We live about 40 miles west of Napa and we felt the quake. At first we thought a large animal had jumped on the roof as the noise woke us up. Fortunately there was no damage.
My wife's family in San Francisco also felt the quake.
Athanasius
JoinedPosts by Athanasius
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15
Did anyone else feel the Nor Cal earthquake?
by LisaRose ini got woken up by a very strong quake at 3:30 this morning.
it was 6.0 centered about ten miles from my house, up in napa, ca.
we had no damage, but it definitely gets you it of bed!
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40
Who Really Profits from the WTBTS?
by Freedom77 inlike they say in the movies, "follow the money.
" the thought occurred to me the other day - the wt scam rakes in billions of dollars, and yeah some of that goes to operations and equipment.
but bethelites at farm and factory get only a bare little dorm room and a monthly pittance.
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Athanasius
It would be easy to follow the money if only someone could get hold of the Watchtower's financial records, especially their Accounts Payable ledger. It would be interesting to see what they are paying their suppliers for paper, ink, etc. It would also be revealing to see what they pay to outside maintenance contractors. If the Watchtower pays twice the going rate for their paper and ink to the Rich JW Paper Company for example, then you get an idea as to who is running the show and the profit.
Not sure if anyone has discussed this before, but the Watchtower could be an ideal setup for laundering money. For example the Watchtower receives a suitcase filled with $100,000 in cash. The Bethel bookkeeper records it as the take from the conventions. Then the bookkeeper is instructed to write a check for $90,000 to a company with ties to organized crime for nonexistant maintenance work. Now everyone is happy. The Watchtower made 10K for making a couple of journal entries and the criminals keep the Feds off their back and report 90K legit income for non-existant work. Not saying that this is happening, but the Watchtower higher ups are only human.
Hopefully a disgruntled Bethel accountant will come forward with the Watchower's financial records, then we won't have to speculate.
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How many have stopped attending at YOUR Kingdumb Hell?
by hamsterbait inon a recent thread about the fleecing of the sheeples, one poster said their congo was down to 85 publishers from 102.. the last hall i attended had 80-odd publishers 20 years ago, now only 30.. how much of a decline at your kh?.
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Athanasius
An Ex-JW friend of mine informed me that the Forrestville KH has been sold. I called their phone number a few minutes ago and it has been disconnected with no further information. Forrestville is in the Wine Country, about 70 miles north of San Francisco. The congregation started back in 1960. I left the JWs in 1984, but as an elder I gave several PTs at the Forrestville KH during the 1970s and 80s and the attendance was around 60.
Sonoma County in Northern California, where I live, is still growing in population, but the number of KHs listed in the phone book are about the same number as when I left.
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Brad Scott, Santa Rosa, CA, JW
by Athanasius inbrad scott, a local jw character, passed away the other day.
he was famous locally for his street witnessing.
since i left the jws in 1984, i'm not aware of his present status as a jw.
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Athanasius
Brad Scott, a local JW character, passed away the other day. He was famous locally for his street witnessing. Since I left the JWs in 1984, I'm not aware of his present status as a JW. According to the article in the local newspaper he seemed too independent to fit in with mainstream JWs. Anyway, here is the link to his obit.
http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20140418/articles/140419509
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Were you a minor when you were baptized
by Watchtower-Free in.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/xjwrg3/permalink/10152034643265835/?qa_ref=qd.
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Athanasius
I was only nine year old when I got dunked. That was back in 1955. Really didn't want to get baptized, but my JW mother insisted. But back in those days a number of young kids got dunked. One kid in our congregation was only six when he took the plunge.
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Why JW assemblies NEED to change
by kneehighmiah inthe assemblies would be get better results and get more people to come and be inspired if they were more encouraging.
instead the assemblies are a giant guilt trip.
don't go to college, don't get a good job, dont buy things even if you can afford them, don't play violent games, don't flirt.
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Athanasius
Being a history buff, Zeb, I know that you are referring to Edward Everett. In addition to being a U.S. Senator, he also served in Congress as a representative, served as Secretary of State, and was the Vice Presidential candidate for the Constatution Party in 1860.
But your point is well taken. In fact Wilfred Knox, an Anglican priest, once said that an effective sermon should be no longer than 15 minutes. If one goes over that time they lose their audience. And that was always the major problem with JW conventions. I remember the 8 day International conventions of the 1950s and 1960s. After sitting for a couple of days hearing boring talks, your mind went numb for the remaining 6 days and you prayed that the torture would end.
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Thirty Years a Watch Tower Slave
by Londo111 ini just finished reading this and enjoyed it.
however, if i was newly awakening or on the verge of awakening, i dont think this book would have helped me a great deal.
brother schnell has some good thoughts, however, he is short on detail and description, and even shorter on proof and documentation.. it is interesting reading about the transition of the bible students from a small group of independent noncomformists into an organization characterized by total conformity.
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Athanasius
I read 30 Years A Watchtower Slave back in 1973 when I was still a JW, and an elder. Though the book didn't cause me to leave the JWs at the time, for me it did answer the question as to why Hitler persecuted the JWs in Germany. I never bought the Watchtower's explanation for the persecution. But Schnell's book gave a more satisfying answer. Hitler viewed the JWs as a political threat to his regime, and Schnell's discription of the JW organization in Germany shows why Hitler felt justified in taking extreme action against this American cult.
However, Ray Franz's COC was a much better book. In fact it was reading COC that hastened my departure from the JWs.
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What are you reading right now??
by DATA-DOG ini am reading "stranger in a strange land" by robert a. heinlein.
i read it over 20 years ago.
now i am reading it from a completely different perspective.
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Athanasius
Currently reading FIDEL CASTRO by Robert E. Quirk. Quirk explodes some of the myths about Castro's early life. For example Fidel wasn't that great a baseball player to be even considered for a position on a major league team in the U.S.
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How many changes since you have been out?
by done4good inpixel's boe letter made me think of this.
i have been out since january 2006. here are the ones i can think of:.
1. deletion of cong.
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Athanasius
I left the JWs 30 years ago, so it may take me a few days to sort out all the changes since 1984. Also keep in mind that since Rutherford died in 1942 there have been a number of changes back to the "old light." For example the "superior authorities" being the earthly governments, which was Russell's belief.
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At what point did you destroy your Blood card?
by BU2B ini know for me it was soon after lurking here for awhile and reading some threads on the issue.
i remenber when i tore it into little tiny pieces.
it felt so liberating..
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Athanasius
I left the JWs in 1984 and forgot that I still carried the "no blood card" in my wallet. I think it was a couple of years later when I got a new wallet that I found that card. Fortunately I didn't have any medical emergencies during that time. Anyway I burned the card.