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

[Old]

While out in service I happened to mention the number of our brothers and sisiters meeting in groups to write these letters and questioned why the group meetings when this was not a recommendation. Nothing wrong with getting together as a group, just it wasn't mentioned in the letter. My Wife pretty well explained it to me (put me in my place). She said you have been writing business letters in your work, and for years, as congregation secretary. Most of us have never written a business letter and since the advent of the internet probably less than half have ever written a letter at all.

She opts for the group, three different groups getting together  for letter writing this afternoon in our congregation. I say 'Bless 'em all!'

I have mailed out 22 as of this AM, running out of pocket change.

[Stormswift]

10 minutes ago, Old said:

While out in service I happened to mention the number of our brothers and sisiters meeting in groups to write these letters and questioned why the group meetings when this was not a recommendation. Nothing wrong with getting together as a group, just it wasn't mentioned in the letter. My Wife pretty well explained it to me (put me in my place). She said you have been writing business letters in your work, and for years, as congregation secretary. Most of us have never written a business letter and since the advent of the internet probably less than half have ever written a letter at all.

She opts for the group, three different groups getting together  for letter writing this afternoon in our congregation. I say 'Bless 'em all!'

I have mailed out 22 as of this AM, running out of pocket change.

Yes - groups allows for an interchange and help for those who writing letters is out of their comfort zone, especially such important letters. I'm like you have been typing business letters most of my adult life ... but even then, I was all at sea as to how to put this respectfully yet candidly across to Mr. Putin ... thanks to all on here for their help - this was my group letter writing. How difficult must it be for those who are deaf, have reading difficulties or are younger or even older with infirmities. This is such a historic few weeks ... I'm personally very overwhelmed by what is going on around me ... excited, sadness for our family in Russia, proud to be a Witness, so many mixed feelings - initially my mind wouldn't even get into first gear! 

 

I think brother Richards short story (if you haven't read that please do - go to the Stories for the New System thread) really highlights how we will see what is happening today as something historic and precious that will be shared for generations to come.

[surfergirl]

5 hours ago, And_Ray said:

Yes. First i posted the picture, but the i also received a message that those news are OUTDATED.

So, there was a post about mail not going through to Russia, but its OUTDATED news, it's not connected with this campaign.

Thank you. Great news. 

[sunshine]

I'm with you on this Mandy.  We are living in momentus times and its both exciting and sobering.  I was meditating today on the friends in Russia and also how wise Jehovah has been to train the faithful slave to be both discreet and wise, they are going to need it to look after 170, 000 brothers under ban if it really does go down.  We are all of us in for a very bumpy ride... Trust in Jehovah and do what is good!  Pretty much sums up what we need to do.

 

 

[Old]

17 hours ago, MentalProject said:

Touché. I don't see anything wrong with sending 2/3 of the same letter to the same individual. I have changed the address on my second batch as it apparently will get there quicker and I have written the proposed correct way of addressing the individual at the start of my second batch of letters. The main body is the same though. 

 

We have hopefully 8million+ brothers and sisters practically saying the same thing with regards to certain facts and with regards to how we treat people. Give or take a few words.

 

There was no instructions from the governing body saying we could not send the same letter we have written twice.

Just suppose those three letters were the three someone looked at, you know, time and circumstance. The reader will just say they are all copies of the same letter, with the same return address.

Qualifying my above mention that they woud be spam: I should say they would be junk mail, I equate junk mail with spam.

[Loopy]

An elder announced (by texting everyone) that we will be gathering at the Kingdom Hall after morning service Saturday for lunch and than work on letter writing. We didn't find out about this campaign till Wednesday morning. So there was no announcement Tuesday meeting. 

I've already got a draft done it would take too long to put words together. 

Spoiler

Spoiler

 

 

 

[surfergirl]

4 hours ago, maladee said:

Can someone get me started maybe a first few sentences on what you are saying, I can take it from there, or should I start a thread on that subject? MODS?

Hi Maladee, Don't know if you have started yet but this is what I have written..

 

To Whom it please may concern....

