Witnesses on Instagram respond to images of tragic JW mother who died refusing blood

Michelle, who would die refusing blood after giving birth, is pictured at her baby shower
Michelle, who would die refusing blood after giving birth, is pictured at her baby shower

Since a doctrinal decision reached at Watchtower headquarters some time in 1945, Jehovah’s Witnesses have been prohibited from receiving various medical treatments involving blood.

This has resulted in untold numbers of Witnesses over many decades (including children) dying out of what amounts to little more than a token act of loyalty or, some would say, martyrdom.

Not only does the Bible long predate the use of blood transfusions as medical treatments, but even if early Christians could have known about blood transfusions these would likely have been deemed permissible under the Jewish rabbinic tradition of pikuach nefesh, whereby the preservation of life surmounted all other considerations.

Though all needless deaths are saddening, few stories better capture the madness and tragedy of Watchtower’s blood stance than that of a JW mother called Michelle, whose death due to blood-loss while giving birth has been enshrined on an Instagram page.

A friend of Michelle posted a video/photo montage to the “jw_inspirational” handle of Instagram showing a video of her baby shower (which the friend claims to have hosted) set to music, along with pictures of the newborn baby girl – Emma Marie.

In a comment posted to the video, the friend describes the tragedy that unfolded at Emma Marie’s birth:

“Well, while delivering Emma; Michelle lost a lot of blood. So much so that she needed a blood transfusion. Michelle refused. Even after having a tube inserted in her and not being able to speak… She signed NO BLOOD. Our dear sister despite finally having the baby she’s wanted for such a long time remained loyal to the end.”

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The senseless loss of life of a young 28-year-old woman, whose newborn daughter begins her existence deprived of her mother on purely religious grounds, was predictably greeted with gushing praise and expressions of validation by Jehovah’s Witnesses viewing the thread.

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In case you missed them, here are some of the comments in response to the video…

“Thoughts and prayers go out #seeyouin paradise we will see our loved ones again.”

“I just thought her story was amazing and she was so faithful and loyal. She was so encouraging. Like the brother said in her talk she will continue to move people and look… Just being posted on here she has!!”

“What an awesome organization to be a part of.”

“I love JEHOVAHs organization so much! It’s so amazing that everyone is sharing love to the family and some are even sharing their personal stories. It feels like a bunch of friends talking and getting to know each other. This is amazing!”

“It will soon be over! We have eternity to spend with family and friends.”

“Truly a sad story but faith strengthening. Thank you for sharing.”

“I will meet her in paradise, and she will meet the baby girl.”

As a former Witness, it is shocking to think I would once have either tried excusing or endorsing such mindless comments, or even offered similar sentiments myself. If the coercion in Watchtower literature is potent enough to allow a mother to excuse herself from her baby daughter’s life out of misplaced feelings of loyalty, it is certainly strong enough to make an otherwise intelligent person try to rationalize such a senseless loss of precious human life and put a positive spin on it.

I can only hope that little Emma Marie doesn’t grow up to blame herself, or her mother, for what has happened. Blame for this outrage lies squarely on the shoulders of a group of deluded, cloistered men in Brooklyn who have the power to save lives right now by lifting the needless ban on blood, but refuse to.

If nothing else, any right-minded person can plainly see that claims to moral superiority by Watchtower or its supporters are laughable at best. As far as “Jehovah’s organization” and its Governing Body are concerned, lives are expendable when it comes to showing the world how different they are. And babies can grow up without mothers, or die abstaining from life-saving medical treatment themselves, if it means more precious human life being offered up on Watchtower’s gruesome altar of obedience.

One day enlightened future generations will look back on atrocities such as this, and wonder how on earth cult groups could claim lives so cheaply right under the noses of the civilized world well into the 21st Century. As far as I’m concerned, the day when we can start looking back on these outrages cannot come soon enough.

 

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Further reading…

125 thoughts on “Witnesses on Instagram respond to images of tragic JW mother who died refusing blood

  • March 24, 2015 at 1:18 pm
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    I remember someone describing the blood fraction nonsense as telling someone that they could eat the toppings on a pizza but not the whole pizza.

    As time passes and people come to their own “new light” they will realize that this religion is nothing but a house of cards whose foundation is built upon the sand.

  • March 24, 2015 at 1:33 pm
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    The same fundamentalist response from the “loyal” Witnesses as the parents of “Jihadists” that have given their life in suicide bombings. I fail to see any difference.

  • March 24, 2015 at 4:19 pm
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    This is so sad. Standing on the outside looking in now, it’s more disturbing than ever. I am so sad for that young mother and the husband and baby she left behind.

  • March 24, 2015 at 8:26 pm
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    The Jehovah’s Witless murdered this poor woman.
    Simple as that.

  • March 24, 2015 at 8:52 pm
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    From what I have heard, blood recovery methods used during medical procedures have been a matter of conscience for Jehovah’s Witnesses for at least ten years. However, I can only assume that the blood lost by a JW mother called Michelle was probably contaminated by other bodily fluids. This would have ruled out blood recovery even if her extremely-sensitive “bible-trained” conscience would have allowed the procedure.

    There are two possible personal consequences to Michelle’s refusal of a life-saving blood transfusion. If Watchtower blood doctrine is correct, her reward for exhibiting unswerving faith will assure her resurrection on a paradise Earth. If Watchtower blood doctrine is incorrect, she has committed suicide and her resurrection prospect is not so certain.

    In any event, Michelle has left her newborn daughter, Emma Marie, without a mother. I am assuming that she had a husband whom she also left behind to raise her daughter alone. This is a very sad situation all around.

    Unfortunately, this Watchtower blood doctrine is carved in stone. After all of the deaths associated with the refusal of Watchtower believers to accept blood transfusions, the doctrine cannot be declared obsolete.

