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For a little bit of history, the domain name www.jwtalk.net was registered on September 4th, 2006, which was 15 years ago this month. We started as a members only forum for local friends in local congregations using a freeware script called MyBB. Not before long, it lost it's initial traction. Then, a previous JW Forum was taken offline and so we made the effort to invite those abandoned forum refugees to join over here instead. We eventually switched to a freeware script called Phorum and couldn't migrate the MyBB database. Once Facebook became available to the public in general, activity in the Phorum suffered tremendously, and so we decided to abandon the referral-only approach and go Public, allowing search engines like Google to find us and index our content and promoting the forum in various JW Facebook groups. This worked out well, and membership in the JWTalk Online Community of Jehovah's Witnesses began to grow. As other JW Forums, MSN Email Lists, and Yahoo Groups, were discontinued, their members found their way here. Today, JWTalk.net is known to be the largest and busiest, and for many the one and only pro-JW community on the internet. We rigorously vet new member applications and work diligently to keep unqualified, apostate, and opposed individuals out and our boards clean of their harmful propaganda. With the help of our loving brothers and sisters here in the community, we've seen publishers dedicated themselves to Jehovah through water baptism. We've seen members who were struggling emotionally encouraged and strengthened by the Christian love they've received from brothers and sisters who may be on the opposite sides of the globe. We've seen members struggling spiritually grow and now they are the ones encouraging others by their fine comments. Many of us have travelled and met other members face to face and sat next to them at their Kingdom Halls. The community has been a blessing during the pandemic as we have been able to enjoy good association with one another any time of day. “Look! How good and how pleasant it is For brothers to dwell together in unity!” Psalm 133:1 Of course, none of this would work if it wasn't for your love for Jehovah and for your brothers and sisters. Let us continue to "have love for the whole association of brothers (and sisters!)" - 1 Peter 2:17 YOU are what makes this community wonderful, because YOU love Jehovah, YOU love your spiritual family (his organization), and YOU have his blessing.

It is with a heavy heart we must announce the loss of our dear friend Chuck / Musky - one of our longtime moderators. He lost his battle with Parkinson's on Thursday March 21st. We are certain, his assistance with all sorts of computer related questions and his quick witt will be missed by all. We look forward to seeing him in the New World full of life and ready to help any who ask. Our prayers go out to his lovely wife and family who will no doubt miss him even more. This is a good reminder for each of us to try, as he did, and make a good name with all of you and especially with our loving God Jehovah.

Can't believe I'm writing this post, but in light of events in Russia, and an expectation of things to come, I think it's prudent to prepare ourselves mentally for what may come. Here are a few tricks that have been used before: (Note: The examples are based on experiences I remember, with some changes made to fit the point I'm making) 1) The Prisoners Dilemma. They know we hold onto each other, so it's not uncommon to split us up; and even claim that the other guy has turned on us. Cops use it all the time to trick a confession out of a criminal with accomplices. Example: "It's okay, you can salute the flag. We talked to your parents, and they say it's alright to do that." Protection: Have set in your mind where you stand. Remember that they can't split you off from God. Bothers put in solitary confinement say that it's easier because it gives them time to pray, and protection from other prisoners. 2) "You Make Me Do This." Our brothers in Russia are being tormented for things like names, and phone keycodes. Every time they say 'no', they get asked the question again, rougher. If someone ever tries to put the blame on you, just remember that it's the same reasoning every abusive husband has used on a battered wife. "This is your own fault." Example: During WW2, a Gestapo man approached a, imprisoned JW with a gun, and then presents him with his wife and kid. Gestapo man orders the Brother to pick which one will get shot. Our brother refuses. The G Man says "Pick, or I shoot both." Our brother stays cool as ice and says "Double Homicide is your choice. Refusing to take the blame for the gun in your hand is my choice." Protection: Remember that by trying to assign blame to us, they are also trying to absolve themselves. Remember that we don't sit in judgement on anyone; that's God's job. We aren't Judge or Jury; we're Witnesses. 3) "You've Been Brainwashed." They can quote a hundred scriptures, and twist anything you say, to poke a hole in your beliefs. Example: When on trial in Russia, the NWT was banned for not conforming to the state sponsored religion, despite the fact that it was a bible, just like the ones the Russian Orthodox Church uses. Protection: Remember, that even in countries where we're not being persecuted yet, we're being reminded not to bother with 'lukewarm' interest. If they're persecuting us outright, I think it's safe to say they aren't genuinely interested in debating the finer points of bible teaching. If they're putting the question to you in a prison cell, it's not a debate; nor is it a study. You don't have to defend yourself to them. Remember, Jesus Christ himself was silent before his accusers when he knew there was nothing worth saying. 4) "You're Going To Die In Here." Rule Number One in a high stress situation: Time is a weapon. If you're the one being held prisoner, they will use it against you. It takes less than 21 days to break a habit, or grow accustomed to new surroundings. I was once in hospital for a few months, and by the three week mark, I couldn't remember what my bedroom back home looked like. Example: Too many to count. How long did Joseph spend in jail? Or Paul? Or any of the Apostles? How much of the bible was penned in a prison cell? Protection: Persecution is bad. Death is bad. It's also temporary. Something the other side can't say. In some places, being in jail is safer than being on the streets. (And during GT, the world will be coming apart) Speaking for myself, the country I live in is unlikely to launch full scale persecution until GT; but seeing the Tribulation unfold will conquer any lingering doubts or uncertainties about the Truth that I could ever have. They can threaten us with a 30 year prison sentence after the Cry of Peace and Security, and then wonder why we're all laughing at them. Our brothers in the Camps didn't know when the war would end, or how; but if they had known at the time, it'd be a source of terrific endurance to know that they were likely to outlive their jailers by many years. Other Important Points: "Worthy to be Dishonored." Several brothers have stated that in some ways, it was easier to stay faithful under trial, because the choice was black and white. We've lost more people to the lure of Big Screen TV's than we ever did to the Nazis. "Keep your eye simple." Don't be intimidated by numbers, or by the scale of what's coming. Military parades, national propaganda, even the design of cities is designed to humble opposition and intimidate us. But as overwhelming as the odds may be, the whole world put together is nothing compared to Jehovah. When Gideon marched with his army, God told him to trim down his army to 300 men. Going against thousands and thousands. At the last talk of the District last year, one speaker at my convention said: "JW's are outnumbered 850 to one by worldly people. Brothers, those are the kind of odds Jehovah can work with." "God won't let you be tested beyond what you can bear." If you can't take it, you won't have to. Everything that happens to us happens at God's sufferance; down to, and including the amount of pain we feel. There have been multiple reports of that kind of protection. "Cross The Red Sea." This is a showdown between the world, and heaven. It has very little to do with us and our actions. We don't have to win anything, because the winner was decided long before we came onto the scene. Every world power in Daniel's prophecy has come against God at some point, and none of them have prevailed. We aren't expected to fight back, to outsmart anyone, or to get the last word. We tell ourselves that we could never be like Moses. We don't have to be. A million Hebrews crossed the Red Sea, and that's all we need for ourselves. "Fear No Evil." The GB has, quite correctly, made the point that a hundred Russian brothers are in detention. That leaves over a hundred thousand that are not. Sometimes it's scarier to be chased than to be caught. A black car parked outside your house can be more intimidating than a large cell with two dozen of your fellow brothers locked up alongside you. Remember that when facing trials and tests, you're never on your own. All you have to do is trust God to fix the problem, and in the interim we only have to say 'No, I won't' one time more than they say 'Yes, you will'. "Nor will ever occur again." The brothers in the camps during WW2 were all free by 1946. They didn't know when the war would end. They couldn't be sure who would win. And they didn't know what would be left for them to go back to once the dust settled. The duration of their endurance was a lot longer than their persecution. Our generation has the unique privileged of knowing that once the dust settles from our trial, it'll be a thousand years before we ever have to face anything remotely like it again. Imagine being in those Camps in WW2, and being the only person who knows exactly when the war will end, and what will become of the guards beating you. What a source of endurance that would be. "Eyes on the Prize." This one seems obvious, but remember that 'Enduring to the End' has a double meaning for us; because what's ending in our case isn't a war, or a government, or a prison term. it's so much bigger than that. Because once it's over, nobody in the world will ever be persecuted again. There won't be anyone left to try their hand at Totalitarianism or Fascism or Slavery. Not ever again. We are, quite literally, the last people who will ever have to endure persecution.

