The Last Days (June 12-18, 2023)
Issue No. 9
Welcome to the ninth edition of The Last Days newsletter.
The Last Days delivers a collection of curated JW-related news articles from around the world, and other entertaining information, straight into your inbox every weekend. You choose what you want to read, believe, download, listen to, watch, or subscribe to.
You can find the last edition of TLD covering June 5-11, 2023, here if you missed it. If you prefer to read The Last Days on our webpage click here.
This extended edition of The Last Days, covering the week of June 12-18, 2023, contains our leading Feature of the Week: Should child sexual abuse be reported?; JW News from Belarus and Australia; a courtroom JW News Fact Check; a JW Book Review; your regular JW Celebrity News ‘gossip’ section with this week’s celebrity in focus… JA RULE; and a new video from YouTube content creator, JW Thoughts.
To lighten the news and keep you awake!, this week we feature a very sobering JW Quote of the Week from both The Watchtower magazine and Geoffrey Jackson of the governing body of Jehovah’s Witnesses on corporal punishment.
We hope you continue to like our new format and colour scheme, which is based on our JW News Facebook page colour scheme, that has been in constant use since 2012.
Enjoy the Last Days!
“The events unfolding around us, are making clearer than ever, that we’re living in the final part of the Last Days, undoubtedly the final part of the final part of the Last Days, shortly before the Last Day of the Last Days.” - Stephen Lett, member of the governing body of Jehovah’s Witnesses
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Should child abuse be reported?
Happy are those who act with justice, Who always do what is right. - Bible
The UK government has launched an open consultation and call for evidence on Mandatory reporting of child sexual abuse.
Here is your chance to have a say and to have an input.
The consultation is seeking views on how a legal duty to report child sexual abuse would affect children, organisations, workplaces and volunteers.
The consultation closes Monday 14 August.
About this call for evidence
[reprinted from the UK Government web site]
Investigations undertaken by the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) documented unacceptable cases of organisations and institutions failing to protect those in their care from child sexual abuse. This must not be allowed to happen again.
The Government remains firmly committed to tackling all forms of child sexual abuse, putting the needs of children first. Wherever possible, action should be taken to prevent child sexual abuse through safer recruitment practices, robust policies and procedures, and creating a system-wide safeguarding culture. Where abuse does occur, it is critical that frontline professionals and volunteers are equipped with the right training and resources to identify and respond to child sexual abuse, and improve how they work with child victims.
In its final report, the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse recommended that Government introduce a mandatory reporting duty for cases of child sexual abuse:
Consultation description
The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse recommended that the government make it a legal requirement for certain people to report child sexual abuse when:
they’re told about it by a child or perpetrator
they witness it happening
they observe recognised indicators of child sexual abuse
This call for evidence is particularly aimed at people who:
work with children
work in law enforcement
support people affected by child sexual abuse
How to respond
The IICSA Response, Tackling Child Sexual Abuse Unit, is asking that those who wish to respond to please use the online system wherever possible:
What does The Watchtower say?
Is the failure to report, or not reporting, child sexual abuse, a ‘sin of omission’?
Belarus - published on June 15, 2023
Australia - published on June 16, 2023
News article behind Paywall.
Download District Court Sentencing
Do not trust a news item unless you can check the original source. - JW.ORG
From the JW Archives
Some six years ago, on April 5, 2017, the Jehovah’s Witnesses Office of Public Information issued the following press release:
The press release also appeared on the official JW.ORG website news page, under the article titled: Russia’s Supreme Court Begins High-Profile Case Against Jehovah’s Witnesses.
The above press release, and related news article on JW.ORG, clearly depicts an image of a Russian courtroom with what appears to be legal proceedings underway. The Jehovah’s Witnesses press release states that these proceedings depict the commencement of:
consideration of a claim from the Ministry of Justice to liquidate the Administrative Center of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia.
The same press release adds that at the conclusion of the day’s proceedings the:
Court announced a recess, and the hearing will resume Thursday, April 6, 2017, at 2:00 p.m.
Is the Jehovah’s Witnesses press release, and the related JW.ORG news article, accurate?
A closer examination of the picture used in the Jehovah’s Witnesses official press release, to mark the commencement of the court proceedings, revealed a startling revelation.
The person seated at the courtroom bench is Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Did President Vladimir Putin personally preside, or co-preside over the Supreme Court proceedings against the Jehovah’s Witnesses?
No!
