(Minghui.org) There have been some recent discussions about prophecies, and I’d like to point out some problems I’ve seen.

An elderly practitioner in his 70s started to practice Dafa before 1999. He does the three things diligently every day, but his family’s attitude towards him is one of dislike and rejection. As a third party I can see that although he often advises his family members, he speaks in a very high and mysterious manner, and he likes to use prophecies as talking points. During family gatherings he often argues with family members in a condescending tone and attitude.

This year, he argued with others again during the family gathering on New Year’s Eve. He mentioned a prophecy about the great elimination and said that the results would be apparent by May. His family members have complained to other practitioners about his irrational words and actions. I talked with him about this a few years ago. At that time he just listened, but he did not say anything. From this incident I knew he did not take what I said to heart.

I also met another elderly practitioner on a local street who was telling someone to remember “Falun Dafa is good.” Then he’d switch to another passerby and say the same thing. He did not say anything else about Falun Dafa; he just told them to remember that Falun Dafa is good. This approach is not ideal, because he did not give them any basic information, such as the CCP’s slander of Dafa and live organ harvesting crimes, etc., and the lack of knowledge of whether the recipient could accept what they were told.

I would like to suggest to fellow practitioners that we avoid speaking esoterically or mysteriously when we clarify the truth—even most religious people do not believe in miracles nowadays. Instead, we should focus on basic information. If you want to quote a prophecy, use it as an embellishment. Don’t talk too deeply or mention any dates. After all, so many years have gone by—when did the situation unfold exactly according to a prophecy?

We know that everything has changed due to the Fa-rectification, but to people who have not learned the Fa, they may feel that we are deceitful or talking big (if the true situation does not conform to prophecies). Once they stop trusting practitioners who clarify the truth, they may reject everything else we say. The most serious thing is that they may have negative thoughts about Dafa itself and won’t just think that one or two practitioners have personal problems.

When clarifying the truth, the attitude and tone of our conversation are also very important. We should pay attention to this as well.

[Editor's note: Views expressed in this article represent the author's own opinions, for which the author is solely responsible. Readers should evaluate the article's merits on their own.]