DISCUSS COURT CASE HERE JW.org - Jehovah’s Witnesses Mobilize Global Response to Threat of Ban in Russia

[BibleSteve]

22 March 2017

 

Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin President of Russia

 

Dear Sir,

 

As one of Jehovahs witnesses I write concerning the recent change in attitude by the law authorities in Russia suggesting that Jehovahs Witnesses are an extremist group and considered a threat to other people within your country, with the greatest of respect nothing could be further from the truth.

We use the Holy Scriptures (Holy Bible) as our day to day guide as a manual for how to live, it teaches us to be peaceable to all people to be humble and to respect authority and show unselfish love for one another and our neighbours, we strive to live by the laws of the land and pay our full dues and taxes with honesty.

 

We are known throughout the world as having great respect for others and being good citizens carrying on peaceful activities and especially helping others to adopt a similar God pleasing and humble attitude. It has often been said by persons that are not Jehovahs witnesses that if everyone was just like you “Jehovahs witnesses” what a happy world it would be.

 

We don't carry on any activity that could be considered extremist or criminal in nature, to that end we condemn violence and criminality we don't even allow our children to play violent video games that are so popular amongst youths today. In many lands we even go into prisons and preach to help people change their ways and become good citizens and many respond favourably and completely change their attitude to life and become peaceable loving and neighbourly. Jesus taught that all those that live by the sword will die by the sword, we don't take up arms and there are many accounts especially last century when our brothers were killed by the authorities rather than take up military service and be forced to kill other humans in war. 

 

Our weekend meetings have a thirty minute talk which is called “a public talk” based on the bible and is just that a bible based talk that will use scriptures to help people to have a happier and more fulfilling life and is open for all to attend free of any charge. There is nothing that could be considered even remotely “Extremist” about it.

 

The safety and welfare of all the people in Russia is I am sure a priority for your leadership and rightly so, but to ban religious meetings and study of the bible for 170,000 of your most respectful and peaceful citizens surely cannot be justified? more than 170,000 model citizens who pay their taxes their dues and respect to the government rule and to the state surely should not be persecuted for living this way should they?

 

Russia’s “Federal Law on Extremist Activity” is being misapplied to Jehovahs Witnesses in Russia. Jehovahs Witnesses are known worldwide for our peaceable activities and under no circumstances would we ever resort to any activity that could be legitimately construed as “extremist” or criminal in nature.

 

I urge you please consider your personal intervention in these planned actions by your judiciary against a people that are kind, respectful and show love to all and are a threat to no-one please allow them to continue their Christian meetings and gathering together for what is simply pure worship of God. Thank you

 

Please accept my apologies for not being able to write in the Russian Language

 

Sincerely 

 

 

[TRUTH04]

OK, you can remove this one and hook me up to the thread where its been discussed.

Thanks.

Sent from my TECNO DP7CPRO using Tapatalk

[Shawnster]

Thanks for the heads up.  I'll close this and we can continue the conversation there 

[Beggar for the Spirit]

I liked your ending Steve!

" Please accept my apologies for not being able to write in the Russian Language" 

[Tortuga]

It's interesting how things have changed in Russia..

 

*** w11 5/1 p. 21 A Peaceable People Defend Their Good Name ***
Remembering the Oppressed
  During a recent observance of the day when Russians remember those who were oppressed under the Soviet regime, President Dmitri Medvedev made the following statements:
  “Today is the Day of Remembrance of Victims of Political Repression. . . . It is impossible to grasp the scale of sheer terror that swept across the country . . . Whole sectors and classes of our nation were exterminated. . . . Followers of all religious confessions were persecuted. [This memorial is for the] millions of ruined lives—for people executed without trial or record; for people exiled and sent to concentration camps, deprived of civil rights for having the ‘wrong’ occupation or the ‘improper social origins.’ The label ‘enemies of the nation’ and their ‘abettors’ was applied to entire families. Let’s just think about it: Millions of people died as a result of terror and false accusations. They were deprived of all rights, even the right to a humane burial. For many years, their names were simply erased from history.
  “There is no excuse for repression.”
 

[Tortuga]

This is an encouraging and realistic article to review.

 

http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/2011522

[Omoyeme]

Isn't it ironic that STD's co-horts would relish in the ban taking effect by 5 April 2017? Six days before the Memorial of Jesus' death? (As if that ban will end all memorials in Russia?)

 

Again, I am reminded by the phrase echoed by one of our speakers at the 2015  "Imitate Jesus" RC..."Nothing can stop the Christ!"

[JudyO]

3 hours ago, Old said:

Using USPS postal calculator I come up with $1.15.

Someone want to verify?

https://postcalc.usps.com/

Yes, I mailed mine today. They were $1.15 each international--and a really cool round international stamp it was!

 

[Tbs77]

I'm looking for the "boomerang effect" on the Russian Orthodox Church; the true instigators.

[Tbs77]

All I know is that I almost got emotional @ work and almost lost it because this is real! The persecution on our brotherhood, the fate of family members hit me all @ once!

[JudyO]

9 minutes ago, Tbs77 said:

All I know is that I almost got emotional @ work and almost lost it because this is real! The persecution on our brotherhood, the fate of family members hit me all @ once!

