Brother Prince, A Fine Moral Example

Now that Prince is starting a Bible study with the rest of the world, we will most likely not need all the other complicated explanations about the Bible and life. This is the truth!!
Prince at home in L.A.
By Kevin Roderick
Prince has lived in Los Angeles since last spring — that is, if you consider the rarefied gated nouveau complex of Beverly Park to be part of the real L.A. Writer Claire Hoffman visited the musician and Jehovah's Witness at home for The New Yorker and they got to talking about Hollywood, the Bible and gay marriage.
Inside, the place was done up in a generic Mediterranean style, although there were personal flourishes here and there—a Lucite grand piano with a gold-colored “Artist Formerly Known as Prince” symbol suspended over it, purple paisley pillows on a couch. Candles scented the air, and New Age music played in the living room, where a TV screen showed images of bearded men playing flutes. Prince padded into the kitchen, a small fifty-year-old man in yoga pants and a big sweater, wearing platform flip-flops over white socks, like a geisha....
Limping slightly, Prince set off on a walk around his new bachelor pad. Glass doors opened onto acres of back yard, and a hot tub bubbled in the sunlight. “I have a lot of parties,” he explained. In the living room, he’d installed purple thrones on either side of a fireplace, and, nearby, along a hallway, he had hung photographs of himself, in a Moroccan villa, in various states of undress. At the end of the hall, a gauzy curtain fluttered in a doorway. “My room,” he said. “It’s private.”
Seven years ago, he became a Jehovah’s Witness. He said that he had moved to L.A. so that he could understand the hearts and minds of the music moguls. “I wanted to be around people, connected to people, for work,” he said. “You know, it’s all about religion. That’s what unites people here. They all have the same religion, so I wanted to sit down with them, to understand the way they see things, how they read Scripture."
Recently, Prince hosted an executive who works for Philip Anschutz, the Christian businessman whose company owns the Staples Center. “We started talking red and blue,” Prince said. “People with money—money like that—are not affected by the stock market, and they’re not freaking out over anything. They’re just watching. So here’s how it is: you’ve got the Republicans, and basically they want to live according to this.” He pointed to a Bible. “But there’s the problem of interpretation, and you’ve got some churches, some people, basically doing things and saying it comes from here, but it doesn’t. And then on the opposite end of the spectrum you’ve got blue, you’ve got the Democrats, and they’re, like, ‘You can do whatever you want.’ Gay marriage, whatever. But neither of them is right.”
When asked about his perspective on social issues—gay marriage, abortion—Prince tapped his Bible and said, “God came to earth and saw people sticking it wherever and doing it with whatever, and he just cleared it all out. He was, like, ‘Enough.’ ”
http://www.laobserved.com:80/archive/2008/11/prince_at_home_in_la.php

2008 Thanksgiving Menu At Bethel

New World Diner

Welcome to NEW WORLD FOOD and "SPIRITS"
(a NON-PROPHET ORGANIZATION for the FAITHFUL & DISCREET DINER

ENTREES
Shrimp Creole
Trinitarian Roast with Great crowd gravy
Torture Steak with Awake! flavor enhancer
Governing Body Kabobs (with real meat, in due season, of course!
Jehovah Gyros
Filet of No Sole
Chicken ala Kingdom
Elder Burgers
Wild Beast Stew
Gilead Goulash
Book Study Surprise
Good News Bologna
Last Days Lasagna
Millennium Bean" Cassoulette
Baked and Basted Crow

APPETIZERS
Society Soup
Little "g" Salad (with 144,000 Island Dressing and Christendom Croutons
Big "G" Salad (with Headquarters Cheese and Anointed Salad Dressing
Evil Slave Salad with End of the World Salad Dressing
District hors'douvres
No Hell Hummus
Je-hoagies

SIDE DISHES
Russell Potato Chips
Rutherford Rolls (Royce)
No Cross Buns made with Miracle Wheat
Franz Fries
Retried Human Beans
Spicy Gehenna Chili
Passed Over Memorial Bread
Leo Greenpeas
Field Ministry Fondue
Ministerial serviettes
Territorial Toast with UN Jam
Rank & File Weenies
Lake of Fire chili

DESSERTS
Pioneer Upside-down Cake
Arch Angels Food Cake
Beth Sarim Ice Cream: 3 flavors: Abraham, Isaac and Jacob
Apostate Pops
Pagan Pudding
Date Bread Surprise
Prophet in a Sense Cakes
Everlasting Life Cookies
Humble Pie
Ministry melon wedges
Partaker's Pumpernickel
Holy Spirit Spumoni
Marshmallows (for toasting in the fires of destruction)
Antichrist cheesecake

BEVERAGES
1925 Shun Shine Punch
1914 Watchtower Rose'
New Light Beer
Life's Water Free
Babylon the Grape juice
"Elderberry" wine
Vengeance is Lime mojitos

All meals must be worked for and no grace is accepted. We will furnish each person with unlimited "truth" picks when brushing is not convenient.

