Furuli's new e-book: "My Beloved Religion - And The Governing Body"

[JW Insider]

1 hour ago, Arauna said:

because I have tasted the goodness of Jehovah while associating with his people in this time. I had association with his people on line and all my spiritual food still delivered on time

Clearly that is why we choose to associate with our fellow brothers and sisters. I much more enjoyed the closer association in months and years gone by, but I think the present situation is working very well. We still have to get used to the technology, and being muted and unmuted. I like the fact that we start the meeting a half hour before, and some talking still goes on between individuals. Some use small chat groups, and some end up showing their baby pictures to the entire congregation. I see a lot of people actually getting to the meeting earlier, to the midweek especially, and really enjoying this type of association. But it's also novel, and the newness can wear off, too.

2 hours ago, Arauna said:

so in my thinking …. GB did a good job.

In my thinking, the GB did a great job.

2 hours ago, Arauna said:

Many of detractors here will of course find reasons to call GB all kinds of wicked names... but yes, give GB credit where it is due. It seems they are cautious...…

This is exactly what I think we should do: give the GB credit where it is due, and yes, they really are cautious. I think they did the right thing under the circumstances, and they acknowledge that the conditions of Covid19 are not going to be equal everywhere, and that some flexibility in procedures will no doubt be seen over time -- but evidently always erring on the side of caution if there is a question.

As far as detractors calling the GB wicked names, that is going to occur anyway. It's part of the territory here. But we shouldn't fear speaking our conscience just because someone else is going to misuse our words. It is our duty to be honest and unhypocritical. If we see someone using reasoning that would be considered specious from any other organization, then we would be hypocritical to say that such specious reasoning is good for us, but not anyone else.

[Patiently waiting for Truth]

As far as detractors calling the GB wicked names, that is going to occur anyway.

The best is yet to come.   But one does have to be careful as one could get disfellowshipped from the forum. 

[JW Insider]

21 minutes ago, 4Jah2me said:

The GB and it's Org agrees with God's word in the Bible on some things, so they get some things right, but it still does not PROVE that God is with them. 

Yes. That is the point. And it was not just the statement about Covid19 that I was responding to in the speech, even though it was the only example I focused on.

If an example of good guidance proves that Jehovah is with the GB, then someone could just as easily point out that examples of bad guidance must be proof that Jehovah is not with the GB. Most of us who have been Witnesses over a long period of time will recall how a continuing theme of our meetings, especially the book study, for years had always been about how examples of bad guidance in Christendom is proof that they are being guided only by Satan. This can result in the same hypocrisy. But worse, it can make brothers, like the speaker above, feel that he must try to hide negative information away from the average Witness who can't face anything negative. It has made brothers like him in responsible positions try to declare that false doctrines had a good purpose in the past to filter out those who were weak. (This has been done for several of the big falsehoods like 1925, superior authorities, 1975 expectations, etc.)

If it ends up making us call what is good, bad, and what is bad, good, then we should point that out.

[Patiently waiting for Truth]

@JW Insider  Thank you for this very thoughtful comment. I totally agree with you here, but where that leaves us with the GB / Helpers / Org, I do not know. 

It all seems so crazy to me because the foundation 'doctrines' are good, but the rest of it all gets so messy. 

[JW Insider]

7 minutes ago, 4Jah2me said:

It all seems so crazy to me because the foundation 'doctrines' are good, but the rest of it all gets so messy. 

Jehovah and Jesus can use and bless the efforts of any who have a zeal to do his will, even if not always according to accurate knowledge. If we can appreciate this, we can enjoy the blessings Jehovah offers to any who gather together in his name, who try to do what is right. And we need not get wrapped up in the idea that salvation is coming through the GB. We don't put our trust in earthling man, in whom no salvation belongs. But we can appreciate their work and efforts, even if mistaken on certain points.

We want to give a double portion of "honor" to those who take the lead in teaching, and we appreciate the teaching: especially as you say, the foundation doctrines. So it's easy for some to begin to confuse or misuse what it meant by double honor.

[Srecko Sostar]

34 minutes ago, JW Insider said:

1 hour ago, 4Jah2me said:

The GB and it's Org agrees with God's word in the Bible on some things, so they get some things right, but it still does not PROVE that God is with them. 

Yes. That is the point.

In the video Brother Glockentin says:

"The good guidance from Jehovah's Organization during this pandemic is just another proof that Jehovah is with the Governing Body."

In my opinion, this GB Helper didn't take in consideration one famous and simple Jesus' quote, God giving sun and rain to wicked and to righteous.

