Letters to Russian Officials

Hello, and welcome back, my beautiful readers. I hope that life is treating you OK. Y'all probably have your ups and downs, but through it all, we find things in life that bring us happiness and joy. All around me, as I look upon Creation, (#JehovahsCreationIsAwesome) I continually find things to be happy about. I hope the same is for you as well.

Along with the happiness, there is sadness, and it is this sadness that has brought me to the point of writing this blog that you're reading now. It's all about choice. There are many choices we make throughout our day, week, month, year, and lifetime - things like what to eat, wear, read, watch, listen to or where to go, live, vacation - and aren't we glad we get to choose instead of being told - things like what to eat, wear, read, watch, listen to or where to go, live, vacation -

Sometime last week, the following came across my desk via Messenger:

MARCH 21, 2017

RUSSIA

Jehovah’s Witnesses Mobilize Global Response to Threat of Ban in Russia

Now, I had known for quite some time that my fellow Brothers and Sisters in Christ were undergoing persecution from Russian Official due to the the fact that their religion of choice is Jehovah's Witnesses and the God they choose to worship is Jehovah. It has been a matter of prayer in our congregation as well as other congregations throughout the world. It is quite troubling to hear that the law of the land that you live in, as with those in Russian, for instance, could be changed to make it illegal, yes illegal, to worship. 

The following is taken from jw.org:

On March 15, 2017, 

Russia’s Ministry of Justice filed a claim with the 

Supreme Court of the Russian Federation to label 

the Administrative Center of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia 

as extremist and liquidate it. The claim also seeks to 

ban the activities of the Administrative Center. 

Can you just imagine, my beautiful readers, if the religion of your choice were to be against the law! It is for the reason that - Russia's Ministry of Justice filed a claim with the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation to label Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia as extremist and liquidate it - that I joined millions of my Brothers and Sisters in Christ in writing to the Russian officials to request their intervention in the hope that the Russian authorities will stop the legal action being taken against the branch office and the congregations in Russia so the my Brothers and Sisters can continue to gather peacefully for Christian meetings without interference.

I don't think this is an unreasonable request. After all, it was Jehovah himself that first gave mankind the choice. Think about it, Jehovah gave Adam and Eve the choice to choose 'to, or not to, eat from the tree in the center of the garden' and Jehovah also gave the choice to 'worship him or not' to the Israelites when they were brought up out from underneath the oppressive hand of Egypt. These are just two of many instances where our Creator, Jehovah God, has given us the choice to worship him or worship other gods.

With that appreciation, that gift of 'Freedom of Choice' given to us by our Loving Grand Creator, Jehovah God, and the request of the Headquarters of Jehovah's Witnesses, that I chose to speak up in behalf of my fellow Brothers and Sisters in Russia, and following the instructions, (which are easily downloadable) on the does and don'ts, I made this a matter of prayer, sat down with a hot cup of coffee, my laptop, furbabies all around me, and proceeded to write letters to the Russian officials, pleading for their intervention.

Then last Friday, I carried my letters to my local post office, paid for postage, and mail my letters. It was quite something for me to do as I have NEVER written to a President of a country, and here, I just mailed a letter to the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin.








President of Russia
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin
23 Ilyinka Str.
Moscow
103132
RUSSIAN FEDERATION

Not only did I write to the President of Russia, I also wrote a letter to:

Prime Minister of Russia
Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev
2 Krasnopresnenskaya Naberezhnaya
Moscow
103274
RUSSIAN FEDERATION

Prosecutor General 
Yury Yakovlevich Chayka
Prosecutor General’s Office of the Russian Federation
15A Bolshaya Dmitrovka Str.
Moscow
GSP-3
125993
RUSSIAN FEDERATION

Minister of Justice
Alexander Vladimirovich Konovalov
Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation
14 Zhitnaya Str.
Moscow
GSP-1
119991
RUSSIAN FEDERATION

Minister of Foreign Affairs 
Sergey Viktorovich Lavrov
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation
32/34 Smolenskaya-Sennaya Square
Moscow
119200
RUSSIAN FEDERATION

Chairman of the Supreme Court
Viacheslav Mikhailovich Lebedev
Supreme Court of the Russian Federation
15 Povarskaya Str.
Moscow
121069
RUSSIAN FEDERATION

(Only once did I write a letter of petition to a Judge, and that was here in Hardin County, Kentucky, USA. Now, here I am writing to 6 Russian Officials!!!)

