McKay

Right. But this doesn't say that this "fire come down out of heaven" was limited to the two nuclear bombs. It was just using the only two known examples at the time. I'm sure if another nuke goes off somewhere, something the Anglo-American World Power does or is involved with will have something to do with it. Then it will still fulfill the words of Revelation 13. These verses do not preclude another nuke from being detonated.

Good points, although also keep in mind that Jehovah is making the changes, not men. So that must mean Jehovah trusts his people not to take things too far.

Same as I do now: Jump in with both feet!

I think this topic brings up a lot of things to consider. We had our CA with Branch yesterday and a few sisters in slacks, a few brothers without ties (including me), and about 40% of the brothers had beards, including the Branch rep. I've talked to a few elders and some are taking the updates poorly. They fear we're yielding to the masses and not setting ourselves apart from the likes of Christendom. But an interesting point was made during the final talk. The speaker said that we should see these changes as coming from Jehovah, not men. So that's an interesting thing to remember when we're "afraid" to be the first to wear slacks. Who are you afraid of, sisters? Or you're "worried" about losing the tie? Who are you worried about, brothers? This is Jehovah's organization. Run with it, if you so choose! On a practical matter, I think this is a great change for many families and even our studies. I have 4 sons and it is very expensive keeping them clothed for meetings as they grow. When we first went back after Covid, I spend $1500 on new suits and alterations for myself and the kids because we had all grown or gained weight! But what about women we might study with who have never worn a skirt or dress, don't own one, don't WANT to wear one, and are hesitant to come to meetings because they know it's expected? They don't have the spiritual appreciation yet, and so this is keeping them from making progress. These women can now join us in worship, and that's a very good thing. Finally, my wife and others have suggested that part of these changes might end up being a protection during the GT as it will harder to distinguish us. Whatever the case, servants of Jehovah should anticipate change. Although Jehovah does not change, he is clearly fond of leading his people closer and closer to His truth.

This is very true. In fact, some information IS only released for certain friends in certain lands and not "publicly available" to the entire brotherhood, even if it COULD be accessed as such. This is not the case with the November broadcast. In this instance, the relative speed at which the file is available (either on a server or linked in a database) is a logistical one, dependent on many factors like geography and a fair degree of randomness. There may be little logical reason why the Broadcast was updated in MY version of JW Library before yours; it's just a consequence of how technology works. We should be careful to read too much into "Jehovah's direction" when it comes to technology of this sort since its distribution is really our of our hands as an organization. The file gets uploaded. There. The flock is fed. Might you have to wait your turn in "line" as the file gets distributed? Sure, but it's still time to feed for anyone who is able to. There's no need for those in front to brag, and no need for those in line to get jealous. EDIT: typo...I meant "not", not "now." Love to all.

This is incorrect and not what the JW.org site's terms of usage is talking about. Once a file is uploaded to a public server, it is publicly available, regardless of whether it is indexed on Google, JW.org, or anywhere else. This is simply how the internet works. What the terms of usage are referring to are files that are NOT intended for public consumption (ie. password-protected for elders, etc) or files that are located on private servers. Thought experiment: Does "food at the proper time" means the moment a file completes its upload? Or does it mean the moment -- perhaps minutes or hours apart -- the file is indexed and visible to you, sometimes based solely on your geographical proximity to a server somewhere on planet Earth? If you guessed the latter, let me ask you this: When has Jehovah ever moved sporadically, giving direction to different people based solely on their physical position on the planet? Or does he move His Organization all at once?

I've just thread through this entire thread and I feel the application of Bible principle is apropos. John 4:24 "Those worshiping must worship with spirit and TRUTH." Facts matter when it comes to how we conduct ourselves. Here are the facts: The organization is a worldwide organization and thus has to make spiritual food available to the entire world. To do this, it uses the world's infrastructure. In the case of electronic files, that means uploading them to servers stationed all over the world. Most cloud services replicate these files across many different countries for security and data-protection policies. The Branch knows this is done. In fact, these expect this behavior! Once the file is uploaded to the main server, a script replicates that file to other servers around the globe. Then, another service runs a script that indexes that file's location on the server to the global internet, including Google and JW.org's indexing page. That means there can be a delay of a few minutes to hours between when the file is uploaded and available and when it is LISTED as uploaded and available. Those are the basic (albeit simplified) facts -- read, Truth -- about how digital files are made available to us. So, the truth is, there is a HUGE difference between when the file is sitting on Bethel's internal drive, waiting to be released, and when it posted to the internet's global infrastructure. Posting a link to the internal server BEFORE it is released (for example, last night) would be disobedient and criminal. However, once the file is uploaded, it is in the public domain, regardless of whether it is indexed immediately. To illustrate, a book is released with an IBSN. At one time, it may have taken days, weeks, or even months for libraries to add that book to its card catalog system. If the card catalog had not been updated yet, would that have any bearing on the book's legitimacy, availability, or existence? Of course not! It just wasn't indexed yet. In this matter, we should not allow our ignorance of certain technologies to cause us to sit in judgment of the actions of others. If a brother has a link to the file that has been uploaded (but not indexed yet), he is doing no better or worse than the brother who waits for it to be indexed on JW.org. After all, the announcement said to watch "as soon as possible" and the brother may feel he is doing just that. So is the brother who waits. Neither is right or wrong in this issue. Where someone is wrong is a) he accesses the Branch's files BEFORE they are uploaded to the world, b) thinks that just because the server is owned by Amazon, Google, or another global cloud service means that the file is somehow "unofficial" and should not be shared, or c) judges a brother for clicking a link he doesn't personally like. In short, 1 Thess. 4:11 and "watch the Broadcast" are the most important takeaways here.