Hope you can come!

Posting Of Personal Information

A small minded, apparently disgruntled Jehovah's Witnesses, insists on posting someone's personal information on this blog. That information includes name, address and telephone number, something that really does not need to be seen by anyone and does not belong on a public blog.
Perhaps this person feels that this information will embarrass someone or cause them to quit posting on this blog. I assure you this will not happen.
Perhaps you posted the information so that you and your immature friends can gloat over how you can use the internet to find names and addresses.
Perhaps you intend to forward the information to the Watchtower so that they can punish the person involved.
Or, perhaps, just perhaps, you feel that you did it for Jehovah. And that because of your efforts he will reward you with "Everlasting Life."
Well, good luck with that!
In any event, I am asking that you please try and refrain yourself from posting personal information about anyone.
Thank you.

Disgusting Sexual Postings

Hello Everyone,
I just noticed a very disgusting post regarding something called "Fisting" that has been up for a few days. As soon as I saw it, I deleted it.
If the poster of this disgusting comment feels that this subject is so important to christians, I suggest that he send this to the Governing Body for their comments.
If anyone sees any other disgusting posts of a sexual nature, I ask that you please email me at once at whitepatentleather@gmail.com and I will remove it immediately.
I am not a prude and some sexual discussions are beneficial, but this posting just crossed the line.
Thank you.

Roller Coaster Ride of Blood Fractions

"Certain blood fractions, particularly albumin, also come under the Scriptural ban." {AWAKE Sep 8 1956 20} [The ban dating from 1945, though albumin has many other sources.]
The prohibition against blood fractions was then reversed, allowing it in Watchtower Sep 15 1958, 575. Then banned again in Watchtower Sep 15 1961, 557. Then allowed again in Watchtower Nov 1 1961, 669-70. Then banned yet again with "Any fraction of blood considered as a nutrient not to be used in medical treatment" in Watchtower Feb 15 1963 123-4.
Then partially reversed in AWAKE Aug 22 1965 18. But AWAKE Feb 22 1975, 30 may have reimposed it. Then grudgingly allowed for haemophiliacs in Watchtower Jun 15 1978, 20 and expanded on in BSYL 27.
Finally, and many deaths later, came in 1982 "Witness religious understanding does not absolutely prohibit the use of components such as albumin, immune globulins, and hemophiliac preparations; each Witness must decide individually if he can accept these." {AWAKE Jun 22 1982, 25}? Also read Watchtower Jun 1 1990, 30, Watchtower Aug 15 1990, 29, WT Oct 1 1994 31, AWAKE Nov 8 1996, 30 for concessions and further rules]

