Anna

I have noticed they are getting a little chubby, that does tend to happen with age. I would by no means call them obese though. Plus, as I mentioned, you don't know people's circumstances. In any case, I am wondering why, if you have such an aversion to them, you even know what they look like lately. Do you have an unhealthy obsession with them?

I agree. It is a sin against your body if you fill it with unhealthy food and eat to excess. Why? Because you clog your arteries, get diabetes, ruin your joints and a host of other ailments directly associated with an unhealthy lifestyle, one of which is gluttony. I would say it's tantamount to smoking, unfortunately it's hard to define. How fat is too fat? How much food is too much food? Where would one draw the line? What would be the criterion for counseling someone and for forming a judicial committee? So unfortunately, it is impossible and will never happen. Unfortunately too though, these obese brothers and sisters are giving a bad witness. Perhaps if they realized this, they would try and live healthy for Jehovah, if not for themselves.
Also of course, some really cannot help it because of certain medical condition or medication. This is only a small percentage though. But you will not know everyone's circumstance, and if the elders were to pry into reasons why someone is fat, then that would border on harassment. So I don't think anyone will be disfellowshipped for being fat anytime soon, if that were the case, then congregations in America would go down by half 😂

You are missing the point. Whether God does or doesn't, the assumption is that he does in the sense that the person qualifies as per the qualifications for an elder as stated in Timothy. And yet some elders may rely too much on their own biases in selecting elders, instead of looking to the qualifications in the Bible. For example they could frown on the fact that the person's shoes aren't shiny enough. So they are judging the man from a man's point of view. So by saying "because Jehovah hasn't decided yet" you are throwing the ball back in their court and maybe "shaming" them into realizing that the man they are judging as unqualified, may in fact be more spiritually minded than them. 

Yes, this clarification is important.
Unfortunately, those who are taking the lead, and believe they are in charge of producing food at the proper time, feel, and have felt, the need to put their hope into a definite prediction of sorts, rather than just talking about a hope.....that is sometime in the future. Hence we have a reworking of the 'Generation' although as far as I am aware no one requested "new light" on this. 

I have noticed that the desire to see God's promises fulfilled (nothing wrong with that of course), drives the human spirit to "predict" or "hope for" the end always in their life time. The pattern is clear: Russell hoped for the end in 1874 then 1914, Rutherford 1925, Franz 1975, the 80's GB by the end of the 20th century, today's GB between now and aprox. 2035.
Each generation would say their children aren't going to make it to school....now those  children have children of their own...and grandchildren
There are recent discussions on JW talk with brothers and sisters giving this old world no more than 5 years, and there are a few optimistic ones who say within a year. If you were to ask members of your congregation when do they think the end will come, you will hear similar sentiments. Many believe the pandemic will lead straight into the GT.
Of course logically, the end will come in someone's life time, and one day we will be right.
I admire Isaac Newton because his "prediction" defied the rules of wishing for it in one's lifetime. For that reason he seems more believable. But of course I hope he is wrong...because of course I would like it to happen in our lifetime! Oh, the irony of it! 😂
It is not wrong to hope for good things to come, what is wrong is our serving God only for that reason, and building our hope up to the point of expectation delayed making us sick.
You have probably heard this sentiment before, it's great, and I like to remind myself of it periodically: "Plan ahead as if Armageddon won't come in your lifetime, but live your life as if it will come tomorrow"

You're absolutely right about the hypocrisy. It's all there. The cowardly behavior of some too. I understand too that some are closing their eyes to the deficiencies of yet another organization. I don't fault them for being human. I think of the parents of the man born blind who was healed, but for fear of getting kicked out of the  congregation failed to put their faith in Jesus, the one who healed their son. I don't fault those leaving because of any pain they've suffered at the hands of those they'd come to trust. So many have left and some have stayed. To me this is all in fulfillment of prophesy as well. To me it's all wheat and weeds until the end. There won't be any perfect organization now any more than there was in the 1st century. People can choose to stay or choose to leave and there's pain either way. The pain comes always when people put their trusts in nobles, the son of earthing man to whom no salvation belongs. No one should abdicate their Christian conscience to an organization, and yet what are people to do? Worship alone? Form yet another defective church? The history of Christianity is filled with these experiments in purity, but in the end all of them are impure. One has to determine how to live as a Christian in the midst of all this and try as much as possible to focus on what is for up-building. As to what people make of various prophecies and how these are interpreted, I'm certain that we won't know w/o any doubt or force-fitting what these mean until the time these things take place. I'm so sorry you lost your husband. I do appreciate your telling these things openly.

