Posts by Balaamsass2

33

Are the halls of the Kingdom filling up, are they the same as before the pandemic or are they emptying?

by LaFrancia in

i open a new topic, to find out how it's going in your area.

from what i see as a southern european in my constituency the situation is patchy.. the congregation where i am now has 30% old people on zoom but also young couples with almost all their cameras off.

no increase but a slight decrease in the total number of publishers.. circuit assemblies: before covid you couldn't find a free seat if you arrived 10 minutes before the start.

Balaamsass2

No idea about local physical attendance (I enjoy sleeping in on Sundays now too much to check parking lots. lol)

I have POMO and PIMO friends that tell me their US West Coast KH attendance seems down by about 30% for most meetings.

Interestingly one single POMO friend finds 90% of seemingly PIMI single JW sisters he meets on JW online dating sites have ZERO issues dating him even though he is upfront telling

them he is POMO and thinks the governing Body is full of s#!#t !!! lol.

He has been outspoken with elders about his new "woke" views,...and so far, almost a dozen elders have agreed with him. Not one JC meeting so far!

Could the big change be more PIMO JWs who stick around for fellowship and a tribe? Fewer "true believers" ? Will JWs become more like rank-and-file Catholics..or the Elks Club or Moose Club? lol. :)

34

How do you find reddit

by joe134cd in

just curious but how do the people off this forum find reddit.

for myself i find reddit to be sadly lacking in the jw world.

i just don't find the depth there e.g one sentence replies, trying to be funny.

Balaamsass2

Interesting old thread. I was just talking to 3rd gen about Reddit today.

One of us was looking at the ex-jw threads and used a personal email and today I received gobs of spam emails from the site.

One thing to consider about the moderation on Reddit....is that the new wife of a Reddit founder...is a newly reactivated JW.

It would seem a simple matter to access email addresses for Watchtower.

Food for thought......

The Wife?

Alexis Kerry Ohanian is an American internet entrepreneur and investor. He is best known as the co-founder and former executive chairman of the social media site Reddit along with Steve Huffman and Aaron Swartz. Wikipedia

Born: 1983 (age 41 years), Brooklyn, New York, NY

Spouse: Serena Williams (m. 2017)

266

Where is Tony?

by Athanasius in

jw
friends

on february 22, 2023, anthony morris iii was officially removed from the governing body of jehovah's witnesses.

a few months later it was revealed that the watchtower bought him a house in lumberton, north carolina.. however, and correct me if i am wrong, since leaving the gb nobody has reported seeing tony attending jw meetings or participating in field service.

in fact nobody has reported seeing him anywhere, not even at a local liquor store.

Balaamsass2

The fact that his beloved Caddy is parked out front tells me he flew offshore or out of the region to stay/sponge.

12

Request--The Rutherford Kite!

by Atlantis in

jw
friends

ha grandpa:.

was there such a thing as a rutherford kite back in the old days?

atlantis reply.

Balaamsass2

Great promo product. Imagine a huge triangle/pyramid flag printed with "Religion is a snare and a racket!" flying over a JW convention parking lot.

12

Request--The Rutherford Kite!

by Atlantis in

jw
friends

ha grandpa:.

was there such a thing as a rutherford kite back in the old days?

atlantis reply.

Balaamsass2

Thanks, Blondie. Love that ebay listing!

266

Where is Tony?

by Athanasius in

jw
friends

on february 22, 2023, anthony morris iii was officially removed from the governing body of jehovah's witnesses.

a few months later it was revealed that the watchtower bought him a house in lumberton, north carolina.. however, and correct me if i am wrong, since leaving the gb nobody has reported seeing tony attending jw meetings or participating in field service.

in fact nobody has reported seeing him anywhere, not even at a local liquor store.

Balaamsass2

If he is sponging off a JW family ( or his kids) he could "attend" meetings on Zoom under his hosts' ID and no one would know.

Same with groceries and booze, his hosts do the shopping or they get delivered.

My bet he is relaxing poolside or in the shade, with a drink in his hand.

15

Do Jehovah's Witnesses have to buy any of the organization's literature before distribution?

by Vanderhoven7 in

was this ever a requirement?.

Balaamsass2

When I was in Bethel in the mid-late 70s the governing body was aware that the IRS was looking at them and the "income" from literature. I remember discussions with Ray and Cynthia Franz about this. How did they know?

