Listener

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  39

  Poignant Statistics Summary for Comment at This Sunday WT Study! (Aug. 3, 2014)

  by SAHS in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  the watchtower study to be considered this sunday, august 3, 2014 (using the magazine dated may 15, 2014), titled are you moving ahead with jehovahs organization?, in paragraph seven (on pages 27-28), talks about the number of people baptized in recent years:.

  7 where do those making up the great crowd come from?

  they are being brought together because of what jesus foretold as part of the sign of his presence.

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  Listener

  The reaction you had SAHS is not surprising and demonstrates the idea that most JWs are not thinkers.

  Looking at all these statistics it never occured to me before that there is something very strange about the numbers they are printing. They don't appear to be stating the actual number of baptized JWs at any given point in time. That is, even though they state the number of baptized people in any given year, they do not give the total number of JWs who have been baptized and in that year are considered active.

  Rather they just provide the number of publishers at any given time, which includes people who are unbaptized. This would suggest that they are not really interested in acknowledging the number of people who have dedicated their lives to God but they are interested in knowing the numbers of those people that are working for their organization.

  They are basically saying that an unbaptized publisher is recognized as a Jehovah's Witness.
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  50

  thinking of leaving

  by justme67 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i am 46 and have been a jw for only 6 years.

  i was doing ok until about a month ago.

  we were having an international convention and i heard the brother that had to pick up 2 of the members of the governing body had to get a background check done on him and his wife.

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  Listener

  Welcome justme67. There was a thread started not long ago regarding a convention speech by a GB member. He said they had recieved a letter from someone advising them to stock up on food to prepare for Armageddon. The GB member said this was crazy and they should be relying on Jehovah to provide. When it comes to their own protection it sounds like they have little faith in Jehovah to provide for their safekeeping.

  They are also building a huge underground 'carpark' in their new headquarters, even though they have acres and acres of land. I don't know if you have ever heard of Beth Sarim but the president (Judge J Rutherford) of the WTBTS had a house built there with an underground bunker.
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  10

  For Band on the Run-My Chinese Experiences

  by fulltimestudent in

  1. social
  2. current

  band on the run, stated on another thread, that rather than hearing that china is now the world's greatest manufacturer of cars (something, i guess, no red-blooded american wants to hear), that her preference is to hear about:.

  if you are in china, i would much rather hear about your experiences.

  how much freedom do christians have?

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  Listener

  Thanks for the information regarding the Visa's Fulltimestudent. It is certainly worth considering those places for a future trip.
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  90

  PEER PRESSURE!!! I gave in to Pioneering during August...I feel dirty...

  by stuckinarut2 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  ok, i'll admit it...i am weak.... as everyone knows, the pressure to "pioneer" during "the most momentous, awesome, amazing, centenary anniversay of jesus invisble kigdom rule, & distribute tracts about a dodgy website" campaign is very strong at the moment.... also, many will have read my threads about the extreme views and expectations in our cong for "all appointed men to pioneer" etc..... every elder and ms and their families have been announced as pioneering....i mean everyone's name was read out except mine..... i was not going to do it, as i do not believe anyone should be forced...(and of course its the last thing on earth i would rather do anyway since learning ttatt).

  but i am not quite ready to make the break yet, so i realised that i would stand out more if i didnt put in a form to pioneer.

  yes it would make me more conspicious, and make fading harder to do...it would bring more heat on me if i didnt pioneer.. so i gave in and submitted a form.... now, of course, i'm only going to make sure i'm seen at the key field service groups etc...but then go and do something more interesting...like count blades of grass..... ahh....i feel hypocritical to myself now......

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  Listener

  If you are willing to sign up to pioneer, imagine how many other JWs are signing up that don't really want to do it either. It makes a joke of the whole arrangement and the numbers are meaningless. Which is really interesting because the org. loves to say that they only count active publishers when giving a count of how many people are 'in' their religion, therefore their numbers are genuine followers unlike the many other religions.
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  37

  New BOE Letter Re. Elders/MS Appointments and Deletions

  by XBEHERE in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  from the wording of the letter it seems that the co has been given carte blanche with appointments and deletions.

  nowhere in the letter does it indicate that any records are sent to and from the co to the branch office.

  even if a body wants to delete an appointed brother and he disagrees his only recourse would be to write a "brief" letter to the service dept.

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  Listener

  At least one month before the circuit overseer’s visit, the Congregation Service Committee should send to the circuit overseer the full name, date of birth, and date of baptism of any brother the body of elders will be recommending for appointment as an elder or a ministerial servant.

  This allows enough time for the CO to inform the Branch so that they can check all their records regarding the individual.

