HollyW

Jesus always referred to God as Father, which should help us realize there is more than just pronouncing his name in order to know him.  Jesus made mention many times that by accepting him and his teachings one could know the Father.  The book of John is incredible in shedding light on how to know God.

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also.  From now on you do know him and have seen him.”  John 14:6,7

Philip still had to ask,

“Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?  Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works.  Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves.”  John 14:8-11

More good scriptural proof that by knowing Christ we can know God:

 And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me that they may be one, even as we are one.  John 17:11

O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me. I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.”  John 17:25,26

These reveal that with the coming of Christ, the best way to understand and know God is by knowing Christ. To the Jews who thought they knew God, he said:

“I am the one who bears witness about myself, and the Father who sent me bears witness about me.”  They said to him therefore, “Where is your Father?” Jesus answered, “You know neither me nor my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father also.”  John 8:18,19

Jesus answered, “If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God.’ But you have not known him. I know him. If I were to say that I do not know him, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and I keep his word.  Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad.”  John 8:54-56

 “I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything that you have given me is from you.  For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me.  I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours.  All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them.  And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me that they may be one, even as we are one.  While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.  John 17:6-12

God’s name is known by receiving Christ’s words and believing in him, recognizing that he is the Bread of Life coming down from the Father.  By receiving that bread/teachings/life, we come to know the Father who is its ultimate source.  John 6:33,51  We do this with loving gratitude for such a wonderful gift.

Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.  John 14:23

Obeying all of God’s laws fulfilled in Christ is motivated by love and faith, which then allows us to be “one” with the Father and Christ (John 17:11).  

When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.   John 17:1-3

The Father knew how far his people had strayed from serving him, thus knowing him was impossible.  What a gift we have in Christ; all eyes should be on him and him only to lead us to the Father.  He is the mediator of all men, anointed and those not anointed.  Our salvation has come to us through Christ; our heart’s devotion and obedience to his teachings can lead us to love him.  By doing so, we then come to know and love God, the Father. 

Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ  and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—  that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,  that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.  Phil 3:8-11

Thus says the Lord: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches,  but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord.”  Jer 9:23,24

Righteousness from God comes through Christ; accepting this in faith leads to knowing God.

“For in these things I delight, declares the Lord.”

“and lo, a voice out of the heavens, saying, `This is My Son -- the Beloved, in whom I did delight.'   Matt 3:17      Young’s Literal Translation

Can we simply address God as “Father” in the same manner as Christ and it be acceptable?  Indeed, Christ is our example to follow. There is an account in Malachi 2 where God is relating the iniquities of his priests failing to honor God’s name.

“A son honors his father, and a slave his master. If I am a father, where is the honor due me? If I am a master, where is the respect due me?” says the Lord Almighty.

“It is you priests who show contempt for my name. “But you ask, ‘How have we shown contempt for your name?’  “By offering defiled food on my altar. “But you ask, ‘How have we defiled you?’

“By saying that the Lord’s table is contemptible. When you offer blind animals for sacrifice, is that not wrong? When you sacrifice lame or diseased animals, is that not wrong? Try offering them to your governor! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you?” says the Lord Almighty.  “Now plead with God to be gracious to us. With such offerings from your hands, will he accept you?”—says the Lord Almighty. Mal 1:6-9

Sacrifices today by anointed ones is the fruit of the lips, (Mal 2:7; 1 Pet 2:5; Heb 13:15) which can be defiled through wrong teachings and dishonoring God’s name.  If these teachers fail to show the sheep the honor due the Father, how would it be presented?

Jesus said, that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.  John 5:23

Does the organization honor the Son just as it honors the Father? Can we honor the Father but not the Son?   Mark 7:6


 

 

Could you please provide scriptures that show Christ was leading people to an earthly organization?  Or was he establishing the Body of Christ, a spiritual “administration” of firstfruits and providing further life to all children of God in the Kingdom? 2 Cor 9:12; Rom 8:23,19

 
You said, “By the way “witness” Isa 46:5 is referring to either worship the true God or the false Gods like BAAL. You’re not even trying to understand scripture anymore. If we are to worship the true God? Then let us be, reflective of Gods image as his children.”

