They are nothing without their power over people's lives. I don't think money was ever the main motive, it's about power and prestige. They are not going anywhere, I think they would rather be demi-gods in the small pond of JW Dom than wealthy nobodies.
LisaRose
JoinedPosts by LisaRose
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18
I gotta ask,... Is the org gonna fade from itself and just take what money that is left and run?
by gda ini just can't shake this odd thought...
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C.O.'s Are Perfectly Safe...
by The Searcher in... until they have fulfilled their role in the org's master plan to sit down with the bodies of elders in the circuits and ascertain which congregations should be merged or consolidated.
this "culling" of k.h.
's will now have to be accelerated - considering the panic to rake in cash.. after the c.o.
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LisaRose
It's a hierarchy, they need someone to enforce the rules, I can't see them getting rid of circuit overseers right now. They especially need to keep an eye on the money and make sure the congregations are not holding back on donations. I think its possible they will cut down on how many they have though. Since the main point will be to protect the income stream they won't spend as much time with the congregations, just meet with the elders and make sure they are not withholding funds. It will become more of a bill collector/enforcer function, pay up or sleep with the fishes.
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truth
by Sabin ini`ve been thinking, a thread was put up about a month ago asking the question " why me?
basically why some of us find out ttatt while others are so blinded, good, sincere people that we love.
well after some consideration i have come to the conclusion that 1) some are in the truth 2) others want truth.
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LisaRose
Yes, I am an idealist. I believed in it, and due to mind control I wasn't inclined to question things, but when I realized it wasn't the truth I left. I could never have stayed in a religion I didn't believe in no matter what the consequences.
I suspect that a certain percentage of JWs are idealists like me, another percentage are hardcore believers, their faith is in the Watchtower, not God, they will stay no matter what. I think there is a third group who are social JWs, they are in for family reasons or convenience. They won't necessarily leave if they find out disturbing things about the Watchtower, but they will leave the minute it's not convenient or their family leaves.
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A call from family - Armageddon this month!
by kaik ini very seldom receive a call from my jw siblings, i mean seldom.
i can count them on my hand in past 10 years.
while we talk about mom a lot and i am in touch with her, i was very surprised when i received this call.
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LisaRose
That's hilarious. They are sending out more pioneers because they can't afford to pay for their living expenses at Bethel, it's really just a big layoff. If course if they can sell it to the rank and file as a strategic move die to the Armageddon being close, so much the better.
You should have made a wager with your siblings that Armageddon wasn't coming by October 31st. If it doesn't come, he owes you $200, if it does come, you leave him $200 in your will.
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No the WT Borg is not closing! That's Wild Dreaming!
by DwainBowman inno the wt borg is not closing!
that's wild dreaming!
they have been changing directions for a while now, and for whatever reasons, what is happening now is a part of that change!
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LisaRose
Oops. Steve, I hit the dislike button on your comment, I meant to hit like, I hate when that happens. You are right, most posters here do not believe the Watchtower is going away (we wish!). We are just interested to note the unusual changes going on in the organization, which are unprecedented, no one can deny that.
Let's face it, Rubber Lips Lett could be caught in bed with a ten year old, have it on the network news with video proof, and many Jehovah's Witnesses would believe it was all Apostate lies.
But they are not as all powerful as they appeared to be, that is clear.
Disclaimer: Lett does not molest children as far as I know.
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Meditation linked to increased age, health, and smarts?
by EndofMysteries ini recently read how advanced meditation increases the brains waves, higher frequency alpha waves which is linked to higher state of consciousness and intelligence.
now i saw this article, http://www.cnn.com/2014/07/10/health/can-meditation-really-slow-aging/index.html?hpt=hp_c3 that it also increases life and health, etc.
i haven't really read or researched meditation but i was wondering if anybody has got into it, into a 'non religious' aspect of it.
