2024-april-elder-manual.. .
https://files.accessjw.org/s/qpctw2hg87t9hxx .
grandpa!.
All the weird hard line stuff is still in the PDF.
Surely they do not think their secret book is secret.
Angus Stewart, the Counselor (or whatever his official title is) in the ARC hearings knew the Elders Book better than any of the elders that were in the Hot Seat. That guy was VERY impressive.
No more speaking out of both sides of their mouth -- their secret rules are "on record" now.
2024-april-elder-manual.. .
https://files.accessjw.org/s/qpctw2hg87t9hxx .
grandpa!.
Apparently, the recent changes happened so fast (due to Japan and Norway decisions) that they weren't yet incorporated into this release. Hence, the changes in the GB Update will be covered thru the already released Elder's Correspondence and then at upcoming annual Elder's Meeting / Training session, wherein they'll be directed to write things in the margins.
So this tells you just how sudden this "90-day DF'ing, then repentance and let back in" change was.
Sometimes what WT publishes or says in statements is not really how things happen in reality. They "spin" things for public consumption but I doubt they really intend for their "secret manual", which they know is NOT secret any longer, to conflict with the spin they are giving Norway and other European communities that see their violation of Human Rights.
But then , WHY the new revision so soon? They just released the latest edition in October 2023!
this following story is about the german exjw channel jz help that received a cease and desist letter from the watchtower : "we embarked on a journey to shed light on human rights violations within the jehovah's witnesses community.
it all began when our youtube channel, initially named jw victim assistance, was abruptly suspended in august 2019 by the watchtower bible and tract society of pennsylvania, claiming a breach of human rights.
subsequently, in october, we received a cease and desist notice, demanding the cessation of using the abbreviation 'jw' within a short timeframe.
Moreover, the associated legal costs posed a significant financial burden, which we were unable to bear at the time.
With their access to free attorneys, WT counts on being able to OUT-LAWYER anyone else.
everybody plays the fool.
lyrics.
'okay, so your heart is brokenyou sit around mopin'cryin' and cryin'you say you're even thinkin' about dyin'well, before you do anything rash, dig this.
Charles Sinutko was CO in our area decades ago. It was before I lived here, so I never met him, but respected elders that I worked along side idolized him as a public speaker and particularly idolized that talk. Of course, by this time 1975 was way, way, back in the review mirror and still Sinutko was seen to "walk on water".
https://youtu.be/-yvykw37rzo?si=vwokohrdq2b53fmh.
by now, it should be painfully obvious that we live in a post tonny morris era where the floods of organizational changes have become possible and a new version of the religion, some have called it warchtower 2.0 is emerging with a soft approach to disfellowshipping practices across the board for all those sinners.
nevertheless 3 groups of people will still be targeted for harsh excommunication, we know the first two well :csa perpetrators and apostates.
More is being made of these changes than is actually the case. ~ JeffroM
Thank you!
All we have so far is the WT "spin" on dealing with these matters. All to often we see that WT's public policy is quite different to what happens in reality. Do you recall the WT lawyer/elder testifying before the Canadian Court regarding treatment of DF people? We know they were "forced" to make these new changes because it was determined that their original policies violated Human Rights laws/rules and as a result their charity status was put at risk.
It will take some significant time to see how any of these new policies play out in real life and then we will know "the rest of the story".
while having my first strong black coffee of the day, i was thinking about what may be to come next as the org.
rapidly goes mainstream, and this is what i came up with :.
1) they will introduce for sunday, the after meeting fellowship, a time for just chatting but with the added bonus of coffee and snacks.
Disbanding HLCs?
This makes sense. The HLC in some areas have the reputation of sitting in a JW patient's hospital room "on guard" for the prospect of them making a Hail Mary decision to accept a transfusion. Current policy, though softened if the person states any kind of "repentance", still is seen as a violation of Human Rights in some countries. Said governments are actively taking a stand against the religion of JW's for this violation and putting the WT at risk of losing tax exempt status &/or other benefits of being an authorized religion recognized in that nation.