    • March 25, 2015 at 5:12 am
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      Except that the resurrected being won’t be Michelle, but rather a new being with false memories of having been Michelle. http://smmcroberts.net/blog/you-wont-be-resurrected/
      And she won’t be a wife to her husband anymore (as the resurrected ones are not to be reunited as husband and wife according to the WT.) And Emma Marie will be a grown woman by then, having grown up without her mother.
      Other than that it was a great choice to have made! {sarcasm}

      • March 25, 2015 at 12:45 pm
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        That’s an interesting perspective, but it’s important to remember:

        (1) that (assuming the materialist perspective) ‘you’ are an amalgam of cells that are constantly being replaced. ‘You’ are not the same at the end of the day as ‘you’ are at the beginning.

        (2) That OT Jews/Israelites and first century Christians were annihilationists — believing that when the body dies, it truly ceases to exist. It’s clear that this was the majority Jewish opinion from verses like John 11:24.

        In fact, this second point is the *whole* reason that Christianity gained the traction it did. There were a number of ‘messiahs’ that came to prominence in and around the first century, each promising to liberate the Jews from under the yoke of the Roman oppressor. All of these men are effectively forgotten. Strangely, it was the peace loving dude who had no (immediate) political ambitions that ends up being the singular most important person in history. Why? Because people were convinced that they were able to eat and talk to a man that everyone was sure was dead. Jesus was a largely unremarkable person that would have probably been completely forgotten were it not for the fact that people would testify on pain of death that they had seen him rise from the dead. If there were any single doctrine at the center of christian belief (outside of say, the existence of a creator god), it would have to the the resurrection (see Paul’s remarks at 1 Cor 15:12-14).

        • March 27, 2015 at 7:58 am
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          Your first point is a fascinating one, Scodey. But I don’t think we’re going to solve the age-old philosophical problem of self-identity here today.

          I will just say that brain cells in general are not replaced. We stop producing new ones at about age two, and thereafter only new cells form in one part of the hippocampus: http://www.brainfacts.org/about-neuroscience/ask-an-expert/articles/2012/are-you-born-with-all-your-brain-cells-or-do-you-grow-new-ones

          This fact gives us a consistency from day-to-day, and I think it’s what gives us our sense of identity and personal history.

          If we had the technology to take a mind-scan and store all of your memories into an android, the android might “think” that it is you. But you would look at the android and know better. You wouldn’t look at it and say, “Okay, I can let this body of mine die now, because I’ll go on living in the android.” You wouldn’t say this because your consciousness would still be encased in your particular brain and body.

          That’s why I say that the Watchtower’s version of “resurrection” is not the bringing back to life of the individual that died. It does absolutely nothing for the deceased (no more than Disneyland’s animatronic Abraham Lincoln has restored consciousness to that dead president.) At best it gives the deceased’s loved ones a replicant (though no longer anyone’s spouse.)

      • March 30, 2015 at 9:20 am
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        @Steve,
        I just read your reasoning on the jw resurrection. I am in complete agreement. I have been thinking this for years. Finally you articulated my thoughts better than I did. Thank you. You have an excellent way of thinking.

  • March 24, 2015 at 9:13 pm
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    As with any medical procedure, there are risks associated with blood transfusions. Unless things have changed, blood recycling is still a matter of conscience for Watchtower adherents. On the other hand, those of us who are not under the spell of Watchtower doctrines may also benefit from the Hemosep filtering machine:

    UK ‘blood recycling’ breakthrough will let Jehovah’s Witnesses have major surgery.

    Scientist created machine that recycles blood lost in operations.

    Will allow Jehovah’s Witnesses to have major surgery as rules out need for blood transfusions which their faith forbids.

    Gadget could save NHS millions by reducing demand for donated blood.

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2614169/UK-blood-recycling-breakthrough-let-Jehovahs-Witnesses-major-surgery.html

    • March 25, 2015 at 5:23 am
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      This is indeed a beneficial medical breakthrough. But it doesn’t lessen the need for blood donations by all of us who can donate. Blood recycling is great for planned surgery in hospitals where the technology is available. But there are still many situations where donated blood is needed (e.g. in emergency rooms where people come in having already lost a lot of blood; or in this case where — as you point out — the blood was likely contaminated.)
      I appreciate your comment, ScotWm, and I don’t disagree with it. I just don’t want anyone getting the idea that blood donations are no longer desperately needed. 97% of us will need blood at some point in our lives: only 3% of eligible donors currently donate blood. The need for blood continues to outweigh the supply today (platelets too.)

      • March 25, 2015 at 5:57 am
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        “97% of us will need blood”, how is this calculated? This seems to imply that 97% of JWs would die due to refusing blood? (Depending on how needy ‘need’ is, haha). But this is obviously not true.

        • March 25, 2015 at 6:50 am
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          My figures were old, but the exact percent is evidently debatable. According to Hofstra University it is 95% of Americans: http://www.hofstra.edu/StudentAffairs/blood/blood_whyshouldi.html

          UNC Healthcare gives the range as between 41%-71%, and relates how the figure was obtained. It also states that the “90% or more” figure is overestimated:
          http://news.unchealthcare.org/news/2006/Aug/transfusion

          Of course, “needing” blood doesn’t necessarily mean that you’d die without it in every case.

          Newer figures also state that rather than 3% donating, it is “less than 10%.”

          So, I would like to revise my previous statement to: “At least 40% of Americans will need blood at some point in their lives, while less than 10% donate blood.”

          It’s less extreme, but still shows a vital need for those of us who can to roll up our sleeves and donate.

          • March 25, 2015 at 3:44 pm
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            Thanks for the update.

