Wishing you all the best James.
Listener
JoinedPosts by Listener
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39
JAMES WOODS is in the hospital (heart related)
by Terry injames woods has been a long time regular on this discussion group in all of its incarnations.. he had some kind of "heart-attack" and has been in dallas' emergency ward for several days.
he also has a blood clot doctors are working to break up.. 972-261-4412 is his cell number.. he was in a talking mood yesterday afternoon.. i bet it wouldn't kill him to get some well-wishes.. james goes back a long way as an ex-jw.
he knows where the bodies are buried :).
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104
New Light: Don't hold hands during prayers
by RR infrom the watchtower november 15 study edition.. 19 when we are being represented in public prayer, we need to display reverential "fear of god.
" (1 pet 2:17) there may be a proper time and place for some actions that would be inappropriate at a christian meeting.
(eccl 3:1) for instance, suppose someone sought to have all in a group link arms or hold hands during prayer.
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Listener
The reason given is so that that another person is not shocked, stumbled or distracted. The whole article should have been written to those that would view it this way telling them to just get over it.
Why do I suspect that Anthony Morris iii is behind this? He says he doesn't like looking at men in tight pants either.
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Listener
They need a simplified version of this letter. -
30
The Captive Mind of a former bethalite.
by The Rebel ini see years of acute economic crisis ahead for the w.t.
this is evident with letting go of " volunteer" bethalites throughout the world.
but my thread is on the consequences to the individual, and the organisation of letting " volunteer" bethalites go.. so what happens to the captive mind of the former bethalite when they are let go from bethel?
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We should be feeling sorry for the ones left at bethel. -
21
Is the Borg winding down printing altogether?
by slimboyfat inthe thread about magazines stopping distribution in india reminded me of a recent conversation.
a local brother said he asked for a copy of the new organisation book for publishers.
the elder told the brother to print it out if he wanted a physical copy.
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Orphan Crow It wouldn't surprise me if the WTS is getting nailed for tax on printed material.
In Canada, even if they don't sell a product, they still could be levied a Goods and Services tax on the printed material they produce.
http://mmoutreachinc.com/nvweb/featureart/wttaxes.html
Maybe the tax man is catching up to the WTS' tax evasion methods.You are definately onto something here.
In Australia they are registered for GST since 2000 (Goods & Services Tax) and are a Charity (non profit). GST is currently 10%.
They get to claim back the 10% they paid on all expenses and I doubt they pay 10% on any of their donations.
What qualifies as a Donation which is not subject to GST is complex but generally applies if the donation is a pure gift, without any expectations for any provisions in return. If the provision is minor (such as a pen advertising the Charity) it is okay.
This is what one website defines a GST free donation/gift as
Gifts & Donations
For a payment (monetary or non-monetary) to be considered a gift or donation, it must be unfettered. Specifically, there must be no obligation on the donee to do anything in recognition of the gift, and no expectation on the part of the donor to receive anything in return for the donation. Whether a payment is a gift, and therefore not subject to GST, depends upon the circumstances surrounding the payment. For a payment not to be subject to GST would require: a payment that is made voluntarily, and not as a result of a prior contractual obligation (written or implied); a payment where the payer does not receive an advantage of a material character by way of return for making the payment; and a payment that essentially arises from benefaction.
A donor may receive something in return for making a payment with the payment still being treated as a gift, providing the thing received is only of ‘insubstantial’ value. An item of insubstantial value will not provide a donor with a material benefit.This is one reason why the Org says to not specify what the donation is for when remitting money to them.
Funny thing is that if a portion of that donation is not GST free, specifically for printed publications as an expectation which is not insubstantial, then the value would most likely be the market value which would be far greater than the minimal charge they were imposing prior to the donation arrangement.
There intention was to make it look like JWs were not paying for the literature or specifically donating for the literature but the JWs certainly had the expectation that they would be recieving it, that is the main reason that the WTBTS is there for. The GB had separated itself legally from the WTBTS in 2000 leaving the WTBTS to be virtually a business operation (albeit non profit). The amount of literature given to each JW is significant and could not be considered as a thank you gift from the Organization.
It would be interesting to know what the situation is regarding the definition of donations and tax in other countries.
If the Australian Branch suddenly found itself with a huge GST bill for a three year period they would have the option of taking it to Court to dispute it, it would then become public. However, they may choose not to as it would send out a flag for other Countries to examine.
Again Orphan Crow, I think you are on the right track here.
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21
Restructuring Bethel
by LaFrancia inan announcement to all congregation in italy :.
the project of a new bethel in italy was allocated .
the number of temporary special pioneers will be reduced significantly.
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Thanks for explaining SlidingFast. Sounds like a bit of a challenge for someone with little income. -
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Restructuring Bethel
by LaFrancia inan announcement to all congregation in italy :.
the project of a new bethel in italy was allocated .
the number of temporary special pioneers will be reduced significantly.
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I've never heard of a temporary special pioneer. It sounds crazy. Imagine having a temporary regular pioneer, they have a different name for that's an auxiliary pioneer. -
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"The Word" includes the book Vindication!
by Atlantis incan you send me the quote where the watchtower said that the word includes the book vindication?
thanks a bunch!.
.. the quote is in the 1932 watchtower, april 1, pg.101, par.
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Listener
Simon says - I would much prefer that you tell us about your friendship with Ray Franz and why you believe he wanted to go back to the ways of Rutherford.
It is not up to me to say definitively where holy spirit is operating or not operating, at best I can only state where I might feel it is or isn't operating.
Does his HS operate over the Wtbts? I have no reason to believe that God would not use his HS on occasions just as he might over any other organisation.
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Samuel Herd's statement about donations and Cialdini's social proof
by slimboyfat insamuel herd made a statement a few weeks ago about halting construction work, laying off bethel workers and reducing printing output: severe cutbacks all round.
he said, like the head of a household, the gb has to make sure the organisation is living within its means.
but he added a very careful phrase, something like: "be assured brothers these measures have not been taken as a result of any lack of financial support on your part.
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There was a reason Herd read out a letter, the wording had to be exactly right. It was very calculated. -
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"The Word" includes the book Vindication!
by Atlantis incan you send me the quote where the watchtower said that the word includes the book vindication?
thanks a bunch!.
.. the quote is in the 1932 watchtower, april 1, pg.101, par.
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Listener
Simon says, please prove that the holy spirit is not with the Mormons or Ray Franz.