Anna

They will count baptized children, down to the age of three, or if they have been potty trained, down to the age of two.

These are good points. Inside the walls of Jerusalem, they would have heard of the wars around the country, rumors of wars, and would have known to prepare for the Romans coming on their way. For some reason (per Luke) Jesus had not told them to flee at the rumors, but from the actual time when they actually saw encamped armies surrounding the city. As far as we can tell, this full siege didn't actually happen until 70, but there must have been some kind of "surrounding" by Gallus' armies before they tried to breach the city in 66. This would have been quite visible, and Jewish guerrilla forces were reported to be quite active drumming up support within the nation and the city to prepare. They would have spread the news of the most recent successes and defeats and therefore would have known what Gallus was up to when they saw his armies approaching Jerusalem in late October of 66. I think a lot of their "news" was direct word of mouth from eyewitnesses and their own ability to look out their windows (actually, from the top of the walls) and see for themselves.
Except when these movements are obvious in front our eyes, from our own windows.
This is very true. In fact, I found it odd that there had been a shift in the doctrine such that all these former misinterpretations were turned into "correct" former understandings of who held the position of these Kings at previous times, even though it would change through time.
Of course, some of these interpretations were clearly influenced by prior Adventist teachings, et al, about the Anglo-American world power, and totalitarian world powers. This, I think, has skewed the evidence away from realizing that the Anglo-American world power and various allies have usually been far more totalitarian than most of the others powers accused.
Russia, right after their unfounded crackdown on JWs, was "low-hanging fruit" at the time it was identified as the "King of the North." It seemed obvious in light of the fact that it had previously been the USSR but was going unidentified for a while just in case Islam could qualify. (This idea was presented in some talks by senior members of the Writing Department after September 2001.)
Of course, in the original context, Jehovah's people sometimes found protection with the King of the South (Egypt) and sometimes they were to find protection with the King of the North (Babylon). Jeremiah begged his countrymen to go into exile in Babylon for protection because fleeing to Egypt would not be safe at that time. These were symbols of the nations that appeared to be stronger than Jehovah's people, and therefore become the symbols of "temptation" for protection and flight, when God's people forget about His protection. Therefore, if these "kings of the earth" are revisited in Revelation, then the symbol is no longer necessary to identify with a particular nation. It doesn't matter who they are, they are part of a world (Satan's world) that Christians have conquered through the blood of the Lamb.

I saw an item about some squirting wine at car occupants using turkey basters to keep social distance. Or is that only in my mind’s eye that I saw it?

The annual method makes the most sense, of course. And the evidence from the 2nd century shows this is how it was understood. I saw some Covid news about priests offering the sacraments (actually bread/wafer only; no wine) to people driving up in their cars. A drive through mass, as it were. I guess even in church they don't often offer the parishioners any wine, but the priest drinks it for them. Do you know if this is common?
I wasn't trying to be too clear. It was just a reference to one of the usual type questions we hear around this time of year. I could have also included: "What happened to 1935?" "What if the other sheep are (anointed) Gentiles?" "What about Nisan 15 instead of Nisan 14 for Passover?" "What about the apparent contradiction between John and the Synoptics on the date of Jesus' death?"
We can bring this back up again for discussion tomorrow.

I'm sure most Witnesses here had the meeting yesterday, probably through Zoom, and the Special Talk (pre-Memorial). The talk was also already available on JW.ORG, and the Memorial talk(s) too.
The announcement that all the summer conventions would be made available through JW.ORG didn't surprise me, because planning for these is a lot of work in Feb/Mar even where all conventions are at local assembly halls, and planning for other venues takes much longer, sometimes contracted nearly a year in advance. Because of the unknowns it is not possible, therefore, to just push these out a couple of months.

When they heard this, many of his disciples said: “This speech is shocking; who can listen to it?” 61  But Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples were murmuring about this, said to them: “Does this stumble you?* 62  What, therefore, if you should see the Son of man ascending to where he was before?z63  It is the spirit that is life-giving;a the flesh is of no use at all. The sayings that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.
John 6:60 -63

