Quarterback - Have it your way. Check back in a year and see what happens. My contact has made it very clear that we haven't seen anything yet and changes over the next 24-48 months will make the WT look very different than what we know now.
JV
Juan Viejo2
JoinedPosts by Juan Viejo2
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324
Is this new donation arrangement for real?
by nugget injust read a post on jwsurvey about the new donation arrangement.
congregations are to pledge a monthly amount to be sent to the society to fund the building of assembly halls and kingdom halls.
congregations who already have a loan from the society will no longer have to pay back the loan but the amount pledged should not be less than the current monthly repayments to the society.
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324
Is this new donation arrangement for real?
by nugget injust read a post on jwsurvey about the new donation arrangement.
congregations are to pledge a monthly amount to be sent to the society to fund the building of assembly halls and kingdom halls.
congregations who already have a loan from the society will no longer have to pay back the loan but the amount pledged should not be less than the current monthly repayments to the society.
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Juan Viejo2
More breaking news...
My very, very, very secret contact emailed me right after he saw Cedars' article on JWSurvey.org and the news post on JWReport.com about the new BOE letter. Here is what he wrote:
"Remember what I told you in our last contact? Let me repeat: ' Many of the changes will only apply to North America at first, but will likely be adapted for foreign branches in 2015 and 2016. I can assure you that there will be a lot of pissed off brothers who have dedicated their lives to serving the Watchtower. I say they'll get what they deserve for being so gullible.' and ' You know from your own experience that a lot of changes can be made right under the average JW nose and they will never take notice or give a damn. My contacts have implied that the real changes will start taking place after the next annual meeting. I would love to get tickets to that show on the 100th anniversary of 1914. This "centennial year" should be very interesting to watch and analyze.' "
"One of my contacts had mentioned that there would be major changes in how contributions would be collected. He wasn't sure exactly how it all would play out, but he told me that there would be (his exact words) 'a lot of pissed off brothers and elders. I wouldn't call it a "tithe" but a dog of any breed is still a dog. The first step will be declared monthly minimum amounts that each family head and single brother can contribute. At first they will be lenient, but if that minimum is not met at least 10 months out of 12, then the brother might be classified as 'spiritually weak' (unless there are mitigating circumstances). Sisters will not be held to account. Elders and MS could lose their appointments if they (1) don't commit enough, and -or (2) don't meet their commitments without some serious emergency."
"What is really going to upset local boards of elders is the fact that they will eventually lose all control of their own bank accounts. They will have to send copies of their bank statements to a special WT department set up for this - or add that department to the bank's report distribution list. Not only that, but they will have to share all account numbers and online passwords with WT HQ. That will allow the WT to go in around the elders and manipulate funds as they see fit. Someday an elder will go in to make a withdrawal and find out that only the bank's minimum is on deposit. Not sure when all of this will take place - and corp may back off it the local elders start making an issue of it, but it is definitely in the works."
"I would not want to be an elder right now. They are not only held to a higher standard in so many ways, now the financial hammer will be coming down on them. Not only that, but the Legal Department will likely let them swing in the wind for local pedophile issues, whether they report cases to the police or not. You might want to get the word out, especially to MSers and elders with large families and low incomes to get out now. The honor and power of being an elder won't be worth the pain and additional stress they will have to deal with."
My contact promised more. He said that he had not seen the recent BOE letter quoted by Cedars, but had heard that something along those lines would be coming out - but he figured that it would be held back until after the Memorial. In a way, it was, as the effective date does not begin until May.
I'm sure some of the active elders that visit JWN will have a lot to say about this. I look forward to their own personal feelings and experiences.
JV
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38
3 days ago Apostate walks into Watchtower headquarters gets a new Bible Leaves his business card
by Watchtower-Free inbo juel jensen from norway was visiting new york 3 days ago .
he is an apostate activist and a child abuse survivor .. this is the video.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odluwssd_qy.
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Juan Viejo2
Congratulations, Outlaw, on having your high-end audio equipment available to hear whatever you are hearing. Perhaps we are listening to different versions, but I'm not going to argue with you over this - it's not worth my time or yours. Besides, you have far more fans on JWN that I do. Congratulations. You've earned them.
