Reasonings on Malawi/Mexico Fiasco

by Perry 29 Replies latest jw friends

  • blondie
    blondie

    Serendipidty, if you are talking about Mexico, here is the documentation, straight from the WTS...when did you stop going to the meetings, I wonder; this was in the 1995 Yearbook.

    yb95

    pp. 212-213 Mexico ***

    For these and other reasons, the Society decided that it would be wise to reorganize, with a view to giving greater emphasis to the educational nature of our work. Therefore, on June 10, 1943, application was made to the Secretariat of Foreign Affairs to register La Torre del Vigía as a civil society, and this was approved on June 15, 1943.

    With this rearrangement, singing at our meetings was discontinued, and the meeting places became known as Halls for Cultural Studies. No audible prayers were said at meetings, though nothing could prevent a person from saying an earnest prayer silently in his heart. Every appearance of a religious service was avoided, and truly our meetings are designed for education. When Witnesses in other lands began to call their local groups "congregations," the Witnesses in Mexico kept on using the term "companies." House-to-house visits by the Witnesses continued, and with even more zeal; but direct use of the Bible at doors was avoided. Instead, publishers learned the texts by heart so that they could quote them. They also made good use of the book "Make Sure of All Things," which is a compilation of Scripture quotations on many subjects. Only on return visits and on studies (which were termed "cultural" instead of "Bible") was the Bible itself used.

    In 1989, with the approval of the Governing Body, a letter was written to all the "companies" saying that as of April 1, we would be operating in Mexico as a religious organization. Afterward, in the June issue of Nuestro Ministerio del Reino (Our Kingdom Ministry), which was changed from being called Informador (Informant) de la Torre del Vigía, further details were given. From then on, the Bible would be used from door to door, and prayers would be offered at meetings. Later, we began to sing songs at the meetings.

  • serendipity
    serendipity

    I still attend an occasional meeting. When did they read from yearbooks at the meetings? I stopped reading the yearbooks long ago. Thanks.

  • blondie
    blondie

    Actually, it was in the WT too (I hope I didn't sound snotty; I never know how much contact people have had and how long ago).

    ***

    w90 1/1 p. 7 "Aglow With the Spirit" in Mexico ***

    A highlight of 1989 was a change in the status of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Mexico. As a result, the Bible could be used in the house-to-house preaching work for the first time, and meetings could be opened with prayer. This had an immediate effect. In two months, the number of publishers jumped by over 17,000.

    Blondie

  • greendawn
    greendawn

    That was an old post but a very useful one, good point that the WTS is more concerned for money rather than religion, it proves what many people believe that they are a commercial rather than a spiritual enterprise. At least the Mexican JWs escaped going to prison for defying the army service.

  • blondie
    blondie

    Perry's posts were excellent. I miss him.

  • flag
    flag

    well, I'm mexican and I'm a woman so I don't have first hand experience about the military card and I was kind of young when the malawi issue was at it's prime.

    But as i grew up i noticed that it was a "don't ask do't tell policy" on how you got away with military service.

    Later on they printed the publications right there in mexico so they created a publishing co. called "grupo ultramar de cv"

    cv means "variable capital" which is term used for companies that make profit.

    And I always was bothered by the fact that other religions were willing to have a sign outside of their properties saying "federal property" but be free to worship freely and WT did not want to do it just because then all their properties will become goverment assets.

    Right after they become legally a religion they started with the KH construction using the same tactic used over here (give me the money, build it for free, put it on wt name, keep paying rent)

  • Bangalore
    Bangalore

    Great info.

    Bangalore

  • Alfred
    Alfred

    I recently confirmed the "purchase" of military service cards by JWs in Mexico from talking to Nestor Kuilan (ex-CO and ex-missionary mentioned in Ray's book). The Governing Body basically looked the other way and simply made it a "conscience matter" while JWs in Malawi were being raped, slaughtered and tortured for refusing to buy a political party card. When word spread about this, it made many JWs uncomfortable in Mexico and Brooklyn Bethel, but the manipulation by Freddy Franz was so effective that nearly everyone dismissed it as theocratic warfare.

    And yes... The reason the GB looked the other away is because they didn't want to create any waves or draw attention from the government so they could continue to purchase and flip real estate as a non-religious entity throughout Mexico. It was always about money.

  • Bangalore
    Bangalore

    Thanks Alfred.

    Bangalore

  • Alfred
    Alfred

    you're welcome!

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