Me, too. Excited, tearful, emotional all day as I wrote letters and it was on my mind constantly!

[Sheep]

Ministry Ideaz has published an open letter to Mr. Putin...

[Sheep]

2 hours ago, Bjern said:

I didn't know that bro. Mark Sanderson speaks Russian!

 

https://tv.jw.org/#en/video/VODOurOrganization/pub-jwb_201703_14_VIDEO

Yes, he does, apparently. I saw it in a video years ago. Excuse me while I find it... sorry, this is going to take some... still searching... okay, we're getting close...

 

Ahh! Here it is! It was posted as a link in an email to me May 15, 2014.

[Tortuga]

Per Wikipedia:

Approximately 100 million citizens consider themselves Russian Orthodox Christians, although the vast majority are not regular churchgoers

 

It would be nice if Putin gets 100 million letters from us...

[tekmantwo]

18 minutes ago, Tortuga said:

 

It would be nice if Putin gets 100 million letters from us...

All it would take is for everyone to double up on their letters.

The math says  8million x 6 officials is 48 million. .we can do our part, Jehovah will handle the rest...

 

On my Instagram feed one of the accounts has almost 400 replies,  Witnesses from around the world are pouring letters out, into Russia.  

Russian Postal Services? ?...probably won't survive 

[Beggar for the Spirit]

Was this video with Brother Sanderson put on JW Broadcasting today? Or yesterday?

[Tortuga]

1 minute ago, tekmantwo said:

All it would take is for everyone to double up on their letters.

The math says  8million x 6 officials is 48 million. .we can do our part, Jehovah will handle the rest...

 

On my Instagram feed one of the accounts has almost 400 replies,  Witnesses from around the world are pouring letters out, into Russia.  

Russian Postal Services? ?...probably won't survive 

If the 20 million Memorial attenders x 6 officials is 120 million....

[Stormswift]

3 minutes ago, Beggar for the Spirit said:

Was this video with Brother Sanderson put on JW Broadcasting today? Or yesterday?

I never saw it last night ... I saw it this morning so sometime in between that.

[Tortuga]

Is anyone familiar with any type of bulk mailing that would allow an entire congregation to send all of their letters at a lower postal rate?

[kejedo]

I intend on getting letters to the Post Office tomorrow. I am using indented paragraphs rather than left aligned block style b/c this is a bit less formal than business letters. I am also using beautiful standard size (8.5 by 11 inches aka 216 by 279mm)  stationery  Here is my draft. As always, open to correction, suggestions, or outright criticism:

 

 

    As a retired school teacher, for decades I taught my students to be kind and considerate of all persons, from all over.  I have also attempted to model this empathy. Caring for others, worldwide, is encouraged by Jehovah's Witnesses; through Bible Study, interaction, and worship.

 

     During my years of teaching English Language Classes to students from all over the world, I have been impressed by how much alike we all are, as people. This is certainly true of the international group of more than eight million Jehovah's Witnesses.

 

     I appreciate the laws of the Russian Federation that guarantee religious freedom to all citizens. Globally, Jehovah's Witnesses are viewed as respectful and cooperative citizens.

 

     I reverently request that you will consider allowing Jehovah's Witnesses to continue their respectful and loving worship throughout the large, beautiful, and diverse country of Russia.  

 

 

[Raven]

53 minutes ago, Sheep said:

Yes, he does, apparently. I saw it in a video years ago. Excuse me while I find it... sorry, this is going to take some... still searching... okay, we're getting close...

 

Ahh! Here it is! It was posted as a link in an email to me May 15, 2014.

Thank you kindly for sharing.

[Raven]

Just got home from posting mine too.

[Beggar for the Spirit]

4 minutes ago, Tortuga said:

Is anyone familiar with any type of bulk mailing that would allow an entire congregation to send all of their letters at a lower postal rate?

 

Hi Richard, good question. 

I was thinking about bulk mail today and I started wondering if it is a good decision or not?

The instructions don't mention this and likely the Governing Body may have considered if would be beneficial that each congregation should send them together. But I think there is a greater impact when 1000s or millions of individual letters are pouring in! 

What do you think? This is just an opinion

[Raven]

5 hours ago, CloudJah said:

There is also in the Italian site...with instruction in italian too! Tomorrow I'll write the letter in italian :-) so glad!!!!

Just checked, it is now in Spanish, French, and German as well. Not yet in Chinese or Japanese, but we can probably expect those translations very soon...

[Miss Bea]

8 hours ago, BibleSteve said:

I am preparing to write my 6 letters but cannot bring myself to refer to President Putin as "dear" or "esteemed" neither seem appropriate as I personally don't hold him "dear" or "esteemed" It just makes me feel hypocritical for the same reasons I would not address the pope as your holiness or a priest as reverend. So I was thinking of writing ;

 

Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin President of Russia

Sir,

I am writing regarding ..................

 

Does that seem appropriate do you think? Or am I wrong?

 

 

0.  

I really like this. I strongly think the sheer number of letters will be what they will deal with. I am not in the mood for honorific titles for any of them at all. The instructions did say not to put one persons correspondence in the wrong envelope. I just want to be respectful, (not overly so) and follow our instructions. From the FDS. 

This is so exciting! I think this with our Memorial campaign will make this season one to remember!