Let’s look at Isa 46. 

Isa 46:3 - “Listen to Me, O house of Jacob, And all the remnant of the house of Israel.”

This refers to the anointed ones, including your GB.  Rom 11:26; 9:6,8; Heb 10:16

“To whom will you liken Me, and make Me equal
And compare Me, that we should be alike?
 They lavish gold out of the bag,
And weigh silver on the scales;
They hire a goldsmith, and he makes it a god;
They prostrate themselves, yes, they worship.
 They bear it on the shoulder, they carry it
And set it in its place, and it stands;
From its place it shall not move.
Though one cries out to it, yet it cannot answer
Nor save him out of his trouble. Isa 46:5-7

Our spiritual heritage can also infuse in us a deep sense of spiritual security that can be enjoyed only within Jehovah’s organization.  05/2/15/p. 17-22 (1 Thess 5:3)

“Remember this, and show yourselves men;
Recall to mind, O you transgressors.
 Remember the former things of old,
For I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is none like Me Isa 46:8,9

I’ll borrow a quote from Shiwii’s post, which baffles me why you would think any of these quotes are manipulated or misrepresented, when taken straight from the source.

"But if we were to draw away from Jehovah's organization, there would be no place else to go for salvation and true joy." Watchtower 1993 Sep 15 p.22

“The Lord lives! Blessed be my Rock! Let God be exalted, The Rock of my salvation! 2 Sam 22:47

Although God has clearly stated that no one could build a house for him, that heaven is his throne and earth his footstool, the Watchtower has stuffed God into man’s enterprise, assured He has chosen it to represent HIS salvation. Acts 7:49 If so, why did Christ come to the earth? 

“Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”  Acts 4:12

Do you believe I have manipulated this scripture as Samuel Herd slaughtered 1 Cor 6:19,20 to fit his agenda targeting slaving for the organization? How would you interpret it?

“Declaring the end from the beginning,
And from ancient times things that are not yet done,
Saying, ‘My counsel shall stand,
And I will do all My pleasure,’
 Calling a bird of prey from the east,
The man who executes My counsel, from a far country.
Indeed I have spoken it;
I will also bring it to pass.
I have purposed it;
I will also do it.”

“Listen to Me, you stubborn-hearted,
Who are far from righteousness:
 I bring My righteousness near, it shall not be far off;
My salvation shall not linger.
And I will place salvation in Zion,
For Israel My glory.” Isa 46:10-13

I take it you believe this “Zion” to be the organization, the source of salvation. If so, please provide scriptural proof that it is and earthly organization.

“But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels”  Heb 12:22 (Rev 14:1)
 YHWH's Genuine Mountain - http://4womaninthewilderness.blogspot.com/2013/02/jehovahs-genuine-mountain.html

 

 

 

It's because the WTS does.
http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1102014268
2014 ***God's Kingdom Rules!***
A Letter From the Governing Body. 
Dear Fellow Kingdom Publisher:
PICTURE yourself as a member of the Brooklyn Bethel family on Friday morning, October 2, 1914.  You are seated at your usual place at the breakfast table, awaiting the arrival of Brother C. T. Russell. Suddenly the door to the dining room opens and Brother Russell appears. He pauses for a moment, as is his custom, and greets the Bethel family with a cheery “Good morning, all.” But then, instead of immediately taking his place at the head of the table, he claps his hands and makes a thrilling announcement: “The Gentile Times have ended; their kings have had their day!” 
 
