I think the numbers shown in the Yearbook and with other occasions that are used by the Gibberish Buddies to boast about the blessings from Jehovah are super fake and inflated, much of it even without their knowledge. I think they like to take advantage of all sorts of technicalities and loopholes to report numbers as great as possible, but it's not like JWs are super reliable sources of reporting.
For example I have not been in field circus for something like two years. I never talked about "the truth" with any non-JW, yet I've never been considered inactive. How is that possible, you might ask? Well, at first I reported fake time just to not upset my parents by being declared inactive. They knew I never went in service but still reported time but never said anything. Later, I expressed doubts about JWs, and now finally I got to the point where I told them I think the entire religion is bullshit after I barely managed to convince my mom to accept a blood transfusion to save her life.
They have their doubts too. My mother is disfellowshipped for accepting the transfusion but hopes to get back into the cult especially due to the social aspect. All their friends and family are JWs and even though both my parents have doubts about the cult, and my mother is disfellowshipped, they choose to stay in. Anyway, the funny thing is that I still never go to field service, never talk to anyone or give away magazines. I don't even talk to the elders. I never answer when they call and haven't been to the hall in half a year. Still, when elders call my father and even though I didn't ask him to, he reports time for me. And not just an hour, but something like 7-10 hours and numerous magazines. He does the same for himself, even though he doesn't go in field service either.
But I wonder just how many others do that too. I personally knew some. I mean, JWs like to brag about the billions of field service hours, but I wonder how much of that is fake reporting or hours spent wasting time. And they brag about publisher numbers and incredible growth, but how many of those are reporting time just not to be considered inactive or only spend a couple of hours in service for the sake of appearances? To me it seems like most of the bragging about blessings based on numbers is nonsense.
They brag about record Memorial attendance numbers, even though having all those people there doesn't achieve shit. Same with the billions of hours, most spent wasting time. Same with the millions of magazines that no one actually reads. And most of their growth in numbers comes from developing countries with large, poor, uneducated populations that are easily attracted to cults. If you look beneath the surface and start analyzing things in detail, I bet things are not so great for the cult as the GB tries to make it about to be.
For example I have not been in field circus for something like two years. I never talked about "the truth" with any non-JW, yet I've never been considered inactive. How is that possible, you might ask? Well, at first I reported fake time just to not upset my parents by being declared inactive. They knew I never went in service but still reported time but never said anything. Later, I expressed doubts about JWs, and now finally I got to the point where I told them I think the entire religion is bullshit after I barely managed to convince my mom to accept a blood transfusion to save her life.
They have their doubts too. My mother is disfellowshipped for accepting the transfusion but hopes to get back into the cult especially due to the social aspect. All their friends and family are JWs and even though both my parents have doubts about the cult, and my mother is disfellowshipped, they choose to stay in. Anyway, the funny thing is that I still never go to field service, never talk to anyone or give away magazines. I don't even talk to the elders. I never answer when they call and haven't been to the hall in half a year. Still, when elders call my father and even though I didn't ask him to, he reports time for me. And not just an hour, but something like 7-10 hours and numerous magazines. He does the same for himself, even though he doesn't go in field service either.
But I wonder just how many others do that too. I personally knew some. I mean, JWs like to brag about the billions of field service hours, but I wonder how much of that is fake reporting or hours spent wasting time. And they brag about publisher numbers and incredible growth, but how many of those are reporting time just not to be considered inactive or only spend a couple of hours in service for the sake of appearances? To me it seems like most of the bragging about blessings based on numbers is nonsense.
They brag about record Memorial attendance numbers, even though having all those people there doesn't achieve shit. Same with the billions of hours, most spent wasting time. Same with the millions of magazines that no one actually reads. And most of their growth in numbers comes from developing countries with large, poor, uneducated populations that are easily attracted to cults. If you look beneath the surface and start analyzing things in detail, I bet things are not so great for the cult as the GB tries to make it about to be.