        • March 25, 2015 at 12:53 pm
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          Last time I checked, 100% of humans need blood. One of the reasons they are (dead) wrong on the subject.

    • March 25, 2015 at 12:40 pm
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      I really think they would rather have one die, though. That way they get the publicity and propaganda.

  • March 24, 2015 at 9:39 pm
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    Rest in peace young lady. Religions are a dangerous thing.

    Side note: how come baby showers are not banned? Aren’t they just a form of pre-birth birthday party? And give unduly attention to person, not Jehovah? Baby showers do not exist in my country but I have seen on TV about them in USA. Seriously surprised why they have not been publicly banned…

    • March 25, 2015 at 1:11 am
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      Baby showers haven’t been banned because they probably haven’t thought about it, Mike (like all their theology). Give them some time and new light will reveal that these celebrations also have pagan roots, i.e. one of the Governing Body will be surfing the Net and accidentally see your post and think, “Mmmmm…….”.

      Jehovah, I think not!

      • March 25, 2015 at 5:49 am
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        The May 1, 1969 Watchtower page 285 talked about wedding showers and they are to “shower” the person with gifts. The article said that when gifts are displayed and opened for all to see, the best thing to do is not say who gave the gift even though the card may have the person’s name on it. That is to not embarrass those who either couldn’t afford a gift or the gift may have been more modest than the more expensive gifts.

        • March 25, 2015 at 12:42 pm
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          …as in “eating a fertilized egg on Friday after sundown” and making sure to “wash up to one’s elbows” to be ceremonially clean. :)

  • March 25, 2015 at 2:15 pm
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    I do believe these 7 man deserving to hang them upside down under the Brooklyn bridge together with their sub leaders,because they make themselves Gods. why these unmoral man don’t live alone people? and stop putting heavy loads on their shoulders? cheating and lie to them? I start to believe their is Satan, and I believe he is using this organization to control people.

  • March 25, 2015 at 2:22 pm
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    I do believe these 7 man deserving to hang them upside down under the Brooklyn bridge together with their sub leaders,because they make themselves Gods. why these un man don’t live alone people? and stop putting heavy loads on their shoulders? cheating and lie to them? I start to believe their is Satan, and I believe he is using this organization to control people.

  • March 25, 2015 at 2:34 pm
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    My heart goes out to this poor child left motherless by the edicts of 7 older men, who have the blood ban all wrong….! What is also shocking is the thread with all the deluded misguided comments by Org. Automons who support her decision to kill herself, which is what she did….! Thank God I woke up and got out of this dangerous, destructive Cult…!

  • March 25, 2015 at 10:18 pm
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    I think in the beginning of the bible. The blood being poured out was not just a sacrifice, but a reminder of who and where life originated from. This life had been taken and had passed. More of a respect and honor issue because, there is no way to get all the blood out of meat unless you use a centerfuge or something. I think it was only a means to remind where life originated from. I’m not a creationist by any means, nor agnostic, nor do I agree with many Evolution theories. I will say this, I have no problem storing my own blood before a major medical issue. It is mine and I will do as I please. I will however not take blood, probably never, not even if it becomes a “conscience matter”. Nor an organ, not with all the meds, if it’s my time well I’ll see when I see ya!

    • March 26, 2015 at 12:21 am
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      XD “Ill see ya when I see ya!” classic…and I must say I agree 100% with everything you shared…100%.

  • March 26, 2015 at 12:22 am
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    its almost unheard of nowadays for a mother to die due to blood loss giving birth…it sounds even silly to hear it o_o. usually if they die its because they were unsavable, even if they took blood…

    so my thoughts are, what if she had taken blood, and still died…would she be getting the exonerations and praise shes getting now, or the complete opposite :/? *sigh

    well im sure the ninnies at the top of the jw pyramid are pleased either way -_-

    • March 26, 2015 at 3:24 am
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      There are many instances when whole blood or platelets or another “part” of blood is necessary to save the life of a person. When there is major blood loss, a blood expander will not supply the oxygen needed to the cells.

      • March 26, 2015 at 5:35 am
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        Shanti, I ran the figures from that study and they are figuring from live births and not the women who died and if you go by the women who died who were Jehovah’s Witnesses, the actual figure would be 602 women who die out of 100,000 live births who were Jehovah’s Witnesses as compared to 12 women who die from live births who weren’t Jehovah’s Witnesses.

        • March 26, 2015 at 10:05 am
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          Just to clarify what anonymous is saying: when you factor in that some of the women in the study gave birth more than once during the study:

          During childbirth, compared to a non-JW woman, a JW woman runs a risk of dying:

          44 times greater for any particular delivery.

          50 times greater over all deliveries.

          So, due to the Watchtower’s ban on blood transfusions, if you’re a JW woman you have a 50 times greater chance of dying during childbirth over the course of your life!

          With those odds you’d better be damn sure that the WT is right this [one and only] time on its medical ban!

          • March 28, 2015 at 9:54 pm
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            Women have less value so as if the GB would care that they are more likely to die in childbirth. They have no respect for life, especially that of women and babies.

  • March 26, 2015 at 4:13 pm
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    The scripture that Watchtower uses to insist that Christians can’t take blood is Acts. 15:29, where the apostles and older men in Jerusalem came to the decision for new gentile Christians to stay away from blood, things strangled, fornication and foods sacrificed to idols.

    That very same injunction is again issued at Acts 21:25 to new gentile converts.

    What the Society leaves out when it comes to the other 3 things, i.e. animals strangled, fornication and foods sacrificed to idols is the scriptures at 1 Cor. 8:1-8 where Paul said it was okay to eat foods sacrificed to idols (not to do it though if the eating of foods sacrificed to idols would stumble a person of weak faith).

