Posts by factfinder

80

Is the WTBTS having cash flow problems?

by JW GoneBad in

i was at a 2 day circuit assembly this weekend and i was surprised at how many times mention was made directly or indirectly reminding those in attendance (1,600) of the need to give $$$.

even in the soliloquies or skits they seemed to work in the need to give $$$.. it made me wonder if the society is having 'cash flow' problems and hence is desparate for cash.

over the years that i've attended conventions and assemblies the need to give $$$ has been subtle (imo), til now.

factfinder

jwgonebad- thank you for quoting the Dec. 1980 KM about donations being "unsolicited and wholly voluntary". It seems that jws have gone far from that - the wt brings up donating too often and I am very offended about the display at a CA for credit/debit cards to be used for donations. If that had been there while I was still going to assemblies it would have made me mad and I would not have gone back again.

They have shown by their actions that they are hurting for money. Well, I guess Jehovah is not backing them! ( shocking, isn't it! LOL!)

55

Worldwide Service Report for 2010 / Yearbook 2011

by Designer Stubble in

wonder if anyone had a scan available of the 2010 annual report, which can normally be found in the 2011 yearbook.. .

thanks in advance!.

factfinder

david17- I agree with you. Years ago I was in a cong. where various ones I worked in FS with did not turn in FS reports. I knew they had hours to report- they did not think it was important to do so. I remember meeting parts urging all to report their fs and why it was important to do so. Even when I gave up meetings I still did informal witnessing and placed literature without reporting it.

Yes- the baptism figure (294,000) is already included in the pk pub figure(7,500,000). Its just that those publishers got baptized during the 2010 SY. Some witnesses do take a while before getting baptized. I began reporting fs every month and was counted as a publisher each month for about one and a half years before I decided to get baptized.

Baptism figures are useless in trying to determine how many fall away. You'd be using the same numbers twice as everyone baptized is counted as a publisher all along and you have to be a regular publisher at least 6 months before you can be accepted for baptism.

How did Scandinavia do in the reports?

80

Is the WTBTS having cash flow problems?

by JW GoneBad in

i was at a 2 day circuit assembly this weekend and i was surprised at how many times mention was made directly or indirectly reminding those in attendance (1,600) of the need to give $$$.

even in the soliloquies or skits they seemed to work in the need to give $$$.. it made me wonder if the society is having 'cash flow' problems and hence is desparate for cash.

over the years that i've attended conventions and assemblies the need to give $$$ has been subtle (imo), til now.

factfinder

@TheListener- They are planning to greatly expand the WEC by over 904,000 Sq feet! And they are planning to add nearly 400,000 sq ft to wallkill bethel. As far as I know they still plan to build the complex in Warwick, NY and at Ramapo- but it all depends on their getting tax-exempt status.

But even if they sell off their Brooklyn properties and get a fortune for it- that money won't last forever and they have no other property as valuable that they could sell in the future.

80

Is the WTBTS having cash flow problems?

by JW GoneBad in

i was at a 2 day circuit assembly this weekend and i was surprised at how many times mention was made directly or indirectly reminding those in attendance (1,600) of the need to give $$$.

even in the soliloquies or skits they seemed to work in the need to give $$$.. it made me wonder if the society is having 'cash flow' problems and hence is desparate for cash.

over the years that i've attended conventions and assemblies the need to give $$$ has been subtle (imo), til now.

factfinder

Scott77- I tried for years to get an annual financial report on the WT. I can't. Seems they are not required to make these figures available to the public and so don't. I gave up donating to them years ago when they refused to answer my requests for a breakdown in how the donations are used.

If anyone ever finds any of this information I'd love to see it!

55

Worldwide Service Report for 2010 / Yearbook 2011

by Designer Stubble in

wonder if anyone had a scan available of the 2010 annual report, which can normally be found in the 2011 yearbook.. .

thanks in advance!.

factfinder

Hi alanv! Thanks!

I just don't think we can accuratly find out how many really leave the "truth" each year by using the annual service year report figures.

The % of increase for most countries is a lot less than it used to be so it seems at least some people are finding out the truth about "the truth" and therefore are not becoming witnesses.

80

Is the WTBTS having cash flow problems?

by JW GoneBad in

i was at a 2 day circuit assembly this weekend and i was surprised at how many times mention was made directly or indirectly reminding those in attendance (1,600) of the need to give $$$.

even in the soliloquies or skits they seemed to work in the need to give $$$.. it made me wonder if the society is having 'cash flow' problems and hence is desparate for cash.

over the years that i've attended conventions and assemblies the need to give $$$ has been subtle (imo), til now.

factfinder

A display for debit/credit card donations at the assembly hall? that sounds like begging to me. Everything they have been doing the past 15 or so years indicates they are having money problems. Then after the year 2000: discontinuing personal magazine subscriptions due to increasing postage costs, cutting way back on magazine production, first by making the Awake! a monthly and then seperating the WT into 2 seperate editions with one only for the congregation thus greatly cutting down on magazine production , turning more and more books into perfect-bound soft cover books, now they make nearly every book a paperback, closing branches, downsizing the headquarters facilities, selling presses and binding equipment, etc.

Everything indicates that donations have been dropping off sharply.

17

Parents are coming to town (straight from a 3 day stay in bethel) Do you have any questions for them?

by cyberjesus in

ok my parents are coming from mexico.

my dad is a big name elder over there, being an elder for 40 years and worked in bethel, co, city overseer, and convention overseer for more than 20 years.. you name it.

and they also did the special pioneer thing (thats when i was born) ... anyway my mom's cousin (who is the head of a service table in bethel) invited them for a 3 day stay in the headquarters.. so they are coming to visit (since my grandpa is very ill)... .

factfinder

From my experience it is like banging your head against the wall trying to reason with a witness relative. It just goes around in circles, nothing I say or ask matters. Anyone who doubts or questions the "slaaaaave" is wrong, is an apostate, is under the influence of satan. That's it!

I hope your parents are not quite that blind and will listen to something you say and not automatically reject it.

56

What is the WT's Motivation? Who Benefits?

by InterestedOne in

jw
friends

another thing my jw friend says to me when i question the wt is, "what would their motivation be?

they're so humble and no-one gets paid except a basic living allowance for the workers at bethel.

they're not like those other rotten 'ministries' whose leaders get paid a lot of money, etc.".

factfinder

simon17-good answer!

37

The Tetragrammaton...And The Inserted Vowels

by titch in

jw
friends

for any and all persons who may have been associated with jehovah's witnesses in the past (or currently), you have probably read, or heard information about the origin of the name "jehovah.

" as explained by witnesses, and even other religious groups, the name jehovah is merely the anglicized (or, english-language) version of the so-called "divine name.

" the thinking is that in the original hebrew language, the "divine name" was originally represented by these four english consonants: jhvh; some persons think that it might have been yhvh.

factfinder

just n from bethel- thank you!

AGuest- peace to you too! and thank you! Interesting thought-that Jah is God's name and not a shortened form of Jehovah. I just wish to mention that in Hebrew the J is pronounced as Y ( as in Norwegian and Swedish!)

Sab- Why do you think God did allow the true pronunciation of his name to be lost?

3

Merry Christmas Everyone, 2010 & still no big A

by finallysomepride in

jw
friends

merry christmas to all on jw net.

factfinder

Merry Christmas to you too! And hopefully 2011 will be a better year for all of us.