Bible Speaks

MOSCOW – Tens of thousands of protesters have thronged Moscow this weekend to protest against a ban of Jehovah’s Witnesses in the country. 
Organizers claimed over 150,000 people took part in the Moscow protest, which would make it the biggest since the collapse of the Soviet Union 20 years ago. This outnumbers the number of people who protested against Vladimir Putin in December 2011.
Protesters try to break through a cordon during a demonstration against Jehovah’s Witnesses ban
On April 20, Russia’s Supreme Court declared Jehovah’s Witnesses to be an extremist organization and outlawed its activity throughout Russia, thereby upholding the Justice Ministry’s requests. The court declared the immediate shutdown of all 395 local chapters of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia and transferred the organization’s assets into state custody. Jehovah’s Witnesses said it would appeal the decision.
According to the protesters, they are Christians from various denominations and they “could not look on as rights to worship of other denomination is infringed upon”. One protester told the press that “this ban would gradually eats into other Christian denominations”.
No member Jehovah’s Witness took part in the protest.
Moscow’s Zamoskvoretsky court weeks ago rejected a lawsuit filed by the Jehovah’s Witnesses religious group against the Justice Ministry’s ruling on banning its activity in Russia, a TASS correspondent reported from the courtroom.
The organization asked the court to recognize the Justice Ministry’s ruling as illegal and order its cancellation. “The court decided to reject the lawsuit of the religious organization “Jehovah’s Witnesses Administrative Center in Russia,” Judge Nelli Rubtsova said.
In its lawsuit, the Justice Ministry pointed to various violations by the organization’s activities revealed during a surprise inspection, including of the Law on Counteracting Extremist Activities.
On October 12, 2016, Moscow’s Tverskoy district court issued a warning to the Jehovah’s Witnesses Administrative Center based on revelations of extremism there. Under Russian law, a religious association or organization is subject to termination if it does not remedy the specified manifestations of extremism before the required deadline or displays any new ones.
Jehovah’s Witnesses is an international religious organization that supports offbeat views on the essence of the Christian faith and provides special interpretations of many commonly accepted notions.
http://ab.cnewsgo.com/christians-in-russia-protest-against-jehovahs-witnesses-ban/

Even if we "lose" we WIN! Thank you Jehovah God! ???????

The World is standing up for Jehovah's Witnesses. Our appeal is coming soon in June.... 

Even if we "lose" we WIN! Thank you Jehovah God! ???????

MOSCOW – Tens of thousands of protesters have thronged Moscow this weekend to protest against a ban of Jehovah’s Witnesses in the country. 
Organizers claimed over 150,000 people took part in the Moscow protest, which would make it the biggest since the collapse of the Soviet Union 20 years ago. This outnumbers the number of people who protested against Vladimir Putin in December 2011.
Protesters try to break through a cordon during a demonstration against Jehovah’s Witnesses ban
On April 20, Russia’s Supreme Court declared Jehovah’s Witnesses to be an extremist organization and outlawed its activity throughout Russia, thereby upholding the Justice Ministry’s requests. The court declared the immediate shutdown of all 395 local chapters of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia and transferred the organization’s assets into state custody. Jehovah’s Witnesses said it would appeal the decision.
According to the protesters, they are Christians from various denominations and they “could not look on as rights to worship of other denomination is infringed upon”. One protester told the press that “this ban would gradually eats into other Christian denominations”.
No member Jehovah’s Witness took part in the protest.
Moscow’s Zamoskvoretsky court weeks ago rejected a lawsuit filed by the Jehovah’s Witnesses religious group against the Justice Ministry’s ruling on banning its activity in Russia, a TASS correspondent reported from the courtroom.
The organization asked the court to recognize the Justice Ministry’s ruling as illegal and order its cancellation. “The court decided to reject the lawsuit of the religious organization “Jehovah’s Witnesses Administrative Center in Russia,” Judge Nelli Rubtsova said.
In its lawsuit, the Justice Ministry pointed to various violations by the organization’s activities revealed during a surprise inspection, including of the Law on Counteracting Extremist Activities.
On October 12, 2016, Moscow’s Tverskoy district court issued a warning to the Jehovah’s Witnesses Administrative Center based on revelations of extremism there. Under Russian law, a religious association or organization is subject to termination if it does not remedy the specified manifestations of extremism before the required deadline or displays any new ones.
Jehovah’s Witnesses is an international religious organization that supports offbeat views on the essence of the Christian faith and provides special interpretations of many commonly accepted notions.
http://ab.cnewsgo.com/christians-in-russia-protest-against-jehovahs-witnesses-ban/

1950_Defending_And_Legally_Establishing_The_Good_News.pdf
Audio Files:

1978 Hayden Covington Interviewed By Jerry Murray Interview with Hayden C. Covington, former Watchtower Attorney on November 19, 1978. Covington represented Jehovah's Witnesses in several Supreme Court cases dealing with freedom of religion and freedom of press in the 1940s. He was also Vice President of the Watchtower Society from 1942 to 1945. Covington died two days after giving this interview. 