    Isn’t it funny that when it came to eating foods sacrificed to idols, Paul made that decision on his own that it was his decision that Christians didn’t have to listen to the so-called “Governing Body” in Jerusalem?

    Witnesses are giving up their lives every day because of that one scripture at Acts 15:29 but do they realize that it was just as important for the Christians to stay away from foods sacrificed to idols????? If a person buys some meat, are there elders standing over them to make sure that the meat wasn’t sacrificed to idols???? Do the elders ever ask the people in the congregation to make sure that they don’t eat foods sacrificed to idols???

    What about the fact that Paul went directly against what the so-called Governing Body decided in his letter to the Corinthians?

    Should a person give up his life for what the Apostle Paul wrote in Act. 15:29 when he contradicted his own words at 1 Cor. 8:1-8????

    • March 27, 2015 at 7:16 am
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      You’re right, anonymous: this is one of the best Scriptures to debunk the Watchtower’s erroneous blood policy.

      But, because it is so important, I’m going to nit-pick a little here.

      Paul didn’t write Acts. The injunction against blood etc., in chapter 15 was voiced by James (who unabashedly referred to it as “my decision”) and then was “unanimously adopted” by the “apostles and elders” (no mention of Paul’s reaction is given here.) In fact, Paul was not even given the “privilege” of conveying this message: two men were sent to go with him to do this (Judas and Silas.)

      The passage in chapter 21 is once again “James and the elders” reminding Paul of their decision because they have heard rumors of him “teaching an apostasy from Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children or to follow the customary practices.” Though, of course, this wasn’t a false rumor: it describes exactly what Paul thought (that Christ’s sacrifice released them from the Law). In spite of that, Paul then went ahead and engaged in a Mosaic cleansing ceremony, intending to follow it up with a sacrificial offering — even though he wrote that such adherence to the Law made Christ’s sacrifice null and void!

      The point is: Paul went along with whatever would accomplish his goal. “To Jews he became as a Jew…” It wasn’t that he thought ceremonial cleansings, sacrifices, circumcisions, or any other laws were incumbent upon Christians. He engaged in these things and gave lip-service to them in order to mollify the Judaizers: the Christians who thought the Law was still in effect.

      Even the decision of James is clearly shown in Acts 15 to have been a reaction to the Judaizers: “Now some men came down from Judea and began to teach the brothers: ‘Unless you get circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.'” (Acts 15:1)

      Likewise, after the decision is stated, the reason for it is given: “For from ancient times Moses has had those who preach him in city after city, because he is read aloud in the synagogues on every sabbath.” (Acts 15:21) Note the reason behind the decision: it is simply for the sake of appearances. The decision was not meant to be taken as commandments handed down by James et al., to be obeyed by all Christians for all time. It was a recommendation to prevent new Christians from offending the Jews given the circumstances in that particular time and place in history (i.e. the presence of Judaizers.)

      So, the passage in 1 Corinthians 8:4-8 does not contradict the passages in Acts: it is in complete harmony with them. The decision was never a commandment regarding dietary rules for Christians. Paul would be no worse off if he ate then if he didn’t eat (he specifically mentions food sacrificed to idols, but it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that the same principle applies to eating blood.)

      The whole Watchtower blood doctrine rests on the assumption that the decision in Acts was a Christian commandment, even though the Bible shows (in 1 Corinthians) that it certainly was not, and even though the Bible says there is only one supreme commandment for Christians, and that it supersedes all others:

      Do not owe anything to anyone except to love one another; for whoever loves his fellow man has fulfilled the law. For the law code, “You must not commit adultery, you must not murder, you must not steal, you must not covet,” and whatever other commandment there is, is summed up in this saying: “You must love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does not work evil to one’s neighbor; therefore, love is the law’s fulfillment.
      –Romans 13:8-10 (NWT)

      For the entire Law has been fulfilled in one commandment, namely: “You must love your neighbor as yourself.”
      –Galatians 5:14 (NWT)

      Withholding life-saving medical care, far from following a biblical commandment, actually breaks the Bible’s real commandment to love one another.

      • March 27, 2015 at 10:55 am
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        Hi Steve. Your comment was very interesting. I have been doing a lot of research on the books of Paul and have come to the conclusion that the Apostle Paul might not have even been a real apostle but an imposter.

        The reason I say this is because in the book of Acts, when Paul is asked about his conversion, he has 3 separate renditions of how it happened, i.e. Acts 9:7, Acts 22: 7, 9 and Acts 26:14 and no evidence of any other witnesses.

        Also, like you said, he became to people whatever it took to convince them, even if he had to pretend to be something he wasn’t. At Romans 3:7 he said “For if the truth of God hath more abounded through my “lie” into his glory, why yet am I also judged a sinner?”

        In 1 Cor. chapter 9, it seems that he was saying that preachers should be paid for their preaching work vs. 14 “In this way, too, the Lord ordained for those proclaiming ordained for those proclaiming the good news to live by means of the good news.”

        In 2nd Cor. 12: 16,17, it seems that he was accused of using “trickery and being crafty”. In vs. 14 he says he didn’t come for their possessions but for them. Why would he say he didn’t come for their possessions? In that whole chapter, it seems that he was defending himself against trying to trick them out of their possessions.

        In the Acts of the Apostles, it says that when they became believers that they were all selling their properties and giving to the church and so when Ananias and Sapphira fell dead because they didn’t turn over all their money for a field they had sold, I am wondering why did they do that? Maybe all those people were compelled to sell all their stuff and give to the church. Why lie about it? That account never made any sense to me except to spread the idea that if you don’t give all your possessions to the church that God was going to strike you down dead like Ananias and Sapphira.

