Posts by respectful

53

Crisis of Conscience where to find?

by Jules Saturn in

does anyone know where i can get a pdf version of this book?

i’ve always wanted a physical copy but those seem really hard to come by, and if you look online they’re super expensive.

thank you.. -jules.

respectful_observer

I'm sure this question has been asked and answered ad nauseum on other older threads, but can't seem to find an answer.

Understanding how CoC is becoming harder and harder to find, is there any speculation that the WT has somehow acquired the legal rights, or may have entered into some agreement (read: financial payout with confidentiality clause attached) with the copyright owner, to prevent future printings or electronic distribution?

...............

EDIT: Found this thread where Blondie confirms knowing the copyright owner personally:

https://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/5944127975849984/publisher-offers-print-cofc-without-cost?page=2

Assuming Blondie wouldn't consort with someone who was near and dear to Ray, but then agree to some backroom payoff from WT to keep CoC off the shelves and internet, any other insights into why the lack of a current edition in print physically or as an e-book?

37

Thank you, George Couch!

by charonsdog in

i just thought i'd share this story from my past.. back in the 80s i remember the big problem seemed to be about music.

(today, it's tight pants, i guess) the organization, society, whatever they were calling themselves, were always going on about the music we listened to.

disco, heavy metal, the whole "backwards masking" thing...couldn't escape hearing or reading about how satan was corrupting us unless we were listening to kingdom melodies or elevator music.. i was assigned to wtf in the late 80s and remember one of the articles stating that "young people know that the rhythm of rock music is the rhythm of sexual intercourse.

respectful_observer

My rather self-righteous (at the time) elder cousin decided that his nephew's Beastie Boys CD (and the rest his CD collection) was so bad that in the middle of his rant he threw the whole thing out the window of the car at highway speed.

This is the same elder who was blissfully unaware at the time that one of his kids was an active opiate user, and the other was dating a coke dealer and had a secret abortion while she was a teen (he still doesn't know about that one).

53

Crisis of Conscience where to find?

by Jules Saturn in

does anyone know where i can get a pdf version of this book?

i’ve always wanted a physical copy but those seem really hard to come by, and if you look online they’re super expensive.

thank you.. -jules.

respectful_observer

I ended up just listening to homemade "audio book" version (quality wasn't too bad at all, btw) that can be easily found on Youtube. Posted in about 10 separate segments if I recall.

3

1970-2017 Service Year Report of Jehovah's Witnesses (New Zealand)

by The Poetry Of Reality in

jw
friends

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1pktibmzbzmap6dfo0dx1vr5h9zerejgj/.

respectful_observer

Interesting...Memorial attendance really hasn't changed much in 17 years. It was 27K (and change) last year...and the same in 1998. Meanwhile, the population of NZ has grown by 1 million in that same period (26%).

The 2017 "Ratio 1 publisher to..." has slowly increased to 1:340 in 2017-- the worst ratio in NZ since 1986...31 years. Clearly the efforts of JWs in NZ to even keep up with population growth has stalled.

"Peak publishers" has basically stayed flat, only fluctuating within a small margin since 2008...nearly 10 years.

40

Older JW: not happy

by Gorbatchov in

jw
friends

this week i visited my sick father in law.. then an old elder from my far away congregation came in for coffee.

did not see him in 15 years.. nice chat.

had a lot to say, is alone, his sick wife disabled and away from home.. he told me: "living alone is so hard.

respectful_observer

I was surprised recently to hear my parents (in mid/late-60s) -- both uber-dubs who always put a positive spin on everything WT-related-- lament (unprovoked) that their congregation, which used to be full of young people, families, and tons of kids, is now just a collection of older people battling health issues, whose children have all moved away.

Their congregation looks good on paper-- a disproportionately high % of publishers who are pioneers and elders-- however it's the same people that have been pioneers and elders for 30+ years. Same people, same apathetic territory, etc. The only thing that seems to have changed in the last 30 years is steady decrease in "young" (<50 y.o.) and in the increase in health issues for remaining members.

86

Do You Know Any “Gay” Jehovah’s Witnesses?

by minimus in

jw
friends

of course the religion condemns homosexuality but did you know any gay witnesses?

i knew some bethelites that were very effeminate and i remember 4 women who were suspected of being lesbians by many in the congregation.

they eventually moved away and were very vocal against males, especially elders..

respectful_observer

I know/have known quite a few...at least 20 that I can think of off the top of my head.

Some have been DF’d and never come back deciding to live their own life, some have been DF’d multiple times for it, but keep coming back for more self-inflicted punishment, one left and got heavy into the drug/risky sex scene and returned and openly acknowledges to all that he’s gay (but doesn’t practice now). A few somehow successfully faded and are now openly gay and show it on social media...not sure how their PIMI families reconcile that one. Another poor PIMI guy I know is bi (will be honest about it with close friends), but when he drinks a lot (which is often) he’s known to get pretty handsy with other guys...so it’s probably just a matter of time with him.

Finally, pretty sure one of the WT “movie stars” is. I know him very well (and think he’s a really decent guy) and if anyone just met him on the street or in a bar they’d assume he was an openly gay actor on Broadway. I feel bad for him.

19

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

by cha ching in

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.

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.

19

Some more Nicholas King pics

by neat blue dog in

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

hitting the dance floor,.

taking a swig,.

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.

69

284000 baptized in 2017

by jw-verite in

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/.

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

9

Best Bethel stories

by optimisticskeptic in

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.

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!

respectful_observer

Posts by respectful_observer