Forwarding messages

[Paa Yaw]

I remember we had a recent watchtower that cautioned us about forwarding messages to fellow brothers and sisters. Also about not forwarding answers in the watchtower and other parts of meetings to others.

Can someone remind me of that article? 

[pholmes38]

https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/2018524#h=15:0-16:805

 

[Brother_Bliss]

4 hours ago, Paa Yaw said:

I remember we had a recent watchtower that cautioned us about forwarding messages to fellow brothers and sisters.

Essentially, if you don't know for sure that it is true, don't forward it.

 

4 hours ago, Paa Yaw said:

Also about not forwarding answers in the watchtower and other parts of meetings to others.

Brothers and sisters used to share a document with all the scriptures related to the meeting parts, and at that time it was discouraged, suggesting that each person do their own research.

 

While each person should do their own research, the issue about forwarding documents containing all the scripture references is lessened a bit now since they provide us with JW Library and electronic pubs where the scripture is there at the tap of a button. There's no need for extracted scripture documents anymore unless you don't use an electronic device.

[leoperales]

Last year, on the night of the last day of the regional convention, a sister forwarded me the last video of the program (the one that played the new song).  I told her not to be forwarding this message anymore.

Edited February 26, 2019 by leoperales

[Brother_Bliss]

21 hours ago, leoperales said:

Last year, on the night of the last day of the regional convention, a sister forwarded me the last video of the program (the one that played the new song).  I told her not to be forwarding this message anymore.

 

I probably wouldn't have cared so much. It's a nice video with a new song and I can see sharing it internally. It's not like she recorded the whole Regional Convention and put it up on the internet for everyone.

[Bek]

It is interesting that the watchtower article above says that "Refuse to circulate negative or unsubstantiated reports".

 

I wonder what kind negative reports are meant. It is just we have been posting and discussing negative reports on here like ones about the torture of brothers in Russia. 

[Brother_Bliss]

52 minutes ago, Bek said:

It is interesting that the watchtower article above says that "Refuse to circulate negative or unsubstantiated reports".

 

I wonder what kind negative reports are meant. It is just we have been posting and discussing negative reports on here like ones about the torture of brothers in Russia. 

 

The article did give an example....

 

"The secret police, known as the KGB, spread rumors that various prominent brothers had betrayed Jehovah’s people.* Many put confidence in such false reports, and as a result, they separated themselves from Jehovah’s organization."

 

So while that may be both unsubstantiated as well as negative, I think the focus here is more on the negative being a report that could stumble your brothers and sisters, perhaps even to the extent of falling out of the faith. Reporting on what's happening in Russia isn't going to do that. And besides, the organization itself is doing it through the News section on JW.org

[Tortuga]

58 minutes ago, Bek said:

I wonder what kind negative reports are meant.

I think that would include negative things that we may  have heard our brothers and sisters doing. When we complain about our brothers and sisters or repeat something bad about them, we are spreading a negative report. 

[leoperales]

1 hour ago, Dismal_Bliss said:

 

I probably wouldn't have cared so much. It's a nice video with a new song and I can see sharing it internally. It's not like she recorded the whole Regional Convention and put it up on the internet for everyone.

It wasn't a video she personally took, it was a video that she must have received from another social media website. I know because I asked her first what was the message and from where did she get it, and she said "someone sent it to me". (or, "forwarded") 

[Brother_Bliss]

1 minute ago, leoperales said:

It wasn't a video she personally took, it was a video that she must have received from another social media website. I know because I asked her first what was the message and from where did she get it, and she said "someone sent it to me". (or, "forwarded") 

 

Awesome! She can forward it to me as well 😉

[leoperales]

1 minute ago, Dismal_Bliss said:

 

Awesome! She can forward it to me as well 😉

I'll send you her number. She'll be delighted to add you in her WhatsApp broadcast list. 

Edited February 27, 2019 by leoperales

[McKay]

1 hour ago, Dismal_Bliss said:

 

I probably wouldn't have cared so much. It's a nice video with a new song and I can see sharing it internally. It's not like she recorded the whole Regional Convention and put it up on the internet for everyone.

I thought about this too. Unfortunately, most of the videos from the conventions end up on Youtube and because we're explicitly told not to do that, I feel that watching the videos there (even if it's to build up myself, like that final video) is either a) sharing in their wicked works, which is admittedly a bit of an extreme view, or b) supporting efforts to disobey. That's why I just wait until the following spring for the official videos to be released. Better quality too.

 

Of course, once you attend you can always request from your local elders the official video recording of the program and get the videos that way.

[Brother_Bliss]

7 minutes ago, Duplo said:

I thought about this too. Unfortunately, most of the videos from the conventions end up on Youtube and because we're explicitly told not to do that, I feel that watching the videos there (even if it's to build up myself, like that final video) is either a) sharing in their wicked works, which is admittedly a bit of an extreme view, or b) supporting efforts to disobey. That's why I just wait until the following spring for the official videos to be released. Better quality too.

 

I agree, and some of our Staff here will usually remove such links when members try to post them here for that very reason. But that's a different subject altogether (posting copyrighted material). This sister is sharing the video privately, not publicly. We're even encouraged to share copies we make of the program with those who may have been unable to attend.

[McKay]

4 minutes ago, Dismal_Bliss said:

 

I agree, and some of our Staff here will usually remove such links when members try to post them here for that very reason. But that's a different subject altogether (posting copyrighted material). This sister is sharing the video privately, not publicly. We're even encouraged to share copies we make of the program with those who may have been unable to attend.

