JeffT

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Posts by JeffT

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  44

  2023 Yearly Report UNDER the Microscope

  by raymond frantz in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  https://youtu.be/pi7sn2rnrke?si=lnvklqct6nuayv2q.

  branches of jehovah’s witnesses: 85 (= down one from 86 from the previous year and quite possibly they are referring to the hong kong bethel that closed down recently).

  number of lands reporting: 239 ( =the same as 2022).

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  JeffT

  The statistic I like to figure every year: it took 6,647 hours of field service to bring in one baptism. That's three people working full time for the entire year.
  
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  2910

  It's been a long 9 years Lloyd Evans / John Cedars (continued)

  by Simon in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  uh oh, looks like the mega thread gave up the ghost, so while i investigate / fix it just continue the discussion here .... it's been a long 9 years lloyd evans / john cedars.

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  JeffT

  "I am God and everyone is God".

  I know what is wrong with him: he was born about sixty years too late. When I was in college everyone was running around talking about how we were all God and how those in the know "Grokked" whatever we were talking about. The hard part was remembering the conversation after the acid wore off.

  For those who don't get the references "Stranger in a Strange Land" by Robert A. Heinlein. Copyright 1961.

  How appropriate is this: I'm recovering from the meds they gave me for a surgical procedure yesterday. I did not see God or Lloyd. I'm blaming Kim for the piece of chicken teriyaki that got stuck in my throat.
  
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  51

  Changed behavior of the governing body on the topic of “vaccinations” in the Covid era

  by Pedro in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  i'm looking for an explanation why the gb has made a radical change on the issue of vaccinations.

  was there pressure from outside?

  were there any financial or other benefits to promoting experimental genetic therapy?.

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  JeffT

  The Henrietta M Riley trust has shares in Johnson & Johnson, Eli Lily and Merck. All massive pharmaceutical companies.

  So What?
  
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  16

  Hello

  by cantleave in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i popped in to read about the beard u-turn, so thought i'd say hello to anyone who remembers me.

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  JeffT

  I too remember you, nice to see an old friend.
  
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  70

  Beards are now allowed - New Light

  by Listener in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  lett has announced in the latest video update that jehovah has dignified the brothers by now letting them to choose for themselves whether they want to have a beard or not -.

  https://www.jw.org/en/news/region/global/2023-governing-body-update-8/.

  this applies worldwide and to all brothers in any position..

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  JeffT

  I have a history with beards.

  In the fall of 1968 (my senior year) I grew the first beard at Bellevue (Washington) High School. In 1973 I joined the JW's and shaved it off. In 1988 I left the JW's and grew it back. It's been there ever since.

  For years I had to listen to the GB bloviating about how beards were a sign of rebellion in the world. When I grew the beard back I found it interesting that "the world" didn't care.

  The problem for the JW's is that no amount of nibbling around the edges

  will change the fact that most of their doctrines are batshit crazy.

  PS: He sounds like he thinks this is the way to talk to a room full of mentally challenged children.
  
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  43

  Hip replacement on Monday. Wish me luck.

  by GrreatTeacher in

  1. watchtower
  2. medical

  as the title says i'm having a total hip replacement on monday.

  the pain has grown over the years and now i'm using a cane to walk.

  after steroid injections and physical therapy, it was decided that a total hip replacement is appropriate.

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  JeffT

  I'm glad it went well.
  
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  43

  Hip replacement on Monday. Wish me luck.

  by GrreatTeacher in

  1. watchtower
  2. medical

  as the title says i'm having a total hip replacement on monday.

  the pain has grown over the years and now i'm using a cane to walk.

  after steroid injections and physical therapy, it was decided that a total hip replacement is appropriate.

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  JeffT

  I hope all goals well. It sounds like you are very engaged with your treatment plan, which is exactly what you need to be doing. Please do let us know how it went.
  
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  54

  What If The Tower Fell?

  by Big Dog in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  what if the truly unthinkable happened and the tower went down?

  perhaps the irs swooped in and claimed fraud and padlocked the headquarters and kingdom hall doors?

  or the gb took the money and ran to a nice non-extradition country to live out their years?

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  JeffT

  I've maintained for a long time that if the WTBS collapsed a significant number of JW's would just go find somebody else to tell them how to live. They would be low-hanging fruit for a charismatic leader to harvest.
  

  When you think about religions like Mormonism and Scientology, you have very recent creations

  Scientology yes, Mormonism no, depending on what time frame you use. The Mormons predate the Watchtower.

  The Watchtower, Christian Science, and a slew of Adventist groups sprang up in the mid-to-late1800's, all of them with their roots in the Millerite movement of the 1840's. Miller (and later his imitators) left behind a lot of broken predictions of the End, and a good number of disappointed followers. None of that stopped people from joining other, similar, religions. That might be a useful example of what happens when a religion collapses.
  
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  13

  What are 5 Things You are Grateful for this Thanksgiving 2023 ?

  by Sea Breeze in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  here in america, we have a tradition to set aside one day to be especially grateful.

  that day is today.

  the psychological benifits of being grateful is well known and promoted by business experts, healthcare professionals, secularists, believers ... you name it.

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  JeffT

  I've been too busy eating and watching football.
  
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  2910

  It's been a long 9 years Lloyd Evans / John Cedars (continued)

  by Simon in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  uh oh, looks like the mega thread gave up the ghost, so while i investigate / fix it just continue the discussion here .... it's been a long 9 years lloyd evans / john cedars.

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  JeffT

  Happens all the time in the secular YT world. Someone has a nice go, gathers a lot of support and followers, but someone else happens upon the scene with fresh eyes and does a way better job of it and with better enthusiasm.

  My wife and I left the JW's in 1988. That was well before the internet made it easy to contact XJW's. We met with a support group for XJW's once a month for a year or two. We also spoke to some church groups and and picketed a few conventions. Eventually all that led me to Randy Waters and his newsletter (his website came along later), That is what "activism" looked like in those days.

  I wrote some articles and made a few dollars, like about $50. Around the year 2000 I realized that most of what I knew about the Watchtower was dated. Fresher voices were on the scene and I no longer had much to contribute unless the subject was Watchtower history. I switched to writing fiction, with mixed reactions.
  

  This is Lloyd's real problem: he's past his "sell by" date. All he can do is recycle what others are saying.

  Years ago, I had a Chinese-American woman (her parents were born in China, she was a naturalized citizen) working in my accounting department. She was still very connected to her cultural heritage. One morning she came in complaining about the fried rice at restaurant she and some friends had eaten at the previous evening. I said "don't you like fried rice?" She said "I love fried rice, I just don't like paying entree prices for leftovers."

  Lloyd, this is my business background speaking. Your business model is dead, it's time to go do something else. All you have is leftovers.