        But if you think that the only one who got those tablets for the Mormon church was Joseph Smith and nobody else saw those supposed scrolls, who is to prove or disprove that Saul of Tarsus actually saw Jesus Christ resurrected just as what supposedly happened with Joseph and the Mormon Church? He is the only one who supposedly Jesus appeared to and were there any other witnesses? No. He wrote 51% of the Greek Scriptures and people take what he says as just as important as what Jesus Christ supposedly said.

        When you read about Paul, when he was in Jerusalem, he never met with the supposed Governing Body except to be reproved by him as you mentioned is at the account in Acts Chapter 21. When he was being chased and threatened in Jerusalem with his life, where were the other apostles and older men in Jerusalem? They didn’t seem to be in any danger. In the 21st chapter of Acts when Paul had met with the older men and Apostles, they told him he had to go through a ceremonial cleaning and at the end of that a great uproar was in Jerusalem and Paul was beaten almost to death and it was then that he was eventually taken to Caesarea to stand trial for his life.

        So, again, why just Paul being beaten like that? Where are the other apostles and older men coming to his defense if he was really an apostle of Jesus? This all happened in Jerusalem where the older men and Apostles were.

        Paul was all about having faith in Jesus’ resurrection where the other apostles were faith without works was dead. With Paul it was all about just having faith and that was enough.

        The other apostles’ teachings and Paul’s teachings were quite different from each other.

        I would have to know for sure if the Apostle Paul was a real apostle of Jesus Christ if I was going to hand over my life on account of what he preached in the Bible.

        Just because a bunch of men a long time ago said the whole Bible was inspired of God, doesn’t make it inspired of God to me. Not where I’d die for it anyway.

        • April 4, 2015 at 5:34 pm
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          According to the account in Acts, Ananias and Sapphira did not die because they held back some of the profits from the land sale. They died because they lied about giving it all, when speaking to Peter. Peter even explained, that the money was theirs to do with as they pleased, so there was no need to lie. They lied to build themselves up before the others, all the while holding back some for themselves.

          • April 4, 2015 at 7:02 pm
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            Donald, do you feel that when people lie to God, then they should be struck dead like Ananias and Sapphira? If that applies to Ananias and Sapphira, then surely there shouldn’t be any double standards when it comes to lying from the Society either, should it? For instance, when Witnesses give money to the Society for the World Wide work, it shouldn’t be going to paying off lawsuits for failing to protect the kids against pedophiles and for the buying of more and more real estate?

            The Society shouldn’t be lying when it comes to the real history of the Society and they shouldn’t lie when they quote sources and they shouldn’t lie when they misquote scriptures and even rewrite the Bible to make it say something it never said. They shouldn’t lie when they do shun for taking your name off the roles like they refuse to admit to on jw.org.

            Ananias and Sapphira aren’t alive to tell their side of the story are they? I am not so sure there aren’t 2 sides to that pancake.

    • March 27, 2015 at 4:20 pm
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      Thank you for your comments anonymous, I sincerely hope that they help others like myself, escape from this merciless organisation, after examining the scriptures carefully…..!

    • March 27, 2015 at 5:24 pm
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      That’s right Steve, Saul or Paul lived at the same time as did Jesus and Jesus never met Saul/Paul and Paul only quoted what Jesus said at only one place in his letters and no description of any of Jesus’ supposed miracles. There’s a lot of holes in the apostleship of Paul and yet that is what most “Christian” churches follow, even more so then Jesus teachings and I would say that Jehovah’s Witnesses are among those religions.

      Some of the videos I have seen, suggest that Paul started the “Universal” “Catholic” church and so any religion that follows the teachings of Paul are actually all “Catholic”.

  • March 28, 2015 at 6:46 pm
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    Michele aged just 28, a brave trusting lady. Presumably her
    husband is young too. With no sign of the promised paradise,
    and human nature being what it is , it is natural that he’ll feel
    the need of companionship, and perhaps a surrogate mother
    for the little girl eventually.

    So if the extremely improbable were to materialise and a paradise
    arrived along with resurrections, I can imagine a lot of torn feelings.
    The husband with feelings for both women, the little girl now bonded
    with new mother, Michelle memories still fresh of her former life,
    now no longer an intimate part of the family, and perhaps the new wife
    wondering where the husbands true feelings lie.

    Of course it’s all supposition. There’s not one single reason to have
    confidence in any of WTS, promises. It may sound hard, but the
    reality is that Michelle like so many others has thrown her young
    life away for nothing, under cult duress. It makes me angry and
    so sad.
    ,

    • March 29, 2015 at 1:23 pm
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      I agree with your comments Ted, this young woman’s life was wasted…! I remember a few years ago,a sister in our congregation died in similar circumstances, the husband remarried, but the elders all applauded her for doing the ” right thing ” I felt so sorry for the children she left behind, none of whom are now ” in the truth ” How many more lives will be wasted because of the blood ban? Shalom

      • January 3, 2016 at 2:06 pm
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        All thisis thought-provoking…What about a scenario in which a JW individual, while unconscious, was taken to a hospital and given a blood transfusion that saved his or her life? How would this affect the elders of the group, peers, and of course the person’s self-view?

  • March 29, 2015 at 3:19 am
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    @Sheree, you hit nail right on the head!!!

    • March 29, 2015 at 8:47 am
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      @Ted . Your Analysis of how the Theory of Paradise
      Will or will not work in practise is good to think through the consequences logically like you have done !! & as you say it is so sad that this sisters lost life will HURT & TRAUMATISE so many close family members when the Reality sets in & being seen as a HERO?? For JEHOVAH has worn off in the days,weeks& years to come as the Grind & daily mundane life carries on!!
      The Questions will come ??? Was it really JEHOVAHs Will or JUST 7 Yankee Rich Men in BROOKLYN changing Doctrine back& forth when the EVIDENCE??? Shows !!

