Anna

“How does it feeeel, to be on you own, 
with no direction hoooome,
like a rolling stooone.”

Not that I understand your reasons for the locomotive/circus, but the line "money does not impress me" reminds me of a group of us (6) driving in a rented van just a few hours ago. As it turns out, due to a "Grammys" connection, I am right now in a hotel in Beverly Hills for the wedding of a singer/songwriter who is also a dear friend of my daughter. Actually the father is the more internationally famous singer/songwriter (Bill Withers). The wedding was in the same hotel and the reception is going on right now and will last until about 1 am. It's a completely "worldly" wedding, very tasteful but ostentatiously expensive.
At any rate, as we are driving through a Beverly Hills residential area to get here (from the Beverly Hilton past the Beverly Hills Hotel) we were in a neighborhood where the average house cost $50,000,000 and we passed up one that was for sale. My daughter joked that it was for sale for only $35,000,000. I told her she should be embarrassed for even knowing that fact, because it meant she had looked it up earlier. (She had passed it up yesterday because she drove here last night for a rehearsal dinner, and it caught her eye, so she looked it up later just for fun.) 
Personally, I can't imagine having anywhere near that much, because of all the good friends who would definitely be getting chunks of it. (Of course, having 35 million doesn't mean one could afford a house that costs that much, because over the next few years it would cost ANOTHER 35 million for maintenance and taxes. Missing this point has bankrupted many an entertainer, athlete or lottery winner who lost/stopped their income immediately after such a purchase.)
You can make beauty even more beautiful with money, and the beauty can be impressive, but it isn't necessarily worth the extra expense because purely natural beauty can be just as pretty, even if less "concentrated." My wife and I visited the Huntington Library on our first day here on Wednesday. (Our 39th anniversary.) I visited it alone several years ago to see my first major exhibit of the Dead Sea Scrolls, and I was surprised to see that this "library" is actually a set of art galleries and exhibitions set on the property of one of the top botanical gardens in the country. It's a huge place of beauty and many of the hundreds of different species of flowers and trees and other plants are discreetly labeled so you know what you're looking at.
But the worldly attitudes toward money became very apparent at the hotel. We went up to the pool on the roof, and felt very out of place. Most of the visitors are merely "on display" never intending to go in the water. And, for some of the more female-looking types, I doubt their tiny thongs would even hold up if they got wet anyway. It's as if even people with a lot of money can't just be comfortable with it, even in laid-back California. They still have to make a showy display of it, speaking very pretentiously, holding their drinks pretentiously, etc, etc. They hope other persons will be just as impressed with their expensive style as they are with their own. Seems no one is really satisfied.

( JTR squints his eyes and rubs his hands together slowly, as if putting on hand lotion ...)  "So THAT"S your caper, eh, El Bandito?"

Fortunately, as most of you have probably guessed, Billy the Kid and I are really the same person, 😎, and I/we would have been prepared for everything a-la-Rambo, Apocalypse Now, and probably a John Wayne movie or two, too, that I have forgotten about.

It may be that the pilot was one of your detractors here who hadn’t realized that you were retired.

For several years I worked for the same company, and when I moved into 787 7th Avenue, I had my first corner office on the 40th floor. An incredible view of Central Park and the Hudson River. The building is over 50 stories, and they used to have a company subsidized restaurant with several chefs to accommodate staff meetings and high profile clients on the top floor. I could get fantastic meals and make appointments with friends and family to come on up and show off our "Windows on the World" private restaurant. Then a French company bought our company out for a few billion, and all those expensive (and wasteful) perks disappeared, but I got to keep my nice corner office for a few more years.
So I'm retired now, and haven't been in the building for a while, except to pass through the marble lobby as a scenic shortcut, and check out an art museum they still keep in it.
But today, a helicopter crash-landed on the roof, and it killed the pilot. It also started a fire and a full evacuation ensued. They say it took half-an-hour just to get down from the 29th floor, so I can imagine what it would have been like from the 40th or 50th. It must have felt like 9/11 to some of them.
https://www.cnn.com/us/live-news/manhattan-helicopter-crash-june-2019/index.html

People give their lives for any number of causes without faith in a resurrection. This noble quality of humans is exploited by "cult" leaders regardless of the damage it might do to the individual, and with no thought of benefit to them. Followers are merely pawns.
Interestingly, the word "cult" has come to carry a load of meaning and association  that has little to do with it's original etymology and derivation. Bit like the word "gay".
One current definition that sums up the way many use the word today is  "cult = a religion I don't like".

Just piping up here; I agree of course, but I'm sure you will admit that some sort of organizational structure is also necessary, especially with a view to the preaching activity...

Just piping up here; I agree of course, but I'm sure you will admit that some sort of organizational structure is also necessary, especially with a view to the preaching activity...

