George88

Precisely! 

Beard day could be celebrated with Seinfeld Festivus (… the holiday for the REST of us ….)
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Festivus
A completely secular holiday that can be adapted to any date you want, and traditions added as needed.
December 15 it is !!
 
 
 

Some of those who never celebrated their birthday may soon be celebrating Beard Day. Mark December 15th on the calendar. We don’t have that many holidays.

It is confusing. The whole policy is a train wreck!
I can't tell you how many have approached me asking to help them complete their documents for them. Each one has the same concern. Each one wants to make sure their documentation lets them take as much as JW policy will let them accept. They don't want to mistakenly leave off anything they are allowed to accept. They're not reading the Bible and drawing conclusions. They're just doing whatever the society says they can do, and they're willing to accept anything the society lets them accept, because they want to live as long and healthy as they can.

Stop judging others ,,,,Miles and you are the biggest Judges here….if you have made your mind up to take blood or transplants then go ahead..do it..none of it is my business …nor what I do..is yours…..what I’m seeing here is self righteousness in the extreme…..

The society holds disparate teachings when it comes to parts versus a whole. (Flour, milk, etc versus cake)
Regarding soul (life), it's said to have two major components; a body and breathe of life.
Together a body and breathe of life IS "soul".
Apart NEITHER a body nor breathe of life IS "soul".
Regarding blood, it's said to have four major components; red cells, white cells, platelets and plasma.
Together red cells, white cells, platelets and plasma IS "blood".
Apart red cells, white cells, platelets and plasma EACH IS "blood".
The irony of these two disparate treatments of parts versus whole is that the society also teaches that blood is considered to be equivalent to life (soul). Yet it treats what makes up the two disparately.
There is no person inside the big house who's ever even attempted to answer for the contradictory bit of teaching.

My speculations aren't worth the time to read them, but I'm guessing a timeline like the following: 
2024: No more Circuit Overseers. (The reason that the District Overseers were let go was not because they were costing too much money for cars, convention travel, etc, but because they tended to draw too close a connection between the Headquarters (WTBTS) and the direction followed within all the congregations. This resulted in some legal problems when WT lawyers claimed that the elders shepherd the flock on their own, and the guidance from HQ is not rule-based but only principle-based. But the same legal issue applies with Circuit Overseers.
2025: Shunning is now a matter of conscience. We should all be wary of our associations, but exactly how we implement a shunning policy is up to each one of us. Scriptures will include some Mosaic Law principles related to immediate family, and especially Jesus' parable of the Prodigal Son who was welcomed from afar off, before the father knew anything about motives or repentance.
2026: Blood related therapies in any form are now (officially) a matter of conscience. 
2027: All Bible prophecies said to have a specific fulfillment in 1918, 1919, 1921, . . even into the 1940's will now be officially off the books.
2028: Head coverings now a matter of conscience. But no sister will dare conduct in front of a brother without one.
2034: October 1st "JW Broadcast" and additional GB announcement on October 2nd both offer renewed speculation about 1914 + 120 years = 2034 (i.e. "on or about October 4th, 2034")
2034: Amidst winks and nods, and even some outright laughter, the Annual Meeting will be announced for Sunday October 8th 2034 with simulcasting everywhere to all congregations. Expect announcement that "after careful consideration over the previous several days" ...the 1914 doctrine will be dropped completely at this meeting on October 8th.
2034: Great Tribulation and Armageddon begins October 9, 2034.

So Brother Rando was right..
2026…so I could argue that means fornication and idol worship was a matter of conscience 
I like your speculations but I dont want to wait for ten years………tho the 120 yrs thing is a big thing in my mind.

semantics … but you are correct more than I.

Says who? 
The veracity of it will not be evident for decades to come. ‘Generation’ can even be stretched further by saying it means ‘era.’
Meantime, those too intent on proving themselves right over this matter tend to miss entirely the greater world’s astonishingly rapid plunge. They effectively join the ranks of ridiculers with their, ‘Where is this promised presence of his?
If the GB simply holds the line on 1914, it becomes a game of chicken with those plotting their downfall. It becomes the movie ending of all movie endings of the Greatest Action Flik of All Time. Let us see who pees their pants first.
   

I think the current GB realizes it has a compilation of messes on its hands that can only accrue problematically. It's trying to dig itself out. But the fear is the pile is too deep. Ultimately the 1914 thing will implode on itself. Just a matter of time. Ultimately the blood policy will implode on itself. Just a matter of time. I think the society is looking for an exit ramp. Too many problems, too many informational sources. It'll only snowball.

My speculations are optional. They can become effective if you take them seriously. But it is mostly an option of one's free choice.
In contrast, speculations coming from GB are dangerous at the start. To forbid the wearing of beards in Rutherford's time was nothing more than distancing, by those who caused the schism, to break any resemblance to Russell.
Later, the leadership of WTJWorg found excuses for the ban in the appearance of some "worldly" people who participated in various social movements of the society. They claimed that wearing a certain model of hairstyles and external appearance of the face (beard in men in this case) should be avoided because this way JW can be mistakenly identified with, for example, rebels in society.
At the same time, wearing suits and ties and flawless hair and shaved face, GB has never identified with a certain number of corrupt politicians and businessmen who are dishonest. For some reason, they forgot to mention that detail when they were giving advice to their followers about their appearance.
I agree that it is nice to see neat and tidy people (with or without beard). But we don't live in a perfect world, whatever that means.
The Spiritual Slavery that reigns within JW followers requires a "clear and unequivocal answer/instruction" as to what is allowed and what is not allowed with a beard. That demand for "answers" from GB is actually a reflection of the devastating spiritual condition of the flock in so called true Christianity aka JW Church.
If so many people in WTJWorg are unable to have/achieve unity in diversity and freedom of choice over something the Bible has never questioned, then there is no "salvation" for all of you either literally or figuratively. You, JWs, are unfortunately condemned to total dependence on a few men who are not even capable of knowing right from wrong. WTJWorg cannot reform itself for the better.
I agree with @Pudgy, WTJWorg is run by accountants and lawyers.., and by religious leaders who willingly, voluntarily agree to falsehood.