 

To Mr Putin....

I am writting  on behalf of My Brothers & Sisters.. In Russia.   I am One of Many Jehovah's Witnesses. We are  a global Brotherhood. We come from al cultures & backgrounds, I have Been  a Jehovah's witness for a very long time. & Love every minute..  We strive to Live as Jesus encouraged us do.  Jesus asked any who wish to follow his way of life, Well then we are to  Love our  neighbors & do what we can to help people. Never in any verse have I read. that we should go & kill anyone. Jesus also. stated that we need to Cooperate with the Governments & obey the Laws of the Land. keep Peace never make trouble.  

I love using JW.ORG  our website. Have found it to be very helpful.  There we find great help for families, Teenagers, Children & for those going to school ....How to cope with Bullying, Peer Pressure & other Questions to why life is the way we have it at the moment. Also in other countries Authorities have greatly appreciated how educational our Publications have been... for eg. Many who can't read or write have been helped to do so.  Also those who are in Prision who are on Deathrow. Have been helped because of the Bible not to want to kill or harm anymore....

I love our meetings because there we are encouraged & again helped to get along with people.. reminded to Respect the Authorities like our Brothers do in Russia. Also We do appreciate what the governments do like funding for the Hospitals etc. The Policemen do alot to help keep communities Safe...

But I beg please & request that My Brothers & Sisters please be allowed to go to the meetings. & preach freely. Please don't ban them.  

 

One thing I have loved reading from the Bible is the beautiful hope in Ps37-9,11 How badness will be done away with.

Even things like Global warming & poverty will be done away with..( As my Brothers & Sisters do to.),,,when ever there is a disaster we all try to do what we can to help out.  Never in any verses have I read that we are to go & kill anyone of behalf of there religion. We are not taught anything about  Terrorist ideas or  extremist ideas. Goes against everything we are taught.... Jesus started the preaching work himself, He asked his followers to In Matt 24.14..Matt28;19-20  We are encouraged to help people in anyway possible.. One of the 2nd Commands in John13;34 We must love our neighbor...  So please reconsider.. Please let my Brothers & Sisters be free..  

  Thank you..

 

I just sign my name..... 

 

I hope this gives you some Idea Sister.

[Patinage]

While meditating on this special message sent to those high officials, I couldn’t help associating that message with a big sound to be heard all over and I searched several scriptures that would convey the idea of a big noise, an outcry, and similar words, and this is what I have found:

 

Hab 3:2 à O Jehovah, I have heard the report about you. I am in awe, O Jehovah, of your activity. In the midst of the years* bring it to life! In the midst of the years* make it known. May you remember to show mercy during the turmoil.

Is 10:33 à Look! The true Lord, Jehovah of armies, Is chopping off branches with a terrible crash; The tallest trees are being cut down, And the lofty are brought low.

Ez 1:24 à When I heard the sound of their wings, it was like a sound of rushing waters, like the sound of the Almighty. When they moved, it was like the sound of an army. When they stood still, they would let their wings down.

Joel 2:5 à The sound is like that of chariots as they leap on the mountaintops, Like the crackling of a blazing fire that consumes stubble. It is like a mighty people drawn up in battle formation.

1 Cor 14:8 à For if the trumpet sounds an indistinct call, who will get ready for battle?

Jer 6:24 à We have heard the report about it. Our hands fall limp; Distress has seized us, Anguish* like that of a woman giving birth.

Jer 10:22 à Listen! A report! It is coming! A great pounding from the land of the north, To make the cities of Judah desolate, a lair of jackals.

Jer 37:5 à Now Pharʹaoh’s army had set out from Egypt, and the Chal·deʹans who were besieging Jerusalem heard the report about them. So they withdrew from against Jerusalem.

Jer 50:43 à The king of Babylon has heard the report about them, And his hands drop down. Anguish seizes him, Pain like that of a woman giving birth.

Rom 1:18 à But I ask, They did not fail to hear, did they? Why, in fact, “into all the earth their sound went out, and to the ends of the inhabited earth their message.”

