  can  say,   WOW,  THAT  was  HIS  PLAN.....   But  now  we  know  NOTHINGS  ~~~~

FAKE  NEWS   -  OR  NOT  @Bible Speaks...  DON'T  FORGET,  in  the  END-TIME, JEHOVAH  will  give  these  things  into  the  hearts  of  especially  politicians....
N O B O D Y   OF  US  KNOW,   W H E N   Jehovah  will  start  with  it !    SO  YOU  CAN'T  SAY  ITS  A  FAKE  -  We  shall  see....
First  PEACE  &  SECURITY  -  then  the  Religions  -  and  then  they  persecute  US,  JW >>>>>>>>
THEN  THE  END  WILL  COME.....    Pres. TRUMP  maybe  the  right  man  for  starting  our   END-TIME  -  WHY  NOT?   
ITS  TIME..   THE  WORLD  IS  SOOO   HORRIBLE / CRUEL
JEHOVAH  HAS  THE  BEST  PLAN !!   SO  LONG  WE'VE  TO  LOOK  FOR  NEW  LAMBS,  UNTIL  JEHOVAH  IS  SAYING  STOP !!
A  VERY  EXCITING  END-TIME   just  now....

Great thing for so many if those afraid to ask a person about the truth of the bible and the truth about Jehovahs people and there purpose in the door to door ministry. It's amazing how many questions people have but are afraid to ask because of obligation and risk of argument. Take that away and there thoughts about things really pour out of them. It's one of the ways I approach people. With good results. Not always ready to be one of gods true worshippers but leaving with a different thought and view. Made my own badge holder  and plan on wearing it all next weekend at the convention . Even glued some of the qr codes I picked out of some old watchtowers on the back just in case I meet someone interested ☺️ Cost me about 20 cents to make 

Jesus Raises the Daughter of Jairus....     ? ? ? .•*¨`*•..¸???¸.•*¨`*•.  ? ? ?

Watchtower 16mm Film Reel from the WT Society around 1959. No Sound. A Speaker followed a written script while presenting the film at a Kingdom Hall.    

I just wanted to thank the organizers of this site. I enjoy the news and other items on a regular basis. I am also grateful that it has not been taken over by hostile people who hate JWs. On the odd occasion there have been a few nasty individuals but they are in the minority. I understand that if they allow more controversy - the owners may receive more visitors and may make more money. I am therefore more grateful that they have not allowed money to become the primary focus of this site. Thanks for some of the interesting items - although we do not always comment on them - we do notice them.

NOT  bad  @Bible Speaks  -  but,  maybe  too  feminine  for  the  whole  world....
So,  we  get  now  that  -

I changed the title of this website to .ORG as you can see above.
I needed something multilingual / multinational.... and understood by many cultures and languages.
It also can cover various organizations and belief systems from around the world.
I like learning from everyone discussing topics on a wide range of topics.
Enjoy everyone.
Let me know if I can be of more help.
@admin
p.s. - You'll notice that uploaded video now plays the same as Facebook and Twitter etc....
The one thing that differentiates this site to those is that we don't try to keep you only on our platform. You'll see easy share buttons to every social media out there so that you can post once... and share ad infinitum.
p.s.s. - Language is obviously a challenge for all global websites. I am trying to keep us all on one site rather than many different language sites. You should see a google translate button on the right hand side to assist with that. I know it's not 100% yet. 
p.s.s.s. - The site is now translated for use by the main language groups in the theme itself. I will continue to try and expand it as more experts help me out. 
 

OVERVIEW OF THE HALL WHERE WARWICK HELD, THE ANNUAL MEETING.

Oh I think you will like these then hahahaha???

A  wonderful  video,  posted  from  our  sister  Ellen Tieking    Many  of  us  knowing  that  video....
But  on  and  off  listen  to  Jehovah's  Creations  and  the  nice  music / text,  makes  feeling  good ❤
*I  WILL  SEE  YOU  IN  THE  NEW  WORLD*  ;-))  MORE  importend,  we  all  encourage  each  other  living  in  the  NW soon ❤

Some  sisters  told  me,  why  some  postings  here  with  SO  much  Bible  texts...?  Maybe,  they're  not  able  for  so  much,  or  only less  time  for  reading  all  that  every  day.... ?   Lets  be  more  flexible  for  all...  a  fine  solution  I  think !   Thanks  to  you  all !

We love you dear ones! We put our arms around you with great affection. It is a great and true brother hood love conquers all!!?

We love you dear ones! We put our arms around you with great affection. It is a great and true brother hood love conquers all!!?