… or an igloo shaped doghouse !

I think that MM's questions here to Thinking were pertinent. Did the elders in Jerusalem mean it in Moses' terms, Noah's terms, or some new terms that was different from both of those?
And, per Paul's explanation for at least 2 of the terms of that decree, was it possibly only a necessary but temporary injunction to allow the congregation to accommodate coexistence with gentiles for the time when Jewish Christians were still "condemning" themselves to live by the Law. 
(Acts 21:20, 21) . . .After hearing this, they began to glorify God, but they said to him: “You see, brother, how many thousands of believers there are among the Jews, and they are all zealous for the Law. 21  But they have heard it rumored about you that you have been teaching all the Jews among the nations an apostasy from Moses, telling them not to . . . follow the customary practices. 
(Galatians 2:11-14) . . .However, when Ceʹphas came to Antioch, I resisted him face-to-face, because he stood condemned.*  12  For before certain men from James arrived, he used to eat with people of the nations; but when they arrived, he stopped doing this and separated himself,. . . 14  But when I saw that they were not walking in step with the truth of the good news, I said to Ceʹphas before them all: “If you, though you are a Jew, live as the nations do and not as Jews do, how can you compel people of the nations to live according to Jewish practice?”
 
*The 2013 NWT decided not to translate the Greek of Galatians 2:11 (as was done previously) with "Peter ... stood condemned." They decided to water it down a bit and say that only that "Peter . . . was clearly in the wrong."

I’m sad to hear this.

This is an excellent thought. Do not forget that it is applicable to everyone and to every situation. GB convinces himself of ideas, and then every JW finds his ideas within the general idea of his religion. We all do it, in one way or another to one degree or another.

Writing with professional terminology requires special knowledge on the part of the reader, i agree. In the case of WTJWorg, the reading should be simplified by a vocabulary that does not use phrases and sentence forms that are unclear to a normal, averagely educated person. Of course, WTJWorg is susceptible, prone to the low education level of its members because they "hate" so-called higher education. But the society is not averse to seeking and hiring (free labor) lawyers to defend them in court. WTJWorg even pay their school fees to attend university so that they can later use it for some  morally questionable and dishonest actions.
All in all, simplicity is the key to a happier life, you're right. But is "simplicity" in theology as offered by WTJWorg the way to truth? 
Was the medical explanation offered by the organization in several versions simple enough for the "normal" JW? So the Society discourages "higher education" and then dares to interpret what blood is and what blood is not. And then it sets up hospital committees elders to explain to JW patients what is acceptable and what is not, not realizing that they often do not even know what they are explaining or why they are explaining it that way.

Not surprising …. in any organization where there is plenty of Free money and the only competency test is “good intentions”, liberal scum will rise to the top. 
I betcha Job’s three companions originally came over for a free meal.

Well, now that you’ve established your position in the pecking order, no.
You had me saying, ‘Oh, he’s not such a bad guy after all,’ until that line.

Well, well. Someone looking for puzzle parts thinks they found "a big piece". Impressive. A big piece.
The piece? Presenting as a man on a mission. Sounds kinda medical doctor-ish. Must be the big piece.
If you want to talk about another subject, I'm game, if I know anything to share on the subject. I tend to speak when I have something to add. I tend to remain to myself otherwise.
If I have a mission, it's to share, learn, grow and help anyone I can along the way. Any piece found for that? No? Oh.
At the very least you have to yield that I put information out there to be challenged. Isn't that how people learn from one another?
Make of things as you will. It's best that way, and that's the way it is regardless. I'm just glad you found a big piece. Impressive.

I think what George 88 is trying to convey is the intricate tapestry of linguistic expression, with the ethereal notions of implication, and nuanced resonance entwining within the labyrinthine corridors of discourse, where the boundaries between what is implied and what is explicit blur into an enigmatic confluence of meaning.
The nebulous tendrils of implication, with their elusive nature, evoking semantic ambiguity that, while cloaked in the syntax of eloquence, remains perpetually suspended in the liminal realm of suggestion, eternally alluding to the unfathomable depths of interpretative intricacy.
The labyrinth of implied meanings intertwining with the cadence of linguistic expression, forming an enigmatic tableau where the subject, like a phantom, elusively navigating the convoluted corridors of insinuation.
That, or pushing his Agenda.

There is no form of hierarchy without abuse of power. Unless the leader is very gentle and soft and allows everyone everything. But even then, he will have more sympathy for some people, and some will not be to his liking.

Whoa! once again! Georgie, I fear you will not believe this, but I really did not know @JW Insiderhad employed the trick in the very message he was speaking of it! I even wondered why the quote box appeared too big for the words contained. Ah, well, it’s just some sort of pesky technical snafu, I told myself, and manually shortened the box.
I mean, this is like finding a decoder ring in your Cocoa Puffs. I’m taking the next month to comb through all too-long text boxes in search of them.

I think this guy [Clement] has been hanging out with the apostle Paul too much.