A comment was made last night that other countries have implemented this schedule already. Can anyone confirm this? I was under the impression that this would be a universal change in Jan '09.
WT backtracking fast on Book Study -High Gas Prices
by stillajwexelder 77 Replies latest watchtower scandals
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Steve_C
With more and more Witnesses able to access information on the Internet, questions and doubts about the organization will rise exponentially. It seems that VM44 is onto something when he says: "Whatever the reason, The Watchtower does not want small groups of Witnesses meeting in private homes to study Watchtower publications. What could this real reason be?"
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Meeting Junkie No More
Steve C: EXPONENTIALLY! I like that word...
Anyhow, a friend visited me recently, slightly agog at the new condensed book study arrangement saying it was 'lightening the load' for all in the congregation, who were most all just 'hanging on by a thread'. (friend's actual words) This is from a very "IN" Witness, so I guess it's true - all of them are SICK TO DEATH of the HEAVY BURDENS that the antitypical Pharisees (hounders et al) are continuously placing on them - I think Jesus aptly prophesied about them when he said "they bind up heavy loads" Matthew 23:4
The rank and file, all waiting desperately for the much ballyhooed END in this race to the finish, just want to throw off every weight, as Paul said, and it seems these endless meetings about nothing are more like a weight to be carried than a refreshing pat on the back of encouragement to continue....
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lawrence
I'm back to the post I made -- the lawyers cancelled the Bible's injunction to gather. James Brown said the L word - "Liability" and all of the members of the GB fell to the ground, and scales were removed. The Judge once ran the maze, now the Brooklyn Barristers run the maze. Imagine being a slave to these bozos. Load light! Yeah, now!
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Open mind
Fading Away posted 3 different versions of notes from the annual meeting a few days ago.
Here are a couple relevant excerpts from note taker #3:
Steve Lett gave the talk Will Your Family Survive Armageddon? This talk was all about the family study night.
He said if we use this time for TV viewing instead of study, Satan will have gained a victory.
I wonder how long it will take for this quote to be burned into the psyches of most JWs?
om
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Awakened at Gilead
Big news today is that Gas Prices are way down....
@ OM:I think JWs shouldn't watch TV their free night... They should go to college and get some real knowledge with their free time!
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OnTheWayOut
Big news today is that Gas Prices are way down....
...so we cannot back off on the bookstudy change everytime gas prices go down,
but we can replace bookstudy evening with Field Circus evening. Whenever gas
is below $3 a gallon (subject to change), it will be required for all MS's, elders,
pioneers to get out that one evening every week. The big fraction of an hour that
we are actually out there will be followed by a break at the coffee shop or fast food
establishment that we frequent on our "service" time. That way, it will boost the
numbers, but allow the members to remember what a huge social club it really
became for them. -
wha happened?
Gas prices may continue to work their way down. That might look funny for the decision making but now with the cleaned up reasoning it can go to a dollar and the avg JW won't think twice.
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willyloman
It's sad we're all so indoctrinated by our dub "training" that we immediately start parsing sentences (..."some" are affected by "escalating fuel prices"...) instead of looking at the big picture.
They freed up one night a week, in response to a slow down in attendance and publishers voting with their feet about the heavy meeting schedule. That's just one step.
You can bet there is some grand scheme in Brooklyn to move the JWs subtly, over a few decades or more, towards the the center of the religious spectrum. There has always been a segment of dub leadership I'll call "Mormon wanna-be's" and their influence appears to be ascending. They envy the Mormon's 20th century transition to a position just short of mainstream, and the wealth and political power that came with that new direction. The JW master plan is to be the 21st century version of LDS. Somewhere, there's a chart that shows evolving dub doctrine through 2050 or 2075, and on that chart they look a lot like today's Mormons: Still a bit off-center, but much more respectable in the eyes of the world.
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Gordy
Two quotes by posters above.
All the emphasis was on more time for personal study and meeting preparation to build up spirituality to prepare us for the Great Trib.
Wasn't the whole point of small groups meeting together was that when the tribulation started the halls would be closed by the government and people would HAVE to meet in small groups. Isn't that what happens in countries where JWs are "persecuted" Isn't that what the WTS has been pushing all these years?
This is the first thing that struck me when it was put out that they were going to end the book group.
In all my years as a JW it was always emphasised that the book group centres would be needed when the Greta Tribulation starts, because the governments would close the Kingdom Halls down. Even before it was announced an I had mention it to JWs they said such a thing wouldn't happen because of what I have just said.
Were will this leave JWs to meet if the Great Trib strikes? Will there be designated homes to meet at?
Surely meeting in small groups in homes, would be upbuilding "spiritually" everyone would know each other and if anyone was missing it would be noticed. There are to many flaws in their reasons for the change.
Plus we all know that 90% of JWs will probably not be using the "free" night for study. Those with young children will be glad of a night that they can put the to bed early.