Posts by ABibleStudent

20

It's easy to gloat about WTS problems ...

by Simon in

jw
friends

.. and fun too !

:d. what?

were you expecting a "but"?

ABibleStudent

Gloating is ok. Doing something constructive to stop the WTBTS from victimizing JWs is much BETTER!

Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,

Robert

29

i did not believe i would see the demise of the wt in my lifetime, and maybe i will not, they may be able to ride out their present problems.. but how do you think this will affect the average, loyal, believing jw ?.

usually most things just wash over them, if there is a slight niggle, they use their well-worn way of explaining things to themselves as in "the end is near" or "jehovah knows best" etc etc.

but the huge sea-change in corporate policy that we see unfolding, all construction work stopped, except warwick and maybe their biggest project, chelmsford u.k. huge bethel layoffs, and the lifestyle of the remaining staff reduced to virtual slavery, more bethel closures, spiritual food reduced for the public as well as the r&f, and all of this being the opposite of what they have claimed was evidence of jehovah's blessing ???.

ABibleStudent

Since the WTBTS leaders are not a bunch of idiots, is it possible that the WTBTS's lawyers/management are protecting assets by cutting costs and selling properties before more lawsuits are filed and laws are changed? Does it really matter to the WTBTS leaders if they lose a few million JWs as long as the WTBTS of PA retains ownership of all the properties in some form of trust(s) that are protected from paying for judgments/settlements?

As long as the top leaders of the WTBTS can retire in up-state NY for the rest of their lives, I feel that the WTBTS leaders will continue with re-organizing the WTBTS.

I can easily see the WTBTS continuing for decades. The WTBTS will just scale back thier publications and FS while ramping up JW.org and JW broadcasting. The only downside for the WTBTS is that more JWs will have time to think if they are not going out in FS, but that can be easily overcome by stating how important the cart work is. Imagine how many JWs would prefer to sit around a cart either surfing the web on their tablets or boasting to each other about how important their work is.

Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,

Robert

21

You? Armchair Activist Wanted - Looking to form a Team of Letter Writers/Researchers

by mrmagic in

are you interested?

looking for a team of armchair activists;.

purpose: to connect everybody to everybody and to get them to connect the big picture about wtbs which is that it is suspected that watchtower has a child pedophile/child porn ring within it.

ABibleStudent

Hi mrmagic, The WTBTS is not the only organization that tried to cover-up child sexual abuse within it (e.g., Boy Scouts of America, The Catholic Church, Presbyterian Churches). You might have more success about writing to strengthen existing laws or eliminate the statue of limitations for third parties.

I am already writing to politicians and organizations to tweak the Tax Code to protect children from sexual abuse. If you are interested in learning more, please read my proposed draft bill, executive summary, overview of proposed legislation, and a letter template at https://www.dropbox.com/sh/lbrkte086omivtt/AADN7PQHNylsdKwbltjHxBUea?dl=0 . If you are interested in promoting a "We the People" petition to jump-start the political process, please like the LinkedIn discussion https://www.linkedin.com/grp/post/6784497-6034388592510394371?trk=groups-post-b-title .

Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,

Robert

23

They're coming to get me! =)

by Mrs. Eden in

hello friends.

my fleshy sister is seriously getting to my nerves.

she's my only (and younger) sister, and as you know, is married to an uber-circuit overseer.

ABibleStudent

Hi Mrs. Eden, Have you read books by cult-exit counselors about reaching the authentic persona of a cult member, like Steven Hassan's books (i.e., "Combatting Cult Mind Control, "Combating Cult Mind Control with one "t" updated version of his first book, "Releasing the Bonds: Empowering People to Think for Themselves", and "Freedom of Mind: Helping Loved Ones Leave Controlling People, Cults, and Beliefs"), his website at www.freedomofmind.com, or watched his videos like Strategic Interactive Approach explained 2003 (1:23:23) .

You can also answer her questions with questions about her family, children, anything that might bring her authentic persona out instead of her cult persona.

Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,

Robert

32

Please, help me to show the USA that a public inquiry into child abuse...

by defender of truth in

.. in institutions is needed.

it needs to be done as soon as possible.. and i need you to help me.. i need someone, maybe more than one person, to draft a template, for a letter to the white house.. it has to clearly state that the usa is falling way behind many other countries, in terms of protecting children in institutions nationwide.. it has to make this clear: .

both australia and the uk (independent inquiry into child sexual abuse in england and wales, see here: www.csa-inquiry.independent.gov.uk/about-the-inquiry ) are currently investing large amounts of time and financial resources to research the best possible policies to protect children, across all institutions, religious and nonreligious.. they are working to expose the failures of various institutions, that have not reported child abuse, or have even covered it up... why are the united states of america not doing the same?!!.

ABibleStudent

defender of truth, This thread is not useless. You are at least trying to change things by getting involved.
I have got similar responses from politicians including Barack Obama about tweaking the Tax Code to protect children from sexual abuse. Most politicians have correspondents that read correspondence to politicians and write non-committal form letters like the one that you received from the Obama Administration. Only four things motivate politicians: large donations; large, passionate groups of constituents; a personal stimulus; and an idea with little downside risk/effort and exponential upside benefit.