Points For Jehovah's Witnesses To Ponder Regarding Blood Transfusions

1- Would you allow your own family members to die for not accepting a blood transfusion? Remember that this policy has been changed though the years and it was not always taught. In addition this policy comes from an organization with many similar messed-up policies? So would you trust them and let your loved one die or allow them to live?
2- If it was illegal to steal an entire automobile, would it then be legal to just steal parts of that same car? Why would this same analogy not apply to Watchtower and Blood Fractions?
3- Even though Jesus' sermon on the mount covered a vast array of subjects on what is not acceptable, why was blood not listed even one time? Why did not Jesus just say, "No blood at all, in any circumstances whether animal or human for any purpose anywhere for all time? If this was so important don't you think it would have been mentioned? But he never said anything like that, anywhere.
4- Paul also had numerous warnings for Christians. But blood is was not one of them and is mentioned nowhere. Why not? Jesus a;sp had numerous warnings, but no where was blood mentioned.
5-The stakes by forbidding blood transfusions are huge. People die. Remember when the Watchtower taught no vaccinations, no organ transplants? Again, people doed without needing to. The Watchtower reversed it because they realized it was wrong. What does that say about the Watchtower? (Sadly, they will never reverse their stance on blood. It has gone to far with too many deaths. That is why they introduced fractions as being Biblically legal.) It is up to the Witnesses to personally reject their stance and preserve the lives of loved ones.
6- If you were not a Jehovah's Witness, would you have decided that blood transfusions were wrong?
7- Where does albumin come from? Please tell us wher it comes from. How about Hemoglobins, interferons, interleukins, clotting factors, globulins, albumin etc? Are these Watchtower approved fractions made with something other than blood? Do some research and see for yourself.
8- If the old law command to pour blood to the ground was done away with when Jesus died, why are Jehovah's Witnessess not allowed store their own blood for their own operation?
9- Why can't Jehovah's Witnesses donate blood since they obviously are allowed to take fractions of blood from the world's blood supply? Why can they not put back blood to the same place where they are allowed take it from?
10- Why are larger fractions of blood allowed over some of the smaller ones?
11- Are all other religions, scholars and conservative Jews wrong then? Are only Jehovah's Witnesses right? What about that long list of other embarrassing mistakes by the Watchtower? Does it occur to you that since the Watchtowe was wrong about all those other teachings, they might be wrong about blood too?
12- For a long time the Watchtower said an Organ transplant was like eating and called it cannibalism. Remember that? Why did the Watchtower change and now allow organ transplants? The Jehovah's Witness blood transfusion "is the same as eating" argument just got flushed down the drain. The Society's position on Organ Transplants "not being the same as eating" destroyed the Jehovah's Witness credibility that blood cannot be used.
13- Who gets to decide what fractions get to make the major list (and are not allowed), and which fractions make the minor list (and are allowed)? The toss of a coin?
14- What criteria is used to determine what fractions get to make the major list (and are not allowed), and which fractions make the minor list (and are allowed)? Why no to platelets, white blood cells, red blood cells and plasma, but yes to interferons, interleukens, globulins, clotting factors, hemoglobin etc. This list has no rhyme or reason?
15- What does the Watchtower's long list of mistakes on other medical issues does for its credibility with regard to the blood issue?
16-The Watchtower Organization has a terrible record in times past and currently with regards to medical, doctrinal and historical mistakes. One of the worst anywhere. When an organization decides to make decisions for all of its members, with very significant penalties imposed on those that do not follow such decisions, should not such an organization have a reputation of excellence in general, or at least in regards to similar kinds of issues? In this case medical issues that can have a very significant impact on people's lives?
17- What does the fact that the Watchtower was wrong on previous medical prohibitions against (vaccinations as well as organ transplants), which literally cost lives to be lost unnecessarily say about the Watchtower and it's blood doctrine? Does it inspire confidence?
18- Does having the very same religious organization making end of the world predictions a dozen times, in writing, all of which proved false, give even greater reason for concern with such an organization today? The reputation and trustworthiness of the Watchtower itself is relevant in regards to these other issues.
19- What effect should these past problems have on the overall credibility of this organization that is currently standing alone amongst all of the other world faiths by prohibiting blood transfusions of its members?
20- If fractions are not blood as Watchtower likes to try telling us, then why not allow all fractions? Why not make all blood fractions a conscience matter.

How Ironic!

In this week's book study lesson, there is a paragraph on "greed". The following comment is made (chapter 8, paragraph 17):
A Christian who loves kindness will certainly not exploit his fellow worshippers. For example, he realizes that it would be neither proper nor kind to start a business or promote an investment scheme that targets fellow believers as the main customers. It would display greed, which Christians are warned against, to plan on making money hastily by exploiting fellow Christians.
Wait a minute....what exactly is the "Watchtower Bible and Tract Society", if not "a business...that targets fellow believers as the main customers"?
So it looks lile the WTS is "neither proper nor kind", and "displays greed". Oh, wait, we already knew that!
I am quite sure this went whooshing over the heads of all the nitwits in Bethel...not to mention all the brain-dead Jehovah's Witnesses nodding semi-comatose thru the study this week.
You just can't make this stuff up!
Just for the record, I do not believe that Christians should start a business just to exploit their fellow witnesses. But can we honestly say that all who start a business do so only to exploit other witnesses? Sometimes these businesses provide a real service, like the people who sell bags for the ministry and other things. What about the brother who starts a car repair business because he knows that a lot of brothers will use his service. Is he being exploitive? Is this displaying greed? The Watchtower lumped together all businesses started by witnesses who rely on the brothers as its customers and then pronounced it wrong.

