But what exactly does distributed mean??! .. I know it can't be the most copies sold.
Maybe it means the book best sold door to door or something?!
JW Website **Barf alert**
by reneeisorym 27 Replies latest jw friends
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Finally-Free
But what exactly does distributed mean??!
I knew of some that were mailed anonymously to "worldly" friends by my mom. I'm sure she wasn't the only person doing that. I threw some in the garbage and counted them as placements™. I'm sure most of these widely distributed books are in landfill sites by now.
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5go
I believe the Guiness Book of World Records lists the "Truth" book as the most widely distributed book, behind the Bible. At least it used to
Best Selling Copyright Book WHO: Guinness World Records WHAT: Over 100 million WHERE: Worldwide WHEN: June, 2001 In November 2003, Guinness World Records celebrated the publication of its 100 millionth copy! This confirms that, excluding non-copyright works such as the Bible and the Koran, the definitive book of world records is the world's best selling book.
It was first published in October 1955 by Guinness Superlatives, a subsidiary of Arthur Guinness Son Co. (Park Royal) Ltd and has since gone global, selling in some 37 languages.Comparatively, the five Harry Potter books to date have sold over 100 million copies, and Mao Tse-Tung's Little Red Book was sold or given away to around 900 million.
I don't think the truth book is even close -
rebel8
http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/records/arts_and_media/books_and_magazines/best_selling_copyright_book.aspx
Best Selling Copyright Book (and yes, wts does copyright its works; records dating back that far aren't online with the US Copyright Office though)
WHO:Guinness World Records
WHAT:Over 100 million
WHERE:Worldwide
WHEN:June, 2001
In November 2003, Guinness World Records celebrated the publication of its 100 millionth copy! This confirms that, excluding non-copyright works such as the Bible and the Koran, the definitive book of world records is the world's best selling book.
It was first published in October 1955 by Guinness Superlatives, a subsidiary of Arthur Guinness Son Co. (Park Royal) Ltd and has since gone global, selling in some 37 languages.Comparatively, the five Harry Potter books to date have sold over 100 million copies, and Mao Tse-Tung's Little Red Book was sold or given away to around 900 million.
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http://www.trivia-library.com/a/best-selling-or-distributed-books-in-the-world.htm
A list of the best-selling or most distributed books in the world including the number one book, the Bible.
Some Leading Best-Selling or Distributed Books
1. The Bible (1800-1950)
1 1/2 billion copies
2. Quotations from the Works of Mao Tsetung
800 million copies
3. The Truth That Leads to Eternal Life, Jehovah's Witnesses (1968)
65 million copies
4. American Spelling Book by Webster (1783)
50-100 million copies
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reneeisorym
Maybe we should start exposing the "Lies of the JWs" instead of their famious line "lies of the apostates."
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watson
Oh well, I was close. In the top 5? It's been a while since I opened a Guiness.....book of world records, that is.
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Gary1914
I would not be surprised if all Watchtower books were listed in a book of world records.
When you think about it, it makes perfect sense. Every book they publish is an instant best seller.
It is initially given to over over 6,000,000 people. Then those 6,000,000 get a book for every member of their family. In addition, those 6,000,000 people acquire many more of the books to hand out in field service. They use the book for years to peddle in the door to door work. I would not be surprised if the majority of people on eath did not have a copy of some witness book. No because they want a witness book, per se. But because if over 6,000,000 people representing the Watchtower are out every week, and sometimes every day, giving you a book for free or really, really cheap, the publisher can't miss.
Remember the books are made by free workers and distributed by free workers eager to work their way into God's new system.
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reneeisorym
I would not be surprised if the majority of people on eath did not have a copy of some witness book.
I would not be suprised if the majority of people on earth had not thrown away a WT publication at some point in their life.
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reneeisorym
Here's something else to barf on .....
Teen Jehovah's Witnesses share beliefs
By Cody Cruz-Edison High School
On a humid June morning with the sun peeking out after a welcome rain, a young man watching television hears a knock at the door.
He finds two teenage girls standing on his porch, one of them with magazines in her hand.
The girl with the magazines tells the man that terrorism and war will be over soon and a paradise on Earth is coming. All of this is explained in the magazine Awake!, she tells him. Awake! and The Watchtower are publications handed out by Jehovah's Witnesses.
The man accepts the magazines and agrees to a second visit, where she will sit down with him and share what the Bible says.
This is how 18-year-old Health Careers High School graduate Julie Conover spends most of her Saturdays. While not all of the houses she visits yield a "favorable response," she is always happy to spread the word about her religion.
