JeffT

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Posts by JeffT

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  11

  Remember that Letter to Elders that asked them to privately inquire if any of the brothers were LAWYERS.....

  by Muddy Waters in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  i remember a thread here somewhere where a letter to the body of elders was posted and elders were to read part of the letter asking who might have experience or training in video media, graphic design, etc.

  then on a separate page not to be read to the congregation was for elders to make discreet inquiries as to any who might have legal knowledge, experience or expertise.. well, in view of all this new kafluffle about branch closures, building work suspended, bethel layoffs, etc., it really makes me wonder now just what the heck is going on.

  has the gb been shafted by their own legal counsel or financial advisors?

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  JeffT

  BTW, they were looking for various professional types back in the seventies. An elder let that slip when I was around.
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  11

  Remember that Letter to Elders that asked them to privately inquire if any of the brothers were LAWYERS.....

  by Muddy Waters in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  i remember a thread here somewhere where a letter to the body of elders was posted and elders were to read part of the letter asking who might have experience or training in video media, graphic design, etc.

  then on a separate page not to be read to the congregation was for elders to make discreet inquiries as to any who might have legal knowledge, experience or expertise.. well, in view of all this new kafluffle about branch closures, building work suspended, bethel layoffs, etc., it really makes me wonder now just what the heck is going on.

  has the gb been shafted by their own legal counsel or financial advisors?

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  JeffT

  I heard that the WT lost half a billion in the stock market on Aug 24 of this year, but I haven't been able to confirm it.

  Overall the stock market lost 6.6% that day. Unless they had a gigantic investment that went under they still have 95% of whatever they had. If they lost 1/2 billion they still have 45 billion.
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  33

  A simple explanation for the financial changes

  by JeffT in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  as i've mentioned from time to time, i'm a retired accountant.

  i have tried many times to come up with some logical, sound business reason why the wtbs has made the big changes in its financial arrangements: taking the congregations savings, the monthly donations per congregation etc.

  i finally came up with the answer.. the leadership of the watchtower society is batshit crazy.

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  JeffT

  As I've mentioned from time to time, I'm a retired accountant. I have tried many times to come up with some logical, sound business reason why the WTBS has made the big changes in its financial arrangements: taking the congregations savings, the monthly donations per congregation etc.

  I finally came up with the answer.

  The leadership of the Watchtower Society is batshit crazy. We've all known that for some time when it comes to prophecy, wearing tight pants, whatever. Whey should their handling of money be any different? In other words there is no big (or little) plan, there is nothing to figure out because they don't know what they're doing.
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  9

  How much would it take to bankrupt the Watchtower Organization?

  by Vetro in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  so how much would it take to bankrupt the watchtower organization, they're already having to bleed tens of millions to child abuse victims, how much more would it take to bring the society to it's knees, i know at one point they were going to sell off bethel.

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  JeffT

  I'm sure IRS has their sites set on this fraudulent corporation and is watching them very closely now that their reputation has been severely compromised due to all these lawsuits and what not

  I doubt it. The IRS is very reluctant to take on religious organizations. The Constitutional protections and long held legal opinion works against this.
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  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?.

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  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.
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  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.

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  JeffT

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

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  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.
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  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 :).

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  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.
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  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 :).

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  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.
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  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 :).

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  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.