Posts by Listener

6

How to distract people from the REAL issues... (2016 convention videos)

by stuckinarut2 in

have we noticed how the videos that are being shown at the 2016 convention manipulatively try to misdirect from the real issues?.

the video showing the daughter "leaving the truth" and leaving (kicked out) home has been designed to show that her life falls apart because she "left the truth".. then the video series about the "persecution" paranoia speaks about a brother who is not being saved with them in the basement "because he let fear of man etc" affect him.

then the video all about sergei's life speaks about his old friend who "let information about the truth make him have doubts" and he is no longer "in the truth" with them...and made out like it is worse than murdering and eating a kitten!.

Listener

- you cannot attend specialist classes for learning if you are talented, such as violin playing

- you cannot respond to a phone call from a disfellowshipped family member, regardless of whether it may be a call for help

- you've got to simplify your life more, even if you are already a pioneer. You need to sell your home, get rid of your pet and move to a unit

- even Elders must accept verbal instructions with humility from other younger Elders

- not accepting financial aid from non believing family member

- even when you feel ignored at the Hall (such as your being continuilly overlooked to answer up in meetings) you need to uncomplainingly accept menial jobs at the Hall

and the list goes on.

19

Question about 1940s Watchtower history

by slimboyfat in

i was studying this fascinating composite graph of jw growth.

lots of interesting things there.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/demographics_of_jehovah%27s_witnesses#/media/file%3ajwstats1931-2015.png.

Listener

Terry Waldron - Maybe he was editing the Watchtower from heaven like Russell did.

Exactly, they make this suggestion themselves and in so doing they have claimed that they do not know where these flashes of brilliant light come from.

From the Watchtower 2007 1/1

What, then, can we deduce from the fact that one of the 24 elders identifies the great crowd to John? It seems that resurrected ones of the 24-elders group may be involved in the communicating of divine truths today. Why is that important? Because the correct identity of the great crowd was revealed to God’s anointed servants on earth in1935. If one of the 24 elders was used to convey that important truth, he would have had to be resurrected to heaven by 1935 at the latest. That would indicate that the first resurrection began sometime between 1914 and 1935. Can we be more precise?

The dilemma with this speculation is that they do not know who is providing them with information, particularly when there is no bible backing for it to be revealed. Even worse, that they are communicating with dead people.

19

Bethel outing :)

by sp74bb in

jw
friends

by reliable sources, bethel us has recorded in 3 years:.

- 80 "out of the closet" confirmed.

- 200 departures requested by bethelites, where same reason is suspected.. - 20 censured ones "returning to the flock".

Listener

Is the reliable source Johnny the Bethelites?

19

Governing Body Geoffrey Jackson in a Skirt! Is this for real??????

by mrmagic in

saw a video with geoffrey jackson giving a talk on stage in a skirt.

is this for reall??.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2m0d4itktmk.

Listener

Possum, how common are these men skirts? Do all the Elders wear them on stage or out witnessing?

19

Governing Body Geoffrey Jackson in a Skirt! Is this for real??????

by mrmagic in

saw a video with geoffrey jackson giving a talk on stage in a skirt.

is this for reall??.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2m0d4itktmk.

Listener

Big brother, Morris is going to be mad.

23

Who was the poster who predicted radical Watchtower change years ago?

by slimboyfat in

who was the poster, about 8 years ago, who came on the forum and claimed he had inside information that the gb were planning radical changes.

he said that in ten years time jws would be unrecognisable.

many were skeptical.

Listener

It looks like JW org bet us to it.

We keep noticing how what is said here and on other forums greatly influences them anyway, they just don't listen to all our incredibly good advice.

23

Who was the poster who predicted radical Watchtower change years ago?

by slimboyfat in

who was the poster, about 8 years ago, who came on the forum and claimed he had inside information that the gb were planning radical changes.

he said that in ten years time jws would be unrecognisable.

many were skeptical.

Listener

True Problemaddict2, there hasn't been much in the way of radical change in regards to doctrine, although I would consider the change to the FDS doctrine to be huge. They have diminished the position of the anointed and elevated the position of the Governing Body to give themselves more power and authority. Also that there was no FDS until they came along, even Jesus' disciples were not FDS's upon Jesus departure.

The radical changes is in how they operate, how they manage what they own, how they spend their money and how they obtain more money. Considering that, it's all about the money.

23

Who was the poster who predicted radical Watchtower change years ago?

by slimboyfat in

who was the poster, about 8 years ago, who came on the forum and claimed he had inside information that the gb were planning radical changes.

he said that in ten years time jws would be unrecognisable.

many were skeptical.