Jehovah's Witnesses are not required to go door-to-door, but that doesn't stop the almost 6.5 million Witnesses in 230 countries around the world from spreading the word.
Jehovah's Witnesses view their visits as a sign of friendship and as a way to show concern for their fellow man, said Steve Durocher, 55, a Witness who attends meetings at the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses at 15720 Huebner Road.
Jehovah's Witnesses promote their religion because they believe everyone should have an equal opportunity for salvation.
"If we share what we know about God, and if we share the Scriptures in the Bible with people, that not only leads to their salvation, but to our own salvation as well," Durocher said. (Wait, didn't you just say that it wasn't required??)
Durocher has been one of Jehovah's Witnesses since he was visited by two Witnesses in 1991. Fifteen years later, he is a regular pioneer, the term used to describe Witnesses who spend at least 70 hours a month promoting their faith.
He works five hours a day as a Northside School District bus driver, leaving the rest of his time free to go out and talk to people.
Unlike Durocher, Conover is unable to devote so much time to visiting people, but she, too, wants to become a regular pioneer.
Conover is juggling working as a ticket seller at Six Flags Fiesta Texas, attending five Jehovah's Witness meetings a week and spending time with her family, something all Witnesses are taught to appreciate.
She will soon have to throw in classes at Northwest Vista College, where she plans to study for two years before transferring to the University of Texas at San Antonio to major in biology or chemistry. (Oh so now that's a good thing?)
No matter what, though, Conover tries her best to spend from 9 a.m.-noon Saturdays and one or two additional mornings promoting the teachings of the Bible.
So who are Jehovah's Witnesses, and what do they believe?
Jehovah's Witnesses consider themselves Christians, but unlike most Christian denominations, Witnesses do not believe that the three parts of the Holy Trinity -the Father, God; the Son, Jesus Christ; and the Holy Spirit, the guiding force of God - collectively form one God.
"Most people who profess to be Christians view Jesus as God, but we know our creator by the name of Jehovah, and it is mentioned in the Bible over 7,000 times," Durocher said. "We worship Jehovah as our creator, and Jesus as God's son."
Ultimately, Witnesses are a part of a "worldwide Bible education program," staying true to the denomination's origins as a Bible study group founded by Charles Taze Russell in Pittsburgh in the 1870s.
"We're really not trying to convert you; we just want to get you to read the Bible and help you understand what it says," Conover said.
When she schedules a second visit with people, she talks more about the Bible and offers to return for further study. She has knocked on hundreds of doors in the three years she's been witnessing and has led two studies on subsequent visits.
Jehovah's Witnesses use every opportunity to inform others about their religion, Durocher said.
"We go door-to-door. We talk to people in the grocery store. We call them on the phone if it's a gated community where we can't visit their houses. We reach them any way we can," Durocher said.
Before going out on this June morning, Conover meets with seven other Witnesses at the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses at 5950 Lockhill Road, where they briefly discuss Scriptures and listen to what amounts to a pep talk by Jason Burnett, an elder. Similar meetings occur daily before Witnesses go out and spread their faith.
Witnesses are assigned territories and keep records of addresses where no one answered the door so they can stop by at another time.
Conover will go with another teen and her parents.
She is determined to promote her religion, and, like Durocher, has alternate methods of doing it.
"When it's raining, we go to Plan B, and that's just making return visits to people who were interested when we first talked to them," Conover says. "If it starts raining hard, we go to Plan C, which is when we go to places like laundromats or gas stations, any enclosed area, really."(Ha! We used to use that as a good excuse to stay home!!)
After driving through the Oxbow neighborhood attempting to make return visits, Conover, her teen partner and adult Witnesses drive several blocks to the Parkwood neighborhood.
They park and walk door-to-door on Bonita Park Street. The teens knock at 10 homes. Three residents answer the door. Two make it clear that they are not interested. The young man, named Zachary Ostrando, OKs a second visit.
"You have your good days and your bad days," Conover says. "There are days where everybody you talk to is interested, and there are days where nobody wants to talk to you."
Conover believes many people view Jehovah's Witnesses negatively because they do not understand what the Witnesses are trying to do.
"We're definitely not trying to bug you," Conover explains. "I'm trying to promote the use of good morals in everyday life."
She resents people refusing to answer the door when she visits them, saying that people should not be afraid of her.
"We won't force you to become a Witness," Conover says. "If you answer the door and tell us you're not interested, we'll respect your wishes and leave. We just want the best for people." (um... isn't that refusing to answer the door the same as saying you aren't interested??)