Yes, Maximus, you hit on one of the most frustrating realities facing JWs. Those who are best postured to affect good are too often hindered from sharing how they really feel! Frustration is not strong enough to describe an occasion of having to sit and listen to one of your closest compadres spew a bunch of nonsense they privately told you they disagreed with!
Marvin Shilmer
JoinedPosts by Marvin Shilmer
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36
Report on Jacksonville losing WT convention
by expatbrit incity loses big convention .
by bill johnson, special to the daily record.
wash your car, it will rain.
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Report on Jacksonville losing WT convention
by expatbrit incity loses big convention .
by bill johnson, special to the daily record.
wash your car, it will rain.
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Marvin Shilmer
I don't see it. When it's in your town, you don't have to travel but everybody else does. When it's in another town, you have to travel but the people who live there don't. Sending thousands of Jacksonvillians to Tampa also means thousands of Tampons won't have to travel. It balances out.
One important ingredient in effective negotiation is having and maintaining competing interests. One edge the WTS has in convention negotiations is having other convention cities willing to do business with them. It doesn’t matter whether those other cities do kowtow, just them being a competing interest is enough to bully whip the target. If the target gets out of line then they go to the other city or cities, whether they acquiesces to each and every demand or not. Next year the original target city will, more than likely, be ripe for the pickings. It happens every year. Along these lines, editorials like the one written by Bill Johnson fit the WTS’ needs very nicely. It whips up local private money to pressure city officials into essentially spending public funds for private gains, supposedly for the greater good of the city and its taxpaying citizens. It wouldn’t surprise me one bit if the article was incited by WTS reps.
Why do you suppose the WTS convention office doesn’t sponsor conventions in every location having JW demography able to support a district convention? Why doesn’t the WTS organize district conventions in Jacksonville and Tampa—and other cities—to suit the needs of JWs in those areas? After all, if the WTS organized conventions according to JW demography then very few JWs would have to spend money for hotel and travel expenses. Wonder why the WTS does this, particularly in areas like the state of Florida where the JW population is fairly dense? There are enough convention sites conveniently located in Florida so that hardly any JW families must have hotel accommodations, and the size of district conventions could be maintained.
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Report on Jacksonville losing WT convention
by expatbrit incity loses big convention .
by bill johnson, special to the daily record.
wash your car, it will rain.
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Marvin Shilmer
This is standard operating procedure for the Watchtower Convention Office.
Local elders responsible for transacting these contracts are little more than sources of information for the WTS. All they really do is let the WTS convention office know who else they can go to for a better deal locally. These men have oftentimes become so embarrassed by WTS tactics and conditions that they are unable to present the deal to officials.
I am all for strong negotiation, but the WTS takes its conditions to such extremes that negotiation is not the word for what they do. What they do is better called unabashed selfishness. This alone would not be so bad, but this selfishness is often at the expense of the rank and file Witness.
Take for instance this case in Jacksonville, FL. (Which by the way used to be Schroeder’s favorite—he likes Jacksonville Beach beaches) The WTS has no qualms about sending thousand of friends further away to a convention site at far greater personal expense. If all you do is count JWs living in or near Jacksonville that now will have to shoulder expenses of traveling to and staying overnight in Tampa, this more than offsets what is probably a measly one or two thousand dollars difference in the WTS getting its way. I have seen the WTS pull out of a convention site for less than a thousand dollars difference, resulting in several thousand conventioneers having to spend hundreds of thousands on hotel and travel expenses that they would not have otherwise had to shoulder. The WTS does not feel it loses in this effect because their statistical studies, I am told, indicate that conventioneers do not contribute any more or less regardless of personal expense to attend. Therefore the WTS convention office has little motive, other than ethical, to shoulder some additional expense for the sake of saving hundreds of thousands on the part of my friends and brothers. This is why the worst side of these affairs is selfishness, selfishness at the friend’s expense.
The WTS may or may not know it, but among local heavies this whole subject is becoming a very sore one. They would probably be surprised at what loyal JWs "in the know" are saying to one another about this.
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Society on Documenting Personal Views
by Marvin Shilmer inquestion: does the watchtower society want individual witnesses expressing personal viewpoints about vital religious issues to persons whose intent is to record and document the findings?
the following letter written under the new letterhead from the societys service department documents the answer to this question.
christian congregation of jehovahs witnesses.
