Additional BOE Letter: Please Be Advised that Further Direction Will Soon be Sent to the Bodies of Elders...

by TTATTelder 103 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  TTATTelder

  DD,

  What you are referring to (earlier) is what many on this forum have been calling a scam.

  Cong's pay into this slush fund and then when they get money it is a loan that has to be repaid.

  Also consider the KH Fund box was still open the whole time catching some extra money in addition to the loan payment that also goes to the slush fund.

  I think they even used to charge a small interest rate on the loan then they stopped doing that (probably for legal reasons).

  Island Man,

  That's some crazy stuff, but I like it.

  -TE
• 

  JW GoneBad

  Billy The Ex-Bethelite offers some good insight on page 2 of this thread:

  "Watchtower doesn't have a biblical precedent for this, but I think it deserves a couple:

  • Watchtower is taking a financial census of the JW populace similar to the way that David had taken a census... resulting in the deaths of thousands of innocent people.'

  Mankind in general has a flaw: Like King David we all have an addiction to and dependence on numbers.

  But in King David's case, the account at 1 Chronicles 21:1 states that: 'Then Satan stood up against Israel and incited David to number Israel.'

  WT has always had this flaw-the flaw of always relying on numbers. Is it possible that Satan has 'stood up' and incited WT to rely on numbers?

  WT's obsession with numbers over the years is evident in their need to document the amout of tract & magazine distribution; the need to record publisher hours in field service; the need to always increase the number of pioneers; the need to boost memorial attendance; the need to raise attendance at meetings, circuit assemblies and district assemblies; the need to know the number of the remnant or partakers; the need to publicize the previous years activity in the yearbook; WT's hang-up on dates (1914, 1918 etc); the need to brag about JW.org website hits or visits; and finally......the most flagrant obsession WT has is with the amount of money it has in the bank or on how many real estate properties it owns.

  Yes, it's true that 70,000 other innocent persons had to pay for David's relyance on numbers. Is it possible that because of WT's fixation on numbers today and in the past, that the rank and file are the ones that have had to pay the price?
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  AudeSapere

  Sounds like a creative plan to make it seem like they are 'forgiving' outstanding debts and then immediately ask for a bigger sale in the form of committment/pledge to send % increase each month - forever. It's a sales tactic to upsell.

  They will likely leverage the immediate forgivance of the loan as a show of support from the WorldWideWork: "So, brothers, since we ourselves here in our beautifully remodeled Kingdom Hall here in Podunk USA, have received this loving blessing from Jehovah, are we not moved to contribute even more to this provision from the GB? Let us then resolve in our hearts - and on paper - to contribute 15%, or more! above what we have been paying. (or, better yet, just an extra $10 per publisher which is only 2 Frappacino's per month.) We receive so many, many blessings from being part of the WorldWide Brotherhood. We must remember that - as with most privileges - we are sometimes called upon to contribute back so other can likewise benefit." [Read scripture that says: 'You received free, so give free.']

  Of course, with the new directive to get pledges, there is no mention/reminder that the recent remodel likely resulted in a transfer of ownership from local elders/cong members to WTS Headquarters (or one of their many, many subsidiaries). There is no accounting for just where the funds are going. My guess is that most of these projects will be outside of the US, and therefore less 'traceable' by the sheeples contributing the most money. The wealthier nations probably had the most builds and remodels in the past 25-30 years. (And I believe WTS took ownership of most of the buildings at the time of the construction project.) So now it's time for the cong buildings in these weathy nations to subsidize the buildings in the poorer countries.

  Anyone wanna bet that the 'projects, projects, projects' are remodels with volunteer labor? And the supplies in poorer countries are much cheaper than developed lands. Yet the WTS wants *more* money than what they've been getting. Also wanna bet that they will report on about a half dozen 'projects' that start withing the next year but then not much else once the initial excitement dies down.

  I'm guessing if an accounting is ever done on where the funds contributed for the WorldWideWork go and have gone, by *FAR*, the most goes to lawsuits and settlements.

  Aren't charities required to provide a public accounting of their donated funds? If not, it should be a requirement to maintain their tax-exempt status.

  WTS is not the only shady tax-exempt corporation. But is sure is one of the scammiest.

  -Aude.
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  jonahstourguide

  @ jimbojones, the cong in my neck of the woods has done just that.

  They circulated forms with instructions on how to make one off or regular direct debit

  contributions to the local cong, even providing the BSB details on the slip.

  It also outlined the process of writing a letter to the cong sec outlining

  were the funds were to be allocated i.e. local cong or worldwide work.

