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It is truly tragic.. 😢 https://igberetvnews.com/1487795/trailer-collision-claims-15-jehovahs-witnesses-imo-state/#forward

I think you might want to shift your goalpost. Instead of trying to convince someone that Kirk wasn't a bigot, try to offer them a solution to the problem they actually stated. If they don't like when someone talks cr*p about lgtq, tell them that you are grateful that God's Kingdom will put an end to all forms of hatred or that Witnesses are taught to treat everyone with respect even when we disagree with their lifestyles. Turn the conversation away from a worldy controversy and towards the solution. In other words, be a proclaimer of the Kingdom instead of a defender of Charlie Kirk. Another way you could have responded to their second comment: "That's too bad that people felt attacked by him. As a Witness, we take the Bible's standards on homosexual relationships seriously, but we always show people respect, regardless of how they choose to live." Now you can pivot to promoting God's standards instead of defending a random political figure, which has no solution at the end of it. Isn't that a better conversation than convincing someone they were "wrong" about Charlie Kirk? Correcting someone's beliefs about Charlie Kirk does not lead to everlasting life.

You know what is interesting? Satan does not know when the end will come. Therefore, with each passing year he gets a little more paranoid or desperate. This is another reason why Jehovah did not reveal when the end will be. No hints or clues to the exact date. No possibility of calculation (we can guess. Our guess might be correct, but a guess us not knowing.) Satan has no right to know when the end will be. I never thought about it like that before you made this comment. Very nice. Thank you.

This topic has stirred a lot of emotion … this section is a public section .. we are not the echo chamber for whatever “news” agency. So I will be closing this topic for awhile.

Exactly. This illustrates that neutrality is difficult when someone's political opinions seemingly align with our own moral standards. We might not realize that our comments easily can be seen as taking a side and, thus, bring reproach. We advocate Jehovah's moral standards but we are neutral when it comes to the politics of this world. For example: We believe homosexuality is immoral, but we have no opinion on the legality of gay marriage, displaying the LGBT flag, parades, etc... We believe abortion is immoral, but we do not have an opinion on the legality of abortion, nor do we advocate abortion protests. When conservative political commentator Rush Limbaugh passed away, the circuit overseer overheard a group of Witnesses lamenting the passing. They were mourning, so to speak, the way any of us do when a celebrity we appreciate dies. The CO was a bit appalled by the apparent breach of neutrality. These Witnesses were speaking about Limbaugh as if they respected and appreciated his political opinions. Perhaps these friends had a problem with neutrality they didn't realize because, in their opinion, all Rush Limbaugh did was speak the truth, speak common sense, and speak in favor of certain moral values we share. (Ecclesiastes 3:7) 7 A time to be silent and a time to speak https://www.jw.org/finder?wtlocale=E&pub=nwtsty&srctype=wol&bible=21003007&srcid=share We speak up when asked about the Bible's position on moral standards. We keep silent when conversations turn to what people should or should not do in the name of legality. Even when it comes to whether Charlie Kirk's words were hurtful or not, we can unknowingly cross a line. This Witness feels his words were hurtful. That Witnesses feels he only spoke the truth. A third Witness thinks the people who were hurt by mere words should get a thicker skin. A fourth Witness sees his 3 fellow brothers and sisters are now divided by someone's political commentary. The question is why do Witnesses who know about Charlie Kirk know about him? Were they, perhaps, viewing political commentary? Is that the beginning of the path of damaging our neutrality? Would we be mourning, again for lack of a better word, if a loud and proud LGBT advocate was assassinated in the same public manner as Charlie Kirk? If a death horrible no matter what, then our expressions should be the same regardless of the victim's political, social, or moral position.

We need God's kingdom and the elimination of all the amendments including the second - as none of them will be necessary.