But Br. Lett DOES love selfies with people 😄

I know of an elder and his wife who will not have any symbols at all. I also heard one brother mention the appropriateness of a recovering alcoholic obtaining wine. Our household (3 of us) will have the emblems, but I don't think I am going to pass them around. To me that would feel too pretentious since the reason for passing them is not there...
I am not sure what rules you are referring to with regard to the memorial. The only rules I know of, and they are pretty straightforward, is the wine should be unfortified and the bread unleavened and the anointed are the only ones who partake and the great crowd are observers. The exceptions to the rules are If there is no one partaking then the emblems are not necessary. They are only necessary when a whole congregation physically gathers in case someone partakes. In a home where it is clear no one will partake, then to me, having the symbols is like a Catholic having a statue of a crucified Jesus to remind himself visually of the sacrifice that he made. That's how I see it anyway....
As a side line,  the friends fussing over what brand or type of red wine should be used is positively irritating me, lol. Red wine is red wine! As for the bread, as long as it is unfortified flour and water, rolled into a flatbread and baked, it doesn't matter if it's as hard as rock, because no one will eat it! 😄

I thought today’s WT study timely indeed, as it addressed:
 (1) How should anointed ones view themselves? (2) How should those who partake of the emblems at the Memorial be treated? (3) Should we be worried if the number of partakers increases? 
The really true anointed don't say: “Well, you can go to the elders if you want, but if you REALLY want to know what is going on, here I am. I am one of the anointed, after all. I mean, c’mon! You don’t think there are some unbalanced ones who will claim—and in most cases, truly convince themselves of it—the status exactly for that purpose? It is such a power-play to do it that way. It is so much like the greater world. 
To hear some here carry on about the ‘anointed being muzzled’ you would think it as though the GB was the media that had succeeded in separating Trump from ‘his base.’ On and on they rage about it. Will some lunatics on this forum rage about what they are going to do as the ‘true anointed’ in just a few short years? We’ll see. They are not too far along in the ‘to do’ list, the first item is to merely show up at all. For every 10,000 persons who can point to what they are going to do, there is only one who can point to what he has done—and so far, the GB are that one.
It doesn’t matter if the number has in rising in recent years. It has risen no more than ten thousand over—what? twenty years? In a congregation of 8.5 million, that is statistically nothing. The organization doesn’t even try to figure it out; it can easily be attributed to possible emotional duress and imbalance. Nobody would argue that there’s not plenty of that going around today in the world, and Jehovah’s servants are not unaffected. Or maybe it is real. Doesn’t matter. It is irrelevant to faithful life.
You don’t have to know it, is the point. You don’t have to figure out: ‘Is he (or she) really anointed or not?’ It is a designation of a heavenly assignment. Unless one is tapped for a GB assignment—and how likely is that?—it is irrelevant for the present life in this system. Should they come to feel they need one more member, surely it will be someone with a long-time record of faithful service and not just one ‘right off the boat.’
One brother commented on how there are VIP clubs today in the world and that it is a sign of status to belong to a VIP club. It is exactly what the really true anointed do not do. Such a club excludes everyone else. Anointed don’t do it.
As to any tendency to treat them as celebrities? Look they do not want that. Face it, why do we usually want to meet any well-known person? Because they have made it to the top! GB members don’t view themselves are making it to the top—it is part of their very aualitficatons that they do not think of themselves in that way.
 

When they heard this, many of his disciples said: “This speech is shocking; who can listen to it?” 61  But Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples were murmuring about this, said to them: “Does this stumble you?* 62  What, therefore, if you should see the Son of man ascending to where he was before?z63  It is the spirit that is life-giving;a the flesh is of no use at all. The sayings that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.
John 6:60 -63

To me, the problem arises when you attempt to slice and dice a name/word that is not meant to be and infer meanings that were never intended. For instance just using the example of "fortune" listed earlier. "Fortune" is one word. But if I slice it up into "for" as in pro something and "tune" as in music, I might come up with the conclusion that "fortune" actually means someone is Pro-Music. An entirely wrong definition of what "fortune" really means. But to be sure, before I finish this response, I will attempt to find a better example that directly relates to this discussion. Be back in a while...
OK, I'm  back now...here is something you might find interesting: (Not written by JW's or the organization btw. I won't include the site because I don't want to direct people to a non-JW site but it/and others are easy enough to find...)                    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Culprits Turn “God” into “evil” (The Loaf of Bread Illustration)
Let’s call this my “loaf of bread” theory, for lack of a better illustration. Many former Jehovah’s Witnesses, as well as others who are either fooled by others or who denounce the name, suggest that the name of God Jehovah means “god of ruin”, or “god of destruction”. They take to this by watching others lay out the word “Jehovah” like a loaf of bread, and slicing it up into parts. They then attempt to butter the bread and flavor it. Essentially, they redefine the parts slice by slice. They turn a word that was already previously translated from Hebrew to English, and double or triple translate it into “buttered pieces” of English, and then mash it all together and call it a conclusive meaning. This does not work. The name has already been translated. Hebrew language “rules” must be taken into consideration to properly translate certain words or names. Masoretic vowel points are even critical to understand.
For example, the Masorites added the mappiq to the letters “jah” in order to remind the readers to say “Lord” (Adonai) instead of “Jah“. (See photo below) Their intentions were to prevent those in synagogues from saying God’s name. In addition, many names that ended in “yah” were translated “iah“, which some believe was also done by the Masorites out of fear of people speaking the holy name of God out loud.