And rightly so because the Governing Body was not appointed as the faithful slave for what they are teaching today but for what they were teaching up to 1919.
Without knowing any more about this story than the vague details you've offered, and failing to see what this has to do with the question "Can the timing of Jesus' Second coming, or Presence, be calculated through Bible chronology?"
But......Christians stick to things said thousands of years ago in the Bible, so your criteria for judging the truth doesn't hold up.    
So you wanted a religion that keeps changing what you believe the Bible really teaches.  Interesting.
I see the WTS connection to Russell is that his teachings are what Jesus is said to have examined along with all the teachings from other Christian churches up to 1919, and subsequently accepting the former and rejecting the latter; thereafter making the leaders of the WTS the sole channel of communication from God to mankind.  So, you're right, we should not be evaluating WTS standards of today because those were not what Jesus reviewed.  We should be evaluating the same material Jesus reviewed to see if it really was the truth.  I mean, Jesus wouldn't have found false teachings acceptable, would he.
Have you ever studied the history of the WTS?
Would some of those "new thoughts" be that the child born in Revelation 12 is the antichrist and Michael the Archangel in that same chapter is the Catholic Pope?
How wise is it for a religious organization to call its teachings "the truth" and then change those teachings?
Still, I wonder how Russell was able to calculate something that the Apostles couldn't, that Jesus couldn't, that the angels couldn't.
You no doubt agree with Rutherford's assessment of the Great Pyramid that Russell termed "God's Stone Witness" and Rutherford called "Satan's Bible."  But, no matter how sincere the Bible Students were, how could Jesus countenance calculations based on the pyramids?
I know they get 1914 from Russell and he set the standard by which to judge whether or not he got 1914 from the Bible.  1914 fails that standard.  See his book written in 1889, The Time Is At Hand, pgs. 76-79; it lists seven proofs that were going to show whether or not 1914 was really the end of the times of the Gentiles as Russell claimed it would be and as JWs today claim it was.
Russell believed Jesus returned and began ruling as King in 1874. That's why he named his magazine Zion's Watchtower and Herald of Christ's Presence, because he believed Christ's Presence had begun in 1874.  In 1890 he wrote Thy Kingdom Come in which he states the following about this:
Volume 3 - "Thy Kingdom Come" / C301 - Thy God Reigneth!
 STUDY IX
THY GOD REIGNETH!
A Resume of the Prophetic Evidences Which Show the Presence of Immanuel, and that His Kingdom is in Process of Establishment. 

"How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace, that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!" Isa. 52:7 

IN view of all the evidences presented in this and the preceding volumes of this work, we have no hesitancy in proclaiming to the Lord's loyal and faithful people, his beloved Zion, this glorious intelligence: "Thy God Reigneth!" The oft-repeated prayer of the Church has been answered: the Kingdom of God has indeed come. In the days of the present kings of earth, before their lease of dominion expires, it is being set up. The dead in Christ are even now risen and exalted with our Lord and Head. And the "feet" members of the body of Christ, who still tarry in the flesh, catching the inspiration of the glorified throng who have already ascended into the mount (kingdom) of God, reflect a measure of that transcendent glory, as did Moses when he came down from Mount Sinai. The faces of these messengers shine with that heavenly joy which fills their hearts and overflows their lips as they commune together and with the Lord, and go heralding to every nation (mountain) the good tidings of Immanuel's reign begun. How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him (the feet of the Christ) that bringeth good tidings of Millennial joy and peace, assuring Zion that the reign of our Lord is begun!

Wonderful truths are these! the Kingdom of God in process of setting up; the Lord Jesus and the risen saints already here and engaged in the great harvest work, with whom we also, as members of that honored body, as the "feet of him," though still in the flesh, are permitted to be co-workers, to herald the good tidings among men and to apprise them of the significance of the wonderful and troublous events which must prepare the way for and introduce the glorious reign of righteousness.
 
 He believed Armageddon would end BEFORE 1914 and the Millennium would begin in 1914, that's why his STUDIES were originally called Millennial Dawn. 
Zion's Watch Tower, July 1, 1894 ::R1677 : page 226:: CAN IT BE DELAYED UNTIL 1914?