Hey, i am just showing up to apologize for storming off like a child the other day. I was given advice/council from more advanced brothers and sisters and instead of taking the advice i kinda attacked back defensively. Just wanted to say i'm working on myself and working on different ways to approach things, i remember one member say to use what is happening as a way to shoecase God's promises and what he will do for the future (they commented on the screenshot i posted). Providing hope in bad situations is what i need to be doing instead of pointing out the obvious and having it twisted... If that makes sense. Anyways i love yall... (Side note, didnt know where to toss this at. I probably didnt need to apologize but i felt it was warranted)

I have been wanting to post this since last Tuesday night, but I wanted to make sure the sisters were okay with me using their example. They just texted me back this morning and said it was okay but that, "really, it was nothing". But it wasn't nothing...not to me. I arrived at the Kingdom Hall nearly as the song was starting on Tuesday evening, it had been a long day...I was worn out, feeling beat down and tired. I parked my butt in an open row at the back of the hall, (I usually sit up front, but that row was taken and I am trying to vary where I sit now after some really sage advice from a brother). To my right, sitting opposite me at the end of the row, sat an elderly sister. Her long grey hair was swept up in a messy bun, and after the prayer...she sat down and began twisting and turning her silver bible in her hands. I could tell something was wrong, but I didn't know what. She was looking straight ahead, and then all of a sudden...from behind us...a sister in her late 50's approached from behind this sister and put her hands on her shoulders, holding them there for a moment before giving this elderly sister a hug from behind. The elderly sister reached up, patted her hands and arms...and then immediately broke down in tears. I was stunned...I had no idea what was wrong, but man...my heart just broke on the spot. I was too far away to do anything, and I didn't want her to feel uncomfortable so I acted like I was paying attention to the meeting...but inside I wasn't...I couldn't. Let me tell you something right now...you sisters must have a secret bat signal or something...because within seconds several sisters got up and surrounded her...one on either side...the one behind her...and another one two seats away...handing out tissues to everyone involved. I don't know what the situation was...I didn't ask...and that isn't the point. The point is...I witnessed a living breathing example of the following scripture...and just like I shared it with them...I am sharing it with all of you this morning: Acts 14:22 "There they strengthened the disciples, encouraging them to remain in the faith and saying: “We must enter into the Kingdom of God through many tribulations." In Greek, the word for strengthening is "epistērizō"...and it can mean to "to prop something up so it won’t collapse under weight." Those sisters were the brace...that elderly sister was strengthened, she finished the meeting and made a couple of very encouraging comments that I don't think she would have made if it hadn't been for those dear sisters. But what if you don't feel up to being a brace for someone else? What if you're tired...you're worn out? What if you need to be "braced"? The simple truth is...we are all holding each other up...and we all have the power to be a brace...but only because Jehovah is bracing each and every single one of us!

So horrific. What is also appalling is seeing some people comment and video themselves celebrating that he’s been murdered! It reminds me of how Jehovah views people who celebrate over evil things that happen to others, they will be held to account for their vile inhumane behaviour and attitudes. (Obadiah 13, 15) The Bible always got it spot on, some people have “no natural affection” and proverbially pat the killer on the back. (2 Tim. 3:3) I’ll be keeping his family in my prayers tonight.

Yeah, @Ostria, this might be one of those times where it's better to keep silent than to speak (Ecc 3:7; Mt 10:16). From jw.org: Jehovah’s Witnesses remain politically neutral for religious reasons, based on what the Bible teaches. We do not lobby, vote for political parties or candidates, run for government office, or participate in any action to change governments. We believe that the Bible gives solid reasons for following this course. We follow the example of Jesus, who refused to accept political office. (John 6:15) He taught his disciples to be “no part of the world” and made it clear that they should not take sides in political issues.—John 17:14, 16; 18:36; Mark 12:13-17. https://www.jw.org/en/jehovahs-witnesses/faq/political-neutrality/ To lobby for someone or something means we are promoting, agreeing with, supporting, or defending that person or thing. As followers of Christ, we don't even want to give the appearance we are supporting a political stand. Defending a certain political commentator, even if we are correct and we know the other person's point of view is bogus, comes across as taking a side on the political issue. We are, in effect, defending the man's political stand and, thus, appear to agree with said stand. There is no harm in your Baptist friend thinking Charlie Kirk is a racist bigot. It's not our place to defend him, even if we are convinced he is the opposite of a bigot. Our defense of a political commentator could detract from our Kingdom message. (1 Corinthians 10:23) 23 All things are lawful, but not all things are advantageous. All things are lawful, but not all things build up. https://www.jw.org/finder?wtlocale=E&pub=nwtsty&srctype=wol&bible=46010023&srcid=share Just because we can does not mean we should. Does our defending political commentary promote peace and unity? Does it attract our audience to the Kingdom message? Does it look like we are getting down and playing in the same mud the political supporters sling?