  • March 29, 2015 at 7:38 pm
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    The watchtower society has stated for many decades to abstain from blood, then all of a sudden (blood fractions) are now permisable, excuse me but aren’t these blood fractions from blood. You can’t derive blood fractions without using blood in the first place, WOW THIS IS SO CONTRADICTORY

  • March 30, 2015 at 10:30 am
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    @ Steve McRoberts
    @ Scodey
    Assuming an earthly physical resurrection, will they be the same
    people as before, or just copies?

    My own un-educated thoughts are. We all came into existence
    by procreation, Fathers sperm, Mothers egg, that process will
    never be repeated, so any recreation ( Resurrection) will require
    an entirely different procedure.- Direct creation, as in Adam’s
    case, thereby making merely “Copies” of former selves.

    It would be possible if you were resurrected, to visit your own
    grave and read your own headstone. So which would be the
    real you? The one on top, or the one below?

  • March 30, 2015 at 10:07 pm
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    Wonder if any of them said “well, she got an easy way into paradise”. This is what I have had said to me after my mum’s recent passing. (My mum had a heart attack and there was nothing ‘easy’ about it.)

  • March 31, 2015 at 2:45 am
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    Ocma, another saying I hear is they took the “underground” route into the paradise.

    • March 31, 2015 at 10:15 am
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      Steve, I watched “The Lottery” and you are absolutely right about the movie and relating it to Jehovah’s Witnesses and their calloused view of those who die due to the Watchtower’s ban on blood transfusions. What is so chilling about the Witnesses is how cold and unfeeling they are when one of their own dies to the Watchtower god, the Organization.

  • April 1, 2015 at 6:33 am
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    A blood sacrifice to ward off the anger of an invented tribal
    god. Stupendous ignorance from a time when people believed
    the earth was flat and the sun moved around the earth Josh,10/13

    The JW, blood. doctrine though, is a cynical tactic, purposely
    intended to draw hostility and publicity. Making the faithful
    believe they are being persecuted for true Christianity.

    This along with other manufactured and burdensome rules–.
    No birthdays, ban on many religious and national celebrations,
    as well as a 13 year ban on transplants , ( Now repealed, and
    admitted to have no scriptural backing W,T, 15/3/1980, p,31.)

    So those who suffered or died for want of an organ transplant
    did so, not for obeying God, but only self appointed prophets,
    of whom there have been many.

    • April 2, 2015 at 3:02 am
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      Ted, I could not agree more with your comment.

      There is one tiny little sentence in the Insight book volume 2 on page 388 under False Messiahs, that totally destroys the Christian faith and this is it:

      “After Jesus’ death, the Jews followed many false Messiahs, as Jesus had foretold. (Mt. 24:5)”

      Why this sentence destroys the Christian faith is that the whole Christian faith depends on the death and resurrection of a man called Jesus in the first century around 33 C.E. If Jesus didn’t perform the many miracles related in the Bible and he wasn’t resurrected, the whole religion fails.

      Even though Josephus mentions a Jesus who was a wise teacher who was crucified by Pilate and talks about James who was the brother of Jesus, that doesn’t corroborate any of the gospel accounts of Jesus.

      Tacitus also referred to Christ’s execution by Pontius Pilate and the existence of early Christians in Rome in his final work, written ca. AD 116), book 15 chapter 44.

      So, scholars don’t dispute there was a man named Jesus in the first century who was executed. Scholars also don’t dispute John the Baptist and his execution so these men existed. But where is the evidence of miracles and people being raised from the dead?

      Just as the Reasoning book said, there were many people claiming to be Christ at the time of Jesus but what makes this one sentence the most important sentence in all of Watchtower literature is that it said it was “after Jesus’ death” that all these false messiahs appeared and they had many followers.

      Think about it. If the Jesus of the 4 gospels had really existed and had raised people from the dead and had performed all these miracles and had walked on water and people had actually seen him raised into the heavens at his death in 33 C.E., why would there have been many more men claiming to be the promised Messiah that they were all waiting for to appear? How could any of these men have gotten followers after this most famous man of all history had died and gone to heaven. In real life, they would have been laughed at if they didn’t perform any miracles like the Jesus of the Bible had really done.

      Historians talk about a Jesus that was killed and they talk about a John the Baptist who was killed but nothing about any of Jesus’ miracles. Even the apostle Paul says nothing about any of Jesus miracles or where he was born or anything else. All he ever talked about was Jesus’ resurrection. Paul doesn’t even relate any of the sayings of Jesus Christ. Paul even mentions another Jesus called Justus at Colossians 4:11 so Jesus was evidently a popular name, even then.

      So, scholars don’t dispute a man called Jesus who was killed but nothing of his miracles or his resurrection. So, where did the Greek Scriptures and the Christian religion come from, that people are giving up their lives for, over want of a blood transfusion?

      Was Jesus’ life and miracles and resurrection a work of fiction?????

      Such a shame that people are willing to die for a work of fiction.

      • April 2, 2015 at 5:49 am
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        At the beginning of the 8th paragraph in my last comment, I should have said, instead of the Reasoning book, I should have said the Insight book vol. 2 instead, under the topic of false messiahs.

  • April 2, 2015 at 9:00 am
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    @Anonymous, It’s a sound point that you make. If Jesus
    really did defy the fixed laws of the universe and perform
    miracles, what would be the point of these other guys claiming
    to be the messiah. They wouldn’t be able to emulate jesus and
    provide the crowds with a free bread and fish meal ( As its claimed).

    As the saying goes, “Follow that”. they just wouldn’t be able to do it.
    Just like the wt, self proclaimed prophets , “No Credentials” yet
    people throw away their life on their baseless authority.

