freddo

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Posts by freddo

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  30

  The Seven Trumpets

  by Jehovah lol in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  is it still watchtower dogma that the seven trumpets of revelation refer to seven conventions in the 1920s?

  would many jws these days even be aware of this?

  i find it so amusing that seven little conventions in the distant past, almost a century ago, could be equated with such an iconic biblical passage.

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  freddo

  Remember getting (real) cut and paste bits to stick in your revelation book?

  Whyohwhyohwhyohwhyohwhyohwhyohwhyohwhyohwhyohwhyohwhyohwhyohwhyohwhyohwhyohwhyohwhy...

  DIDN'T I WAKE UP THEN? (FACEPALM)
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  7

  Searching for 1980's articles

  by Doug Mason in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  i have received the following request and as i am unable to help, i am turning to you.

  apparently they relate to the 1925 prediction.. thanks, doug.

  could you provide me with a photocopy of the following publications of the watchtower society?.

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  freddo

  They're both on the CD-Rom - don't know if that's good enough.
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  6

  Do those leaving a legacy leave it for their congregation or the World Wide Work?

  by truthseeker in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i'm trawling through the uk charity listings for congregations, and of those who added additional financial information, i am seeing a lot of congregations receive legacies.

  in the years 2015 and 2016, a lot of money left to the congregation was donated to the world wide work/ibsa.. i realize the letter from 2015 was read out asking congregations to donate excess reserves to the branch office but is this what the testator really wanted?.

  consider gloucster kingsholme congregation.

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  freddo

  Over the years as accounts servant and secretary I remember a few legacies left to the congregation. Nothing huge but in the two to ten thousand bracket.

  One for about £1500 was worded for the "benefit of the poor in the congregation" and it was up to the trustees (elders) to interpret.

  It sat "ringfenced" for about five years and I know we used a couple of hundred to pay for "sister gotmorekids" to get to a couple of conventions but eventually we decided that no one in the congregation was really poor (as we have benefits and NHS over here and everyone seemed to be able to afford food, heating, light and a TV!) and so it went on some sound equipment which we felt benefitted the poor along with the rest of the congo.!

  I have heard of larger legacies and elders arguing whether it should get sent to the WWW or not. It usually ended up in the GB's coffers one way or another.
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  33

  Whole families leaving the Org has increased

  by pomo6780 in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i have noticed in the uk a few families i used to know while in the borg have exited together.

  some include former elders and ministerial servants.

  i observed on social media pages that the kids have 'worldly' boyfriends and girlfriends and they look so much happier than they did in the org.

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  freddo

  I know of a young family in a nearby hall that I believe deliberately went inactive about five years ago.

  Her father was a P.O./COBE. His family had a COBE and Secretary as father and Uncle. He was an MS. They had small children and about five years ago one of the P.O.'s has a falling out with his body and comes off the body.

  The married daughter sided with her Dad.

  About a year later the ex PO dad, his wife, daughter, son-in-law and grandkids have "gone inactive." Successful fade - and I hear the kids were soon involved in school activities including Xmas etc.

  Yay!
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  21

  "Are you humble enough to admit you were wrong?"

  by stuckinarut2 in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  that is a question i want to calmly and politely ask a witness next time i interact with them.

  perhaps at a cart.. "the bible says we should be humble.

  may i ask, are you humble enough to admit you were wrong on things you believe?

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  freddo

  They are too FRIGHTENED to be humble enough to admit they could be wrong.
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  24

  The New JWdom - Vew of Older Publications? (and other related questions)

  by Magnum in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i feel that there aren’t many of that type anymore, but there have to be some – mostly old-timers.

  how do they study?.

  when i was active, i collected all the old publications i could find.

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  freddo

  So "I believe in overlapping" tells us (by my arithmetic) he was 15 when a 26 year old pioneer jw woman started having sex with him.

  If he were a she and she were a he we'd be crying "abuse".

  Funny old world eh?
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  12

  UK: Significant donations to World Wide Work 2015-2017

  by truthseeker in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i'm analyzing the 221 congregations in the uk that had additional account info.. correct me if i'm wrong, but was it 2015 when the letter was read out instructing congregations to donate excess funds to the world wide work?.

  the amounts donated to the world wide work are significant.

  i still have much work to do.. truthseeker.

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  freddo

  Good stuff truthseeker. Goes to show the disgraceful money-sucking being grabbed by HQ. All handed over by elders who don't think beyond marching to the GB tune.
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  8

  Heinrich Himmler and the Jehovah's Witnesses

  by OrphanCrow in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  this is a letter written in july 1944 by heinrich himmler, one of the most powerful men in nazi germany.. i have encountered quotes taken from this letter before but i have never read the letter in its entirety.

  this is a translated copy from a russian website:.

  http://www.k-istine.ru/sects/iegova_witness/iegova_witness_himmler-02.htm.

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  freddo

  Two things ...

  Bibelforscher is also what you will see next to the "purple triangle" symbol in Auschwitz and the like. It goes back to the pre-early 1930's Jehovah's Witness name declaration by Rutherford. "Bible Students" continued colloquially even among JW's rather longer in Europe than USA.

  Also the date of the letter, 21 July 1944. It seems strange that a rather mundane letter like this is being written by Himmler to Kaltenbrunner the day after the unsuccessful bomb plot against Hitler by Stauffenberg and co.

  These two men were at the forefront of rounding up the conspirators/backers of the plot and would have been right in the thick of the aftermath when this letter was purported to have been written.

  I suppose it could have been dictated/penned a day or two before it was sent but I would love to see the original.
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  11

  Apathy and of course Scandals!

  by KW13 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i remember as a young dub, being told by others and particularly from the platform that apathy was the number one enemy and in many ways i think that's true today.

  people are seeing a change from the 70's - 80's (the last time the end 'felt' close to many) and now the witnesses are in a rut.

  the society seem to have backed off from making bold claims and instead seem to be trying their best to retain the members they have as opposed to trying to gain attention of others as they did in the formative years of the religion when they wore sandwich boards - throw in the growing spotlight on child abuse issues and you've got yourself a religion that's trapped in a purgatory of sorts - the majority of long time members will stay in the religion and die in the religion but as time goes on i think are clearly losing interest and the 'fiery passion' that used to be so obvious before and outsiders just arent interested as there are better, more interesting things to do.

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  freddo

  Interesting observations KW13.

  On the subject of apathy I believe that in the "First World" countries it is the number one killer for JW's.

  Here in the UK we still have the ongoing UK Bethel move to Chelmsford distracting those in their late 20's through early 40's from falling attendances and hall closures; but underlying there are few "reaching out", few "coming in" and younger and younger teens are a significant proportion of those getting baptised.

  I predict another UK bethel round of lay-offs soon - when the printing presses stop in March 2018. Mind you they might send some of the little darlings to Chelmsford for a couple of years before finally saying good-bye to them. It's like they are digging their own graves!

  Now the great edifice of Warwick is completed how are things in the USA?
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  10

  "Divine name publishers"

  by zeb in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  we have just received a king james bible from the "divine name publishers".

  basically a very fine print kjv but with lots of jehovah all therough the ot and nought in the new.

  the explanation for this is vague and doesn't say definitely.. the format and rhetoric reeks of the wt but this not mentioned.

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  freddo

  Hi Zeb, I suppose knowing how you received it might help us ascertain its source?