The photograph actually depicts the Chairman of Russia’s Supreme Court, Vyacheslav Lebedev, standing and addressing a meeting with Supreme Court members, while President Putin sits to his right, at the newly opened Supreme Court Building in Moscow. This was a dedication ceremony, not a legal proceeding, that took place on Thursday, June 22, 2006, some 11 years prior to the Jehovah’s Witnesses court hearing. The photo was taken by Mikhail Metzel for AP.
Is there a link between the courtroom depicted in the photo and the courtroom that heard the Jehovah’s Witnesses proceedings?
No!
The photo below depicts the actual courtroom proceedings for the Jehovah’s Witnesses case. Mark Sanderson, of the governing body of Jehovah’s Witnesses, is seated in the gallery.
Verdict
Misinformation and Misleading news.
The JW Office of Public Information press release, and JW.ORG news article on the Russian Supreme Court proceedings, depicts a misleading photo and false and misleading information that could lead some to incorrectly assume that Russian President Vladimir Putin was co-presiding over the proceedings.
Protect Yourself from Misinformation and Misleading news
To stay safe and healthy, JW News Fact Check searched on JW.ORG for any warnings about protecting oneself from ‘misinformation’ or from accessing ‘misleading news’.
Our in depth research found the following ironic warning from the governing body of Jehovah’s Witnesses:
Protect Yourself From Misinformation
- Do not believe everything you see or hear
What the Bible says: “The naive person believes every word, but the shrewd one ponders each step.”—Proverbs 14:15.
Let’s face it, there are a lot of actors, singers, musicians, artists, sports stars, and celebrities that are former or even current Jehovah’s Witnesses, or that were raised as children within the religion.
In focus: Jeffrey Atkins aka Rapper-actor ‘Ja Rule’
Jeffrey Atkins (the ‘JA’ in JA RULE) was raised as a Jehovah’s Witness by his single mother and grandparents. After dropping out of high school and leaving the religion, Ja Rule ending up joining a street gang before becoming a music rapper and actor.
In 1999 Ja Rule released his debut studio album Venni Vetti Vecci, which sold over 2 million copies.
On the Jehovah’s Witnesses practice of shunning
In an interview with New York radio station Power 105.1, Ja Rule explained the effects shunning had on his family when his mother was wrongfully disfellowshipped from the Jehovah’s Witnesses:
The family wasn’t speaking to my mother, and I saw how much it hurt her . . . I didn’t want to have anything to do with the religion at all. [1]
Ja Rule talks about his mom
Not shy in holding back about the shunning practices of Jehovah’s Witnesses and their view of ‘worldly people’, Ja Rule explains, in an interview on Geto Boys Reloaded, how the Jehovah’s Witnesses religion broke up his family with its shunning policy, and how he viewed the events as a 12 and 13 year-old boy:
I looked at the religion as bad, evil, because, I’m like, this is what broke up my family, this religion.
Ja Rule in the news this week
On Tuesday this week, Ja Rule released a press statement on his new signature wines in collaboration with Rose Wine Cellars:
This launch is near and dear to my heart; one of my favourite things to do after a long day is pour myself a nice glass of wine.
This collab with wine master Ross Reedy and Wines That Rock is something we’ve spent a lot of time on because we wanted it to be perfect. Our goal was to create something unique, sophisticated and luxurious, and this collection is exactly that! I’m very proud of what we’ve accomplished!
A spanking may be a lifesaver to a child . . . Prov. 13:24 . . . parents may have to become men and women of action, applying the rod . . . at times you may have to use the literal rod. - The Watchtower, January 15, 1954, page 54-62.
Is the ‘rod’ mentioned in the Bible at Proverbs chapter 13 a literal ‘rod’ to inflict corporal punishment, or is it a symbol or metaphor to indicate authority?
The above response is from Geoffrey Jackson, of the governing body of Jehovah’s Witnesses, on being asked under oath as to whether the Bible speaks about “inflicting corporal punishment” when it refers to the use of the ‘rod’ in Proverbs chapter 13.
What were the circumstances of the questioning? Geoffrey Jackson had been subpoenaed to appear before the Australian Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.
Simply put, Geoffrey Jackson, despite being a member of the governing body of Jehovah’s Witnesses and a member of “the faithful and discreet slave”, knowingly and deliberately lied in court under oath about the beliefs of Jehovah’s Witnesses. The oath he swore was on the revised New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures version of the Bible - which he himself led the revision of. The irony.
What does The Watchtower say?
A spanking may be a lifesaver to a child . . . Prov. 13:24 . . . parents may have to become men and women of action, applying the rod . . . at times you may have to use the literal rod - The Watchtower, January 15, 1954, page 54-62.
Walking Free from the Trauma of Coercive, Cultic and Spiritual Abuse: A Workbook for Recovery and Growth by Gillie Jenkinson, PhD.
