JWD

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Posts by JWD

• 
  95

  Org. Re-orging in JAPAN

  by JWD in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  for those of you who haven`t been following it,the wts is in a downward spiral here in japan.fs hours are down,memorial attendance.

  is down,pioneers are down,studies are down,donations are down,number.

  of congregations is down and the number of publishers continues to.

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  JWD

  I don`t know if `worshipped` expresses the bros. attitude towards
  Loyd Barry, but some of the real old-timers we know tell stories
  about going out in FS with him. According to them, in the `good old
  days` Loyd and all the missionaries who came after WWII were very
  commited, hard working and humble.They lived very frugally and were
  sincerely concerned about the welfare of the bros.As years went by, however, and the org. grew power struggles and greed began to become
  common place.A couple we know who were in the org. for over 40 years
  talks about how the CO`s went from hard-working servants to wealthy
  primadonnas. Over the years the change in attitude was so dramatic
  that this couple became very disillusioned and ending up leaving the
  org.It is commonly understood that various `gifts` are given to the
  CO when he visits and he in turn gives certain `privaledges` to the
  gift giver (i.e. makes him an elder, gives him a place on stage at a
  convention, turns a blind eye to his immorality,etc.) That kind of
  hypocrasy has become more and more obvious of late and has been one
  of the driving factors behind the mass exodus which is taking place.
  As to Loyd Barry in Japan, I`ll relate a famous story told to me by
  an old former-elder who used to go out in FS with him. One day they
  were in FS in western Kobe. The government had announced a plan to
  put a bridge between the island of Honshu and Shikoku accross the
  Japan Inland Sea. The bridge was to be built at a place called Akashi
  and was to take many years til completion. As they were talking about
  the bridge, Loyd said to elder `T`,Armageddon will come long before
  that bridge is ever completed. The bridge was dedicated two years ago
  and Lyod went ot his reward last year. Another one of the fruits of
  false prophecy(?).
  I`m not sure, but I believe the current head of the Japanese Bethel, a Masaharu Oda,was lead to the organization by Barry. JWD
• 
  95

  Org. Re-orging in JAPAN

  by JWD in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  for those of you who haven`t been following it,the wts is in a downward spiral here in japan.fs hours are down,memorial attendance.

  is down,pioneers are down,studies are down,donations are down,number.

  of congregations is down and the number of publishers continues to.

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  2. 
  3. 
• 

  JWD

  Just found out today that there is a plan to build a new KH in the
  next town over.It seems the trend is to combine congregations which
  are slipping in numbers and then give them a greater sense of perman-
  ency by building new halls (traditionally Japan has been too expensive
  to purchase land and build. The trend of late is to add real estate
  to give a sense of growth and keep funds coming in via over-priced
  building projects). In several areas,however,the WT has met with stiff
  oppostion from the locals to building new halls.Thus, in some instances they have opted to keep the nature of the building project
  hush-hush until it`s near completion. JWD
• 
  95

  Org. Re-orging in JAPAN

  by JWD in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  for those of you who haven`t been following it,the wts is in a downward spiral here in japan.fs hours are down,memorial attendance.

  is down,pioneers are down,studies are down,donations are down,number.

  of congregations is down and the number of publishers continues to.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  JWD

  If the current trend downward continues thru the remainder of the
  WT reporting year (August), they will have to report another minus
  1% growth for 2001. That will be two years of negative growth here
  in Japan.
  JWD
• 
  95

  Org. Re-orging in JAPAN

  by JWD in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  for those of you who haven`t been following it,the wts is in a downward spiral here in japan.fs hours are down,memorial attendance.

  is down,pioneers are down,studies are down,donations are down,number.

  of congregations is down and the number of publishers continues to.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  JWD

  To help shift public opinion here in Japan the org has taken several
  public relation moves. One is the production of `advertising` type
  literature which is devoid of any doctrinal content and is strickly
  used to present the image of the WT as a balanced main-line religious group.The materials are distributed via the WT-Japan public relations
  office. In addition the org. made a nation-wide `steadfast` campaign.
  It is the same material used in other countries about how the JWs
  were persecuted by the Nazis. Here in Japan the org. went around to
  secular media related organizations and got them to support the
  `steadfast` presentation WITHOUT EVER TELLING THEM THAT IT WAS
  ACTUALLY A BRANCH OF THE WATCHTOWER! So, several major newspapers
  etc. were shocked when they found out, after the fact,that they had
  signed on to sponser an event for the Watchtower.
  
  Several other public relations moves have been made to clear the WT`s
  image as a cult, but as of this writing it hasn`t had much effect.
  The number of publishers reporting every month continues to drop and
  the number of congregations continues to decrease.
  I`ll continue to up-date as things happen here. JWD
• 
  36

  Report on Jacksonville losing WT convention

  by expatbrit in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  city loses big convention .

  by bill johnson, special to the daily record.

  wash your car, it will rain.

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  JWD

  All the info about conventions is interesting.
  Here in Japan they always give little pep talks during the
  conventions to the brothers telling them to donate and help
  cover the expenses.There is never any reporting on how the actual
  costs worked out.Some years back one sister,who we know well,worked
  in accounting for a large convention in Kobe.When the convention was
  over they came out about $60,000 IN THE BLACK.ALL the money was immediately carted off to the Japan Bethel in Ebina and NO report
  was ever made to the local brothers as to how the finances turned
  out.It seems that all throughout Japan it is standard procedure to
  give the impression that expenses are barely being met and then
  suck up as much in donations as possible while never giving account
  regarding how the actual figures turned out. Is that the way it is
  everywhere? JWD
• 
  48

  Fornication......*blushing*

  by d0rkyd00d in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  as many may know, i'm still a teenager.

  i'm not willing to reveal my age, which is one less than 17 or one more than 15. but i just wanted to get your guys' opinion on sex before marriage.

  a lot of people here have kinda lost their "watchtower" and biblical standards as i have gathered.