Yeah, that's how I got a copy of the entire 2016 program, from a family member. I really just wanted the final video anyway. 😉

[Bek]

1 hour ago, Duplo said:

I thought about this too. Unfortunately, most of the videos from the conventions end up on Youtube and because we're explicitly told not to do that, I feel that watching the videos there (even if it's to build up myself, like that final video) is either a) sharing in their wicked works, which is admittedly a bit of an extreme view, or b) supporting efforts to disobey. That's why I just wait until the following spring for the official videos to be released. Better quality too.

 

Of course, once you attend you can always request from your local elders the official video recording of the program and get the videos that way.

Videos of Russian‐language meetings in Ukraine are uploaded to YouTube every week. I have always thought that it was being done on purpose to help persecuted brothers in Russia and war‐torn Eastern Ukraine. 

 

The videos get thousands of views every week? I think brothers in Russian‐speaking areas where the true worship has been banned watch such videos with a lot of joy. 

 

I do not know if it all has been officially arranged from Warwick, but it is certainly helping many Russian‐speaking brothers, including housebound me. 

[Brother_Bliss]

18 minutes ago, Bek said:

Videos of Russian‐language meetings in Ukraine are uploaded to YouTube every week. I have always thought that it was being done on purpose to help persecuted brothers in Russia and war‐torn Eastern Ukraine. 

Could be. There is a @JwRussia Twitter account that looks very official for being unofficial, lol (follows nobody, doesn't comment, just posts news from jw-russia.org).

 

I can understand wanting everyone to come to the source (JW.org) but clearly there are extenuating circumstances for our Russian brothers and sisters and elsewhere.

[McKay]

1 hour ago, Bek said:

Videos of Russian‐language meetings in Ukraine are uploaded to YouTube every week. I have always thought that it was being done on purpose to help persecuted brothers in Russia and war‐torn Eastern Ukraine. 

 

The videos get thousands of views every week? I think brothers in Russian‐speaking areas where the true worship has been banned watch such videos with a lot of joy. 

 

I do not know if it all has been officially arranged from Warwick, but it is certainly helping many Russian‐speaking brothers, including housebound me. 

Thanks for that explanation. Unfortunately, in the past I was sent links to videos on Youtube of talks or convention programs and many often shifted halfway through into some apostate message, and so I've avoided viewing them since -- especially after JW Broadcasting. It takes a lot of patience for me because I want some of these convention videos so bad, but Jehovah is well aware I need to work on that quality so I figure it's just part of my training.

[JudyO]

10 hours ago, Dismal_Bliss said:

 

Awesome! She can forward it to me as well 😉

Now THAT's my kind of response! (check your SPAM or inbox for the multitude of attachments coming your way!)

[Meditate!]

On 2/27/2019 at 2:43 PM, Dismal_Bliss said:

 

The article did give an example....

 

"The secret police, known as the KGB, spread rumors that various prominent brothers had betrayed Jehovah’s people.* Many put confidence in such false reports, and as a result, they separated themselves from Jehovah’s organization."

 

So while that may be both unsubstantiated as well as negative, I think the focus here is more on the negative being a report that could stumble your brothers and sisters, perhaps even to the extent of falling out of the faith. Reporting on what's happening in Russia isn't going to do that. And besides, the organization itself is doing it through the News section on JW.org

Yes they do.. they don't hide the truth of what is happening but they also state, truthfully, that the brothers are holding up well..

 

When Bro Christensen was being taken away after being sentenced. He didn't look like a broken person at all

 

That made a potentially negative report into a faith strengthening one. We too can do that. What we don't ant to be like are the 10 spies.

 

*** ws13 8/15 p. 10 par. 7 Never Become “Enraged Against Jehovah” ***
7 The negative talk of others can influence us. (Read Deuteronomy 1:26-28.) Think about what Jehovah did for the Israelites. He brought ten plagues on Egypt and destroyed Pharaoh and his armies at the Red Sea. The Israelites were free! (Exodus 12:29-32, 51; 14:29-31; Psalm 136:15) God’s people were ready to enter the Promised Land. But they started to complain about Jehovah. Why did they lose faith just as they were going to receive their reward? Ten spies gave a bad report to the Israelites, and this discouraged and scared them. (Numbers 14:1-4) As a result, Jehovah did not let them enter into that “good land” at that time. (Deuteronomy 1:34, 35) What can we learn? The negative talk of others could weaken our faith and cause us to complain about the way Jehovah guides his people.
 

Any True Reports that may seem to be upsetting need to balanced with some encouragement that is going to be there too, if we look for it.

[pnutts]

I have a rule that I don't forward anything - unless it is a funny picture or a link - but only to relatives Relatively Speaking.

Posting a link here is different -however I just won't post RC & Assembly download links.

[Meditate!]

43 minutes ago, pnutts said:

I have a rule that I don't forward anything - unless it is a funny picture or a link - but only to relatives Relatively Speaking.

Posting a link here is different -however I just won't post RC & Assembly download links.

I agree.. Generally. It depends what it Is. It's hard to give a rigid rule on it. 

Keeping it contained can be a problem unless you really know the ones you're sending it too.. 

However if in doubt.. Don't. 

[Thesauron]

I have a rule that I don't forward anything - unless it is a funny picture or a link - but only to relatives Relatively Speaking.
Posting a link here is different -however I just won't post RC & Assembly download links.

I generally do the same. I don’t want to contribute to erroneous stories being spread. Usually, I might read it, smile and think “great story”, and then leave it at that. Of course, if I’m a firsthand witness to something, or it happened to someone close to me, or I have a reputable source, such as JW.org... I’ve found that even experiences spread via public talks aren’t necessarily anything I can forward with a good conscience.