JeffT

Joined

• started 469 topics
• posted 8,564 times   see topics posted on
• send a message

Posts by JeffT

• 
  14

  Did anyone learn the truth from having their prayers answered by a knock at the door and then eventually leave the JWs?

  by truthseeker in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i know of one person who had a difficult life, prayed for help, got the knock at the door, got baptized and eventually left the jws believing they were a cult.. has this happened to any of you?

  and if so, did you still feel your prayers were answered at that time?.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  JeffT

  Does "informal witnessing" count? If so, that would be me. During a very bad period in my life I started talking about the Bible with a friend who had become a JW. This was in 1972-73 during the run up to 1975. I was baptized in 1973. I started getting disillusioned with the witnesses a few years later and eventually DA'd in 1989.
• 
  5

  "Aid to Bible Understanding" pdf download link

  by Fernando in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  does anyone have a current link to download the "aid to bible understanding"?.

  thanks plenty.. fernando.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  JeffT

  No download, but if you're looking for something specific I have the book and could scan an entry for you.
• 
  36

  Today I got a review that left me scratching my head - what do you make of it?

  by Brock Talon in

  1. social
  2. entertainment

  as a published author on amazon, i'm used to getting negative reviews from time to time.

  it goes with the territory and i'm ok with it.

  writing is an art form, so no art is liked by everyone.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  JeffT

  I agree. I think the writer is certainly not a native English speaker which doesn't help. I wouldn't worry about it.

  PS Brock, I'm sending a PM.
• 
  17

  A note on the Watchtowers property investments

  by Saintbertholdt in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  about a year ago there was a thread regarding the 2008 watchtower bible and tract society of new yorks tax return.. http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/287098/2008-watchtower-income-tax-return?page=1.

  a reference was made to the provictor property fund iv which was listed as their primary alternate business activity.. turns out that at that time 75% of the chrysler building was owned by the provictor property fund iv until it was sold during that year.. http://money.cnn.com/2008/07/09/news/international/chrysler_building/?postversion=2008070913.

  just thought you should know :).

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  JeffT

  I agree with Millie's computation (18,000,000,000 X 7%= about a billion and a quarter). When I went into the Borg in 1973 they were selling almost fifty million magazines a month for a quarter each (which they got even if the mags ended up in the back of the publishers closet). Given that costs were next to nothing, that means a LOT of money going somewhere. I'm not surprised that they would have a billion plus tucked away.
• 
  17

  A note on the Watchtowers property investments

  by Saintbertholdt in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  about a year ago there was a thread regarding the 2008 watchtower bible and tract society of new yorks tax return.. http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/287098/2008-watchtower-income-tax-return?page=1.

  a reference was made to the provictor property fund iv which was listed as their primary alternate business activity.. turns out that at that time 75% of the chrysler building was owned by the provictor property fund iv until it was sold during that year.. http://money.cnn.com/2008/07/09/news/international/chrysler_building/?postversion=2008070913.

  just thought you should know :).

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  JeffT

  Can anyone really know all the places they have stuffed money?

  Presumably their accountants, although if somebody is really crooked, they may have off shore or personal accounts event the CPA's don't know about. For that matter, non-profits are often easy targets for fraud because nobody knows how to keep proper eyes on the accountants.
• 
  17

  A note on the Watchtowers property investments

  by Saintbertholdt in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  about a year ago there was a thread regarding the 2008 watchtower bible and tract society of new yorks tax return.. http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/287098/2008-watchtower-income-tax-return?page=1.

  a reference was made to the provictor property fund iv which was listed as their primary alternate business activity.. turns out that at that time 75% of the chrysler building was owned by the provictor property fund iv until it was sold during that year.. http://money.cnn.com/2008/07/09/news/international/chrysler_building/?postversion=2008070913.

  just thought you should know :).

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  JeffT

  They owned a piece of the investment trust that owned 75% of the building.

  What the trust does is collect a bunch of money from a number of investors, and use that to buy the property. In this arrangement, you don't have a bank mortgage, the money that would go to the bank gets paid to the trust, and distributed to the investors. They can be good investments, a lot of what they pay out is tax sheltered income.

  I used to do a lot of accounting for real estate investment operations, although not necessarily REIT's.
• 
  17

  A note on the Watchtowers property investments

  by Saintbertholdt in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  about a year ago there was a thread regarding the 2008 watchtower bible and tract society of new yorks tax return.. http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/287098/2008-watchtower-income-tax-return?page=1.

  a reference was made to the provictor property fund iv which was listed as their primary alternate business activity.. turns out that at that time 75% of the chrysler building was owned by the provictor property fund iv until it was sold during that year.. http://money.cnn.com/2008/07/09/news/international/chrysler_building/?postversion=2008070913.

  just thought you should know :).

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  JeffT

  As I said in the original thread, this appears to be a real estate investment trust, of which the WTBS owned some fraction. It looks to me (I'll take a longer look later today when I have more time) like they sold that investment and made about $17,000.
• 
  60

  New light from GB member David Splane!

  by Island Man in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  in the latest jw broadcast splane is quoted as saying:.

  "suppose there was a man who died 10 minutes before joseph was born.

  would he be part of joseph's generation?

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  JeffT

  Um, Brother Splane could you explain this over-lapping generation thing to me again. I'm confused.
• 
  5

  It's true, Doomsday IS coming!

  by Oubliette in

  1. social
  2. humour

  compelling proof that jehovah's witnesses have been right after all:.

  doomsday video.

  .

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  JeffT

  Or this one.

  Years ago the National Lampoon did a spoof of various other magazines headlines announcing the end of the world. The only one I can remember is Sports Illustrated: "The Fat Lady Sings."

  Some comic (Johnny Carson) did a spoof of Ronald Reagan announcing the end of the world "Well....that's a wrap."
• 
  2

  JW's aren't the only ones telling crazy stories

  by JeffT in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  ran into this one this morning.

  this story has all kinds of wrong in it, see my entry in the comments section.http://ldsmag.com/is-this-story-true-pearl-harbor-pilot-couldnt-bomb-hawaii-temple/

  1. 
  2. 
• 

  JeffT

  Ran into this one this morning. This story has all kinds of wrong in it, see my entry in the comments section.
  
  http://ldsmag.com/is-this-story-true-pearl-harbor-pilot-couldnt-bomb-hawaii-temple/