With a picture taken of my letters prior to mailing, I took to Social Media to express why I wrote the letters. The following is what I posted:

Freedom of religion, it should be everyone's right.

I am so glad I live in a country where we are allowed freedom to choose our own religion. Not all on the created planted are as fortunate. It is for that reason that I have made this a matter of prayer and sat down at my laptop and wrote 6 letters to Russian Officials, to include Vladimir Putin, pleading for them to allow my Brothers and Sisters in Christ the freedom to unrestricted worship of the god of their choice, Jehovah God. On April 5th, the Russian Courts will rule on a motion submitted to the courts to outlaw and ban Jehovah’s Witnesses, making the practice of this religion illegal. All Jehovah’s Witnesses were encouraged by the Governing Body to write to 6 different Russian Government Officials pleading them to rule in favor of freedom of religion. I know many of my friends that have done that very thing. I hope Russian gets bags and bags of mail. 

I can't imagine what it is like to live in a country where one is restricted in the matters of choice. I truly am grateful E.V.E.R.Y.... D.A.Y. that I have freedom of choice. I also can't imagine what it would be like if the laws in the country I reside in were to be changed and it would be illegal to worship the God of my choice, Jehovah. As many of my faithful readers know, I was not always one of Jehovah's Witnesses. I was raised in a different religion, and many years into my life, I engaged in an in-depth study of the Bible, Jehovah God's word, and from the pages of the Bible itself, I recognized that the truth was there all along, I just needed Jehovah's people to help me find out for myself, in the Bible. It was for that reason that I CHOSE to become one of Jehovah's Witnesses!

Please, allow me to also share with you the letter I sent.

Mr. _______,

I am writing you this letter to request your intervention in a matter of greatest concern. On March 15, 2017, the Ministry of Justice in Russia filed a claim with the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation seeking “to declare the religious organization, the Administrative Center of Jehovah’s Witnesses, extremist, ban its activity, and liquidate it.” I sincerely hope that the Russian authorities will stop the legal action being taken against the branch office and the congregations in Russia so that Jehovah’s Witnesses can continue to gather peacefully for Christian meetings without interference. I have great appreciation for the laws of the Russian government that guarantee freedom of religion to all citizens. I am also fearful that a decision by the Supreme Court in favor of this claim will have dire consequences for all of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia to include that the Administrative Center and 400 local legal entities used to own or rent Kingdom Halls would be dissolved, resulting in the seizing by the State the branch property in St. Petersburg and Kingdom Halls throughout the country. I also fear that each of the more than 170,000 Witnesses could be criminally prosecuted merely for meeting for worship, reading the Bible together, or talking to others about their faith.

Russia’s “Federal Law on Extremist Activity” is being misapplied to Jehovah’s Witnesses there in Russia. I am sure you can appreciate that Jehovah’s Witnesses strive to be good citizens. We are known world wide for our peaceful activities, and under no circumstances would we ever resort to any activity that could legitimately be construed as “extremist” or criminal in nature.

Also, Mr. _______, the activities of Jehovah’s Witnesses and the publications that we produce encourage love of God and neighbor, love for family, and respect for government. With these positive qualities in mind, it can be said that there is absolutely nothing “extremist” or criminal in such Bible-based publications. I would like to share with you the personal fact that because of these meetings and publications of Jehovah’s Witnesses, our family has benefited greatly. We have personally experienced and practice love for our God, Jehovah, love for our family, and as always, respect for government.

Please allow me to conclude by reiterating that it is my hope that you will intervene in behalf of the March 15, 2017 claim with the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation seeking “to declare the religious organization, the Administrative Center of Jehovah’s Witnesses, extremist, ban its activity, and liquidate it” and please allow them to continue to live peaceably, worship freely, practice love for their God and mine, Jehovah, while always having respect for government.

Thank you so much for your time in this matter.

Sincerely,

Deborah Clark

Cecilia, Ky., U.S.A.

I hold nothing back as I finish this post up and tell you how I feel about it. As I just text a dear friend "This is a subject that is close to my heart as I am thankful I live in a country where we are free to chose."

How about you, what do you think about making religion illegal?
What would you do if your religion was ban?
Would your faith in your god be strong enough to sustain you if now your worship was illegal?

Please, I would love to hear what you think. And please, as always, feel free to like and share this blog. I welcome any help in getting the word out.

Agape