"They Oppose Freedom of Worship," by Hayden C. Covington. Talk given at the 1953 International Assembly of Jehovah's Witnesses"They Oppose Freedom of Worship," by Hayden C. Covington. Audio lecture given at the 1953 International Assembly of Jehovah's Witnesses. At the time, Covington was Chief Legal Counsel of Jehovah's Witnesses and had served as Vice President of the Watchtower Society in the 1940s. Covington helped secure several key legal victories for Jehovah's Witnesses before the Supreme Court of the United States in the 1940s.


Read a copy of Covington's employment resume written after he left Bethel and his death certificate
1977-78_Hayden_Covingtons_Resume_and_Death_Certificate.pdf
When I was in Bethel, I received a copy of Covington's resume and death certificate from a JW in California by the name of Jeannie Sears. She had been Covington's friend and secretary of sorts for a few years before he died and I think they both lived in the same apartment complex. Jean's deceased husband had been a former Bethelite who had been Covington's friend when they both were in Bethel in the 1950s and it's through him that Jeannie met Hayden.

Interestingly, Covington wrote his memoir shortly before he died and shared it with Jeannie. She told me she was horrified when she read what he said about the organization and talked him out of publishing it. Later she watched him burn it in the yard. Jeannie never told me what was in that memoir and probably has died taking Covington's secrets with her to the grave.



Hayden Covington (1911 - 1978)
Hayden Covington was born in Hopkins County, Texas, in 1911. Around the time that he was studying for his law degree, he became involved with the Jehovah’s Witnesses. He defended some Witnesses in the San Antonio area and was eventually invited by the Witness leadership to New York. He joined the organization’s legal counsel in 1939 and served until 1963. In that time as the Witnesses’ attorney, Covington is said to have presented 111 petitions and appeals to the Supreme Court, and he won well above 80% of the 44 cases he brought before the Court. The cases dealt with issues ranging from compulsory flag-salute statutes, to street preaching, to door-to-door literature distribution. Later in his career Covington assisted prize-fighter Muhammad Ali in obtaining a draft exemption as a Muslim minister. Covington’s role as lawyer for the Jehovah’s Witnesses is recounted in Shawn Francis Peters’ Judging Jehovah's Witnesses: Religious Persecution and the Dawn of the Rights Revolution (2002).

“Determined to Keep Close to the Lord”

It was Brother Rutherford’s heartfelt wish that Jehovah’s Witnesses declare the good news without letup. So in mid-December 1941, several weeks before his death, he called together four directors of the two principal legal corporations used by Jehovah’s Witnesses and suggested that as soon after his death as possible, all the members of the two boards be called in joint session and a president and a vice president be elected.

On the afternoon of January 13, 1942, just five days after Rutherford’s death, all the board members of the two corporations met jointly at Brooklyn Bethel. Several days earlier, the Society’s vice president, 36-year-old Nathan H. Knorr, had suggested that they earnestly seek divine wisdom by prayer and meditation. The board members recognized that while the brother elected president would administer the legal affairs of the Watch Tower Society, he would also serve as a principal overseer of the organization. Who had the needed spiritual qualifications for this weighty responsibility in caring for Jehovah’s work? The joint meeting was opened with prayer, and after careful consideration, Brother Knorr was unanimously elected president of the two corporations and 30-year-old Hayden C. Covington, the Society’s lawyer, vice president.

Later that day, W. E. Van Amburgh, the Society’s secretary-treasurer, announced to the Bethel family the results of the election. R. E. Abrahamson, who was present on that occasion, recalled that Van Amburgh said: ‘I can remember when C. T. Russell died and was replaced by J. F. Rutherford. The Lord continued to direct and prosper His work. Now, I fully expect the work to move ahead with Nathan H. Knorr as president, because this is the Lord’s work, not man’s.’

How did the Bethel family members in Brooklyn feel about the results of the election? A touching letter from them dated January 14, 1942, the day after the election, answers: “His [Rutherford’s] change shall not slow us up in the performance of the task the Lord has assigned to us. We are determined to keep close to the Lord and to one another, firmly pushing the battle to the gate, fighting shoulder to shoulder. . . . Our intimate association with Brother Knorr for approximately twenty years . . . enables us to appreciate the Lord’s direction in the choice of Brother Knorr as president and thereby the loving watch-care of the Lord over His people.” Letters and cablegrams of support soon poured into headquarters from around the world.

