donuthole

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Posts by donuthole

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  29

  CANDACE CONTI & THE NEW CONTRIBUTION DEMAND

  by The Searcher in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  when the org lost the candace conti case, the court ordered (pending the appeal) that the org would have to deposit several million$ as security.

  the puzzling thing is, the org got a bond company to put up the millions, thereby incurring heavy interest charges.

  i've always wondered, 'why?????????'.

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  donuthole

  I'm speculating another tie to the Candace Conti outcome and the new tithe arrangement. I believe that the watchtower is going to use local congregation corporations and shell corporations to hold financial assets in the forms of Kingdom Halls and other real estate. It would shield the money from lawsuits, while serving as a surreptitious investment.

  I'm still examing it, but how I see the scam working is that the Watchtower donates money to local congregation corporations to build Kingdom Halls. At any point where the Watchtower wants to cash out they can simply dissolve the congregation, have the local congregation corporation sell the property and then donate the money back to the Watchtower. If the local congregation balks at this, the Watchtower can, as in Menlo Park, simply delete the uncooperative elders and replace them with loyalists willing to follow the Watchtower's instruction.

  I suspect that the withering printing company is ready to double-down on real estate investments in a big way.
  
  Things to watch for:

  1.) Expansion of the Society's Real Estate Department

  2.) An increase in Kingdom Hall builds.

  3.) Kingdom Halls being built in areas that project good investment opportunities as opposed to African jungles where the locals are stacked on top of each other in a pole barn.
  
  3.) Purchases of real estate in major cities to expand the JW.ORG branded stores worldwide.
  
  4.) The construction of super-sized assembly halls to take the place of rented arenas for reigional conventions.
  
  5.) Modifications to Kingdom Hall designs to make them more attractive to buyers. (Windows were a good start!)
  
  6.) Continuing to shift away from printed publications with a focus toward JW.ORG and digital publications.
  
  Well, that's my best Kreskin. Let's see how it goes.
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  42

  Did anyone in the congregation discourage you from going to college?

  by Trapped in JW land in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i remember being out on service with an elder when i was 17. he asked me what i plan on doing after high school.

  i told him i was thinking of going to college to be a teacher.

  he then asked me, "do you think this system is going to be around that long"?

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  donuthole

  My parents wouldn't allow it. My dad suggested that I wouldn't even be allowed to pass the mics if I went to University.
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  4

  Putting the Pieces Together - A Religion Becomes a Printing Company Becomes a Real Estate Tycoon

  by donuthole in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  the watchtower has a problem.

  they have a huge influx of profit off the sale of their brooklyn properties.

  there are hints that some of it may be taxable.

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  donuthole

  Things to look for:
  
  Increase in Kingdom Hall Builds and Renovations. After the new donation arrangement goes into affect look for a followup boasting from the Watchtower about how many Kingdom Halls are being built thanks to the new arrangement.
  
  Other Real Estate Purchases

  Look for different kinds of development that we haven't seen before -- things like a retirement village for CO's or retail space in high traffic cities. There is potential that larger assembly halls will be constructed and rented buildings will cease to be used.
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  27

  New NWT - what's the REAL reason?

  by wallsofjericho in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  one thing i have learned over the years is there is a clear, distinct purpose to everything the wts does.

  everything is done to accomplish a defined purpose.. did they really print millions of new bibles just to be more accurate?

  after decades of toughting how much better the nwt was than any other bible?.

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  donuthole

  My prevailing theory is that the current GB are a bunch of meglomaniacs that want to become more than footnotes in Watchtower history. What better way than to rollout a revamp of the religion's biggest achievement?
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  4

  Putting the Pieces Together - A Religion Becomes a Printing Company Becomes a Real Estate Tycoon

  by donuthole in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  the watchtower has a problem.

  they have a huge influx of profit off the sale of their brooklyn properties.

  there are hints that some of it may be taxable.

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  donuthole

  The Watchtower has a problem. They have a huge influx of profit off the sale of their Brooklyn properties. There are hints that some of it may be taxable. What to do with the money? Donate it to shell corporations!

  Let's call one of them the Paradiseville Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses, Inc. The Watchtower recently expanded real estate department has determined that Paradiseville is an expanding market near an emerging tech sector. Analysis is that property values could double in a short time.

  The Watchtower, through their Regional Building Committee gestapo, determines that Paradiseville needs a new Kingdom Hall. And they've got just the location for it.

  The old outdated hall built in 1995 is sold with the money going to the Watchtower (along with anything left in their bank accounts). Luckily, they recently renovated and put in windows which conviently helped it to sell better.

