respectful_observer

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Posts by respectful_observer

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  19

  E cart witnessing on our way to see Shen Yun in San Francisco

  by cha ching in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  today, i took the day off to go with my husband to san francisco on bart to see shen yun.

  coming out of the station, were two elders at a watchtower cart!

  my husband loves to witness to them.. started off with a smile and they smiled back and he told them he had been associated with jehovah's witnesses and now he is not but he wishes to tell them that even though they are going to hear things that are upsetting in the news, there is life after jehovah's witnesses.. they smiled and asked him if they could ask what religion he has gone to, or what he is doing now.

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  respectful_observer

  The next cart we went to was ready for us Rodger went up to two sisters and they held up his their hands as he approached the cart.

  Even if you were wearing t-shirts that said: "I'm a JW Apostate!", their refusing to speak to you by putting up their hands is downright childish. It's not likely you're seeking them out in the privacy of their own homes; they've actively put themselves out on the public streets for the sole purpose of engaging with members of the public.

  I'm not encouraging harassment of them at all, but I could only imagine what their reaction would be if you continued to talk to them in a normal conversational manner for a few minutes. Their behavior would look mighty odd to everyone passing by.
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  19

  Some more Nicholas King pics

  by neat blue dog in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  today we get to see nick hanging with his fellow watchtower movie star and chorus member,.

  hitting the dance floor,.

  taking a swig,.

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  respectful_observer

  neat blue dog...do you know him personally-- or anyone else in the photos?

  I know another one of the people in the photos pretty well.
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  69

  284000 baptized in 2017

  by jw-verite in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  seen in the 03/2018 watchtower study :.

  "during the 2017 service year, more than 284,000 “rightly disposed” individuals symbolized their dedication to jehovah by water baptism.".

  https://www.jw.org/en/publications/magazines/watchtower-study-march-2018/baptism-requirement-for-christians/.

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  respectful_observer

  Just a quick "back of the envelope" number analysis:

  1,195, 081 (2015 average) - 9,844 (assumed 0.8237% mortality rate based on CDC 2014 estimates) + 28,588 (2016 baptisms) = 1,213,825 (projected 2016 average) - 1,198,026 (2016 actual average) = 15,799 (missing -- DF'd, DA, faded)

  So for 2016:

  • 28,588 baptized
  • 15,799 left (estimated)
  • 9,844 died (estimated)

  So for each of the 14,000 (and change) congregations in the US - approximately 2 got dunked (both born in and not), 1 died, and 1 left.

  Source: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/deaths.htm
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  9

  Best Bethel stories

  by optimisticskeptic in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  i temped at bethel 3 times for varying lengths of time and found working there to not always be the rosy picture some would paint.

  not a surprise really, but i think one of the things that surprised me the most was how a lot of the permanent bethelites (especially older ones) were so impersonal to temps.

  they acted like you weren't worth investing their time in since you weren't permanent.

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  respectful_observer

  Not a crazy story, but it's always stuck in my mind about the lengths Bethelites will go through to get a few extra bucks.

  I've got a friend who's been at Wallkill for years. Shortly after moving in, he put some very nice clothes and an obscure complete boxed book set in the donation bin (can't recall what they call it). The very next day, all those items were posted for sale on Bethel's internal "craigslist" site.

  When he asked others if this was normal, he was told it was. He was also told there was a pervasive issue where Bethelites would keep their eyes out for donated clothing originally purchased from Nordstrom (an upscale department store in the US). The reason? Nordstrom has a notoriously lenient return policy. So they'd grab the donated clothes and return them for store credit. Great scam!
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  38

  October 31, 2017 TO SELECTED BOEs IN THE US BRANCH TERRITORY Re: Discontinuation of the Funds-on-Deposit Arrangement

  by wifibandit in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  october 31, 2017 to selected bodies of elders in the united states branch territory re: discontinuation of the funds-on-deposit arrangement.

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  respectful_observer

  It's my own personal best guess that both the "forgiving" of loans a few years back, and now this-- the apparent refusal by the WTS to continue to hold funds on behalf of congregations-- were both as a result of legal advice. In both cases the WTS' activities could have been interpreted by some banking regulators as dangerously close to acting as an (unregistered/unregulated) bank.