I was the first in my FSG this morning. Met several other groups out in service and they had more participants to the new dress look.

Moderator note: We have decided this topic is a wonderful idea and wish to expand it to include all our members. If you would like to show your appreciation for a certain member and want everyone to know, please feel free to post it here. Dilp Kumar started off with his appreciation for our friend Neil - Beggar for the Spirit. This thread is a small token of love and appreciation for you dear brother. I am grateful to each brother and sister on this forum but especially to you for all your Christian efforts to encourage us and read our post very very carefully and take time to mediate and take time to research and take time to highlight and post according to our needs. A great privilege to be with persons like you dear brother who love because they imitate jah a little more and are full of love and humbleness. Though I am miles apart from you , your posts have brought smiles to many all over. I sometimes do what I feel is right and my conscious says that to post my personal feelings for you is justified. Pls keep up the goodwork of loving and encouraging us. Our prayers for you. Sent from my SM-G7102 using Tapatalk

Our beloved member Old/Jerry has passed away. 89 years of age. A dear friend of many on the Forum. https://jwtalk.net/profile/4460-old/

Paragraph 9 of this week's Watchtower article tells a beautiful experience of how Jehovah provided for a couple in an unexpected way. That kind of experiences are so encouraging! So I thought maybe we can tell a few experiences of how Jehovah covered our daily needs in unexpected ways. Only experiences we had personally or that we know first hand, please. This is mine: Twenty or twenty-five years ago our kingdom hall was very old and did not even meet the basic legal requirements. It could be closed down at any time by the authorities. Besides it posed a risk in case there was a fire or something like that. So it was clear we needed a new place. But prices of locals in the area were very high and we were a quite modest congregation where many friends were unemployed and hardly managing. The elders tried hard to find a new place for months, and finally they found the perfect spot. It was in a convenient place in the territory, easy to access, and the local itself was spacious enough, met all requirements and only needed reasonable remodeling. So they took an anonymous poll to see how much every family could contribute. Unfortunately, the poll said the congregation could only pay half that amount. Yet the offer seemed too good to let it go. So the CO attended our next meeting and explained the situation to the congregation. It was very unlikely that we found a similar place for that price. He suggested we prayed about it and the poll would be repeated one week later. Well, during that week literally every member of the congregation who was unemployed found a job. I was one of them. And my wife, then my girlfriend, was another. When the poll was repeated, the amount that came was exactly the price of the local. The new hall was bought and it's still being used today.

We had a foreshortened meeting tonight. A brother and his wife from the Russian branch visited us. We have a pretty small Russian group that meets at our hall, so it was so encouraging to see that they sent a shepherd to the brothers who spoke in their native tongue. He was interviewed by 1 of our elders, and explained a lot of what we heard tonight, about the seizing and liquidation. He tells us that all the brothers and sisters at bethel were given a shepherding call individually, and congregations were sent letters of instruction prior to the announcement, of what they were going to do and where. He said that each Field Service Group were instructed to meet at a publishers home, and that many had already graciously offered up their residences. Reminds me of the video at our last convention taking place in the great tribulation. And the importance of being at our meetings! He was calm and collected about the whole thing, but I heard him begin to choke up about losing their hall, how the brothers there at bethel will be sent to branch offices in other countries and some will stay and maintain the properties (I assume until they are seized). He quickly composed himself when our speaker asked what he'll be leaving behind. He said, "my car and an empty room" and smiled. Such is the importance to keep our eye simple. It was a wonderful part and I really wanted to share.

This past weekend's WT study (09/2019) reminded me of an illustration I'd like to share with you that a dear friend sent to me recently. It's entitled: Never, Ever Give Up...Never Quit! Be an *Esther * Bold and courageous enough to stand for the TRUTH; to voice your opinion and fight for the good of others, even when it means to sacrifice yourself. If Jehovah has put you in a position, it is for a purpose. Never be afraid to heed to that inner voice. Be a *Ruth* Loyal in all your relationships, walk the extra mile and don't quit when things get tough. Someday, you'll see why it was all worth the effort. Be a *Lydia* Let your homes be open, let your hands be generous, let your hearts be big enough to help those in need. Joy is greatest when shared. Be a *Hannah* Never cease to pray...for it will never be in vain. Be a *Mary* Humble and submissive. You don't have to be great for Jehovah to use you; you just need humility and obedience. Be a *Dorcus* Use your talents, however small it may seem to bring a smile on someone's face. You'll never know how much it can mean to someone. Be an *Abigail* Remember how each decision can turn your life around for good or bad. Be wise. Be an *Elizabeth * Never doubt what Jehovah can do. He is the God of many miracles. Be a *Rebekah* Never forget that true beauty lies within. Draw all your loved ones closer to Jehovah through Christ-like character. Lastly, be a *Sarah* Age doesn't matter. Trust and believe that all things are possible with Jehovah God, according to His time. Be encouraged my sisters...and be strong!

Welcome back. If you see this post, you are viewing JWTalk on the new server.

Update 3: The morning was not so quiet in my area compared to the previous ones. However, we had the weekend meeting today, which has helped my congregation receive spiritual refreshing. It was unusual to see brothers and sisters in casual clothes (ready to go to a shelter) and in their bathrooms (a pretty safe place in an apartment) at the meeting. We're keeping a positive mood, received many encouraging messages and videos from different parts of the world. I liked the thought from today's talk: "The darker the night, the closer we are to dawn." We hope these events will finish soon. Thanks, Jehovah, and you for your love.

Thanks to Jehovah we were able to attend the Memorial in peace.

