Anna

"There was no governing body in the first century CE. Therefore, the present Governing Body has no legacy and should be dissolved." - p. 135.   😲   I know what you're all thinking: 'This is fake news, a hoax. He'd never say that.' But the book is available from his own Awatu Publishers via email for $10 (see Reddit link below). It's was only released a little over a week ago and is a hefty 337 pages long. He relates his long history in the org., that his issues have been brewing over the last 15 years, and what he says gels with what I know from various other sources - some of which are off-grid. While Furuli still believes JWs are the true religion and many core doctrines are correct (including 607!), he blasts the current GB for losing their way, being power- and money-grabbing, amongst other complaints, and he scripturally dismantles the FDS doctrine. He thinks the organization should be restructured so that it is theocratic like in the good old post-1971 days (I'm paraphrasing) rather than hierarchical like the Catholic church (yes, he refers to the Menlo Park court case). He says he approached the GB in the spirit of Matt. 18, and added that,    "The Governing Body received the book, and the members were
informed that if the basic problems discussed in the book could be
settled inside the organization, the book would not be published.
The GB has refused to communicate with me and therefore the
book has been published." - p. 14.   He knows full well what will happen to him which, I guess, will prove his point about the GB being autocratic and beyond questioning or correction.    Did anyone expect this bombshell? I certainly didn't! 😆   Here's the link to the Reddit discussion:    

Read the piece. Loved the connection between the Dutch and French (as happened in South Africa. ) Recognised all the Dutch and French names  - except Crispell. Where is this name from?
Afrikaans language is a form of old Dutch..... so I understand all related languages (Belgium, Flemish etc) but we have an unique double negative in the language which came from the French.
In the early stages of the colony the French Huguenots were not as many as the Dutch but a substantial group. It was a Dutch colony and speaking French in the churches was prohibited-  so the religious French protestants had to learn and use Dutch.  They automatically used the double negative and it stuck in the "Afrikaans" /Dutch language permanently.
Agreed.... many wars in Europe and bloody "purges' of religious groups took place all over Europe and England. The Inquisition started with Jews but soon escalated to the searching out of Christian heretics. A cruel depraved part of history.... 

My last name is not Crispell, but one of my living uncles still has the middle name of Crispell. Their story is partly told at the link below. I don't really know how many of these stories are true. Some of the family is currently back in Charleston and they say that the move from originally from Charleston to Walkill/Kingston/NewPaltz. But some stories have them coming over directly to New York. I never bothered to trace whether both versions were true for different parts of the family.
https://www.huguenotstreet.org/crispell
Thanks for telling parts of your story. This kind of history is interesting. A lot of people don't know just how seriously the Catholic/Protestant divide has affected history over the last 500 years. It's no wonder that so many of the prophecies in Revelation were originally seen in those terms.