It's quite clear from your words that they are INTENDED to apply only to your agenda.
If all four legged animals are horses ... then a cow must, by your logic, be a vegetable.
Your Billy-think is fully evidenced by calling JW Insider "?winsider",  and thinking his screen name is an affront against God.
Using that same logic, Jehovah's last name is .ORG.
 
 

Billy ... If JW Insider's Avatar and moniker is a stumbling block to you, and you think it taints the name of God, you have some serious screws loose.
It's amazing you can walk down the street without having parts fall off.
 

But Jehovah didn't think they needed a king. It was a concession to their hard-heartedness. But a fully Christian system should be different. It transitions us away from the fleshly needs of Israel, and commends itself to our heart and spirit.
(Jeremiah 31:31-33) . . .“Look! The days are coming,” declares Jehovah, “when I will make with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah a new covenant. 32 It will not be like the covenant that I made with their forefathers on the day I took hold of their hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, ‘my covenant that they broke, although I was their true master,’ declares Jehovah.” 33 “For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares Jehovah. “I will put my law within them, and in their heart I will write it. And I will become their God, and they will become my people.”

Not lying. Mistaken. Mistaken for almost the same reason that any of us --either currently, or in the past-- have believed the GB are a small group of men. When I believed it, I was not lying. It was just a mistake I was making at the time. I would guess that there are easily hundreds or thousands of Witnesses who notice the same thing in their Bible reading as they went through the illustrations of Jesus in context, and have reached through many of Paul's letters. Perhaps others will have already noticed that a leading member of this same Governing Body, F.W.Franz, once argued very coherently and scripturally that we should NOT see the Governing Body as a small council or committee like those apostles and older men in Jerusalem.
I don't think I have more insight than the GB, I was convinced by the Scriptural argument of F.W.Franz. But there's a good reason why it would not be plain to them. Long before the Governing Body was defined in 1971, the 7 officers of the Watch Tower Society already realized that they were responsible to represent the entire remnant of the anointed on earth, and found themselves soon leading hundreds of thousands of Witnesses and interested persons. No matter what you think, there IS something special about this particular religion. It is unique as a teaching organization in many ways. I've gone into the specifics in the past, but for now, I'm just making a statement of opinion shared by millions of other JWs too.
The GB who find themselves in positions of great responsibility for an organization that is believed to be specifically prophesied about in the Bible, would surely expect that their own position of responsibility must therefore also be prophesied in some way. This doesn't mean that they think they are inspired, only that God's inspiration must have foreseen, not only the fact of this organization, but also some special guidance for its leadership, too. They could have found this in "apostolic succession" as some other religions do. They could have found it in some special new "inspired" prophet as some religions have. They could have decided that a leader was the "angel to the church in Laodicea." They could have seen it in the "the Jew" with 10 men grasping their hem. But they see it in an illustration about servants feeding other servants. Compared to the ways many religions look to give "authority" to a select few, this is actually commendably low-key. But it's still a misuse of the verse. It's an inconsistency based on the March 15, 2015 Watchtower that shows why it is wrong to turn a parable into a prophecy.

Encourage is intended to be a broad term. But it is not separate from "Religious Matters." We humans often tend to be foolish and think that turning doctrines into some philosophical/exegetical  exercise is somehow more important to Jehovah than justice, mercy, love, humility, etc. The specifics of certain complex teachings or prophetic interpretations are far down on the list of what is important. For the most part those things are not even "religious."
As James said: "True religion means looking after orphans and widows in their troubles, and not being like the rest of the world." (James 1:27 - paraphrase)
(1 Corinthians 12:29-13:9) . . .Not all are apostles, are they? Not all are prophets, are they? Not all are teachers, are they? Not all perform powerful works, do they? 30 Not all have gifts of healings, do they? Not all speak in tongues, do they? Not all are interpreters, are they? 31 But keep striving for the greater gifts. And yet I will show you a surpassing way. 13 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels but do not have love, I have become a clanging gong or a clashing cymbal. 2 And if I have the gift of prophecy and understand all the sacred secrets and all knowledge, and if I have all the faith so as to move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 And if I give all my belongings to feed others, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I do not benefit at all. 4 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous. It does not brag, does not get puffed up, 5 does not behave indecently, does not look for its own interests, does not become provoked. It does not keep account of the injury. 6 It does not rejoice over unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth. 7 It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never fails. But if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away with; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away with.

Over the weekend, I was in a circuit way out there in the back hills, and I came to know some of the strange ways of the local elders out there.
I learned that when they really got riled at one another, they would spit out out the most spiteful words that they could think of: “May you be assigned to preside in JTR’s congregation!”

Oh they do you know. You did!

