Nana Fofana

@Srecko Sostar
People leave Jehovah and turn against Him! The sign of the times! A Elder that helped me spiritually turned against others and fell to the world. In the end of times this will happen and yes! It will shake our Faith! Read 2 Peter chapter 2. In the times we live it will get worse. In their own words they are "professional" in their ways, like Satan the snake to deceive others. To Jehovah they are slanderers and deceitful men or woman never "professional" in Jehovah's eyes. They deceive even the world, courts and the weak in Faith! Satan means slanderer and they also slander Jehovah God and Our Lord Christ Jesus. We are all being tested as Our Lord Christ Jesus himself was and put to death an innocent man. The law will bring more out if in fact there is injustice. 
https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/b/r1/lp-e/nwt/E/2013/61/2

I am going to make one post here because we are going off topic:
I did!  BUT, the only comment I can find alongside this claim regarding Jehovah's Witnesses is:
"The exact number of suicides is impossible to obtain for a variety of reasons.  Secular intuitions such as hospitals and police departments do not keep track of the religious organizations of the deceased"
(This is a quote. I am not sure what "secular intuitions" are  )
So if anyone could provide a single, verifiable, accurate, unbiased report on actual suicide rates, comparing Jehovah's Witnesses with other groups, please post as a separate thread to allow an informed debate.
If this cannot be done, then (with respect)  I am afraid the claim will have to be consigned to the fake news bin.

Surely you know Pro. 18:11 "The valuable things of the rich are his strong town, and they are like a protective wall in his imagination" ?
I mean, I'm sure these guys had pursued higher education and obtained a well-paying job: 
– On January 26, 2014, former Deutsche Bank executive, William Broeksmit, was found dead at his South Kensington home after police responded to reports of a man found hanging at a house. According to reports, Broeksmit had “close ties to co-chief executive Anshu Jain.” – Gabriel Magee, a 39-year-old senior manager at JP Morgan’s European headquarters, jumped 500ft from the top of the bank’s headquarters in central London on January 27, 2014, landing on an adjacent 9 story roof. – Mike Dueker, the chief economist at Russell Investments, fell down a 50 foot embankment in what police are describing as a suicide. He was reported missing on January 29, 2014 by friends, who said he had been “having problems at work.” – Richard Talley, 57, founder of American Title Services in Centennial, Colorado, was also found dead on 4 Feb 2014 after apparently shooting himself with a nail gun. – 37-year-old JP Morgan executive director Ryan Henry Crane died last week, 3 Feb, 2014. – Tim Dickenson, a U.K.-based communications director at Swiss Re AG, also died last month (Jan 2014), although the circumstances surrounding his death are still unknown. Maybe it was just a bad month for bankers, but to be perfectly blunt, you need to sharpen up on your game in this particular area!!   

This is a classic example of getting slammed for doing the right thing and should not be spun any other way.
The way you (as a faith) avoid such problems is to take no interest in the conduct of your members. Preach to them on Sunday  and let that be the end of it. If they apply it, they apply it. If they don't, they don't. It's no concern of yours as the pastor. That way, should any turn out to be molesters, you can never be made to look bad for investigating it because you never even learn of it.
God gets shortchanged that way because he expects a clean people, but who cares? He's God. Tell him to suck it up.
Witnesses alone investigate wrong conduct so as to keep the congregation clean, which God expects them to do. In the case of pedophiles, they investigate also to make sure one does not simply slip out of one congregation and into another. That is the sole purpose of any records kept.
If they have ever erred in any investigations, this should not be spun as a negative, for no one else even attempts it, though they all should.
 

One thing all trinitarians have in common ... when it comes time to war ... they all meet on the battlefield and slaughter each other.
This was particularly true during WWI when most of the people assembled on the French/German border were trinitarian Catholics, and in a year long battle, killed A MILLION OF EACH OTHER.
that alone DISPROVES THE TRINITY,  ( If you have any common sense at all ) ... and shoots the "horse" it rode in on .... that God's Holy Spirit is supposedly PART of that triune "godhead", and also proves invalid, as ACTUAL Christianity, everything else that they dreamed up, circa 320 A.D. .
And a million word analysis of a million more words will not change that.