Seventeen years ago people said, concerning the time features presented in MILLENNIAL DAWN, They seem reasonable in many respects, but surely no such radical changes could occur between now and the close of 1914: if you had proved that they would come about in a century or two, it would seem much more probable. What changes have since occurred, and what velocity is gained daily! "The old is quickly passing, and the new is coming in."

Now, in view of recent labor troubles and threatened anarchy, our readers are writing to know if there may not be a mistake in the 1914 date. They say that they do not see how present conditions can hold out so long under the strain.

We see no reason for changing the figures-- nor could we change them if we would. They are, we believe, God's dates, not ours. But bear in mind that the end of 1914 is not the date for the beginning, but for the end of the time of trouble. We see no reason for changing from our opinion expressed in the View presented in the WATCH TOWER of Jan. 15, '92. We advise that it be read again.

 Yes, they did understand the scriptures referring to the great crowd.  They viewed the great crowd as a heavenly group of anointed believers who were not quite as faithful as the 144,000 elite group.  It wasn't until the 1930's that Rutherford threw them out of heaven, shut the door in their faces, and deprived them of partaking at the Memorial.
Russell didn't inherit his beliefs about Revelation 12 from the Reformation.  As I posted earlier, he was saying the child was the antichrist and Michael was the Pope.  And as I just posted, Russell believed Jesus began ruling invisible from heaven in 1874.
What this confirms is that the timing of Jesus' Second coming, or Presence, cannot be calculated through Bible chronology

Thanks, Alexa.  Actually the war that started in 1914 must have been a total surprise for the Bible Students back then because they had been predicting that Armageddon would END in that year.  Nothing they had been saying about 1914 came true though they still say something invisible happened.....'fraid there's no way to check on that.
 
 

Samuel Herd alludes to the writing as being done by others, the GB’s 30+ helpers.  In a recent video on slaving for “Jehovah” given to the Bethelites he said, “While all major decisions and approval are made by the FDS, we have 30 qualified helpers and several other brothers who work hard in assisting us in accomplishing our responsibilities of feeding and caring for Jehovah’s sheep.”

As he runs down the long list of organizational (BUSINESS) matters needing to be addressed, including “looking into legal fights we’re having all over the world”, he finally says, “involved with all teachings”. “Now some of us may be viewed as iron chefs, but we’re not the only ones in the kitchen, you better believe that”.

How could anyone listening to this talk miss the priorities given to running a corporation – a business, over simply feeding the sheep as the early apostles did? 

He begins his talk on slavery by saying, “Paul told the early Christians in Corinth, “you do not belong to yourselves, for you were bought with a price”. 

He broke up two scriptures to create his own. 

“Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?  For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s. 1 Cor 6:19,20

Initially, one would believe he is speaking of Christ’s sacrifice, but after hearing his talk, I can only surmise he means one is “bought” through baptism when relinquishing one’s identity, and donning a new one in the name of a corporation, becoming its slave.  This whole business in the name of God contradicts scripture, but it has persuaded so many to become "company men", devoted to its running, and convinced that God is backing it.  

Obviously, this scripture was not part of his talk:  “You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men”. 1 Cor 7:23

Or this one:  “For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.”  Gal 1:10

And not this one: “No one can be slave to two masters; for he will either hate the first and love the second, or scorn the second and be loyal to the first. You can’t be a slave to both God and money”.  Matt 6:24

Or this one:   “But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: “We ought to obey God rather than men.” Acts 5:29

Definitely not this one: “And He said to them, ‘You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts.  For what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God.” Luke 16:15. 
http://pearl-disgustingthing.blogspot.com/
 


 