I have a feeling this is going to blow up to be a MUCH bigger deal than we can possibly imagine at this point. The air has changed. Stay off social media for a bit.....it will destroy your neutrality. The amount of "call to arms" over this incident is overwhelming & scary. 👀 But how timely our campaign! Wow!! While talks of civil war are erupting again, we have the REAL answer!!

Some friends visiting from the US did a tour of the Branch last week. It was announced to the group that they are now filming Episode 8. They did also get a private tour of the studio to see some sets. However, they did not elaborate on what scenes the sets were going to be used for. It is all so exciting to see this project power on... Coincidentally, that week, Sydney had the heaviest rainfall since 1879. Having the studio with the monster 'Green screen' side-steps production delays brought on by extremes of weather.

I can’t even imagine the level of evil and heartlessness a person would have to possess to shoot someone in front of their wife and young children like that. I don’t know what angered me more. Him being killed in front of his family, a large crowd, and cameras, or people filming themselves laughing about it and posting jokes in the comment section of some videos about the coverage. My sympathy has nothing to do with any political views I may or may not have. I hate both the Democratic and Republican parties equally because I know they are both immersed in corruption and run by actors, deceivers, and puppets who can’t offer what God’s kingdom can. At the end of the day, a life was lost. I saw several short videos of him debating people a few weeks before his death. Besides his controversial debating style, I didn’t know much about him, but it seemed he had a fervor for what he believed. I pray that if there was good in his heart that Christ remembers him in the resurrection so he can direct that fervor to doing Jehovah’s will, instead of trying to do the impossible with a crooked political system that can’t be made straight.

This topic has gone completely off the rails … STOP.. I have had to hide some posts ..🙈 Jehovah in Jeremiah firmly explained how to live as exiles in a foreign land… We are exiles in a foreign land … We are figuratively living in Babylon… Since we are Witnesses of Jehovah .. let’s get biblical… Notice Jehovahs words to Jeremiah… Jeremiah 29:7 And seek the peace of the city to which I have exiled you, and pray in its behalf to Jehovah, for in its peace you will have peace. 8 For this is what Jehovah of armies, the God of Israel, says: “Do not let your prophets and your diviners who are among you deceive you, and do not listen to the dreams that they are dreaming. 9 For ‘they are prophesying lies to you in my name. I have not sent them,’ declares Jehovah.”’” Remaining neutral as a Christian in the face of political assassinations is not about indifference—it’s about anchoring your response in faith, compassion, and discernment as laid out in Jehovahs word. Use it as you were trained … This is your test …. Right now .. the posts you made …Did you pass it? Or did you get sucked into the diviners of this system? Jesus lived in a politically volatile time, yet He never aligned Himself with partisan agendas. Instead, He focused on the Kingdom of Heaven, confronting injustice without being consumed by political entanglements. Neutrality means not being swept into tribalism. It means evaluating every political event—including assassinations—through the lens of Jehovah’s applied word. Not the diviners of this world.

I have fallen in that trap too at times. I have some workmates who have strong political ideas and at times I have tried to reason with them about political matters. Although I was careful not to break my neutrality, they didn't view it like that. In the end, discussing political matters won't take you anywhere. It's much better to focus on God's kingdom and what it will achieve.

Not at all. It follows the natural progression of a conversation, and has been quite civil compared to other hot topics. In my opinion...

Report of how one brother has been persecuted badly in Kazakhstan https://www.forum18.org/archive.php?article_id=3002

And he would still stand by what he said had he survived. This death is horrific. It ranks up there, for me, with others such as Steve Irwin the crocodile hunter. It underscores the importance of not just political neutrality, but also being careful expressing your opinions on social issues.