I was the only sister at my group who took the plunge today but others said they’re going to next week. Seems nobody wanted to be the 1st, I thought someone’s gotta do it 🤷‍♀️😂

I just saw this topic now, but before reading it, I was not sure exactly what it was about? Brother Dilip, you are very thoughtful and thank you for your kind words and encouragement to me and many others. And Vernalee, that was touching what you wrote, so thank you also. I really like the title "Appreciating Our Members" because I think each brother/sister here on JWtalk has more value than they know. I say this because each of you may not know how certain thoughts you express in your posts or PMs are like a generous "donation"! When each of us give financial donations, like giving to the "Worldwide Work", you and I may have no idea how the money was used or who benefited from it? But someone definitely benefited from the specific donation we gave! It is the same with each brother/sister here on JWtalk! Every time each of you post something, do you know that very likely someone benefited from your kind "donation"? Because these posts are read by many, many people, even many who joined JWtalk but rarely or never post, but yet they read your posts! And then many of us have read the posts but forget at times to hit the "Like" button, so sometimes this could cause each of us to think that hardly anyone read our post or liked our post. But if your post confirmed some spiritual truth for another brother/sister, then your "donation" affected someone! If your post expressed a beautiful quality like modesty or humility, then your "donation" affected someone! If you were a peace maker in a discussion, then your "donation" affected someone! And especially if in some way you lifted our Father Jehovah a little higher in the eyes of another by your words of awe about Him, then your "donation" affected someone! Even if the only person that was affected by your words was Jehovah! Notice this very encouraging thought below which we can truly apply to all of our discussions and posts here on JWtalk! Because Jehovah takes notice of every single word and thought we express, not just verbally, but even written! Jehovah doesn't pay attention only to our comments at meetings or only talks/parts we have during a meeting, but He also takes note every time you write about Him, or post about His son, or about His many other sons, and about each other here! And our Father even takes note of our private thoughts that we wanted to post, but were unable! "At that time those who fear Jehovah spoke(or posted) with one another, each one with his companion, and Jehovah kept paying attention and listening. And a book of remembrance was written before him for those fearing Jehovah and for those meditating on his name" (Malachi 3:16) *** w12 12/1 p. 11 Are You in God’s “Book of Remembrance”? *** Note that those God-fearing individuals “spoke with one another.” Evidently they got together to speak well of Jehovah and encourage one another, lest they become disheartened or tainted by the corruption around them. *** w12 12/1 p. 11 Are You in God’s “Book of Remembrance”? *** Malachi says: “Jehovah kept paying attention and listening.” From his lofty abode in heaven, Jehovah, in effect, inclined his ear and heard every word of praise that his worshippers spoke to one another. He also paid attention to all their private meditations. (Psalm 94:11) But he did more than just pay attention to their good words and thoughts. “A book of remembrance began to be written up before him,” notes Malachi. That book is a record of all those who have served Jehovah in integrity. Notice that it is called “a book of remembrance.” That tells us that Jehovah will never forget his faithful worshippers and all that they have done to praise him—every good deed, word, and thought(even if the word or thought was written in a post on JWtalk ).

We have had to move several times over the years as the JWTalk Online Community continues to grow and outgrow it's hosting environment. When Hostgator shut us down we leased a VPS in New York. When that server couldn't handle us anymore, the JWTalk Operators Coalition (a group of Administrators that cumulatively owns the site) decided to move to a VPS in Dallas. Now the community has outgrown this current machine these Administrators have elected to move JWTalk to another VPS server in Atlanta. We're going to move JWTalk to this new machine very soon. Here is how it will happen when the move occurs. 1. We will TURN OFF JWtalk Forums on the current server. You will see a message that the Site it offline. 2. We will create a FULL SITE backup of the Community and transfer the backup file to the new server. 3. We will restore the backup file and TURN ON JWtalk Forums on the new server. 4. Then we will change the Domain's DNS record to point to this new server. And now.... ... we wait. The new DNS coordinates will have to populate across the internet, and there is no telling how long your personal Internet Service Provider may take to update it's records. Some ISP's will update within minutes. Others may take 12-24 hours. How will you know when YOUR internet service provider has updated their DNS records for JWTalk? Simple, if you try to visit JWTalk and see the message that it is TURNED OFF, this means your ISP is still pointing you to the former copy at the old server. But if you try to visit JWTalk and see the forums and community working as they normally do (i.e. TURNED ON), this means that your ISP has updated their records and is now directing you to the new server. After several days, we will delete the copy of the forum on the old server and cancel the service. The new server has double the processors (and newer processors) and double the RAM, so there should be some improvements in site performance as well.

Update 2: Today is more or less quiet in Kyiv (morning and midday). From time to time, we heard explosions in my neighborhood. We had FGS in the morning. A lot of brothers and sisters joined the meeting. It was a great time to encourage each other. We prepared and sent an informal message to the interested person using Isa 30:15. Also, we discussed how important to be politically neutral as must as we can at this time. In this thread, someone mentioned this issue, and that's true it could happen unexpectedly. For instance, being in a shelter some patriot-mind people could start singing the national hymn. The good q/a: how would I behave myself in this situation? Thanks, Jehova, and you, our dear brothers and sister, for your prayers.

I am sure the 3 minute beginning discussion about the world disasters and the deaths & injuries of witnesses around the world, will probably pale in comparison to the vast majority of the update being devoted to the 'beard' part of the talk. But before we get too deep into the facial hair analysis, we should say a prayer for those who were caught in harms way.

Hi Everyone We would like everyone to welcome three new moderators to our team.. The forum is growing, and we are going through interesting times in this world. We felt we could use a few more hands on deck to look after our growing family, and dealing with some challenges that we are all facing at this juncture in history. Please welcome three beautiful, spiritual sisters to our team, to help keep us safe and strong. Jennifer / Ludwicka - from New Zealand. Ross / Friends just call me Ross - from Michigan, USA. Cheryl / bagwell1987 - Westcoast of USA

Past few years, I’ve been struggling financially. (No one really knows about it) Writing 1000’s of letters during Covid has certainly impacted many of us financially. I have been pioneering as much as possible and increasing my time in the ministry. I talked about the matter to Jehovah. Within no time at all, I received a package in the mail from a sister (who didn’t know about my situation) and had sent me hundreds of beautiful writing sheets with gorgeous pictures for letter writing & a large amount of stamps. 😭 A month later she did the same again. A brother left a brand new printer on my door step with plenty of paper, ink and letter writing templates..just in time for the November campaign. ..Another sister continuously buys me stamps when she purchases herself some. This has increased my love for Jehovah even more so..seeing him directly answer our prayers and provide for us, is so beautiful. Made me so emotional! 😭 I’ve had plenty of experience seeing his help in the past..but this was the most recent. We never have to be anxious..he will always provide. ❤️

I won't be on for awhile. My mom died this morning a few hours after midnight. Seeking a flight out to florida but, hurricane is impeding me. Take care.

Daniel, we alI understand your feelings. We all get discouraged sometimes. But the truth is that no human knows when the end will come. The Governing Body does not know any better than us. They just study Bible prophecies and see how they are being fulfilled by world events, the same as we all do. So whether they use the word "imminent" or "the last of the last days", or whether they have conventions and Memorials planned for several years, that's irrelevant. It doesn't mean anything. It's not a clue as to the time of Armageddon. They will keep planning conventions and buildings and projects and one day the end will come and some of those projects will not take place, or will take place in the new world. Then why do they keep saying it's imminent? Because that's their job. Not to give us clues for the date of Armageddon, but to remind us to keep awake and serve with a sense of urgency. Christians need a sense of urgency in order to be spiritually strong, if we lose that sense of urgency we quickly become discouraged, lose our zeal and let other things take priority in our life. Whether the end is coming next week or it will take some years yet, we need to be busy in spiritual activities, that's the only way to conquer the world. But isn't that cheating, to tell us the end is imminent when they really don't know how far it is? No, it's not. First, because world conditions are changing very quickly and the end feels very close. And secondly, because the "end" is not necessarily Armageddon. I could have an accident this afternoon, or a heart attack, or be a victim of violence, and die. Here I am speaking of weeks or months or years, when actually I only have a few hours left to serve Jehovah to the best of my ability. So the wise approach is to keep planning and doing our best for Jehovah with a sense of urgency and soon the end will come and all promises will become a reality.

