JeffT

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Posts by JeffT

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  31

  A year since I have been back

  by Lee Marsh in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  a year ago i came back to jwd.

  the 2 years before that.

  when covid stated, i was diagnosed with colon cancer.

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  JeffT

  You dodged more than one bullet with all that. Glad you are still with us.
  
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  11530

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

  by Newly Enlightened in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  original reddit post (removed).

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  JeffT

  Kim (and everybody). Sorry if this comes off as schmaltzy, I'm in a mood to try to heal wounds after a senseless argument broke out between two family members during my birthday party today. I think it was in part driven by the current "Woke" cult in the USA, which drives me crazy.
  

  When I first saw this video on twitter, I immediately thought of JFK's words in what is frequently called the moonshot speech:

  "We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things not because they are easy, but because they are hard. Because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we’re willing to accept. One we are unwilling to postpone. And therefore, as we set sail, we ask God’s blessing on the most hazardous and dangerous and greatest adventure that man has ever gone."

  Everyone on this board has accepted a difficult challenge because we believe it is the right thing, and important; because people who have been misled need people like us to help them find their way into the light. Not all of those we try to help will accept our help, want it, or even think they need it. Nevertheless, we keep trying to shine lights into the dark corners of JWism, and similar belief systems.

  I am a firm believer that what goes around, comes around. In 2005-2006 I paid a high price for previous bad behavior. Since then, I've made being a better person a life goal. Part of that process is serving other people. I'd like to think that I do that here and through my writing. I'm an active member of Alcoholics Anonymous, which is a great place to improve myself while helping others.

  Life is too short to spend it worrying about the Lloyd Evanses of the world. Sometime, somewhere his karma will touch him, although I can't say I care much about that either way. I care a lot about those he's hurt and for them I'll keeping going forward.
  
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  11530

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

  by Newly Enlightened in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  original reddit post (removed).

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  JeffT

  OK somebody enlighten me. What does it cost to make a youtube video? I assume there is a little equipment required; video camera, a computer, maybe a sound system. I suspect lots of youtubers get by with the computer and nothing else if its equipped with camera and microphone. He already has those.

  I can't see where he has to spend money to put out content. Of course he thinks he needs to be paid to do this. Sorry Lloyd, it appears that nobody is buying what you're selling.
  
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  11530

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

  by Newly Enlightened in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  original reddit post (removed).

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  JeffT

  I've never seen financial statements that look like that. Are these some sort of Croatian tax report? It looks like a summary of activity, without the detailed back up, it's hard to see what's going on.

  Having said that I'll put on my old-guy curmudgeon hat on.

  This isn't small potatoes. It's not even tiny potatoes, maybe it's microscopic potatoes. Either he has some other source/stash of cash or he is nowhere near being as big a deal as he thinks.

  Overall impression: although I'm not sure what some of these numbers represent; but I can say that, in general, if I wrote up a financial statement for JWJoe's Janitorial company, the numbers would look like this. You have a guy operating his own little company and taking the profit home.
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  6

  30 years ago David Koresh and his WACO Adventist cult experienced their "Armageddon". Great documentary on Net Flix.

  by Balaamsass2 in

  1. social
  2. current

  a fascinating look into the human mind, cults, religion, child abuse, and mental illness colliding with government bureaucracy.. 3rd gen and i watched this tonight.

  impossible not to see some similarities between watchtower teachings, fear-mongering, and its "compounds".. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=scz2x7r_xxc.

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  JeffT

  What Vidiot said.
  

  I was about five years out of the Watchtower when this happened. I remember hearing the first brief report on new radio and thinking "this will not end well." The US government gave Koresh an amplifier and he made good use of it. Unfortunately the circus ended with a bunch of dead kids.
  
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  11530

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

  by Newly Enlightened in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  original reddit post (removed).

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  JeffT

  144thouand and one

  You have a PM.
  
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  16

  No Private Beliefs Allowed!

  by BereanThinker7 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  looking for references that talk about witnesses not being able to hold any private interpretation or belief that isn't in line with official doctrine.

  .

  i know i've seen them before but of course now i can't find any of the more in your face statements..

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  JeffT

  I hope you can read this. I’m having trouble with my cut and paste.

