I don’t see them ever “willingly“ adopting those changes, but they very well may be forced to if they continue to be “persecuted“ by the worldly governments for their policies that violate basic human rights such as shunning.
DesirousOfChange
JoinedPosts by DesirousOfChange
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14
Essential Beliefs
by LeeMerk inif the watchtower really wants to move more mainstream they need to take a lesson from evangelicals in the united states.
they seem to say there are "essential beliefs".
a handful of core beliefs that are necessary to be considered true christians.
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So what happens next...
by Farmer Jim1 inwith what is arguably the biggest change to jw life in recent decades (the scrapping of publishers counting hours) what does this lead to?.
in my mind these are the results;.
1) a massive decrease in 'preaching hours'.
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DesirousOfChange
I'm kind of late to this topic, but I thought that when the DO's were cut that there would be some kind of downsizing of CO's. The problem though might be that the CO's are now the "Company Men" for the Borg. The CO is who audits the BOOK$ and handling of the FUND$ in behalf of WT. They also inspect the condition of the KHall to see that WT's investment is being maintained in top shape.
Currently, CO's make two visits each year to each Cong. So, I think they could cut the CO's by 50% by only having ONE visit per year by the actual CO, and have a sub-CO (or a CO-wanna-be) from the circuit (or better yet, a nearby circuit) to do the other visit. Congs would still pick up the expenses of the sub-CO, but WT would not have to provide healthcare to the CO & COW (big issue in the USA). With this in place, a CO could now cover twice the number of Congs.
Remember, you heard it here first!
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66
My decision.
by MissDaSilva ini’ve decided to disassociate from the jw organisation.
i cannot be part of a community that blatantly rejects the sacrifice of jesus in that demonic memorial ritual.
amazing what information you find when you start researching.. i’m writing my letter and posting it to the kingdom hall this morning.
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DesirousOfChange
Teddnzo, I completely understand what you are saying. You've gotten some grief here from posters, but I think the majority will agree that YOU should do what is good/best for YOU. We have close family who are PIMO, and they stay "IN" for much the same reasons that you state. They find it is a good social network and their choice of lifestyle does not conflict with JW ideals. Still, they strongly disagree with some JW standards. I know if it came to a life-or-death situation, they would agree to a transfusion. They sent their kids to college (though I will add that all but one are no longer JWs).
My wife and I have considered this more than once. We surely would have preferred not to lose our network of (though they be conditional) friends. But we agree with your statement that these people are "trapped" -- Captives of the Cult. Our choice to not do so was more based on the fact that we feared others would base their adherence to the Cult on the basis that we appeared to be doing the same. We do not want to give the appearance that we are good, toe-the-line, devout JWs. There is just too much crap in the JW system that is WRONG. It will need many more serious changes before we can give tacit approval.
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Why disfellowship must be eliminated for the survival of the WT itself
by TheScientist inthis topic i digress about why the watchtower relaxing the rules of disfellowship is essential for its survival.
many things i'm going to say are not my ideas, some are, the point is, i'm condensing everything in a logical and concise way.. the first thing we have to keep in mind is that the wt's main objective in instituting disfellowship has always been not to lose members because of the damage that a dissident could do, or to avoid gaining new members because of the bad reputation of a confessed sinner in the his/her region.
in the end, the more active members, the more money to the coffers.. in this case of disfellowship due to apostasy, to avoid any spark, texts were sought out of context that even prohibited saying "hi".
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DesirousOfChange
Eventually, you get to the point where your asking yourself, “Wait… if they’re effectively admitting they’ve gotten this wrong, what else are they wrong about? Evolution? Armageddon? The claim of ‘God’s Exclusive Earthly Organization’?”
Of course, some will just always drink the KoolAid.
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A BEARD PREDICTION FOR 2024
by AndersonsInfo infyi, i posted this prediction on my facebook page last night and it has received 224 likes and there have been 83 comments made.
many of the comments are hilarious.. .
a beard prediction for 2024:.
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DesirousOfChange
Did I hear it correctly in that video? The reason th bare faced Jesus in the old publication showed up was because they listened to what an archeologist was saying at the time?
The local rumor around here, as presented by a CO many years ago, was that a child questioned why JC had no beard when the law required men to not shave. This "innocent" inquiry got "the brothers" at Bethel to review and reverse their depictions of JC.
Anyone else ever hear that story?
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The Memorial
by jhine inthe wt teaches that the memorial ( communion) should only be celebrated yearly and only the anointed can partake of the bread and wine .
is that right ?
i don't think so ..
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DesirousOfChange
I can find no Biblical evidence for the WT teaching.
Somehow that really shouldn't come as a surprise, but be sure the average JW will argue with you until blue in the face. Or, they'll argue until you stump them with the Bible and they will turn an run!