Martha’s story is in the Return to Jehovah brochure which came out in January of 2015.  Martha claims to have been inactive for 40 years before she returned to the WTS.  If that return was in 2014, the year before the brochure came out, she would have been inactive from about 1974. 
Returning to the WTS is also called returning to Jehovah by JWs, but it is also called returning to the truth…..a word that becomes rather fluid among JWs since it doesn’t ever refer to the truth of their teachings.  One has only to look at what WTS teachings were 40 years ago when Martha became inactive, to what those teachings are today.
The world was going to end in 1975……obviously not the truth.
There were no more spirit-anointing going on to fill the ranks of the 144,000….not true any more.
The 144,000 were the faithful and discreet slave…….not true any more.
The faithful and discreet slave was appointed over all the Master’s belongings…….not true any more.
The other sheep were the belongings of the parable at Matthew 24:45-47…….they’ve been elevated to domestics now.
The generation of Matthew 24:34 would be remembered by Martha as being, beyond question, worldly people, as described in the wt:

"The actual meaning of these words is, beyond question, that which takes a generation in the ordinary sense, as at Mark 8:12 and Acts 13:36, or for those who are living at the given period. So it was on this generation that the accumulated judgments were to fall. (Matt. 23:36) This therefore means that from 1914 a generation shall not pass till all is fulfilled, and amidst a great time of trouble." Watchtower 1951 Jul 1 p.404 This teaching has gone thru three changes since Martha became inactive.  I wonder if she would recognize the current “overlapping” scenario as being “the truth.”
 
 

interesting interpretation. I look at other scriptures that speak about the heart and I just can't fit the idea you presented into the scripture. For example why would Jesus use the phrase "in your heart" if it didn't really fit? 
 
Luke 5:22 " Jesus knew what they were thinking and asked, “Why are you thinking these things in your hearts?"
 
Surely, Jesus knew that the thinking portion of our bodies is not the heart but rather our brain. Did Jesus mean just close to the brain?
 
Or how about here: 
John 5:42 " but I know you. I know that you do not have the love of God in your hearts."
Was Jesus really saying that the love of God could be in a human heart? 

Then why did Jesus command the disciples to "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations..." All the nations could not associate with one another and they would still certainly be scattered. 

LOL. It wasn't a very bright day for a lot of folks.  You've probably always looked forward to being on earth, not in heaven with Jesus, so I don't know if you can imagine what it must have been like to look forward to being in heaven and then have the door shut in your face.  That's what happened to a great multitude of folks that day.  Right out of the mouth of Rutherford.

Thank you, Alexa.

Thank you HollyW, i love your reference and all of those things 

Ahem you two......he closed the door of heaven in their faces:
 “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut off the kingdom of heaven from people; for you do not enter in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in."  Matthew 23:13
And the way he did it was not to even address it to THEM.  No, he had invented a class of earthly hopers a few years before whom he called the Jonadabs and at the convention he had them stand up and then pointing them he pronounced that THEY were the great crowd.
Is it any wonder everyone was speechless?!  He had just ripped a heavenly hope away from a great crowd who had remained seated when he asked those with an earthly hope to stand up.

"Amazing undeserved kindness, how sweet the sound......"
Just doesn't work, does it.

In the 2015 brochure, "Return to Jehovah", the parable about the Prodigal Son is referred to and seems to indicate that inactive ones who return, even after 40 years, and confess sins such as having celebrated holidays, gone to other churches, been involved in politics, and probably much more, will be forgiven and welcomed back in the same way as the prodigal son:
From page 10 of the brochure:
 
Jehovah does not abandon repentant sinners. In fact, he reaches out to them! In the parable of the prodigal son, Jesus compared Jehovah to a loving father whose son abandoned his family and pursued a debauched life. In time, the son decided to return home. “While [the son] was still a long way off, his father caught sight of him and was moved with pity, and he ran and embraced him and tenderly kissed him.” (Luke 15:11-20) Do you wish to draw closer to Jehovah but feel that you are “still a long way off” from him? Like the father in Jesus’ illustration, Jehovah is moved with tender compassion for you. He is eager to welcome you back.  
 
This even might indicate that they should be welcomed back right there in the parking lot when someone sees them drive up.

Thanks, Alexa.  Actually the war that started in 1914 must have been a total surprise for the Bible Students back then because they had been predicting that Armageddon would END in that year.  Nothing they had been saying about 1914 came true though they still say something invisible happened.....'fraid there's no way to check on that.
 