In this verse we see how God is impartial. He see humans as own children, no matter of their own partiality and belongings. In "spirit" of these verse we can see also little further, an interesting messages.

a) How every individual will have His blessings about every good thing and effort for good he has, and                          b) How God will not stop you in your intentions, no matter are they good or bad    

Well, GB Helper has wrong perception about his own position and position of Institution, he represents, before God. 

Why would God give "separate and advanced knowledge" about Covid 19 to GB?, but left in "dark" whole secular world? Do you remember?  "Sun and rain" illustration !?

 

[Patiently waiting for Truth]

Quote @JW Insider We want to give a double portion of "honor" to those who take the lead in teaching, and we appreciate the teaching:

And we need not get wrapped up in the idea that salvation is coming through the GB

Sorry JWI I can't agree with you on this for many reasons. Whilst I do know  that the CCJW do have foundation doctrines built on God's word, that does not excuse all the incorrect teachings and other problems. 

And the teaching is there about 'a person must be a baptised JW to be saved'.  And I really do not agree with the baptism questions. Whatever happened to baptising in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit ? 

So, whilst they may have a few things right, they also have a lot of things wrong, and in my opinion it is deliberately wrong. 

I know it is seen as me just picking holes but :-

Quote : If we can appreciate this, we can enjoy the blessings Jehovah offers to any who gather together in his name, who try to do what is right.

The GB have basically told the Anointed NOT to gather together in His name. And i think they wrote that it would be working against the Holy Spirit to do so. 

I hope you understand why i cannot support them. It all seems so contradictory to me. 

 

[Witness]

3 hours ago, Srecko Sostar said:

In the video Brother Glockentin says:

"The good guidance from Jehovah's Organization during this pandemic is just another proof that Jehovah is with the Governing Body."

 

51 minutes ago, 4Jah2me said:

So, whilst they may have a few things right, they also have a lot of things wrong, and in my opinion it is deliberately wrong. 

Mr.  Glockentin stressed,

‘Protect ourselves by limiting our exposure’...to the news. Judge the ‘quality and quantity of information’. 

‘Pick the most reliable source. Set a personal time limit.’

He then used Prov 14:15 – "The simple believe anything,
    but the prudent give thought to their steps." 

For the very devout JW, this seems tedious and rather a frightening task; so the easiest thing to do is put “complete trust in the Governing Body”.  They sift through all of the “fake news”, and “misinformation” for them.  Their “wisdom” on the matter, is a blessing from God. 🙂  In actuality it is the "simple" who believe anything, and must have "complete trust" in what the GB tells them, since the "prudent" GB have shown them what "steps" to take. 

There really is no thinking, no reasoning for yourself, and this is what the organization wants. Why else would Mr. Glockentin highly emphasize the need to trust the GB in all things?  

 An account came to me from my son, of a JW household where a man, wife and his two children live with the man’s father and his wife.  They share one kitchen, but the son put cameras in various places of the kitchen so that his immediate family would not wander in when his parents may be using the kitchen, all because of the virus.  His parents finally said, enough is enough, and packed up their motor home and took off, promising to return when “this” is all over.  By the way, he is an elder, who seems to be thinking for himself. 

 

 

[TrueTomHarley]

13 hours ago, JW Insider said:

The good guidance from Jehovah's Organization during this pandemic is just another proof that Jehovah is with the Governing Body."

Change ‘proof’ to ‘another indication’ and the whole problem goes away. This is much ado about nothing.

As a result of the GB’s direction, we are all skewed to be COVID 19-cautious. I don’t know what it “proves” but it sure doesn’t prove that they don’t know what they’re doing. Their counsel gives reflects the wisest balance: ‘Each family head is responsible for his or her own family’ they say, ‘and what is good for one family may not be good for another’. So they are ‘not telling anyone what to do.’ Yet by their own 3-fold advice cord of 1) love of neighbor, 2) obey secular authorities, and 3) don’t be casual about this virus, they nudge all in the direction, without ‘telling anyone what they must do,’ for the greatest preservation of life.

I don’t know how serious the virus is in the greater scheme of things, and it seems impossible to tell. Every source spins the data their own way to fit their own cause. I had my annual physical, and asked my doctor how he and his practice are holding up. “They should have never shut down,” he said, of New York State. “They didn’t follow the science.” ‘Following the science’ has now become a buzzword phrase that each side uses to lambaste the other. Only the GB can make an announcement about Covid without my saying: “I wonder what their real motive is.”