“Jewah” and “Jehouah” were also written forms adapted and accepted through the ages. Christian theologians began to make the pronunciation or spelling as “Jehovah“, choosing to disregard or dismiss the Masoretic translations of the word. Further, some scholars prefer the pronunciation “Jehwah” over the name “Yahweh”, feeling that it is seen in the most reliable translations, including the Masoretic MSS, versions of the LXX (Septuagint) and the Samaritan Pentateuch. Still, the topic of translations is disputed, as it probably always will be.
 
God of Ruin? 
With the intricacies of the languages and tedious translations involved, it is beyond ludicrous for anyone to chop apart the name “Jehovah” and convert it to a meaning such as “God of ruin”. In fact, most language experts would find this uneducated, unscholarly nonsense as borderline ludicrous.
The Culprits
It should also be noted that there is a Guyanese woman who demands that “Jehovah” means “god of ruin”. She dedicates her website to this assertion,  as well as her alleged desire to “unite Israelites”. Her website reveals horrendous English, including grammar, punctuation and spelling. If one does not recognize the difference between “there” and “they’re”, and repeatedly capitalizes the word “history”, then credibility is that of a novice, at best. One might also deduce that repeatedly yelling to readers by using multiple exclamation points denotes poor judgement and suggests lack of basic intellectual written communication.
The Rumor Mill
Those who parrot these type of people also show their dangerous susceptibility to believe just about anything they read. In addition, the woman I refer to also states that one cannot “put yah in front of God’s name”. She calls herself a Hebrew, and believes Jesus Christ is “Ba’al”. Enough said on that.
God’s Name Mocked by Many
Please use caution when repeating what you hear or read. Many have lashed out in anger, believing that “Jehovah means evil”. Do you see what has just happened? One thinks they’re stating irrefutable fact, and begins telling the world, “Jehovah is evil… Jehovah is Satan”. Some even profess to be Christians, and spout off this unfounded jargon. Through a simple smokescreen, many self professed Christians are blaspheming in an effort to prove a religion wrong, as some sort of “dirt” they’ve uncovered. Many former JWs have fallen into the trap of saying “their God” (when referring to Jehovah’s Witnesses) and including abusive speech directly against God, possibly without even realizing it. Hence, the Jehovah’s Witnesses may in turn have grounds to view most of these people as unbelievers in God, or atheists, or even blasphemers. This may give Jehovah’s Witnesses more “ammunition” against former JWs and others, who already have a reputation and stereotype of being “tricked” by alleged “false information”, and led by Satan.
It is highly important then, that Christians and even non-Christians use extra caution in spreading false information that has no intellectual basis whatsoever."
So while the authors are not JW's, they seriously caution others about specious and false arguments in support of their hatred of JW's since it will ultimately backfire and actually make them look gullible and bad, rather than prove JW's wrong.

