What is the watchtower going to do when (page 4)

konceptual99

The WTS will outlive me even if I lived until 2080.

They may have less and less over time but there are plenty enough people and assets to keep them going a good, long while.

I don't even see the continued absence of Armageddon stopping them. They will find a way of explaining it away and human psychology will keep people bound to them.

The only hope is that more people will be brave enough to explore their doubts. There might be a critical mass of scandal around child abuse but even then the organisation has enough of a hold to keep people bound to them for years.

LongHairGal

CADELLIN:

I pretty much agree with your post except what you said about the elderly "not having much money". While it is true that certain elderly don't have much money, certain others are/were well off. The husbands earned their living and got a healthy retirement with investments from the days when the economy in the US was thriving. These are the ones in the congregations that gave out money like it was confetti.

But, when these people finally pass away it is all over. Younger struggling people in the congregations are not going to do this. Forget about the ones with serious issues.

PONTOON:

I am inclined to think the days of people leaving huge estates to the religion are over.

pontoon

LongHairGirl

No doubt what you say is true, but the corporation will take small estates, jewelry, small bank accounts, anything of value. They identify and target (older) witnesses and will encourage them to involve wat in their estate planning, even having circuit overseers involved in pressuring these older folks. I am personally aware of a case, Wat lawyers went after the children of a brother claiming what they had wasn't really theirs but actually belonged to the estate left to the corporation. Wat won, left the children with nothing. The Wat corporation has a whole department dedicated to this. The brother I used to know was often flying to different parts of the country for estate planning.

Remember the scripture about before building a tower count the cost or something like that? Watchtower does that. They are all about sucking up $$$$$$$$, and they have honed it into fine art form.

Island Man

They are running out of money. That's why they're scrambling with all the cost cutting measures recently. But I don't think they will ever really run out of money - not literally. What will happen is that they'll be forced to keep cutting costs until their expenses drop below their income.

This might mean that the organization as we know it today, will eventually cease to exist. It might wind up being just a skeleton of what it is today. Maybe just an office with a writing dept and an IT department and a few volunteers. All literature will be online. JWs worldwide will be encouraged to get touch devices to download and view Watchtower material. Elders will be made responsible to make printouts for publishers who cannot get access to a touch device. They may even institue mandatory tithing.

jwundubbed

> A few people have wondered if/when the Gov Body will run off with the money. They don't need to.

Um.... they do if they want to keep it out of the courts. Last few court hearings I have seen the judges fined them every day until they provided specific paperwork AND held them in contempt. They never provided the paperwork and the fees added up. Then add to that any losses where they are found in fault and have to hand over large chunks of money... it isn't just about all the in-house bookkeeping. There are external factors as well.

LV101

Well, now, this is certainly not too optimistic and I used to have hope it would sink -- gave that fantasy up and it is what it is.

Some justice system! It needs to protect the disadvantaged that are prey to these criminal religions. I don't think it matters what they're fined by the courts it doesn't mean they'll pay or be forced to. Attorneys will drag lawsuits out until the judicial system will go along with anything to get them resolved and out of the way. Just my opinion and, hopefully, I'm radically wrong -- I'm sure my husband wouldn't agree with me say on this - attorneys respect the system or the ones I'm around do. Let's hope there's justice for the victims.

Vidiot

Island Man - "They are running out of money."

Revenue flow, at least.

What is the watchtower going to do when