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Why disfellowship must be eliminated for the survival of the WT itself
by TheScientist inthis topic i digress about why the watchtower relaxing the rules of disfellowship is essential for its survival.
many things i'm going to say are not my ideas, some are, the point is, i'm condensing everything in a logical and concise way.. the first thing we have to keep in mind is that the wt's main objective in instituting disfellowship has always been not to lose members because of the damage that a dissident could do, or to avoid gaining new members because of the bad reputation of a confessed sinner in the his/her region.
in the end, the more active members, the more money to the coffers.. in this case of disfellowship due to apostasy, to avoid any spark, texts were sought out of context that even prohibited saying "hi".
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DesirousOfChange
Who’s got the money to donate nowadays? Just living is expensive and add to the problem is uneducated low paid Jehovah’s Witnesses that aren’t allowed to work overtime to get ahead. There ain’t much left over at the end of the month.
This speaks a different story than I see in our area. It's difficult to hire people. Much more difficult to hire honest, dependable people. When you find that kind of employee, you pay them well or they move on to someone who will. We have younger (30's) JWs who are doing quite well. Many taking cruises and international vacations. They have nice homes and nice cars. I am quite sure they are contributing regularly and I think there is a pride among some about how much they can contribute.I know of one single sister who was converted by studying in prison, so she has a felony on her record. She has had no trouble getting work and was recently hired by a larger industrial manufacturing firm here which is union and so she's making the best paychecks that she ever has. Even before that job, she was concerned about ONLY contributing $100/month.Many younger JWs are in the construction trades here and earning $50,000+ and good health & retirement benefits. Quite a few are self employed in service businesses, ie cleaning (those people earn good money here as an average home pays well over $100), dog grooming, hair styling, etc. All of these young couples are living well. And likely contributing well.Why are they still JWs? Because they don't care about doctrine. Hell, they don't even know JW doctrine. Being a JW is their social network. They are not interested in being involved in things that are objectionable to JWs, ie, screwing around, overdrinking, or drugs (if you want MJ you get a medical card). And, the men are all receiving "privileges" in the Cong and feel good about themselves for it (and they get to wear a suit and tie). They can keep the Borg in the black for another (overlapping) generation. -
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Another kingdom hall up for sale
by pepperheart inhi another kingsom hall is up for sale if you look in the rightmove property website and look for bradford in the uk you will see that its priced at £170,000.. but why should they need to be selling a kingdom hall off espically when they are not printing about 50 million magazines a month they vant be that short of money can they ?
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DesirousOfChange
Do you recall several years ago there was the discussion that 100s or 1000s of new Kingdom Halls were needed and the new commercial design was released.
Where are all these new "look like a bank" Kingdom Halls?
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Where is Tony?
by Athanasius inon february 22, 2023, anthony morris iii was officially removed from the governing body of jehovah's witnesses.
a few months later it was revealed that the watchtower bought him a house in lumberton, north carolina.. however, and correct me if i am wrong, since leaving the gb nobody has reported seeing tony attending jw meetings or participating in field service.
in fact nobody has reported seeing him anywhere, not even at a local liquor store.
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DesirousOfChange
Any good conversation starters anyone??
Watcha doing later? I happen to have just picked up a bottle of Macallan 18.
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Why disfellowship must be eliminated for the survival of the WT itself
by TheScientist inthis topic i digress about why the watchtower relaxing the rules of disfellowship is essential for its survival.
many things i'm going to say are not my ideas, some are, the point is, i'm condensing everything in a logical and concise way.. the first thing we have to keep in mind is that the wt's main objective in instituting disfellowship has always been not to lose members because of the damage that a dissident could do, or to avoid gaining new members because of the bad reputation of a confessed sinner in the his/her region.
in the end, the more active members, the more money to the coffers.. in this case of disfellowship due to apostasy, to avoid any spark, texts were sought out of context that even prohibited saying "hi".
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DesirousOfChange
I believe there is a greater incentive for WT to cool it on disfellowshipping/shunning. They are being labeled as an "extremist" sect/cult/religion -- particularly in Russia at the moment. While no one really cares about what happens in Russia, as it can be spun as "persecution", but WT is getting lots of negative reviews/publicity in other more western nations too. The DF policy is seen as a violation of Human Rights and as political views lean more and more liberal on such matters, they realize they may face legal action by the State against them, ie, loss of charitable status. (OMG! Don't do anything to put the WT funds at risk!)
WT has already backpedaled on taking DF action against anyone who accepts a blood transfusion in a life-or-death situation -- as long as they "repent" for their sin/weakness. I believe this all started with their compromise in 1998 on the "blood policy" with Bulgaria and the European Human Rights Commission when they promised that JWs could have "free choice to have transfusions without control or sanction" by WT. This is an issue that WT would like laid to rest.
Hopefully, their policy of shunning for any other "sins" will also become to be seen as a human rights issue to authorities. The only way to affect change at WT is to hit them where it hurts -- their pocketbook. Legal action lawsuits by governmental authorities and the risk of charitable status are a double whammy to them. The fact that it may not cause too much harm within the Congregation is merely a favorable byproduct for them.