Why then did so many faithful Jews use "theophoric" names that incorporated the Divine Name as from the tetragrammaton in the names they used for their children if it's meaning was so disgusting? 
from Wikipedia:
The name of the Israelite deity YHWH (usually shortened to Yah or Yahu, and Yeho or Yo) appears as a prefix or suffix in many theophoric names of the First Temple Period. For example, Yirme-yahu (Jeremiah), Yesha-yahu (Isaiah), Netan-yah, Yedid-yah, Adoni-yah, Nekhem-yah, Yeho-natan (Jonathan), Yeho-chanan (John), Yeho-shua (Joshua), Yeho-tzedek, Zekharya (Zechariah).
"Yahū" or "Yah" is the abbreviation of YHWH when used as a suffix in Hebrew names; as a prefix it appears as "Yehō-", or "Yo". It was formerly thought to be abbreviated from the Masoretic pronunciation "Yehovah". There is an opinion[8] that, as Yahweh is likely an imperfective verb form, "Yahu" is its corresponding preterite or jussiveshort form: compare yiŝtahaweh (imperfective), yiŝtáhû (preterit or jussive short form) = "do obeisance".
The article then goes on to list many common Biblical Hebrew names we commonly use as being theophoric names that incorporate Yahweh and YHWH.
Although, to be fair to you, maybe I am not clear on what your contention is. It doesn't appear that the argument you propose above seems to be supported generally by scholars. I also checked the website you linked to in support of your argument. Apparently the author you are relying on for your facts has some other nuggets of "truth" he is proffering. Here are just a few:
- "Why Paul is a Fake Apostle"; "Near Death Testimonies by a Nigerian Pastor and a 15 Year Old of Heaven and Hell"; "The Messiah's Missing Years in the Far East in Search of the Lost Tribes": "The Earth is Not a Globe - "we live on a flat motionless earth."; "There are No Planets - Just Stars and One Sun"; "Gravity is a Fraud"...

some suggestion:
Sunday = not working day
Monday = preparation for work day
Tuesday = light work day
Wednesday = work break day
Thursday = task finishing day
Friday = Celebrating the upcoming weekend day
Saturday = Celebration break day
.... about names for months go to Croatian calendar, normal meanings  :)) https://www.mojevrijeme.hr/magazin/2014/09/kako-su-mjeseci-dobili-imena-listopad-mjesec-kada-pada-lisce/
  
 

I get it. Jehovah takes no pleasure in the suffering of humans and therefore would have him killed without much suffering.
I get it. You would take pleasure in prolonging the suffering of a fellow human because they were apostate. You like the idea of prolonged torture against enemies.
(Romans 12:16-21) . . .Do not become wise in your own eyes. 17 Return evil for evil to no one. Take into consideration what is fine from the viewpoint of all men. 18 If possible, as far as it depends on you, be peaceable with all men. 19 Do not avenge yourselves, beloved, but yield place to the wrath; for it is written: “‘Vengeance is mine; I will repay,’ says Jehovah.” 20 But “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by doing this you will heap fiery coals on his head.” 21 Do not let yourself be conquered by the evil, but keep conquering the evil with the good.
(Mark 7:20-23) 20 Further, he said: “That which comes out of a man is what defiles him. 21 For from inside, out of the heart of men, come injurious reasonings, sexual immorality, thefts, murders, 22 acts of adultery, greed, acts of wickedness, deceit, brazen conduct, an envious eye, blasphemy, haughtiness, and unreasonableness. 23 All these wicked things come from within and defile a man.”
(James 2:11-13) If, now, you do not commit adultery but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of law. 12 Keep on speaking and behaving in such a way as those do who are going to be judged by the law of a free people. 13 For the one who does not practice mercy will have his judgment without mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
Food for thought.

Do you think that kind of language is appropriate for you? And I am not apostate. 

Strange logic. If one had a choice between being killed by the Angel of Death or being killed by a deranged, murderous "JW" who enjoyed killing apostates, why does it make a difference? Do you think that after his death the apostate is going to be mad because the lunatic "JW" won't wipe that smile off his face?

No- we think on those symbols and the life it presents for us. By the death of christ we receive opportunity to life everlasting - we think about the last hours of christ, his suffering and loyalty to jehovah. We do not believe as the Catholics do in transsubstatiation -  that the wine supernaturally turns into real blood. So we do not find it gory.......
The Israelites left slavery and were set free on passover when the passover lamb was slaughtered and blood put on doors.  We were set free from everlasting death when Jesus (the passover lamb) was slaughtered.

You do know that the wine and bread symbolize Jesus' blood and flesh, that they are not really his blood and flesh, right?
Yes, we are aware of that. The other sheep are merely grateful spectators, with only a very few partaking. Would you have the anointed and the great crowd segregated?
 
