Della Street

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Posts by Della Street

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  61

  2018 Service Year Report - Released on jw.org

  by Drearyweather in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  2018 service year report of jehovah’s witnesses worldwide.

  see details of the global preaching work of jehovah’s witnesses from september 2017 to august 2018.. https://www.jw.org/en/publications/books/2018-service-year-report/.

  average publishers preaching each month: 8,360,594 (2017 - 8,248,982).

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  Della Street

  From a business point of view, this is really flat. As was pointed out, their congregation numbers are down - we know they've been consolidating. Interesting too, is their publisher numbers - if you take the number baptized and add it to last year's average publisher number - it would be 8.5m publishers. This year's actual number is 8.3m which means at least 170k people died, became inactive or were disfellowshipped.

  Flat. Flat. Flat. No wonder they needed to cut spending. They are outspending their growth with no new revenue streams to develop. The main "growth" is in poor countries that cannot afford to support the organization. Developed countries with all the sexual abuse scandals are experiencing a mass exodus and drop in donations.

  They've got themselves in a pickle.
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  7

  Canada Congregation / Kingdom Hall post - and link to a prophet

  by berrygerry in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  posted on another forum:.

  c/o spoke about the israelites compliance when travelling in the wilderness.

  each time the pillar of fire/smoke moved, the israelites had to pack up and move.

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  Della Street

  It's getting a little tough for survivors to track down documents and elders who have been shuffled around. Difficult to investigate congregations that don't even exist anymore.

  I think this is an important point, and not something I'd really considered. They could consolidate congregations and sell off KH without doing as much shuffling around. It would seem it serves several purposes: make the KH look more full, sell off KH not needed, dissolve and/or rename congregations so they can destroy records, shuffle around elders so they cannot be tracked down....
  
  
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  18

  Xmas, love it or leave it??

  by DATA-DOG in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i have to say that i’m not enjoying the xmas season.

  i have no emotional ties and i’m spending money that i have not set aside for xmas during a slow work season for my trade.. i’m not happy about it, because it’s foolish to spend money when you aren’t making any.

  then i feel like i’m expected to do all this, and to be happy about spending money and time on persons that i’m not that involved with.

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  Della Street

  I do not celebrate Christmas. I thought about it, but my friends don't care and it is just too damn expensive. I occasionally get someone a gift at Christmas time if I see something they really want and it is a good deal. Otherwise, I'm very generous all year round and I don't feel obligated by Christmas.

  That said, the thought did occur to me that I could wait until after Christmas when all the good deals come out and get presents then....
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  39

  How would you reason with a JW that it is okay to say Good Luck?

  by Iamallcool in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  any takers?.

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  Della Street

  SO many bigger fish to fry...
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  34

  What would make an Ex-Jw go back to been a full in Baptized JW

  by LOLS in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i was just wondering , why would my jw husband return to been a full blown baptized jw after 20 years of fading?.

  he has spent 20 years of his life been a worldly person , with a worldly wife & kids & worldly friends .... to joining the borg full time , to getting baptized , to getting new brothers & sisters .... and to writing off most of his worldly friends (some his known his whole life ) , to trying to convince me & our children how wonderful this org is ......and anyone else who will listen :(.

  has anyone ever experienced this ...... oh and he seems to be in it 110% and no-one can say anything about this crazy org or show him proof that it all bs...... his such a clever independent , successful guy , why on earth would he go back to this , after been out for so many years & change into this domineering , opinionated fool ..... oh and his entire family also went back ... father , mother , brother & sister .

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  Della Street

  1) He wasn't attending, but he never really left.

  2) Peer pressure. His family went back.
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  36

  Faders Needing a Great One Liner

  by Solzhenitsyn in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  so our family fade is well under way.

  we changed congregations as regular attenders and left in good standing with those giving hugs and kisses simply knowing we "needed a change".

  we moved to a neighboring congregation that is out of our original region knowing we would see no one and the two boe's wouldn't really have immediate dealings.

