Watchtower Study For June 2 Through June 8, 2008

[Administration]

Study article for the week of June 2 Through June 8, 2008

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[Reader]

Paragraph 18.

Give me a "G"........ give me an "O"............give me a "V"..........give me a "erning Body" Yaaaaaaa.

They are taking credit for the constant supply of spiritual food? THEY issue the constant supply.

I only have two scriptures for that

Rev 22: 1,2 "And he showed me a river of water of life, clear as crystal, flowing out from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 down the middle of its broad way. And on this side of the river and on that side [there were] trees of life producing twelve crops of fruit, yielding their fruits each month. And the leaves of the trees [were] for the curing of the nations"

Ecc 12:12 "12 As regards anything besides these, my son, take a warning: To the making of many books there is no end, and much devotion [to them] is wearisome to the flesh."

Regards

Reader

[Candace]

Paragraph 18.

Give me a "G"........ give me an "O"............give me a "V"..........give me a "erning Body" Yaaaaaaa.

They are taking credit for the constant supply of spiritual food? THEY issue the constant supply.

I only have two scriptures for that

Rev 22: 1,2 "And he showed me a river of water of life, clear as crystal, flowing out from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 down the middle of its broad way. And on this side of the river and on that side [there were] trees of life producing twelve crops of fruit, yielding their fruits each month. And the leaves of the trees [were] for the curing of the nations"

Ecc 12:12 "12 As regards anything besides these, my son, take a warning: To the making of many books there is no end, and much devotion [to them] is wearisome to the flesh."

Regards

Reader[/b]


Reader, your comment reminded me of the days when I had the trunk of my car outfitted with plastics bins holding all kinds of literature. I wanted to be prepared for any kind of situation. Later in life, I decided to simplify, and traded my bins of literature and oversized service bag (weighing more than a bowling ball) for a nice leather-bound Bible.

(Matthew 11:28-30) . . .Come to me, all YOU who are toiling and loaded down, and I will refresh YOU. 29 Take my yoke upon YOU and learn from me, for I am mild-tempered and lowly in heart, and YOU will find refreshment for YOUR souls. 30 For my yoke is kindly and my load is light.”

[bimp5]

Aren&#39;t the Governing Body and the Faithful and Discreet Slave one in the same? Don&#39;t we get our constant supply of spiritual food from Jehovah through the Governing Body/Faithful and Discreet Slave? I don&#39;t want to sound argumenative, I am just asking for clarification.

[Eli&#39;s Foe]

Aren&#39;t the Governing Body and the Faithful and Discreet Slave one in the same? Don&#39;t we get our constant supply of spiritual food from Jehovah through the Governing Body/Faithful and Discreet Slave? I don&#39;t want to sound argumenative, I am just asking for clarification.[/b]

Hi Bimp, (and welcome)

it is a little like the answer the Cook gave you on another thread, it means quite a bit of reading I&#39;m afraid to get the correct view on this, like so many other topics. In brief, no, the GB and the FDS are not the same thing because many of us here do not believe that the GB have been appointed over Christ&#39;s belongings, the time when a group (who may not be the present GB) will receive that blessing is yet future.

Similarly, one reason why this is not so, is because not only is the prophecy misapplied to the 1914 - 1919 time period, but the facts show us that the GB sinply hasn&#39;t been faithful, nor is it feeding the sheep at the proper time, in fact despite appearances, there is actually a famine for spiritual truth.

Here are a couple of links to get you started;

http://e-watchman.com/essays/watchtower-blind-servant.html

http://e-watchman.com/mailbag/2003/july-13-2003.html

You need to visit Watchman&#39;s main site and begin the slow process of rediscovering the truth. It will make participation on the DB much easier for you, but everyone here will be very happy that you are here to discover these things.

EF

[watchman]

Paragraph 15 states that humility might be in order if we have transgressed or offended someone. Sounds like good advice. But to my knowledge the Society has never once apologized for anything. One would think that they have never made a mistake or stumbled anyone. But that simply can&#39;t be true. I wonder why they can give such good counsel to others but yet to not follow their own counsel as an institution.

In my situation, back in 2005 I sent out 6,000 letters to congregations informing them of the WT&#39;s NGO affair and I wasn&#39;t disfellowshipped. I went through a judicial hearing and all but the Society apparently urged the elders to be moderate. However, a few months later I published an open letter with the title IS IT TIME TO SAY &#39;WE&#39;RE SORRY?&#39; which I only mailed to only certain congregations in New York, but which got me disfellowshipped. It is like the mere suggestion that the WT has any reason to say they are sorry for anything make them go cross-eyed in anger. Although I am sure there are humble brothers at Bethel, as an organization the Watchtower is the epitomy of pharisaic arrogance.