I must say, I'm so far very impressed with the fine attitudes the friends here are showing to this announcement. I understand that emotions are strong because we've been in a state of real threat for so long. That very obviously has changed; the severe threat has dissipated. Jehovah is telling us the storm has passed. However, it can be difficult to adjust our feelings to changing circumstances. I quite expected many to display a fearful attitude but that hasn't been the case so far. You friends are correctly seeing things Jehovah's way: trust the brothers - which is exactly what we've been saying all along! So kudos to you friends for displaying the right attitude!

Where?

Thanks. And now I learned how to cut audio from a video.

Does anyone have the Russian song in mp3 yet?

The only reason he's saying "may well be the last one" or the subtitles say "possibly" is because the FDS is being both faithful and discreet. We cannot say Scripturally that Russia will be the last one. I'm sure that's all he meant.

*checks calendar* It IS the first Monday of the month, right?

This remains my favorite talk on all of JW Broadcasting. It's a reminder I need to give myself often. In fact, I'm going to watch this again right now.

I'm presently wrestling with addiction and this couldn't have come at a better time. Thank you, Jehovah! What wise and practical counsel. Jehovah surely loves us, friends.

Is there a transcript yet?

Wow. I think I'm done participating on this forum for a while.

Not at all. My father had a weakened immune system. But sick people would come to the meetings and sit behind him coughing the whole time. He finally got sick from someone and a few months later died due to complications.

Well if they give us the option then we already know the Pfizer one is free of blood components and fractions because the GB said so. However I doubt it will be mandated by law in the US. Of course there may be places you won't be able to go (concerts, sporting events) unless you get the vaccine. They're already discussing using smartphone apps as a passport to public events to prove you've gotten the vaccine.

I think there's a difference here. This pandemic has effectively shut down our normal routine of gathering and preaching. Imagine if no Witnesses took the vaccine because reasons. Would we ever get back to normal that way? Or would Covid then just run rampant throughout our community?

Bethel can do what it wants with its family. That's not for us to judge. I have a chronic health condition that would strain Bethel's resources. Do you think I'd be accepted? The same MAY apply to those unable to take the vaccine. What's most important is the continuation of the preaching work.

The speed of the vaccine isn't a problem in this case. Traditionally the slowdown in the creation of a vaccine is funding. In this case, money was no object. Many nations pooled resources together. The companies could move as fast as they wanted. Even so, they did their due diligence and made sure all the trials were completed before they submitted for authorization. Even independent evaluators are impressed by how thorough things were done. It was an unprecedented set of circumstances the nations and pharmaceutical companies were dealing with. As for long term effects its a waiting game for sure. But think of how many lives will ultimately be saved by doing something NOW! And if in the end mankind screws it all up? That's what God's Kingdom is for. Also, consider this possibility. The taking of the vaccine may not be a "choice" for Bethelites. Their family heads may step in and demand it for the sake of the preaching work. Will those who have been so eager to follow Bethel's lock down measures be as willing to imitate Bethel now? We'll have to see. But I would be surprised if a requirement for resuming the ministry and meetings didn't come down to who took the vaccine. I think it's THAT important.

There isn't time to wait around. Economies are crippling and people are starving and dying. Something needs to be done to stop the bleeding. They can always address the potential side effects later after lives have been saved. This is like saying that the World Trade Center first responders shouldn't have gone in to save people because we didn't know the long term effects of them breathing in the fumes. But that wasn't possible. They had to run in and potentially endanger themselves to save lives. The same is true here. We don't have time to wait for the long term effects to become known. Millions more people could die while we wait.

I really hope this won't be so but with the attitudes of the world towards the vaccine (and honestly, some here) I don't see going back to normal anytime soon.

Me and my family will take it as soon as humanly possible. What games? I don't understand.