(1 Corinthians 7:25)  Now concerning virgins I have no command from the Lord, but I give “my opinion” as one who had mercy shown him by the Lord to be faithful.

(1 Corinthians 7:40)  But she is happier if she remains as she is, according to “my opinion.” I certainly think I also have God’s spirit.

(1 Corinthians 7:12)  But to the others “I say, yes, I, not the Lord:” If any brother has an unbelieving wife, and yet she is agreeable to dwelling with him, let him not leave her;

( The apostle Paul's “opinion” and God's approval )

My thoughts after considering the aforementioned scriptures are NOT intended to be negative. Jehovah God allows and approves of “policies, procedures and opinions” The Watchtower Society implements that are strictly “organizational not biblical”, like in the case of the three scriptures quoted in the beginning. They are in harmony with Jehovah's will expressed in the scriptures. Obedience to the instructions given by The Watchtower Society which is made up of imperfect individuals with Jehovah's blessings will help us to bring our worship and lives in harmony with Jehovah and His heavenly perfect organization. It is always in our best interest to follow and obey all the instructions given by The Watchtower Society.

*** rs p. 203 par. 3 Jehovah’s Witnesses ***

Jehovah’s Witnesses beliefs and practices are a restoration of first-century Christianity.

what  do  the  scriptures  teach on   this? Paul  exhorted  the  congregation  in  Corinth to all  speak in  agreement and  not  have  any  divisions  among  themselves so that  they could  be  fitly united in the  same  mind  and  the  same  thought.  1  Cor 1:10   He  wrote  this  because  they  were  already  starting  to have  dissension  amongst  them.  they  were  forgetting  that  Jesus had  bought  them  all.  any  wisdom that  came  from  a  man  would  perish  and  only  the  truth  would  survive. 

Today,  as  witnesses  of  Jehovah,  we  need  to  be in  unity, under  the  direction  of  Jesus,  as  he  shepherds  us  to  waters  of  everlasting  life.  Rev  7:9-17   He  speaks  of  the  survivors  of  the  destruction  of  wickedness  as  a  great  crowd.  A  great  crowd  must  act  in  unity to stay  a  crowd.  Otherwise,  they  would  all  be  individuals, not  necessarily  even  walking  together.  Jesus  teaches  only  the  truth.  If  a  man  makes  an  erroneous  statement,  he  will  correct  it,  and the  man  will  have  to humble  himself  if  he  wants  to remain  a  footstep  follower  of  Christ.Phil. 2:3-11

with affection   from  Marken

Jun 20, 2012 -- 3:33PM, five_point_dad wrote:

You were all required to preach door-to-door in 1989 that the world would end before the end of the twentieth century.  No other group preached such a lie; you were the only ones.  You would be thrown out of the Watchtower if you failed to do that, but it wasn't what God's Word taught.  

I was baptized as one of Jehovah's Witnesses in 1979. I never preached that the end of the world (or of this system of things) would happen prior to the conclusion of the 20th century. I did and still do tell people that the end will get here in Jehovah's due time. (Habakkuk 2:3) I was not thrown out of anything, reproved, reprimanded, or anything for this.

Side note: they cannot throw me out of the Watchtower no matter how hard they try as I am not a member of the Watchtower; I am one of Jehovah's Witnesses, and the Watchtower is one of the entities we use to fulfill our commission.)

We have had occasional misunderstandings as to when the prophecies would be fulfilled, but they will be fulfilled.

Then the earth will be restored to paradise, and those who love Jehovah and righteousness will reside forever in that paradise. That too is one of the truths we teach. (Psalm 37:9-11, 29; Isaiah 35:1-10; Matthew 5:5) Those who lie about us will not be there.

Jun 25, 2012 -- 4:00PM, five_point_dad wrote:

1) Then how did you avoid being disfellowshiped?  The teaching in 1989 was this, "The apostle Paul was spearheading the Christian missionary activity.  He was also laying a foundation for a work that would be completed in our 20th century" (Wt 1/1/89 p12).  [The annual bound volume changed "20th century" to "day"]. 

2) As a baptized Jehovah's Witness, doesn't that make you an ordained member of the organization and you can be disfellowshiped for any infraction by a disciplenary committee of elders at your local Kingdom Hall?  If my understand is not correct about this, please enlighen me.

3) "Occasional" misunderstandings?  Isn't it true that your organization announced at least a dozen dates for cataclysmic eschatological events and none of them ever came about? 

NOTE: Points responded to as numbered above.

1) That was not a "teaching." As evidenced by its quick correction in the bound volume, it was evidently a mistatement by someone that was overlooked during proofreading and got into print. Unlike Scripture, our publications are not infallable and are subject to human error. This appears to be more of that since we were teaching the end would come before the end of the 20th century. It had been decades since we had even postulated a date for future Biblical events to occur. (See point # 3 for details as to why this is so.)