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LisaRose
Yes, that's pretty much true. That's notion that meditation is in any way associated with demons is completely baseless, yet it's one thing ex JWs are often still afraid of. As JWs we were often forced to bury or hide our true feelings, it was just not acceptable to voice discontent with any part of JW life, you feel guilty for even thinking about some things. Years of living like that is very detrimental to the psyche, it's kind of like being in an abusive relationship. Of course the ideal would be therapy or counseling, but not everyone has that available to them. Even if you do have access to therapy, meditation would be helpful to deal with difficult emotions and buried feelings.
It's a shame more people do not try it.
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Why don't you do anything?
by WireRider ini'm not jw, so i see this all standing up and very clear from an outsider perspective (i am still seeking my path).
i joined the blog a few weeks ago.
i dated a divorced jw (jw from birth) for a couple of years recently.
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LisaRose
It's a good idea in theory. One problem is that not every EX JW is active on these boards. This is the board that has the most action, but even though there are thousands of members, not that many are active at any given time. So I'm not sure we could get enough people to make an impact. Possibly Simon, who owns JWN, could generate an email to them, if he felt that was appropriate, and I doubt if he would. He takes privacy issues seriously, and many who come here need their anonymity.
The problem with many ex JWs is that a lot of them don't know the truth about the truth. They left for various reasons but still think it's the only true religion, they are still under cult mind control and are afraid of us so called apostates. I didn't look for JWN until eight years after I left, I still sort of believed the myth of the scary, bitter apostates.
Still, it's an idea worth exploring. I think there is a thread right now working on something like that. This may be a pivotal time for the Watchtower. They are obviously in some kind of financial trouble and are coming up with ridiculous explanations for their generation teaching. There must be a lot of people in the organization who are having doubts, it would be great to take advantage of that.
Another problem is there needs to be someone to spearhead that. There are some EX JW activists out there, and there was an an activist EX JW organization, whose name we must not mention, that tried to do something like that, but they made some major missteps and burned a lot of bridges in the ex JW community, some of the members were banned from here. So you would need a new group or individual to do this, I don't know of anyone who is in a position to take it on, or has the necessary expertise.
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where shall we go
by Sabin inyesterday i read something that hurt my heart.
at a talk given by a brother lyman swingle ( i apologize if i am stepping out of line by using this) he said "that if you leave the jw ( i find it difficult to refer to it as the truth now days) you may as well go jump off a bridge".
this i think is disgraceful talk to say to any body let alone an audience in which children are present.
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LisaRose
Ah, the classic "where shall we go?" Not only is it a misapplication of scripture it's a cult mind control technique. I remember many JWs saying that exact thing, I used to think it myself. Have doubts? We're you badly treated by the elders? Do you miss your family that have left? You could leave, but:
Cult Technique : Deception
The world is bad/scary dangerous and is getting worse every day. There is no hope for mankind.
Cult Tecnique: Fear and intimidation
You will turn into an evil apostate with no faith and no hope and you will die at Armageddon.
Cult Technique: exclusivism
You could join another church, but other religions are false and disgusting. Only we have the truth, there is no place to go but here.
Cult Tecnique: Relationship Control
If you leave you will loose all your family and all your friends.
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No the WT Borg is not closing! That's Wild Dreaming!
by DwainBowman inno the wt borg is not closing!
that's wild dreaming!
they have been changing directions for a while now, and for whatever reasons, what is happening now is a part of that change!
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LisaRose
I don't think they will ever close completely, but I think they are in trouble, their actions smack of desperation. If their money troubles and child abuse issues become widely known to the rank and file I think you will see more people leaving. I think you will see their numbers shrinking in the next few years.
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This weeks service meeting! More craziness.....
by stuckinarut2 inso this weeks service meeting is so full of "crazy".
a whole 15 min part devoted to trying to indoctrinate everyone on how to "explain our beliefs on 1914".
then another 15 min part called "a tool to help us explain our beliefs about 1914".
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LisaRose
They would be smart to drop the whole 1914 date and generation thing. If they just stopped talking about it most people would eventually forget it was ever a main part of their theology. They did that with 1975, and people quickly forgot they ever expected Armageddon to happen that year. I talked to a JW who was only told that some people believed that, she had no idea it was a main tenet of JW beliefs at that time. Their ridiculous explanations just bring attention to the fact that their previous predictions didn't come true.