In spite of your accusations, AAWA would not have intentionally placed an off-color comment on something we proudly show off to our audience and the public.
JV
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38
3 days ago Apostate walks into Watchtower headquarters gets a new Bible Leaves his business card
by Watchtower-Free inbo juel jensen from norway was visiting new york 3 days ago .
he is an apostate activist and a child abuse survivor .. this is the video.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odluwssd_qy.
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Juan Viejo2
And by the way - Ruben Ortiz was there and along for the ride and he wrote an article for AAWA.co about the experience. There are photos of many of those who participated in the trip and some additional information not mentioned in the video. I won't post a direct link, but if you think this must have been fun - it was. And the video is also there if you want to check it out for yourself.
JV
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38
3 days ago Apostate walks into Watchtower headquarters gets a new Bible Leaves his business card
by Watchtower-Free inbo juel jensen from norway was visiting new york 3 days ago .
he is an apostate activist and a child abuse survivor .. this is the video.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odluwssd_qy.
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Juan Viejo2
Guess I'm deaf in one ear and can't hear out of the other - or just dense. Probably both because I'm just a stupid old man. But it is a stretch to imagine that somehow AAWA is going to sneak subliminal messages into our videos - especially those that muddy our message. For what purpose, I wonder? We'd never considered that before, but maybe you've turned us on to something that we can use in the future.
Oh well, have fun with it and share with your friends. The point is not what may have been said or heard in passing, but what the point of the video really is. Bottom line is that it is fun, revealing, and (pardon the expression) "ballsy" for Bo Juel to just walk right in and ask for a new Bible and not try to hide who he is or the fact that he is on the board of advisors of AAWA.
He was just one of the folks from AAWA who were meeting in New England who had a great time. They met with some wonderful groups and individuals (some quite prominent and with good media connections) who are fighting cults with effective education and publicity programs.
And again, thank you for your support - such as it is.
JV
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38
3 days ago Apostate walks into Watchtower headquarters gets a new Bible Leaves his business card
by Watchtower-Free inbo juel jensen from norway was visiting new york 3 days ago .
he is an apostate activist and a child abuse survivor .. this is the video.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odluwssd_qy.
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Juan Viejo2
Outlaw -
Dick Kelly is not the kind of guy that would ever say something like that on a public video. It takes a lot of red wine to even get Richard Kelly loose enough to use a term like that.
And Gregorio Smith (you all know him, right?) filmed and edited the video - and he would never allow something like that in this type of situation either. He would have cut that word out instantly if someone had actually used it.
I did hear what you are referring to, but what he is saying is "something, something" ?"classic case of"? "redirection." But there is a lot of background and environmental noise that confuses some of the background conversation. The word "erection" does not even fit within that context since they are talking about the Silver Sword Bible and Bo immediately states that he asked for a "sister-friendly version."
They just spent several days with Steven Hassan and others of that caliber - so I'm sure they used the term "redirection" a lot in their conversations. It is even mentioned in a new article written and posted about the incident on AAWA.co:
"... the Watchtower tells Jehovah’s Witnesses to shun ex-JWs is because they know that we know what’s hiding behind their Wizard-of-Oz-like curtain."
Not quite sure why whatever AAWA does or does not do seems to make you look for our "dark side." I think if you ever had the chance to meet most of us in person you'd come away with an entirely different impression than the one you seem to have locked in to your permanent memory bank.
JV
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"Keep Seeking First the Contribution Box" - the REAL district convention program ;)
by processor in.
the real district convention program can be downloaded only here: http://www.svhelden.info/pdf/co-pgm14-e2.pdf.
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Juan Viejo2
Too bad they didn't add "This invitation may have been delivered by a well-dressed pedophile with a brief case. If your minor child opened the door to them, your home may be marked for a 'return visit.' "
JV
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34
Pushing the JW.ORG
by Etude ini took these pictures over a month ago.
i had not realized that they were really pushing their site.
this was at our farmers market, although they were not officially in the market area but off the side on the sidewalk.. .
