Numbers of this type rarely grow or shrink in a constant direction. After a few years of suppressed growth or possibly even decline, a period of growth isn't out of the ordinary. I'm curious to see what effect the recent changes in doctrine/policy will have over the next few years.
TonusOH
JoinedPosts by TonusOH
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29
BREAKING NEWS | Highlights of 2023 Worldwide Service Year Report
by Drearyweather inbreaking news | highlights of 2023 worldwide service year report.
on november 15, 2023, the service committee of the governing body shared highlights of the 2023 worldwide service year report with the bethel family.
the following exciting increases were announced: baptisms: during the 2023 service year, 269,517 persons were baptized.
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Will the GB Eventually "observe" Tithing?
by Sea Breeze infound this on fb from the recent losch talk.
time for a new business model?.
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TonusOH
If they do it in cash, it becomes easier to see just how much is being requested of them.
Say you have a JW who earns a modest salary, like $36,000 per year. Ten percent of that is $3,600. Or $300 per month. If you're more middle-class, you might need to donate twice as much to meet the standard. How many JWs will want to do that? How many are even able to?
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Did Charles Taze Russell die a broken man?
by Vanderhoven7 inhis 1914 predictions failed...but did he succumb to depression as a result?.
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TonusOH
Rutherford was something of a schemer. I doubt Russell would have ever caught on to his ambitions. No doubt he played the loyal stooge who was just happy to serve, until the opportunity to take over presented itself.
Something tells me that Russell would not have recognized the version of Rutherford who took over. Aside, perhaps, from the penchant for booze.
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3144
It's been a long 9 years Lloyd Evans / John Cedars (continued)
by Simon inuh oh, looks like the mega thread gave up the ghost, so while i investigate / fix it just continue the discussion here .... it's been a long 9 years lloyd evans / john cedars.
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TonusOH
He has always had an outsized opinion of himself and his influence. Remember that he claims to have used this same tactic with his judicial committee, threatening to take on the WTS in Croatia if they didn't agree to a deal with him. I am guessing that the elders --when they finally stopped laughing-- informed him that they wouldn't agree to his terms. Shockingly, Evans somehow failed to dismantle the JW organization in Croatia.
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3144
It's been a long 9 years Lloyd Evans / John Cedars (continued)
by Simon inuh oh, looks like the mega thread gave up the ghost, so while i investigate / fix it just continue the discussion here .... it's been a long 9 years lloyd evans / john cedars.
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TonusOH
He always minimizes the severity of his own wrongdoing. This was his comment on the CofC issue:
Note that he mocks Debra Dysktra, claiming that her cease-and-desist letter "probably cost more to write and send than the total value of the bootleg books." Funny... didn't he get someone's video copyright-struck recently? Oh, right... copyright matters when it benefits him.
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Governing body
by moley inare the governing body really in charge or are they just a figurehead with the real power being behind the curtain .
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TonusOH
The WTS is a chameleon. I think they misunderstood Paul at 1 Corinthians 9:20-22.
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JWLITE
by Teddnzo ineven elders can be part of the new jw lite brigade these days.
they don’t need to go on door to door anymore and there is no requirement for anything really.. taking meeting parts is all dead easy you could turn up on the day with zero preparation because it’s all in the meeting workbook.. quarterly elders meetings are just old men having a good old natter just like old men do down the pub.. congregations could be likened to pubs or bars these days just without the drinks, those come at other times.. no need for territory maps, these almost went away with covid letter writing now they are extremely slow getting finished as those who still go door to door only do ten mins.. you could even voice your questions these days about things the gb say and then just say “we can’t be dogmatic we just don’t know”.
i predict they will say this about 1914 soon..
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TonusOH
Quiet quitting is just another way of saying fading, isn't it?
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3144
It's been a long 9 years Lloyd Evans / John Cedars (continued)
by Simon inuh oh, looks like the mega thread gave up the ghost, so while i investigate / fix it just continue the discussion here .... it's been a long 9 years lloyd evans / john cedars.
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TonusOH
Teddnzo: So could someone really take someone else to court if they said something not nice about someone else?
It depends on the legal system in any particular country. But it's also a bit more complicated than that.
In the USA, you can file a lawsuit for just about anything. But there are usually certain requirements that must be met in order for the court to agree to hear the case. If you don't meet the requirements, the case is likely to be dismissed before it gets to trial. In some cases, it can be dismissed with prejudice, in which case it cannot be filed again. The US tries to walk a line between giving people the freedom to use the legal system while also trying to prevent abuse of it. But most of our lawmakers are lawyers, so...
The reason Lloyd's suit will be dismissed is because it is a criminal suit and there have been no crimes committed, much less committed on Croatian soil. I think he either saw it as a useful publicity stunt (which has gone horrendously wrong for him) or was driven by such anger that he reacted foolishly and was too proud to rescind the action (which has also gone wrong). Should be decide to ignore the lesson and file civil suits, those will go just as badly. The bright side would be that the more he drags the whole thing out, the more opportunities there are to watch him step on rakes.
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Can ANY JW provide Bible proof?
by BoogerMan inhitchins razor - "what can be asserted without evidence can also be dismissed without evidence.
which bible verse/s conclusively prove the following claims?.
w16 november p. 30 par.
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TonusOH
Their approach is not an uncommon one: select a bunch of isolated verses and apply an interpretation. It looks impressive at first glance, until people begin to read the contextual verses and find discrepancies. If you are the WTS, you warn them that they are slipping into apostate territory and that maybe they need to stop.
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3144
It's been a long 9 years Lloyd Evans / John Cedars (continued)
by Simon inuh oh, looks like the mega thread gave up the ghost, so while i investigate / fix it just continue the discussion here .... it's been a long 9 years lloyd evans / john cedars.
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TonusOH
LMsA: I think the judge should see this.
I suppose the defendants can file documents of their own, but as slimboyfat said, it's unnecessary. And that is what Lloyd is counting on. He knows he will never have to deal with the suit in an actual courtroom. He won't have to deal with discovery requests (although...). He won't have to face cross examination. He won't have to see others -including his wife- face cross examination. He is making his case to his patrons, not to the court. And since it will be dismissed, he can stick to his narrative.
Of course, that won't go well either. Once the case ends, the real trial can begin. The seven have been gifted with page after page of
evidencecontent. Maybe there will be videos carefully reviewing all of the claims and discussing why those claims were made. Maybe have a lawyer browse the evidence and point out what a mess it all was. Have them explain why the case was doomed from the start. Make in-depth videos explaining the timeline of Evans's bad decisions over the previous two or three years. What can he do? How can he claim vindication when the humiliation has gotten worse?That video. Tsk, tsk. Shouldn't have made that video...