2021 Governing Body Update #6

[Qapla]

"Critical times ... hard to deal with"

[rocket]

36 minutes ago, Anniebea said:

It was a great update.. just one small sentence given to 'its a personal' decision,  to me the rest of the update when not talking about our wonderful elderly ones was practically saying,  unless you have a very good medical reason to not accept the vaccine then get it. 

 

So far in my congregation we have 100% take up... we all know that if we ever get back to being allowed to meet together for assemblies,  conventions and meetings then we will need to be vaccinated.  

 

It was made very plain without saying the actual words that the whole of the GB has accepted the shot..... 

 

Overall it was a really encouraging update, but very sad to hear that over 19,000 off our spiritual family have now died because of COVID-19 

 

Thanks Annie, that was my take and view all along. I will trust the medical researchers at the Branch far better than the quacks on the internet or the Dr. wannabee's that are literally killing people that listen to there propaganda each and every day.

[dove]

2 hours ago, Tortuga said:

 

 

If Jehovah agreed with your decision

How do you know.....

[Tortuga]

17 minutes ago, Dove said:

How do you know.....

Your conscience will tell you. 

 

For example, many brothers have suggested that if we think we could be pioneering, then prayerfully explain to Jehovah in detail why you aren't. Many have decided to pioneer after they realized they couldn't tell Jehovah why they aren't pioneering.

 

So we should do that when making a decision about vaccinations. If you are comfortable with your explanation to Jehovah after your prayer, then your conscience is clean before Jehovah. If you aren't comfortable with your explanation to Jehovah, then reevaluate your decision.

[Tortuga]

4 hours ago, Qapla said:

Perhaps because he didn't think any more reasons were needed.

 

He didn't mention that 100% of the GB are fully vaccinated either ... but, viewing the picture of them meeting in-person says it without him having to say it.

 

 

Here is an interesting statistic.

 

Getting baptized is a personal choice, however 100% of Jehovah's Witnesses are baptized!

[Leslie.m]

4 hours ago, Jonadab said:

I'm imagining in an emergency situation and we need to stay in a basement during the great tribulation, then half will be vaccinated and the other half will not, have you thought about that situation? a contamination arises....How to rescue these people and hide at the same time? 

I honestly can’t see a family head whose entire family (or over 98% of their service group) has been vaccinated willingly exposing them to who knows what variant of a deadly virus on top of the emergency situation they are facing. I’m sure at least one of the unvaccinated would have a basement they could all gather in… 

[Leslie.m]

If the vaccine was so very risky, why would the faithful and discreet slave risk it on themselves and their helpers? Wouldn’t they be concerned that the side effects would wipe them out and grind the worldwide work to a halt? If the US Branch is at over 98%, let’s assume for a moment that means that Warwick is at 100%.

 

Wouldn’t they have balanced the risk of Warwick personnel taking the vaccine against sheltering in place indefinitely? Surely the importance of the worldwide work takes preeminence? So why unnecessarily put it at risk if they were going to be taken out by vaccines, when they could just stay indoors and carry on without the risk.

 

Devoting parts of two precious GB updates, the second one with both visuals and overwhelming statistics, and a jw.org landing page article on the subject in between makes things very very clear, to me at least.

[Tbs77]

Guy Pierce’s silhouette now replaced, too!

[On the huh]

7 hours ago, Michelle81 said:

Does it show a lack of faith if we haven't chosen to get the vaccine?  I am beginning to feel guilty of not going along with the flock.

 

No.

It should be your choice, based on informed decision and not because others are doing it.

We may be sheep, but we don't follow the flock, we follow the Shepherd.

Edited July 18, 2021 by On the huh

[Vido]

On 7/16/2021 at 2:14 PM, Shawnster said:

I've discussed it a few times with some of our local brothers.  We're all of the mindset that, in case of inclement weather, we will just have a Zoom meeting night instead of canceling the meeting entirely.

