Posts by nmthinker

16

Letter to my wife

by Truthexplorer in

i decided to write the following letter to my wife after years of frustration.

it was the only way i could express my feelings to her.

so far i have had a mixed reaction from her which i can later tell you about.

nmthinker

I think if I wrote this letter to my wife she wouldn't even read it. It can also be used as proof against you in a JC.

I'm also curious how she responded.

40

Two Year Delay in Building New KHs - What Is the Real Impact?

by committeechairman in

where are all these kingdom halls that were going to start being built?

the rbc arrangement was officially announced as an arrangement that was ending in the united states branch territory in a letter on january 24, 2014 (although this letter is no longer listed on jw.org).

this means that 23 months have passed since the announcement of the ldc taking over and "acceleration" of kingdom hall builds.. what has happened in the meantime with kh construction?

nmthinker

I remember watching the LDC video. It seemed very far fetched - small teams of full time construction servants taking the lead in building projects. This video is now removed from jw.org and recently the governing body announced that all kingdom hall construction has been halted.

In hindsight I consider it a propaganda ploy to prop-up the new donation arrangement, whereby all congregations emptied their local savings and sent virtually all of their money to the branch.

It was a money grab.

LDC? What LDC?

41

Sheep and the Goats - The Light Gets Brighter

by nmthinker in

perhaps some of you remember a new understanding of the sheep and the goats in the epic march 2015 wt study edition - specifically the article "loyally supporting christ's brothers".. while this article was studied many months ago, it was instrumental in helping me wake up.

during my study of the 2015 article i recalled that we had just revised our understanding of the sheep and the goats a few years ago and this caused me to research the real progression of the jw understanding of this parable.

i put the results of my research in an excel spreadsheet.. .

nmthinker

2013 Edition (Source - jw.org)

12 Jesus’ prophecy about the last days reveals that he will for the very first time act as Judge of all nations after the destruction of false religion. As mentioned in paragraph 8, some of the events that will occur during that time are recorded at Matthew 24:30, 31. When you examine those verses, you will note that Jesus there foretells events that are similar to the ones he mentions in the parable of the sheep and the goats. For example, the Son of man comes with glory and with angels; all tribes and nations are gathered; those judged as sheep “lift [their] heads up” because “everlasting life” awaits them.

13 So, then, what can we conclude? Jesus will judge people of all nations as sheep or goats when he comes during the great tribulation. Then, at Armageddon, the climax of the great tribulation, the goatlike ones will be ‘cut off’ forever.

2015 Edition (Source - jw.org)

“The sheep” and “the goats” represent individuals from all nations. These ones are not anointed by holy spirit.
And what of the reason why people will be judged as either sheep or goats? The outcome hinges on how they have treated the remaining ones of Christ’s spirit-anointed brothers on earth.

He [Jesus] describes the sheep as “righteous” because they recognize that Christ has a group of anointed brothers still on earth, and the sheep loyally support the anointed during these critical last days.

The growing number of prospective sheep count it a privilege to support Christ’s brothers not only in the preaching work but also in other practical ways. For example, they give financial contributions and help to build Kingdom Halls, Assembly Halls, and branch facilities, and they loyally obey those appointed by “the faithful and discreet slave” to take the lead.

41

Sheep and the Goats - The Light Gets Brighter

by nmthinker in

perhaps some of you remember a new understanding of the sheep and the goats in the epic march 2015 wt study edition - specifically the article "loyally supporting christ's brothers".. while this article was studied many months ago, it was instrumental in helping me wake up.

during my study of the 2015 article i recalled that we had just revised our understanding of the sheep and the goats a few years ago and this caused me to research the real progression of the jw understanding of this parable.

i put the results of my research in an excel spreadsheet.. .

nmthinker

steve2 I posted the link anonymously. I don't have a Facebook account. Can you PM me what you are referring to please? Thanks for looking out!