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  Della Street

  when people ask me what congregation I am attending, I say, "I'm not attending right now." If they press it, "I say it's complicated." and don't elaborate further. I remain silent, look away and or change the subject by asking something about them.

  It's works. Sometimes its awkward, but it works.
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  20

  Films with nudity

  by neat blue dog in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i guess every jw has a different conscience on the matter, and i don't believe any jw publications have ever specifically mentioned nudity in film as being off limits.

  of course genitals are out of the question because that's usually relegated to r movies which most good jws don't view.

  female toplessness is condoned but not spoken about, as most jws i know have seen titanic and many own it.

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  Della Street

  my JW family watched a lot of foreign films, and they had nudity in them. It depends on the context. Does it move the story forward? Is it someone taking a bath, or is it porn? It's a continuum. I'm hard to offend, but I still don't like gratuitous sex or violence just for the sake of it. It needs to be part of the story and in the appropriate degree.

  Europeans in general have a more relaxed view of nudity than Americans. We do come from Puritans and that has carried through to the general immaturity and repression Americans display around the subject.

  Whenever I talked about it to any JW that was offended, I'd always ask, "you know you're naked under your clothes, right?" that usually made them stop and think...
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  22

  What does 'populist' mean?

  by LoveUniHateExams in

  1. social
  2. current

  so yeah, i've been encountering the word 'populist' quite a bit recently.. e.g.

  trump's a populist president.. what does it mean?.

  does it simply mean popular?.

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  Della Street

  I'm not sure how a "billionaire" is not considered elitist. He may be outside the established political system, but he is not "every man". Frankly, I don't think poor whites look at Trump and identify with him, I think they identify with the fear, distrust and prejudice that he uses to get votes. Caravan, anyone?

  As far as "not being able to be bought" - I think his dealings with Putin and Saudi Arabia demonstrate that he has been bought...He's out for personal gain and he's allowing himself to be used as a puppet for a global agenda orchestrated by Bannon et al.

  https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/nov/21/steve-bannons-rightwing-europe-operation-undermined-by-election-laws
  
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  32

  Reminder:Leah Remini Expose on J.W.'s airs Tuesday Nov.13 on A&E channel.

  by StoneWall in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  thought i'd post this since the date is almost upon us for those who want to see it as it premieres.hope it turns out really good and that she can help many to see the watchtower for what it really is like she did about the scientologists.here's a link to a small preview of it:https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/video/leah-remini-scientology-aftermath-jehovah-s-witnesses-special-event-trailer-1153594

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  Della Street

  It's tomorrow. I can't wait!!
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  15

  Thank you F&DS @ the Watchtower Corporation! Thank you! Thank you!

  by Solzhenitsyn in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  this sundays 11/18 wt p.18 pp.3.

  / happy are those who serve "the happy god".

  "stressful events-such as when a loved one dies or is disfellowshipped...".

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  Della Street

  That article is messed up!

  Under "Qualities of Happiness" - the first quality is mourning....their ability to twist the scriptures is worse than I remember....

  "Happy are those who mourn, for they will be comforted." Matt 5:4

  Jesus did not have in mind all who mourn for any sort of reason. Even wicked people bemoan the distressing difficulties that characterize these “critical times hard to deal with.” (2 Tim. 3:1) But their self-centered mourning does not draw them closer to Jehovah; hence, it does not lead them toward happiness. Jesus must have had in mind people who are conscious of their spiritual need and therefore mourn the appalling spiritual conditions that prevail. They may recognize their own sinful state and the heartbreaking circumstances that have resulted from human sinfulness.
  

  So we can be happy because we are sad that we are sinful? It really demonstrates that underlying not just the JW dogma, but Christian dogma is the belief that people are innately bad.

  Not a point of view I support. Imperfect? Of course. Bad, nope. They really feed off people feeling like POS and having a low opinion of themselves. I remember how that felt and I'm SO HAPPY I don't feel that way any more. Everything with them is so dark and depressing and desperate. And we wonder why people get trapped in there... it's emotionally sticky. UGH.

  Thanks for posting this so I can remember why I left. Congrats to all of us who are out and free.