Posts by Juan Viejo2

7

The most widely read magazine in the world

by XPeterX in

check this out: http://communities.canada.com/vancouversun/blogs/thesearch/archive/2010/05/27/what-is-the-most-widely-read-magazine-in-world.aspx.

Juan Viejo2

"Every month, nearly 40 million copies of The Watchtower are printed in more than 180 languages and sent to 236 countries. There are no subscriptions and you won’t find it on newsstands, but it’s still hard to miss. Thanks to the efforts of Witnesses ... The Watchtower is the most widely distributed magazine in the world, with a circulation of more than 25 million. Last year, the world’s 7.3 million-strong Jehovah’s Witnesses spent 1.5 billion hours knocking on doors and “street Witnessing”

You are all absolutely right. I doubt if one out of twenty of the WT and Aw! magazines is actually ever opened and read. Several non-JW friends of mine have told me that they would accept the magazines at the door - just so they wouldn't hurt the poor JWs' feelings - and then immediately walk over to the kitchen and put them in with the coffee grounds. Others have told me that they will add them to their stack of other unread magazines like the Auto Club and Costco monthlies, and then toss them out unread before some friends drop by.

Think of the thousands of magazines that are left on tables at restaurants, laundromats, doctors waiting rooms, and bus stations that are simply picked up and tossed in the trash the next time a janitor passes through the area. One friend of mine who worked as a waitress at Denny's Restaurant told me that on a normal shift they may have 6-10 magazines left on the tables sitting under the tip money. Sometimes the magazines were the tip!

No, I think there are dozens of other news and feature magazines that have more readers than the WT and Aw! could ever hope to have.

116

2nd video on 1919 Watchtower's Wacky Chronology

by Awakened at Gilead in

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfrz4bepvye.

.

i had some time to put this together... let me know what you think... .

Juan Viejo2

"Jehovah thru jesus appointed a faithful slave class where a central governing body emerged. That? group that took the lead in managing the sheep in their care and was simply POINTING to these dates as markers in time so as to point out where prominent events would happen. There is no need for 1919 to have any Biblical mention or 1914. In fact Revelation mentions no dates and JWs use the dates for what they are MEANT to be used for mainly to point out some significant event. .. :)"

AaG, that was almost exactly word for word what one of my relatives told me a few years ago. There must have been a TMS training program on how to handle questions about dates and prophecies. It's amazing how some of the JWs seem to be able to parrot certain statements as if they had been brainwashed like Malcolm McDowell in "Clockwork Orange." I wonder if they will blink if you pass your hand across their face when they say something like this.

It seems that they don't understand that they have been taught to lie, not only to others, but also to themselves. How does one turn off the inborn impulses that occur when someone tells an obvious lie?

I'd love to see the TV program on Fox, "Lie to Me," have an episode where a couple of JWs come to Tim Roth's home and try to pull this bullcrap on him. Might make for interesting viewing for once...

13

If I become a JW will I have to go door to door?

by Darth plaugeis in

of course not.

no one forces you to do that, it's totally your decision.. lol remember that!

!.

Juan Viejo2

At my advanced age, if I were to go back in I'd go for broke, knowing what I know now:

I'd turn in 20-35 hours a month, whether I actually did those number of hours or not.

I'd actually go door to door once in a while and try to have adult conversations with people interested in being JWs, but I'd let them talk themselves out of it after I told them what it was really like being a JW.

At the Kingdom Hall, I'd be very humble in a very haughty and superior manner.

I'd volunteer for any leadership or service position to get myself nominated as a elder as soon as possible.

With what I know now, I'm sure that I could fake being a "more dedicated JW" - certainly deserving of an overseer position.

I can give a decent speech when I have to - even on an impromptu basis. I'm sure that I could handle any assigned public talks.

After a couple of years, I'd partake of the emblems, so everyone would think that I was "anointed." This would most certainly put me in position for a position of some authority within a couple of years.

At times I would be exceptionally loving and understanding - and friendly to the elders and their wives. But I'd tend to be stern with the younger and newer members of the congregation.