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Marvin Shilmer
Errata
Today I noticed the word comments in the next to last paragraph of the April 25, 2001 letter I reproduced on this forum. The correct word is commitments. The thought remains essentially the same. I apologize for the error.
A scanned version of this letter is now available online. I am not sure of the Web address. Perhaps another contributor can provide it.
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Society on Documenting Personal Views
by Marvin Shilmer inquestion: does the watchtower society want individual witnesses expressing personal viewpoints about vital religious issues to persons whose intent is to record and document the findings?
the following letter written under the new letterhead from the societys service department documents the answer to this question.
christian congregation of jehovahs witnesses.
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Marvin Shilmer
Exactly!
Would be "researchers" should be shown a copy of this letter.
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Society on Documenting Personal Views
by Marvin Shilmer inquestion: does the watchtower society want individual witnesses expressing personal viewpoints about vital religious issues to persons whose intent is to record and document the findings?
the following letter written under the new letterhead from the societys service department documents the answer to this question.
christian congregation of jehovahs witnesses.
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Marvin Shilmer
Question: Does the Watchtower Society want individual Witnesses expressing personal viewpoints about vital religious issues to persons whose intent is to record and document the findings?
The following letter written under the new letterhead from the Society’s service department documents the answer to this question.
Christian Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses
2821 Route 22, Patterson, NY 12563-2237
Phone: (845) 306-1100April 25, 2001
TO ALL BODIES OF ELDERS IN THE UNITED STATES
Dear Brothers:
Recently, academic researchers who say that they are interested in conducting surveys of religious community activities have contacted the elders of a number of congregations. Since there is a need to be careful about the nature of surveys and how such information will be used, we are providing direction for a qualified elder representing the congregation to follow, provided your congregation is asked to participate. Some of the points to have in mind are as follows.
When approached by researchers, the elder should treat them kindly, and he may listen to what they have to say. It would be well to find out what university or group the researchers represent and determine just what information they would like to have. If there are survey forms, it might be kindly explained that Jehovah’s Witnesses have considerable information in their publications that would no doubt answer some of the questions they are asking. The elder could provide such researchers with a copy of the brochure Jehovah’s Witnesses—Who Are They? What Do They Believe? On page 13 of the brochure, the basic beliefs of Jehovah’s Witnesses are listed together with the Scriptural reasons for those beliefs. We accept the Bible as the inspired Word of God. It is the basis for all our beliefs and teachings. It is reliable, whereas tradition is not.
Inquiry might be made about such matters as having a paid clergy class, the racial makeup and diversity of the congregation, the volunteer nature of our ministry, and the unity of our congregations. On page 13, column 2, of the above-named brochure, we have listed our belief that a clergy class and special titles are improper. If a topic is raised that is not specifically covered in the brochure, reference can be made to the Reasoning book, such as the portion on "Races of Mankind," starting on page 300. On page 304, reference is made to Acts 10:34, 35 showing that God is not partial. So Jehovah’s Witnesses do not discriminate against individuals because of race, language, or social standing. On page 305 the first paragraph points out that the oneness and unity of early Christians was a reality, and so it is today within the organization of Jehovah’s Witnesses.
If a question comes up on the subject f neutrality, that is also covered in the Reasoning book. And if an inquiry is made about how we view marriage, not only are there Scriptural references in the Reasoning book but the book The Secret of Family Happiness can be offered to the researcher.
The benefits to the community of our Bible educational ministry are also highlighted in other publications as well as in certain videos. The global scope of our activities is highlighted in the annual Yearbook, which includes a chart that sets out what is being accomplished in over 230 different lands. In addition, reference can be made to the Watchtower Society’s Web site so that the researcher may have access to a wide array of information, all of which explains the Scriptural basis for the position that Jehovah’s Witnesses take on vital issues.
This approach is far more advantageous in giving a witness and providing information than having various members of the congregation taking the time needed to fill out survey forms carefully and accurately. While in some instances we can cooperate with research projects—including surveys—we certainly want to avoid having publishers expressing personal viewpoints that may not be in line with the Bible principles that really govern each Christian’s conduct and the united efforts of the brotherhood to carry out Jehovah’s will.
If researchers or others approach elders seeking information and some issues come up about which the elders are not certain, they should not make any comments. Rather, these inquiries should be referred to the Service Department, at the address above, for attention.