When I first came to this site I chose the name "The Bible's Advocate" to discuss some doctrinal issues. But I never used it. I "temporarily" chose the name "JW Insider" because I also wanted to share a couple dozen trivia items that I figured no one else would be sharing. But I never got around to sharing the trivia items. By now, I'm stuck with "JW Insider" although I don't really like the name. And I also decided that the trivia items were . . . well . . .  too trivial to worry about.
But I figured I might start sharing a few more things and see how it goes. (My family has a long history with the Watchtower Society, some going back to Russell's time. Since my great-grandfather was on the convention speaking tours with Russell and Rutherford, you can still buy his picture on eBay along with several of the other associates of Russell. In fact, some original items were even given over to the Society for exhibits.)
I thought about this again because I'm reading a very thorough historical book on Russell titled "A Separate Identity, Volume 2" by B.W.Schulz and R.M.de Vienne. In fact, I've got nothing to share that can compare with the page after page of information about Russell from that book. So much of it is completely new to me and even a bit surprising. I wish I had been following the blog run by the author, too, because I notice that when I went back for something I had bookmarked to read, it wasn't there any more. I'll try to promote the book again here. I think people here will enjoy it.
https://www.theworldnewsmedia.org/topic/87187-just-read-a-good-portion-of-b-w-schulz-new-book-separate-identity-volume-2/?tab=comments#comment-144581
So if you came here for some of the trivia that I was going to share, sorry. I don't have anything to compare.
Well, I can share one thing that few people know. But I have never looked into it that closely myself. Much (most?) of the land that the Watchtower Farm owns in Wallkill used to belong to my relatives. I shared a fact before that Brother Booth (GB) once owned the farmland where they built the original Gilead School in Lansing. But the Wallkill story is of interest to me because there's a plaque up there in Wallkill associated with an old Huguenot related church with one of my relative's names on it. (Crispell)
I think it's now part of the Reformed Church of Shawangunk which borders on the North side of the Watchtower property there, within eyesight of the Kingdom Hall at Bruynswick Rd and Red Mill Rd. (They are across from each other, on separate sides of the Wallkill River.) I don't know if they still do it, but it was once the Watchtower's responsibility to care for a part of the historical church's property, including the plaque.
Of course all this is meaningless as it relates to the Watchtower itself, but it's part of a story about the movement of religion in the earlier part of the 1800's in the United States. These earlier relatives of mine were the first people to bring the French Huguenot religion up to New York (from around Charleston, South Carolina). There are still a couple of Crispell cousins in Wallkill, and even a Crispell School there, however, many of the Crispell family settled on the Wallkill River where the settlement was called New Paltz. I might have mentioned once before that an elderly woman at the Historical Society in New Paltz once dug an old family Bible out of a vault for me that had Dutch relatives listed, going back to the 1600s. (The French and the German and the Dutch began intermarrying in the 1800's here in this area.)
 

My maiden name was De Villiers.  My forefathers were also  of Huguenot stock that went to South Africa in the 17th century and started the wine industry. There is a famous farm in Cape area called La Rochelle which was named after the area in France my forefathers came from.
They fled to Holland when the Edict of Nantes was made void and persecution came overnight. They then went on to settle in the Cape. I have a book with my family history in south Africa....the genealogy was updated after my children were born.
What I find interesting is that Huguenots were also in the area you come from.... and your family were part of these persecuted protestants way back then.
I visited a fort built around 1650s in Florida USA. It was built by the Spanish when they had control of Florida.  It looked similar to the fort in south Africa built at the same time for sea defence.
I felt sad when I learnt there at this fort that a group of Huguenots which landed in Florida were massacred there by the Spanish.  
Seems like your family (I do not know the last name) fared better in the north of USA.
My family Crest has the lamb and fleur-de-lis symbols which indicate that they also participated in the crusades..... but I did not care to investigate this - not important.
What is interesting about your family history: it goes back to time of Russel.
Do share some more interesting titbits
 

Especially if you have the self-appointed 'super righteous' to police their every move.  Remember how the pharisees policed jesus's every move to find fault....... and they did....... despite his perfection. How much easier with more imperfect mortals. 

No conspiracy here. It's about how we often we tend to throw carefulness out the window when things look like they are going "according to plan." If someone is really serious about a teaching or premise, however, they are definitely going to look for points that undermine the premise. The best essays, non-fiction books, lectures and presentations will present a premise, deal with the points that undermine the premise, deal with the points in favor, and then discuss how or why the various arguments should be weighted in favor of the presented premise.
Volume 2 from B.W.Schulz deals with some WT issues just like this and discusses ways in which such mistakes are not conspiratorial, but have been driven from a belief system that didn't double-check itself. As the writers said, it's often just a matter of carefulness with the "facts." They didn't usually concern themselves with the reasons.

These examples, like most mistakes involving chronology, just show how easy it is to be mistaken. Our desire to believe something affects how careful we are about the evidence. I'm sure the person who found Bengel quote this was very excited about how it proves we were right all along about the old generation theory.
But that theory was finally dropped, although the danger is still there to let it happen again. I'm certainly not saying I have not been fooled, more often than I'd like to admit. But I'm trying to be much more careful about things now. The WTS has not been wrong very often on most other topics, but chronology is one of those things that we still carry on from traditions that go back nearly 150 years now. I doubt they will get fixed all at once.