There was no feeling of uncertainty as to what to do. A special article was prepared for the February 1, 1942, Watchtower, the very same issue that announced the death of J. F. Rutherford. “The final gathering by the Lord is on,” it declared. “Let nothing for one instant interrupt the onward push of his covenant-people in His service. . . . Now to hold fast our integrity toward the Almighty God is the ALL-IMPORTANT thing.” Jehovah’s Witnesses were urged to continue declaring the good news with zeal.

But ‘holding fast their integrity’ was a real challenge in the early 1940’s. The world was still at war. Wartime restrictions in many parts of the earth made it difficult for Jehovah’s Witnesses to preach. Arrests and mob action against the Witnesses continued unabated. Hayden Covington, as the Society’s legal counsel, directed the legal fight, sometimes from his office at Brooklyn headquarters and sometimes from trains as he traveled caring for legal cases. Working with local lawyers, such as Victor Schmidt, Grover Powell, and Victor Blackwell, Brother Covington fought hard to establish the constitutional rights of Jehovah’s Witnesses to preach from house to house and to distribute Bible literature without restraint from local officials.

- Declaring the Good News Without Letup (1942-1975)

As the intensity of house-to-house witnessing increased, however, so did attempts to apply laws to abridge or prohibit it. Not all lands have legal provisions that make it possible to secure freedoms for minorities in the face of official opposition. But Jehovah’s Witnesses knew that the U.S. Constitution guaranteed freedom of religion, freedom of speech, and freedom of the press. So, when judges construed local ordinances in such a way as to hinder the preaching of God’s Word, the Witnesses appealed their cases to the higher courts.

In reviewing what took place, Hayden C. Covington, who had a prominent role in legal matters for the Watch Tower Society, later explained: “Had the thousands of convictions entered by the magistrates, police courts and other lower courts not been appealed, a mountain of precedent would have piled up as a giant obstacle in the field of worship. By appealing we have prevented the erection of such obstacle. Our way of worship has been written into the law of the land of the United States and other countries because of our persistence in appealing from adverse decisions.” In the United States, scores of cases went all the way to the Supreme Court.

Strengthening the Guarantees of Freedom

One of the first cases involving the ministry of Jehovah’s Witnesses to reach the Supreme Court of the United States originated in Georgia and was argued before the Court on February 4, 1938. Alma Lovell had been convicted in the recorder’s court of Griffin, Georgia, of violating an ordinance that prohibited the distribution of literature of any kind without a permit from the city manager. Among other things, Sister Lovell had offered people the magazine The Golden Age. On March 28, 1938, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that the ordinance was invalid because it subjected freedom of the press to license and censorship.

The following year J. F. Rutherford, as attorney for the petitioner, presented arguments to the Supreme Court in the case of Clara Schneider v. State of New Jersey. This was followed, in 1940, by Cantwell v. State of Connecticut, for which J. F. Rutherford drafted the legal brief and Hayden Covington presented oral argument before the Court. The positive outcome of these cases buttressed the constitutional guarantees of freedom of religion, freedom of speech, and freedom of the press. But there were setbacks.

- ‘Defending and Legally Establishing the Good News’, WTB&TS
How the Governing Body Differs From a Legal Corporation  
ANNUAL meetings of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania have been held since January of 1885. When the ingathering of anointed Christians was underway in the late 19th century, the directors and officers of this corporation had the heavenly hope. In fact, this has almost always been the case.

There was one exception. In 1940, Hayden C. Covington—then the Society’s legal counsel and one of the “other sheep,” with the earthly hope—was elected a director of the Society. (John 10:16) He served as the Society’s vice president from 1942 to 1945. At that time, Brother Covington stepped aside as a director to comply with what then seemed to be Jehovah’s will—that all directors and officers of the Pennsylvania corporation be anointed Christians. Lyman A. Swingle replaced Hayden C. Covington on the board of directors, and Frederick W. Franz was elected vice president.

Why did Jehovah’s servants believe that all the directors and officers of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania should be anointed Christians? Because at the time, the board of directors and officers of the Pennsylvania corporation were closely identified with the Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses, which has always been made up entirely of spirit-anointed men.

