Arauna

Mankind cannot rule the earth - we are ruining it - as foretold in Rev 11:18. Other nations follow the USA's lead.... the blind leading the blind.

Thanks for the clip!   More methane in the atmosphere will accelerate global warming!  Apparently there are very large pockets of methane that will be exposed as the ice melts further.  
Mega-scale farms (of pigs, chickens, cows) are not just unhealthy regarding diseases but a major contributor to global warming (not cars).  But all the press is silent about this.   These type of farms do not only breed new illnesses and germs, cause drug resistance due to the use all kinds of antibiotics and growth hormones, but produce methane in such large amounts that it is contributing to global warming.
Mankind was made to each have his patch of land and produce enough food for a family.  This would mean diversity of plants and animals on one farm and manageable amounts of recycling which would benefit the earth.

Thanks for the clip!   More methane in the atmosphere will accelerate global warming!  Apparently there are very large pockets of methane that will be exposed as the ice melts further.  
Mega-scale farms (of pigs, chickens, cows) are not just unhealthy regarding diseases but a major contributor to global warming (not cars).  But all the press is silent about this.   These type of farms do not only breed new illnesses and germs, cause drug resistance due to the use all kinds of antibiotics and growth hormones, but produce methane in such large amounts that it is contributing to global warming.
Mankind was made to each have his patch of land and produce enough food for a family.  This would mean diversity of plants and animals on one farm and manageable amounts of recycling which would benefit the earth.

Read up in the Insight book on "Man of lawlessness" and under anti-Christ.... to understand exactly how long this phenomenon has been around and what its way of operation would be....its MO (Modus operandi).
Important to know as Muslims believe the anti-Christ (Dajjal) will appear and he will be a one-eyed Jew (and most believe and army of 70,000 Jews). Isa (the Muslim Jesus) will come and kill the Dajjal with the sword and all these Jews. Literal warfare because they believe Jesus will come back in the flesh..... such as false Christians also believe.
I usually use Revelation 12 which shows that Jesus is already ruling ' invisible' in heaven and the "sign" of his rulership is Satan on the earth and the subsequent escalation of problems.  Jesus will fight the battle of Armageddon (not in the flesh with a literal sword but with an army of angels!)
We do not have to fight as Jesus is the one appointed to do the job.  We may be tempted to get involved but we must fully understand the MO of this man of lawlessness so we are not deceived.
Jesus warned that this man of lawlessness will appear and sit in the place of God as a god..... although this refers to false Christians (Matt 13), this same MO can also be attributed to Mohammad as he took the place of Christ and vehemently denies the death of Christ. To be a Muslim one has to believe that Mohammad replaced Jesus.
It is sad that muslims have to say PBUH (peace be upon him) every time they mention his name but they do not have such a honorary sentence every time they speak of God!

Read up in the Insight book on "Man of lawlessness" and under anti-Christ.... to understand exactly how long this phenomenon has been around and what its way of operation would be....its MO (Modus operandi).
Important to know as Muslims believe the anti-Christ (Dajjal) will appear and he will be a one-eyed Jew (and most believe and army of 70,000 Jews). Isa (the Muslim Jesus) will come and kill the Dajjal with the sword and all these Jews. Literal warfare because they believe Jesus will come back in the flesh..... such as false Christians also believe.
I usually use Revelation 12 which shows that Jesus is already ruling ' invisible' in heaven and the "sign" of his rulership is Satan on the earth and the subsequent escalation of problems.  Jesus will fight the battle of Armageddon (not in the flesh with a literal sword but with an army of angels!)
We do not have to fight as Jesus is the one appointed to do the job.  We may be tempted to get involved but we must fully understand the MO of this man of lawlessness so we are not deceived.
Jesus warned that this man of lawlessness will appear and sit in the place of God as a god..... although this refers to false Christians (Matt 13), this same MO can also be attributed to Mohammad as he took the place of Christ and vehemently denies the death of Christ. To be a Muslim one has to believe that Mohammad replaced Jesus.
It is sad that muslims have to say PBUH (peace be upon him) every time they mention his name but they do not have such a honorary sentence every time they speak of God!