The counsel becomes more important than the disease itself, for it gives uniform guidance to sail through a turbulent course. If Brother Glock want to say that ‘ewents’ prove God’s backing, I can say, “Well, ‘indicate’ might have been more scientifically precise,“ but otherwise I do not lose my cookies over it.

It may prove increasing providential, or at least especially timely. Pressures from Covid spill over into ever-more areas of societal breakdown. Big businesses are saved, as the small fry is wiped out. The economic forces unleashed by Covid 19 will have more repercussions than Covid itself. Ditto for the chaotic unrest in the wake of BLM protests. No matter who is elected in November, the other side will not accept it. The world is a powder keg ready to blow—and those who think that Brother Glock’s use of ‘prove’ is the REAL issue will think it right down to when the earth swallows them up. 

It may just be that we are soon to experience another application of ‘Go, my people, enter your inner rooms, and shut your doors behind you...until the wrath has passed by.’ And should that be the case, I won’t be upset at anything that Brother Glock says it ‘proves.’ I’ll just be glad I took his counsel and canceled my subscriptions to the Srecko Times, The Witness Chronicle, and the Daily 4Jah Cryer.

 

 

[Srecko Sostar]

38 minutes ago, TrueTomHarley said:

Change ‘proof’ to ‘another indication’ and the whole problem goes away.

 

39 minutes ago, TrueTomHarley said:

As a result of the GB’s direction, we are all skewed to be COVID 19-cautious.

 

39 minutes ago, TrueTomHarley said:

3-fold advice cord of 1) love of neighbor, 2) obey secular authorities, and 3) don’t be casual about this virus

No.1 and No.2 originated from Bible, and not from GB. No.3 is general statement, nothing unique.   

40 minutes ago, TrueTomHarley said:

I don’t know how serious the virus is in the greater scheme of things,

Agree!

41 minutes ago, TrueTomHarley said:

It may just be that we are soon to experience another application of ‘Go, my people, enter your inner rooms,

Application was already done at world scale and was instruction made not from God, Bible or GB, but from "secular authorities". They told people to stay at home, in Croatia and in many other countries. :)) Another application..... only for JW members??

[Patiently waiting for Truth]

Wow, Does this mean my family had God's backing then when we decided to self isolate, myself with my wife and son. And when my son told his employer that he would not be attending work, days before the UK lock down started. Does it indicate that God is with me ? I think not. It just indicates that we used common sense. 

The GB used common sense that is all. 

[Anna]

15 hours ago, Srecko Sostar said:

Why would God give "separate and advanced knowledge" about Covid 19 to GB?, but left in "dark" whole secular world? Do you remember?  "Sun and rain" illustration !?

It's not that God is giving separate and advanced knowledge about covid to the GB. The GB collect information from worldly experts just like anyone else can. But the difference is that many people do not consider the Bible's wisdom in their lives. All that the GB are doing is applying scriptures a.k.a wisdom from God. For example, Br. Morris quoted Proverbs 14:16 "The wise one is cautious and turns away from evil,But the stupid one is reckless* and overconfident." and applied it to covid 19 in that recklessness and overconfidence have literally cost people their lives. Then he quoted Ecclesiastes 7:12  "For wisdom is a protection just as money is a protection, but the advantage of knowledge is this: Wisdom preserves the life of its owner."  He said our aim is to make wise balanced decisions that protect lives. The next scripture was Proverbs 22:3 "The shrewd one sees the danger and conceals himself,But the inexperienced keep right on going and suffer the consequences" to which he said that we should not develop a casual attitude.

So all he did was apply these scriptures to the present covid situation and encouraged everyone else to do the same. He urged that we must not have a casual attitude. He said this because many people are relaxing in their caution, including probably the brothers and sisters. All that the GB are doing is reminding people that covid is NOT over. We hear the same from worldly media. We also know that countries which have relaxed their restrictions are facing a covid come back. Countries are relaxing restrictions so that people can get back to work. It is vital for the economy. But as Br. Morris said, we care about life more than money. 

So it's no so much that God is giving separate info to GB, anyone has access to the Bible, the same info, but it's more like the GB are paying attention to it and applying it, and urging us to do the same because many in the world are not.

Here is the video:

#en/mediaitems/StudioNewsReports/docid-702020283_1_VIDEO" ipsnoembed="true" rel="external nofollow">https://www.jw.org/en/library/videos/#en/mediaitems/StudioNewsReports/docid-702020283_1_VIDEO