Contributions To The Watchtower

August 1879 in the second issue of The Watchtower (then called Zion's Watch Tower), it said:
"'Zion's Watch Tower' has, we believe, JEHOVAH for its backer, and while this is the case it will never beg nor petition men for support. When He who says: 'All the gold and silver of the mountains are mine,' fails to provide necessary funds, we will understand it to be time to suspend the publication.
However:
Last night one of the elders had a part in the Service Meeting where he informed the congregation that we are not sending our fair share to the Watchtower. The congregation seems to be doing okay when it comes to contributing to the local congregation so that electric bills can be paid and so forth. But when it comes to literature (The Worldwide Work), the congregation is woefully negligent.
According to this brother, a circuit overseer has recently stated that if Witnesses still had to pay for their literature as they used to, individual Watchtower and Awake! magazines would now cost about $1 with inflation, as opposed to the $.25 they cost before the Society went to voluntary donations.
Based on that math, our congregation should be sending close to $1500 per month for the Worldwide Work. The congregation averages $600 per month. The elder speaking says that this is pitiful for two reasons.
First, the congregation isn't even covering for the literature that it is receiving every month, based upon that one Circuit Overseer's estimations. Secondly, as a congregation in a first world country (running water, internet, SUVs, etc.) congregations should also be covering for those Witnesses in places where they simply do not have the money to contribue for literature, and yet they do receive it. (Why doesn't the Watchtower just wait on Jehovah to provide?)

December 15th and January 15th Watchtowers: New Light?

Just read through the December 15 and January 15 Watchtowers.
Shockingly, there isn’t a single mention about glorifying the Faithful And Discreet Slave. In fact , “Jehovah’s channel” "organization and "Jehovah's organization" or any other similar expression isn’t referenced at all (other than a single scriptural reference in the review of revelation in the December 15th issue.)
The magazines talk a lot (and I mean a lot) about the ministry , but unusually refers to the ministry as not being more important than Christian “good works” e.g., visiting the sick etc. They use the illustration of the ministry and good works being like two wings of a bird, both of which are required. There is even a picture of a sister doing the ministry and then commiserating with another sister over an empty cot (miscarriage?)
There are also quite a few articles about Jesus, who usually doesn‘t get much of a mention. Also keep in mind that most weeks, the Ministry School next year has a talk about Jesus every week , from the “Learn from the Great Teacher” book.
Could the WTS be changing to become more mainstream - more emphasis on Jesus & Christian works? Hmmm - maybe more changes afoot at Brooklyn…

Jehovah's Witnesses Vote In Ghana

Latest News From Inside Bethel

• Pioneer hour change is legit. Letters are being mailed out soon to all congregations for announcement in early October right before the tract campaign starts.
Elimination of Circuit Overseers
• Implementation date 2011 service year
• Many District Overseer’s and some “Circuit Overseers” are getting along in years and slowing down. There is a need for several more suitable replacements.
• There is a need to prepare additional brothers to serve as “overseers” in case of persecution and isolation.
• Presiding Overseers will be trained for additional responsibilities at Patterson “Elders School”.
• After all Presiding Overseer’s have been trained and before this is implemented there will be a Kingdom Ministry school for all Elder’s.
• Various Presiding Overseers from around each circuit will visit the various congregations in the circuit.
• The visit of the “Overseer” will begin Thursday evening. Another meeting will be held Saturday evening and the public meeting will be on Sunday.
• The “Overseer” will share in service Friday, Saturday, and Sunday with the congregation.
• Additionally the “Overseer” will have a meeting with the local elders and pioneers.
• Congregations will receive three visits per year instead of just two.
• Circuit Overseers can be reassigned as “District Overseers” to fill the need of replacements.
• Other Circuit Overseers may be reassigned as “Special Pioneers” to assist in the field.
• Since there will be ample “Circuit Overseers” to replace the needed “District Overseers” the size of the district will be lowered from about 13-15 circuits to around 10 per district. This will enable the “District Overseer” to spend more time with the circuits.
• There will be more brothers trained to shoulder the responsibility of oversight when persecution breaks out.
• Instead of having one “Circuit Overseer” assigned to 20 congregations various brothers will be familiar with the needs of different congregations, in order to care for these congregations during the above mentioned difficult times.
• If a select few congregations became isolated for one reason or another, brothers who are already familiar with overseeing the needs of entire congregations would already be available to assist.
• If one “Overseer” was persecuted, arrested, etc. there would already be other qualified brothers to take the lead.
Expansion at Patterson
• Will start some time after upcoming Wallkill project is finished.
• Substantial plans have already been filed with Putnam County and Patterson City to obtain needed permits, and the okay has been given to start the project.
• Several additional office and residence buildings are to be built. The plan is to build as high as the government will allow; likely 5 or 6 floor buildings.
• Plan is to have HIS, Treasurer’s Office, Convention Office, and other smaller departments move there first.
• One new office building will be exclusively used by Governing Body, United States Branch Committee, Service, Publishing (Legal), and Writing Departments.
• Teaching Department will be in new building with Audio Video services with largely expanded studio from what they have right now.
Expansion at Wallkill
• Likely will start in 2009.
• After completion plan to have the wood, machine, furniture, etc. shops and electrical, plumbing, and other mechanical training will move to Wallkill.
• Departments that coordinate RBC’s, KH building and other expansion projects will move to Wallkill.
• http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071129/NEWS/711290360
Brooklyn News
• Dumbo project in Brooklyn on Jay St has been scrapped.
• Buildings will continue to be sold. Residents will be moved to the larger buildings.
• Plan for eventually selling all buildings in Brooklyn between 2015 – 2020.