I love a neat looking beard!  Scruffy ones - noooooo.   Unfortunately it is very easy to let a beard go wild.  It takes constant care it seems..... I have no experience regarding this so I better shut up! -  although the menopause stray hairs have started developing and this also takes some care!

We must not think from our own perspective only.  There are many people in Jehovah's organization that come with a lot of baggage.  Some have never learnt to say " I love you" and others do not know how to show love - they have to learn this.  They may be in Jehovah's organization being healed from a bad life and they learn slowly how to communicate and show love.  One does not change overnight all the problems you had before by being baptized... so many are still on the road to learn.
I was talking yesterday to a very nice young brother on field service.  He must be 32 years old.   He is seriously in love with a sister and he is troubled by the fact that Swedes do not show gushy feelings.  The love of his life is Spanish (people who show their feelings).  So he told me that a friend (not Swedish) gave him the advice to spill  his tremendous love for this sister and to be honest with her. But it is giving him sooo much pain to do this....he may never get to the point to do this.  
This gave me insight in how different cultures can be - that a young man is so stifled in his communication to tell a girl he is crazy over her.   Yes - communication is the life blood of any good relationship and especially in marriage. 
I was happy recently when I saw a photo of my son and his wife on Facebook and he declared to the world that she is his "best friend."  We must be best friends (one can tell your best friend anything and trust them with the revelations) as well as husband and wife.
 
 
 
By the way - I can add a few more sagely comments from husbands to the list above - but I may offend some!

My husband's mother was British and he has a very sharp sense of humor and he picks up humor from other countries very quickly - I am a bit slow - especially when it comes to things that rhyme with English words (my first language not English) like cockney jokes. But I do appreciate a good laugh (when I understand it).
 

We must not think from our own perspective only.  There are many people in Jehovah's organization that come with a lot of baggage.  Some have never learnt to say " I love you" and others do not know how to show love - they have to learn this.  They may be in Jehovah's organization being healed from a bad life and they learn slowly how to communicate and show love.  One does not change overnight all the problems you had before by being baptized... so many are still on the road to learn.
I was talking yesterday to a very nice young brother on field service.  He must be 32 years old.   He is seriously in love with a sister and he is troubled by the fact that Swedes do not show gushy feelings.  The love of his life is Spanish (people who show their feelings).  So he told me that a friend (not Swedish) gave him the advice to spill  his tremendous love for this sister and to be honest with her. But it is giving him sooo much pain to do this....he may never get to the point to do this.  
This gave me insight in how different cultures can be - that a young man is so stifled in his communication to tell a girl he is crazy over her.   Yes - communication is the life blood of any good relationship and especially in marriage. 
I was happy recently when I saw a photo of my son and his wife on Facebook and he declared to the world that she is his "best friend."  We must be best friends (one can tell your best friend anything and trust them with the revelations) as well as husband and wife.
 
 
 
By the way - I can add a few more sagely comments from husbands to the list above - but I may offend some!

Sister Arauna..............or it could be G'day cobber..........although the word cobber (or mate) is not used as much as it was years ago.