I am truly saddened by this....I hope you are okay brother and you have been a great encouragement...because even tho you were obviously hurt with in the truth....you never lost your genuine love for your God Jehovah...and you underestimate your faith...faith is easy when it has not been beaten,,,,but to still have faith when you have been beaten and lay wounded.....that’s real faith...and it would be a honour to have served shoulder to shoulder with you.
I don’t know what’s going on..but I sincerely hope you are reasonably well....and a huge thank you from me....for being REAL !!!!!!

I suspect he just took the wrong medication that night. ;-)

I sincerely hope he doesn't change.
I've enjoyed his brutal truth throughout the years. 
Courage is not something that needs changing.
I hope you are ok @James Thomas Rook Jr.
 
 

Where are you going?

Where are you going?

“C'est moi! C'est moi, I blush to disclose. I'm far too noble to lie. That man in whom These qualities bloom, C'est moi, c'est moi, 'tis I.”

That was so sweet James!   Will send you this video a brother from New Zealand just sent.  But remember this scripture:
(Ephesians 4:23, 24) And you should continue to be made new in your dominant mental attitude, 24 and should put on the new personality that was created according to God’s will in true righteousness and loyalty.
You make changes daily and gradually.  It is not hard. You probably had to change your thinking in some way in order to write a nice post like that.  I endorse the two other posts above also.
I think you said things like that before.  But you are still here.  I am not saying 'Bye.  Listen to this lovely video.  Hope it plays!
 
 
IMG_25941.MOV

In good times, and bad times, in times easy and times hard, I have relied on the JW-Archive as a sounding board for many things, and appreciate the forbearance when I have ranted and raved about all sorts of things, even from the Librarian, who often deleted my posts, with cause.
I have come to the conclusion that logic and reason is not the end-all that I had aspired to, and that all things being considered, it would have been better for me to be "Brother Watchtower", than the man I have become.
I am 73 years old, and I probably do not have time to change .... realistically, but for 14 billion years I did not exist, and I don't remember it bothering me any.
My Wife Susan, and my sons and daughter will fulfill whatever unfulfilled dreams I had, as the stars I could reach ... were just starfish on the beach.
With whatever time I have left, it is going to be my life's challenge, so I bid each of you so long, and hope you stay closer to Jehovah than I did. 
....and like Forest Gump said "... and that's all I am going to say about that."
Goodby.
 

Let me put your mind at ease, I, like you, know when to keep my mouth shut. There are doctrinal interpretations that I have considered incorrect, and some which are pointed out to me and I now consider incorrect, but who am I to start making waves about it? 607, 1914, peace and security, the generation....and so on, do not nullify, or undermine, the fundamental core of what it means to be one of Jehovah's Witnesses and do not, actually should not,  undermine ones relationship with God. At least not for me. Heck, if I can read Ray's books and still be o.k, that says it all I think. 
If I discern something really WRONG then I will speak, but so far, this has not happened....

Let me put your mind at ease, I, like you, know when to keep my mouth shut. There are doctrinal interpretations that I have considered incorrect, and some which are pointed out to me and I now consider incorrect, but who am I to start making waves about it? 607, 1914, peace and security, the generation....and so on, do not nullify, or undermine, the fundamental core of what it means to be one of Jehovah's Witnesses and do not, actually should not,  undermine ones relationship with God. At least not for me. Heck, if I can read Ray's books and still be o.k, that says it all I think. 
If I discern something really WRONG then I will speak, but so far, this has not happened....

Let me put your mind at ease, I, like you, know when to keep my mouth shut. There are doctrinal interpretations that I have considered incorrect, and some which are pointed out to me and I now consider incorrect, but who am I to start making waves about it? 607, 1914, peace and security, the generation....and so on, do not nullify, or undermine, the fundamental core of what it means to be one of Jehovah's Witnesses and do not, actually should not,  undermine ones relationship with God. At least not for me. Heck, if I can read Ray's books and still be o.k, that says it all I think. 
If I discern something really WRONG then I will speak, but so far, this has not happened....