Listener

My post seems to have been cut short and here is the rest of it

So they aren't looking at doing it at all without any money or under their own steam (what they currently own), they are counting on donations which we have seen them continually beg for.

All this would explain why they told the JWs to accept anything they say whether practical from a human standpoint or not.

IMHO I think they were losing so much money that they had to overhall their whole activities and come up with something sustainable for the future providing a new vision that JWs would endorse and support. This at a time when their numbers are dwindling has been a real gamble, particularly in attempting to retain people. It's also amazing to see how they treat the most dedicated of JWs in order to see the Organization continue to exist.

A brief examination of what was said in the past to the reality that we see today is enlightening.

23

Who was the poster who predicted radical Watchtower change years ago?

by slimboyfat in

who was the poster, about 8 years ago, who came on the forum and claimed he had inside information that the gb were planning radical changes.

he said that in ten years time jws would be unrecognisable.

many were skeptical.

Listener

Thanks Careful, that was the post that I thought of when Slimboyfat asked the question, at least the one that purported to be fairly factual information, with inside information rather than predicitons.

Thanks Slimboyfat for raising the question in the first place. I wasn't around 8 years ago and you may well have a different post in mind. There has been a lot of speculation mentioned over the years and guesses as to what they might or might not do and occasionally we get posters who really do have inside information.

There is a lot of information in that post of Juan Viejo2's and their is enough accurate information there to assume that most of it is accurate even though they haven't implemented all the changes mentioned.

It mentions that the GB could be increased to 12, this makes a lot of sense but hasn't been done, not even one additional member has been appointed. It is possible that they are stuck with the problem of having no suitable anointed men and don't know how to overcome the problem of appointing non anointed men. Their 2013 change, when they announced that only the GB are the FDS made this even more difficult because of the reward of being given all Christ's belongings.

If they were intending to increase to 12 and they haven't it may indicate serious problems within both the GB and their helpers.

The post identified the many cutbacks and even some of the thinking behind who they chose to get rid of. The focus of an increase in Legal, Real Estate and Training makes sense when we see what has been happening. They have sent out requests to congregations to determine if their may be Legal Professionals available to them. We have seen the creation of their very own Real Estate website and an increase in the purchases of translation offices/luxury homes, increased sales of Kingdom & Assembly Halls and the creation of the LDC as detailed in this post -

https://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/289353/ldc-semininar

Unfortunately, I can't see any indication from Juan's post to suggest why these changes were being made or what has prompted them.

Reading back on the LDC meeting is very interesting. They mentioned this at the meeting

YES! The organization is growing at a phenomenal rate
At an unprecedented rate – people are simplifying their lives – ridding themselves of their belongings to come and serve Jeh more fully – the room is filled with professionals from all over the country and world – that have chosen to completely unplug from their livelihoods – leave everything and everyone to come work on this historic project
GB says simplify – earn less money but at the same time they need millions more to do what we need to do – a contradiction? NO – Jehovah makes it happen. – consider:
We are the largest printing house in the world - all unskilled workers
We are the largest translation organization in the world – 700 lang- unskilled
We are one of the largest property development corporations in the world – we own over 80,000 properties – this is all managed by volunteers
Can you see it? The pillar of fire?
We are asked to adjust our thinking and feelings – Jehovah is in control. When we are told “go this way” we say “ I will go even if I don’t understand why right now”

Here is the task of the LDC:
Build 5 times as many Kingdom halls with 1/10 the work force – oh, and 1 more thing – do it for no money!

Jehovah likes impossible odds – this way its clear that He is with his people.

This is an admittance that their vision is an impossibility, at least from an earthly viewpoint.

Then there was this

Remember in 1990 how you felt when the branch said we are no longer going to ask for money for the magazines? We wondered how will this work? It costs a lot of money to produce the literature – how can we just hope people will donate?
Well, 24 years later – we are fine – in fact Jehovah has moved people to donate more than enough to keep the work going and growing! Nothing short of a miracle!

28

Has Robert Ciranko replaced Don Adams as president of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania ?

by EdenOne in

robert ciranko has been a "helper" of the governing body in the writing department.. don adams (born 1925, presumably 91 years old now) has been president of the wtbts since 2000. .

however, in recent official posts (april 2016), robert ciranko is identified as "president of the watch tower".

does anybody know what happened and if this is an official change?.

Listener

There's more information on Reddit

https://www.reddit.com/r/exjw/comments/4kfudh/robert_ciranko_was_silently_elected_as_a_new/