- Jan. 15, 2001 Watchtower, WTB&TS
References from web to this book

Judging Jehovah's Witnesses

The University Press of Kansas publishes scholarly and regional books that contribute to the understanding of Kansas, the Great Plains, and the Midwest

www.kansaspress.ku.edu/petjud.html
JSTOR: Judging Jehovah's Witnesses: Religious Persecution and the **...**

JUDGING JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES: RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION AND THE DAWN OF THE RIGHTS REVOLUTION. By Shawn Francis Peters. Lawrence, Kan: University Press of Kansas ...

links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0748-0814(2001)16%3A2%3C547%3AJJWRPA%3E2.0.CO%3B2-E
Vol. 10 No. 6 (June 2000) pp. 390-393. JUDGING JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES **...**

JUDGING JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES: RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION AND THE DAWN OF THE RIGHTS REVOLUTION by Shawn Francis Peters. Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas, ...

www.bsos.umd.edu/gvpt/lpbr/subpages/reviews/peters.htm
Judging Jehovah's Witnesses: Religious Persecution and the Dawn of **...**

Peters, Shawn Francis Judging Jehovah's Witnesses: Religious Persecution and the Dawn of the Rights Revolution Lawrence: University Press of Kansas 342 pp., ...

findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb3341/is_200006/ai_n8053293
Judging Jehovah's Witnesses: Religious Persecution and

Judging Jehovah's Witnesses: Religious Persecution and the Dawn of the Rights Revolution. From: Journal of Church and State | Date: 1/1/2002 | Author: Smith ...

www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-85033374.html
Persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses in the United States **...**

Judging Jehovah's Witnesses: Religious Persecution and the Dawn of the Rights Revolution. ^ Radio discourse, October 6, 1935 as cited in Jehovah's ...

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persecution_of_Jehovah's_Witnesses_in_the_United_States
SSRN-Demythologizing the Legal History of the Jehovah's Witnesses **...**

Shawn Francis Peters' Judging Jehovah's Witnesses: Religious Persecution and the Dawn of the Rights Revolution is the most recent, and broadest, ...

papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1005705
| Book Review | The Journal of American History, 88.2 | The **...**

Judging Jehovah's Witnesses: Religious Persecution and the Dawn of the Rights Revolution. By Shawn Francis Peters. (Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, ...

www.historycooperative.org/journals/jah/88.2/br_100.html
UNH Magazine Spring 01--Book Reviews

By Anne Downey '95G. (Book titles are linked to online booksellers. Also check Dimond Library's online card catalog for these titles) ...

unhmagazine.unh.edu/sp01/bookssp01.html
Jehovah's Witnesses: Guardians of Free Expression by Stephanie **...**

... closely enough before, according to Shawn Peters, author of Judging Jehovah's Witnesses: Religious Persecution and the Dawn of the Rights Revolution. ...

docket.medill.northwestern.edu/archives/000039.php

MOSCOW – Tens of thousands of protesters have thronged Moscow this weekend to protest against a ban of Jehovah’s Witnesses in the country. 
Organizers claimed over 150,000 people took part in the Moscow protest, which would make it the biggest since the collapse of the Soviet Union 20 years ago. This outnumbers the number of people who protested against Vladimir Putin in December 2011.
Protesters try to break through a cordon during a demonstration against Jehovah’s Witnesses ban
On April 20, Russia’s Supreme Court declared Jehovah’s Witnesses to be an extremist organization and outlawed its activity throughout Russia, thereby upholding the Justice Ministry’s requests. The court declared the immediate shutdown of all 395 local chapters of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia and transferred the organization’s assets into state custody. Jehovah’s Witnesses said it would appeal the decision.
According to the protesters, they are Christians from various denominations and they “could not look on as rights to worship of other denomination is infringed upon”. One protester told the press that “this ban would gradually eats into other Christian denominations”.
No member Jehovah’s Witness took part in the protest.
Moscow’s Zamoskvoretsky court weeks ago rejected a lawsuit filed by the Jehovah’s Witnesses religious group against the Justice Ministry’s ruling on banning its activity in Russia, a TASS correspondent reported from the courtroom.
The organization asked the court to recognize the Justice Ministry’s ruling as illegal and order its cancellation. “The court decided to reject the lawsuit of the religious organization “Jehovah’s Witnesses Administrative Center in Russia,” Judge Nelli Rubtsova said.
In its lawsuit, the Justice Ministry pointed to various violations by the organization’s activities revealed during a surprise inspection, including of the Law on Counteracting Extremist Activities.
On October 12, 2016, Moscow’s Tverskoy district court issued a warning to the Jehovah’s Witnesses Administrative Center based on revelations of extremism there. Under Russian law, a religious association or organization is subject to termination if it does not remedy the specified manifestations of extremism before the required deadline or displays any new ones.
Jehovah’s Witnesses is an international religious organization that supports offbeat views on the essence of the Christian faith and provides special interpretations of many commonly accepted notions.
http://ab.cnewsgo.com/christians-in-russia-protest-against-jehovahs-witnesses-ban/

