respectful_observer

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Posts by respectful_observer

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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!”

  
  
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  4

  the 2018 Annual Report

  by no-zombie in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i have a bad feeling that the annual report in the form that we can analytically use, will no longer be available.

  according the post agm letter, it said "this information will be published in the 'about us' section of jw.org" however when you go to that page, there are already a country by country listing of statistics.

  the problem is that, the numbers displayed at the moment are not the whole story we used to get.

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  respectful_observer

  I remember when they stopped publishing the detailed monthly report for the branch in the Our Kingdom Ministry and replaced it with "Key Highlights" (or something similar). Gone were the pure, fact-based stats...instead replaced with selective, cherry-picked positive stats that only highlighted growth.

  I wonder if this is the model they'll use moving forward. Basically a global "hide the pea" game, never again allowing objective analysis of consistently reported data points. Instead, only total global figures with highlighted feel-good stats (e.g., "a new peak in Regular Pioneers reported in Antarctica. A 6% increase over 2017!"
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  32

  New Song to be sung for Warwick Dedication on Oct 7

  by Drearyweather in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  a place that will bring you praise.

  https://tv.jw.org/#en/mediaitems/latestvideos/pub-jwb_201801_8_video.

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  respectful_observer

  Haha! I know more than one of those singers!

  Why do I get the feeling this Annual Meeting/Warwick HQ dedication will be full of references to 2 Chronicles 7 and 1 Kings 8 (Solomon's temple dedication) and 1 Chron 13:8 (David celebrating Ark: "David and all Israel were celebrating before the true God with all their might, accompanied by songs, harps, other stringed instruments, tambourines, cymbals, and trumpets")?
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  8

  What's Going on In Quebec? Class action?

  by Slidin Fast in

  1. watchtower
  2. child-abuse

  according to these news items the child abuse front is extending to quebec.

  a class action would really open some eyes i suspect.

  here's hoping!

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  respectful_observer

  • there must be common issues; and

  I imagine this might be the biggest hurdle, as the "common" issue is quite debatable. An ideal class action would be based on a pattern of very similar pattern of repeatable behavior by defendant (WT). (E.g., construction workers work daily with a chemical the manufacturer knows causes long-term health issues. However, the company keeps the health risks secret then later denies any liability for the harm caused to workers' health. So in other words, same behavior/action over and over again to a class of people.)

  Yes, all may have been abused, but the circumstances and perceived "mishandling" will likely vary widely. Was it an Elder who abused? Was it an Elder who discouraged/prevented reporting? Was it a baptized person who was the abuser? Was a known abuser appointed, re-appointed, DF'd, not DF'd? Was the abuser a known repeat abuser? Etc., etc., etc....

  Were the WT's actions in response to abuse (or report of abuse) "common" enough across enough individual cases to form a "class"?