i just found out from my jehovah's witness cousin that my old congregation is being shuttered due to lack of elders, less than 20 members attending, and that the congregation cannot meet their monthly expenses.. here is a congregation that was started in 1975 with less than 15 members.
it grew to 185 members in the 1990's.
the congregation grew so large that the elders decided to split the congregation in two.
LV101 - when WTC took ownership of all the KHs, I smelled a rat. They were not about to relive the Menlo Park fiasco (something most JW's are unaware of).
A few years ago, they instructed LDCs to do appraisals of all the KHs. There was clearly a reason and now we know it was to build a liquidation plan, which they are executing as needed to stay in the black.
from what i can see no such thing is happening.i became a jw in 1960 and remained for about 30 years and the numbers of active jw`s today in the world are far greater than they were back then.. and here in australia the numbers are much higher than they were back then .. so i don`t see that their in decline or have any worries about losing support .. don`t the numbers speak for themselves ?.
is it just wishful thinking on your part ?.
They are not declining everywhere - just most of the world. In the places where the donations support the org, the decline is considerable. They are not selling KHs because they are rich and growing.
inspired by the "whats the reason you think jw's are in decline" thread.
my belief is that almost all the growth, at least in the western world is due to jw's having kids.
i was a 4th generation jw from birth till about age 20, so the timeframe i can comment on would be my teen years.
with so much being said about the jws shunning policies again at the present time i thought it would be worth reposting this article.. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmc9803876/.
When JWs, then my family started shunning me, I was hurt and disturbed - at first. As time went on, I began to realize that life was easier without them and all the guilting, self-righteousness, mean-spirited remarks and social punishing. Life is BETTER!! Their shunning is a GIFT to me. I wouldn’t have it any other way now. Seriously!!!
i'll start by stating the obvious... according to the watchtower, the catholic church is a huge part of babylon the great which is led by satan and his demons.
raymundus martini, a catholic monk (who "represents" babylon the great to some extent), woke up one day in the 13th century and decided to alter yhwh so it can be easily pronounced.
hence the spanish-ish version of yhwh was created... jehova... (sounds something like this in spanish: heh-o-va).
Of course I don't know how God's name should be pronounced - and neither does anyone else for that matter. From a 20,000 ft view, maybe it doesn't matter. If it did, I would expect that God had 1400 pages to make it clear - but he refrained. I drew the conclusion that he is not insecure and does not care as long as we don't profane his name.
I could be completely wrong. Like the GB, I am fallible. (That's where the comparison ends)
any streamed content from this years regional convention available with any of you guys?
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I used to agree with the 2-witness rule, until I dealt with a clever pedophile who only got caught due to a random pediatric visit he was unaware of that was scheduled.
Then I started to see that being able to out-maneuver authorities changed the rile from black and white to shades of gray.
JWs want to avoid the authorities altogether - so they view the rule as black and white.
Those of us who want to protect children view the rule as cautionary restraint. We still want the authorities called immediately. The accused can make their defense to them. As for a JC - see what the police do. Maybe more evidence, even forensic evidence might clear the fog.
As for the clever pedo I dealt with... he had other victims unknown to us. Because I got the police involved, it all came out and he was put behind bars. I wonder what might have happened if I had just said we had no second witness and the pediatrician might be wrong?
in addition to the jws false and misleading denial that rebekah vardy was ever a jehovah's witness, a few other interesting developments occurred that are worth noting:.
1. an article in the last days newsletter reporting on how the jw[.
]org website scrubbed clean its jw 'news' page and produced an entire new glossary of jw terminally meaning for the media:.
My family started full-on shunning me a while back and although it hurt at first, it quickly dawned on me that it was a gift. They were often mean-spirited, I was not allowed to bring up anything negative about the teachings, and conversation was stilted. I am much happier now - sorry!!! But I am!
even though i’m agnostic so will not commit to either intelligent design or chance, i love being part of the congregation for the close personal relationships.. there is such a great atmosphere inside the congregation it really is like a family and you don’t get this anywhere else.. a real friend is someone you can rely on when you are in need.
if things go wrong for you and you are going through a hard time you know real friends will be there for you.
as long as you didn’t bring it on yourself by going against gods law then you have to prove you are repentant first of course.. there is a lot of research now saying that good friends is essential for healthy and happiness.
ExBethelitePima - please send me a one month supply of what you are taking.
Just kidding my friend! If nothing matters, then what you suggest is A-OK. TBH - I admire that you feel the way you do. You probably sleep better at night than I do.
i can confirm that the co during one of his service talks stated that zoom is a provision for elderly, infirmed, as well as people who might need it on occasion due to health reasons, otherwise you are expected to be in person at meetings and in the ministry.
this had to come down from the top.
maybe they do not want to put it in a gb update or broadcast since that would be too public i suppose.
They are still in "sell" mode so the drives will only be increasing for more of the flock. It is sad really.
So many who paid for their KHs, built their KHs, maintained their KHs, worshipped in their KHs, and loved their KHs, lost their KHs because their attendance and donations ticked the boxes off for "Time To Sell". Now they have to drive further and be treated like they are spiritually weak for not praising the Organization for this new loving provision.
I have often thought that we light the fire of our own discomfort and this confirms that it is true in JWdom.
Cheer up all you honest-hearted ones! The end (of the religion) is SOOOOOOOO close. It is just around the corner (where a realtor is preparing to show your KH to another church).
new poster to this site.
i've started blogging and would like to share my experiences with you.
bear with me as i am completely new to this.
I would say that you have a difficult road ahead, and it sounds like you have already traveled a difficult journey. I can imagine that John will take advantage of all legal avenues soon if he has not already. You will need the pro bono services of attorneys who represent battered women. If you have not sought them out, please do. They can make pre-emptive recommendations that will stand up in court.
You deserve child support NOW and they can also help with that. As for counseling, there are many resources for battered women. Most are not congenial with JW's so hopefully they will offer the support that strengthens you.
You are in my prayers for a better life.