A Satanic religious group has been operating in Russia as an officially recognized church for the past year, according to the news website 66.ru. What's more, the Satanists are using their one-year anniversary to declare opposition to religious extremism. 
The Satanic Church of Russia received legal recognition on May 10, 2016 — a date they subsequently declared “the day of Russian Satanism,” 66.ru reported. 
In an interview with the news site, church leader Oleg Sataninsky expressed his organization's support for the controversial Yarovaya Laws, which widen the Russian legal concept of extremism and place restrictions on missionary work. Last month, Russia banned the Jehovah's Witnesses religious group under the legislation.
“We consider it necessary to speak out against missionary activity” Sataninsky said. “The Jehovah's Witnesses had an extreme approach. We oppose indoctrination and religious propaganda.” 
The Satanic Church of Russia has existed since 2013, but decided last year to register as a religious association, “rather than risk being labelled a totalitarian sect and banned by the state,” Sataninsky said. 
The group insists it does not follow the standard clichés associated with Satanism: sacrificial animal slaughter and black magic rituals. Sataninsky also argues that Satanism is not devil-worship. Devil-worshippers, he said, “are a form of anti-Christians,” while Satanists follow Anton Sandor's 1969 “Satanic Bible.” 
At press time, The Moscow Times could not confirm whether Sataninsky was the Satanic Church leader's true surname.
https://themoscowtimes.com/news/official-russian-satanist-church-declares-opposition-to-religious-extremism-57977

A Satanic religious group has been operating in Russia as an officially recognized church for the past year, according to the news website 66.ru. What's more, the Satanists are using their one-year anniversary to declare opposition to religious extremism. 
The Satanic Church of Russia received legal recognition on May 10, 2016 — a date they subsequently declared “the day of Russian Satanism,” 66.ru reported. 
In an interview with the news site, church leader Oleg Sataninsky expressed his organization's support for the controversial Yarovaya Laws, which widen the Russian legal concept of extremism and place restrictions on missionary work. Last month, Russia banned the Jehovah's Witnesses religious group under the legislation.
“We consider it necessary to speak out against missionary activity” Sataninsky said. “The Jehovah's Witnesses had an extreme approach. We oppose indoctrination and religious propaganda.” 
The Satanic Church of Russia has existed since 2013, but decided last year to register as a religious association, “rather than risk being labelled a totalitarian sect and banned by the state,” Sataninsky said. 
The group insists it does not follow the standard clichés associated with Satanism: sacrificial animal slaughter and black magic rituals. Sataninsky also argues that Satanism is not devil-worship. Devil-worshippers, he said, “are a form of anti-Christians,” while Satanists follow Anton Sandor's 1969 “Satanic Bible.” 
At press time, The Moscow Times could not confirm whether Sataninsky was the Satanic Church leader's true surname.
https://themoscowtimes.com/news/official-russian-satanist-church-declares-opposition-to-religious-extremism-57977

http://www.newsweek.com/jehovahs-witnesses-russia-ban-satanic-church-608334
Russia’s Supreme Court banned all activities of Jehovah’s Witnesses in the country last month under its anti-extremism law. Yet at the same time, the Satanic Church of Russia is celebrating its one-year anniversary as an officially recognized religion in Russia. And it did so by cheering the action taken against Jehovah’s Witnesses.
“We consider it necessary to speak out against missionary activity,” Satanic Church leader Oleg Sataninsky told Russian news site 66.ru as reported by The Moscow Times. “The Jehovah's Witnesses had an extreme approach. We oppose indoctrination and religious propaganda."
Sataninsky, whose true surname has not been verified, said that the church had existed in Russia but decided to register last May to avoid being labeled a “totalitarian sect” and to show authorities that they were not extremist.
He insists that followers of the church are not devil worshippers and do not engage in the types of bloody rituals and sacrifices commonly found in movie depictions. Instead, Sataninsky said, they follow TheSatanic Bible, which was published by American Anton LaVey, considered the founder of the global Church of Satan, in 1969.
It is just fine that they are legal while Jehovah’s Witnesses are banned, he added, because the Satanic Church does not engage in “rabid propaganda.”
Russia’s anti-extremism law came into effect in 2002, following Russia’s second war in Chechnya and the 9/11 attacks in the United States. It was followed last year by a set of measures named the Yarovaya Law. Although they were said to be aimed at combatting terrorism, critics alleged that they constituted an attack on freedom of speech and conscience. Specifically, they banned proselytizing, preaching and praying outside of “specifically designated places,” like officially recognized religions.
Religious Breakdown of Russia Over Time 
Only religious populations greater than or equal to one percent are included. Values exceed one hundred percent if the country practices dualism. Report as of 2010.
Eastern OrthodoxNo ReligionOther IslamSunniOtherOther JudaismProtestantismCatholicismOther Buddhism
Percent
1960
1980
2000
0
20
40
60
80
100
 
