Posts by likeabird

posted

31
2013 Report - difference in av. pubs compared to % of baptisms
by likeabird in
1. watchtower
2. beliefs
i just took the first page of the 2013 report and added two new columns to look at alternative ways of calculating the 'increase'.

first column: 2013 av.

pubs minus 2012 av.
likeabird

it's the country changes that mess it up - countries changing their names and/or merging, splitting in two are a bit of a headache.

I don't think you need to worry about that. Where a name changes, just include the data for where the country was under that name and leave the other years blank. It's probably much simpler that way. We will be able to piece together the rest.

A classic example will be Burma which became Myanmar, possibly switching names back more than once. You could just place the two sets of data next to each other in the list. No need to merge the data.
31
2013 Report - difference in av. pubs compared to % of baptisms
by likeabird in
1. watchtower
2. beliefs
i just took the first page of the 2013 report and added two new columns to look at alternative ways of calculating the 'increase'.

first column: 2013 av.

pubs minus 2012 av.
likeabird

Thanks a lot!
31
2013 Report - difference in av. pubs compared to % of baptisms
by likeabird in
1. watchtower
2. beliefs
i just took the first page of the 2013 report and added two new columns to look at alternative ways of calculating the 'increase'.

first column: 2013 av.

pubs minus 2012 av.
likeabird

88JM - when you do that, could you also post the link here? That would be awesome.
31
2013 Report - difference in av. pubs compared to % of baptisms
by likeabird in
1. watchtower
2. beliefs
i just took the first page of the 2013 report and added two new columns to look at alternative ways of calculating the 'increase'.

first column: 2013 av.

pubs minus 2012 av.
likeabird

That's an interesting idea Phizzy.

I think that to do it over 10 years, it wouldn't be necessary to do all the "lands", but rather to focus on just a few.

For example:

10 English speaking countries with high publisher rates

10 non-English speaking countries with high publisher rates

10 industrialised countries

10 countries with limited internet access yet high publisher rates

Other suggestions for categories, and suggestions for countries to put in those categories are welcome.

As well as mortality rate, I would also factor in migration rates. I think it should be based on average pubs and not peak pubs.

Also, does anyone have pdf scans of annual reports for the past ten years?
31
2013 Report - difference in av. pubs compared to % of baptisms
by likeabird in
1. watchtower
2. beliefs
i just took the first page of the 2013 report and added two new columns to look at alternative ways of calculating the 'increase'.

first column: 2013 av.

pubs minus 2012 av.
likeabird

You cannot use number of baptisms to calculate increase, because publishers are exactly that - publishers - before they are baptised. Baptism candidates come from the ranks of publishers, and added to that, some start as publishers and are baptised within the same service year, whereas others "cross the year border".

You're absolutely right, I completely forgot about that. Thank you for pointing it out.
31
2013 Report - difference in av. pubs compared to % of baptisms
by likeabird in
1. watchtower
2. beliefs
i just took the first page of the 2013 report and added two new columns to look at alternative ways of calculating the 'increase'.

first column: 2013 av.

pubs minus 2012 av.
likeabird

I just took the first page of the 2013 Report and added two new columns to look at alternative ways of calculating the 'increase'

First column: 2013 Av. Pubs minus 2012 Av. Pubs

Second column: % of increase if only baptisms were counted*

(*Not sure if my calculations were correct here, but calculated the % of baptisms in relation to the 2012 Av. Pubs to see what increase that would make)

I added a red dot next to each number in the first column that was lower than the number of baptisms. The difference in numbers is quite staggering.

Please add your comments, especially as calculating percentages is not my strong point. Let me know if you would like to see the other pages too, and I will do them too.
65
Will this Memorial be our last?
by pixel in
1. watchtower
2. bible
they just put up the march km 2014 on the private website.

most of it is same-old-same-old, with info here and there about the memorial.. somebody here might post the march km for all to see, i wont.. i just wanted to share the paragraph from page 2 q&a anticle: will you seize the opportunity?

upcoming memorial enables us to show gratitude .
likeabird

Looks like they said something like that more than once. (Big surprise there!)

Check this quote out:

*** ka chap. 17 pp. 351-352 par. 43 The “Slave” Who Lived to See the “Sign” ***
The Watch Tower, under date of March 1, 1918, in its first paragraph of the leading article “In Memory of Our King,” said: “Whether the coming Memorial will be the last on earth, we do not, of course, know; but we do know that we are one year nearer the full consummation of our hopes. If it please the Lord to have us celebrate this Memorial other years, then we shall do so gladly.”

Here it is in print:
53
2014 DC: Fewer, but larger venues in the U.S.
by doinmypart in
1. jw
2. friends
in the u.s. there are fewer venues this year, but they will be held in larger facilities.

as long as i can remember my family travelled no more than 2 hours to attend and in the last few years the dc was local (within a few minutes travel).

this year my family is driving 6 hours to a major u.s. city.
likeabird

As has been mentioned in threads in the past, WT wants everyone to stay at the hotels where they have "negotiated" the price.

The only time I did that was for an international convention. Money was very scarce, so booked and paid for the cheapest on the list. Turns out on check-in the hotel's standard rates were clearly visible for all to see. They were at least 30% cheaper than what we had paid via WT.

No prizes guessing where that extra money went. Now multiply that by the number of attendants and the number of assemblies. WT knows what side their bread is buttered on.
33
Should I reconnect with my Bible students? What do you think?
by KateWild in
1. jw
2. experiences
i reprted 5 studies the month i was df'd.

more than a year has passed since i have seen any of my students.

i got on so well with many of them, we became friends.. did i do the right thing?
likeabird

I bumped into one of my old studies at the store tonight, so that was fun. Even wished her a happy new year!
33
Should I reconnect with my Bible students? What do you think?
by KateWild in
1. jw
2. experiences
i reprted 5 studies the month i was df'd.

more than a year has passed since i have seen any of my students.

i got on so well with many of them, we became friends.. did i do the right thing?
likeabird

I kept in touch with some of mine, mainly to apologize to them that I had been teaching them lies and ensure they didn't get taken over by some over zealous JW.