Gillie Jenkinson, PhD, is an accredited psychotherapist, international speaker and a director of Hope Valley Counselling. For over 25 years she has specialised, as therapist, researcher and trainer, in the challenges faced by those who have experienced coercive, cultic and spiritual abuse.
As recommended by last week’s JW Book Review author, Steven Hassan, PhD:
Dr. Gillie Jenkinson is a professional I know and trust. Her work has helped in the education, awareness and healing of countless people.
Publishing blurb
This is an interactive self-help workbook and psychological road map to enable survivors of coercive, cultic and spiritual abuse to find healing, recovery and growth.
This book provides a comprehensive guide to recovery, based on a tested model of post-cult counselling, and years of research and clinical experience. It is designed to help survivors of diverse abusive settings, including religious and spiritual, political, gangs, business, therapy and wellness and one-on-one relationships. The reader follows a beautifully illustrated journey through four Phases of recovery and growth, one Milestone at a time, to make sense of what has happened to them, learn how to walk free from psychological control and find resources for healing. The author includes stories from her own experience, detailing her path towards recovery and how she learned to come to terms with and overcome what happened to her.
Written in accessible language, this workbook serves as both a self-help book for survivors and former members, and a guide for therapists working with them.
Critics’ Review
‘The world today is experiencing a massive proliferation of destructive cultic groups - religious, political, terrorist, commercial, self-help, healing, recovery, and many other kinds of groups that use deceptive recruitment tactics and coercive control of members. To the very few books meant to help those leaving cults, Dr. Jenkinson adds this comprehensive and essential volume. Having herself traversed the daunting path from traumatic abuse in a cult to freedom and recovery, Dr. Jenkinson offers the reader decades of wisdom gleaned from her therapeutic work with survivors, distilled into this eminently readable and usable volume. Both survivors and therapists alike will welcome and treasure this essential and urgently needed addition to the cult recovery literature.’ -Daniel Shaw, psychoanalyst and author of Traumatic Narcissism: Relational Systems of Subjugation and Traumatic Narcissism and Recovery: Leaving the Prison of Shame and Fear
‘Dr. Gillie Jenkinson is one of the most thoughtful and insightful clinicians in the cultic studies field. In this book, she applies her personal experience and many years of research and clinical work to construct a practical workbook for people leaving cultic groups. This is not simply an explanation of why people join and leave cults. The book provides what would be called ‘homework’ in some counseling approaches. It is interactive and asks ‘participants’ (they are much more than readers) to think and write, to complete forms, to wrestle with their memories, thoughts, and goals for the future. ‘Participating’ in this handbook could be worth thousands of dollars in consultation time. The book is a wonderful resource, especially for those former members who do not have the resources to travel and pay for professional consultation. I recommend it highly.’ - Michael D. Langone, PhD, Executive Director, International Cultic Studies Association
‘This is a unique book and should be essential reading. It was forged in the fire of painful experience and refined by a keen mind. Gillie offers a clear pathway enabling others to make their own choices and find their own freedom. It is a remarkable story of personal transformation and hope.’ - Alistair Ross, Associate Professor, Psychotherapy, Oxford University
‘This valuable book is a sensitively written, practical guide to cult recovery. Based on her own experiences, first as a former member, and then as a therapist specializing in cult recovery, Dr. Jenkinson shares her knowledge and offers guidance for the difficult process of integrating into the non-cult world in a healthy way.’ - Alexandra Stein, PhD, visiting research fellow, London South Bank University
‘There is a new tool to help former cult members and other survivors of abusive groups and relationships, and I will be recommending it to every former cult member who consults with me. In this ground-breaking book, Gillie Jenkinson literally takes her readers on a step-by-step journey to recovery. She doesn’t use jargon and she doesn’t list aspirational goals and leave the ‘how’ to the reader’s imagination. Instead, she offers clear exercises and examples that untangle the process of recovery. The whimsical illustrations help the reader to visualize the recommended steps and invite the reader to participate. I recommend this workbook without reservation.’ - Bill Goldberg, clinical social worker and psychoanalyst, formerly Program Supervisor for Rehabilitative Services for Rockland County, New York (retired)
In this YouTube video from JW Thoughts a leaked unpublished JW(.)ORG video featuring Tony Morris III is discussed.
On Wednesday, February 22, 2023, it was announced at the World Headquarters of Jehovah’s Witnesses that
“Brother Anthony Morris III is no longer serving as a member of the Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses.”
Still no news on the reasons for the removal of Anthony Morris III from the governing body of Jehovah’s Witnesses, or his whereabouts, although online speculation continues to abound.
