one of my co workers mother made my 4 year old a blanket with the disney character tinkerbell on it.
as soon as i got it i knew trouble lay ahead.
i wanted to reason with her before my daughter saw it so as not to cause a disruption, but it didn't work out that way.
BU2B,
Tell your wife that one of the GB members likes Disney and Disneyland and he took his kids there. He said so in a talk.
“There’s nothing wrong with Disney World or Disney Land. We took our sons there a couple of times.”
http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/watchtower/beliefs/271682/1/Morris-in-Italy#4936422
Here's the recording. The comment is made at about 15:50.
dear brothers:.
we are writing as a follow-up to the letters dated january 24, 2014, and march 29, 2014,. to all congregations regarding the adjustments now underway to accelerate construction of king-.
dom halls and assembly halls.. .
I, too, think there is something in what DwainBowman and jwstudy said.
The WTS ditched the sale of literature and went to the donation arrangement for tax reasons. Although the tax issue was a problem in the U.S., it had global ramifications and over time the same donation arrangement was introduced worldwide.
It wouldn't surprise me if some new rules came in or else some governmental/legal body has found out that the WTS has been acting as a lending institution without being officially recognized and regulated, and they have been told to either desist or apply through the proper channels to be a bona fide lending agent (which may be more trouble than it's worth to the WTS). As this new arrangement is being implemented in other places outside the U.S., and it looks like other countries have similar rules, this may well be the real reason for the WTS overhauling its financial business.
dear brothers:.
we are writing as a follow-up to the letters dated january 24, 2014, and march 29, 2014,. to all congregations regarding the adjustments now underway to accelerate construction of king-.
dom halls and assembly halls.. .
^ Great quote, jwleaks!
I don't think this one's been given yet:
*** w70 2/15 p. 100 Is Your Minister Interested in You or Your Money? ***
How do you feel in church when the collection plate is passed? How do you feel when a minister visits you to persuade you to contribute more? This is one of the things an editor of a South African magazine wanted to find out. He devoted a year to a painstaking inquiry on the subject “The Church, the People and the Gulf Between.” Summing up his findings the editor wrote:
“The Church seems to have developed a compulsive habit of appealing for funds-without-end-amen, whether they be for building churches or halls, for repairs, organs, bells, salaries, pensions, Lent, Easter, Christmas, etc. etc. . . . Now the Church seems to take pledges and appeals for granted, and sometimes as many as three are running at the same time. . . . This preoccupation with money has also made some people take a second look at the Church, and ask themselves whether they really want to participate after all.”—Femina, May 18, 1967, pp. 58, 61.
Is it not understandable why some are taking a second look at the churches? The Bible makes it clear that giving should not be done “under compulsion” but from a ‘readiness of mind according to what one has.’ (2 Cor. 9:7; 8:12) So while it is not wrong for a minister to inform his congregation of reasonable church needs, the methods used ought to be in harmony with Christian principles outlined in the Bible.
my husband is actually asking me questions about the governing body saying they are the mouthpiece of jehovah and the whole jesus invisible rulership in 1914 etc.
i am looking up stuff now to show him but if you have any proof, qotes, etc.
to help me wake up my husband please send to me now asap!.
HeyThere, how about approaching this differently? You shouldn't be scurrying around finding ways to disprove 607/1914 and the appointment of the Org; he should be scurrying around finding ways to prove it to you.
Yes, you do need to do your own research so he can't blindside you with impressive-sounding guff, and so that you can ask the right questions to show up the discrepancies in what he says, but get him to do all the work.
"So Jesus was installed as king in 1914 and ..." - "How do you know that?"
"When Jerusalem was destroyed in 607 BCE ... " - "All modern Bible scholars and historians say 587 or 586 so where do you get 607 from?"
"Then the 'slave' was appointed in 1919 and ... " - "How were they appointed? How did God make it known to them? What was the process?"
Etc.
Another thought (again inspired by poster Black Sheep): Don't jump around subjects. Stick to one question and, if he answers it to your satisfaction, move to the next one. If he tries to change the subject or says a lot of something that skirts around the issue rather than addressing it, bring him back to your unanswered question. It's been said that, if they keep wanting to move away from discussing your question, you're asking the right question so stick with it and tolerate no flim-flam.
for those interested in the fall and rise of jerusalem in 587bce tel aviv university are offering a short 6 week online course through coursera in october 2014.. i have done a couple of coursera courses, they are always of the highest quality put together by scholars of whatever the subject matter is about.
universities tend to offer these as tasters and short introductions into their specialities.. you can get the information on the following link the fall and rise of jerusalem | coursera.
emory university are also offering a course through coursera on the bible's prehistory, purpose, and political future starting may 26th the bible's prehistory, purpose, and political future | coursera.
Neil! 
There's some unfinished business between you and Jeffro on THIS THREAD . Just another reminder.
across that stage tommorrow dressed in graduate garb picking up a masters degree.. .
.
.
Congratulations!
Which field?
dear brothers:.
we are writing as a follow-up to the letters dated january 24, 2014, and march 29, 2014,. to all congregations regarding the adjustments now underway to accelerate construction of king-.
dom halls and assembly halls.. .
Even Jehovah's Holy Spirit is having trouble keeping up with the GB!
Perhaps adding some booster rockets to the celestial chariot will help it catch up.
dear brothers:.
we are writing as a follow-up to the letters dated january 24, 2014, and march 29, 2014,. to all congregations regarding the adjustments now underway to accelerate construction of king-.
dom halls and assembly halls.. .
If a survey is needed to determine the amount that can be contributed for local congrega-
tion expenses, this should be taken after reading the March 29 letter to the congregation during
the local needs part.
Is there no bit about each publisher in every cong. having to be surveyed?
http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/jw/friends/279682/2/Theyve-made-us-debt-FREE#5006930
leaving the university with my degree!.
exams are finished and it's just a matter of days before i walk.. i was certainly stressed about doing this.
i'm older than my classmates and armageddon was sooooo close!
so proclaimed the brother that read the wt letter tonight that explained the new kingdom hall funding arrangement.. everyone in the hall claps .... well, like it was the last talk on the district convention.. he says 'what bank would wipe out a debt of $200,000 ???
only jehovah's organization!
isn't this wonderful !!!".
Yes - AnnOMaly.
Any congregation who had (earlier in the week) agreed to a 'resolution' to send a lump sum every month is now "on hold". The new letter states that each publisher in the congregation will get a 'survey' slip to fill out.
Wow!
(Um, any chance of making this supplementary letter available to view?)