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  JWD

  I waited until I was married.I was 23. My wife was 28 and she waited
  as well. We`ve been married for 18 years. Have a great marriage,
  three great kids and a great sex life. The big word for me is TRUST.
  When you know that you and your wife practiced self-discipline before
  marriage, you know there`s a good chance you will continue to after
  marriage.Thus, you don`t waste energy doubting what the other person
  might be doing when you`re away from each other. Then there`s the
  `What will I tell my kids?` issue. I`m glad I can tell them that we
  waited.It gives a lot of moral authority to your advice as a parent.
  Hang in there. Just beacuse the WT is full of crap,doesn`t mean that
  all there teaching is absolutely wrong.Don`t throw out the baby with
  the bath.There is a sense in which former JWs who toss out all moral
  standards `fulfill the WT prophecy` that people who leave the org.
  invariably become `immoral`.I`d rather not give them the satisfaction
  of being able to say that. JWD
• 
  14

  Hate Your Enemies!!

  by JWD in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i was standing by the copy machine at a convience store here in japan.

  when a local elder who i`ve know for some years came up to me and.

  threatened me (his breath had the distinct smell of a couple too many.

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  JWD

  The first step in dulling people`s consciences with regards to in-
  human attitudes is to demonize the object of the hatred.Thus the WT
  is constantly declaring how evil people are who leave the org.There
  can`t be a single good person who once was a JW and now rejects the
  teaching of the org. So, what happens to the psyche when they meet
  someone and find out they are really a decent person, but later on
  discover that they are a former Jehovah`s Witness. To find out the
  answer to that I tried to see what kind of a response I would get.
  After talking to a young bro. in his 20s for several days about
  the Bible and religion,I just mentioned in passing, `What would you
  think if I told you I was once a JW?`.We had developed very good
  repore up until then.He seemed relaxed and at the time I made the
  statement we were having a cup of coffee together. Well,that changed
  real fast! Suddenly he got this terrified look on his face,stood up
  pointed his finger at me and said,`Are you an apostate? Tell me right
  now, or I`m walking out of here!`. I asked him what difference it
  would make. Hadn`t we been having meaningful discussions? Hadn`t he
  even said that I was a decent person who seemed to know a lot about
  the Bible? So,why the change all of a sudden? He did stick around
  and eventually left the org.,but I`ll never forget his reaction.He
  had a major panic attack when the word `Apostate` crossed his mind
  and was ready to throw our relationship out the window. JWD
• 
  13

  Ask for your "Ordained Minister" ID C...

  by LDH in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  with all of the discussion going on on the board lately about "all jw being ordained ministers," i thought i'd point out something that may be new to a lot of you.. your local congregation has wbts id cards which states the 'cardbearer is an ordained minister.

  ' they won't volunteer these to you, i had to reg pio for two years before i got mine.

  however, they can come in handy when traveling!

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  JWD

  Can women receive the card ,as well? If so, does that mean that the
  WT is ordaining women?

  JWD
• 
  28

  What about the scriptural obligation to preach?

  by lookingnow22 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i've always been taught that each disciple of christ has a scriptural obligation to preach, and to do so in imitation of jesus and his disciples.

  they did this by house to house, in synagogues, and in the marketplaces.

  this is one thing that has always kept me close to jehovah's witnesses.

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  JWD

  It is a natural outgrowth of faith to want to tell somebody aboutit.
  The WT method ,however,namely counting time is non-biblical in the
  sense that it is making public religious actions by reporting it to
  men. It is also tremendously ineffective relative to the amount of
  time given over to it. In most parts of the world people open up about
  things which are on their heart to trusted friends not door-knocking
  strangers.Thus, when the WT method does work it always involves a
  long period of relationship developement. Overall,friendship evangelism would be much more effective and time efficient. JWD
• 
  14

  Hate Your Enemies!!

  by JWD in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i was standing by the copy machine at a convience store here in japan.

  when a local elder who i`ve know for some years came up to me and.

  threatened me (his breath had the distinct smell of a couple too many.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  JWD

  As to the issue of David`s Psalms vs. Christ`s teaching,obviously,
  Christ lifted the whole matter of what godly living means to a higher
  level. Christ internalized godliness by talking about the intentions
  of the heart, not merely the actions.Thus, hatred became equal to
  murder in the same way that lust was viewed as adultry.So, to negate
  or supercede Christ`s teaching with something from the OT is poor
  exigesis. When talking with Raymond Franz on the phone one time,he
  mentioned that he often felt the WT acted as if the NT had never been
  written. So much of their teaching was a step `back` to the OT era.

  The whole `tone` of the WT teaching is one of destruction.The world
  gets the shaft at the big `A`,relationships get torn apart by the
  issue of loyalty to the WT, lives get thrown away needlessly via
  the No-Blood policy,etc. Even `caring` is often tied in with the
  motivation of being nice to someone in order to get a study going.

  So,does genuine `lovingkindness` just for the sake of showing
  Christlikeness actually even exist with the WT walls? JWD