 

Our Kingdom Hall has been flooded twice (and it sits at the top of a hill!).  We had to have our meetings in another Kingdom Hall while ours was repaired.  We are now due for a major renovation that was put on hold due to Covid.  Now, instead of trying to find a Kingdom Hall that can take us in (we have 3 congregations that meet at our Hall), we can Zoom while our Kingdom Hall is renovated (whenever that will be).

That’s a very pragmatic approach, yes.

 

 

Yes, to agree with the bros that bethel is a different ecosystem all together….so it makes sense for them to resume normalcy in a sense in that closed setting, yet, I should think that the COVID protocols when interacting with the outside world may still apply for them….esp here in SA, where the authorities are still adamant that masks should be worn in public and physical distancing be maintained..we don’t want to contradict these by not adhering to these or by flouting these protocols.

 

 

On 7/17/2021 at 8:39 PM, Michelle81 said:

Does it show a lack of faith if we haven't chosen to get the vaccine?  I am beginning to feel guilty of not going along with the flock.

 

It doesn’t, remember that the governing body has kept the option of not vaccinating open…people will have different, credible reasons for opting out. My COBE for example took a flu vaccine some five years ago, some time before COVID, he developed quite an adverse reaction to it and was consequently  sick for a better part of a month….so for that reason, he took a position to not vaccinate.

 

Yes, brother Richard is right, approaching Jehovah about your reasons for not vaccinating will put your mind at ease.

[jwhess]

In the update it mentioned the possibility that the government might Require vaccination against Covid-19.  For those who do not wish to vaccinate (at least at the present time) how will you react in this situation?

 

We only refuse to obey government regulations when we find a definite conflict with a law from Jehovah.  If our organization says we are not opposed to vaccinations (in other words we find no violations of Jehovah's Laws) then violation of such a regulation would be a criminal act.

 

If you would acquiesce to a vaccination if the government ordered you, then what was the reason you refused the day before the law went into effect?  Under government mandate, it no longer is a personal health decision.

 

Edited July 18, 2021 by jwhess

[runner92]

2 minutes ago, jwhess said:

In the update it mentioned the possibility that the government might Require vaccination against Covid-19.  For those who do not wish to vaccinate (at least at the present time) how will you react in this situation?

 

We only refuse to obey government regulations when we find a definite conflict with a law from Jehovah.  If our organization says we are not opposed to vaccinations (in other words we find no violations of Jehovah's Laws) then violation of such a regulation would be a criminal act.

 

If you would acquiesce to a vaccination if the government ordered you, then what was the reason you refused the day before the law went into effect?  Under government mandate, it no longer is a personal health decision.

 

 

I'll worry about that when it's mandated in the US.

[Tbs77]

Guy Pierce’s silhouette now replaced, too!

https://www.jw.org/finder?srcid=jwlshare&wtlocale=E&prefer=lang&docid=2021282&par=0

See Role of the GB

When we studied this article I said to myself “Covid prevented the GB to get an updated pic”

this is awesome to see.

[Audra]

Does it show a lack of faith if we haven't chosen to get the vaccine?  I am beginning to feel guilty of not going along with the flock.
 

It doesn't show lack of faith at all. I chose to have the vaccine but my husband & aunt chose not to. They are both concerned about adverse reactions. They have medical conditions that they fear could be exasperated by the vaccine.

Initially, I was this greatly concerned by their choices. But then I could see the reasons for their concern & could see how upsetting it would be if my personal choice to get the vaccine was not respected. The bottom line is that it's a personal choice and there is so much that can be done to limit exposure - masking up, washing hands, limiting time in public/using grocery pickup services or shopping during non-peak hours, etc.

It's a diligent process to avoid the virus whether vaccinated or not. In our area, I've heard of several who've contracted the virus although they were fully vaccinated. It's so true that this pandemic isn't over yet.

If not being vaccinated puts limits on being able to meet in person again, I'll stay within those limits with my husband although I'm vaccinated. Satan would love to see this virus & the controversy around it divide our family emotionally and spiritually. This virus could also alienate us from part of our spiritual family if we start to view vaccinated or non-vaccinated in a negative way because of their choice. That belongs in the world - not in our JW family. Allowing a spirit of disunity to enter our heart is the biggest opportunity for an assault on our faith in my opinion.

