Posts by blondie

20

Reddit thread Warning young JWs that ‘Spiritual Goals’ are Not a Career!

by LongHairGal in

jw
friends

as somebody who worked full-time when i was in the witness religion, this topic naturally caught my eye.. many of the responses are heartfelt.

there are about 90 at this point.

from what i read so far.. many are people who woke up before they got old but even these are resentful over their life being derailed with wasted time pursuing spiritual goals and having to start over at a later age getting an education/job.. i imagine born-in young jws would be most susceptible to this.. in today’s world, a ‘career’ is something that earns you a living.. as many of the responses there will say: anybody who pursues ‘spiritual goals’ only will end up with wasted time in the end with no money and no retirement plan… i couldn’t agree more.. it would be a shame if this happens to yet more jws..

blondie

Mikejw, I was thinking of the recent trend of the WTS to layoff permanently many Bethelites with the WTS expecting their jw family or "old" congregation to pick up the slack financially and medically. What a surprise for them; none of this taking care of them at Bethel until they died (perhaps maybe GB). They don't qualify under US Social Security rules: How many years do you have to work to get Social Security in the US? "10 years The number of credits you need to receive retirement benefits depends on when you were born. If you were born in 1929 or later, you need 40 credits (10 years of work)." That's why Ray Franz had to work for 10 years after he left Bethel. Here is a quote from Russell about donations: Upon launching the Watch Tower Society in 1879, founder Russell claimed that if Jehovah was backing the organization there would never be need to beg, petition or take a collection for money.

Watchtower 1879 Aug p.20

"We have never considered it proper to solicit money for the Lord's cause, after the common custom . . . It is our judgment that money raised by the various begging devices in the name of our Lord is offensive, unacceptable to him, and does not bring his blessing either upon the givers or the work accomplished." Watchtower 1899 Aug 1 p.201

""We never take up a collection," explained Brother Russell." Watchtower 1915 Jul 15 pp.218-219.

https://www.jwfacts.com/watchtower/donations-money-solicitation.php

33

Few JW leader have children

by slimboyfat in

it’s been discussed before that few jw leaders, past and present, have had children.

this is in contrast with other groups, such as the mormons, whose leaders have had a lot of children.

i wonder if this has impacted jw growth.

blondie

NotFormer,** Russell had no heirs, so the attitude may well have started with him.** Remember that Russell was before 1914 (died in 1916) and the Bible Students were looking for the end to come in 1914 ("adjusted" that later). These people were expected to be taken to heaven in 1914, maybe leaving minor children behind (not supporting this idea). So having children was discouraged and probably for other reasons too. Bible Students weren't encouraged to have a formal study with their children after 1914, the WT wasn't even studied at a meeting for awhile after that too, the Studies in the Scriptures as used, and later Rutherford changed that to a book he wrote, the Harp of God. It wasn't until about 1941, the WTS published a booklet on how to study a book with prospective jws...kind of off topic. It was a very different time. I knew a jw couple, husband elder, who decided to have children during the no-children thinking and were looked down upon. Had 5 sons, linchpins in forming congregations all over the state, sort of like a dynasty. The WTS should be glad they had children!

14

So how do I get to "attend" a zoom meeting

by greenhornet in

jw
friends

do you have to be invited?

is there any way of listening in on the kh meeting?

it's been about 30 years since i have been to a kh and they would have a conference call of 4 people on the phone together because they were sick.

blondie

greenhornet, the WTS used to be rigid about the passwords, had to be approved first by the elders before they were given the password. In some cases changed every month, and jws were cautioned about sharing them on their own. During Covid maybe not so much. Probably have resumed the careful scrutiny.

33

Few JW leader have children

by slimboyfat in

it’s been discussed before that few jw leaders, past and present, have had children.

this is in contrast with other groups, such as the mormons, whose leaders have had a lot of children.

i wonder if this has impacted jw growth.

blondie

Rutherford son's name was Malcolm Cameron Rutherford. https://truthhistory.blogspot.com/2014/12/more-on-malcom-cameron-rutherford.html

21

Applying the facial hair change in New Order portrayals

by careful in

i have a hard time watching the org's vids and reading the publications.

however, that's not the case with others here.

hence this post.

blondie

January 2024

4

Trump installed new flagpoles at Whitehouse

by SydBarrett in

jw
friends

on wednesday he said they were “beautiful poles” and “the best poles anywhere.

.

in the world actually.” .

blondie

moomanchu, that's true, but then I was talking about Donald Trump who has hard time doing one at a time. "It's possible to do multiple things at the same time. At least for normal functioning people."

33

Few JW leader have children

by slimboyfat in

it’s been discussed before that few jw leaders, past and present, have had children.

this is in contrast with other groups, such as the mormons, whose leaders have had a lot of children.

i wonder if this has impacted jw growth.

blondie

I guess you don't get to choose your parents.

56

Predictions for the next decade?

by jehovaxx in

as it’s nearly the new year my prediction over the next decade or so will see the sense of urgency dwindle.

then some huge huge changes.

for example by 2034 in a decades time, they will have address the 1914 issue and will come out and say we can’t be dogmatic.

blondie

joe134cd, I can't believe that the WTS would lie to its members.

107

WAR begins.

by lastmanstanding in

things are moving right along.

“israel” has gone to war with iran.. who is fooled?.

this is uncle sam, same as in ukraine.. daniel layed out clearly the events of “d day” june 6, 1944 as the “ships of kittim” would sail against the king of the north.

blondie

When 1975 came as a possible date for the "end," I remembered this scripture "On this account, you too prove yourselves ready, because the Son of man is coming at an hour that you do not think to be it." Got me into a little trouble when I reminded jws of it (Matthew 24:44). So I am amazed how people are still trying to fix a date.

129

Overlapping Generation

by pandorasbox1914 in

the september 2015 broadcast had david splane explain matthew 24:34 “truly, i say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place”.

his explanation of this scripture was by means of a chart to indicate an overlapping generation.. .

no scripture was used to show the overlapping generation concept, and as a result it makes no sense.. to illustrate how crazy this concept is, look at the lyrics of the song my generation.. my generation.

blondie

Well, a lot of jws bought into 1975...why not overlapping generations.