wearewatchingyou man......I would pay good money (since you are a Big Lebowski fan), for you to stand up during that meeting and yell out :you're out of your element".
This weeks LIE in the brochure
by DS211 36 Replies latest jw experiences
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wearewatchingyouman
Hahaha! Only if I get to do it with a cigarette in my hand and aviator glasses on. Then I get to stand at the little counter where you stick your time cards in the box and, while racking a .45, yell, "Mark it Zero. You think I'm fucking around here? Mark it Zero!"
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DS211
Lesson 24
How Is Our Worldwide Work FinancedTABLE OF CONTENT
Our organization publishes and distributes hundreds of miOllions of Bibles and other publications every year without charge. We build and maintain Kingdom Halls and branch offices. We support thousands of Bethelites and missionaries, and we provide relief aid in times of disaster. So you may wonder, ‘How is all of this financed?’
We do not tithe, charge dues, or take up collections. Although the costs of supporting our evangelizing work are high, we do not solicit money. Over a century ago, the second issue of theWatchtower magazine stated that we believe we have Jehovah as our backer and that we “will never beg nor petition men for support”—and we never have!—Matthew 10:8.
Our activities are supported by voluntary donations. Many people appreciate our Bible educational work and donate toward it. The Witnesses themselves happily contribute their time, energy, funds, and other resources to the doing of God’s will in all the earth. (1 Chronicles 29:9) At the Kingdom Hall, there are contribution boxes where those who wish to make donations may do so. For the most part, the moneys received come from those of modest means, much like the poor widow Jesus spoke so well of who put two small coins into the temple treasury chest. (Luke 21:1-4) Thus anyone can regularly “set something aside” to give “just as he has resolved in his heart.”—1 Corinthians 16:2; 2 Corinthians 9:7.
We are convinced that Jehovah will continue to move the hearts of those who want to ‘honor him with their valuable things’ in support of the Kingdom work, so that his will may be accomplished.—Proverbs 3:9.
What makes our organization different from other religions?
How are the voluntary contributions used?
WHERE DOES THE MONEY GO?
Donations for Local Congregation Expenses are used to care for expenses incurred by the congregation and to return money that the branch office gave it to assist in building or renovating the Kingdom Hall. Donations for the Worldwide Work are sent to the branch office to care for its expenses, and any surplus is used to care for needs in oth
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Theredeemer
Yet having a local needs at least twice a year on the importance of donations to the congregation, having everyone fill out a slip saying how much they are willing to donate for the local assembly hall a month and asking everyone to pitch in for the new HQ IS NOT SOLICITING?!?
My mom in law (who is still in kinda) and I had this conversation yesterday. She said how "its kind of lying" how they say they dont tithe. I said, "Yah, they dont tithe. Instead, they just guilt the shit out of you to "donate" money". I also mentioned how at least the other churches give back to the community. Shouldnt each congregation have a widows and needy one fund at least? Wouldnt that be the most christian way to use funds?
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rebel8
From the thread linked earlier (quote from Zion's Watch Tower):
"we have no desire to waste truth by sending where it is not desired and would not be appreciated"
snicker!
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nonjwspouse
wearewatchingyouman,
here
https://archive.org/details/WatchtowerAmicusCuriaeJimmySwaggart
The WTBTS charged for literature until this court case put them at immediate risk of beig next to be taxed. So ther ewas an immediate change in policy. Donations were then asked for, and the publishers were also asked to donate for materials. Then when a publisher recieved a donation from a householder they were to also turn hmoney in. This was the begining of the double dipping! ( from my understanding)
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Muddy Waters
Which brochure is currently being studied of which you speak?
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Apognophos
It's "Who Are Doing Jehovah's Will Today?" It's literally the most boring thing I've studied in my life as a Witness. It's about the way the organization runs, really ABC stuff that we already know. No idea why it was assigned for the CBS.
Donations were then asked for, and the publishers were also asked to donate for materials. Then when a publisher recieved a donation from a householder they were to also turn hmoney in. This was the begining of the double dipping! ( from my understanding)
In theory, yes, it's double-dipping if the publisher donates for all the literature he asks for, and also gets a donation from the householder, but in practice nobody donates for anything they order (except some very conscientious JWs when they order something nice), and we scarcely ever mention the donations to householders (probably 0.1% of the time), so in practice the Society is making far less money off literature than they did when the JWs had to purchase the material they were placing and then sell it to the householder.
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wearewatchingyouman
@DS211 - Thanks for the brochure blurb in full. I appreciate it.
@nonjwspouse - Thanks for the explanation on the connection between Jimmy Swaggart and The WBTS.
@apognophos - I understand that things may be different today, but when the change was made I distinctly remember the effort that went into changing the sales pitch. The building up of how valuable these materials were to householders and pushing the idea that "while we don't charge for these publications we really appreciate donations for these valuable study guides.".... and yes, in the beginning of the change we were expected to make up the difference, so a lot of the times we'd just leave tracts on return visits if we didn't get a good donation for the magazines on the first call, or if we got the feeling that they weren't going to donate we'd quickly make the switch to a tract or just leave nothing at all. In fact, RVs were largely built around the householders who would give the best donations. If someone only gave us a quarter for the magazines a lot of the time those people wouldn't even get called back on, or you'd make sure you'd hit up the RV's who you know paid first so you had a little wiggle room on the ones who you weren't sure about.
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Apognophos
Ha, interesting. I think it's probably safe to say that the Witnesses are not nearly as money conscious now on the Society's behalf. It's possible that donations are hinted at more than 0.1% of the time, but not much more, and definitely it's not something I've heard any JWs doing at each door as I accompanied them in the ministry.
I imagine that shortly after the transition away from selling the literature (which I'm not old enough to remember) you must all have been very conscientious about making sure the Society was still reimbursed for their printing costs, but I think enough time has passed that the rank and file have become quite lackadaisical. The old arrangement is a distant memory for most. And, after all, making the pitch is rather uncomfortable, so I think most JWs pretend to forget that they are asked by the Society to do that.