2.) I am an ordained minister of Jehovah God in association with the Christian Congregation, from which I can be disfellowshipped if I fail to live up to Jehovah's righteous standards. I am not now nor ever have been a member of the legal entity known as the Watchtower Bible & Tract Society (Penn. or NY.) They do have representatives they send out to congregations, but I am not one of them. I have never worked at any of the Bethel facilities, although I have toured some.

3.) I do not have an organization. Human representatives of Jehovah's Organization have had OCCASIONAL misunderstanderstandings as to exactly how and when certain prophecies were to be fulfilled. Even then they were not 100% wrong. For example, in 1914 the end of the "Gentile Times" did occur. However, the end of this system did not coincide with that as expected.

In 1925 it was though that some specific individuals (Abraham, David, etc) would be resurrected. They weren't then, BUT THEY WILL BE. Further, Brother Rutherford had no problem admitting that.

Prior to 1975, it was stated the 1975 would be the 6,000 year since humans were created. It was. It was also stated that this would be an appropriate time for Jehovah to bring the end of this system. (Not that he would but that it would be appropriate.) True, there was a lot of speculation that 1975 would be it, and such was even done in writings of the WTS, which they freely admitted and later apologized for.

But DOZENS of cases? I only know of these two definitely, but I have heard of dozens that our opposers have CLAIMED that we stated.

As for those few, they do not make us false prophets, for we NEVER orginated a prophecy; at worst they make us misunderstanders of prophecy. However, in Jehovah's due time these prophecies will be fulfilled!

 And since we are not inspired nor claim to be, we will make mistakes, which we will correct as needed. And since we do not claim infallibility, why do some infer we do? Here, I must concur with Brother Charles Russell in this regard:

"Someone may ask, Do you, then, claim infallibility and that every sentence appearing in “The Watch Tower” publications is stated with absolute correctness? Assuredly we make no such claim and have never made such a claim. What motive can our opponents have in so charging against us? Are they not seeking to set up a falsehood to give themselves excuse for making attacks and to endeavor to pervert the judgments of others?” Zion's Watchtower and Herald of Christ's Presence, 15 September 1909.

Jun 26, 2012 -- 3:17PM, five_point_dad wrote:

Jun 20, 2012 -- 3:33PM, five_point_dad wrote:

Jun 18, 2012 -- 4:08AM, marken wrote:

what  do  the  scriptures  teach on   this? Paul  exhorted  the  congregation  in  Corinth to all  speak in  agreement and  not  have  any  divisions  among  themselves so that  they could  be  fitly united in the  same  mind  and  the  same  thought.  1  Cor 1:10   He  wrote  this  because  they  were  already  starting  to have  dissension  amongst  them.  they  were  forgetting  that  Jesus had  bought  them  all.  any  wisdom that  came  from  a  man  would  perish  and  only  the  truth  would  survive. 

Today,  as  witnesses  of  Jehovah,  we  need  to  be in  unity, under  the  direction  of  Jesus,  as  he  shepherds  us  to  waters  of  everlasting  life.  Rev  7:9-17   He  speaks  of  the  survivors  of  the  destruction  of  wickedness  as  a  great  crowd.  A  great  crowd  must  act  in  unity to stay  a  crowd.  Otherwise,  they  would  all  be  individuals, not  necessarily  even  walking  together.  Jesus  teaches  only  the  truth.  If  a  man  makes  an  erroneous  statement,  he  will  correct  it,  and the  man  will  have  to humble  himself  if  he  wants  to remain  a  footstep  follower  of  Christ.Phil. 2:3-11

with affection   from  Marken

MARKEN: Today,  as  witnesses  of  Jehovah,  we  need  to  be in  unity, under  the  direction  of  Jesus,  as  he  shepherds  us  to  waters  of  everlasting  life.  Rev  7:9-17   He  speaks  of  the  survivors  of  the  destruction  of  wickedness  as  a  great  crowd.  A  great  crowd  must  act  in  unity to stay  a  crowd.  Otherwise,  they  would  all  be  individuals, not  necessarily  even  walking  together.  Jesus  teaches  only  the  truth.  If  a  man  makes  an  erroneous  statement,  he  will  correct  it,  and the  man  will  have  to humble  himself  if  he  wants  to remain  a  footstep  follower  of  Christ.Phil. 2:3-11 

JACK: Unity to the point of unanimously preaching falsehood?  You were all required to preach door-to-door in 1989 that the world would end before the end of the twentieth century.  No other group preached such a lie; you were the only ones.  You would be thrown out of the Watchtower if you failed to do that, but it wasn't what God's Word taught.  You would still be teaching that lie if it wasn't for the fact that the calendar exposed it as a lie.  The same thing happened in 1918 when you were all required to preach that David and the other Old Testament worthies would be resurrected in 1925.  It wasn't what the Scripture taught, but you were required to preach it or face disfellowship.  You would still be preaching it except the calendar exposed it as a false understanding.  You were all required to preach in 1938 that no one should marry, pursue a career, or attend higher education because the time was so short, but it was wrong.  You would still be preaching it had it not been for the fact that the calendar exposed it being an error of understanding. 

