Drearyweather

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Posts by Drearyweather

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  48

  Watchtower Releases 2017 Grand Total Figures!

  by darkspilver in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  2017 grand totals.

  branches of jehovah’s witnesses: 90. .

  number of lands reporting: 240. .

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  Drearyweather

  I am unable to understand the comparisons people make with these numbers (someone can explain it to me clearly):
  

  1. Some people compare the growth of the world population (say 1.12%) with the growth in peak publishers (1.4%). However, not all kids born to JW's are counted automatically in the peak publishers as they would need some more years to become an unbaptized publisher. Similarly, not all JW kids become publishers or get baptized. So, many JW kids may never be counted in the JW stats. Am I wrong somewhere?

  2. Some people count the number of hours spent to the number of people baptized. (say 7000 hrs for 1 baptism). I wonder if such calculation mean anything. Many of the 284,000 baptized in 2017 many have been studied with in the previous service years (Not all who are preached or studied get baptized in that particular year). While the people who were preached in 2017 will probably get baptized in the next or its next service year). Plus, those of the people preached in 2017 will get counted in the peak publisher count too as unbaptized publishers. I hope I am not confusing. The number of people baptized may not have a direct relation to the number of hours spent in that service year.

  3. Plus another factor is considering that JW membership requires that a certain number of hours are spent on a person before he gets baptized. A person who is preached doesn't get baptized the next day or the next week. A publisher has to spend few months to get his student become an unbaptized publisher and then a few months to get him baptized. Same for kids. So how would this factor into the calculations? How does this compare with becoming a member of another religion. How easy its to get 284,000 people baptized into the JW religion and to get the same number baptized into some other Christian sect?
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  29

  What if the crucifixion never took place..

  by Jayk in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  i googled it and pretty much my understanding is the same as what i imagine.

  no one really knows, your guess is as good as the next.

  interesting thought to consider imo..

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  Drearyweather

  What if the crucifixion never took place..

  Then Jesus Christ would be still roaming with us today
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  60

  2017 Service Year Report Grand Totals

  by Drearyweather in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  2017 figures released to bethel families worldwide:.

  peak publishers: 8,457,107. total baptized: 284,212 .

  regular pioneers: 1,225,279 .

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  Drearyweather

  Interesting that the Bethel families have been told, thanks for that - do you know when they where told? have they been told to keep quite the figures?

  Sorry darkspilver. I dont have this info. Even I found it a bit strange. Sorry, I'll try to confirm it from the one who sent me these.

  
  
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  60

  2017 Service Year Report Grand Totals

  by Drearyweather in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  2017 figures released to bethel families worldwide:.

  peak publishers: 8,457,107. total baptized: 284,212 .

  regular pioneers: 1,225,279 .

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  Drearyweather

  I presume WT is working up on a strategy to keep afloat themselves from a global decline.

  It's true that the WT has cut back on magazines and branches, however they have considerably ramped up the different schools that they provide for the elders, MS, pioneers, Circuit overseers and the branch members.

  Of all the 9 or 10 schools that they have, 75% of the JW's have access to only school- the Theocratic Ministry School (now embedded in the CLAM), Whereas all the other schools are only for the 25% hard core JW's.

  So, rather than concentrate on the faders, the WT currently only concentrates on the 25% JW's (elders, MS, Pioneers, CO's), because they are the ones who would be taking the org forward.

  If people from the west are leaving from the backdoor, they are being highly compensated by those who are coming in from the front door in the third world countries. and as SBF said, if people are waking up, there are more who are digging themselves in further into the org.

  The real global decline will start only if the JW's from the core 25% start waking up, not just from the normal rank and file.
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  60

  2017 Service Year Report Grand Totals

  by Drearyweather in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  2017 figures released to bethel families worldwide:.

  peak publishers: 8,457,107. total baptized: 284,212 .

  regular pioneers: 1,225,279 .