 

Most of these churches that defy government quarantine restrictions do so because they see the government being opportunistic—‘never let a crisis go to waste.’ They are intensely political on the right, celebrate the Bill of Rights, and they fear that government surveillance, monitoring, restrictions will not revert to normal after the crisis has passed. To them, the crisis is the wedge to introduce permanent restriction of freedom. Some see it as a deliberate move to so decimate capitalism that all that will be left is for socialism to take the helm. A fringe of these people even think the ‘crisis’ is manufactured for exactly that purpose—to extend control and restrictive means of government over all persons. And don’t get them going about Bill Gates!
None of this is so absurd to be dismissed out of hand. See how popular Bernie Sanders is, or even Elizabeth Warren. The trouble with conspiracy theories is that once a few of them turn out to be true it becomes so much easier to swallow anything coming down the pipe. I am glad that we really don’t have to worry about it. We never put our trust in human institutions, so if it turns out that there are machinations amongst them, it does not unsettle us to the degree that it unsettles people who do put full trust in human self-rule. Nor do we look to human institutions for ‘staying power.’ If they don’t go down this way, they will go down that way. All we have to do is stay loyal to God, no matter what, and let the chips fall where they may. When push comes to shove, this life is not the ‘real’ life of 1 Timothy 6:19.

I had no doubts that we wouldn't be one of those who defied the authorities in this case. Defying the authorities because they forbid us to preach and meet because they don't agree with us is scriptural. But this of course is not the current situation, and we obey the superior authorities because they have ours and everyone else's health and  best interests at heart. I wonder if any of us ever foresaw that there would be a valid reason to stop gathering together, lol.  It also made me think that zoom and similar conference meetings may be used during the GT, and that those examples of meeting in the woods/attic/basement might be moot....
But I know there are ways in which such conference meetings can be potentially hijacked....so maybe it could be the woods after all...

I had no doubts that we wouldn't be one of those who defied the authorities in this case. Defying the authorities because they forbid us to preach and meet because they don't agree with us is scriptural. But this of course is not the current situation, and we obey the superior authorities because they have ours and everyone else's health and  best interests at heart. I wonder if any of us ever foresaw that there would be a valid reason to stop gathering together, lol.  It also made me think that zoom and similar conference meetings may be used during the GT, and that those examples of meeting in the woods/attic/basement might be moot....
But I know there are ways in which such conference meetings can be potentially hijacked....so maybe it could be the woods after all...

I have noticed many friends seem to be stressing about the acquisition of the memorial symbols during the coronavirus lockdown. There have been quite a few discussions on social media and in person.
These discussions were mainly regarding the necessity for memorial symbols if such became troublesome to purchase and if no one in the household was a partaker. The elders sent out information, one  of which was the 85 WT 2/1/ p. 31 "question from readers" ( https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1985128 )which says in part:
"On occasion, raging storms or floods have prevented a congregation, or some of its members, from meeting together as planned. In rare cases, martial law has been in effect with armed soldiers barring citizens from being out-of-doors after sunset. Other Christians have not been able to be at the congregation’s celebration because of being hospitalized or seriously ill. What can be done in such instances?
While it is fitting for the whole congregation to unite for this important event, circumstances such as noted above may make that impossible. When extreme weather, a natural disaster, or the like, absolutely prevents a family or a portion of a congregation from meeting with the congregation, the isolated ones can meet and discuss Scriptural accounts such as found in Luke 22:7-23, 28-30 and; 1 Corinthians 11:20-31, as well as discussing the meaning of the occasion. Similarly, if an enforced curfew makes it impossible for a congregation to gather on the appropriate night, meeting in Congregation Book Study groups or neighborhood groups might be the best alternative, the sum of those in attendance serving as the congregation’s attendance report. A brief talk may even be given if a capable, dedicated brother is in the group. There need not be concern that no suitable emblems are available as long as no one in this emergency situation previously partook of the bread and the wine as an anointed Christian".
It made me think about the whole topic a little bit more. To observe the memorial was a command by Jesus for the anointed, and as far as I am aware, there is nothing in the Bible commanding the great crowd to observe it, even as spectators. However, at the beginning, before the great crowd was identified, all were partakers. After that, the emblems kept being passed, and those who were anointed partook, and those who were not obviously didn't. Fast forward to today, in a congregation setting, even if we "know" that currently no one partakes, that can change. So while all the anointed are not sealed yet, we cannot assume, and stop passing along the emblems on the account that we think no one is anointed in our congregation. No one is asked beforehand if they are going to partake, that only becomes evident when the emblems reach them, and they eat the bread and drink the wine. That way, no one is put on the spot. Of course, on top of that, since we are one flock, and we support the anointed in everything, we observe the memorial with them, as spectators, and also to show appreciation for what Jesus did for us. But, under lockdown circumstances if we know for sure no one is going to partake in our family, then there is really no need for the emblems. That's how I see it anyway. But some prefer to have the emblems to help them visualize things better. Although we are supposed to be walking by faith, not by sight...😀
I like how our website puts it: "The purpose of the Lord’s Evening Meal is to remember Jesus, showing our gratitude for his sacrifice in our behalf. (Matthew 20:28; 1 Corinthians 11:24) The observance is not a sacrament, or a religious practice that imparts merit such as grace or the forgiveness of sins. * The Bible teaches that our sins can be forgiven, not by a religious rite, but only through faith in Jesus".—Romans 3:25; 1 John 2:1, 2. https://www.jw.org/en/jehovahs-witnesses/faq/lords-supper/
Unfortunately, it seems like some are viewing the memorial as some kind of religious ritual, and are even going to pass the emblems among themselves as if touching them somehow makes all the difference....Because I come from a Catholic family, I find this kind of reasoning a little disappointing...
Also, I don't know if anyone has listened to the memorial talk, the brother says that Jehovah's Witnesses would risk their lives to be at the memorial. In view of all the above, isn't that statement a little far fetched?
Any thoughts?
 