    Jesus probably did exist as a charismatic teacher and oral traditions
    grow about such people. The stories then start to idealise them
    and get better in the telling.

    Add to this, the fact that copyists have made their own contributions
    to the Jesus story.— The one tale that everyone knows and loves
    (Even people who never open a Bible ) is “Let the one without sin
    Cast the first stone”.

    That didn’t appear in any manuscripts until almost a century after
    Jesus lived and is an obvious addition. For me that’s the best story
    in the gospels. Yet it’s something Jesus never said or did.
    So the question must be asked. What else has been added that
    Jesus never said or did?

    • April 2, 2015 at 9:59 am
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      Ted, if people read the King James Bible printed by the Watchtower Society, they would see that at 2 Cor. 12:16 that Paul admitted to using trickery or guile on the people to get them.

      At Romans 2:16, Romans 16:25 and at 2 Tim. 2:8 in the King James (printed by the Watchtower) Paul said that what he preached was “his gospel”, but how the Watchtower decided to render those passages was as “the good news that he preached” instead and at Galatians 1:12, “his” gospel came to him from a revelation from Jesus Christ. There were no other witnesses to this “revelation” either so that makes his “revelation” no different than the “revelation” by Joseph Smith that the Mormons follow over and above the Bible.

      So, since the Watchtower freely admits that false Messiahs appeared “after” Jesus supposedly died and went to heaven and they these false messiahs had lots of followers, how would we know if Paul wasn’t talking about one of these “false” messiahs instead. Jesus was a common name in those days. Since the Bible says at Acts 2:41 that there were about 3,000 people baptized, that also adds to the fact that if the Jesus of the Bible actually existed and did all those miracles and people saw him going to heaven, then how could any followers after him claim to be the Messiah that they were looking for without those people also performing the miracles that Jesus supposedly performed with all those 3,000 people running around Jerusalem claiming to be his followers? If they did perform perform miracles like Jesus did, then where are the accounts of them and their supposed followers and what were their names?

      It seems that there was a real Jesus who was a teacher and that he was crucified and the fact that the Jews were looking for a messiah, the story of the real Jesus took on legs of it’s own and then religion used those stories to make them feel that the people inherited sin from Adam (Paul’s teaching) and the only way they could gain salvation was through the death of Jesus Christ.

      If the “gospel” according to Paul was a made up story of a revelation from a fictionalized Christ, the Christian religion would fall flat on it’s face and an awful lot of people have given up their lives for nothing.

  • April 2, 2015 at 11:02 am
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    Regarding the Governing Body & their interpretation of many scriptures, such as ” new light ” F & D slave, blood fractions, overlapping of generation of anointed ones. This organization should start listening to their members & try to understand their viewpoint.

    2 years ago I tried to speak to a governing body member, the result FORGEDABOUDIT, so yes CEDARS is correct don’t hold your breath

  • April 2, 2015 at 12:56 pm
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    Anonymous, There does seem to be a scarcity of witnesses
    when these miraculous revelations occur. The fact is that
    people are devoting and “Sacrificing” their lives on the basis
    of what is nothing more than “Hearsay”.

    • April 2, 2015 at 3:10 pm
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      Ted, there weren’t any witnesses. In a courtroom, hearsay isn’t good enough for a conviction.

      When a story is repeated over and over again for hundreds of years, eventually, that story becomes a fact because there is no body alive to disprove it anymore.

      What is so sad is that the Bible gives comfort to millions of people and that is fine but what is so tragic is when people give up their lives for it by refusing blood and by disowning their own families and friends by disfellowshipping them with no evidence of authenticity. That is the real tragedy.

      If any religious clergy have no confidence of the reliability of the Bible and teach it as the “TRUTH”, they are nothing but greedy and self-serving, even letting children die for their greed. That is why, if the Watchtower is really the one and only “true” religion, then the Watchtower should not be afraid to to answer questions from people who have doubts about the Watchtower and the Bible.

      If they aren’t willing to answer those questions, then do they really have faith that Bible is from the creator and perfect, or are they only using it for what they can get out of it for themselves and willing to let babies and young mothers die for their greed????

  • April 3, 2015 at 6:06 am
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    If anyone watches the video on jwbroadcasting about the 138th Gilead Graduation Program at around hour 2 and 20 minutes, Samuel Herd actually shows how the whole JW religion is a scam.

    In the 2013 July study edition of the Watchtower, it said that the Faithful and Discreet slave is now only the Governing Body. The Faithful and discreet slave is supposed to be feeding the sheep the food. Samuel Herd went on (2 hours and 20 minutes into the program) and on about all the reading the Governing Body has to do with all the spiritual food that that keeps coming out from the writing department. In fact Samuel Herd said that the Governing Body send almost all their time reading what comes out of the writing department, even spending all their week-ends reading that stuff that comes out of the writing department.

    So, my question is: Who is the one spewing out all the “spiritual food”? Is it the Governing Body (the Faithful and discreet slave) or is it the writing department????

    If the ones who are spewing out all the spiritual food are the writing department, then the faithful and discreet slave can’t be the Governing Body, can it, since they don’t write any of it, but just read it?

    Doesn’t that make the whole thing a scam, if you put your thinking caps on?

  • April 3, 2015 at 8:15 am
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    Anonymous, I remember a W,T, study article from about
    81or. 82, that. supports your point. It stated “Why would
    you want to study the Bible alone to find answers to your
    questions? When there are brothers at Bethel, whose
    full time job it is, to do this for you” ?

    It didn’t say, the gov,body, or members of the remnant,
    ( the supposed F&D Slave, at that time) who will find answers
    for you, (Which I’m sure they would if it was the case,)
    But no, it was “Ordinary Brothers” who were preparing the
    spiritual food.