A lot of people debunk things when it does not agree with their vision.  It is like the "science" offered these days which proves that humans have a hand in the climate change and other studies which give proof that it is bunk - and in the meantime there are countries and whole areas that is going under water while the scientific "debate" and scientific proofs are still being offered to prove it is not happening.... Russia is using new sea lanes in seas that previously were covered in ice - there is also a race for territory under the sea to explore for oil.... in new territories where they never thought they would explore.
So I must offer the thought that I do not really put my trust in science - or the humans behind it.  I do not put blind faith in humans and their so-called knowledge because one does not know when it has been tainted with an agenda.  Really too much misinformation these days.... conflicting studies all over the place and many have been caught out as manipulating their results.
One does not have to throw everything away though - and neither do I throw all away that Hyslop wrote - that would not be smart - even if it is just to get an idea what the universal thoughts behind some of the signs were. He was smart enough to tie ancient Babylon and Sumerian culture to many of the ideas in modern Babylon - which is agreed upon by the author of the bible, Jehovah,  because he himself calls the empire: Babylon the Great. Many of the spiritistic ideas in many modern religions on earth today came from that area.
There are many scientists who agree with the new chronology in Egyptology.  But unfortunately they are not allowed into the country any more.  If you do not agree with the' prevailing consensus' then you are marked as a pseudo-scientist.  Champollion was not a good scientist either because he was an archeologist when the science was in it infancy and yet his ideas are accepted as laid in stone/ concrete.... and other scientists have built on it.  The problem lies right at the foundation of Egyptology....and when one builds on a wrong foundation then one gets the mess we are sitting with at present.
Two people who come to mind who did not agree with the new ideas offered by younger scientists were Einstein (later in his life he rejected some excellent new ideas); and Hawkins -  but we still view them as icons for the work they did do. There are still some very good thoughts in Hyslop's book.... but of course there were religions that did not like it and set out to discredit him - so they wrote their own pseudo-science.
I am glad you agree with me on one thing - that there were universal symbols for many things which was accepted by many countries.  A good example today is the wedding ring - originally pagan - but we still use it as a symbol to show that we are married.  Some countries they wear it on the left hand and in other on the right....This does not mean that we are pagans.  Since it does not involve pagan  rituals or participation in pagan rituals it has evolved as a universal symbol -  we accept it as a sign of marriage. Same with the days of the month.   We cannot throw absolutely everything out of the window - we are still in this world and we share it with people who do not believe in God. But we can remain clean by not participating in pagan rituals and stay away from inter-faith.
I do appreciate chatting with you though but I do not like debates - it does not serve an edifying purpose. 
 
 
  
I would just like to add: I do not need science to prove that the Bible is a message from the creator.  There are too many prophesies going into fulfillment at present which give proof that the writings of the bible has a higher source....

Nationalism is at an all time high and Putin is like a cult figure. Many are joining the Russian Orth church because Putin has sanctioned it. The church is the bedfellow of the government and it is behind the hate of Jehovahs Witnesses.
Many other Christian religions are also persecuted - not just the JWs

We are here to assist each other and not be hypocritical in our love.  So we expose our bad sides when we are honest and way too often we may need adjustment - but this is good if we willingly adjust - because then we can be more pliable to be used by Jehovah and we improve as time goes by. We do not miss the mark as often!  LOL.
I use the words from the Bible when I say that a sweet fountain will not bubble forth bitter water all the time....  And sometimes we can come across as too critical and bitter and we do not allow the sweetness to bubble forth.
I had a friend like this in England.  She was too quick to see all the mistakes that everyone made and yet, ....    I learnt a lot from her about persistence under difficult circumstances. She did get some resistance from others because of this trait ... and I sometimes had to give myself a break from her because she was too much regarding her temperament to see the negative. On the other hand she was like a mother to me and taught me a lot.....
To influence others in an beneficial way we need to not be afraid to show our sweetness, to be perceived as weak and vulnerable.  We then are true towers of strength.  We can show empathy.
You have the experience of a lifetime.  I am sure you know a lot of positive things that other brothers can benefit from but you must gain their trust by allowing the wholesome, healing water to flow out of you.  Become a vessel for good use.  You seem to have the zeal! 
 
 

Born/raised in California. School and pioneering in Missouri. Bethel in Brooklyn. Got married and stayed around NYC and Boston [A D Little] for all my work post-Bethel. Worked in San Francisco and Paris for about 6 months each, too, but for same company.

We are here to assist each other and not be hypocritical in our love.  So we expose our bad sides when we are honest and way too often we may need adjustment - but this is good if we willingly adjust - because then we can be more pliable to be used by Jehovah and we improve as time goes by. We do not miss the mark as often!  LOL.
I use the words from the Bible when I say that a sweet fountain will not bubble forth bitter water all the time....  And sometimes we can come across as too critical and bitter and we do not allow the sweetness to bubble forth.
I had a friend like this in England.  She was too quick to see all the mistakes that everyone made and yet, ....    I learnt a lot from her about persistence under difficult circumstances. She did get some resistance from others because of this trait ... and I sometimes had to give myself a break from her because she was too much regarding her temperament to see the negative. On the other hand she was like a mother to me and taught me a lot.....
To influence others in an beneficial way we need to not be afraid to show our sweetness, to be perceived as weak and vulnerable.  We then are true towers of strength.  We can show empathy.
You have the experience of a lifetime.  I am sure you know a lot of positive things that other brothers can benefit from but you must gain their trust by allowing the wholesome, healing water to flow out of you.  Become a vessel for good use.  You seem to have the zeal! 
 
