Posts by OneEyedJoe

23

Minor Update to circuit accounting scam

by Justnowout in

many outside are now aware of the scam.... the brother announces a "deficit" at the assemblies.

what they dont announce is that the so called expenses include a predetermined donation to the branch.

meaning, the assembly hall is paid for so the basic expenses should be utilities, maybe some speaker expenses and a 52nd share of property taxes and the like.... however the "deficit" always seems to run into the thousands with "expenses incured" totaling 7-10k.

OneEyedJoe

But a big maintenance project, like a new roof, new HVAC, etc., guess what? A letter reading "Dear Brothers in Circuit 5, you have a grand privilege to show your support for kingdom interests by contributing for the replacement of our assembly hall roof..."

That's one thing that bothered me (and led to my immediate ceasation of all donations). I knew for a long time that they inflated the price of the assembly (of course I didn't know the full extent of the deception) in order to cover the expected renovations and replacement of various things (I think the biggest is the HVAC needs to be fully refurbished/replaced every 10 years and is supposedly super expensive, but now that I think about it, that's probably just another facet of the deception). Then one year they decided to ask us all for money for "needed renovations" which turned out to be well over 100k of computers/cameras/projectors/TVs, etc. All of it was TOTALLY UNNECCESSARY. I didn't get any more spiritual "truths" because I could see the speakers head on a giant projector screen 1984 style. I said to myself "I guess they must have so much money they don't know what to do with it" and decided they didn't need my money anymore.

What irritates me, though, is that I was always generous....at the stated $8.50/pub figure, my wife and I are covered for the rest of our lives from what I donated in the years since we've been married. I wish there was some way to get that money back, not so that I could spend it, but just so that the GB wouldn't have it anymore.

83

Blown away-- where to go from here

by All for show in

jw
friends

i stumbled upon this website a few weeks ago due to the jw.org ridiculousness, since then i haven't been able to pull myself away.

the thoughts, feelings, and concerns i have had the past few years aren't just mine.

it's global.

OneEyedJoe

Thanks to everyone responding! Yes I am very overwhelmed with it all. I have been on jw facts.com and it is incredibly overwhelming. I don't know where to begin or end.

Take your time, and go one topic at a time. Pick things that interest you and read through first. Since you've mentioned that education is important to you, the section about "Misquotes, deception and lies" might interest you - the section on the misquotes in the creation book was what finally shattered any illusion that it could be "God's earthly organization" for me. What they put in that book ranges from intellectual dishonesty to outright lies.

Research is important. It's not unheard of for people who are having doubts to start having 'doubts about their doubts.' Depending on how indoctrinated you were (doesn't sound like you were so bad off) you may begin to doubt yourself or think that maybe you just want to leave out of selfish motivations. That's when all the research that you'll do now will pay off - you can fall back on what you learn to assure yourself that you're not wrong to leave behind the lies of this man-made religion. Posting your feelings here can also help, as you've seen there are thousands here who are going through exactly the same things you are. Your posts are also very likely to be helpful to many more looking for support that are too afraid to post for themselves or for those who stumble upon them in the future.

23

Minor Update to circuit accounting scam

by Justnowout in

many outside are now aware of the scam.... the brother announces a "deficit" at the assemblies.

what they dont announce is that the so called expenses include a predetermined donation to the branch.

meaning, the assembly hall is paid for so the basic expenses should be utilities, maybe some speaker expenses and a 52nd share of property taxes and the like.... however the "deficit" always seems to run into the thousands with "expenses incured" totaling 7-10k.

OneEyedJoe

the minor update...? Previously the US branch office was asking a little over 4$ per attendie, in US dollar. I recently found out the new expected contribution: a little over 7$ per attendie. A huge increase. It puts in perspective the reduction of assemblies from two days to one. Its yet another money grab! They cut in half the number of days a circuit or group of congregations uses the hall but double the expected contribution. Thus, the hall is used more and donated for more. Sons of b****s

At my recent assembly they got a different guy than usual to do the accounts report, and he clearly had no idea what he was doing. Normally (if they mention it at all) they mention the per-publisher amount as if it was derrived by taking expenses and dividing by the number of publishers. This guy came out and literally said, "due to some changes in the formula that the branch uses to determine the per-publisher cost, the cost is now $8.50 per publisher for this assembly. This means that our expenses will come to $9xxx...." (normally it's like 6-7K for 2 days, now it's 9K for 1?)

I hope that lead many in attendance to realize that their donations don't actually go to covering the cost, but are more like paying for a movie ticket, where the price for them stays the same no matter how many people are in attendence. Once they cross some threshold, it's all profit.