Update: the midweek meeting has finished without interruptions yesterday. All brothers and sister were happy to meet together at this difficult time via Zoom. Today we're trying to avoid any dangerous situations (e.g. be at the streets) and hiding at homes and shelters. What a wise advice from FDS of preparing emergency backpack! Thanks Jehova for your support at the exact time.

I want to share with you, dears, that this war has helped us to witness and touch many hearts! Not only in Ukraine, but all over the world. Any situation Jehovah can turn to advantage. ❤️

I have noticed that in recent times Christian love and civility are being strained. Look at some of the threads and posts in various subjects. Someone will make a comment and the observers take sides. Not just commenting but taking the person to task over the post. If I say “Great Crowd” in a post, someone will have to point out that these people only exist after Armageddon. That riposte will generate a counter attack with a Watchtower quote saying it’s used as a generic term, and so on. Supposedly on this forum, we are all the “good-guys” and the opposers are the ones “out-there” in the world. In the western movie scenario, we have ‘circled the wagons’ to protect us against the Indian attack (apologies to my first nation, aboriginal, etc friends). Inside the wagon circle, we are supposed to be supportive, caring, defending and so on. Instead, these hardy pioneers are squabbling about spelling, counting, typos, limited research, forms, levity, personal attacks and so on. Satan does not have to assault us to get us to fall, we trip over our own feet. I like accuracy as much as the next researcher but is it life-threatening? We make all kinds of allowances for children. *** w94 5/15 p. 12 par. 11 Parents, Your Children Need Specialized Attention *** One couple listened while their three-year-old asked God to bless “Wally.” He prayed for “Wally” on succeeding nights, and the parents were greatly encouraged when they realized that he meant the brothers in Malawi, then suffering persecution. If that poor kid had posted here he might have received a smile if he was under 12 years of age, but a much different response if he was 20. What happened to the kind, loving appreciation for a good effort? Suggestions (even counsel) can be applied if necessary but can we avoid being critical? Human nature is with us always, but how we apply the new personality is a choice. I hope all of our forum participants can upgrade their research and comments but I want to apply tolerance to those who have not reached my exalted level of competence…❤️

i know that most people will talk about the pants thing but the most beautiful parts for me were the adjustements regarding disfellowshipping and disfellowshipped ones. Our God is more merciful that we can imagine 🥹

It is time to pray for our brothers and sisters in the Ukraine. Pray that they remain aafe and can maintain their neutrality. They are forced into a very sad situation. I am sure we will get more information on jw.org in time.

Now, we have two families (both sisters/mothers and two teenagers) from Ukraine in our congregation. The first family stays at sister's apartment with her and the second family stays at young couple apartment with them. So, we make effort to learn some Ukrainian or Russian language and they try to learn Czech lang. So, it creates many laughing situations because sometimes there appears absolutely new words which have no sense but we understand to each other:-) Yesterday we were walking to nerby mountains area. That was so encouraging, we had so nice time with our dear Ukranian sisters and their teenage kids. We also assist and accompany with them to be registered as a refugees and also help them (kids) to make enrollment to Czech schools. All members of congregation are very eager to support them so we all feel what is true love about. We constantly thank Jehovah for using us all in this time of great need.

Thanks for your support and prays brothers and sisters. All quiet in Kyiv right now, but very nervous. We have a midweek meeting today and all congregation is supporting each other via Zoom, SMS, messages etc.

Although we pray and sympathize with our brothers undergoing this distress, we must not allow the challenges, warfare, injustice to affect our views. What difference is there between a Russian government backed by false religion imprisoning our brothers and the Ukrainian government backed by their false religion passing a draft mandate and imprisoning our brothers? They are all Satan's pawns in a global grab for land that belongs to God. Our brothers suffer no matter which side arrests them. There is not a "good" side and a "bad" side in world domination. Some politicians may feel they have more right or justice on their side, but it is Satan's side they are on. So we feel pain for our faithful brothers but no political side is in the "right". We must follow the Bible and GB counsel and remain neutral (even in our thoughts). Jesus reminded us that. like his Kingdom, we are no part of this world.

A sister in our congregation made her feelings known some time ago. She told her younger sister to never call her early in morning unless Armageddon had started, or sisters could wear pants to the meeting. He sister called her early this morning..