I have noticed many friends seem to be stressing about the acquisition of the memorial symbols during the coronavirus lockdown. There have been quite a few discussions on social media and in person.
These discussions were mainly regarding the necessity for memorial symbols if such became troublesome to purchase and if no one in the household was a partaker. The elders sent out information, one  of which was the 85 WT 2/1/ p. 31 "question from readers" ( https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1985128 )which says in part:
"On occasion, raging storms or floods have prevented a congregation, or some of its members, from meeting together as planned. In rare cases, martial law has been in effect with armed soldiers barring citizens from being out-of-doors after sunset. Other Christians have not been able to be at the congregation’s celebration because of being hospitalized or seriously ill. What can be done in such instances?
While it is fitting for the whole congregation to unite for this important event, circumstances such as noted above may make that impossible. When extreme weather, a natural disaster, or the like, absolutely prevents a family or a portion of a congregation from meeting with the congregation, the isolated ones can meet and discuss Scriptural accounts such as found in Luke 22:7-23, 28-30 and; 1 Corinthians 11:20-31, as well as discussing the meaning of the occasion. Similarly, if an enforced curfew makes it impossible for a congregation to gather on the appropriate night, meeting in Congregation Book Study groups or neighborhood groups might be the best alternative, the sum of those in attendance serving as the congregation’s attendance report. A brief talk may even be given if a capable, dedicated brother is in the group. There need not be concern that no suitable emblems are available as long as no one in this emergency situation previously partook of the bread and the wine as an anointed Christian".
It made me think about the whole topic a little bit more. To observe the memorial was a command by Jesus for the anointed, and as far as I am aware, there is nothing in the Bible commanding the great crowd to observe it, even as spectators. However, at the beginning, before the great crowd was identified, all were partakers. After that, the emblems kept being passed, and those who were anointed partook, and those who were not obviously didn't. Fast forward to today, in a congregation setting, even if we "know" that currently no one partakes, that can change. So while all the anointed are not sealed yet, we cannot assume, and stop passing along the emblems on the account that we think no one is anointed in our congregation. No one is asked beforehand if they are going to partake, that only becomes evident when the emblems reach them, and they eat the bread and drink the wine. That way, no one is put on the spot. Of course, on top of that, since we are one flock, and we support the anointed in everything, we observe the memorial with them, as spectators, and also to show appreciation for what Jesus did for us. But, under lockdown circumstances if we know for sure no one is going to partake in our family, then there is really no need for the emblems. That's how I see it anyway. But some prefer to have the emblems to help them visualize things better. Although we are supposed to be walking by faith, not by sight...😀
I like how our website puts it: "The purpose of the Lord’s Evening Meal is to remember Jesus, showing our gratitude for his sacrifice in our behalf. (Matthew 20:28; 1 Corinthians 11:24) The observance is not a sacrament, or a religious practice that imparts merit such as grace or the forgiveness of sins. * The Bible teaches that our sins can be forgiven, not by a religious rite, but only through faith in Jesus".—Romans 3:25; 1 John 2:1, 2. https://www.jw.org/en/jehovahs-witnesses/faq/lords-supper/
Unfortunately, it seems like some are viewing the memorial as some kind of religious ritual, and are even going to pass the emblems among themselves as if touching them somehow makes all the difference....Because I come from a Catholic family, I find this kind of reasoning a little disappointing...
Also, I don't know if anyone has listened to the memorial talk, the brother says that Jehovah's Witnesses would risk their lives to be at the memorial. In view of all the above, isn't that statement a little far fetched?
Any thoughts?
 