  No allocation and the direct debit will be forwarded to the worldwide work.

  I seem to recall something like that being read from the platform over the last

  coupla years. the slip we got didn't have any letter head but named the

  bank account as *********** congregation of jw's

  followed by BSB details.

  IT'S HAPPENING.....

  jtg

  p.s. So if the org takes over bank accounts " VOILA "
• 

  DwainBowman

  I heard for a few long time friends in Brooklyn, That several things brought this all about. One of them has to do with new banking law's in the United States. These cover the lending if money, and mist every corp, thst dose would come under federal regulations, and the opening of the books for review! They would have to comply!

  So just like the not having yo psy for their books and magazines, the real reason was never told.

  Dwain
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  jwleaks

  The Watchtower magazine May 1, 1965, page 278
  
  "To pressure members of a congregation in a gentle way to contribute by resorting to devices without Scriptural precedent or support, such as passing a collection plate in front of them or . . . soliciting pledges, is to admit a weakness. There is something wrong. There is a lack. A lack of what? A lack of appreciation. No such coaxing or pressuring devices are needed where there is genuine appreciation. Could this lack of appreciation be related to the kind of spiritual food offered to the people."
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  AnnOMaly

  ^ Great quote, jwleaks!

  I don't think this one's been given yet:

  *** w70 2/15 p. 100 Is Your Minister Interested in You or Your Money? ***

  How do you feel in church when the collection plate is passed? How do you feel when a minister visits you to persuade you to contribute more? This is one of the things an editor of a South African magazine wanted to find out. He devoted a year to a painstaking inquiry on the subject “The Church, the People and the Gulf Between.” Summing up his findings the editor wrote:

  “The Church seems to have developed a compulsive habit of appealing for funds-without-end-amen, whether they be for building churches or halls, for repairs, organs, bells, salaries, pensions, Lent, Easter, Christmas, etc. etc. . . . Now the Church seems to take pledges and appeals for granted, and sometimes as many as three are running at the same time. . . . This preoccupation with money has also made some people take a second look at the Church, and ask themselves whether they really want to participate after all.”—Femina, May 18, 1967, pp. 58, 61.

  Is it not understandable why some are taking a second look at the churches? The Bible makes it clear that giving should not be done “under compulsion” but from a ‘readiness of mind according to what one has.’ (2 Cor. 9:7; 8:12) So while it is not wrong for a minister to inform his congregation of reasonable church needs, the methods used ought to be in harmony with Christian principles outlined in the Bible.
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  DesirousOfChange

  I heard for a few long time friends in Brooklyn, That several things brought this all about. One of them has to do with new banking law's in the United States. These cover the lending of money, and most every corp, that does would come under federal regulations, and the opening of the books for review! They would have to comply!

  So just like the not having to pay for their books and magazines, the real reason was never told. [typos fixed]

  That makes the most sense of anything I've heard about this new arrangement.

  And I truly expect the results will be the same as it was for the donation arrangement on literature -- LESS DONATIONS. My elderly mom & aunt think they lovingly used the profits from the sell out in Brooklyn to pay off everyone's Kingdom Hall. It should show you how close they think The End really is!!!1

  I've never seen it fail that when a Congregation pays off their loan balance, donations plummet. Most of the R&F feel no obligation to pay for something that they did not commit to paying. Thus the need for "pledges". But sooner or later, having the extra $50 or $100 for dinner after the meeting will be more important than the "donation for nothing".

  It appears this is not a voluntary move that they think will generate more money, it's a reaction to new laws they must make if they want to keep their books closed to Government eyes. And dear God, they do not trust the Government. It's part of Satan's Seed.

  Doc
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  dropoffyourkeylee

  Another part of this story is the elimination of a special donation box marked for "Kingdom Hall Construction". Until now the local KH (midwest US) had 4 separate donation boxes.

  World Wide work

  Local congregation

  KH building fund

  SW Ohio Assembly hall fund

  Now there are only two, the WWW and Local boxes.

  They have been sending 300-400 dollars every month to the SW Ohio Assembly hall fund after going though the 'pledge' process a couple of years ago. Now the box is gone and the money is gone too! No accountability. just gone.
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  Bob_NC

  These following terms in the new letter should send all elders scrambling to re-read the two previous letters...

  "postscript of the March 29, 2014, letter"

  "documenting how your congregation will financially support"

  "held in abeyance"

  Which I predict will leave most elders wondering, "what do they want us to do?"