 
Source: ARDA. Show details 
 
Jehovah’s Witnesses, who number 175,000 members in Russia, were warned last March that their activities constituted extremism. A year later, the justice ministry made the decree official, a decision that was upheld by the Supreme Court, liquidating all 395 branches in the country and banning all gatherings.
The move was widely condemned in Europe and the United States, with the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom stating that it represented “paranoia” on behalf of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The commission also elevated Russia to the highest level of religious freedom abusers in its annual report last month.
Jehovah’s Witnesses have said that they will appeal the decision although they admit there is little prospect of it being overturned.
 

http://www.newsweek.com/jehovahs-witnesses-russia-ban-satanic-church-608334
Russia’s Supreme Court banned all activities of Jehovah’s Witnesses in the country last month under its anti-extremism law. Yet at the same time, the Satanic Church of Russia is celebrating its one-year anniversary as an officially recognized religion in Russia. And it did so by cheering the action taken against Jehovah’s Witnesses.
“We consider it necessary to speak out against missionary activity,” Satanic Church leader Oleg Sataninsky told Russian news site 66.ru as reported by The Moscow Times. “The Jehovah's Witnesses had an extreme approach. We oppose indoctrination and religious propaganda."
Sataninsky, whose true surname has not been verified, said that the church had existed in Russia but decided to register last May to avoid being labeled a “totalitarian sect” and to show authorities that they were not extremist.
He insists that followers of the church are not devil worshippers and do not engage in the types of bloody rituals and sacrifices commonly found in movie depictions. Instead, Sataninsky said, they follow TheSatanic Bible, which was published by American Anton LaVey, considered the founder of the global Church of Satan, in 1969.
It is just fine that they are legal while Jehovah’s Witnesses are banned, he added, because the Satanic Church does not engage in “rabid propaganda.”
Russia’s anti-extremism law came into effect in 2002, following Russia’s second war in Chechnya and the 9/11 attacks in the United States. It was followed last year by a set of measures named the Yarovaya Law. Although they were said to be aimed at combatting terrorism, critics alleged that they constituted an attack on freedom of speech and conscience. Specifically, they banned proselytizing, preaching and praying outside of “specifically designated places,” like officially recognized religions.
Religious Breakdown of Russia Over Time 
Only religious populations greater than or equal to one percent are included. Values exceed one hundred percent if the country practices dualism. Report as of 2010.
Eastern OrthodoxNo ReligionOther IslamSunniOtherOther JudaismProtestantismCatholicismOther Buddhism
Percent
1960
1980
2000
0
20
40
60
80
100
 
 
Source: ARDA. Show details 
 
Jehovah’s Witnesses, who number 175,000 members in Russia, were warned last March that their activities constituted extremism. A year later, the justice ministry made the decree official, a decision that was upheld by the Supreme Court, liquidating all 395 branches in the country and banning all gatherings.
The move was widely condemned in Europe and the United States, with the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom stating that it represented “paranoia” on behalf of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The commission also elevated Russia to the highest level of religious freedom abusers in its annual report last month.
Jehovah’s Witnesses have said that they will appeal the decision although they admit there is little prospect of it being overturned.
 

I wonder what this means not answers yet? Noted as of 2015 article? We definitely DEEP into these prophecies. 
Daniel 11: 36 “The king will do as he pleases, and he will exalt himself and magnify himself above every god; and against the God of gods+ he will speak astonishing things. And he will prove successful until the denunciation comes to a finish; because what is determined must take place. 37 He will show no regard for the God of his fathers; nor will he show regard for the desire of women or for any other god, but he will magnify himself over everyone. 38 But instead* he will give glory to the god of fortresses; to a god that his fathers did not know he will give glory by means of gold and silver and precious stones and desirable* things. 39 He will act effectively against the most fortified strongholds, along with* a foreign god. He will give great glory to those who give him recognition,*and he will make them rule among many; and the ground he will apportion out* for a price."
As keen students of God’s Word, we wait with eager anticipation to see who in the near future will assume the role of “the king of the north.”But no matter who may take the lead in this coalition of nations, we are certain of two things: (1) Gog of Magog and his armies will be defeated and destroyed; and (2) our reigning King, Jesus Christ, will save God’s people and usher them into a new world of peace and true security.—Rev. 7:14-17. 
http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/2015364

23 "Above all the things that you guard, safeguard your heart, For out of it are the sources of life." (Proverbs 4:23)
???
JEHOVAH told the prophet Samuel: “Not the way man sees is the way God sees, because mere man sees what appears to the eyes; but as for Jehovah, he sees what the heart is.” (1 Samuel 16:7)
???
Also focusing attention on the figurative heart, the psalmist David sang: “You [Jehovah] have examined my heart, you have made inspection by night, you have refined me; you will discover that I have not schemed.”—Psalm 17:3.
???
Yes, Jehovah looks into the heart to determine what we truly are. (Proverbs 17:3) 
???
 “Listen, O sons, to the discipline of a father and pay attention, so as to know understanding. For good instruction is what I certainly shall give to you. My law do not leave.”—Proverbs 4:1, 2.
2 pictures 1 GIF 1 Moving 

IMG_4769.mov

To Russia With Love! Jehovah will provide! No fear Jehovah is near!
 


