by Dogpatch 29 Replies latest jw friends
Our circuit overseer back in 1989 made a statement to us in our "pioneer meeting" that if you took 10 children in the congregation and put them on the stage, 8 would leave the "truth" by the time they reached adulthood. Evidently this 80% figure has been around for almost 20 years!
Q
They really should update this with something more appropriate.................
Well Randy,
The decline in dub numbers is a good thing, yes? LESS cultists selling cult books that only the cultists buy most of them in the first place! You've previously done the math on profits and you have rough idea on their margin of profit. You know how it works: less cultists, less revenue.
This is not good for Watchtower(tm) revenue, and we all know what THAT means when their profits sag: God is going to MESS us up for not buying more Watchtower stuff than they are used to us buying!
Consider this: Farkel goes to heaven (this is impossible. I don't deserve it, but consider that possibility.)
God says: You didn't sell enough books and magazines. You are screwed.
Farkel: I placed zillions of them, and I paid for all of them UP FRONT, and I rarely got my actual payments for my "Christian Contribution(tm)" for them. As a pioneer, I got 100 each of them and in reality I tossed 75 of them in the trash. Each month. But I PAID for them before I could walk away and place them.
God says: why didn't you distribute the other 75 of them?
Farkel: I couldn't give that shit away in this or any other lifetime. I paid for them and then I had to trash them because a month later "New Light(tm) made them obsolete, anyway.
God says: I like an honest Pioneer. I might just have you be a SPECIAL pioneer, where you cannot place 150 of those mags each month, but you will be in trouble if you don't!! You get a big discount on them, though. But you still have to PAY for them first.
Farkel: why would you do this?
God says: because, apparently, I work for the Faithful and Discreet Slave(tm) in Brooklyn.
Farkel: are you saying you WORK for them?
God says: No, but they say I do.
Farkel: why do you play in their playgroud, God?
God says: Idiots amuse me.
Farkel
Wicked Farkel, absolutely wicked but so funny
Good news, Randy! I wonder if we could get 2006's numbers, as well as 2005's?
But, but, but, my dad just told me saturday that the orginasation is growing by leaps and bounds !!!!!
How can this be? Oh yeah, now I remember you have apostate information.
moggy lover:
Incidently, DP, can you tell us, only for statistical data, the numbers for the SDAs. The WTS often compared themselves to the SDAs and contrived to show the divine origins for their growth by comparing themselves to the SDAs
I spent most of 50 years at Bethel (and neighborhood) and never heard mention of the SDA membership. What is the source of your claim that the WTS "often compared themselves to the SDAs"? I did notice that a comparison was made in a Time or Newsweek article in the 1980's, I believe, but I never heard of it from any JW.
Frank
FJToth, This arose from a well publicized [among the Jws and Sdas, that is] conversion of a Wt follower in one of our country towns, Pemperton,WA. A local elder became an SDA, and evidently took much of the local congrgation with him. He subsequently wrote a booklet and edited a magazine that compared growth figures for the two groups. To the best of my knowledge, he is still happily, an SDA. In fact I remember seeing his booklet, in an updated edition, on the internet somwhere.
This occured, as far as I can recall, in the late 70s. Ever since then, a phobia developed, possibly among the local WT followers, of SDA encroachments into their domain. I was an elder myself at that time, and while no mass exodus to the SDAs ensued, we were constantly being updated with SDA attendance figures. Assurances were conveyed to us by the country COs that we were in reality having attendances higher than them. It really became competitive at that time. Remember this was during the traumatic years following 1975.
Cheers
I think the numbers Randy posted only reflect the "growth" or the lack thereof...in the United States. Worldwide I think there was some "growth" but their counting methods stretch that condom over that bowling ball to dangerous degrees in an effort to continue to say they HAD any "growth". And tumors will grow until they kill their hosts.
But when the numbers start going down all over the place, they have that covered too when they say that God is going to start honing the whole operation down to only the few loyal ones and people who leave were never "one of them" to begin with and there will be a great apostacy and the greater number will cool off blah blah blah.....Oh LOOK we MUST be close to the end because the apostates are leaving the organization and its only us GOOD ones left!
Its like when you join...the first thing they tell you is you have the TROOF and you are going to get crap from your family and friends about being in the the TROOF and they will try to take you away from Jehovah because you have the TROOF....and sure enough you go and start spouting this crap to your family and yeah they DO have a problem with your being in the TROOF and they ask you what the hell is the MATTER with you??? And you say HEY this must be the TROOF because what they said was going to happen to me did!! And if the numbers go up, Jehovah is blessing the field work, and if the numbers go down God said that too...so not to worry Dubbies. No matter what your count is, the Society has a Plan B for making you "see" that its alllll gooood.
There was an INCREASE of 1.56%, NOT A DECREASE of 1.56%
2005 Service Year | 2004 Service Year | 2005 Increase over 2004 | |||||
Territory | Peak Publishers | Territory | Peak Publishers | Territory | Percent | ||
Alaska | 2,340 | Alaska | 2,309 | Alaska | 1.34% | ||
Hawaii | 7,864 | Hawaii | 7,897 | Hawaii | -0.42% | ||
48 lower States | 1,035,802 | 48 lower States | 1,019,696 | 48 lower States | 1.58% | ||
U.S. | 1,046,006 | U.S. | 1,029,902 | U.S | 1.56% |
This would put JWs as one of the fastest growing groups.
The 2006 numbers show a greater increase:
2006 Service Year | 2006 Increase Over 2005 | |
Territory | Peak Publishers | Percent |
Alaska | 2,257 | -3.55% |
Hawaii | 7,948 | 1.07% |
48 lower States | 1,059,325 | 2.27% |
U.S. | 1,069,530 | 2.25% |
The correct numbers don't show a decline.
The first months of the 2007 Service Year shows an even GREATER increase than the 2006 figures.