Deut 2:25 à This day I will start to put the dread and the fear of you upon all the people under the heavens who hear the report about you. They will be disturbed and will tremble* because of you.’

2 Sam 5:24 à And when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the baʹca bushes, then act decisively, for Jehovah will have gone out before you to strike down the army of the Phi·lisʹtines.”

1 Chron 14:15 à And when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the baʹca bushes, launch your attack, for the true God will have gone out before you to strike down the army of the Phi·lisʹtines.”

Zeph 1:10 à On that day,” declares Jehovah, “There will be the sound of an outcry from the Fish Gate, A wailing from the second quarter of the city, And a loud crash from the hills.

Joel 2:1 à “Blow a horn in Zion! Shout a war cry in my holy mountain. Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, For the day of Jehovah is coming! It is near!

Josh 6:5 à When the ram’s horn is sounded—as soon as you hear the sound* of the horn—all the people should shout a great war cry. Then the wall of the city will fall down flat,+ and the people must go up, each one straight ahead.”

Josh 6:20 à Then the people shouted when the horns were blown. As soon as the people heard the sound of the horn and shouted a great war cry, the wall fell down flat. After that the people went up into the city, each one straight ahead, and they captured the city.

2 Chron 13:15 à The men of Judah broke out in a war cry, and when the men of Judah shouted the war cry, the true God defeated Jer·o·boʹam and all Israel before A·biʹjah and Judah.

Gen 19:13 à For we are going to destroy this place, because the outcry against them has indeed grown great before Jehovah, so that Jehovah sent us to destroy the city.”

[Cool Cat]

36 minutes ago, Old said:

Just suppose those three letters were the three someone looked at, you know, time and circumstance. The reader will just say they are all copies of the same letter, with the same return address.

Qualifying my above mention that they woud be spam: I should say they would be junk mail, I equate junk mail with spam.

I hope they do get one or all of my letters. I had some important things to get across. I think this shows one of the reasons we were to just follow the instructions and not run it by anyone including our elders first. They may of had their own ideas of what was the proper way to go about doing it.

 

I trust that we will all do what we think is the right thing to do, and the governing body had that trust in us too.

 

[hatcheckgirl]

CO's visit this week, and he announced letter writing groups for those who want to join in. It's a rainy day today, perfect for much letter writing .

 

So no need to get hung up about writing in groups or not. Write, just write. Respectly, then send!

[Sunnyside]

Apostates have already invaded the hash tags on twitter that were started about this.

Imagine they too write their letters full of hate yet no one reads them. They just add up to the total number of letters received in Russia.

Boomerang!!


Sent from my SM-J100H using Tapatalk

[Daniela]

13 minutes ago, surfergirl said:

I am writting  on behalf of My Brothers & Sisters.. In Russia.   I am One of Many Jehovah's Witnesses. We are  a global Brotherhood. We come from al cultures & backgrounds, I have Been  a Jehovah's witness for a very long time. & Love every minute..  We strive to Live as Jesus encouraged us do.  Jesus asked any who wish to follow his way of life, Well then we are to  Love our  neighbors & do what we can to help people. Never in any verse have I read. that we should go & kill anyone. Jesus also. stated that we need to Cooperate with the Governments & obey the Laws of the Land. keep Peace never make trouble.  

I love using JW.ORG  our website. Have found it to be very helpful.  There we find great help for families, Teenagers, Children & for those going to school ....How to cope with Bullying, Peer Pressure & other Questions to why life is the way we have it at the moment. Also in other countries Authorities have greatly appreciated how educational our Publications have been... for eg. Many who can't read or write have been helped to do so.  Also those who are in Prision who are on Deathrow. Have been helped because of the Bible not to want to kill or harm anymore....

I love our meetings because there we are encouraged & again helped to get along with people.. reminded to Respect the Authorities like our Brothers do in Russia. Also We do appreciate what the governments do like funding for the Hospitals etc. The Policemen do alot to help keep communities Safe...

But I beg please & request that My Brothers & Sisters please be allowed to go to the meetings. & preach freely. Please don't ban them.  