This is always what I try to do. Because political AND social activists can be bigots on one side and align with scripture in another area. They follow their own standards of when and how to apply bible scripture. I’ve seen people talk about praying for one side and being happy when bad happens to the other, then switch to wondering why when something bad happens to someone they like, they are upset that people seem happy about it. The world is flat out crazy and no one makes sense anymore. We have to stick to our “talking points” which should always about the Kingdom solution. Empathize with whoever you are talking to. It’s all bad and we can agree with them that these are sad situations. There is a lot of injustice and hate to go around. We do not need to delve into why they feel the way they do about leaders and activists. Their feelings are their feelings. Let us maintain a neutrality that allows us to even be in front of opposing sides/viewpoints and yet the points we discuss apply to all because Jehovah wants everyone’s problems to be fixed.

Quite incredible that the world is so enraged in attacks and terror as we are peacefully sharing in this campaign for the end of war... Food at the proper time for the whole world

Many things are happening around the world before the Annual Meeting... Another terrorist attack occurred in Jerusalem by Hamas. Conflicts are arising in other nations, such as Indonesia, and now in Nepal, escalating into deadly protests. Trump is also busy dealing with conflict in Chicago and with the Venezuelan president, while at the same time keeping himself occupied with efforts to pursue peace with other nations. I think, we are one step closer in the declaration of P&S... As what happened in 66 C.E. before the destruction in 70 C.E., it's a series of events.... Let's Keep on the Watch..

I think of it this way: For Jehovah and Jesus, there is no difference between Xi Jinping, Trump, Putin, Emmanuel Macron, Kim Jong, and their followers and activists. The same was true in the past—there was no difference between Pontius Pilate, Herod, Nero, or the Pharisees, even if some rulers treated Christians better than others. This world is ruled by Satan, and politicians are merely puppets in his hands. This video explains it better. Online Video Library | JW.ORG Videos English

The video is awful. His wife and children saw it live... terrible.

It probably depended on who they married! 😂

We love you and appreciate your candor. We all are continuing to grow together. We just cannot tell how forcefully you hit the logout button 😉

1) Many people don't feel safe. 2) A "feeling" of safety is perception, not reality. The perception is largely affected by various forms of media, which make money when they make people afraid - no one buys a newspaper to be told everything is fine. 3) America is a big place. All the violence I hear about happens "somewhere else". Unless I see something happening in my area, I can reasonably assume I am safe that day. Conclusion: If I base my feelings on real-world interactions I feel fairly safe; if I watch the news too much I feel unsafe.

Beautifully put. 👏 Please don't feel bad my sis. You are doing good by helping someone get to the root of a matter with your "why" & "proof" rationality. You are on the right track. Just take the advice that was given as some nice refinements & tweaks to be even better. We are all learning, and thanks to your post & subsequent advice, others will learn and be able to enhance their own responses. Again, we all learn from each other. Doesn't mean you did "bad" or did "wrong" in your response. But now maybe you have a new approach to try, that might yield better results. It does ultimately depend on the listener....sometimes no matter how we season our words, they just don't land right... Thank you for sharing!

It’s all too easy to take sides, without even knowing it. My husband really keeps up on what’s going on. And the media he tunes in on is definitely bent toward one side of this political mess. So, you know what I’m subjected to. At first it was upsetting, the news. Then I learned to tune it out, the best I could, I keep telling myself, “None of my business”. And repeat that. He’s a tad hard of hearing, so the tv can get loud, or if something particularly hysterical happens, I will plug in kingdom music in, and, use headphones to tune it out. (If I’m trying to study, I listen to instrumental music.) And, prayer… This political mess has the same father, Satan. No matter the side.

I never knew who this guy was until yesterday. Though difficult we need to remain neutral. This man was a political activist who spoke some truths but not the THE Truth. Never model any portion of our preaching work after someone whose words were not seasoned with salt and thrived off of useless debates and arguments - neither fits into what we do as JWs.

For those who are looking for a way to merge JW Library backups off-line (without the potential risks of sharing your data), I am the developer of the following three solutions: JWLManager - GUI app for Linux, macOS and Windows in addition to merging, allows you to manage your data in different ways jwlFusion - command-line merge utility for Linux, macOS and Windows jwlFusion App - Android merge app All three are free and ad-free. The complications of "conflict resolution" are removed by designating the "authoritative" (primary/principal) archive. If you want more fine-grained control, JWLManager lets you export and import only certain records, so you can create custom backups. I hope these prove to be useful.