      You say that such mistakes are "always corrected."  How do you know that?  Every single time the Watchtower has preached a date in the future of a coming cataclysmic biblical event, it has been wrong every single time without exception.  What about all the other things you preach that don't have dates for its fulfillment, like blood transfusions, celebration of holidays, Unitarianism, the Spirit being only a force, Christ not being God, salvation only in the Watchtower, etc.  If your record of biblical accuracy is the same in those areas are it has been in date settings, wouldn't that indicate that you are probably mistaken in most of those things as well? 

You have  pointed  out  how  these  dates  were  corrected.  Since  Jesus  first  prophesied  the  end  of  wickedness,  men's  hearts  have  yearned  for  it  to  happen  in  their  lifetime.  I  am  sure  if  you  check out  history,  you  can  find  that  many  religions on  the  earth today have  had  dates that  they  thought  this  would  happen.  It  is  just  part  of  the yearning  to  see  wickedness  finished.  That  does  not  make  them  wrong,  but  rather  just  that  we  have  to  believe  that  no one  except  Jehovah  knows  what  that  date  will  be  and  as  humans  we  have  to  be  patient,  as  is  Jehovah. 2 Peter 3:9,Matt 24:36. However, if you preach  that it is  alright  to  be  part  of  the  world,  that  there  is  nothing  wrong  if  you choose  not  to  abstain from  blood, that  the  holy spirit or Jesus is  a  God equal  to  Jehovah, that  you  can  obtain  salvation  apart  from  the  arrangement  made  by  Jehovah  with  Jesus  Christ as  it's  head, then  you  are  truly  a  preacher  of  unrighteousness  as  these  are  all  scriptural  doctrines,  given  by  our  King, Jesus.  

MARKEN: Today,  as  witnesses  of  Jehovah,  we  need  to  be in  unity, under  the  direction  of  Jesus,  as  he  shepherds  us  to  waters  of  everlasting  life.  Rev  7:9-17   He  speaks  of  the  survivors  of  the  destruction  of  wickedness  as  a  great  crowd.  A  great  crowd  must  act  in  unity to stay  a  crowd.  Otherwise,  they  would  all  be  individuals, not  necessarily  even  walking  together.  Jesus  teaches  only  the  truth.  If  a  man  makes  an  erroneous  statement,  he  will  correct  it,  and the  man  will  have  to humble  himself  if  he  wants  to remain  a  footstep  follower  of  Christ.Phil. 2:3-11

JACK: I understand that is the policy of the Watchtower Society--unity at all cost.  That policy was made clear by Fred Franz in 1956.  I guess I'm asking, Unity at what price?  Carl Oloff Jonsson, one of your Swedish brethren, in the early 1970s sent a letter to the Governing Body pointing out, among other things, the ridiculous teaching that had been in circulation about 1975.  When the GB refused to even consider it, Jonsson published it on his own.  As you can well imagine, he was cast out of the Society and disfellowshiped.  Interestingly, however, as the year 1975 came and went, it was Jonsson's view that proved to be biblical and the GB was in error.  I would think that in a case like that, he would have been welcomed back in with at least an apology from the GB, but that never happened.  He was publicly ridiculed, embarrassed, and members of his own family encouraged to have nothing to do with him.  Tell me, what was his crime?  He stood for what has proved to be the accuracy of the Scirpture.  What is wrong with that? Is the policy really unity no matter what, even if the whole organization is wrong? Are you Mr.  Jonsson?  I know  nothing  about  what  you  are  speaking  of.  I  have  been  one  of  Jehovah's  Witnesses  since  1968 and  I  did  not ever believe that  the  end  of  wickedness  would  come  before  1975 because  of  anything  that  the  WTS  published.  Yes, like  many  I  did  hope  it  would  be  1968, or 1969, or  1970, or 1975, or  2011, or  2012,  but  i  realized  then  and  realize now,  that  it  will  be  when  Jehovah  has  appointed  the  time. Just  as  when  he  destroyed  wickedness  with  the  flood.  Noah  was  obedient  to  all  instructions,  waiting  for  the  appointed  time  of  Jehovah.  I  have  no  doubt  that  Jesus  is  gathering  a  great  crowd  of  obedient  humans  out  to  survive  the  destruction  of  wickedness.  I  have  no  doubt  that  he  is  using  Jehovah's Witnesses  to  spread  this  good  news  of  his  Kingdom.  I  have  no  doubt  that  he  will  correct  any  misunderstandings  that  could  interfere  with  this  salvation,  if  we  remain  humble.  I  am  very happy  to  see  the  governing  body continue  on  urging  us  to  share  this  good  news  with  all  we  meet, no  matter  how  many  misunderstandings  they have.  Let  God  be  true,  tho every man  be found  a liar. Ro.3:4

with  affection  from Marken