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  Drearyweather

  Memorial attendance is down at 0.5%

  Memorial attendance has increased by 0.5%

  Last year it was 20,085,142 while 2017 is 20,175,477
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  60

  2017 Service Year Report Grand Totals

  by Drearyweather in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  2017 figures released to bethel families worldwide:.

  peak publishers: 8,457,107. total baptized: 284,212 .

  regular pioneers: 1,225,279 .

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  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Drearyweather

  2017 Figures released to Bethel families worldwide:

  Peak Publishers: 8,457,107

  Total Baptized: 284,212

  Regular Pioneers: 1,225,279

  Memorial Attendance: 20,175,477

  Hours: 2,046,000,202
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  93

  Higher Education

  by Brian J in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  just spent 8 hours in a 1 day elders school last weekend.

  clarification given: "moving forward any elder, ms, or pioneer who themselves or someone under their roof enrolls in higher education, may no longer qualify for privileges in the congregation.

  their qualifications will have to be reviewed by their boe.".

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  Drearyweather

  In Latin America JWs (who can afford it) have been sending their kids to Universities for years because of the economical situation and how competitive the job market is.

  Yes, even in India, most elders and their kids have college degrees. Even in the local congregation. Only those are deleted or have their qualifications reveiwed who send their kids away to live in dorms because most of these kids either fade away or get involved in some pretty nasty stuff.
  
  
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  18

  "We never solicit donations" - really?

  by doubtfull1799 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  inspired by this weeks clam article which again "reminds" the brothers pdf their obligation/privilege to donate "voluntarily" i have complied a list of articles or videos in the last 5 years where donations are indeed solicited or encouraged.

  the society may argue that these are not actual solicitations because no plate was passed around.

  but a donation box is just a more discrete and subtle version of the plate.

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  Drearyweather

  But a donation box is just a more discrete and subtle version of the plate.

  Honestly, I never felt that the contribution box or these articles brought any kind of pressure on me or my family.

  Before becoming JW's, we were Catholics and had neighbours who belonged to another small local Christian sect. Apart from the collections plates that were passed, each month my father received an envelope in which he had to put money and return it back to the Church. While my neighbor always told us about the tithe that they had to regularly pay.

  However, after becoming JW's, never were we pressured or hounded by elders to donate to the society which was a welcome change for us.

  I regularly read testimonies on this forum, but never have read any story where elders have reprimanded or taken action against anyone simply for not regularly contributing in the donation box. Instead, many here have told that they have never contributed a dime in decades. Many websites have a "donate" button on their websites, we don;t feel pressured by it to donate. We simply ignore it if we want.

  Ignoring the contribution box in a kingdom hall is much much much simpler than ignoring the collection plate that gets passed around in a church.
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  29

  Inside Story Logo

  by MrHappy in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  this may have been covered before but have you noticed the logo design of the "inside story" on this months video the 143rd gilead graduation.

  it appears as a pyramid containing the masonic symbol of the compass and square, with this reflected below the text.

  the art pieces on the shelf are also interesting and maybe someone has some thoughts on these.

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  Drearyweather

  Yesterday my sister prepared some samosas (deep fried indian snack which are triangle shaped and almost resembles the pyramids). I'm now thinking whether she has some connections with freemasons.
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  7

  Position on blood idolatrous?

  by Jehovah lol in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i just had this thought in my other thread.. jehovah witnesses refuse blood transfusions because they believe blood to be the sacred symbol of life.

  that's the primary reason, the medical justifications are simply ad hoc excuses.

  couldn't it be said that their willingness to give their lives for the sanctity of the symbol of life is idolatrous?

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  Drearyweather

  So how can a Jehovah`s Witness use blood fractions in good conscience as a medical procedure since fractions are obtained by a laboratory procedure from donated blood that is given by worldly people who are going to be destroyed at Armageddon and stored in a laboratory and processed into fractions.

  Its more like - a Hindu guy will not eat beef (cow meat) but is fine with wearing leather jackets made from cow skin