(Matthew 13:8, 9) 8 Still others fell on the fine soil, and they began to yield fruit, (Matthew 13:8, 9) 8 Still others fell on the fine soil, and they began to yield fruit, this one 100 times more, that one 60, the other 30. 9 Let the one who has ears listen.”
9 Let the one who has ears listen.”

(Galatians 6:4) But let each one examine his own actions, and then he will have cause for rejoicing in regard to himself alone, and not in comparison with the other person.
(2 Corinthians 9:6, 7) 6 But as to this, whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 7 Let each one do just as he has resolved in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
 
My take:  All Christians should be productive, bearing kingdom fruit.  Jesus already stated that he knew some would give different amounts, but still their personal 100 percent, if they are doing their best.
A Christian's activity should not be held up for comparison with another's.  Nothing is wrong with encouragement, though.
A goal should be set by the person himself,  instead of being prescribed for him. Whatever is done should be between him and God  and Jesus who are the Vineyard Owners.   Jehovah and Jesus saw the widow's contribution to the temple and were pleased.  Ordinarily no one would have noticed.
However, we should be obedient to those taking the lead, if they ask one to report time  one should report time.  Lots of things will be clarified/shown up in the future.

He is from "everlasting to everlasting" which can only happen in a universe that has no beginning, and where time happens all at once.
Well I presume God created time as we know it. It is only 'as we know it' because 'man' has divided it and subdivided it, but before man started measuring it, it was happening. It's quite strange to think that before time, before Earth etc, there was God, the Word, the Angels living in another dimension. 

Certainly there is free will ... all you can manage in whatever its is that is your hearts desire .... for good .... for evil ... or for misadventure.
I used to jump out of perfectly good aircraft, KNOWING in less that two minutes I could be dead .... but I did it anyway.
EVERYONE has freedom of will .... if they can manage it.
NOBODY has freedom of consequences, unless it is pure, dumb luck.

An example is this Satan's statement recorded here:
"So he brought him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the inhabited earth in an instant of time.  Then the Devil said to him: “I will give you all this authority and their glory, because it has been handed over to me, and I give it to whomever I wish."
Luke 4:4-6
 

Actually they don't. They are quite happy with the secular definition of the English word Inspiration  (Click to view)
However they do believe that the Greek word θεόπνευστος (theopneustos), translated as "inspired of God" is a word used uniquely of the Holy Scriptures. The English rendering used in the NWT2013 is quite  acceptable. It is self explanatory really, as the word literally translates as god-breathed, being a compound of the word Theos, God and pneo, to breathe. 
The word used to describe demonic teachings or utterances is a little different, but the concept of wicked spirits using complicit humans for the transmission of lies and propoganda is an acceptable Biblical teaching.
The use of the English word "inspired" with appropriate qualifiers is quite clear in it's specific application to Biblical concepts as it is also in a variety of secular contexts. The dictionary definition makes these clear.
All such definitions are acceptable and in regular use by Jehovah's Witnesses.  

What's wrong with my hair?

Might sound archaic in America, but not long ago I heard someone (non JW) in England describe a frivolous woman as a "brazen hussy". Usually this term is used in jest.

Quoted in my post?
 
The incontinence is more about uncontrolled immoral behaviour than an actual bodily function, hence the translation earlier as "loose conduct". There is enough information on the use of the word in ancient times to arrive at a pretty good understanding of what it means.
Incidentally, the literal act of urinating in public could well be accompanied by the attitude the word describes, and would then be construed as "aselgeia".

More importantly, what actually does the word "brazen" mean?
It is a translation of the Greek word  "ἀσέλγεια  - aslegia" which literally appears to mean:  in-continent. (ἀ-σέλγεια)
Various English definitions are submitted "unbridled lust, excess, licentiousness, lasciviousness, wantonness, outrageousness, shamelessness, insolence"
The word "brazen" has been dictionary defined as:
"bold, shameless, as bold as brass, brazen-faced, forward, presumptuous, brash, immodest,  unashamed, unabashed, unembarrassed,   unblushing;  defiant, impudent, insolent, impertinent, cheeky, pert; barefaced,  blatant, flagrant, undisguised”
The Cambridge Dictionary describes the American usage of the word “brazen” as an adjective, used: “(of something bad) done without trying to hide it:”
So it is a word referring mainly to the attitude of someone engaging in serious wrong conduct , frequently, but not exclusively,  in the context of improper sexual behaviour.
In Watchtower publications “brazen” has been defined as being:
“From the Greek a·selʹgei·a, a phrase pertaining to acts that are serious violations of God’s laws and that reflect a brazen or boldly contemptuous attitude; a spirit that betrays disrespect or even contempt for authority, laws, and standards. The expression does not refer to wrong conduct of a minor nature.—Ga 5:19; 2Pe 2:7.”
Is there really a problem in understanding how the word "brazen" should be understood in the context of human behaviour?