Well spotted I saw this afterwards
 

Interesting points all!  I think it could be a cry of anguish as well as the false proclamation at the end. Many things in the bible have a smaller and a larger fulfillment.  They are crying for it.  It is heartbreaking really to look at. I opened the link to the dead hindu villagers. 
This is a set of photos you may want to see here on the city of Raqqa. It is ONE of the cites in Syria (and there are many) that have been taken over by ISIS and bombed perpetually by the UN forces as well as the Democratic Syrian government forces. All I could think was, 'not a stone left upon another stone.'  
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/idt-sh/the_city_fit_for_no_one_raqqa_syria_islamic_state_group
The article is called, "The City Fit For No One"
The photos of the man who once prospered there. One photo in a suit and tie, taken as he was a prominent attorney. Now on the streets of Raqqa, looking like the art work of JOB.  His face caked in mud, clothed in rags, hair all over.  So very sad. 
Truly, " the nations in great anguish, not knowing the way out! "  
Blessings to all.  We are Jehovah's people.  
Kristy
 

The Security Council meeting for Thursday, 28, 2017  10:00am
'Threats to international peace and security caused by terrorist acts'. (8059th meeting) 
 Yes we do not know but we are aware!

Another article on the subject.......... "The Peace & Security of Europe held hostage by Islamic Turkey" 
https://pamelageller.com/2017/09/peace-security-turkey.html/

@John Houston
Thats a good point - been wondering similarly myself as the world appears to be spiralling out of control.  I guess we'll just have to wait & see things can change quickly 
I just keep thinking about Bro Jackson's talk last year - Expect the unexpected because even the governing body don't know.

You don't seem to be talking from experience, or very limited experience. Maybe it's a bit of a geographical thing
"Asking is all the rest does". Your "all the rest" may not be mine. Maybe you've never been to a Sunday morning stick-up.
 
 

Yesterday's papers I'm afraid.

https://reliefweb.int/report/world/taking-women-peace-and-security-next-level-africa
Women in Africa working for PEACE and SECURITY through their governments!  
This phrase seems to be everywhere on line in the news now! 

Quite amazing how the eighth King the image of the wild beast Ie. The UN is so focussed on Peace & Security & has been for some time.
Just humbling to see prophecies written thousands of years ago coming true to the dotting of the eyes & crossing of the Ts ?????????
 
 
 

I just got a call that @James Thomas Rook Jr.has been insulting God's organization again. He may have to learn the hard way.