You are missing the point. Whether God does or doesn't, the assumption is that he does in the sense that the person qualifies as per the qualifications for an elder as stated in Timothy. And yet some elders may rely too much on their own biases in selecting elders, instead of looking to the qualifications in the Bible. For example they could frown on the fact that the person's shoes aren't shiny enough. So they are judging the man from a man's point of view. So by saying "because Jehovah hasn't decided yet" you are throwing the ball back in their court and maybe "shaming" them into realizing that the man they are judging as unqualified, may in fact be more spiritually minded than them. 

Perfect! 👍👏

I agree. It is a sin against your body if you fill it with unhealthy food and eat to excess. Why? Because you clog your arteries, get diabetes, ruin your joints and a host of other ailments directly associated with an unhealthy lifestyle, one of which is gluttony. I would say it's tantamount to smoking, unfortunately it's hard to define. How fat is too fat? How much food is too much food? Where would one draw the line? What would be the criterion for counseling someone and for forming a judicial committee? So unfortunately, it is impossible and will never happen. Unfortunately too though, these obese brothers and sisters are giving a bad witness. Perhaps if they realized this, they would try and live healthy for Jehovah, if not for themselves.
Also of course, some really cannot help it because of certain medical condition or medication. This is only a small percentage though. But you will not know everyone's circumstance, and if the elders were to pry into reasons why someone is fat, then that would border on harassment. So I don't think anyone will be disfellowshipped for being fat anytime soon, if that were the case, then congregations in America would go down by half 😂

That doesn’t matter. I haven’t worn shinable shoes in years. What IS important is that you don’t go onstage the wrong way, entering from behind the quarter-walls. Forget the fatties. THAT ought to be outlawed:
https://www.tomsheepandgoats.com/2019/04/you-dont-enter-stage-from-behind-the-quarter-walls.html
In fact, there is some reason to think that God brought about the pandemic to shut down KHs because too many brothers were doing that.
I like this. It reminds me of Mark Twain. He told of the boy who complained that he got a spanking for something he didn’t do. The old man said, “Well—in that case it was for something you did do that you should have gotten a spanking for but didn’t!”

I think you would have removed several of the apostles from this designation if you had lived in the first century. When Jesus failed to perform any significant miracles in his hometown (Mark 6:5) I can just see you saying: "Well, it's not him, we still have to wait for a True Anointed. Maybe in 5 to 10 years."

Perfect! 👍👏

Yes, this clarification is important.
Unfortunately, those who are taking the lead, and believe they are in charge of producing food at the proper time, feel, and have felt, the need to put their hope into a definite prediction of sorts, rather than just talking about a hope.....that is sometime in the future. Hence we have a reworking of the 'Generation' although as far as I am aware no one requested "new light" on this. 

I was counseled on how I walked up to the stage and that my shoes weren't shiny. I thought "What does it matter if I knuckle my way about the hall like a half-human primate? Plus, I hate dress shoes. So I found some that defied shining.?" 
I also got counseled on how I appeared to rely on human wisdom too much. So I indexed my remarks w/citations from publications. (Like the article in the awake magazine on the Heisenberg uncertainty principle as applied to free will) 
It was quite some time before I got appointed. I think they got embarrassed by the CO. What were they to do? A brother who fulfilled all his assignments, worked full time while being a regular pioneer and whose wife also was a regular pioneer? 
One brother once asked me "Have you ever wondered why you haven't been appointed as an elder?" I think I shamed/surprised him by saying "I think it's because Jehovah hasn't decided it's time yet."
You could see him get uncomfortable. (like he was thinking "wrongo bud! WE decide) 
I grew up as a gringo in Laredo, TX, so I'm used to getting picked on and hazed. I got it at home too. 
If I were to complain, what I'd get at home would be "What did YOU do to help create the situation", never taking my side.
So I'm used to taking a "What can I learn from this situation?". "I'm getting counsel. Is it biblical? Maybe. Does the brother think it is? Yes. Do I? Maybe. Do I have to tell him what I think? No. Is it good counsel for someone, even if not me? I'm sure it is somewhere and some time. Are you too proud to listen? No. Even if I think it's off."
So I think there's value in taking counsel and trying to see it from the other person's point of view.
I figured that if I help this brother use me as his crash-test dummy on giving counsel and make him feel good about the exchange, maybe he'll be less likely to do a crappy job of being an elder and maybe stop picking on people unnecessarily.
Glad to be a human punching bag. 