I used the WTLib, the Research Guide, another thread on JWTalk and some of my ideas to make a list of things to do for Family Worship. I tried to categorize it but there may be some duplicates. I would like to create a list that I can share with the congregation so please add your ideas! Bible: • Review the revised Bible appendix • Read a portion of the weekly Bible reading together. If the material lends itself to doing so, one person can read the narration, and others can read the words of the different characters. • Reenact a portion of the Bible reading. • Assign each member of the family to read the designated Bible chapters in advance and to make note of one or two questions that he has on the material. Then research everyone’s questions together. • Each week prepare a flash card with a Bible verse on it and try to memorize and explain it. Build up a collection of cards, and review them weekly to see how many scriptures you remember. • Listen to an audio recording of the Bible reading while following along in the Bible. Review Publications (take turns picking chapters or subjects): • Imitate Their Faith • Gods Kingdom Rules • Bible Story book • Greatest Man book • Current Yearbook • New Releases • BE book study points • See the Good Land maps • Research Guide • Organized to do Jehovah’s Will Meetings: • Prepare together for a portion of the meetings. • Practice the Kingdom songs scheduled for the coming week. • Practice the new Kingdom songs as they are released • If someone has a talk on the Theocratic Ministry School or a demonstration on the Service Meeting, discuss ideas for presenting it or rehearse it in front of the family. · Prepare the TMS Review together · Review any meeting material missed due to Circuit Overseer visit or Conventions. · Prepare for the Memorial. Ministry: • Have practice sessions to prepare presentations for the weekend. • Discuss realistic goals the family can set to expand their share in the ministry during the Memorial season or vacation time. • Discuss how at least one member in the family can increase their ministry by pioneering. • Allow each family member a few minutes to research how to answer different questions that may arise in the ministry, and then have practice sessions. • Review the Reasoning Book – Conversation Stoppers • Review points in the Pioneer book. • Review the tracts and how to use them. • Use the JWLanguage app to learn phrases you may need in the territory. Organizational matters: • Review the history of the local congregation. When and how was it formed? Which different Kingdom Halls did the congregation use? For this discussion, why not invite a longtime member of the congregation to your home to answer your children’s questions? • Explain the purpose of the various congregation meetings and larger gatherings and how the children can benefit from them. • Consider the purpose of the different schools established by Jehovah’s organization. Share experiences that show the good fruits that the graduates of these schools have been producing. • Help young ones to see the importance of becoming regular publishers of the good news. Show them how they can contribute to the worldwide report published in the Yearbook of Jehovah’s Witnesses. • Consider the different forms of full-time service available to young people in Jehovah’s organization. Chapter 10 of the book Organized to Do Jehovah’s Will is a good source of information. • Help young ones to understand why certain procedures are followed in the congregation. Explain why they should not act independently of Jehovah’s organization, even in small ways. Show them how they can contribute to good order in the congregation by following the direction of the elders. • Review the “From Our Archives” series in the WT. JW.ORG • Review the videos you can use in service • Review the electronic version of the current offer and any additional information on it on the web site • Do the Family Worship projects together • Practice how you can use JW.ORG in the ministry JW Broadcasting: • Watch the monthly broadcast • Watch a movie • Watch Morning Worship • Watch Construction Updates • Watch Experiences & Interviews • Watch or listen to a drama For families with teens: • Read and discuss Questions Young People Ask—Answers That Work. • Practice “What if . . . ?” situations. (See The Watchtower of May 15, 1996, page 14, paragraphs 17-18.) • Talk about long-term and short-term goals. • From time to time, watch and discuss a Bible-based video. • Consider the Watchtower feature “For Young People.” • Consider material from the Young People Ask or Learn From the Great Teacher books. • Have a practice session where the parents and children reverse roles. The children research a subject and then reason with the parents. • Have a practice session on how to handle a situation that is likely to arise at school. · A coach asks your daughter to join the school team. · Your son is offered a cigarette on the way home from school. · Some boys threaten to beat up your son if they see him preaching again. · While your daughter is working from door to door in field service, she encounters a schoolmate. · In front of the class, your daughter is asked why she does not salute the flag. · A boy constantly ridicules your son for being a Witness. For families with young children: • Dramatize Bible scenes. • Play memory games, such as those on pages 30 and 31 of Awake! • Occasionally, do something imaginative. (See “Studying the Bible—In the Zoo!” in Awake! of March 8, 1996, pages 16-19.) • Consider the Watchtower feature “Teach Your Children.” • Reenact a Bible drama • Demonstrate how you would preach to someone just resurrected. For couples with no children: • Discuss chapters 1, 3, 11-16 of the book The Secret of Family Happiness. • Share the results of research on points from Bible reading. • Prepare for the Congregation Bible Study or the Watchtower Study. • Discuss ways to expand your ministry as a couple. For single brothers and sisters or for those in religiously divided households: • Study new publications received at district conventions. • Read current and past Yearbooks. • Do research on questions common in your local territory. • Prepare presentations for the field ministry Additional Suggestions: • Read together an article from the current magazines. • Have each family member read in advance an article that intrigues him from the current magazines, and then have him give a report on it. • Occasionally invite a publisher or couple to join you for your Family Worship evening, and perhaps interview them. • Watch and discuss one of our videos. • Discuss together “Young People Ask” or “For Family Review” from Awake! • Discuss together “Teach Your Children” or “For Young People” from The Watchtower. • Read and discuss a portion of the current Yearbook or a release from the last district convention. • Before a convention, review the program and look up the scriptures. • After attending a convention or assembly, review the highlights. • Observe Jehovah’s creation firsthand, and discuss what it teaches us about Jehovah. • Work on a project together, such as a model, a map, or a chart. • Discuss holidays and their meaning • Review the DPA and AHCD for each member of the family • Review the family Emergency Plan and kits • Create Theocratic puzzles • Review the Beliefs Clarified on WOL. Experiences: Young ones enjoy doing things that they do well. Rehearsing presentations and thinking of ways to handle objections will help them to become more confident as they engage in various forms of the Kingdom-preaching work.—2 Tim. 2:15. You can also have practice sessions that will help your children deal with peer pressure. Chapter 15 of the book Questions Young People Ask—Answers That Work, Volume 2, can be used as a basis for family discussion. The “Peer-Pressure Planner” on pages 132 and 133 provides suggestions and also allows opportunities for your child to create responses that he or she feels comfortable with. A statement at the bottom of page 133 encourages youths: “Rehearse your responses with a parent or a mature friend.” From time to time, why not make such rehearsals part of your Family Worship evening? Family worship provides opportunity for parents to emphasize the benefits of having spiritual goals. In this regard, Young People Ask, Volume 2, has excellent information in chapter 38, entitled “What Will I Do With My Life?” While discussing the chapter, help your child to appreciate that centering one’s life on serving Jehovah is the best course to follow. Cultivate in your child’s heart the desire to pioneer, serve at Bethel, attend the Ministerial Training School, or pursue some other form of full-time service. There are features in The Watchtower and Awake! that provide an excellent basis for family discussion. For example, you might use the feature on page 31 of each Awake! magazine, entitled “How Would You Answer?” In every other issue, the public edition of The Watchtower contains the study project “For Our Young People.” These projects alternate with a series for younger boys and girls entitled “Teach Your Children.” Articles in the “Young People Ask” series in Awake! will be of particular interest to parents of adolescents, as will the book Young People Ask, Volume 2. When using that book, do not overlook the box “What Do You Think?” at the end of each chapter. That box is more than a review. The questions in that box can be used as an outline for family discussion. “When studying with our young daughters, my husband and I went over the material to prepare for a congregation meeting and then we had our girls draw a picture that summarized the lesson. At times, we reenacted Bible scenes or had practice sessions for field service presentations. We kept the study appropriate for their age, interesting, positive, and fun.”—J.M., United States. “To help the son of my Bible student appreciate what it was like to use a scroll in Bible times, we printed out the book of Isaiah after deleting the chapter and verse numbers. We joined the pages and attached each end to a tube. The boy then tried to do what Jesus did at the synagogue in Nazareth. The account at Luke 4:16-21 relates that Jesus ‘opened the scroll [of Isaiah] and found’ the passage for which he was looking. (Isa. 61:1, 2) However, when the boy tried to do the same, he found it hard to locate Isaiah 61 using that long scroll with no chapter and verse numbers. Impressed by Jesus’ skill in handling scrolls, the boy exclaimed: ‘Jesus was awesome!’”—Y.T., Japan. References from RSG14 pp. 87-88 - Family Life: Use Our Web Site to Teach Your Children Kingdom Ministry, 10/2013 What Is Family Worship? Jehovah’s Will, lesson 10 Keys to Family Happiness: Cultivate Spirituality as a Couple The Watchtower, 11/1/2011 Ideas for Family Worship and Personal Study The Watchtower, 8/15/2011 Christian Families—“Keep Ready” (§ Maintain a Family Worship Evening) The Watchtower, 5/15/2011 You Have Cause for Rejoicing The Watchtower, 3/15/2011 Help for Families Kingdom Ministry, 1/2011 What Would Your Child Say? The Watchtower, 12/15/2010 Help Young Ones to Become Familiar With Jehovah’s Organization (Box: Subjects to Consider During Family Worship) The Watchtower, 10/15/2010 Find Refreshment in Spiritual Things (§ Family Worship Refreshes) The Watchtower, 6/15/2010 Help Your Children to Meet Their Many Challenges (§ Why Practice Sessions Are So Valuable) The Watchtower, 1/15/2010 ❐ The Watchtower, 10/15/2009 Family Worship—Vital for Survival! Have You Set Aside Time for Bible Study? Cooperation Promotes Spiritual Progress The Watchtower, 7/15/2009 Personal and Family Bible Study Are Vital! Kingdom Ministry, 10/2008

My wife and I are serving in the Tel Aviv area. The branch has given us clear direction regarding in person meetings, service and safety. Some of the brothers who live in cities close to Gaza are currently being hosted by brothers further north. Thx to clear direction we received beginning Saturday morning (the morning of the attack), we have no injuries reported among the friends (some elder bodies began informing the friends to stay home only 30 min after the first reports). We have been assisting foreign brothers here on vacation to be hosted by local friends until a flight can be arranged. Jehovah is taking care of us and we have his peace.