    This was just before I left, after 25 years, it was just one of
    the many things caused me to be disillusioned with it all.
    It was obvious they wanted “Absolute Control” of information
    that we took in. They were treating us like “Automatons” and
    not reasoning humans.

    Since then I have found my own answers to Bible questions.
    And if I needed a blood transfusion I would have one.
    And with a completely clear conscience.

  • April 5, 2015 at 6:49 am
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    Ted and anonymous,

    The pertinent point is that this young lady was unlucky enough to be a member of a cult that claims to be a Christian church.

    Many religions rely on texts that are claimed to be inspired by a deity/deities. None of them stand up to any scrutiny.

    Anonymous, we can debate forever about St Paul. Nevertheless, his letters were accepted as Canon many centuries ago. Indeed, some very uplifting and positive passages are to be found there.

    I am an atheist. I do not believe that the bible is inspired. It is a collection of musings by men, living in a social and historical context. It contains some common sense morality, surrounded by Bronze Age and Iron Age brutality.

    If anyone can glean some moral guidance, or some comfort, from it, then good luck to them. As long as they don’t hurt other people, then that’s fine.

    The WTBTS are far, far from fine. They have used an already unreliable book to back their cult agenda.

    We are all united here to help those unfortunate people who are held in their grip.

    Peace be with you, Excelsior!

  • April 6, 2015 at 1:25 pm
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    Love is the Laws fulfilment, it supersedes any other Bible
    command, including the “Surmised” law on blood transfusion.

    Love does not work “Evil” to ones neighbour. Rom, 13/ 8-10.

  • April 8, 2015 at 5:20 am
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    So sad that yet another human life has ended and many others will suffer when a possible medical solution may have sustained her mortal life, my sorrow goes out to all the family and friends.

    When is this religious organisation going to be made to stand up and be held accountable for all the family’s and live’s it ruins.

    I am a 40+ year old 3rd generation that was brought up in that organisation, I know nothing else than the teaching’s and lifestyle expectancy that this group of people as a whole expect of you. But please remember there is still some sort of life after leaving the organisation, I still to do this day (25+ years on) can not bring myself to say or write the name of this organisation as it has caused me so much pain and emotional turmoil, it has split my family and friends apart, it has caused the direct death of my own mother due to her belief structure, it has landed family members being required to be detained for there own safety, due to there emotional state of mind.
    Seriously this whole organisation including ALL members must be held accountable for what they forcefully bring upon others, if I could have my day in court and stand as witness to the mental and physical abuse I alone suffered due to this organisation’s teachings then no judge in the world should let them get away with it for one more day.

    I must stress I left associating with these group of people at around aged around 14 and to this day 25+ years on I still have mental torture from the unsolicited damage it inflicted upon me from birth. A

    14 year sentence that I know now will last my lifetime.

    Yes I know so many more people have had it much worse off than myself, and that is why I have so much pity for the millions of unsuspecting or people that will be brought up into that organisation, but this is surely something, an actual organisation, a company that can be held accountable for its direct actions that has affected so many peoples lives, surely they must be held accountable.

    If its proof they need, “here I am, SEND ME, SEND ME”

    • April 29, 2015 at 8:58 am
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      @bw . I REALLY ENJOYED & ENDORSE your last comment about the MENTAL ANGUISH being bought up in the JW Organisation. The constant pressure to do MORE HOURS,MORE RETURN VISITS;MORE MAGAZINES;MORE BIBLE STUDIES;REACH OUT to AUXILIARY PIONEER;REGULAR PIONEER;SPECIAL PIONEER;BETHEL SERVICE;CONSTRUCTION VOLUNTEERS!!
      PLUS Secular Work(Run a Home,Plus Financial Contributions;Plus look after Kids, Elderly Parents!!!
      It is no wonder so MANY ARE DEPRESSED; Got ME,Chronic Fatigue,Fibromyalgia or Contemplated SUICIDE!! It is NEVER ENDING TREADMILL to Keep 7 American Men in Plush Buildings & Luxury!!

      • January 3, 2016 at 2:23 pm
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        They shouldn’t pressure people like that.It’s emotional blackmail.

  • May 1, 2015 at 1:19 pm
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    PLAIN AND SIMPLE. THE BIBLE, PROHIBITS THE EATING OF ANIMAL BLOOD. IT DOES NOT PROHIBIT THE USE OF TRANSFUSIONS OF BLOOD FROM ONE HUMAN TO ANOTHER. IF JWS ARE ALLOWED TO HAVE HUMAN ORGAN TRANSPLANTS BY THE WT, WHO ARE THEY TO TELL THIER FOLLOWERS WHAT TO DO WITH THIER HEALTH ISSUES. IT HAS TO BE LEFT TO THE INDIVIDUAL AND THIER CREATOR. THE WT IS LIKE THE NAZI PARTY AND THE ELDERS LIKE THE GUESTAPO, CONTROL FREAKS LIKE THE TALIBAN AND BOCO HARAN.I AM GREATFUL THAT FOR 10 YEARS I’VE BEEN FREE FROM THIER BIG BROTHER MIND CONTROL TACTICS.I WAS A 1974 BASTARD CHILD OF THE WTS. MAN IT FEELS GREAT TO BE FREE. I HAVE LOST HUNDREDS OF FRIENDS THAT I LOVE AND MISS,BUT THERE IS NOTHING LIKE MY FREEDOM. EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU, MUST HAVE AN IRON WILL, NERVES OF STEEL, BALANCED WITH A HEART OF GOLD. PRAY FOR COURAGE , STRENGTH AND WISDOM. I LOVE EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU.

  • August 14, 2015 at 9:31 pm
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    I just want to clarify if Jehovahs Witnesses are allowed to celebrate baby shower?Thank you!

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