Actually, I think that is the answer.
I did start it as a joke, you are right. But I also recognized that, at its root, it was the answer. Jesus didn't do it. Judas stole from the money box. A simple account system would have caught him. Yet Jesus never did it.
Expanding, we have 1 Corinthians 6:2 
do you not know that the holy ones will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you not competent to try very trivial matters? Do you not know that we will judge angels? Then why not matters of this life?
If the holy ones back then were to be entrusted with our spiritual lives, were they incapable of handling 'unrighteous riches?'
Accounting methods are rather strict now in the congregations. Two brothers count all donations from the contribution box. Two sign off. It is all under the supervision of the Secretary. It is similar at the circuit level. Are we to imagine it disappears above the circuit level? What disappears is anyone feeling they have an obligation to report such things to you. In your case, I can easily understand it. If you twist undeniably good deeds to make them seem vile, exaggerate any missteps, and ignore any mitigating factors, and without exception impute bad motives, what would you do when you found they upgraded from Pepsident toothpaste to Crest?
Should they report? I guess you could make a case for it. But I think the greater case is for not doing it, in view of 1 Corinthians 6. It's not the exact same thing, but in principle it is.
What is public accounting? It is a requirement imposed by government upon public corporations. Does it work? It can be circumvented. A relative of mine works for a publicly traded company which recently bought another publicly traded company. His company is a very well known name, and the purchased company is well known to industry groups. It turns out that the purchased company managed to conceal billions of dollars of fraud, despite public accounting, and the buyer is now in danger of going under. (and the relative worries about his job)
In Rochester, Wegmans is the premiere company putting the city on the map. It replaces Kodak in that role. Arguably one might say Paychex instead of Wegmans, but I'll hang with Wegmans. People love Wegmans. It is Whole Foods where, if you plan, you can avoid spending your whole paycheck. (if you don't - watch out! - but with minimal fuss, you can) It has been called the best run grocer in the country and perhaps the world. There are 70-80 stores in the eastern U.S. Whoever does the ratings - is it Forbes? - consistently ranks it among the top ten best places to work in the entire country.
It is a private corporation and never reports to the public. Does that mean it keeps no accounts? No. It just doesn't feel the obligation to report to the rank and file.
The demand to render public accounting, to me, seems but a manifestation of another form of human self-rule - in particular, democracy. It is faith that the people should scrutinize every nickel spent and that is the only way to keep those running the show honest. As the examples above show, it is not necessarily a valid premise. It is easily circumvented.
I was joking when I said we could smell fraud when Anthony Morris upgrades to a bigger dorm room, but once again, there is truth to it. Let there be some evidence of chicanery before you assume your democratic method is the be-all and end-all. If they released financial reports they would have to add layers and layers of Bethel experts to defend themselves against countless people like you that simply want to take them down and use any possible pretext to do it. It would be rather like the Mueller investigation, which is the continuation of an effort that has lasted almost a year now to dig up evidence of wrongdoing with regard to the President and Russia. So far they have found none, but the mandate is unlimited and is not confined to Russia, (this is my understanding, but I could be wrong) Since the POTUS is human, they will certainly find something in time, and will attempt to use it to take him down - which is the sole object in the first place. Should Bethel do the same for its enemies? They just want to take it down.
The line that invariably gets the largest applause at the Regional Convention is: "Would you like to convey your greetings to Bethel?" It is obvious why that is. People look around them and see evidence everywhere that whatever donations they have made are being spent wisely. The many examples referred to in the previous post prove that to them. They don't feel the need to monitor Bethel for crooks and they are confident that, should crooks appear, the overall upright character of the organization will handle it.

Don't think the publishers were actually given an amount as a requirement were they? Nope....Oh!Oh! argument fails.
Actually,  an amount is specified so that the brothers don't give too much. After all, when funds are needed for anything in Jehovah's work, the floodgates just open up until we say "no more want". That is what the Scriptures indicate would happen in the true religion ...isn't it? Say you need something in Jehovah's organisation and it all comes pouring in!  I know the "others" are all very jealous of this, in fact it is actually one of the end triggers I believe:
Ez. 38:10-12.
“This is what the Sovereign Lord Jehovah says: ‘In that day thoughts will come into your heart, and you will devise an evil plan. 11 You will say: “I will invade the land of unprotected settlements. I will come against those living in security, without disturbance, all of them living in settlements unprotected by walls, bars, or gates.” 12 It will be to take much spoil and plunder, to attack the devastated places that are now inhabited and a people regathered from the nations, who are accumulating wealth and property, those who are living in the center of the earth.
(Jaws theme playing in the background)

What is this?   
'If it requires us to do any more than come out of our Quonset hut, it is God's problem.'
Because you must not muzzle the ox while it is threshing.
I don't use the expression "bitter apostate." It seems to me a stereotype which does not always hold true. But  sometimes it is exactly the proper expression.

