by Qcmbr 85 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
Very interesting. Mormons have a nature quite different from jws, especially the leaders. Mormons tend to be outgoing, engaging and more open. Jw leadership is very passive aggressive. So, what is working to break the mormon monolith won't necesarily work against the wt corp.
S
Remember that FLDS breakaway group who was (Legally) smacked and smacked hard a few years back?
Seeing a "real-world" example of how quickly a traditional (and literal) application of Mormon ideology could devolve into institutionalized sexual victimization brought a lot of uncomy questions to the fore.
Personally, I think the Rubicon was crossed with the church's involvement in trying to snuff out Cali's same-sex marriage amendment; a great deal of (otherwise loyal) Mormons were mortified and appalled when the LDS heirarchy's subterfuge was exposed.
I highly doubt Glenn Beck has helped their public image either.
Satanus - "..what is working to break the Mormon monolith won't necesarily work against the WT corp."
Agreed.
Like the RCC before, the LDS has the resources and overall size to survive an internal reformation and liberalization.
The WTS does not.
Not to mention that the WTS has a lot more invested in being an End-Times religion; as a result, the GB is far more willing to double down rather than negotiate.
How much time do the Mormons typically spend attending church etc... ?
They seem better at extracting money directly from their members through the tything thing. Is the reward that they don't have to spend as much time as JWs do?
#7 LDS women getting stronger is a good thing (someday they to will leave) wouldn't it be great if JW women starting demanding their rights.
The small town of Raymond, Alberta, heavily Mormon, ranks among the top five communities in Canada for the highest level of charitable donations per capita. The community is not too far from you, Simon.
I was looking at similarly sized communities to my own, checking out their relative civic responsibility. The town manages its budget better than we do, while its family median income (just under 20,000 annually) is the lowest for towns of its size in Alberta.
Hollowed out. Good choice of words. I don't wonder if it isn't also happening with the Witnesses. I mean, in our town in the past three years we went from ten Witnesses (four children) to two. There was a special needs talk in the next closest town about over-use of "tying-in" to the meetings. It makes me wonder if congregants aren't "checking out" both mentally and physically.
The article below is from two years ago, but it highlights the similar trend with limited Watchtower growth, *excepting* immigrant communities.
N.J. Mormon community to build church in Newark
Many of the new members are first- and second-generation Latin American immigrants who have flowed into New Jersey, and elsewhere in the nation, over the past two decades, said Kim Smith, a professor at Brigham Young University in Utah, former Short Hills resident and past Scotch Plains stake president.
John Almeida, president of Newark’s English-speaking Mormon group, said about a third of all congregations are Hispanic, many coming from Ecuador, Brazil and elsewhere in South and Central America. Ramirez, for example, said he converted to Mormonism in native Peru before moving to Newark in 1979.
Presently, there are three different congregations in Newark: Portuguese, Spanish and English-speaking groups. They rent space in the Wilson Towers in Newark’s Ironbound, and stagger their Sunday services so there is room for everyone.
LDS women organised a pantsuit day to challenge enforced skirt and dress wearing attitudes.)
Trying to picture that at Kingdom Halls and Assemblies! I'd have to see a picture of that day if it happens in my lifetime.
He seemed to be saying that there was a majority of congregations in his circuit that averaged around 40-50 pubs.
U.S. and Britain avg. 85 avg pubs per cong (2012) and Worldwide 67 Avg. pubs per cong.
Once you get down that low, it only takes a few defections to make the congregation non-viable and shut it down - or combine it with another.
That's already happening here. At least 5 congs closed and merged here and adjacent circuits. It's not just faders and those who are leaving, attendance by the faithful is at an all time low.
Doc
The thing about the WTS is that it has NOTHING TO OFFER other than authoritarianism. That's all it really is anymore. They've painted themselves into a corner where liberalization is impossible - because the religion itself is so utterly dry and lifeless, that without the fear and threats and the claims of AUTHORITAHHHH, why would ANYONE continue with that drudgery?
