sounds like the same old line to me also. I found it interesting as an ex-elder and account servant to examine the WTS accounting practices. Generally, they do charge so much a person to determine the expense of the assembly. And some the costs factored are the actual expenses of the assembly; but the majority of the costs factored in the per person cost are for future projects to be determined. I found the resolutions by the elders for additional monies to be forwarded to the WTS to be unconfortable; but the passing of monies by the elders to the traveling brothers was more so.
Circuit Assembly this past weekend
by Jourles 46 Replies latest jw friends
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TemeculaMole
I havent donated in 10 years... I do feel guilty though for taking books and junk for free but I manage to get over it.
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Pistoff
Jourles, I had my convention weekend last.
Our CO said this:
NEVER trust your instincts, whatever you do! He gave a lame illustration, his specialty, about being in a plane where the pilot told him to look for lights on the horizon, and when he saw one, he told the pilot, who poohpoohed it. A few minutes a 747 flew overhead. SO, the CO says, never trust your instincts. Problem was, HIS instinct was good, only the pilots wasn't.
Why go to an assembly to hone our conscience, our instincts, if we are then told to NOT trust our instincts? My instinct told me to go to the assembly, guess I won't do that again. This is the main reason I started to draw away, the constant mixed messages and discouragement from using my god given intellect and thinking ability.
OH and they made a reference to the paradise, where in god's earthly organization will have FULL CONTROL OF ALL EARTH'S AFFAIRS.
how is that for scary??
NO comment on the inactive roundup in our neck of the woods; maybe we are just all zealous up in here. Except for me.
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teejay
>>> I do feel guilty though for taking books and junk for free but I manage to get over it.
TemeculaMole? You oughta be ashamed. You need a study. Call the brothers and have them come over, why don't cha.
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Jourles,
Thanks for the update. I was wondering what the next Circuit Ass. would be about (riiiiight).
Along the lines of what 95stormfront's post: how in... the... HELL do you manage to sit through that crap? I went to a Wt study in the mid-90s and after about 10-15 minutes had to get up and go check the parking lot or else I thought I'd scream. Two whole days? A weekend of my life? You're a better man that I am, Gunga Din.
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Farkel
GaryBuss,
You've been out too long (so have I) to know that the WTS has come up with a whole bunch of NEW scams to get money. The "head count" tax is brilliant. "If you have a head (how many people DON'T have a head?) and you come to our regional book-promotion and selling production complete with Dramas, and buy our books to sell to others, you simply MUST a pay Watchtower Tax(tm) for this 'privilege'."
(My tongue is so far in my cheek, I think I'm choking!)
Absolutely brilliant WTS strategy! You gotta love those boys. They find so many ways to take people's money who believe in them as they find to murder people with their idiotic medical policies (past and present) and destroy and waste people's lives whilst picking their pockets and promising them nothing but dirty, filthy AIR: empty promises that never happen.
Ya gotta love a Religion who can get away with all that crap and still survive, Gary. If not for the black humor in all of it, then what for?. (I know about your sad history with that Cult, so please don't think I don't) I'm just making light of the absurdity of life. I mean a Cult can make about a BILLION dollars of year with window washers as it's main source of revenue?
God: you must be joking. Are you joking here, God?
Uh, God? Oh..........God! God? Nevermind, God.
Farkel
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onacruse
Lest we forget, there is the announcement in the 11/1/02 Watchtower article Supporters of True Worship (p. 29):
To assist individuals desiring to benefit the worldwide work of Jehovah's Witnesses through some form of charitable planning, a brochure has been prepared in English and Spanish entitled Charitable Planning to Benefit Kingdom Service Worldwide...It also contains additional useful information on estate, financial, and tax planing. It informs individuals of a variety of ways that gifts can be made either now or through a bequest at death. This brochure may be obtained by requesting a copy directly from the Charitable Planning Office.
After reading the brochure and conferring with the Charitable Planning Office, many have been able to assist Jehovah's Witnesses worldwide and, at the same time, maximize the tax benefits of doing so.
So much for "Jehovah sustains our work, we will never solicit donations."
roflmao
Craig
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hillary_step
I acted as head of Audit at Circuit and District level for many years.
In all fairness, when the announcement is made that there is a deficit it was normally true as of that moment. You will notice that that moment is normally in the middle of the afternoon on the final day. It is however this comment that ignites the serious contributions at the end of the sessions. Though I do know of Assemblies that did end up in real deficit, this was very rare. Assemblies make money. I am convinced that is why despite the impracticality and the worrying security issues of these large assemblies, WTS continues to arrange these gatherings.
Do the math. Last year the Summer assemblies were attended worldwide by millions of people. Imagine that each person deposited just $3.00 on average over the whole period of the Assembly, you are looking at least $20,000,000 turnover for the Summer Assemblies alone.
As one African Missionary once told me, "If the Assemblies begin to lose money they will be simplified away". He mentioned this in jest but I for one agree that this would without doubt happen, despite however many times the Jews stood and listened three thousand years ago.
The WTS in recent years has become far more a business and corporation than many JW’s would like to admit. Its all very well convincing the world that you need an ‘Organization’, it is quite another hiding from them that this Organization turns over many hundreds of millions of dollars each year while many of its adherents, who scrape together nickels and dimes for them, cannot afford proper medical treatment.
What does one expect from God’s only ‘channel of communication’, honesty?
HS
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onacruse
HS:
Though I do know of Assemblies that did end up in real deficit, this was very rare.
Yes. I too recall the whispered murmurs at the Audit desk, on those rare occasions when things came up short after the last contribution box had been collected and counted. I also remember Literature Servants pulling cash out of their own pockets to make up for shortages at the annual audit.
this Organization turns over many hundreds of millions of dollars each year while many of its adherents, who scrape together nickels and dimes for them, cannot afford proper medical treatment.
With an attitude like that, you obviously need to attend another assembly!
Craig
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greven
Wwe also always had an "deficit" announcement on Sunday. But also one at the next sunday meeting and the next weeks sunday meeting. So either there was a real deficit or they were sqeezing....
Greven
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avengers
This past weekend we had our circuit assembly
I just have one question!
What are you doing there? Andy.