Thanks for the link SBF, some very interesting trends. At this rate, the existing GB members will soon have to consider promoting a Hispanic woman to their ranks! :)
traveb
JoinedPosts by traveb
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45
It's official - JWs have least common sense of any religious group in US
by slimboyfat insome fascinating results in the latest pew research.
(how did i miss this before?
) including that jws rely on their religion the most of any group to tell right from wrong and rely on common sense the least.
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EPIC!#%* NOVEMBER 2015 WT VIDEO "Welcome Home My Friend, Now Your Life Can Start Again"
by NoMoreHustle inwell i just watched this "epic" video, i would have to say this is probably the most disturbing video yet.
there campaign to get people back is just pathetic in the most mind-manipulating way.
"welcome home" or "come back home" are they serious?
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traveb
That was my first time watching Sanderson speak. At least he comes across as somewhat normal and caring, compared to the other GB members who are patronizing and condescending. Perhaps he's playing the good cop role.
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CO Comes Up With A New Way To Be Judgemental...
by JW_Rogue inat the latest co visit something very strange happened.
during the meeting with the elders and servants he passed out a copy of a hypothetical publisher card and asked us what we could learn from it.
upon receiving it i saw that the average hours were pretty good, it had return visits and quite a few bible studies.
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traveb
The OP's experience should not be surprising whatsoever. Anyone familiar with the JW religion should know by now that's it's all about keeping up appearances.
It's just not about putting in hours, it's putting in "visible" hours.
Having your WT underlined.
Getting to the meetings early and staying afterward.
And so on. True spirituality has nothing to do with it. Remember, keeping up appearances!
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Japan closed 638 Congregations lost 6,000 Publishers in 10 years!!! WHY?
by Witness 007 injapan had a massive increase in publishers from 1950-1998. then in 1998 something happened and jehovah's blessing switched off!!!.
1998 -222,912 publishers 3,802 congregations.
2006 -217,519 publishers 3,164 congregations.
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traveb
The demographics and culture of Japan make for an interesting topic. It's a very homogeneous society, with hardly any immigration to speak of. Plus, the population in general is aging and experiencing a decline. This article states that the population is expected to be 86 million by 2060, down from 127 million currently:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Japan
These factors, coupled with the overall slowdown of JW growth in first-world countries, has probably contributed to the JW decline in Japan.
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Mass Mailer to Congregations & Branches - Those who can't disassociate
by thedepressedsoul inhttp://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/491270004/mass-disassociation-pact?size=10&page=15.
the topic above got me thinking.
everyone here can't send a disassociation letter due to family or other reasons.
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traveb
This is my personal advice on the matter:
Move on with your life.
Be happy.
Live well.
Don't feed the JW persecution complex.
Be gracious and gentle to JW family and friends you still have contact with. "Kill them with kindness"
If you still feel the need to vent, post your feelings on discussion boards like this one.
Write a letter like the one you described, but don't mail it.
Talk to a therapist.
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Disfellowshipped at 18
by asensier inyou can probably guess how this story goes.. i began dating a non-witness boy.
he knew i was a baptised witness and understood the consequences i faced for dating him.
we agreed to keep our relationship secret, which was easy considering our 200 mile distance.
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traveb
One additional insight I can make is to tell your parents and other family members that you love them, and will always be there for them unconditionally. While this may be difficult since they are currently shunning you, this is taking the high road and showing them your character.
They may say something along the lines that it's your fault they have to shun you because you "left Jehovah", but nothing could be further from the truth. Gently remind your family that you'll always be available to them, and they are free to reach out to you anytime. Leave the ball in their court, as the saying goes.
Once they realize that you won't come crawling back to the cult on your knees, they may decide to have limited contact with you. Many ones on this board have experienced this, as the WTS has a difficult time controlling members from having relationships with DFed family members. Time will tell, but in any case I wish you the best of luck.
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New Thought About Active J.W.'s
by The Searcher infrom my own observations & conversations with selected active j.w.
's, here are my conclusions:.
's are very rapidly falling into two distinct camps -.
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traveb
Where I live here in California, the group that "oppostate" describes fits the vast majority of JWs that I know. His description is absolutely spot-on. Personally, I call them social Jehovah's Witnesses. I call them this because the majority of their family and social circle are JWs, so they go along with the program because that's all they know.
They were brought up "in the truth", yet are not as fervent or studious as their parents. They love getting dressed up for conventions, taking selfies or group shots with their friends, and then posting to Instagram. They love, love handing out tracts or babysitting a literature cart. A lot of them go to college, get degrees, and have decent jobs. They meet up for happy hours, go clubbing, and openly talk about the latest R-rated movie.
However, If you ask a social JW what the current understanding is of the Biblical generation, or how and why they believe 1914 was the end of the Gentile Times, you will just get a blank look of confusion. They also have private doubts about the whole Armageddon thing, because they know deep down that Jesus won't really come to Earth and slaughter children because their parents didn't take them to meetings on Thursday nights.
As long as the WTS doesn't make their lives too difficult or annoying, social JW's have no reason to change. Any private reservations they have can easily be quashed and glossed over.
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Your body of elders - were they liberal, conservative or moderate?
by minimus inin my first kingdom hall, the elders were ultra conservative.
our presiding overseer used to be a zone overseer.
the second hall i was in was moderate.
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traveb
One thing I forgot to mention is that I've heard from many different people that the elders in Spanish congregations (at least here in California) tend to be more dogmatic and controlling then compared to English. I don't have any firsthand experience of this, but it does seem to be a reoccurring theme from the people I've talked to. -
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Your body of elders - were they liberal, conservative or moderate?
by minimus inin my first kingdom hall, the elders were ultra conservative.
our presiding overseer used to be a zone overseer.
the second hall i was in was moderate.
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traveb
I have to say that most of the elders I encountered were liberal to moderate. Sure, there might have been the occasional uptight a**hole, but that was definitely the exception. Of course, this was my experience in various congregations in the SF Bay Area. I've heard that California congregations tend to be more liberal. I can't imagine some of the crazy conservative policies I've heard through the grapevine would ever fly here. Publishers would either just ignore them, or move to one of the numerous neighboring congregations where they would be welcomed with open arms.
My overall impression was that these were just normal guys doing their day job, then struggling to get through all of their elder duties on top of that. I hardly ever got a pretentious attitude from them, but I was always fairly friendly and social around them, and never caused any waves, so they probably liked that. I've had more then one on occasion admit to me that they disliked being an elder, but felt a responsibility "to help the friends". Most of them loved to drink as well!
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2 BOEs arrived!
by Atlantis infrom a source:.
2015 hotel arrangements... click the link by the blue arrow.. https://www.sendspace.com/file/qp1oxc.
.. .. 2015 january 2, boe.. https://www.sendspace.com/file/n9duoj.
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traveb
Anyone know a working congregation number to type into this website? I wouldn't mind checking it out.