Sherry B

Studies in the Scriptures volume 7? I'm sure most of you have heard of this book it is also called "The Finished Mystery". The book that was published after Russell died that was banned. My friend had a copy and loaned it to me, I'm reading it now. Fascinating reading. In spite of so much that they didn't understand yet, it still has a ring of truth to it, mistaken in places, but not like deliberate deception at all. Amazing how honestly it was written in spite of the year (1917) and the dimness of the light back then.

My husband years ago slapped our son. We were having a fight at the time and I called the police on him. He was charged with misdemeanor child endangerment. My objective at the time was to force him into counseling because he had been an abused child himself and I didn't want that legacy to be passed down to my children. It worked, the courts forced him into anger management classes, he resisted and they slapped him back into jail so when that happened he went to the group therapy, learned the lessons they had to teach and I've had no more problems with him with respect to anything like that.

However now it is on his record and he feels that it may be preventing him from getting a job with those who do background checks. This was 14 years ago, my son is almost grown now and could verify that his father never repeated anything like that since, nor has he harmed or touched in any wrong way any other children.

Is it possible for the record to be cleared?

Fasting in many ancient cultures is a purification ritual, also in the Bible it is mentioned as penitence or something done to express sorrow over past sins. Since Jesus was perfect and had no sins (and likely didn't need purifying) why did HE fast and what benefit did he gain from it? Also since Moses and Elijah were also said to have fasted for 40 days (and also the flood rained for 40 days) is there any significance to the number of 40 days?

Usually when I ask Jehovah for guidance, I feel his answer coming to me either directly in my mind almost immediately, by recalling a scripture or a concept I've learned from the Bible. Sometimes it happens at a meeting from someone else's comment, either in person or as their answer within the meeting.

But last night I felt like Jehovah answered a prayer within a dream. Has this ever happened to you? When we consider that our subconscious mind works out our worries of the day, and we consider that what we fill our mind with is often spiritual things (I was at the assembly all weekend), is it possible that Jehovah can pluck something we have just listened to, and bring it to our minds as his answer while we sleep?

I was praying last night while studying my WT and maybe even praying while asleep (I've done that). I was asking about little piddly issues that disturb me, but that have no real importance. In my dream, I was surrounded by papers or books that I had been reading or studying and suddenly some supernatural presence was there (in the dream). At first it scared me, but then I concluded it was Jehovah and the holy spirit trying to tell me something. In the dream I begged Jehovah to answer me plainly. Not to leave me confused. In the dream a paper blew toward my feet. I picked it up and although it had many words on it two stood out at me. "Remain Faithful".

To me this was so simple and yet so profound. It was like Jehovah saying to me "THIS is all you have to worry about". Just "Remain faithful".

What do you think? CAN Jehovah answer prayers in this way? Does he? It sure felt like it.

Our Watchtower article studied the week of Aug 25 had this question, also "How did you feel when you became convinced that what you were learning about Jehovah was the truth?"

Having been raised as a witness I don't recall any "ah hah" moments for myself. But I would love to hear how you would answer these two questions.

them refusing blood transfusions, and yet their OWN religions "let people die" by sending their young men off to wars to die en MASSE for some "cause" that isn't Christ's kingdom? Their preists "bless" these young soldiers and tell them that what they are doing is a GOOD thing while they go off and blow other people to bits and get blown to bits BY them, and yet WE are somehow HORRIBLE people because we believe that it is wrong to take blood and because PERHAPS due to this some one of us MIGHT die?

I just don't get this. I've never known any witness in my whole 50 plus years of being a witness who has ACTUALLY died due to refusal of blood. Yet I know of many in other religions who die and kill because their clergy don't teach them that war is wrong.

No Jehovah's Witness would EVER kill anyone in a war, or die by fighting in one. This would be abhorrent to us. And yet though others feel that wars are "worth dying for" they don't see that we feel the same about obeying God?

Today a brother was getting baptized. Another brother was standing by and telling about him. Said he had only been close to the truth for about 5 months, that he had started studying and within about 3 months of studying was already making pioneer hours in the ministry. That his wife (when he started studying) was a disfellowshipped witness, and that he didn't even KNOW it. That until he started asking questions about religion (and she started answering them) he had no idea about her. She's now reinstated, he was just baptized today.

Please tell us about it. I LOVE these kinds of stories. Last night a sister was telling me about one where she asked Jehovah to help her find her daughter that her parents had forced her to give up for adoption (before she became a witness) when she was just a teenager. The story brought tears to my eyes in how it worked out.

Others (besides JWs) can answer if you like (on topic please no insults or putting us down), but I'd particularly like to hear from the brothers and sisters.

other than the obvious one that is? How were they related to each other besides being mom and dad?