 

We must not think from our own perspective only.  There are many people in Jehovah's organization that come with a lot of baggage.  Some have never learnt to say " I love you" and others do not know how to show love - they have to learn this.  They may be in Jehovah's organization being healed from a bad life and they learn slowly how to communicate and show love.  One does not change overnight all the problems you had before by being baptized... so many are still on the road to learn.
I was talking yesterday to a very nice young brother on field service.  He must be 32 years old.   He is seriously in love with a sister and he is troubled by the fact that Swedes do not show gushy feelings.  The love of his life is Spanish (people who show their feelings).  So he told me that a friend (not Swedish) gave him the advice to spill  his tremendous love for this sister and to be honest with her. But it is giving him sooo much pain to do this....he may never get to the point to do this.  
This gave me insight in how different cultures can be - that a young man is so stifled in his communication to tell a girl he is crazy over her.   Yes - communication is the life blood of any good relationship and especially in marriage. 
I was happy recently when I saw a photo of my son and his wife on Facebook and he declared to the world that she is his "best friend."  We must be best friends (one can tell your best friend anything and trust them with the revelations) as well as husband and wife.
 
 
 
By the way - I can add a few more sagely comments from husbands to the list above - but I may offend some!

Where I am from the smiley face means sadness, so I was very confused and sad

Yes - sometimes people make the choices to stay in a marriage themselves (for the children or for some other reason) and then the elders get the "blame."  If her husband had an adulterous affair she had the right to divorce him but she may not have had the inclination to go the whole way - mental strength is needed to go through with this. Insecurity and lack of confidence and many other factors play a role in this. 
Often women cannot support themselves financially (she had many kids) or they have the "absolute subjection" mentality.  Remember that Ms Jackson is a product of the 1930s mentality (when she grew up).  In this time period when people divorced they were basically ostracized by family and society.... it was a no-no because it brought disgrace.
Older men from this era also have a "bunker" mentality - as someone named it above.  Many women suffered abuse up until the 60s.  Thereafter divorce was more prevalent.  I was a child in the fifties and remember well the attitudes of men and women. My grandmother divorced in the 1940's and she suffered tremendously because of this.  The 60s brought sexual freedom and more power to women because they did not fall pregnant (with new medication) and became more free.  More women were showing up in the work place as well. 
A few years back I went on a call with an Arabic sister and the student had been abused by her husband (gun threats involved)  and the police took him to jail.  This sister was 80 years old and with her Arabic background and her age, she was "a time capsule from the Palestinian values of the 1930s".  So she ignored the "other' Bible principles and was telling this woman to "withdraw" the complaint to police because the "husband" is your head and master. There was also evidence of adultery. 
Not only was this the worst advice but it could have erupted in more violence.   I went to and elder and asked his advice about this  - but the situation was too late to rectify... The case was already withdrawn and the man joined his wife at home again.  A little later, this man was put in jail - again - for putting a gun to his wives head.  The children had called the police. A restraining order was granted and later a divorce.... The single parent family are now thriving. Fortunately - no-one was hurt and this man later on turned out to be really vile. He was abusive to his children as well.
We must never "tell" our students what to do - or for that matter - anyone else (because we can face the consequences, be responsible,  if the wrong decision is taken..... and the Witnesses can get the "blame".  We show them all the Bible principles involved and help then to think things through.  If you do this - he may do that - if you do that - he may do this...or that may happen.... to give the student options. But they have to choose what to do themselves.... no matter how weak or lost they feel.
I enjoyed last weeks Watchtower study - because it taught us this fact: everyone must exercise their own free will - we cannot do it for them - no matter how well our intentions.  Jehovah knows the hearts. If a study, who is suffering violence, goes back to her husband it is not our place to judge her or give comment. Or if she decides to leave - it is also not our right to judge.... and all must be cautious to give the organization the "blame"  for other individual persons' actions and the decisions involved.
 