If you know how to play the game - you can fool almost anyone. After all, that's what 90% of the elders and overseers are doing now. Who knows, at my age and being one of the "anointed" - I might even get appointed to the GB sometime before I die.

4

I just paged through the "keep on the watch" mag. at girlfriends.

by outlander in

jw
friends

i was hanging out at my girlfriends when some witnesses came to the door and offered her the " keep on the watch" magazine.

i had never seen it before and have to say it is one of the most refined pieces of scare tactics iv'e ever seen in my life.

it's like a piece of artwork on deception and hidden meanings.

Juan Viejo2

Scan it and share it with the rest of us.

4

I just paged through the "keep on the watch" mag. at girlfriends.

by outlander in

jw
friends

i was hanging out at my girlfriends when some witnesses came to the door and offered her the " keep on the watch" magazine.

i had never seen it before and have to say it is one of the most refined pieces of scare tactics iv'e ever seen in my life.

it's like a piece of artwork on deception and hidden meanings.

Juan Viejo2

Scan it and share it with the rest of us.

13

Looking for scans of

by jamiebowers in

jw
friends

the picture of a train falling off a cliff at 1975.... and.

isn't there a photo of russell's tombstone in one of the early publications?

if so, what book was it, and does anyone have scan of it?.

Juan Viejo2

From Awake! magazine October 8, 1968

116

2nd video on 1919 Watchtower's Wacky Chronology

by Awakened at Gilead in

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfrz4bepvye.

.

i had some time to put this together... let me know what you think... .

Juan Viejo2

Excellent work - as usual AaG! I always enjoy watching your vids because they are calm, collected, researched and well-reasoned. You are definitely an asset to those of us who look to insiders and former ranking JWs to clear up some of the issues looking from the inside out.

Keep them coming!

73

Cure/Treat Cancer with Apricot seeds

by EndofMysteries in

she refused chemo and started the seeds.

if you want his phone number send us e-mail.. steve j. was going to the bathroom 4-5 times per night.

he was diagnosed with prostate cancer after a biopsy and is doing fine and will continue to do so.

Juan Viejo2

EOM,

I'm trying to make a point about all three issues.

Yes, my friend was an idiot for getting into that MLM at a time when she was very tight on money. She even knew that former MLM scammers were behind it, but she did it anyway because their marketing made it look feasible.

Yes, Acai berries may have some health benefits, but so do orange, tomato, grape, and cranberry juices. So does red wine, but at least some red wines might be worth $39 a bottle, where the MLM goofy drink surely does not. But acai berries are not the cure-all that their backers claim them to be.

I love apricots, and nectarines, and peaches, and plums. They all have wonderful taste and I'm sure they are ultimately good for health reasons. But eat enough apricot or peach pits and you can suffer the symptoms of cyanide poisoning - and I would certainly caution anyone reading your post to consider that issue. How much cyanide is too little or too much for a person? How much of any poison can you take and still not injure your body or kill yourself?

You may not be pushing an MLM, but I sincerely feel that you need to do a lot more research about this before promoting it to others. Next time you go into see your doctor, tell your doctor that you are eating apricot pits every day as a cancer cure. I'd love to be a flea on the wall so that I could hear your doctor's response.

73

Cure/Treat Cancer with Apricot seeds

by EndofMysteries in

she refused chemo and started the seeds.

if you want his phone number send us e-mail.. steve j. was going to the bathroom 4-5 times per night.

he was diagnosed with prostate cancer after a biopsy and is doing fine and will continue to do so.

Juan Viejo2

I had a very good friend get involved with acai berry juice MLM. She invested $7500 and lost most of it. The backers were the same ones who did Amway and Herbalife. Same deal. Get a lot of people under you to sell the stuff at $39 a bottle (you can get the same thing at Costco for $17). I think it is still going on - very slick advertising, weak product line - just like Amway and the others. No one but the top 100 or so ever make a dime on this bunkum.

I recently read a short article that stated that the amount acai berries that are harvested each season would only supply enough juice for about 15% of the bottles of acai juice being sold. Huh?