41

Sheep and the Goats - The Light Gets Brighter

by nmthinker in

perhaps some of you remember a new understanding of the sheep and the goats in the epic march 2015 wt study edition - specifically the article "loyally supporting christ's brothers".. while this article was studied many months ago, it was instrumental in helping me wake up.

during my study of the 2015 article i recalled that we had just revised our understanding of the sheep and the goats a few years ago and this caused me to research the real progression of the jw understanding of this parable.

i put the results of my research in an excel spreadsheet.. .

nmthinker

Perhaps some of you remember a new understanding of the sheep and the goats in the epic March 2015 WT Study Edition - specifically the article "Loyally Supporting Christ's Brothers".

While this article was studied many months ago, it was instrumental in helping me wake up. During my study of the 2015 article I recalled that we had just revised our understanding of the sheep and the goats a few years ago and this caused me to research the real progression of the JW understanding of this parable. I put the results of my research in an Excel spreadsheet.

http://imgur.com/UDnGfPn

What was shocking about this new understanding is how the judging of the sheep and the goats pivoted from mankind as a whole to a focus exclusively on JW's. According to this new light, those who are sheep are those who support Christ's brothers, either by preaching or, as the illustration shows, engaging in building and maintaining kingdom halls. If you don't do this you will be judged a goat. Logically then, the parable cannot be directed to the world as a whole, as they do not even know who Christ's Brothers (the anointed) are and therefore, cannot be expected to loyally support them. This logic is omitted and covered over in typical WT doublespeak form. But the underlying message remained, 'listen obey and be blessed.'

This article typified the tightening of control over the flock by the newly self-appointed Faithful and discreet slave - the Governing Body. The rank and file can either obey the GB and their appointees, or risk being judged as a GOAT and destroyed forever. They discarded teachings as recent as 2013 to drive this point home!

113

I just found out that my youngest brother committed suicide

by SnakesInTheTower in

jw
friends

my middle brother called me a couple of hours ago.

our youngest brother, josh, who was 38, was found by his friends in his apartment.

he hung himself.

nmthinker

I'm sorry for your loss. Truly tragic.

26

Our assembly expenses were $16,900 for ONE DAY - Please share yours

by nmthinker in

~2300 in attendance.

one day cost of $16,900!.

this was at romeoville, which was built ground up in the 90's and was fully paid for by the illinois circuits!.

nmthinker

~2300 in attendance

One day cost of $16,900!

This was at Romeoville, which was built ground up in the 90's and was fully paid for by the Illinois Circuits!

28

Assembly baptisms/attendance - keep 'em coming!

by freddo in

jw
friends

don't forget to post your reported assembly and convention attendance and baptisms and whether they are higher or lower than customary (if you know).. here's some detail passed to me of the last circuit assembly held at surrey (uk) assembly hall.. attendance 922 baptisms 3 (half circuit).

nmthinker

Perusing the stats in this thread and the reddit thread (which is gone for some reason) I think WTBS has GOT to be faking their baptized and increased numbers.

In the yearbook they consistently report about a ~3% baptismal rate where 2/3 of that number leave the org as deduced by the actual increase of average publishers. But the baptismal numbers I've seen here and in the reddit thread are consistently less than .5%, half a percent, many times less than .3%

I think they are making their numbers up. With the baptismal rates so low as evidenced at every convention and assembly they are likely losing numbers in the Unites States. Its almost guaranteed

49

Forgiving Loans the Watchtower Way

by cofty in

bank - thank you for maintaining your loan repayments for the past 3 years.

to show our appreciation we are forgiving the balance of your loan.

borrower - yeah!.

nmthinker

It should come as no surprise that the LDC video has been removed from the jw.org website. It was called "Designing Future Kingdom Halls".

LDC? What LDC?

30

Pledge for Global Assistance Arrangement - $15 per publisher!

by nmthinker in

last night our congregation read a letter for the global assistance arrangement combined with the traveling overseer assistance arrangement.

the "recommended" amount was $15 per publisher, which was well over $1000 for our hall.. it seemed steep.

our congregation does not have this type of money.

nmthinker

ThinkerBelle - The letter basically admits that the funds can be used for anything. There is no separate fund, it all goes into one big slush account.