You could write back to the Obama Administration about what laws does the President support that would effectively protect children. In 2008 President Joe Biden sponsored S. 2756 legislation to expand background checks for individuals working with/ supervising children: https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/110/s2756/text . It did not receive enough sponsors to be voted on the Senate floor, nor did it mandate that all organizations providing childcare or where volunteers would work with children were required to perform background checks.

The bill to revise the Tax Code would require tax-exempt organizations to perform background checks and much more.

62

Hello world !

by Mrs. Eden in

jw
friends

well, here i am.. hello world, mrs. eden sending regards to everyone.

:).

my english is limited, so please go easy on me.. mrs. eden.

ABibleStudent

Welcome Mrs Eden!

Why did you decide to join JWN?

Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,

Robert

29

Mrs. Eden sends her regards to you all .... =)

by EdenOne in

jw
friends

mrs. eden is laying here by my side reading the forum latest posts with me and asked me to send you all her warmest regards.

more to follow soon.... .

eden

ABibleStudent

Best of Wishes to you both Mr and Mrs Eden. May you enjoy the rest of your lives together.

Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,

Robert

32

Please, help me to show the USA that a public inquiry into child abuse...

by defender of truth in

.. in institutions is needed.

it needs to be done as soon as possible.. and i need you to help me.. i need someone, maybe more than one person, to draft a template, for a letter to the white house.. it has to clearly state that the usa is falling way behind many other countries, in terms of protecting children in institutions nationwide.. it has to make this clear: .

both australia and the uk (independent inquiry into child sexual abuse in england and wales, see here: www.csa-inquiry.independent.gov.uk/about-the-inquiry ) are currently investing large amounts of time and financial resources to research the best possible policies to protect children, across all institutions, religious and nonreligious.. they are working to expose the failures of various institutions, that have not reported child abuse, or have even covered it up... why are the united states of america not doing the same?!!.

ABibleStudent

Although Australia and the U.K. having special commissions investigating institutional responses to child sexual abuse are very commendable, a similar type of special Congressional commission would not have the same powers and would be more of a dog-and-pony show. Congressional commissions can only make recommendations to Congress and religious organizations are currently exempt from filing annual financial reports to the IRS.

Nothing will change unless laws are changed. Besides why not do something to solve the problem than talk about it - isn't 3 decades long enough to talk about it!

If you want to change laws for tax-exempt organizations, I would recommend tweaking the USA Tax Code like I have been promoting for several years on JWN and also on LinkedIn. If you want to learn more about tweaking the Tax Code, please read the overview of a proposed bill and the draft bill at https://www.dropbox.com/sh/lbrkte086omivtt/AADN7PQHNylsdKwbltjHxBUea?dl=0. The draft bill would require all tax-exempt organizations to file annual reports including currently exempt religious organizations.

If you want to jump start the legislative process, please read and like the LinkedIn discussion at https://www.linkedin.com/grp/post/6784497-6034388592510394371?trk=groups-post-b-title to create a "We the People" petition to obtain a response from the White House as well as writing to members of Congress and promoting tweaking the Tax Code to protect children to family, friends, and on social media.

I would be pleasantly surprised if 10% of JWN members would spend less than 5 minutes to sign a "We the People" petition withing 24-hrs of it being created. If they did, 100,000 signatures could easily be obtained within 30 days. The only requirements to sign a petition is being older than 12-years old and have an email address. According to the White House website there is no requirement to be a USA citizen.

Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,

Robert

15

Should Charity Organizations Be Forced To Be Transparent As To Where The Money Goes? Watchtower's Financial Books Should Be Made Public

by Brokeback Watchtower in

i know there is much encouragement for charities to have financial transparency and i'm all for it reguardless of whether they are a religion or whatever.

also lawsuit pay out should made easy identifiable on tax form too.

any charity should be accountable to the general public when funds are used to pay out lawsuits so that the general public is aware of where their money is going.

ABibleStudent

In the USA tax-exempt religions are exempt from making annual disclosures according to 26 U.S. Code § 6033.

If enough individuals would become politically active to help contact members of Congress to enact legislation to tweak the tax codes like I am promoting to protect children from sexual abuse, all tax-exempt organizations would have to file annual reports, those reports would be made available through the internet for free, and suspicious organizations would be required to pay for their records being audited by CPA's.

If you would like to learn more you can read a draft of the bill or a proposal overview of the bill at https://www.dropbox.com/sh/lbrkte086omivtt/AADN7PQHNylsdKwbltjHxBUea?dl=0 . If 150 people would like the LinkedIn discussion Advocates Needed to Sign "We the People" Petition within 24 hrs, I would happily create a "We the People" petition to jump-start the political process on the following Tuesday.

Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,

Robert

28

Elderly widows targeted, convinced to sign over Power of Attorney and Personal Representative of Estate

by Stop.the.abusers in

i discovered that my 96-year-old grandaunt had named her jw elder as personal representative of her estate and another jw "best friend" as her power of attorney.

i learned that they used a financial advisor at wells fargo advisors to help raid my grandaunts bank accounts in the years before her death, and then the wt and jws received most of what was left of her estate.

i am currently working on a book to expose this horrific practice.

ABibleStudent

Hi Stop.the.abusers, I'm sorry about what happened to your grandaunt.

Have you thought about filing an IRS 13909? I feel that what happened to your grandaunt would be classified as a "Organization engaged in deceptive or improper fundraising practices". Even if you are not a US citizen, you should file the form since the money would have flowed to the WTBTS in PA.

Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,

Robert