  The new Kingdom Hall are built by JW contractors who bill above market rate for materials and services rendered by volunteer labor. The JW contractors then kick-back the Watchtower the difference.

  Back to brothers and sisters in Paradiseville who have a gorgeous new Kingdom Hall. It is top-of-line and uses one of those fancy new Kingdom Hall plans. Along with the key is a hefty "voluntary" donation to be paid each month until the end of time (which is just around the corner, dontchaknow.)

  We jump into the future and the Paradiseville Congregation has fallen into hard times. The cost of living in the area has raised and though there are more windows, its hard for the window washers to make rent. Some families have moved out and those that are left are struggling to pay the monthly "voluntary" donation -- in fact they have fallen behind a couple of months.

  The Watchtower determines that Paradiseville Congregation is no longer growing and financially viable. The congregation corporation is dissolved and their assets go to the Watchtower. The Kingdom Hall is sold with the money going back to the Watchtower, part of a pool of cash that gets washed through thousands of franchise corporations, makes a nice profit, and comes back home.

  Meanwhile the friends from Paradiseville now have to drive an hour away to attend a Kingdom Hall in Kingdomville. With the increase in gas costs they are really hurting.

  Kingdomville is now getting a little cramped, especially on Sundays, but not to worry, the Watchtower is making plans to build them a new double-sized Kingdom Hall in the nice part of town ...
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  51

  Is This Current Governing Body As Bad As Previous Ones!

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  or are they all the same?

  ?.

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  donuthole

  This Governing Body has more cult leader tendencies. They have an inflated sense of self-importance, are attention seekers, are elevating themselves above all others, and demanding to be obeyed without any criticism or hesitation.

  Past Governing Bodies were content to pull strings from the background. This Governing Body can't help but to plaster their faces on everything.
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  45

  Seven Headed Wild Beast officially no longer represents UN?

  by donuthole in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  according to a new "bible questions answered": " the wild beast with seven heads introduced at revelation 13:1 represents the worldwide political system.".

  i know that they have quietly been backing away from the un identification for awhile.

  is this feature on jw.org a new official teaching, or just a spin for the sake of the public?.

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  donuthole

  According to a new "Bible Questions Answered": " The wild beast with seven heads introduced at Revelation 13:1 represents the worldwide political system."
  
  I know that they have quietly been backing away from the UN identification for awhile. Is this feature on jw.org a new official teaching, or just a spin for the sake of the public?
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  4

  Paradise Earth: Day Zero eBook on sale for 99 cents

  by donuthole in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/b00aramt0m.

  my novel about jw's at the end of the world has been temporarily discounted by the publisher.

  if you have a kindle (or kindle reader on another device) you can get a copy for only 99 cents.

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  donuthole

  http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00ARAMT0M

  My novel about JW's at the end of the world has been temporarily discounted by the publisher. If you have a Kindle (or Kindle reader on another device) you can get a copy for only 99 cents. I think the sale ends today. It's currently #29 in Sci-Fi > Metaphysical.

  If you are interested in a print copy. I'm selling them direct for only $8 this week.

  https://squareup.com/market/anthony-mathenia/paradise-earth-day-zero-author-signed

  Thanks for reading and reviewing! :-)
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  105

  New Article on BEARDS and Attire of Jehovah's Witnesses

  by jwfacts in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i have had requests to add an article about beards and jehovah's witnesses.

  it is interesting that there is virtually no statement that says a witness cannot have a beard, yet universally they do not have beards.

  i have scoured quotes from all the threads on jwn, all references to beard on the cd watchtower library, and copies of elders letters that i have.

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  donuthole

  The "Require" brochure had an extreme example. The Bible student has sideburns extending to the bottom of the ear, but as he progresses, his sideburns are cut above the ear.
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  178

  Honest survey question on effectiveness of 'apostacy'

  by Simon in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  it seems like lots of people have big dreams of 'destroying the watchtower'.

  it's usually linked to a story of how they were wronged and want some revenge.

  do these 'in your face' attempts to convince people that the truth isn't the truth really have an effect?.

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  donuthole

  My exit started with finding out on the Internet about the Watchtower's secret support of UN. Once I discovered this, I gave myself permission to look at "apostate" material on the web. Eventually I was disfellowshipped as an apostate myself.

  I agree that there is no silver bullet to de-converting a Jehovah's Witness. I shared the UN information with others and they merely shrugged their shoulders at something that had shattered the religion's illusion for me.