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Juan Viejo2
Len,
Same thing happened here at my home. It was Saturday morning around 9:30 AM when my little dog started raising hell. I crawled out of bed, grabbed my robe and went to the top of the stairs. Saw nothing at all, but my pup would not quiet down, snorting and rocking back and forth in her version of attack mode. Then I heard a very timid knock on my door. There are vertical windows on each side of the solid front door, but the blinds were closed. Tap, tap, tip, tip...
As I descended the stairs toward the front door I could sense someone was still on the porch. I got to the door and opened it. A late middle-aged man and a very nicely dressed and made up woman had just started to retreat down my path, but did turn around to come back and chat.
"Jehovah's Witnesses?"
"Yes, we are? We just wanted to invite you to a special meeting." The man reached down and dug the invitation out of the flower pot sitting next to the door on the porch and then handed a very small invitation to me. I'm standing there naked as a jaybird with just my light robe wrapped around me.
"The Memorial?" I asked as I looked at the invitation. "Yeah, I went a couple of years ago. Someday you should come back and we can talk about it. As you can see, I'm not really dressed to invite visitors inside this morning."
"That would be nice. Yes, we can see that." Moving steadily backward they prepared to make their escape, I could see they were in no mood for conversation either. "We'll come again sometime soon."
"When you do - if you do - I'm sure we will have a lot to talk about."
I'm pretty sure they'll never come back - and that's OK. I know that my house is marked as being the "lair of an apostate." The few times they do come by and I happen to see them - they walk by don't come to my door. They won't even stop when I am out front working in the yard.
Right now I average two visits a year. One before the Memorial (they just leave the invitation) and once before the District Assembly that is held at the Fair Grounds here (we are the state capitol). Again - all they do is drop an invitation on my porch.
One thing I noticed and am curious about. The time for the Memorial here will be 7:30 PM on the 14th. Sunset doesn't occur until 7:56 PM, but it will still be light until 8:30. Seems like they are pushing it a little, but maybe they won't whip out the Manischewitz and snap bread until after 8:00 just so Jesus doesn't get sad and Jehovah doesn't send a comet to wipe them all out for beating the clock.
JV
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Pushing the JW.ORG
by Etude ini took these pictures over a month ago.
i had not realized that they were really pushing their site.
this was at our farmers market, although they were not officially in the market area but off the side on the sidewalk.. .
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Juan Viejo2
Changing the names of the magazines is very possible - if not almost necessary.
The Watchtower has a lot of negative connotations for much of the public, while Awake! is only referenced along with The Watchtower, as in "here are copies of the new Watchtower and Awake!" No one ever refers to JWs as being "those people selling (or giving away) Awake! magazines."
Changing the names of the magazines also has a great deal of precedence.
"Zion's Watch Tower and Herald of Christ's Presence" was changed to "The Watch Tower and Herald of Christ's Presence." (1908)
In 1931 the name was change to "The Watchtower and Herald of Christ's Presence."
In January, 1939 it became "The Watchtower and Herald of Christ's Kingdom." In March of that same year it became "The Watchtower Announcing Jehovah's Kingdom." (Eliminated Jesus Christ from the mix...)
In 2008, The Watchtower was split into public and study editions. In mid-2011 a "simplified edition" of the study version was also published.
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Awake! wasn't always Awake!
From 1919 to 1937 it was known as "The Golden Age." Most of the article were by contributors, including officers of the Watchtower Society - especially wackos Clayton Woodward - and later Fred Franz.
From 1937 to 1946 it was completely redesigned and renamed "Consolation."
In Augsust 1946 it was completely redesigned and renamed "Awake!" and all contributors and writers were not identified - except for a few special "personal life story" articles "written by" or "as told by" certain special pioneers or ranking individuals.
Some Watchower published books have also had their titles changed, their colors changed, and their sizes changed (and a lot of interior text and doctrines changed as well.)
So it makes a lot of sense to combine the Watchtower public edition and the Awake! into one new magazine with a few extra pages, and maybe like the Plain Truth magazine (Worldwide Church of God) a more compact and glossy paper edition will be directed to the public.
