JeffT

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Posts by JeffT

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  19

  Leaked Info: Watchtower Received $497 Million From One Country (Britain) In Last Six Years! [Must Watch!]

  by Golden4Altar in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  leaked info:watchtower received $497 million from one country (britain) in last six years!

  [must watch!].

  this video was just released with documented proof, see this link: https://jehovahstruth.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=187#p187.

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  JeffT

  Retired accountant here

  So now tell me again how a $2 million USD settlement here, or a $5 million USD settlement there, for CSA payouts is going to "bring down" the WatchTower?

  
  

  I've been trying to argue this point for years. Most companies have a line item in their budgets for legal costs. It's just part of doing business, the Watchtower is no different.
  
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  23

  How they could change blood doctrine

  by Person in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  many people say gb will soon dump blood doctrine to appear less fanatical.

  others saying it is impossible for them to do that because of legal ramifications.

  i think there is a way that could potentially be solution to those problems.

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  JeffT

  What do you think, does it make any sense?

  No.

  My father, never a member of any church, much less JW's; was a Hematologist. He told me once that medical science does not recognize major vs minor blood components, end of story.
  

  The watchtower has painted itself into a corner leaving no exit strategy whatsoever, anything they say to try and extract themselves from this mess will just add another layer of bullshit to the pile.
  
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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

  If he ever did anything resembling original research I haven't seen it. Some of his stuff taking apart convention talks and the like may have helped some people break free, but it was not original. It was all reactive.

  He's had what, twelve years, to learn the skills it would take to be a potent threat to the Watchtower? Learn Greek and Hebrew. Earn an advanced degree in comparative religion. Understand logic, rhetoric, and the rules of hermeneutics and exegisis.

  I don't know what it costs to get a PhD in the UK, but I'm sure the patrons could have found the money. Too bad that was the road not taken.
  
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  25

  JW Expanded Volunteer Activities?

  by doinmypart in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i think the gb needs to expand publishers' volunteer activities beyond door knocking.. gb has shifted away from door-knocking to more varied forms of witnessing and no longer counting time for publishers.

  my prediction is that the gb will start encouraging jws to participate in broader community volunteer efforts: clean-up drives, food banks, senior citizen support, and other non-proselytizing activities.

  this move could help them gain goodwill with government agencies and the public.. expanding volunteer activities could significantly shift how jws are perceived by the wider community.

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  JeffT

  I remember when I left JW mentally, one of the first things I wanted my family and I to do was volunteer at food banks and animal shelters.

  I donated blood. It seemed the best way to say "I'm not a JW anymore." I don't see this or anything like it, becoming commonplace for JW's.
  
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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

  Slim, I don't mind at all, I think it sheds some light on his success or lack thereof. The best selling of my books is an alternate history, "1910: War in the Pacific." I've sold 740 physical copies (paperback and electronic) and 461,438 page reads. This is functionally equivalent to 1503 books, for a total of 2243 sold. The book has 170 reviews, so 13 reviews for each sale. Applied to Lloyd's 600ish reviews that translates to 7800 total sales.

  Translating Amazon's sales rank number into units sold is notoriously difficult, calculating profits is even worse. In Lloyd's case the printing costs are probably taking a big bite out of his profits.

  Speaking of costs, what the hell did he need fundraiser for? The printing and publishing costs at Amazon are charged when a book sells. If he hired some one to edit it doesn't show in the final product.
  
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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

  For the record:

  There are two ways to make money self-publishing on Amazon. One is sale of physical books or electronic books. Amazon pays the author a royalty based on the price set by the author.

  Or readers subscribe to the Kindle Library, I believe it costs about $10/month. Amazon tracks all the pages read and pays a royalty based on that (a few cents per page.) I currently have five books on Amazon and hope to add #6 soon.

  Three of those have sold fairly well, the other two not so much.

  In total I've sold 1,397 physical books. I have a total of 882,921 library page reads.
  
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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

  Slim, where do you get the information that he's sold thousands of books?

  He's ranked 86th in books about Jehovah's Witnesses and 67,000 and change in biographies.

  For a comparison William Schnell's "Thirty Years a Watchower Slave" is 9th.
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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 think that book displays his ignorance of how to go about being a successful author. Publishers guidelines exist for a reason. A memoir should be about 80,000 words, that's well under 400 pages. No one outside the JW or XJW communities (and probably a good number inside that community) wants to read 800 pages about Jehovah's Witnesses. He seriously needs an editor to take an axe to that monster.

  There is a cure for ignorance: research, education and hard work. My first published book was the second one I wrote (and has nothing to do with JW's). I suspect that Lloyd made a rookie mistake, one I will confess to making myself. When you get your manuscript done, don't wrap it up an start trying to sell it. It isn't ready by a long shot.

  And even if you do manage to get something sold, odds are you won't come close to selling enough to live on. That's just how it is.
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  194

  GB Update #2, March 2024: Women allowed to wear pants, no ties/coats required if not giving a talk, & now able to greet DF ones in the KH!

  by WingCommander in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  you heard me correct, this is not a joke, and it is not april fools day!

  the asl portion of the governing body updated #2 (march 2024) has been released a bit early and someone caught it.

  summary: .

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  JeffT

  I think a good analog for the collapse of the Watchtower is the fall of the World Wide Church of God. Founded in 1933, (with a different name) by Herbert W. Armstrong the WWCG shared a lot of theology with the Witnesses. Armstrong's followers believed the end of the world was imminent, and did not believe the Trinity. They also believed in a number of old testament laws (such as keeping the Sabbath) were still required of Christians. Mainstream churches thought WWCG was a cult.

  Through the sixties and seventies the church grew rapidly. I can't find the numbers now, but I recall that it was roughly equal to the witnesses, and many of us believed that Armstrong was stealing most of his stuff from us. Following Armstrong's death in 1986 the church hit some hard times. His son took charge for a time but eventually amid a scandal church leaders disfellowshipped him.
  

  Church leaders then set about trying to "mainstream" the church. This led to numerous splinter groups forming. In 1997 the church was recognized by the National Association of Evangelicals. It has about 30,000 members.

  I think trying to mainstream the Watchtower would have similar results. The super hard core JW's will form their own groups that still reject the trinity, hell fire etc. Back in the day I knew some elders that would love to install themselves as the new GB. Others will wonder off and do nothing, or find some other church that suits them. The problem being for decades the witnesses defined themselves in terms of what they are not -- specifically nothing like all those other churches.

  If the WTBS is to survive it must answer one question: what's the point? It they can't come up with a good reason to be a witness everybody will just go away.
  
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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 was going to say (again) that I don't think the word "churn" means what he thinks it does. I've changed my mind. It is probably the best word we have to describe what he does.