Satan is actively working in his system because he knows he has very, very, very short period of time .. while Jehovah is actively looking for precious things of nations ..

Some people believe that cell phones are horrible because the person on the other line dont know if you slam the phone down on them. I personally yell "slam" when hanging up with someone that upset me 🤣 However as for clicking the logout button, thats if i choose to never come back. When you have over ten email addresses and different passwords, the logout button is a death sentence.

Robin Hood, "In times of tyranny and injustice, when the law oppresses the people, the outlaw takes his place in history." Thank goodness we have the Kingdom hope!

Why quote either side of the political aisle? Why not just leave the aisle? Why not just move to one that is advocating for God's Kingdom and let the world have this topic and politics for their discussion while we return to theocratic discussions?

Hopefully we can just ask Charlie Kirk these questions one day 😊 until then a precious life, as all life, was lost in a horrifc way... people show their respect the only way they know how. His death was so public - thousands saw it happen in real time, and then the video spread everywhere and was all over social media...Christianity seems to be trending at the moment, so if you follow anything connected to faith or archaeology his content was bound to come up... For me personally, I actually had to step away from social media after this. I don’t follow American politics and didn’t seek this out, but the video went viral so quickly that many of us saw the assassination video without wanting to. It was traumatic - please be careful what pops up in your feed, because some things can’t be unseen. Grounding ourselves back in our faith keeps us steady 🙏🏼

I had never heard of him untill I heard the news on NPR this morning. Apparently, I do not pay very much attention to political debates in the U.S. Thanks, Jim

I had to look up who he was, and he was clearly a divisive political figure. Being sad for his death is one thing (as all death is sad, and especially in this manner it was shocking), but to be extra sad because he shared some viewpoints as us is most definitely not remaining neutral.... as is obviously celebrating his death. I would say, just try not to get swept up into it, but that's easier said than done of course...

But he's a political advocate. He's famous for promoting political opinion. It just so happens his political opinion aligns with or is inspired by moral principles we also identify with. But he's still a political figure. If the death of this political figure affects someone deeper or differently than that other political figure, then we need to reflect why. If it's because we listened to and agreed with his political opinions, then perhaps we have a problem with neutrality. *** w16.04 p. 29 par. 9 Maintain Your Neutrality in a Divided World *** 9 Conversations. We must exercise caution when political issues are brought up. For example, when presenting the Kingdom message, avoid either praising or criticizing the policies of a political party or leader. Try to establish common ground with the householder by focusing on the underlying problem rather than on any proposed political solution. Then, show from the Bible how God’s government will solve the problem completely and permanently. If such volatile issues as same-sex marriage or abortion come up, defend God’s standards and explain how we follow these in our own lives. During the discussion, remain strictly neutral on the political aspects of these topics. We take no position regarding what laws should be enacted, repealed, or changed, and we do not pressure others to agree with our view. https://www.jw.org/finder?wtlocale=E&docid=2016288&srctype=wol&srcid=share&par=18 *** w16.04 p. 29 par. 10 Maintain Your Neutrality in a Divided World *** 10 The media. Information broadcast as “news” is often presented in a biased and opinionated way. The media sometimes functions as a tool of the political system. News reports might be blatantly slanted in lands with State-controlled media, yet even Christians living in so-called free countries must be careful not to adopt the bias of a commentator. Ask yourself, ‘Do I enjoy listening to someone in the media because I agree with his political leaning?’ If so, you might look for a more objective source of information. In any case, it is wise to limit your intake from media sources that promote a political agenda and to test what you hear against “the standard of wholesome words” found in the Bible.—2 Tim. 1:13. https://www.jw.org/finder?wtlocale=E&docid=2016288&srctype=wol&srcid=share&par=19 Substitute Charlie Kirk with the possible death of a political activist from the opposing side. Would we be just as saddened if Rachel Maddow, Trevor Noah, or Greta Thunberg was the victim? What if the celebrity was Caitlin Jenner or Jessie Gender? Would we feel the same if the loss was a political advocate that had views on morals that are opposite ours? It's easy to dismiss neutrality when the political person advocates for morals we agree with. Likewise, it's easier to stand up for neutrality when the political person lobbied for moral standards we disagree with. You are correct, Jason, Charlie Kirk is a famous celebrity. But what was he famous for? Did he get fame by singing our favorite songs, writing our favorite books, or acting in our favorite movies? Why did we recognize the name? Why is he famous or familiar to us but completely unknown to the brother or sister sitting in the same Kingdom Hall as us?

