Posts by Balaamsass2

47

Does becoming (or remaining) one of Jehovah's Witnesses result in Poverty? Pew Research results differ from Watchtower claims.

by Balaamsass2 in

"raised in the truth" during the 50s, 60s,and 70s i repeatedly read and heard from the platform how reading the magazines weekly "was the equivalent of a college education" and how many had turned their family economic situation around by being "trustworthy" and giving up expensive bad habits most "worldly people" had.

sounded good.. what is the reality?

how does avoiding higher education, and then spending up to 20 hours a week getting ready for, commuting, and then participating in meetings and field service affect family finances?.

Balaamsass2

Around the first of every new year, I check the FACEBOOK pages of JWS, whom I have known for many years.

This year I looked at many over 65 former regular Pioneers with FB accounts. The depression and poor living conditions stood out. Cross-referencing addresses shown online on sources like "White Pages" and other search engines, very few owned homes or even rented apartments in decent neighborhoods. A sad way to spend the twilight of life.

Another thing struck me...the extreme poverty lifestyle must have affected their children. Not one "extreme JW" I knew, had JW children or grandchildren who stuck with Watchtower. Most of their children and grandchildren had photos prominently displaying Christmas trees, birthdays, and 4th of July celebrations. Perhaps they did not want to emulate the grinding poverty and sacrifice of their JW parents.

Sad

109

Why disfellowship must be eliminated for the survival of the WT itself

by TheScientist in

this topic i digress about why the watchtower relaxing the rules of disfellowship is essential for its survival.

many things i'm going to say are not my ideas, some are, the point is, i'm condensing everything in a logical and concise way.. the first thing we have to keep in mind is that the wt's main objective in instituting disfellowship has always been not to lose members because of the damage that a dissident could do, or to avoid gaining new members because of the bad reputation of a confessed sinner in the his/her region.

in the end, the more active members, the more money to the coffers.. in this case of disfellowship due to apostasy, to avoid any spark, texts were sought out of context that even prohibited saying "hi".

Balaamsass2

Time will tell.

As far as the math...there is no real-world math. Watchtower uses numbers as a "theocratic strategy". As a past Cong Secretary, Watchtower did not count as "members" those who didn't report ONE full hour, and "low hour" publishers (under 6) got shepherding calls and didn't get "privileges" or Service meeting parts. However, every irregular or recently "inactive" publisher I knew would have considered themselves a full-fledged JW if polled in a census or interviewed by PEW. The "new light" simply makes it easier for Watchtower to show less shrinkage.

After the 1975 debacle, Knorr's death, Fred Franz's blindness, the Ray Franz debacle at Bethel, and the Time Magazine story, Ted Jaracz became a huge influence on the GB. He instituted APOSTATE WITCHHUNTS and pushed the "sin" label and two Witness rule for child molesters. He also pushed for less/no "unofficial" JW gatherings, less humor at meetings, and no Cong picnics! To me, it was like the Spanish Inquisition.

No one calls the elders when they have a FIRE they dial 911 or the Fire Department. Watchtower should simply tell elders to treat all crimes the same. STAY OUT OF ALL CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS and the $$ liability attached to them. Unless a JW is preaching "apostasy"... Publicly...just stay out of it. Stop the inquisitions. Save Disfellowshipping for serious stuff that threatens members or brings public dishonor to the church, LIKE RAPE, and domestic violence...(which they currently hide).

9

The GB again claiming earthquakes prove it's the last days

by joey jojo in

from jw org; 2023 - a year of anxiety:.

“since the beginning of 2023, there have now been 13 earthquakes above magnitude 7 worldwide, one of the highest values since records began.”.

www.earthquakes.bgs.ac.uk cites 3 reasons it may seem that earthquakes are increasing in intensity and number.. 1. more population growth = more people affected.. 2. clustered statistics.

Balaamsass2

22

Join JW's or DIE - soon!!!

by BoogerMan in

w72 10/1 p. 607 - "they (jw's) know that soon now all who are not true worshipers of jehovah (jw's) will be destroyed.".

how quickly half a century passes by!

2 peter 3:8 - "...one day is with jehovah jw.borg as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day.

Balaamsass2

22

Join JW's or DIE - soon!!!

by BoogerMan in

w72 10/1 p. 607 - "they (jw's) know that soon now all who are not true worshipers of jehovah (jw's) will be destroyed.".

how quickly half a century passes by!

2 peter 3:8 - "...one day is with jehovah jw.borg as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day.

Balaamsass2

297

BETHELITES - Whatever Became of?

by Black Man in

jw
friends

i often times wonder what happened to certain bethelites that i ran around with during my 1990s tenure there.

while there are still a few left there, the greater majority of them aren't there for various reasons (marriage, disillusionment, left the borg, etc).

a couple of cats i wonder about - there was one brother who i believe was from kansas, who got his fingers cut off in a printing press.

Balaamsass2

:) lol. Lots of ex-Bethel people on here. They got to look behind the curtain to see the great OZ.

37

My grandmother called my mother

by Anony Mous in

so, i’m just posting this as a warning to lurking jws.

if you’re still on the fence, here is a story.. my grandmother, now in her 80s hasn’t talked to anyone in the family for over 20 years ever since my mother was the last one of her children that left ‘the truth’, she had sent my mother a card to never talk to her again.

so here we are 21 years later, she gets a call out of the blue that she needed help, she hadn’t been able to get into her kitchen.

Balaamsass2

"Matt. 7:15 15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. 16 You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? 17 Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. "

These words played over and over in my mind before we faded as I saw this money-grubbing selfish behavior over and over in local Kingdom Halls, my immediate and extended JW family. Watchtower and the governing body encourage selfish self-centered behavior among followers. Watchtower itself has many programs to strip-mine all assets from aged seniors, leaving them destitute and on public assistance. If the JW family fights them, they face disfellowshiping for "suing a brother". Despicable behavior from the top down.

38

The elders came calling. 😹

by MissDaSilva in

jw
friends

this afternoon just after lunch.

i spotted 2 of the nicer elders in the congregation walking up the drive.

i didn’t answer the door.

Balaamsass2

The C.O. and 2 Elders came banging on our door multiple times the first 2 years we went "inactve" or woke.We simply did what the public did to us for years...not answer...the door and screened our calls. Worked well.

38

The elders came calling. 😹

by MissDaSilva in

jw
friends

this afternoon just after lunch.

i spotted 2 of the nicer elders in the congregation walking up the drive.

i didn’t answer the door.

Balaamsass2

If an Elder drops by with another elder... it might be a judicial investigation.

If an Elder stops by with his wife or just a publisher in service or in work clothes to actually help you, it is out of love and concern.

"Unless you expect to win the lottery or inherit vast riches nothing good rings the front door...except for Girl Scout cookies." quote to me from two attorney friends. lol. :)

33

Further education

by ExBethelitenowPIMA in

i just saw on a video that there has been a change about further education.

here is a screenshot of a letter that went to all elders.

i am an elder but i don’t remember this one, perhaps it is only for some areas?.

Balaamsass2

Wow, this is a 180 from Watchtower guidelines. More flip-flops, and "theocratic strategy" ...lying. We never said that Bull S.