To Russia With Love! Jehovah will provide! No fear Jehovah is near!                ?? ??? ??
“9 In that day they will say:
“Look! This is our God!
We have hoped in him,
And he will save us.
This is Jehovah!
We have hoped in him.
Let us be joyful and rejoice in the salvation by him.” (Isaiah 25:9).

"There is . . . a time to keep quiet and a time to speak."—Eccl. 3:1, 7.
“If my husband is overwhelmed with work or other responsibilities, I let a little time pass before I raise certain matters. Our conversations are much smoother as a result.”

#EL_CANCER_____
???
Who are you and where you come from?
Who gave you permission to
To my body you've introduced
???
Silent coward and treacherous
Get out of my body I don't want you
I remember you I'm a server
Of the one true God
???
A lot of pain and tears I've had
But loyal to my God Jehovah I've kept the am united
???
In my nights of wakefulness
I pray to the Lord with longing
I of the holy spirit in this bed
And so it will be because he loves me
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You destroy my flesh but my faith never
I have faith, in the beautiful promises
Biblical, where you won't be there
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I remember I'm the property of the Lord
Strength and faith hope he will give me
I will stand firm and don't forget me
Always be with me
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Concern and despair
To family and friends I've caused
However, not so easy to be defeated
Many petitions I have prayed
And my God Jehovah has answered me
Son @ mine don't lose your faith in the
New world what I have promised
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I'll be strong... be strong
With Jehovah Christ I will be
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Where the Lord my God to all loyal will heal you and your classmates. My God will destroy
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Coward and murderer to humanity
Have you done to suffer without mercy
But the Jehovah's witnesses
We stay with loyalty
And in the resurrection and paradise
Know it all security
#POEMA_DEDICADO_A_NUESTROS
#AMADOS_HERMANOS_ENFERMOS 
Based on
(. 25:8; Rev. 21:1-4)
Jesus Moreno Gomez
#AGAPE♡???

https://www.jw-russia.org/news/17050817-158.html

RUSSIA House Torched As 'Acts Of Vandalism' Target Jehovah's Witnesses In Russia
May 11, 2017 15:30 GMT Tom Balmforth  The Jehovah's Witnesses administrative center in Moscow has ceased its activities in the wake of a Russian Supreme Court ruling that branded the group as extremist. (file photo)
MOSCOW -- A home inhabited by Jehovah's Witnesses outside Moscow was destroyed in an arson attack, the religious organization said, citing it as the starkest example of a string of "acts of vandalism" targeting the group since it was branded as extremist by the Russian Supreme Court.

An inebriated resident of the village of Lutsino in Moscow Region on April 30 threw a bottle containing burning liquid at a home and garage, destroying the building as well as cars belonging to a family of Jehovah's Witnesses, the group said in a statement on its website on May 8.

The attacker had made disparaging comments about the Jehovah's Witnesses before the attack, the group said.

Yaroslav Sivulsky, a spokesman for Russia's Jehovah's Witnesses, told RFE/RL on May 11 that the worshipers were at home at the time of attack, although no one was hurt. Sivulsky said the attacker made no attempt to hide afterwards and was detained by police. He later blamed his actions on alcohol.

Sivulsky said the attack exemplified a spate of "acts of vandalism" that have targeted the Christian denomination since the court ruling last month.

On April 20, the Supreme Court labeled the Jehovah's Witnesses an extremist organization, ordering the seizure of the group's property in Russia and effectively banning worshipers from the country.

The United States and European Union have denounced the court ruling, and Human Rights Watch (HRW) called it "a terrible blow to freedom of religion and association in Russia."

The Jehovah's Witnesses have long been viewed with suspicion in Russia for their positions on military service, voting, and government authority in general. Freedom of religion is formally guaranteed in Russia but legislation sets out Orthodox Christianity, Islam, Judaism, and Buddhism as the country's four traditional religions, and rights activists say others frequently face discrimination.
In Media Crosshairs

The court ruling has put the group's worshipers in the crosshairs of state-run and Kremlin-loyal media outlets, which have portrayed the group as a pernicious sect that destroys families and threatens lives through their stance on blood transfusions.
Sikulsky pointed to a string of alleged cases of intimidation and vandalism listed on the group's website alongside photographs.

