TrueTomHarley

If you do not teach your children values, it does not mean that they grow up free and unencumbered and, when of age, select their own values from the rich cornucopia of life. 
No. All it means is that someone else will teach them

This is called hearsay and gossip. It is not a noble quality to simply post dirt having no idea whether it is true or not.
Did I tell you that the Pope got caught sneaking a nuclear bomb into the Mormon temple? If true, this is very bad.

It will always be in the name of whatever the abusers are involved in. 
But we are molded by our experiences, and that is a very bad one. One might almost say “Thanks for sharing.” It lends an insight.

It is by no means unusual for parents to yell at their children. It might not be the norm, but it is common. Back in the day, it was by no means unusual for parents to “beat” their children, especially in the form of spankings. Nothing was more unremarkable. 
I am the only Witness in my family. You have to go back almost to Noah to find another. My dad’s father was so harsh that his oldest son determined he would not be like him, and did not discipline his kids at all. Believe me when I tell you, there were some hell-raisers among them. 
My dad did not swear off discipline. Spanking was not uncommon, and a belt was sometimes used. “Just wait till your father gets home,” my outmaneuvered mom would say. She’d rat on me the second he walked through the door, and then it was one bad experience for me. But this was routine among families—I think more common than not. “Spare the rod and spoil the child”—it was as common for people to say that as the pledge to the flag.
Sometimes parents were just doing their best to raise kids, trying to forestall bad habits. Sometimes they were abusive themselves. Sometimes they were working through their own issues. It is good to forgive. It leads to a healthier life. And yes, it goes the other way as well. But you can’t control what another does. You can only control what you do.
I remember Cora, decades ago, tearing into a newspaper editor after he’d run a story of some felon and had taken pains to highlight a Witness connection. “You would never have done that were he Catholic or Lutheran,” she said. The fellow reflected, “You’re right,” he said, “we wouldn’t,” and apologized to her. 
There are a lot of damaged people around. 

If you do not teach your children values, it does not mean that they grow up free and unencumbered and, when of age, select their own values from the rich cornucopia of life. 
No. All it means is that someone else will teach them

If you do not teach your children values, it does not mean that they grow up free and unencumbered and, when of age, select their own values from the rich cornucopia of life. 
No. All it means is that someone else will teach them

More than 400 Jehovah’s Witnesses have been charged or convicted in Russia since the country banned the religious group as an “extremist” organization three years ago, the Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia has said.
Since the April 2017 ban by Russia’s Supreme Court, law enforcement officers raided the homes of 1,166 worshippers’ families, the Jehovah’s Witnesses said
Authorities have opened 175 criminal cases into “extremism” against worshippers as of late October 2020, with 148 of them still in progress, the Christian denomination said on its website. 
More than half of the 400 worshippers spent between several days to three years in detention while awaiting trial. Some 310 have lost their jobs, businesses, pensions and bank accounts as a result of the “extremist” label.
Four Jehovah’s Witnesses have died while under investigation.

The Jehovah's Witnesses religious group has been banned in Russia as an "extremist" organization since April 2017
https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2020/11/10/over-400-jehovahs-witnesses-charged-or-convicted-in-russia-group-says-a71998

I think you vastly overrate your contributions here.

I haven’t done that yet. (Didn’t know it was possible)  But perhaps I should. After all, there is nothing new under the sun.

I haven’t done that yet. (Didn’t know it was possible)  But perhaps I should. After all, there is nothing new under the sun.

It's rather peaceful to read: "You've chosen to ignore content by ............"

That’s one more than I am. Who’s the 2nd?

You give me far too much credit. I just thought your printer must have run out of ink.

That’s one more than I am. Who’s the 2nd?

I didn’t actually say that he didn’t belong here. I said that if he remains, he may decide to rethink his approach. He is not wrong, you know. The Bible uses words like ‘stupid” in a moral sense, not one of mere intelligence. It is more that, as you say, there is little use in a thread that just becomes one of name-calling.

That’s one more than I am. Who’s the 2nd?

Wait... what? Minimal is the goal? Now you tell me?!?!?!?

It may be that @derek1956will reassess whether he really belongs here. I am not sure that any of us really do, but to remain one must have a certain imperviousness, an overall strategy, and unflappability. One cannot respond to things as though personally.
I know where he is coming from, though. It is initially shocking to see ones taunting the Most High, all the more so when they purposefully make themselves obtuse about how God works with and through humans. The fact that they have nothing to offer that is better doesn’t phase them in the slightest, as they do nothing but condemn the GB, their spiritual betters. 
No, you don’t go calling people rats and idiots, nor judge just who is to die, for that is not our place. But he displays righteous indignation, a Godly jealousy toward those who would condemn ones working tirelessly in His name, imperfect though they may be, while they do nothing themselves. He won’t be criticized for this, though he may come to rethink the nature of his participation, or even whether he thinks it is advisable.
Anything you put on the internet remains forever.  It is also instantly buried, so any gaffes need not be overly regretted—still, it does remain forever.
 

I’m not sure what you mean by clear. As stated, I was baptized in 73 and I thought it very possible, even likely, that the end would come in 75. But as the year dragged on and there was no end I do not recall any sense of letdown (let alone betrayal). “Oh, well, I guess it comes later,” I said. 
It might have been different had I sold a house or made major changes. But then again, life throws stuff at us all the time. You suck it up and carry on. As to the “offending” brother, did he even have a house to sell at any time in his life? People do their best and sometimes are wrong. 
“Sign here, kid—I’m gonna make you a star!”

Quick, someone do a word efficiency analysis, and tell me If Emma Rose will not win hands down for conveying maximum content in minimal words, a skill we should all strive for.

It may be that @derek1956will reassess whether he really belongs here. I am not sure that any of us really do, but to remain one must have a certain imperviousness, an overall strategy, and unflappability. One cannot respond to things as though personally.
I know where he is coming from, though. It is initially shocking to see ones taunting the Most High, all the more so when they purposefully make themselves obtuse about how God works with and through humans. The fact that they have nothing to offer that is better doesn’t phase them in the slightest, as they do nothing but condemn the GB, their spiritual betters. 
No, you don’t go calling people rats and idiots, nor judge just who is to die, for that is not our place. But he displays righteous indignation, a Godly jealousy toward those who would condemn ones working tirelessly in His name, imperfect though they may be, while they do nothing themselves. He won’t be criticized for this, though he may come to rethink the nature of his participation, or even whether he thinks it is advisable.
Anything you put on the internet remains forever.  It is also instantly buried, so any gaffes need not be overly regretted—still, it does remain forever.
 

Exactly...

I have even put the finishing touches on the Peace & Security prophesy that I floated by the other day:
https://www.tomsheepandgoats.com/2020/11/uniting-the-four-fundamental-prophesies-of-naturemade-possible-with-trumps-defeat-a-parody.html

“C’est la vie” said the old folks, it goes to show you never can tell.”—Chuck Berry

I have even put the finishing touches on the Peace & Security prophesy that I floated by the other day:
https://www.tomsheepandgoats.com/2020/11/uniting-the-four-fundamental-prophesies-of-naturemade-possible-with-trumps-defeat-a-parody.html