 

Let me know where you post it! :-)

How is this statement accurate in light of scripture?
Ch. 1 par. 9
9 How will God’s Kingdom come? When we pray, “Let
your Kingdom come,” we are asking that the Kingdom take
decisive action. When the Kingdom comes, it will exert its
full power toward the earth. It will remove the present wicked
system of things, including all man-made governments,
and bring in a righteous new world. (Dan. 2:44; 2 Pet. 3:13)
 
I can see how Daniel applies to an extent, but the 2 Peter 3:13 does not. What did Jesus say? 
Luke 17:20&21
"Once, on being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, “The coming of the kingdom of God is not something that can be observed, 21 nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is in your midst.”
 
How do you reconcile this book with scripture? 

Aranua, I think you were replying to me on this post. I don't think I am leaving YHWH out of anything, but rather it is the men who call themselves elders who have left YHWH out of it and took it upon themselves to determine who is repentant and who is not. I mean, think about this for a moment, Who establishes the "rule" or criteria for how long a person must "study" WT material before they can be baptized? Is it YHWH or is it men? Looking at the Bible, specifically Acts 8:29-39, what did the Ethiopian have to do? What were the requirements for him? None, but yet there are these requirements made by men within the Org? How about the requirement to show up late and leave early for meetings to prove your repentance to the elders, if one were disfellowshipped, and for how long must one be under this bondage to be considered "good enough"? Did Jesus require this of the thief next to Him in Luke 23:42&43? What was the requirement?

It became the Organization's date too until about 1930.

WT 1/15/2015:  Matthew 24:33-35. We understand that in mentioning “this generation,” Jesus was referring to two groups of anointed Christians. The first group was on hand in 1914, and they readily discerned the sign of Christ’s presence in that year. Those who made up this group were not merely alive in 1914, but they were spirit-anointed as sons of God in or before that year.  
This teaching about the 1914 anointed is actually one from the past, as stated in this 1968 Awake:
"Jesus was obviously speaking about those who were old enough to witness with understanding what took place when the 'last days' began. ... Even if we presume that youngsters 15 years of age would be perceptive enough to realize the import of what happened in 1914, it would still make the youngest of 'this generation' nearly 70 years old today." Awake! 1968 Oct 8 p.13
But from some calculations in another thread, the age made be being reduced as it was in the 1980's, to 10 years of age.
Ten years of age, baptized, spirit-anointed, readily discerned the sign of Christ's presence in 1914.  Sound about right?

To answer the question about whether it is better to hide or reveal our own sins, it is better to confess before Jehovah and before the congregation. Everything done in the darkness will come to light. It's true that some sins can remain hidden for an entire lifetime, but is our own ego so important that we believe the congregation must continue to see the benefit of services we provide as an elder or ministerial servant? There is no reason for a person who has been guilty of a serious sin to think that the overall congregation is somehow benefiting so much from one's appointment to a "named" position, and that they would somehow need his talks or his shepherding. Confessing sins serves the purpose of a clean conscience with Jehovah, and indicates humility, and it indicates our faith that Jehovah sees the heart, whether or not the congregation would have ever known or not.
The congregation needs various positions of responsibility, but not everyone needs to minister in the same way. Not everyone needs a "title." In fact, all Christians have the title of "minister" in the sense of being a "servant." All Christians can do some things and even many things that help our fellow brothers and sisters. The congregation is built up in this way when we do fine works for each other:
(Hebrews 10:24, 25) 24 And let us consider one another so as to incite to love and fine works, 25 not forsaking our meeting together, as some have the custom, but encouraging one another, and all the more so as you see the day drawing near.
(Ephesians 4:11-16) 11 And he gave some as apostles, some as prophets, some as evangelizers, some as shepherds and teachers, 12 with a view to the readjustment of the holy ones, for ministerial work, to build up the body of the Christ, 13 until we all attain to the oneness of the faith and of the accurate knowledge of the Son of God, to being a full-grown man, attaining the measure of stature that belongs to the fullness of the Christ. 14 So we should no longer be children, tossed about as by waves and carried here and there by every wind of teaching by means of the trickery of men, by means of cunning in deceptive schemes. 15 But speaking the truth, let us by love grow up in all things into him who is the head, Christ. 16 From him all the body is harmoniously joined together and made to cooperate through every joint that gives what is needed. When each respective member functions properly, this contributes to the growth of the body as it builds itself up in love.
Just a last thought, noting that much of what was true about elders is also true of ministerial servants.
(1 Timothy 3:8-10) 8 Ministerial servants should likewise be serious, not double-tongued, not indulging in a lot of wine, not greedy of dishonest gain, 9 holding the sacred secret of the faith with a clean conscience. 10 Also, let these be tested as to fitness first; then let them serve as ministers, as they are free from accusation.
 