I’ve never heard of him. Period. I try to not hear opinions, this way or that way. To me, it’s all the same. From the father of the lie. I glance at headlines, most of the time and move on. Spare me the details, please.

Gun laws don’t matter ever. There were fewer gun laws 60 years ago, but gun crimes were few compared to today. Anti-social behaviour wasn’t tolerated. And murder has been illegal since the beginning, but it hasn’t stopped anyone intent on murdering.

Yes, it was always refreshing to watch someone who really knew how to not only present an argument, but also question people in such a way as to make them seriously examine what they believed. What a terrible day.

This is simply awful. I appreciated how plainly he spoke, how he refuted the nonsense out there. Of course not into any politics but his level headedness amongst the craziest was great to see. I just now saw the video of his shooting, that shooter must have been an assassin. It surely reminded me of Kennedy. Wonder how he'll feel when he wakes in the resurrection.

Personally, I put the thought of a third World War out of my head because of one thing and one thing only - What kind of "deliverer" would Jehovah be if he allowed such a thing to happen? If he has 9 million loyal servants on this earth and allowed one fourth of them to die in a third world war (and that is a conservative number when it comes to the types of weapons countries would be willing to use on one another this time around), is that really a god who saves and protects his people as a whole? The fact that Jehovah plans on actually showing us that he is the 'Deliverer of those who call upon his name' tells me with a certainty that there will be no third World War.

I would be very careful with comments like this considering many of the things he said being heavily racially charged & not level headed at all. I don't think people are grasping who this individual was or how scary the reaction to his death is. I personally experienced two situations in SMPW today that made me pray for my safety all the way home.

Because of many experiences that I've had throughout my life, I used to be an extremely prejudiced person. Although I wouldn't describe myself that way today, it’s still a struggle for me not to revert to my old ways because of the things I still have to deal with daily. Because of some of the things I’ve heard him say, the very same sentiments that I resented the people I was prejudiced against for having, the old me probably wouldn't have had much sympathy for Charlie Kirk. But I think moments like this reveal the condition of our new personality. There have been other people besides Charlie Kirk, who have lost their lives or been victims of injustice that invoked strong feelings among people, like George Floyd, Nicole Simpson, the beating of Rodney King, or the death of JonBenet Ramsey. When these things happen, do we let our prejudices or political views (views that we shouldn't have) get in the way of seeing them as a human and a victim? If a person of another race is a victim of police brutality, do we let prejudices excuse the wrong behavior of the police because they committed a crime, as if that makes it right? Are we influenced by the media to have more sympathy for a person who goes missing or is killed because they are beautiful or come from an upper-class part of society? This post isn't directed to anyone but is just something to think about.

the gist of the matter is that trying to argue with someone who is extremely convinced of their worldview is an enormous waste of time and energy Just as prophecied by Paul: But know this, that in the last daysa critical times hard to deal with will be here. 2  For men will be lovers of themselves, 3  having no natural affection, not open to any agreement, slanderers,

Our preaching hurts people regardless of us being right. Feelings are irrelevant when truth is involved.

Quite. Sadly, this is par for the course. This is the world. Someone, say a political personality, dies and his supporters mourn while his opponents rejoice. Doesn't matter the side or their particular flavor of politics, the comments are always along this pattern. It's disgusting and shows how important political neutrality is. There is never an excuse to rejoice over anyone's death. His lines of reasoning, particularly on abortion, were very insightful. Yes, the definition of irony. Although, this apparently was a planned assassination and not the result of a nut with a gun. If that really is the case, gun control laws may not have mattered. But it definitely is irony.

Any death is tragic. He did, however, claim that some gun deaths were a necessary price to pay... I'm sorry for his young family... 😕

This is plausible. Although we know it's Jehovah who puts his one thought into their consciousness, they will have their reason for implementing that surreptitiousness thought . For such an unprecedented thing to happen, it seems very likely it would be under emergency conditions.