We are confident that this direction will be sufficient for you to provide an appropriate response to anyone who approaches the congregation with an inquiry or survey about the work we do in the community and worldwide. May Jehovah’s spirit be your guide in caring for this matter as well as in all that you do in his sacred service.
Your brothers,
Christian Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses -
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Apheresis Blood Donation
by Marvin Shilmer inlooking for research material:.
the process of apheresis donation involves removal of whole blood from a patient or donor.
within a centrifugal type instrument components of the whole blood are separated.
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Marvin Shilmer
J.C.:
Searching Watchtower literature will not find the sought after precedent. It is not there. This information will be found in a letter to a hospital liaison committee, an isolated congregational letter or maybe in some obscure medical journal where a Watchtower Society representative offered it.
Pathofthorns:
This whole situation is sad, isn’t it. Your reasoning is part of why my instincts tells me there is precedent.
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Canada's Numbers Declining-Worries Bethel
by Had Enough inman it's good to be home, relaxed and de-stressing right now!
how many times today, i just wanted to say aaaaarrrrrrgggggghhhh!!!!
at my circuit's one-day assembly.
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Marvin Shilmer
Factoring an annual death rate of 1%, worldwide the five service years of 1996-2000 show an unexplained loss of more than 570,000 publishers. The year of greatest loss was 1999. That year realized an unexplained statistical loss of almost 160,000 publishers.
1996: 100,162
1997: 138,430
1998: 71,580
1999: 158,070
2000: 103,351Based upon the Watchtower Society’s published statistics and the same annual death rate of 1%, from 1960 though 2000 there were 1,871,228 publishers lost for reasons other than death.
There are all sorts of statistical studies possible with data published by the Watchtower Society, but one of the more interesting statistics is this: Since 1960 the percentage of total publishers to world population has grown from .0268% to .0951%. Over the last 10 years this growth in ratio looks like this:
1991: .0759%
1992: .0787
1993: .0811
1994: .0837
1995: .0870
1996: .0896
1997: .0916
1998: .0936
1999: .0942
2000: .0951These statistics indicate that, from 1991 through 2000 the number of publishers increased more than the rate of birth by a margin of 1,262,737.
Marvin Shilmer
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Apheresis Blood Donation
by Marvin Shilmer inlooking for research material:.
the process of apheresis donation involves removal of whole blood from a patient or donor.
within a centrifugal type instrument components of the whole blood are separated.
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Marvin Shilmer
Looking for research material:
The process of apheresis donation involves removal of whole blood from a patient or donor. Within a centrifugal type instrument components of the whole blood are separated. One of the separated portions is then withdrawn—the part being donated—and the remaining components are infused back into the donor.
My research is to answer the question, does the Watchtower Society permit apheresis donation—particularly plasmapheresis—when the donated component will only be used to provide a blood component therapy that is deemed "a conscience matter."
I feel as though this may be looking for the proverbial needle in a haystack, but instinct tells me there is precedent somewhere that apheresis donation—particularly plasmapheresis—is quietly allowed by the Watchtower Society as "a conscience matter."
M. Shilmer
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Bethel responds to Muramoto on blood therapy
by Marvin Shilmer inbethel has responded to dr muramotos recent article in the british medical journal about the watchtower societys ridiculous teachings about blood abstinence.
this response comes in a letter to the editor of bmj from the director of hospital information services in great britain, one paul wade.
the reply is not only embarrassing for all thinking jws, it is disgraceful!
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Marvin Shilmer
Bethel has responded to Dr Muramoto’s recent article in the British Medical Journal about the Watchtower Society’s ridiculous teachings about blood abstinence. This response comes in a letter to the editor of BMJ from the Director of Hospital Information Services in Great Britain, one Paul Wade. The reply is not only embarrassing for all thinking JWs, it is disgraceful!
For the life of me, I cannot understand how Bethel expects medical professionals to swallow the slyly worded assertion that JWs accept medical treatment without recourse to donor blood when Wade himself admits in the same article that JWs accept haemoglobin, as if haemoglobin comes from some abstract source! Doctors of medicine surely reel in astonishment when they read this sort of nonsense!
I say, "Advertise, advertise, advertise!"
Read the article at,
[url] http://bmj.com/cgi/content/full/322/7294/1123[/url]