Several hours after the Supreme Court ruling, a group of men threw bricks and stones at the Jehovah's Witnesses' headquarters in St. Petersburg, smashing windows. 

On the night of April 30, in the city of Achinsk in Siberia's Krasnoyarsk, a local resident allegedly smashed a window of a place of worship of the Jehovah's Witnesses. 

On May 2, in the Kaliningrad region on the Baltic Sea, a window of the home of a family of Jehovah's Witnesses was broken when a rock was thrown at it. 

On May 5, in Novomoskovsk in Tula Oblast, the door of a building formerly used by Jehovah's Witnesses was defaced with the threatening message: "Friends, soon we're coming for you all." 

The group's main administrative center has stopped its activities in line with the demands of the Supreme Court.

The court ruling, however, has not yet fully entered into force -- the Jehovah's Witnesses' property has not yet been seized by the state, for instance -- as the group has until May 20 to file an appeal to the court.

Sivulsky said he believes there is "practically no chance" they will be successful in their appeal 
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.rferl.org/amp/28480772.html.      

“And he will wipe out every tear from their eyes, and death will be no more, neither will mourning nor outcry nor pain be anymore. The former things have passed away.” Rev. 21:4
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Your Mysterious Tears
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CRYING accompanies us from the day we are born. One expert explains that as babies, crying became our “acoustic umbilical cord,” because we cry to have our emotional and physical needs cared for. 
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But why do we shed tears as we grow older, when we can communicate in other ways?
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Whatever the reason, crying is a powerful nonverbal language. “There are few other ways to say so much in such a brief interval,” explains the book Adult Crying. Tears provoke reactions. 
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For example, most of us find tears of sadness difficult to ignore because they alert us that someone is suffering. In response, we may try to comfort or help the one who weeps.
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Some experts believe that crying provides a useful outlet for our emotions and that systematically holding back tears may damage our health. Others argue that the physical or psychological benefits of crying have not been scientifically verified. 
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Nevertheless, surveys estimate that 85 percent of women and 73 percent of men reported feeling better after crying. “Sometimes, I know I need to cry,” explains Noemí. “Afterward, I can take a deep breath and see things more clearly, in their true perspective.”
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But this feeling of relief may depend not only on tears. The way others respond to our crying also plays an important role. 
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For instance, when our tears move others to comfort us or to help us, we feel relieved. But if the response to our tears is not good, we may feel ashamed or rejected.
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Clearly, mysteries about crying remain. What we do know is that shedding tears is one of the intriguing emotional responses God has given us.

https://tv.jw.org/#en/mediaitems/LatestVideos/pub-jwb_201705_16_VIDEO
 

Museum on Jehovah's Name at World Headquarters, Warwick, New York 

I didn't realize listing my historical library was going to cause such a fuss [at least to one person]. Why did you single out just one of the hundreds of books I listed? The only book I consider to be completely true is the Bible. Why do you think I stated that none of these books were printed by the Watchtower? Because I knew some would protest which I do not care at all if you wish to be ignorant of historical items of interest. The books I listed are ALL the ones that the Watchtower has ever quoted from in the last +100 years in my library all of which I have read and studied.
  I have not only studied all the Watchtower publications in existence but all  the books ever quoted by said religion. And I have come to the conclusion that of the +2,000 religions on earth there is only ONE GOD  and therefore ONE FAITH. And since the vast majority of the religions believe in a Trinity makes it quite apparent to me that it is false since Satan is "misleading the entire earth". So the "majority" at this time would not have truth but falsehood.
   Of course the only real question is "Is the Trinity taught in the Bible?" And my response is  - How could it possibly be since the  writers were all Jews who do not believe in a Trinity and no Trinitarian for whatever reason has been able to prove by any Scripture that the Trinity even exists in the Bible...WHY is that?
 
OMALY said: You also do realize that concepts about triad groupings of gods are not the same as the Trinity idea, don't you?
   How do you define your Trinity then and where is it in YOUR Bible? I realize there are many different types and definitions of the Trinity almost as many as the number of religions in the world. But since there is only ONE God that should tell you something. LOL 

@James Thomas Rook Jr. @Eoin Joyce For Jehovah's will to be done, all that has to be is HIS NAME KNOWN. YES, ONLY 175,000 people taking a stand for Jehovah God make international news. We have people backing us that KNOW RUSSIA IS WRONG! But who cares? Jehovah God and soon just like Pharaoh and  Nebuchadrezzar they will learn till they are destroyed! Please read Psalms chapter 2 only small verses I think 12. They will lick ? the dust! No interpreter needed! ????⚔️???