  As far as the elders would be concerned the Branch Office is no longer involved, or they at least are not told what involvement they have. In any future Court cases there will be less information that an elder could provide to the court in regards to the Branch Office's involvement.
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  48

  Can anyone give me any advice on how to get rid of cockroaches?

  by Jeannette in

  1. social
  2. humour

  i have sprayed, i have bug bombed, i have sprayed some more.

  i threw things out i thought that they might have a nest in.

  i soaked some things in hot water all day.

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  Listener

  

  We use cockroach baits and find they are very effective, they are simple to use. This is a little information about them

  What it does

  Kills roaches and their cockroach eggs with just a single feed from the bait. The roaches are attracted to the bait station; they eat the bait and carry it back to the nest, where they die and contaminate others. The bait also kills the eggs that the cockroaches carry, breaking the breeding cycle.

  Remember to replace the bait every three months; each bait comes with a date panel on the base and the packet, allowing you to circle the month you put it out. There’s already enough to remember in life!

  Benefits

  With no fumes, smell or mess, the baits allow constant protection from cockroaches while your family remains unaffected.

  Where to use

  Recommended spots include the kitchen, bathroom, laundry and hot-water system. For best results, put the cockroach baits adjacent to walls and flush with corners when placing them on floors.
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  10

  For Band on the Run-My Chinese Experiences

  by fulltimestudent in

  1. social
  2. current

  band on the run, stated on another thread, that rather than hearing that china is now the world's greatest manufacturer of cars (something, i guess, no red-blooded american wants to hear), that her preference is to hear about:.

  if you are in china, i would much rather hear about your experiences.

  how much freedom do christians have?

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  Listener

  Thanks for the information Fulltimestudent. My hubby and I are visiting Hong Kong and Macau once again, in just over a weeks time. The Jw's seem to be fairly active in the streets of Hong Kong, unless it was just coincedence. I have seen them twice on previous visits.

  The last time I saw them on a street corner very close to the Chinese/Macau ferry terminal with their literatue trolley. Out of the three people manning the cart only one looked Chinese. I nearly stopped to pick up some literature just to see if they would warn me about not taking it into China but I doubt they would have and I think this was the exact reason why they had located themselves so close to the Ferry terminal.

  Macau has many old Christian churches and a beautiful old church ruin that is probably the number 1 attraction in Macau (besides the Casino's). The Portuguese people who migrated to Macau were responsible for establishing these Churches.

  We are running out of places to see in Macau and Hong Kong but we just love how different it is to our own country, Australia.

  Unfortunately, China still hasn't made it any easier to get Visa's so once again we have chosen not to travel there.
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  55

  JW.Org Blitz

  by Theredeemer in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i've noticed, partilcularly on instagram, a advertising blitz for jw.org by the dubs.

  primarily its the younger ones 35 and under vs older ones.

  i dont know if its just my friends or everyone but they are obsessed with jw.org.

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  Listener

  Many JWs are embracing this change as if it is their very own golden calf.
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  11

  A question about the change from qualities to works

  by alfredjones100 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i remember reading a comment here that bro.

  russell emphasized the developement of christian qualities, where are bro rutherford changed the focus to christan works.

  the question i have is, is this change dirrectly commented on in print or is it seen in more anecdotal evidence?.

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  Listener

  This is a really great question Alfredjones and thanks for the link donuthole.
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  20

  A thought about the convention: Anticipate Future Blessings...

  by wisdomfrombelow in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  one of the parts had a skit with 3 or 4 young brothers playing a game of "what i will look forward to in the new system".

  one wanted a house by the beach.

  one wanted a house in the forest.

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  Listener

  Watchtower 14 8/15 pgs 29-30

  For years, our publications have said that Jesus’ words about the resurrection and getting married likely refer to the earthly resurrection and that those resurrected to life in the new world will evidently not marry. * ( Matt. 22:29, 30; Mark 12:24, 25; Luke 20:34-36 ) While we cannot be dogmatic, is it possible that Jesus’ words refer to the heavenly resurrection ? Let us examine what Jesus said. ....

  Third, if Jesus’ words about the resurrection and getting married apply to the heavenly resurrection , does this mean that those who come back in the earthly resurrection will be able to marry? God’s Word does not give a direct answer to that specific question. If Jesus was, in fact, talking about the heavenly resurrection , then his words do not shed any light on whether resurrected ones on earth will be able to marry in the new world.

  Meanwhile, we know that God’s Word definitely says that death dissolves the marriage tie.

  They originally stated dogmatically that those resurrected on earth would be neither male nor female, now they are saying that the scriptures they used to support this idea now apply to the heavenly resurrection.

  Along with this is the video released at the Conventions title 'resurrection'. They picture the girls sister as being resurrected as a female.