Thank you, dears, for your prayers!

Had a wonderful hour long Shepherding call with the CO. He said he's calling on as many as he could because of how much is going on everywhere that could discourage us or cause us undue anxiety. And he's so right. On a local level its shocking at how many of the friends we've lost. One was a close friend of my family who was the victim of a sneaker wave over the jetty that drowned his ship, sicknesses have claimed many, the recent and new-to-me weather phenomena of atmospheric rivers. We've had 2 in recent weeks. A couple days ago it dumped up to 7 inches of rain and literally feet of snow further inland. This is looking out a sliding glass door in Cle Elum, Washington Then we had a house literally blow up, it spread debris everywhere for blocks! The concussion broke windows far and wide. https://www.king5.com/amp/article/news/local/pacific-county-explosion-cause-identified-fuel-air-mixture-propane/281-a9720bae-7dec-4c56-b3d8-651ea69200ff Then last weekend a series of house fires, one of which was literally across the street from me and took the life of a teenager, the wind was blowing so bad they thought it might catch others on fire. https://www.chinookobserver.com/news/local/16-year-old-dies-in-wind-driven-ocean-park-home-fire/article_aaf89448-6d6f-11ec-82c4-270e29e06e82.html So yes friends we need some relief don't we. We all are praying fervently to have an end to this horrid system. The CO addressed this to me and explained why Jesus seemed to be delaying. He used the illustration in Luke 8:40-56 of when Jesus was traveling in the ministry and Jairus met up with him pleading for Jesus to come with him.....his daughter was very sick and needed Jesus' healing, So as he's pleading Jesus walks toward his home, the crowds are pressing in, he seems to delay,. The CO said, "can you just imagine how upset he is, he's urging Jesus to hurry, please come" But Jesus had things he had to do as he walked on, he needed to stop because another lesson was going to be taught to the crowds. So he delayed, then the woman with the flow of blood touched him. A necessary lesson was given to the crowd, then Jesus continued and resurrected the little girl. The take away for us is we're pleading with Jesus to "hurry up, please we're getting desperate, we're under distress, we need rescue", but Jesus has a few other things he's busy doing as he prepares for the greatest war ever to hit mankind. He's setting it up for our survival. So be patient, Jesus will make this act of preservation perfect for us, it's almost here. And like Jairus's daughter he wants to do this for us!!

Right now, we received letter from our Branch(Czech-Slovakia Branch) asking us to promptly think about the possibility to accomodate our Ukranian brothers and sisters or families fleeing from their country hit by war. That is kind of survey and reason is to be prepared for this possible scenario (Prov.22:3). I mean the same letter will be sent through all Middle Europe congs. I am convinced there will be huge response on the letter from brothers, not only within Middle Europe. We constantly pray for our dear brothers who live so near my country. We know Jehovah will guard our brothers there, even through all of us. Odesláno z mého SM-A202F pomocí Tapatalk

Here is a sneak peek at what the 2017 Memorial invitation looks like: In addition, here is the cover of the Watchtower that we will offer during March in conjunction with the Memorial invitation:

We received some valuable feedback and as a result the administrators have decided to implement the following changes for the sake of clarification, openness, honesty, and loyalty. We would like to share 3 of the points that were brought to our attention, and what we have done to address them. More adjustments will be made as necessary. 1. The previous favicon (the image that shows in your browser tab and in your browser bookmarks/favorites) bore too much resemblance to the official website and app logos used by Jehovah's organization. See (The Watchtower, April 2018, Questions from Readers). If someone saved the link to JWTalk in their bookmarks/favorites, the favicon could be confused with JW Library. This, in turn, gives the appearance that JWTalk is an official extension of the organization, when that is certainly not the case. Therefore, we have changed the icon. The JWTalk community is not sponsored by the faithful and discreet slave nor operated by any legal entity used by the organization known as Jehovah's Witnesses. We certainly never intended to give that appearance, deceive, or cause confusion in this way. 2. The description for the "Bible Research, Personal Study, & Scriptural Discussion" section may have given the impression that we encourage independent interpretation of Bible passages as well as scrutinizing the accuracy of the New World Translation. See Our Kingdom Ministry, September 2007, Question Box. This article in Our Kingdom Ministry also says "They have created Web sites and chat rooms for the purpose of exchanging and debating their views" and it was a review of the consistent negative references to Chat Rooms in our literature that was a large part of the deciding factors that led the Administrator team here at JWTalk to abandon the trials of 3rd-party Chat software. Also, JWTalk.net does not encourage debate. Our Community Membership Policy has always contained the following statements... The Bible Research, Personal Study, & Scriptural Discussion area is for sharing the results of your own research that delighted you to the extent that you want to share your joy with others, or to request help understanding a Bible passage or current understandings better. It is not for airing your own interpretations, for "no prophecy of Scripture springs from any private interpretation" but rather, "Do not interpretations belong to God?" (2 Pet. 1:20, 21; Genesis 40:8). Likewise, it is by no means a forum for debate. If a conversation is drifting away from discussing and leaning more towards debate, please click the Report button on the post so that the Staff can look into steering the conversation back on topic or perhaps even lock the thread. With that said, the group description has been changed for clarification. BEFORE: A private members only forum for in-depth discussion of the Bible, interpretation, translation, and anything related to your personal study and research. This is a theocratic discussion forum for encouragement and spiritual growth. NOW: A private section for discussing the Bible, our literature and current understandings, and gems from your personal study and research. This is a theocratic group for building faith in God's Word and trust in his faithful and discreet slave. 3. The language in the footer could have been giving the false impression that our community is endorsed by, sponsored by, or sanctioned by the faithful and discreet slave. As such, we made the following changes to the blurb found in the footer as follows... BEFORE: Since 2006, JWTalk has proved to be the only legitimate community for real Jehovah's Witnesses on the web. AFTER: Since 2006, JWTalk has proved to be a well-moderated online community for real Jehovah's Witnesses on the web. Every registered member knows that we are a pro-JW community, and that while we are not an official channel used by Jehovah's organization, it is our vision that every member of JWTalk Community must be living in harmony with Bible standards and believe the teachings of Jehovah’s Witnesses that are expressed in their literature as well as on JW.org. However, unregistered guests that come across our site through a web link or search result may be wary, as they should be. At the same time, there have been cases of individuals who were under the impression that we were an official channel of communication for Jehovah's Witnesses, which has been evident through feedback like we recently received, as well as occasional messages sent through the Contact Us form, which we always redirect to our official website. With that said, we appreciate all the feedback we get, as we strive to keep the community as safe and clean as possible for everyone, and at the same time avoid the impression that we're under the umbrella of services provided by the faithful and discreet slave.

