How the Watchtower Could Grow In Numbers (page 2)

JWdaughter

The WT Corp is in complete control. They could take action to deliberately alienate 99.999% of JWs and make it easy for them to leave without rancor, then restructure so that their ministry is located in Hawaii and requires a large compound and little contact with outsiders, then they could take all the leftover faithful-who are without any free will and or conscience to set up their own little paradise earth. No more JWs, no more fake ministry. Who needs to wait on Jehovah? They can afford to buy paradise.

stan livedeath

jw daughter

you could be on to something there.

have the guys behind the guys supposedly running the show realised they are running out of time? so--liquidate everything and cut the majority of dubs adrift.

DesirousOfChange

Outlaw's post is humorous, but a scare is exactly what it takes to increase WT attendance/recruitment.

Another terrorist attack here in the US and the JWs would be pointing to The End and inactive JWs and other family members would signing up again. Most of it would be temporary, as it was on 09/11, but it would give them a boost in numbers.

Did the terrorist events in Europe affect meeting attendance there????? Anyone??? Just curious.

Doc

slimboyfat

Many of the changes you suggest would make JWs a better religion in my view. But they certainly wouldn't help them to grow. Strict religions grow faster, not ones that soften their requirements.

And it's true that many older JWs are realising Armageddon will not come before they die. But this is a realisation that aging JWs have always had to cope with as death approaches, whether that be in the 1950s or the 2010s. What's different now is that the GB is not offering any consistent reasons for thinking that the end will come soon. But this is not a necessary development for JWs. They could come up with new reasons and carry on as before. If they did, that would be their best chance at growing in the future.

aboveusonlysky

It's fair to say that some things have improved over the last couple of decades, like witnesses being allowed blood fractions, but it's evident the gb want to keep as tight a grip as ever on their followers with things like loyalty to the org and shunning being taught (indoctrinated) with more regularly than ever before.

jwfacts

shift from not dying to the glorious hope of the resurrection, the gateway to paradise.

I have made this point before. However, if they admit they will die, then rotting in a grave for who-knows-how-long is not a great hope, so they need to make paradise heavenly. When you die, you are raised to heaven in the blink of an eye. Basically, they need to teach what every other Christian religion teaches.

WTWizard

The whole thing could be imploded with this coming Israel mission. You have a problem--it requires money to go there. Money that "needs" to be donated to the Worldwide Damnation Fund. Thus, anyone that is saving for Israel could be put out for not supporting the Worldwide Damnation Fund. "Brazen conduct" could be the pretext.

On the other hand, those sacrificing the Israel mission to donate to the Worldwide Damnation Fund could be made out as disobedient because they are commanded to do that stupid mission. This, too, could be deemed as brazen conduct. If anyone is able to afford both, they should have cut way back on their jobs so they could no longer afford it, again under "brazen conduct". The washtowel study in October 2013 would be the basis for the mandatory donations and cutbacks on work, while they could issue a directive to mandate everyone do Israel. And those going into debt to do both could be put out under "Do not be owing anyone anything", right in the damnation book itself.

At which point, you would simply no longer have an organization. No Israel mission, no Worldwide Damnation Fund donations, no members--they would have an easier time counting how many jokehovian witlesses are left--zero.

How the Watchtower Could Grow In Numbers