1

DA LETTER

by Brainfloss in

(xxxxxxx) congregation of jehovah's witnesses.

this is to inform you that (xxxxxx) body of elders are no longer brainfloss' elders.. .

brainfloss.

OneEyedJoe

lol. I like it. Don't DA, DF everyone currently in the org!

83

Blown away-- where to go from here

by All for show in

jw
friends

i stumbled upon this website a few weeks ago due to the jw.org ridiculousness, since then i haven't been able to pull myself away.

the thoughts, feelings, and concerns i have had the past few years aren't just mine.

it's global.

OneEyedJoe

If you haven't stumbled upon it already, jwfacts.com is another great place to go to research the organization. If you're like me, you'll be amazed at how deep the flaws are. I saw a few flaws here and there (like you, I took issue with the stance on education especially, among a few others) but after reading through jwfacts it amazed me at how deep the flaws went.

It's always good to hear of another person waking up out of this cult. I hope your husband comes to his senses quickly, as that will make the transition much easier for you than it has been so far for me.

Good luck on your journey!

21

More WTS cash-grabbing: "Funds on Deposit" program for Circuits

by sir82 in

jw
friends

at a recent circuit assembly "business meeting" for elders, a new program was announced: "funds on deposit".. here's how it works:.

each circuit determines a "floor" and a "ceiling" for an amount to hold in their circuit checking account.

when the "ceiling" amount is exceeded, the amount above the threshold is wired to the wts and held by them.. if the circuit checking account drops below the "floor" amount, the circuit can send a request to the wts to request that some of their "funds on deposit" be returned to them so that their checking account resumes a "safe" level.. as explained by the elder explaining the program,, "in other words, the branch is acting exactly like a bank - the circuit will make deposits and withdrawals as needed.

OneEyedJoe

I wonder if the circuit will actually ever get their "funds on deposit" back when they need it. More than likely, they'll just have a "caring for the needs of the circuit" part on the next assembly to beg for more money.

16

Could they become a real cult?

by HowTheBibleWasCreated in

i study religions.

i never call new world religons cults.

until they become like heavsn gate etc.. the jw religions is setting itself u for this.

OneEyedJoe

The JWs are responsible for more deaths than heaven's gate, due to the blood ban, and past organ transplant bans, vaccine bans, etc.

Just because there's no cult coumpound and the suicides (by refusal of medical treatment) don't all happen at once doesn't make them less of a dangerous cult. The JWs may not be isolated by the physical walls of a cult compound, but they're still isolated from the world they live in. The suicides may have a passing resemblance to a legitimate religious objection to certain medical treatments, but upon further inspection they are nothing more than ritual suicide forced on cult members by the leaders.

11

I am curious from a comment made, were there any protests and any conventions this year?

by nonjwspouse in

i don't recall reaading on here about any.. i just wondered if any actually happened?.

.

oops i misspelled "at" in the title.

OneEyedJoe

Sunny - that seems like a great idea.

I wonder what might work best - obviously a big sign would be most noticable, but it would probably trigger the cultist defenses and just shut down the brain. A small sign that's big enough that they will be able to make it out that only says "jwfacts.com" on it might actually work better. Sorta like what they tell you when you're working on volume and pausing on the school - sometimes speaking softly makes a point more memorable since people will have to really pay attention to hear it.

Of course you've got time and you can try out different approaches. I say go for it.

1

Confirmation on delegates for international conventions

by joe134cd in

i have 2 unrelated question.. (1) i heard through the grape vine that delegates traveling to special conventions are only required to book a certain number of nights in a society approved hotel.

this differes from my experience where i was required to book the whole package (e.g flights/accomodation etc).

i was told the reason for this change in arrangement was due to people complaining about the high costs involved with the society arranging everything.

OneEyedJoe

As for the first one, they just read a letter the other day saying that international delegates can book the travel themselves (I think there might've been something about the approved hotels in there, but I don't remember really clearly) but they have to stay 3 days prior to the convention and 3 days after (so a 9 day trip total).

Maybe they were getting called on the travel arrangements scam too often so they went for something a little more subtle - free rooms or commission at the "approved lodgings"

28

Circuit Assembly Summary

by piztjw in

i thought to give a more comprehensive summary, however this pretty well sums up the entire wasted day.. stand and sing.. prayer thanking the gb.. only jw's will survive "the end".. do more.

preach more.

indoctrinate your children more.

OneEyedJoe

Bumping this for the poor souls like me that have their assembly this weekend.

Fun fact from our assembly - a whopping total of 3 baptized. A record low for my circuit (narrowly lower than the previous record - 5 baptized this spring). Combining with the baptisms from the other assembly and convention this year, we're on track for growth at 1.4-1.6% for the year.

God is speeding up the work to be sure!