sorry to have to repost this but i screwed up the original thread so bad i can't even get in to 'edit'.
here is the current list of former (some present) elders.
for over a year i lurked as an elder on h2o and this board.
Add me to the list. I resigned in late 1998. The last straw was a newly appointed CO. I was feed up with the lack of love and concern for the congregation.
I have yet to read Ray's book. If you go back and read the old Russell and Rutherford books you will find enough to see the real "truth" about the truth.
did in 1918- 1919.. let me put this bluntly: they're lying about their history.. the watchtower and its bible students weren't expecting - or looking for - christ's.
presence in 1914 - 1919. why?.
because they believed and taught that christ's second presence began in 1874!.
This exact point is what really got me thinking on my own. Any one who has read any of the Studies in the Scriptures or the Harp of God realized what the teachings were in the 1918 / 1919 time frame. I used to laugh when they would have an experience at an assembly or in the magazines about some old timer learning the truth from these publications. They remember it was the truth, but their memory of what the books actually taught was kind of faulty.
At a Circuit Assembly a couple of years ago the CO said; "Can you imagine how the Brothers and Sisters felt when they realized that Jesus? rule started in 1914?" Like this was a great revelation. I thought to myself, yea just like the many Brothers and Sisters felt about the change in the understanding of the time frame of the Generations in the mid 1990s. Which was, I guess we are not living as close to the end of this system as I was taught 30 years ago as a child.
went to meeting yesterday with wife , the talk was about the 120 year of moses & 1914 = 2034 as the end.
are they doing it again?
Most outlines allow the speaker to inject additional research. So this Elder used some points from the recent WT.
Back in the early 1970s it was common for speakers and WT conducters to stress 1975 even more then the outlines or WT.
If it is a District Assemble talk (which are not outlines) or another WT then maybe. Until then it is a local elder only.
i need some advice and don't know where to go.....
i was involved in a fender-bender about a month ago, and cannot get anywhere with either my insurance company nor the other driver's.
i was dropping my husband off at his job, a very busy and very large teaching hospital in the city.
First talking to the agent does not work. You need to be talking to an adjuster in Claims. I found this on the Internet.
Nationwide Policyholders please contact our toll free Claims Report Number at 1-877-422-6800.
If you have comprehensive insurance you can make a claim against your insurance company and you can be certain that they will get the other insurance company to pay for the damage.
I am certain the above will work, if not these are other areas you can look into.
Call Radisson Customer Service @ (888) 201-1718 and be a real pain. Or call the actual hotel and ask to speak to the General Manager.
If you have the Police Officer?s Card, call him.
As a last resort write a letter to the Better Business Burea and copy the General Manager of the Hotel on the letter. He will be contacting you to resolve the issue.
if the average congregation has about 83 publishers in the us, then the organization may be sinking into a crisis.. take that 83 and consider that half the congregations may have less.. take away '15 minute publishers' who don't attend.
take away completely fake publishers who rarely attend.
take away increasingly tired publishers who 'feel sick', are depressed, or just want to stay at home and watch tv.. .
"If it's all about big business, then what difference does it make. If it's all about land and aquisitions, then the people mean zero, anyway.......Right????"
You forget that it take contributions, distributors and construction workers. If people do not attend, then they are less likely to write the big checks, spend time in service or let the Regional Building Committee control their lives.
if you are an elder, there's lots of ways you can make life easier for yourself.
while still keeping your position.
old timers know these tricks but usually are too.
I just could not fake it as an Elder. I always went by the saying LEAD, FOLLOW OR GET OUT OF THE WAY. One day I just decided getting out of the way was a pretty good idea!
if the average congregation has about 83 publishers in the us, then the organization may be sinking into a crisis.. take that 83 and consider that half the congregations may have less.. take away '15 minute publishers' who don't attend.
take away completely fake publishers who rarely attend.
take away increasingly tired publishers who 'feel sick', are depressed, or just want to stay at home and watch tv.. .
My area has so many people moving in that this is not really an issue. Add that to the growth of Spanish Congregations and most Kingdom Halls have anywhere from 3 to 5 congregations meeting at the Halls. So consolidation could occur without selling the buildings.
I think it would interesting to see the make up of the publishers in the US today. In the early 1960s in my area about 75% of the publishers were white Anglo Saxons. Today it is about 30% Anglo Saxons, 40% African Americans and 30% Spanish.
there must be hundreds of thousands of current jw's who haven't planned for retirement.
i know that i was "in" the troof til my mid-forties and always believed what's the point?
didn't they tell us that advanced degrees were useless?
This issue has become a big topic in the press in the US. Based on Economic Forecasts most all of the Baby Boomers in the US are not financially prepared to retire. So many people when they change jobs cash out their 401Ks and spend the money. The average credit card debt in the US is over $8,000 US Dollars. I read a few weeks ago that the average 55-year-old head of household has a Net Worth of around $150,000 and that includes the value of the homes.
It is not going to be a pretty picture in 2012 in the US when the first wave of Baby Boomers hope to retire at the full Social Security age of 66. Those retiring early can start collecting at 62.
So it is not just a JW issue.
just heard a very interesting discussion on the rush limbaugh show today - first time i think i've ever heard rush become speechless from a caller.
anyways, the discussion was regarding whether or not the generation of today (30 somethings & younger) have it better or worse then generations past.
economically, socially, etc., are we better off now then other generations?
In the US even a poor child born today can hope to have a higher standard of living then the wealthy had even 200 years ago. They can expect to live longer, be better educated and have a higher standard of living then their Great Grand Parents had any chance of obtaining.
Does that mean everyone is better off. No! The difference between those who are successful and those who are not is getting larger with each generation. But, it is possible for someone from the lowest economic class in the US to obtain a rather high standard of living. It is also very possible for someone born to affluent parents to find life not as rewarding as their parents.
Yes, I know it takes (in most cases) both parents to work outside the home. But, I am certain that both of my Grandmothers worked a great deal harder and longer to keep food on the table. They kept the chickens, planted the garden and canned the food.
How many of us would really want to work in a 1950's automotive factory? How many want to be a Blue Collar worker? Granted we also do not want to be a greeter at WalMart either!
reading the governing body letter really cracked me up.
they express fear about the devil "assimilating" jws.. watchtower lurkers!
resistance is futile.
See this link.