I wish I could find another article that stated that one unnamed brand of high dollar acai drink was actually being made with a combination of red grape and cranberry juices, not acai. Now that makes sense.

The ads for acai make all sorts of claims for healthy living and cure of various ailments. Yet most of the same ads also have extensive disclaimers written in tiny, unreadable typeface. Any time I see that, I know it's a scam.

EOM, I'm sorry, but what you have is total bunkum and a waste of good forum space. Use your common sense for once. Go on Google and read the OTHER articles about the pit cure. Go to snopes.com and check out everything you read on the Internet before passing it around.

75

I'm curious...

by JediMaster in

did anyone here claim to be of the anointed and partook of the emblems at memorial when you were still a witness???

if so, was there really a force telling you, you were special and would go to heaven?

or was it more so overjoy at how spritual you though you were?

Juan Viejo2

Not me, but when I was a teenager I had a family friend who claimed to be of the Anointed. One day we were out in service and I got up the nerve to ask him how he knew he was anointed or "special."

He told me that several years before, after he moved to a new Kingdom Hall, he realized that he was surrounded by a bunch of brothers and sisters who seemed "to lack the big picture." They went through the motions of going to meetings, out in service, etc., but there was no joy in their lives - they acted like they really hated being a JW. He said that most were going through the motions similar to government employees - hating the job, hating their co-workers, hating the public that they had to preach to - but afraid to quit for fear of having to find a real job. They lacked understanding of the fine points of being a JW, showing love for the brothers, talking about the Bible, discussing teachings and prophecy. One "Company Servant" that he went in service with made it clear that he only went because of his assigned position - he knew that he would never have a leadership position in the world - so he continued with the JWs only because he didn't want to give up that authority.

At some point, he realized that he was only one of a few that seemed to really love being a Witness, loved to talk about the Truth, loved to be in service. He was sitting at a Memorial, watching as the wine and matzo was being passed around. He noticed that most of the very few who partook were the ones that seemed to be honestly humble and loving - that lived for Witness work. He went home and prayed over what he had seen and asked God to help him understand where he fit into His Plan. One day while he was out in field service, he felt dizzy and pulled his car over to the side of the road. He was afraid he might be having a seizure or a stroke (he was in his early 50s). He grabbed the top of the steering wheel and put his head down between his arms and just rested. When he looked up, the sky was dark - like a storm was brewing. He put his head back down and rested some more, apparently dozing off for a short time. When he awoke the sky was clear, bright blue, and the weather was beautiful, there was no sign of a storm anywhere around him. It was like he fell asleep one day and woke up the next - but when he looked at his watch, less than 20 minutes had passed since he pulled over to the curb.

After that he noticed a change in his whole attitude. He didn't care about living in the New Earth any longer. All he could imagine was that he was in Heaven looking down on the Earth from thousands of miles away - but he could see individuals and hear voices - but he wasn't there. He found that he was less critical of the other brothers and sisters. Rather than being judgmental, he sought them out and felt like he needed to try to help them.

The next time the Memorial came around there was no question in his mind about partaking. He told me that is was as natural as breathing - that the wine tasted sweet and mellow (not at all like most Mogen David wines I've ever had to endure), and the cracker melted in his mouth like butter.

Later on, he walked over to one of the other brothers who had partaken of the emblems. He shook his hand and looked right into the other fellow's eyes. He was startled when the other fellow asked him, "Well, did you enjoy the emblems?" It was like the other fellow knew that he was "one of them." He said he never doubted for a moment his heavenly reward after that.

All he would say after that was that he hoped he could remain faithful, because "having a prize like that awaiting you makes you a target - like someone wearing a big diamond ring and and having to walk through a ghetto at night."

I don't know if what he told me was all BS, but at the time he seemed very credible. Later on, after the big changeover of the Governing Body in the 1970s I heard that someone who was really one of the "anointed" would never tell a non-anointed person how "the anointed know they are anointed."

Maybe someone like Kool-aid Drinker can comment on this issue.