I have noticed many friends seem to be stressing about the acquisition of the memorial symbols during the coronavirus lockdown. There have been quite a few discussions on social media and in person.
These discussions were mainly regarding the necessity for memorial symbols if such became troublesome to purchase and if no one in the household was a partaker. The elders sent out information, one  of which was the 85 WT 2/1/ p. 31 "question from readers" ( https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1985128 )which says in part:
"On occasion, raging storms or floods have prevented a congregation, or some of its members, from meeting together as planned. In rare cases, martial law has been in effect with armed soldiers barring citizens from being out-of-doors after sunset. Other Christians have not been able to be at the congregation’s celebration because of being hospitalized or seriously ill. What can be done in such instances?
While it is fitting for the whole congregation to unite for this important event, circumstances such as noted above may make that impossible. When extreme weather, a natural disaster, or the like, absolutely prevents a family or a portion of a congregation from meeting with the congregation, the isolated ones can meet and discuss Scriptural accounts such as found in Luke 22:7-23, 28-30 and; 1 Corinthians 11:20-31, as well as discussing the meaning of the occasion. Similarly, if an enforced curfew makes it impossible for a congregation to gather on the appropriate night, meeting in Congregation Book Study groups or neighborhood groups might be the best alternative, the sum of those in attendance serving as the congregation’s attendance report. A brief talk may even be given if a capable, dedicated brother is in the group. There need not be concern that no suitable emblems are available as long as no one in this emergency situation previously partook of the bread and the wine as an anointed Christian".
It made me think about the whole topic a little bit more. To observe the memorial was a command by Jesus for the anointed, and as far as I am aware, there is nothing in the Bible commanding the great crowd to observe it, even as spectators. However, at the beginning, before the great crowd was identified, all were partakers. After that, the emblems kept being passed, and those who were anointed partook, and those who were not obviously didn't. Fast forward to today, in a congregation setting, even if we "know" that currently no one partakes, that can change. So while all the anointed are not sealed yet, we cannot assume, and stop passing along the emblems on the account that we think no one is anointed in our congregation. No one is asked beforehand if they are going to partake, that only becomes evident when the emblems reach them, and they eat the bread and drink the wine. That way, no one is put on the spot. Of course, on top of that, since we are one flock, and we support the anointed in everything, we observe the memorial with them, as spectators, and also to show appreciation for what Jesus did for us. But, under lockdown circumstances if we know for sure no one is going to partake in our family, then there is really no need for the emblems. That's how I see it anyway. But some prefer to have the emblems to help them visualize things better. Although we are supposed to be walking by faith, not by sight...😀
I like how our website puts it: "The purpose of the Lord’s Evening Meal is to remember Jesus, showing our gratitude for his sacrifice in our behalf. (Matthew 20:28; 1 Corinthians 11:24) The observance is not a sacrament, or a religious practice that imparts merit such as grace or the forgiveness of sins. * The Bible teaches that our sins can be forgiven, not by a religious rite, but only through faith in Jesus".—Romans 3:25; 1 John 2:1, 2. https://www.jw.org/en/jehovahs-witnesses/faq/lords-supper/
Unfortunately, it seems like some are viewing the memorial as some kind of religious ritual, and are even going to pass the emblems among themselves as if touching them somehow makes all the difference....Because I come from a Catholic family, I find this kind of reasoning a little disappointing...
Also, I don't know if anyone has listened to the memorial talk, the brother says that Jehovah's Witnesses would risk their lives to be at the memorial. In view of all the above, isn't that statement a little far fetched?
Any thoughts?
 

I had no doubts that we wouldn't be one of those who defied the authorities in this case. Defying the authorities because they forbid us to preach and meet because they don't agree with us is scriptural. But this of course is not the current situation, and we obey the superior authorities because they have ours and everyone else's health and  best interests at heart. I wonder if any of us ever foresaw that there would be a valid reason to stop gathering together, lol.  It also made me think that zoom and similar conference meetings may be used during the GT, and that those examples of meeting in the woods/attic/basement might be moot....
But I know there are ways in which such conference meetings can be potentially hijacked....so maybe it could be the woods after all...