I expect WT will NOT do a complete 180 turnaround on the doctrine, but will take a "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" position in the future. If the HLC is not there, then there are no "witnesses". Family members who complain will be told to STFU and leave to the individual's conscience -- between them and Jehovah.
FOLLOW THE MONEY!
i am not a jw, nor have i ever been.
i'm an apostolic pentecostal.
i do have an older half-brother who is about 13 years my senior.
The fifth commandment says, “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you” (Exodus 20:12).
Nowhere in the Bible does it differentiate if one's father is "in The Troof" or not so. Your brother cannot even apply any defense of "apostasy" or "inactivity" as if your father was a "weak" or former JW. Also, consider Paul's view of those who have no affection for their parents:
2 Timothy 3: 1 But know this, that in the last daysa critical times hard to deal with will be here. 2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, haughty, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, disloyal, 3 having no natural affection, not open to any agreement, slanderers, without self-control, fierce, without love of goodness, 4 betrayers, headstrong, puffed up with pride, lovers of pleasures rather than lovers of God, 5 having an appearance of godliness but proving false to its power;b and from these turn away.
BEAT HIM WITH HIS BIBLE
do jehovahs witnesses believe eccl.
10: 19 is literal or is limited in application in some way?
money is the answer for everything - eccl.
Do Jehovahs Witnesses believe Eccl. 10: 19 is literal or is limited in application in some way?
First, let's define the crowd you mean when you use the term "Jehovahs Witnesses". Do you speak of the R&F JW? Or do you speak of the JW hierarchy -- the JW Leadership, ie, GB?
The Leadership, including the GB, DEFINITELY believe money is the answer to everything. At the same time, they "preach" to the flock to "keep the eye simple" and ridicule anyone who "is determined to be rich". Of course, both of those examples are fluid. What is "simple? And what is "rich"?
I believe that the average JW today has a greater concern about financial stability than their peers from decades ago. The JW today DOES NOT count on Armageddon "fixing" all their problems. Instead, the average JW is carrying on in life just like the average "worldly" person. For example, husband & wife both have jobs. Ten or twenty years ago that didn't apply to higher education, but today even many of the average JWs are going to college or at least some kind of higher education (trade school, etc). Lots of the men are in union construction trades and many of the women or in nursing. All the young JW couples that I know of are traveling extensively -- seeing the sites of the US, going on cruises, and even international trips are quite common.
They all have come to realize that "money is the answer for [almost] everything". I added the "almost" because we all know "money doesn't buy happiness". Of course, it's a helluva lot better being rich and unhappy than broke and unhappy!
let's be honest, there's a stigma to the name jehovah's witness.
if they are going more mainstream.
i imagine the first recommendation was a name change.
…wouldn’t it be a mind-fuck of the highest order if these consultants actually got all their ideas simply from perusing JWD???
I'm sure there are several people here that could have come up with something better than the Overlapping Generation Bullshit. Come on! That should have been a WTF moment for everyone!
Where is Freddy Franz when you need some smoke & mirror magic?
i think the gb needs to expand publishers' volunteer activities beyond door knocking.. gb has shifted away from door-knocking to more varied forms of witnessing and no longer counting time for publishers.
my prediction is that the gb will start encouraging jws to participate in broader community volunteer efforts: clean-up drives, food banks, senior citizen support, and other non-proselytizing activities.
this move could help them gain goodwill with government agencies and the public.. expanding volunteer activities could significantly shift how jws are perceived by the wider community.
One other thing for everyone to consider, the GB are here in the US. Even if they were born elsewhere, served elsewhere, they are pretty "Americanized" sitting on their thrones in upstate NY. In the US, a religious organization is not required to ANY of such charitable works. Just being a religion is enough to qualify for tax exemption and there is not an arrangement here for the government or taxpayers to give religions any kind of funding. (In fact, I was astounded when I learned that some governments, ie, Norway do that.)
I don't expect WT to organize some kind of charitable giving (cash nor tangible things like food pantry, etc). I think if it becomes required in other countries to have them maintain their "charity" status, then perhaps they'll grant the local branches to organize something to pass off as "charity", but I still think if would predominantly be for JWs.