Very nice thoughts, Gabe. I like them from the very first sentence. We are encouraged to write our letters in behalf of our Brothers there. We should give proofs to the Russian authorities that the truth has a positive impact on our lives and made us (and that includes our Russian Brothers) better persons, an asset for the community we live in. If we say that we respect the authorities, we should not explain them what an extremist mean or give them a sort of "gentle lesson" of democracy.  This would not help at all our Brothers there. Those who lived (or still live) under a communist regime know  how important is to choose proper words in our interaction with that kind of authorities. This is why we should follow the FDS instruction.  And this is why I love your words.

[Daniela]

3 hours ago, Miss Bea said:

 You know, I did just that, in all 6 letters. This is why when I see someone quote me, my stomach just sinks. "What have I done now", I think. I look to this site for encouragement and to be upbuilding. And, as this happens, I think, don't mess with it. Someone is waiting to jump on you. I've felt this way for some time. I love you all, want to be upbuilding, and know, I am formost in making mistakes. And, love coves a multitude thereof. 

Sorry, but, there, I said what I have been feeling for some time. 

Sorry if I offended you somehow. I didn't mean that at all. I didn't read your letters to have an opinion regarding your letters. I just wanted to say that we should follow the instruction we receive from the FDS.

 

PS. I saw your PM. I just want to say something I read somewhere (I'll try to translate it in English, but maybe you have that saying too) : Put your heart in everything, but do not take everything to your heart.  

Edited March 25, 2017 by Daniela

[Tortuga]

29 minutes ago, Sunnyside said:

Imagine they too write their letters full of hate yet no one reads them. They just add up to the total number of letters received in Russia.

That is exactly what I was thinking. I wonder how many non-witnesses may get involved..

[Tortuga]

On 3/23/2017 at 1:09 AM, Lance said:

Brothers and Sisters 

This is a very important request from "our" governing body, just follow the directions. We are not writing love letters, or protest letters. We are writing letters based on our love for our brothers and sisters. Write a standard, respectful letter that shows our Christian maturity. Every country has a standard format of written communication use it. Look at your information board you will see a standard letter written by your branch office. Use that as an example if in doubt.

Can you count your time? Yes.. But who cares,  this is your brothers lives we are talking about.

Should you use Dear or not ... if that is what is used as a sign of respectful letter writing in your country .. use it .

Will every letter arrive on time? Maybe maybe not ...So who cares .. Jehovah cares that you followed through ... "you did just so"

This is a request from "our" governing body, don't over think it ... just do it. 

...bump...

[shali]

10 minutes ago, Tortuga said:

That is exactly what I was thinking. I wonder how many non-witnesses may get involved..

As many as Jehovah wills. It would be just like Jehovah to allow these ones to serve his purpose even though they intended for the opposite! I really love his sense of humor AND justice!

[Julieann]

I don't have much money, but I'm writing mine! I think I have enough change around to send one letter to each of the addresses. Feels good to actively help our Brothers and Sisters in other lands.

[ReadYourBible]

7 hours ago, maladee said:

Can someone get me started maybe a first few sentences on what you are saying, I can take it from there, or should I start a thread on that subject? MODS?

I started a thread on it.  I had a hard time getting going too.  However, after reading the example in the proclaimer's book, and Brother Underwood's thoughts, I prayerfully came to the conclusion that I wanted to write something which stood somewhat in the middle of those,  something from out of my heart and personal.  

 

Yet arose from following the guidelines and facts found in the download, I also included my return address.  I was thinking too, to include a snippet about how the brothers from our governing body would meet with them, but didn't feel it my place to do so.  Plus Brother Sanderson had said the same thing on tv.jw.org the next day...if memory serves so... I'm sure these men are used to dealing with our brothers too.

Edited March 25, 2017 by cerebral ecstasy

[Raven]

1 hour ago, Sunnyside said:

 

 

Imagine they too write their letters full of hate yet no one reads them. They just add up to the total number of letters received in Russia.

Boomerang!!
 