Watchman

[TheCook]

Paragraph 15 states that humility might be in order if we have transgressed or offended someone. Sounds like good advice. But to my knowledge the Society has never once apologized for anything. One would think that they have never made a mistake or stumbled anyone. But that simply can&#39;t be true. I wonder why they can give such good counsel to others but yet to not follow their own counsel as an institution.

In my situation, back in 2005 I sent out 6,000 letters to congregations informing them of the WT&#39;s NGO affair and I wasn&#39;t disfellowshipped. I went through a judicial hearing and all but the Society apparently urged the elders to be moderate. However, a few months later I published an open letter with the title IS IT TIME TO SAY &#39;WE&#39;RE SORRY?&#39; which I only mailed to only certain congregations in New York, but which got me disfellowshipped. It is like the mere suggestion that the WT has any reason to say they are sorry for anything make them go cross-eyed in anger. Although I am sure there are humble brothers at Bethel, as an organization the Watchtower is the epitomy of pharisaic arrogance.

Watchman[/b]

I agree. It&#39;s painful to see God&#39;s people being represented by such an arrogant organization, especially when the Bible is so honest and outspoken about all the mistakes done by God&#39;s people throughout the ages. Even bible book authors had no problem admitting their personal incompetence and failure, even serious sins. Humility is still an important key to a healthy relationship with Jehovah, but it seems this fact is long forgotten in the WTBTS.

[EmmaKay]

the Society has never once apologized for anything.

Watchman[/b]


That is simply not true! When J.F. Rutherford&#39;s armageddon prophecy failed, he said he "made an ass" out of himself. That&#39;s apology enough for me from him! :co_jest:

[watchman]

That is simply not true! When J.F. Rutherford&#39;s armageddon prophecy failed, he said he "made an ass" out of himself. That&#39;s apology enough for me from him! :co_jest:[/b]

Oh my. How could I have forgotten Rutherford&#39;s infamous "ass" comment? I was wrong. I am sorry. Of course, his confession was in private. I don&#39;t think he ever apologized in public. :icon_neutral:

Watchman

[SlaveForJah]

In my opinion, another overall good topical consideration. Many valid and practical points were made.

I especially appreciated the following thought in paragraph 6: "Really, we need God&#39;s guidance throughout our lives, from youth to old age. ...wise Christians never cease to look to God for guidance." How true this is...so many times when things are going well, we forget to pray and read our Bibles and begin to rely on our own thoughts and abilities. Truly we should be giving thanks to God in times like these.

Unfortunately, the FDS had to sneak themselves into our worship again, a place where they do not belong. If only they would have left out paragraph 18 this article would have been not only helpful, but also not blasphemous.

I was also very bothered by this sentence from paragraph 15: "He needs to humble himself and confess the sin to the elders." Oh really? Care to offer some Scriptural support for that assertion? As if Christ our Mediator and our Father Jehovah are not already aware of our sins. As if human confession were a part of repentance and forgiveness. Who did Paul confess to? Next thing you know, they&#39;ll be telling us to say 6 "Our Fathers" and 3 "Hail Marys". Salvation is in no other name but Jesus Christ. A body of elders cannot intercede for you or "put in a good word" for you with Jehovah. Confessing your sin directly to Jevhovah and asking for His mercy through the application of Christ&#39;s Ransom is how it was done throughout the Scriptures, and if it was good enough for the Apostles, then it&#39;s good enough for me.


Agape

SlaveForJah

[Berean]

Aren&#39;t the Governing Body and the Faithful and Discreet Slave one in the same? Don&#39;t we get our constant supply of spiritual food from Jehovah through the Governing Body/Faithful and Discreet Slave? I don&#39;t want to sound argumenative, I am just asking for clarification.[/b]
Actually, no. According to the official Watchtower teachings, the FDS consists of all the anointed Christians on earth at any given time. The GB is a tiny part of that group, acting as a &#39;mouthpiece&#39;. Apart from the fact that this teaching isn&#39;t supported by Scripture, they have now made people believe that the GB is the FDS. Do you think it is reasonable to believe that God uses only about 10 people to communicate his teachings, when there are so many anointed Christians who aren&#39;t allowed to participate in this work?