Someday - in the New World - we will be truly free & this will all be a distant memory. Things that are intense and stress-inducing now won't matter. It helps to keep reminding myself of that

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

[Dages]

12 minutes ago, Audra said:

Satan would love to see this virus & the controversy around it divide our family emotionally and spiritually

That's a good point

[Mike]

Does it show a lack of faith if we haven't chosen to get the vaccine?  I am beginning to feel guilty of not going along with the flock.
 

I understand what you are saying. Someone asked one of our ‘non-vax’ friends if she thought she knew more about this issue than the GB or if felt she had more respect for life than 98% of the US Bethel. Needless to say, she was pretty upset.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[jwhess]

The list of countries shown on this chart may increase.  

 

 

[AH173]

1 hour ago, Mike said:

Someone asked one of our ‘non-vax’ friends if she thought she knew more about this issue than the GB or if felt she had more respect for life than 98% of the US Bethel. Needless to say, she was pretty upset. 

I was really hoping that with a GB member saying doesn't infringe on our friends personal choices in this. 

 

Seems that some might want to use that information as a 'club' instead of a loving plea or request. 

[Dustparticle]

1 hour ago, jwhess said:

The list of countries shown on this chart may increase.  

 

 

Sad to say, they have a long way to go.

[Qapla]

Please

 

This thread is supposed to be about Update #6

 

We do not need another Vaccine Debate Thread

 

Can we please return to discussing the positive aspects of the Update and let go of this vaccine debate 

    

[carlos]

In a previous report the brothers addressed our children and our young ones. I loved how in this new report brother Herd addressed the elderly. We have tried hard to keep our elderly brothers and sisters safe since they are more vulnerable. Many of them haven't left their home at all for over one year, while we brought them groceries or whatever they needed. Of course they appreciate our care for at the same time many of them must feel very lonely and desperate to see some sunlight.

 

Brother Herd reminded our dear elderly brothers that Jehovah loves them dearly and so do we. He reminded us how David begged Jehovah not to abandon him in his late years, and of course Jehovah didn't.

 

I also liked the comments about how our brothers and sisters were encouraged by shepherding visits. Thanks to all of you elders who have taken care well of the flock and have kept checking on the friends. And of course, visits don't necessarily have to be "shepherding visits" in order to be encouraging. Any of us can give a video or audio call to any publisher in the congregation and take an interest in them.

[Doug]

18 hours ago, Tortuga said:

Here is an interesting statistic.

 

Getting baptized is a personal choice, however 100% of Jehovah's Witnesses are baptized!

Stumbled onto this :

 

"For although they knew God, they did not glorify him as God, nor did they get vaccinated, but they became empty-headed in their reasonings and their senseless hearts became darkened".   

[AH173]

31 minutes ago, carlos said:

I also liked the comments about how our brothers and sisters were encouraged by shepherding visits.

I appreciate that the GB is emphasizing shepherding /encouraging calls with latest update. 

 

It's nice to be asked to accompany an elder on some for the friends in my congregation. 

[Old]

15 hours ago, On the huh said:

No.

It should be your choice, based on informed decision and not because others are doing it.

We may be sheep, but we don't follow the flock, we follow the Shepherd.

H-m-m-m, what is the direction of the Shepherd's 'earthly' represenative? Certainly the GB are not the representing the flock but are representing ....? Let me think, who are the GB representing? That is a tough one. 

 

[jwhess]

Br.  Jerry, there is a lot about the GB Update #6 that we can discuss, but there was a significant part that included Covid statistics, deaths, percentage vaccinated, meeting together if vaccinated and so on.  So the folks who are interested in this part of the video are not plucking pieces out of midair.  It was featured this time and probably will be again since, the pandemic is NOT over as Br. Herd said.

 

So ALL points in the video are fair game for discussion....💗