 
 

I think we all have some conceit somewhere deep down and we have to learn to control it.  This week's Watchtower is sooo good reminder to watch ourselves!

We must not think from our own perspective only.  There are many people in Jehovah's organization that come with a lot of baggage.  Some have never learnt to say " I love you" and others do not know how to show love - they have to learn this.  They may be in Jehovah's organization being healed from a bad life and they learn slowly how to communicate and show love.  One does not change overnight all the problems you had before by being baptized... so many are still on the road to learn.
I was talking yesterday to a very nice young brother on field service.  He must be 32 years old.   He is seriously in love with a sister and he is troubled by the fact that Swedes do not show gushy feelings.  The love of his life is Spanish (people who show their feelings).  So he told me that a friend (not Swedish) gave him the advice to spill  his tremendous love for this sister and to be honest with her. But it is giving him sooo much pain to do this....he may never get to the point to do this.  
This gave me insight in how different cultures can be - that a young man is so stifled in his communication to tell a girl he is crazy over her.   Yes - communication is the life blood of any good relationship and especially in marriage. 
I was happy recently when I saw a photo of my son and his wife on Facebook and he declared to the world that she is his "best friend."  We must be best friends (one can tell your best friend anything and trust them with the revelations) as well as husband and wife.
 
 
 
By the way - I can add a few more sagely comments from husbands to the list above - but I may offend some!

Of course you are correct, Arauna. I refer only to how his photo was immediately redirected to one of child sexual abuse. it seemed not right to me.

BIBLE QUESTIONS ANSWERED
Why is world peace soelusive?
 
Only a government that can change people’s hearts will bring world peace 
The Bible points to two main reasons. First, although humans have accomplished marvelous things, they are not created with the ability to direct their own steps. Second, human schemes have failed because “the whole world is lying in the power of the wicked one,” Satan the Devil. Thus, human efforts have not been able to bring world peace.—Read Jeremiah 10:23; 1 John 5:19.
Human self-interest and ambition have also made world peace elusive. Only a world government that can teach people to love what is right and care for one another will bring world peace.—Read Isaiah 32:17; 48:18, 22.
Who will establish peace on earth?
Almighty God has promised to establish a single government to rule over all mankind. It will replace human governments. (Daniel 2:44)
God’s Son, Jesus, will rule as the Prince of Peace. He will eliminate evil from all the earth and will teach people the way of peace.—Read Isaiah 9:6, 7; 11:4, 9.
Already, under Jesus’ direction, millions worldwide are using God’s Word, the Bible, to teach people how to be at peace with others. Soon, world peace will be a reality.—Read Isaiah 2:3, 4;54:13.
http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/2013408?q=why+is+world+peace+so+elusive&p=par
 
 

I look forward to the time when this will not even be a collectors item any more!
The plastic weapons which people now print on 3D printers are putting more cheap weapons into the hands of criminals....yes, the world is really changing for the worse.  Soon they can make a movie about the wild west set in 2025.... when people draw weapons on each other to settle issues....

I come from Africa - it used to be the  most corrupt continent in the world - now other continents are catching up real fast!.   Do not believe everything from Africa, especially 'proof'  like this.  His half-brother was expecting favors - as they do in Africa -  and his high hopes were shattered when he received a cold shoulder.   It is a smear....
A friend of mine was scammed - went to see a high official in the minister's office to see if all is legit so he could trust the person to do business.  He later found out (after losses) that the minister rented his office out to the scammer!  (Added this paragraph to demonstrate how high up the corruption is - ministers renting out their offices to scammers who want to pretend to be high officials!)

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/belief/2017/mar/09/in-russia-the-persecution-of-jehovahs-witnesses-begins-all-over-again