If there is a question about something, then it is not my place to say that I am necessarily representing what is TRUE. I am representing my particular take on the question. I may think it's true and might think I KNOW it's true. That doesn't make it true. At best, it's something that ought to be considered and questioned. It's our Christian duty to keep questioning to make sure of all things and hold fast to what is fine. It is not our duty to represent our views as absolute truth that others must follow.
Also there is a difference in not being honest and being dishonest. One may not be honest without realizing it, through sloppy research, biased thinking, misunderstanding, steeped in tradition etc. When something comes across as dishonest, I have stated the case to persons in responsible positions who will understand the problem. I don't treat anything as if there was purposeful dishonesty.
I think there is some kind of balance we should all reach. There is always a danger of causing unnecessary divisions.

I did notice that you were quoted and referenced, albeit, anonymously in B.W.Schulz and R.M.de Vienne. Perhaps there is a future in collaborations.

One person who is chosen, whom I know and even respect, was often asked this question. It should be noted, that among imperfect men and women, God does the choosing, and such an honor of being chosen is like that of an invitation by means of God's hand. Granted some chosen ones out there, not all of them have the answers to everything because they have not gain said experience. In Solider of God's case, he was Biblical healthy, but compared to me, and others among his circle when he was alive, he was not savvy with in other aspects, especially history outside of Scripture, yet, indirectly correlates. Solider of God did not care about recognition at all.

$2.00 per word to quote me. Book sales have hit a lull.

You Americans are strange folks. I can almost understand why you so willingly accept the GB as being ok. Because you are all so off the rail you think it is natural. 

Every now and then someone says something that says, in effect, "Ah! He understands me!" Then my next breath is breathlessly and frantically worried, "Uh-Oh! He understands me!!!"
It happened once, a couple years ago, on this forum when someone named, let's say, "Joyce" presented a supportive point that favored my own take on 607 BCE. His point was (and is) thoroughty devastating to the 607 theory from a very simple Biblical persepective. I worried instantly that he might start seriously considering more about these forum discussions and actually change his mind on the topic. I worried about what that could mean to his respectability in his congregation if he were vocal about it. And what about a wife and kids? Or perhaps an elderly brother who depends on his generosity to get by? What if discovering that one doctrine is wrong could avalanche into a "faith disaster" where related dominoes fell? What if someone has a rug pulled out from under them with nothing to fall back upon?
For two years, I consciously avoided repeating that particular argument that "Joyce" had himself presented, even though I always thought it was one of the most important points. I didn't want to be seen as going after a particular individual, manipulating a "chink" in the armor. Yet, I gladly went on to discuss other points.
It happened more recently, a few weeks ago, when someone named, let's say, "Anna" asked if I thought the GB had it wrong on the "cry of peace and security." Then she went on about how she agreed that the Bible context does not support the explanation we get from the GB. That scared me again, immediately, and I almost said it as a response to her. But it would not have been understood as a serious concern in a context where I was still expressing the same opinion on that topic. It would have seemed disingenuous, or manipulating. Still, I worry about where a discussion with her husband might end up. What about her children? What about her reputation in the congregation?
Where I have a difference with the view expressed in the WT, I always hope I have made clear that these are not things to just bring up openly in the congregation setting. For those who don't wish to deal with such topics, I am happy to be counted among those who are seen as "crazy" or "haughty" or even "apostate" because that makes it easier to dismiss for those who wish to dismiss. Of course, others will recognize a point, here and there, as something worthy of a discussion, or pushback, or counter-argument. I look forward to that type of response. 
Also, I know that a few others have been watching this forum. Not persons from Bethel(s) as far as I know. But I get contacted now and then about whether someone can quote or use what I've said here on someone's website, with or without attribution. My answer is always, go ahead! For the same reasons I just gave above, I don't care how or where or why a person would want to repeat anything from here. But I have no concern about controlling how anything is used by others. Perhaps others here get similar requests.
I should also add that I don't consider anything said here as "enlightenment" to be recognized. I treat this forum more the way I would want people to treat a comments section over at jw.org, if they had one.