  The last thing the WTS would want to do is put itself on the hook as a registered bank since it would then have to disclose lots of info to both the banking regulators and to the bank's customers (those congregation for whom they are holding funds, a.k.a., "deposits").
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  20

  Clue re approach to Annual Report in Jan 2018 MWB

  by Nicholaus Kopernicus in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  at the agm on oct 7th, his eminence miserable morris iii stated the jw yearbook would cease publication and that the annual report would instead be released via the "about us" menu in the jw website.

  related to this, the "life and ministry meeting workbook - january 2018 (living as christians)" outlines the following item to be considered jan 1-7 2018...."annual service report: (15 min.

  ) talk by an elder.

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  respectful_observer

  The only way to hide the underlying trends is to move away from a country by country report and to a global headline but I don't think they really will do that.

  Only other possibility I can think of is to report them at the Branch level. That gives them the flexibility to "hide the pea" when it comes to where-- at the country level-- the losses/growth are coming from. Knowing how often they shift what countries/territories are aligned to which branches, they can further muddy the waters from year-to-year to help tell a story of continued incremental growth by simply realigning the (ever shrinking list of) growth countries to branches that need to boost their numbers.
  
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  21

  Your donations at work: WT Farms “inspirational” corn maze

  by betterdaze in

  1. social
  2. humour

  “best life ever” is displayed at watchtower farms, near pine bush.

  the jehovah’s witnesses' maze is a work of devotional art, and not intended for exploration like the pagan ones made for hudson valley tourists every halloween.

  source: lohud.com.

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  respectful_observer

  Good Lord. Surprised they didn't cut a little JWdotOrg logo into it. Leave it to the JWs to carve a maze that you're not able to explore (although methinks this means no "wordly" people are allowed to tour.

  Maybe they're missing a chance here though-- imagine hiding lots of WT carts throughout the maze. Tourists could walk the maze and be witnessed to the whole time!
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  19

  Look what I got for five bucks...

  by Nosferatu in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i think i've found the one true religion!.

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  respectful_observer

  Can't wait to read the experience of you finding "The Truth" in an antique shop in the 2018 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses. Oh wait, never mind!
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  39

  "Deficit" at JW Assembly

  by cookiemaster in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i've recently been at an assembly here in romania and there was an announced they were running a 10,000 euro deficit and urging all attendees to donate more money besides the already 5k has was donated during that day.

  i really don't understand these things.

  it's their own assembly hall.

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  respectful_observer

  Just thinking outside the box for a moment.

  For those countries where the WT is registered as a "charity" (e.g., UK, Canada), has anyone explored whether the WT's [fabricated/false] claims of "deficits" to the public as a means to drive contributions (which ultimately end up in the pockets of the WT charity) might run amok of any laws? Might be of interest to charity commissions/oversight bodies to understand how the whole approached used by the WT works.

  Imagine if the WT got called out in the public by government officials for using this "deficit" scare tactic on tens of thousands of members every single weekend -- all the while claiming tax exempt status as a "charity". The dollar figures would be headline worthy, I'm guessing.

  If you flip the WT stance around and described it this way to the average Jdub, what would their response be?:

  "Hey, have you heard that donations to the Catholic Church are really down?! I've heard the Vatican has decided to look at what their cash needs are, then determine a per head amount globally each Catholic would need to donate to meet that goal amount. Then at each Sunday service the priest has to announce how much more the parishioners still need to put on the plate to meet the goal set by the Vatican."
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  20

  January 2018 Watchtower

  by Listener in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  the cover page shows a photo jws loading a small plane with watchtower literature to take to a remote area in bolivia.the first study article introduces the 2018 year text isa.

  40:31 "those hoping in jehovah will regain power".

  according to them, you may leave home to do field service or attend a meeting feeling exhausted but you return home refreshed and 'jesus' yoke is kindly indeed!

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  respectful_observer

  Selfish people are like hedgehogs. Oh how I miss the depth of intellectual discussion I left behind in that religion.

  Makes me want to go "educate" myself (sarcasm intended) by reading an Awake! article on hedgehogs (I'm sure there's on out there somewhere).

  Whenever these money articles come up, it always reminds me of the wise words of George Carlin:

  “Religion has actually convinced people that there's an invisible man living in the sky who watches everything you do, every minute of every day. And the invisible man has a special list of ten things he does not want you to do. And if you do any of these ten things, he has a special place, full of fire and smoke and burning and torture and anguish, where he will send you to live and suffer and burn and choke and scream and cry forever and ever 'til the end of time!
  
  But He loves you. He loves you, and He needs money! He always needs money! He's all-powerful, all-perfect, all-knowing, and all-wise, somehow just can't handle money!”