Another Bible Prophesy Fulfilled!

*** Awake! 1969 May 22 p.15 ***
If you are a young person, you also need to face the fact that you will never grow old in this present system of things. Why not? Because all the evidence in fulfillment of Bible prophecy indicates that this corrupt system is due to end in a few years. Of the generation that observed the beginning of the 'last days' in 1914, Jesus foretold: 'This generation will by no means pass away until all these things occur.' Therefore, as a young person, you will never fulfill any career that this system offers. If you are in high school and thinking about a college education, it means at least four, perhaps even six or eight more years to graduate into a specialized career. But where will this system of things be by that time? It will be well on the way towards its finish, if not actually gone! This is why parents who base their lives on God's prophetic Word find it much more practical to direct their young ones into trades that do not require such long periods of additional schooling… True, those who do not understand where we are in the stream of time from God's viewpoint will call this impractical. But which is really practical: preparing yourself for a position in this world that soon will pass away? or working toward surviving this system's end and enjoying eternal life in God's righteous new order?

United States Branch Statistics Direct From The Service Desk

615 circuits
47 districts (35 English, 12 Spanish)
157 Spanish circuits
3,270 Spanish congregations
280,000 Spanish-speaking publishers (Only Mexico has more Spanish publishers)
As of September 1, 2008 there were 12,652 congregations; 4.6 new congregations formed per WEEK
41 Assembly Halls - West Palm Beach, Florida is the largest; Bessemer, Alabama the smallest (1,001 seats)
306 District Conventions in the U.S. This year with 1,500,000 attending; almost 13,000 baptized (too bad they don't print the numbers of those who left the organization).
115 Regional Building Committees; with 131,000 volunteers who worked on 938 Kingdom Halls
A side note here: Tennessee RBC #1 had 900 volunteers a year ago. A year after the 5 brothers on the RBC were killed in a plane crash we now have over 1,400 volunteers.
The Purchasing Department has moved from Brooklyn to Wallkill, NY.
The Convention Office is now at Patterson, NY
MEPS will be moving to Patterson shortly
1,300 Bethelites have been reassigned (these are the ones that were kicked out of Bethel) with 470 now serving as Special Pioneers (and many of these Special Pioneers are elderly and very unhappy. They thought they would be able to always live in the Bethel home. Sad.)
There are about 30 "Desk Men" in the Service Department who handle the needs of 25-30 cicuits each.

Watchtower Study for November 2, 2008

ARE YOU SPEAKING THE "PURE LANGUAGE" FLUENTLY? "I shall give to peoples the challenge to a pure language in order for them aIl to call upon the name of Jehovah."-ZEPH. 3:9.
Another Watchtower "Pure Language" article? Oy vey. I thought that these pure language articles would have died out with afros and bell-bottoms.
But just as past fads tend to re-emerge in later generations, this Fred Franz era propaganda is being pulled off of the shelf, dusted off, and put back into circulation for the newer generation of Jehovah's Witnesses.
I think that the Watchtower’s teaching of the "Pure Language" has probably been one of the most effective accessories in their mind control repertoire. The pure language is presented as being an all encompassing standard that governs all areas of Christianity (doctrines, conduct, sacred service, organizational standards, etc.) The Watchtower has taken it upon itself to define what the pure language is. Since the Watchtower is able to convince its followers that they alone are the only ones "speaking" the pure language, the "pure language" of the Watchtower now becomes a litmus test by which all other Christians must pass. And thus, it is no surprise that all other denominations fail the test.
This feeds into the "where else can we go" dilemma. The average Jehovah's Witness is convinced that since Jehovah’s Witnesses are the only ones "speaking the pure language", that there is no where else for them to go. It also allows them to dismiss the devotion and fine conduct of other Christians since those Christians are not speaking the "pure language".
The Watchtower leadership is like a first year law school student who drops out of college, and proceeds to begin writing books on what is "constitutional" and what is not.