About 7 years ago, my husband was denied baptism over a partial beard. He shaved, and got baptized. But this set a scene for his journey. He eventually (as a result of many accumulated wrongs, and his own mental illness) he drifted away and became inactive. He has recently been drawing closer to Jehovah and the congregation again. Today I will have to present this update to him tactfully. Sent from my SM-G981W using Tapatalk

These last days in Spain JWs are all over the place in the media. Why, maybe they are exposing the way our brothers are being persecuted and tortured in Russia? No, most of the media have been almost completely silent about that. But they are happily advertizing the story of a young sister who is in a critical situation in the hospital because she won't accept a blood transfusion which apparently would safe her life without any doubt. Unfortunately I haven't found any newspaper in English which covers this story. This is one link in Spanish, but if you search for "testigos de Jehová sangre huesca" you'll find hundreds of articles. https://www.eldiario.es/aragon/Sale-Jehova-Huesca-convencerla-trasfusion_0_881912722.html Liliana, 20 year old, went to the ER with strong pain in her abdomen. She was diagnosed with peritonitis and had surgery done. Although the operation went well, she was very weak and had lost a lot of blood, so the doctors decided to induce her a coma to help her recover. But when the doctor decided to give her a blood transfusion, it came to light that she had registered legally her decision not to receive any blood as one of Jehovah's Witnesses. Her parents, who are not Witnesses, tried by all means to have the doctors administer the blood, and they even called a judge, but the judge said the girl is an adult and the document is legal so her wishes must be respected. The media didn't miss any chance to criticize the "cult" that had condemned Liliana to death. There were debates everywhere on tv. A few days later Liliana woke up from her sleep and was so surprised to see of all the circus created around her. She said her situation was not, by far, as critical as the media has made it seem. She was weak and needed some rest. She dismissed all the journalists and asked her family to cancel all their scheduled appearances on tv. She's feeling better every day and hopefully will soon be out of danger. After all, it seems that blood transfusion wasn't so necessary. Wow, the media distorting the facts? Who would have believed it!

I just wanted to express my gratitude for the creators, moderators and everyone that contribute to this fine site. I work in a very highly career focused corporate office where everything is very cut-throat/negative - the usual garbage in the world. Unfortunately, being the only JW here at work can sometimes make me feel alone. But when I feel that way I like to login here and just get some refreshment, knowing that I am not the only one that struggles everyday. Of course the go-to guide is the Bible and literature but also nice to be here and get built-up too. Thanks again my brothers.

Update 4: The situation was quiet and stable in my area during these days. Responsible brothers decided to reschedule our Christian meetings to daylight due to the observance of blackouts. One brother from Germany decided to organize a friendly meeting via Zoom, which helped comfort brothers and sisters from Ukraine (All day online from Saturday until today. It's already finished). There were about 600-1000 (I think maximum for Zoom) attendees from different parts of the world all the time when I joined it. I've heard a lot of interesting and encouraging cases of how Jehovah helped our dear brothers and sisters in their circumstances.

I live in Lviv region, where our branch is. So far we have everything calm. Although everything may change. We are preparing to receive refugees.

Just wanted to share something that happened to me a couple nights ago. Earlier in the evening I had texted "thank you" to my service overseer for sending me my talk slip for August. Later that evening my daughter wanted some eggs to make a dessert. I opened my text screen and texted my husband "Bring Eggs". Immediately after pressing the send button I realized I had texted my field service overseer. I failed to get out of the screen when I texted the "thank you for the talk slip" earlier in the day. It was 9:36pm at night. I said oops and texted him back immediately saying "Sorry this was meant for my husband, LoL". Then of course I texted my husband to bring eggs. My daughter and I got a kick out of the boo boo I made. Around 10:38pm hubby was pulling up to the house from going to the grocery store and heard a horn honking at him. The brother gave him a carton of eggs and said I got the message to bring eggs that your wife meant for you so I brought some over. When my husband came in the house he said "I have the eggs you texted Brother X for" and was laughing. The brother told him the story and hubby couldn't resist teasing me. My daughter and I fell out laughing because after I accidentally sent the message I said it would be funny if he actually brought some over. 🤣 We laughed a long time. I then texted the brother and thanked him and asked how much I owed him? He said nothing just wanted to make us laugh. Him and his wife are so sweet and they couldn't pass up the opportunity to get a laugh out of us. 😂 Only in Jehovah's organization can you put out a call late at night and Jehovah responses through others 🤭

Once upon a time there was a rich King who had four wives. He loved the 4th wife the most and adored her with rich robes and treated her to the finest of delicacies. He gave her nothing but the best. He also loved the 3rd wife very much and was always showing her off to neighboring kingdoms. However, he feared that one day she would leave him for another. He also loved his 2nd wife. She was his confidant and was always kind, considerate and patient with him. Whenever the King faced a problem, he could confide in her, and she would help him get through the difficult times. The King’s 1st wife was a very loyal partner and had made great contributions in maintaining his wealth and kingdom. However, he did not love the first wife. Although she loved him deeply, he hardly took notice of her. One day, the King fell ill and he knew his time was short. He thought of his luxurious life and wondered, I now have four wives with me, but when I die, I’ll be all alone. Thus, he asked the 4th wife , “I loved you the most, endowed you with the finest clothing and showered great care over you. Now that I’m dying, will you follow me and keep me company?” “No way!”, replied the 4th wife, and she walked away without another word. Her answer cut like a sharp knife right into his heart. The sad King then asked the 3rd wife, “I loved you all my life. Now that I’m dying,will you follow me and keep me company?” “No!”, replied the 3rd wife. “Life is too good! When you die, I’m going to remarry!” His heart sank and turned cold. He then asked the 2nd wife, “I have always turned to you for help and you’ve always been there for me. When I die, will you follow me and keep me company? “I’m sorry, I can’t help you out this time!”, replied the 2nd wife. “At the very most,I can only walk with you to your grave. Her answer struck him like a bolt of lightning, and the King was devastated. Then a voice called out: “I’ll go with you. I’ll follow you no matter where you go.” The King looked up, and there was his first wife. She was very skinny as she suffered from malnutrition and neglect. Greatly grieved, the King said, “I should have taken much better care of you when I had the chance!” In truth, we all have the 4 wives in our lives: Our 4th wife is our body. No matter how much time and effort we lavish in making it look good, it will leave us when we die. Our 3rd wife is our possessions, status and wealth.When we die, it will all go to others. Our 2nd wife is our family and friends. No matter how much they have been there for us, the furthest they can stay by us is up to the grave. And our 1st wife is our relationship with Jehovah. Often neglected in pursuit of wealth, power & pleasures of the world. However, it is the only thing that will follow us where ever we go. Cultivate, strengthen and cherish it now, for even when we die, it is the only thing that will certainly continue to exist - in the living record of Jehovah’s memory.