While I'm at it. There's this phrase we often hear. "I encouraged bro/sis X". 
I often counter something like "Well, it doesn't look that way to me from the reaction."
They react surprised.
I'll say "You may have intended to be encouraging, But intent isn't sufficient any more than telling a person you love them when they don't feel loved. It isn't about YOU it's about THEM. What makes another person feel encouraged is as different from what makes another person feel loved."
I had to explain this to my father years ago. 
I'm in IT so to use a technical illustration from the OSI model you have to have each layer of the communication stack from computer A to computer B communicate using the appropriate protocol. If one layer isn't performing the appropriate handshake and following the appropriate protocol, the message never reaches its target.
People are complicated and one size rarely fits all.
 

Yes, this clarification is important.
Unfortunately, those who are taking the lead, and believe they are in charge of producing food at the proper time, feel, and have felt, the need to put their hope into a definite prediction of sorts, rather than just talking about a hope.....that is sometime in the future. Hence we have a reworking of the 'Generation' although as far as I am aware no one requested "new light" on this. 

I can understand making predictions. I can't count the times I thought to myself during a meeting "Shhh!...I'm just looking at Daniel again...nothing to see here holy spirit..." as if the answer is in plain sight but hidden unless you look really quickly when Jehovah's not looking....

Yes, this clarification is important.
Unfortunately, those who are taking the lead, and believe they are in charge of producing food at the proper time, feel, and have felt, the need to put their hope into a definite prediction of sorts, rather than just talking about a hope.....that is sometime in the future. Hence we have a reworking of the 'Generation' although as far as I am aware no one requested "new light" on this. 

*** w13 7/15 p. 9 “Look! I Am With You All the Days” ***
WT article with the most recent discussion on this.
 
*** Pure Worship: p. 238 Summary of Clarifications ***

Further detail in the AM 2020 talk "Will You Keep Standing Among the Righteous?"

WHOA! I need me a pair of these! I am entirely too nice to several around here and I let altogether too much slide by!

I kindof like the happy haha face. Why wouldn't anyone like that? 
Makes me think of how people have lenses on the world.
New Microaggression Goggles Help You Find Something Offensive In Any Situation

U.S.—A new pair of Microaggression Goggles has been made available for people who want to find something offensive in any situation.
The goggles are available on Kickstarter. The promotional video claims that the goggles are able to actively identify threats to political correctness and alert you when you're about to be dangerously oppressed. "Are you tired of having to search for something to be oppressed by?" a voiceover says in the ad. "With our patented microaggression-tracking technology, you won't have to search any longer. Now, you can instantly identify up to 100 things to be offended by in any conversation."
The product will detect a wide range of microaggressions, including the following:
White privilege MAGA hats Smiling at you without your consent Manspreading Mansplaining Manbreathing Manexisting Lack of avocado toast Cultural appropriation Cultural exclusion Being hateful toward women Being too friendly toward women Not liking The Last Jedi You can back the goggles for $99 at a base level or spend $4,999 on a deluxe edition that includes a white guy who will follow you around so you can claim to be even more oppressed. The Kickstarter creator believes they will ship within the next decade.
https://babylonbee.com/news/new-microaggression-goggles-help-you-find-something-offensive-in-any-situation

I haven't enforced any GB rules. Just what's in the bible.

To their credit, Russell and Rutherford and Franz and the current GB have all given good evidence that they hoped for the end. Sometimes a strong hope for the end will cloud one's judgment about the rationality of predicting a specific time period for the end. But there is a big difference in hoping for the end, which is always proper, and predicting a specific time period for the end, which is ALWAYS improper, according to Jesus. We have examples set before us in the Bible showing the folly of trying to predict the time period. The Bible gives many reasons why this is foolishness to try to predict the time period.
Hoping for the end implies faithfulness and humility. Predicting a specific time period for the end implies presumptuousness and haughtiness.

Whatever others have done makes no difference to me. The context makes it clear that NOT ONE of those counted righteous had a clue anyone was in some special "Christ's Brothers" category. One flock, one shepherd. Be decent to each other and don't cop a superior attitude.

Is it important? You don't see ANY of those who were accounted among the righteous as recognizing ANY as Christ's brothers in the account. They just behaved decently in accord w/their conscience. That's all. Moreover they had the attitude. "When did we EVER do anything right?". 
I've always been interested in comma placement theory, and though the context suggests (and what I've researched in lexicons) like the "truly I tell you today ,(COMMA) you will be w/me in paradise" it makes me think a person could interpret this as "To the extent you did it to these least ones,(COMMA) my brothers,(COMMA) you did it to me" as a welcoming into the family. "Welcome BROTHERS!"