This part is my own opinion, but I think we have to be judicious when it comes to confessing articles of faith, when that faith might be considered sin. For example what if you believed, five years ago, that "types and antitiypes" should not be taught as doctrines unless the Bible specifically and explicitly tells us to do this? Five years ago, this was apostasy, because it literally involved the rejection of hundreds of doctrines unique to Jehovah's Witnesses. Note:
*** w86 4/1 p. 31 Questions From Readers ***
Approved association with Jehovah’s Witnesses requires accepting the entire range of the true teachings of the Bible, including those Scriptural beliefs that are unique to Jehovah’s Witnesses.
If one believed this in 1914, they would have had to wait for 100 years until this teaching was finally dropped, and it no longer constituted apostasy to reject it. (It was finally dropped in 2014.) But the article goes on to include several specific doctrines considered to be of prime importance:
What do such beliefs include?
. . . That 1914 marked the end of the Gentile Times and the establishment of the Kingdom of God in the heavens, as well as the time for Christ’s foretold presence. . . .
If we do not confess this particular belief as an article of faith, should this be confessed to the elders? YES! Absolutely. But we can take it to the elders in the overall world-wide congregation, not the specific elders from our local congregation, and even potentially to the Governing Body, by sending it as correspondence through the appropriate Watch Tower Society channels. Why? Because individual congregation elders will respond differently. Some will disfellowship, some will say to keep quiet about it and wait on the organization. Some might begin questioning themselves. This might begin to cause divisions in the congregation. The most consistent answers will be sent from the Society headquarters, where the ins and outs of this topic are fairly well-known by many of those who handle correspondence.
 
 
 

I remember seeing Dateline and Panorama when they first came out in 2002 and feeling ashamed at how the organization didn't 'treat its flock with tenderness,' sweeping these appalling crimes under the rug. The Org's priorities were all skewed. The two shows hit home all the more because members of my own family had been molested by a JW who inveigled himself into the hearts of vulnerable single/divorced JW mothers who had young daughters. The perp was eventually disfellowshipped but was reinstated a short time later after having feigned repentance. Back in business. Another area; another hapless, single JW mother in his sights.
Has the Org's attitude to child sexual abuse within its congregations really changed since then? Sadly, only negligibly until 2012 after the Candace Conti case. From that time, secular courts and public inquiries have still had to drag the Org, with its resistant heels ploughing up the ground, into making any small, tangible changes in its policies and procedures ... and it has a long way to go yet to raise its standards to meet those of 'worldly' institutions.

Heartbreaking.

"Amazing undeserved kindness, how sweet the sound......"
Just doesn't work, does it.

Doesn't Hebrews 1:3 say that Jesus is the EXACT representation or image of God? Not just like, or a representative, but exactly. There isn't a way that Jesus is not exactly like His Father. 
"3 He is the
reflection of God’s glorye and the
exact representation of his very
being, and he sustains all things
by the word of his power. And
after he had made a purification
for our sins,g he sat down
at the right hand of the Majesty
on high."
How can you say that Jesus is anything but God? 
Should we not see it just as it says? Jesus is exactly the same in nature, the nature of God Himself.