"JW.org has passed the milestone of being translated into 1000 languages, and is still rapidly growing! We will surely continue to see many more languages added in a short amount of time. So I thought I'd share some interesting language stats that I hope you all find encouraging (disclaimer: these stats may not be 100% correct, but if not then would be very close)... Today there are 7,099 living languages (This number includes sign languages, creoles, pidgins, mixed languages, constructs, and unclassified languages). It is predicted by some that in 100 years from now only 10% of these will still be alive ~ that is roughly 700. ~ In 2016 the entire Bible had been translated into 636 languages, and the complete New Testament into 1,442 languages, and is currently in the process of being translated into many more languages. The Watchtower magazine is translated into over 300 languages, and has a circulation of over 62 million copies bimonthly, making it the most circulated and most translated magazine on the planet. The Brochure Listen to God and Live Forever is in well over 640 languages (figure from mid 2016) and counting... Of those 7,000+ languages, just 397 languages have one million or more native speakers, only about 90 languages have ten million or more native speakers (23 of these account for more than half the world's population), just 10 languages have one hundred million or more native speakers, and only 1 language has close to one billion native speakers (Mandarin Chinese ~ worth learning!). These are the names of those top 10 languages, in order of population (according to Wikipedia): Mandarin Chinese Spanish English (2nd place if including all speakers) Hindustani Arabic Portuguese Bengali Russian Japanese Punjabi "World Languages": World languages are international languages with a huge number of both native speakers and non-native speakers. The three most agreed upon world languages are (in order): English (By far the most international) French Spanish Less strict sources include the following in this category... Mandarin Chinese Arabic Portuguese Russian German "Endangered Languages": On the other side of the list, 1,955 languages have less than 1,000 native speakers. About 692 of those languages have less than 100 native speakers, and 363 of that number have less than 10 native speakers left. About 219 of those languages exist solely as an auxiliary language and has no native speakers left at all, or exist as a constructed language that a mere handful of people, and in some cases just a single person, can speak it to varying degrees of fluency. 199 languages have unknown statistics. Apparently the least spoken native language in the world is Taushiro (Pinche), a Peruvian language spoken fluently by only one elderly man. Language distribution: Africa: 2,144 Americas: 1,061 Asia: 2,294 Europe: 287 Pacific: 1,313 Constructed languages: According to another source, there may be over 300 constructed languages in total. Eperanto is by far the most successful of all constructed languages, having close to two million speakers around the world, and now even has a small population of native speakers (children taught Esperanto as one of their first languages by their parents). It is said to be one of the easiest spoken languages to learn, and along with Latin and Koine Greek, is even taught in some Universities (as well as in one primary school in Brazil). The complete Bible has been translated into Esperanto. Klingon (from Star Trek) is an actual constructed language that has up to 30 speakers. Apparently parts of the Bible have been translated into Klingon too. @Qapla Sign language stats: Out of the 137 sign languages, the most used is Chinese Sign Language, while the most international is American Sign Language (part of the French Sign Language family). Some sign languages have a written form, tho few people can read them. Oldest living language: Hebrew. Since Jehovah God blessed Shem, it's reasonable to assume that Shem's language was not affected when God confused the language of the disapproved people at Babel. Abram the Hebrew was a direct decendent of Shem (see the lineage: Genesis 11:10-26), and would have spoken the same language as his direct ancestor. Therefore, altho the original Hebrew has changed dramatically over time into its modern decendent language, the oldest living language would probably be Hebrew ~ as well as most likely being the oldest language of humankind. In Paradise will we all return to speaking the original language, Hebrew? Or will God create a brand new language for us? We will have to wait an see... Sources: https://www.ethnologue.com/statistics/size https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_languages_by_number_of_native_speakers http://www2.cmp.uea.ac.uk/~jrk/conlang.html https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1200001953 https://www.jw.org/en/

Shared with me today: This is really worth reading, so interesting 😊 This is a very interesting summary of what has happened to us! Changes Think….what if…. Imagine 15 months ago, we are at our Sunday meeting and the brothers have a letter to read from the Branch. They say after the WT we will make an announcement and nobody should leave til this letter is read. The Brother begins to read the letter “Starting today…… All Kingdom halls will be closed globally! World headquarters closed. All tours canceled. All Bethel branches closed globally no one in or out! All International Conventions canceled! All Regional Conventions canceled. All Assembly Halls closed! All Theocratic schools and facilities SKE , Gilead closed no one in or out. All Pioneer schools, Branch schools, Elders schools canceled. All LDC construction projects canceled all LDC workers cannot travel home. All baptisms no longer held at Assemblies or Conventions only in a private setting, your congregation cannot attend live! All those currently attending Gilead school cannot return to their countries. All those in special full-time service must shelter in their homes. Stop all public witnessing no door-to-door, return visits, cart work, Special Metropolitan work, cruise witnessing, prison witnessing all forms of public witnessing!! Stop going to your Bible studies homes. All Travel stopped! All vacations stopped! All cruise ships/cruises canceled! All public and private schools closed! All sports events canceled! Olympics canceled! Broadway shows canceled! All Theaters, museums are closed! Restaurant inside dining closed! All wedding receptions canceled. From now on starting today you must wear a mask whenever you leave your house! Over 17,000 of you will die of a global pandemic. If your family members, your mother, your father, your child gets this virus you cannot visit them in the hospital, you cannot say goodbye to them as they’re dying!! In some locations in the world your family will be buried in a mass grave because they’ve run out of caskets and burial plots!! No visiting your friends in their homes, no visitors allowed in your home! If one of your parents are in a nursing home you cannot visit them again! There will also be 204 natural disasters just in the year 2020. SO ………if a letter like that was read to the congregations, Would we faint out of fear, would we have a nervous breakdown, would we cry inconsolably, would we run to the bathroom and get sick to our stomachs? There is a reason Jehovah does not give us all the details of Armageddon ahead of time. He knows with his help we can get through anything…. just look back these past 14 months and be reminded of what we accomplished even with the above list of horrible things. We never missed a meeting, a Memorial, a C.A. a Convention. We didn’t miss a month without reporting our field service. Never missed a circuit overseer’s visit. Elders never missed their elder’s meetings. Even pioneer schools got re-scheduled on Zoom. Never had to cancel our Bible studies. Never missed a monthly broadcast, just to name a few. So Jehovah knows what we can bear and what we can’t. He didn’t prevent what was coming but he protected us spiritually . He had his organization give us G.B. updates regularly to keep us informed and reminders for staying safe. Thank you Jehovah for sparing us unnecessary anxiety. “I still have many things to say to you, but you are not able to bear them now.” John 16:12

Some friends have understood that video as saying we should not use any JW apps or websites that are not from the Organization. But what the video actually said is "Be cautious when using them". No app and no website should be our source of spiritual food other than the Slave's. This site doesn't try to be a source of spiritual food. It's just a place for Witnesses to meet other Witnesses and have nice discussions. The moderators work hard to keep the site clean from any bad influences. But of course we should always be cautious, don't believe everything we read (even if it comes from a fellow JW) and reject (and report!) anything that sounds apostate.

This image comes from jw.org. Here is the link: https://assetsnffrgf-a.akamaihd.net/assets/m/202017161/E/art/202017161_E_cnt_2_xl.jpg I just couldn't not share this. How awesome is this front cover?! How do you think we'll go offering this in the ministry?