At this point it is all conjecture and rumor - but I expect to see some major changes within the next 36 months reqarding publications, both paper and online.
JV
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107
Will firing the DOs be the first step to a new Watchtower?
by Juan Viejo2 inagainst my better judgement, i've decided to share the following as a response to guy pierce passing and the announcement of the elimination of district overseers later this year.. late in january (2014) i got an email from one of my contacts (a fader) who served at bethel for several years, but is no longer at wt hq.
he still has a lot of close contacts within the service department and in other departments at patterson and knows people in all of the ny offices.
i kept this email set aside on a flash drive and haven't shared it with anyone - figuring i'd publish an article about it later this year when i had more time to do it right.
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Juan Viejo2
RE: RBC reorganization
No. My contact did not mention that he heard or knew anything about the RBC changes. His contacts are mostly in Service, Writing, Administration, and a couple more who might be in legal. Mostly New York corporation insiders. I think RBCs were part of the Penn corp or possibly a different and detached segment of the New York corp. I'm sure someone here has an organization chart that would show where and how the RBCs locked onto mother.
Surprisingly, I've been fortunate to meet many former JWs who were very active volunteers for the RBC new builds. I've also corresponded with a few elders who have had serious run-ins with RBC department managers in their area. One here in Oregon told me that the RBC came in and did an inspection on a Kingdom Hall that was spotless inside and out (quite typical for most larger Oregon KHs - the brothers show a lot of pride in their properties). He told me that the RBC did an inspection of his hall and (this is his description, not mine) "acted like Nazi storm troopers." They did a complete inspection of every plug and drain and window crank. They tested the audio system. This hall had a wide screen TV off to the side of the stage that was a private donation by one of the brothers and approved by the CO - used to train ASL classes. "Get rid of it! It's a distraction." The final straw was when they asked when the carpet in the main hall had been cleaned last. The carpet was typically professionally cleaned twice a year (right after the winter - just before Memorial, and in mid-fall after the summer dust and pine needles stopped falling.) They wanted to see the receipts for the carpet cleaning and any repairs. There was one receipt for a special cleaning and spot removal in one area where an elderly sister with palsy had spilled a full cup of red wine during a Memorial. The spot was so well removed that they could not even find or remember the row where the spill took place, just the general area.
After the inspection, the RBC ordered the replacement of all of the carpet in the main hall. Replacing the carpet would require that the seats be detached from the floor and stored while large sections of carpet would be laid. The local elders all protested that the carpet was in good shape and servicable for probably another 5 years. The RBC not only gave them no choice in the matter, but also wrote a bad report on one of the elders who tried extra hard to reason with them that the funds could be put to much better use in areas like Japan and Haiti where they really needed the help and improvements. He told me that the carpet was replaced and the billing was completely unreasonable based on local costs for materials and labor. Rumors were that the carpet and installation was provided by a company owned by a brother in the region who supplied materials for RBC build projects and who was quite prominent and was often an assembly speaker.
Anyone wonder why that elder is now a former JW? He told me that was only one straw during his last ten years as a JW. "There were many and they were almost constant. But that was the most blatant misuse of power and in my opinion clearly benefitted one of the brothers unfairly. But the RBC simply overrules the complaints or logic of the local elders. I think they come into every Kingdom Hall with orders to find something to spend money on in a way to beneifit (and or payback) a large contributer to the Society. While this might not be 'criminal' in a strictly legal sense, it sure reminds me of 'graft' in the political sense. I'd heard that in the old days (1950s-60s) the Society would do this with car dealers owned by wealthy brothers to buy cars used by COs and DOs. But that whole episode with the RBC and the replacement of perfectly fine carpet was the last straw for me."
(I believe this former elder reads and occasionally posts here on JWN - but I don't know his user ID and would not divulge it if I did.)
Sorry for another long story - but I think it says volumes about how the Watchtower through the RBC is treating local elders with both disrespect and often in a particularly abusive manner. Do you think a few brothers are a little full of themselves like to throw their WT given authority around. Just another example of the complete lack of love - just empty words and a love of power - by many in the mid-ranks of the Watchtower Society.
JV