  *** w06 7/15 pp. 22-23 The Creator progressively reveals the truth to his people. Hence, our understanding of the Scriptures is bound to be refined from time to time. The vast majority of Jehovah’s people rejoice over such refinements. A few become “righteous overmuch” and resent the changes. (Ecclesiastes 7:16) Pride may play a role, and some fall into the trap of independent thinking. Whatever the reason, such murmuring is hazardous, since it can draw us back into the world and its ways.
  
  

  *** w83 1/15 p. 27 Armed for the Fight Against Wicked Spirits ***
  Fight Against Independent Thinking
  19 As we study the Bible we learn that Jehovah has always guided his servants in an organized way. And just as in the first century there was only one true Christian organization, so today Jehovah is using only one organization. (Ephesians 4:4, 5; Matthew 24:45-47) Yet there are some who point out that the organization has had to make adjustments before, and so they argue: “This shows that we have to make up our own mind on what to believe.” This is independent thinking. Why is it so dangerous?
  20 Such thinking is an evidence of pride. And the Bible says: “Pride is before a crash, and a haughty spirit before stumbling.” (Proverbs 16:18) If we get to thinking that we know better than the organization, we should ask ourselves: “Where did we learn Bible truth in the first place? Would we know the way of the truth if it had not been for guidance from the organization? Really, can we get along without the direction of God’s organization?” No, we cannot!—Compare Acts 15:2, 28, 29; 16:4, 5.
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  *** w83 1/15 p. 22 Exposing the Devil’s Subtle Designs ***
  Avoid Independent Thinking
  20 From the very outset of his rebellion Satan called into question God’s way of doing things. He promoted independent thinking. ‘You can decide for yourself what is good and bad,’ Satan told Eve. ‘You don’t have to listen to God. He is not really telling you the truth.’ (Genesis 3:1-5) To this day, it has been Satan’s subtle design to infect God’s people with this type of thinking.—2 Timothy 3:1, 13
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  49

  Some thoughts on the message of doom

  by JeffT in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  one of the recent threads on the talk about the hailstone message got me to thinking.

  the problem with putting out a message like that is what to do when nothing happens.

  i have to think that somebody will be asking that question.

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  JeffT

  I'm having trouble with my computer trying to cut and paste. I will try to put together a list in the next day or two.

  But ponder this: the Watchtower claims that the 1975 fiasco was brought about by JW's speculating about the end. There was certainly a lot of speculation going on among rank and file JW's. At no time were we admonished not to speculate. Not in books, magazines, from the elders, CO's etc. As we all know the WTBS wants to control what JW's think and say. If people were speculating, they were doing so with the leaderships approval.
  
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  11530

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

  by Newly Enlightened in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  original reddit post (removed).

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  JeffT

  Without straining my delicate brain too much,... would you say that the self-proclaimed professional activist's haul is down by about half?

  After consulting tea leaves and chicken entrails I would say that it appears that a business owned or controlled by Lloyd Evans is not making as much money as it did previously. Without more information about how his business (/s) is/are organized we can't tell. It is perfectly legal to move money between accounts or entities as long as the proper documentation is in place.

  Incidentally, we all have the same problem with the Watchtower's finances, there is no way to tell what's going on from the outside.

  Would any depreciation he reckons with be for filming equipment & hard drive storage etc? Maybe a car for work travel, too?

  This is the sort of asset I would expect to see being depreciated by a business of this type. In the US these are three or five year properties, depending on what they are.
  
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  49

  Some thoughts on the message of doom

  by JeffT in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  one of the recent threads on the talk about the hailstone message got me to thinking.

  the problem with putting out a message like that is what to do when nothing happens.

  i have to think that somebody will be asking that question.

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  JeffT

  Fisherman:
  

  I became a Jehovah's Witness in 1973, the year I graduated from Washington State University. So I was a college educated adult. I knew how to study and make informed decisions. I was in a difficult situation, but I believed the message as it was preached. God, I was told, intended to destroy the wicked people ruining His creation. The Bible, I learned, was very specific, this final war between Good and Evil would take place in 1975.

  I know you are told the WTBS never said that. Here's a news flash: THEY'RE LYING TO YOU! I was there, I know what was said. I left the Witness in 1988 when it was clear that the world wasn't going to end.

  My wife and I attended an evangelical church for a time after we left the Watchtower. The pastor made a good observation one time. He said that he believed we might well be in the last days, but he would make no specific prophesy for one very good reason. In Bible times if a prophet predicted something that didn't happen, the Israelites would take him to the local stone quarry and make him part of it.