 

 

And if they did happen read one of the "dud" letters, they would likely notice the difference in tone and the level of respect, that is if they do find one among the millions of good letters. Besides this, they are already well aware of what opposers have been saying about us, so it'll probably be nothing new for them either.

[Tia]

1 hour ago, Stormswift said:

 ... thanks to all on here for their help - this was my group letter writing.

 

I think brother Richards short story (if you haven't read that please do - go to the Stories for the New System thread) really highlights how we will see what is happening today as something historic and precious that will be shared for generations to come.

Indeed...same here!  I truly appreciate my brothers and sisters and the little ones with their

sentiments to Russia on this board.  I truly feel included... and got a head start on some even in my

congregation.  But, I was hush hush on it! 

[carlos]

A whatsapp message is being spread among the friends in Spain saying that we should post our letters before noon today or they won't arrive in time.

 

I'm sure the brother who started that had the best intentions. He went to the Post Office to ask how long do letters take to arrive in Russia, then calculated the deadline. The intentions are good, but those are not the instructions from the Slave or the branch. Many brothers who are very busy during the week had in mind to write their letters in the weekend. But if they are told that their letters are not going to arrive in time anyway, they can become discouraged and not write them.

 

So my point is not to make rules beyond what the Slave has said. They have asked us to write letters following some instructions and send them before April 1st. Let's just do that. Don't tell the friends when or how or how not. Not that anyone is doing that here, but you get the point.

 

 

[Musky]

If anyone else feels the need to post their personal letters, please do so in the topic Sharon started. If you start a new topic instead, it will be merged with that one.

 

http://jwtalk.net/forums/topic/30286-my-draft-letter-for-an-example/

[Stormswift]

4 minutes ago, carlos said:

A whatsapp message is being spread among the friends in Spain saying that we should post our letters before noon today or they won't arrive in time.

 

I'm sure the brother who started that had the best intentions. He went to the Post Office to ask how long do letters take to arrive in Russia, then calculated the deadline. The intentions are good, but those are not the instructions from the Slave or the branch. Many brothers who are very busy during the week had in mind to write their letters in the weekend. But if they are told that their letters are not going to arrive in time anyway, they can become discouraged and not write them.

 

So my point is not to make rules beyond what the Slave has said. They have asked us to write letters following some instructions and send them before April 1st. Let's just do that. Don't tell the friends when or how or how not. Not that anyone is doing that here, but you get the point.

 

 

It takes  6 - 10 days from New Zealand - way down here ... so  it should get there in plenty of time from us.  That is not even factoring in Jehovah's spirit.  Doing 'just so' is important here. Thank you for the reminder Carlos.

[Tbs77]

A whatsapp message is being spread among the friends in Spain saying that we should post our letters before noon today or they won't arrive in time.
 
I'm sure the brother who started that had the best intentions. He went to the Post Office to ask how long do letters take to arrive in Russia, then calculated the deadline. The intentions are good, but those are not the instructions from the Slave or the branch. Many brothers who are very busy during the week had in mind to write their letters in the weekend. But if they are told that their letters are not going to arrive in time anyway, they can become discouraged and not write them.
 
So my point is not to make rules beyond what the Slave has said. They have asked us to write letters following some instructions and send them before April 1st. Let's just do that. Don't tell the friends when or how or how not. Not that anyone is doing that here, but you get the point.
 
 

Yep, agreed! I had a Whatsapp conversation with a dear bro who wondered why April 1 cutoff when it takes approximately two weeks from USA... My response (with my freeness of speech): "Just follow the direction... And no need to wonder! We don't need to know! Jesus got this!"

[Raven]

35 minutes ago, Tbs77 said:

Yep, agreed! I had a Whatsapp conversation with a dear bro who wondered why April 1 cutoff when it takes approximately two weeks from USA... My response (with my freeness of speech): "Just follow the direction... And no need to wonder! We don't need to know! Jesus got this!"

Yeah, if there was any need, they would have already given further direction. They just said before April 1st, so that's all we need to do wherever we are.