Remember this was before personal computers and all government agencies had armies of secretaries who took dictation and TPYED all investigative reports. Well, it just so happened a few JWs worked in those secretarial pools...and word was passed on to Bethel stat.

The Swaggart case and dates are below.

https://law.justia.com/cases/california/court-of-appeal/3d/204/1269.html

8

Jehovah’s Witnesses fail to get state recognition in Lithuania

by AndersonsInfo in

https://www.lrt.lt/en/news-in-english/19/2290924/jehovah-s-witnesses-fail-to-get-state-recognition-in-lithuania#:~:text=lithuanian%20lawmakers%20on%20thursday%20denied,in%20favour%2c%20and%20three%20abstained.

jehovah’s witnesses fail to get state recognition in lithuania.

news2024.06.06 13:46. lithuanian lawmakers on thursday denied state recognition to the lithuanian jehovah’s witnesses religious community.. in total, 88 mps voted against granting jehovah’s witnesses state recognition, two were in favour, and three abstained.. according to the seimas, this community does not comply with the lithuanian constitution and its requirement that religious teachings and rituals be in accordance with the law and integrity.. the resolution says that the religious teaching of jehovah’s witnesses prohibiting blood transfusions is incompatible with the constitutional right to life of a human being and the right to state-guaranteed medical aid.. it also says that the community’s teaching prohibiting participation in the defence of the state with weapons or contribution to the defence of the state by non-military means encourages non-compliance with the constitution and its requirements to defend the state against a foreign armed attack.. read more: https://www.lrt.lt/en/news-in-english/19/2290924/jehovah-s-witnesses-fail-to-get-state-recognition-in-lithuania#:~:text=lithuanian%20lawmakers%20on%20thursday%20denied,in%20favour%2c%20and%20three%20abstained.

Balaamsass2

Thanks for the post Barb.

No doubt Watchtower will appeal. I think the public perception of JWs has been changing with the easy availability of information on the net. Years ago co-workers seemed to think JWs were some minor religious group of pleasant door knockers who dressed better than Amish. "Amish with make-up". With all the various news stories and criminal convictions, JWs are frequently referred to as a doomsday "Cult" now, with a walled headquarters in upstate NY.

It will be interesting to see what happens next.

13

Former Lancaster, PA Elder convicted of child sexual abuse of multiple victims .......

by WingCommander in

jw
friends

another creepy pervert elder convicted of multiple counts of child sexual abuse in pennsylvania.

this guy moved from puerto rico to lancaster, pa in the 1990's, worked his way up thru to being an elder, and then used his position to babysit families with children and abuse them.

he then denied everything, but when some victims went to the police, he fled back to pr, where us marshall's eventually caught up to him and arrested him.

Balaamsass2

Thanks for the update Wing Commander. It is all over the first pages of Google search today. Many more to come.

https://local21news.com/news/local/former-jehovahs-witness-church-elder-found-guilty-of-abusing-three-kids-lancaster-city-county-crime-pennsylvania-attorney-general-pa

15

Criminal trial begins for Lancaster, Penn., Jehovah's Witness Elder accused of molesting three girls.

by Balaamsass2 in

it appears the perp got the victims disfellowshiped!

the state attorney general has re-opened the botched case.. "the trial for a jehovah’s witness elder accused of molesting three girls in 1999 began in a lancaster county court monday with lawyers giving opening statements to the jury.. norman aviles-garriga, 45, was charged by the pennsylvania attorney general with two counts of aggravated indecent assault and 16 related offenses in connection with assaults alleged by three women who say the abuse happened when they were girls.. aviles-garriga is one of five pennsylvania jehovah's witnesses charged by a statewide grand jury with using their positions within their churches to sexually abuse children.

the attorney general’s office brought charges against the men in october 2022 and february 2023.. .

Balaamsass2

Well, that was a quick trial. All over Google search for news the last few days. Glad to see it is ranking high and "Making Jehovah's name known". I hope more of these defendants plead out and roll on the Governing Body.

https://local21news.com/news/local/former-jehovahs-witness-church-elder-found-guilty-of-abusing-three-kids-lancaster-city-county-crime-pennsylvania-attorney-general-pa