Possibly. There doesn't seem to be any information whether she did or didn't consult the account in Genesis, although perhaps that was a a given. But yes, she definitely seems to have consulted non canonical Hebrew writings and even the sanskrit literature of India. She would have got similar information about a flood since as we know, the flood "legend" appears in most ancient writings. What is definite is her novel is a hundred times more accurate Biblically than that awful movie Noah, which I only watched because of Russel Crowe and because everyone said how terrible it was.

I figured I would start a topic on "peace and security' since so much news constantly comes out regarding this theme lately:
Paul in his letter to the Thessalonians.

He draws attention to “Jehovah’s day.” As used here, “Jehovah’s day” refers to the period that will start with the destruction of false religion and will culminate in the war of Armageddon. However, just before that day of Jehovah begins, world leaders will be saying “Peace and security!” This may refer to one event or to a series of events. Nations may think that they are close to solving some of their big problems.
You may want to "Follow" this thread up on the upper right hand side to get notifications.

Donald Trump talking about NK being a threat to Peace & Security earlier 
Amazing how often peace & security or safety is being mentioned by world leaders again lately.
Sept 21 2017 International Day of Peace - theme this year was Peace, safety & dignity.
 

Six months as extremists: what happens to "Jehovah's Witnesses" in Russia
Anastasia Golubeva
Russian BBC Service
In May 2017, the inhabitant of Eagle, the Dane Dennis Christensen and several of his co-religionists gathered in the building for worship, in order, in their words, to read the Bible. A month before, the Supreme Court of Russia recognized the activities of "Jehovah's Witnesses" in Russia as extremist and banned the organization. To hold a meeting that May evening in the Oryol community was not possible: officers of the FSB broke into the hall. They detained only Christensen.
By this time, the Dane lived in Orel for the last ten years, was married to a Russian woman, worked as a carpenter. As a result, Christensen became the first "Jehovah's Witness", who was charged with an extremist article after the organization's ban in Russia.
According to the lawyer of the Dane Irina Krasnikova, Christensen is accused of continuing the activities of a local religious organization that was already banned.
"They just gathered to read the Bible, I think it's absurd to blame a person for extremism," says the lawyer. Irina Krasnikova insists: Christensen could not continue the activities of the banned organization, since he was not its founder or leader.
In June, the Dane was arrested, all the requests for protection to mitigate the measure of restraint, the court rejected and left him under arrest.
"In SIZO he had chronic illnesses due to lack of heating and hot water in the cell, and he was also restricted in visits from the family," says the lawyer. Long report go to website for whole article. 
http://www.bbc.com/russian/features-41331942

One of our elders made a good point tonight -
The video shown at the mid week meeting regarding Sergei's test of loyalty was shown at 2016 DC around a year ago. Look what happened 12 months later Russia bans JWs & brothers locked up without trial.
Who knew?! 
 

Moreover, the confidential letter that you quote as though experiencing sexual climax does no more than expand on the consideration already announced publicly. Witnesses are well used to hearing about how that this or that circuit expense will be met if everyone contributes such and such an amount. This is always followed by the clarification that it is not suggested each member pony up that amount, but rather that the congregation in aggregate do so.
What your 'secret letter' reveals is that even that fair policy is not held fast to. Elders know their flock. A poor congregation can lessen their share. A well-off congregation can increase it. Ours increases it regularly because @The Librariantells them I make a bundle off my books, the meddling hen. But others lessen theirs.
Any Witness stumbling across your coup de grace will come away with increased respect for Bethel's consideration. They will also not be surprised. For decades they have heard about their surpluses benefiting other lands with deficits. They know it is hopelessly out of the reach of many third world congregations to afford their own Kingdom Hall, and they are thrilled to know their funds are spent thereby. Even @James Thomas Rook Jr., who rails about giving up local control of his money, probably does not begrudge that. 
You consistently try to advance the notion that Witnesses are being fleeced by their organization. You consistently have your ears pasted back. In the end you are reduced to saying 'well - you have your opinion. I have mine.' It gets old.

I liked "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" where Hugo explained that the number of floors beneath the surface of the church was roughly the same as those above.