Posts by Hecce

8

Does anyone know how many partook of the emblems last memorial ?

by Chook in

i think this is the only growth area in jw land..

Hecce

I think they advance some of the yearbook report at the annual meeting talks, that includes the memorial attendance and participants.

This from memory, I might be wrong.

Last year they had a 18% increase in partakers, that is huge.

27

the Great Cntraction continues

by never a jw in

i just learned that my wife's congregations will soon be disbanded.

her congregation will disappear (cahuenga spanish in north hollywood in southern california).

all the members will be added to other neighboring congregations.

The other religions are providing quite a challenge to the WT message. Evangelicals and even Catholics are having very attractive recruiting campaigns with music, children activities and gifts. None of this is available with the WT, people are not receptive to the door to door work; for most people is just a nuisance and the majority won't even open.

I don't think that the internet has a lot to do with the decrease, Spanish speaking are family group oriented and they get their information mostly by word of mouth.

35

Is JW.org unbreakable

by UnshackleTheChains in

i ask this question for good reason.

let's face it, despite all the books, videos, forums, court cases, hearings, protests etc that have been exposing the society for many years.

jw.org continues to roll on almost 'it seems' unscathed.. for example, just walk into any kingdom hall there is not so much as a whisper about anything that has been exposed outside of jw land.

Hecce

The WT is slick but no invincible, the hits that they are taking will eventually produce fruits. More prominent religious groups from the past, today are almost gone. An example are the Quakers, very prominent in American history and with famous members including Richard Nixon; take a look at some recent numbers:

Worldwide: most recent membership count (2012) = 377,055

Distribution worldwide of Friends:

Africa = 52% North America = 20% Caribbean and Latin America = 15% Europe and Middle East = 7% Asia-West Pacific = 6%.

United States: 2007 = 86,837; 2012 = 76,360

http://www.quakerinfo.org/resources/statistics

43

The denial of 1975 when and how did they go about it.

by Crazyguy in

i was pretty young in 1975, all i remember was a few complaining at the hall after and those at the door that razed us over it.

does anyone remember how they went about denying it and when this started.

i do remember a scripture in psalms about people being mighty and living longer so this was used.

Hecce

In the aftermath, one Bethel speaker asked " What are we to apologise for ? or why?.... 700 000 new publishers.....?

That is new to me but it doesn't surprise.

Brazen

43

The denial of 1975 when and how did they go about it.

by Crazyguy in

i was pretty young in 1975, all i remember was a few complaining at the hall after and those at the door that razed us over it.

does anyone remember how they went about denying it and when this started.

i do remember a scripture in psalms about people being mighty and living longer so this was used.

Hecce

Sadly, looking at the Paul Grundy chart provided by Anony Mous the conclusion is that the WT got away with it.

There was a slight decrease in publishers after 1975; but basically they were able to keep the majority of new converts since 1970 (700,000) and the number has kept growing up the actual 7-8 mils.

They are laughing all the way to the bank.

Who cares about 1975?

43

The denial of 1975 when and how did they go about it.

by Crazyguy in

i was pretty young in 1975, all i remember was a few complaining at the hall after and those at the door that razed us over it.

does anyone remember how they went about denying it and when this started.

i do remember a scripture in psalms about people being mighty and living longer so this was used.

Hecce

This type of meetings came as a desperate recourse to reverse the careless information regarding 1975 that was preached from the top for a period of more than ten years.

Please remember that the written information pales by comparison with the information that was given by the top brass and their minions.

21

Watchtower Study June 18 from April 2017 issue

by BluesBrother in

https://www.jw.org/en/publications/magazines/watchtower-study-april-2017/judge-of-all-earth-always-does-what-is-right/.

the judge of all the earth always does what is right.

intended as a confidence builder in the organization ..see what you think.. theme is from deuteronomy but it is really highlighting that passage in genesis where abraham had a dialogue with god, (gen.18) would god destroy sodom if 50 righteous men would perish?

Hecce

Information related to Gideon and his tests:

*** w88 4/1 pp. 30-31 Is Obedience Always Proper? ***

Jehovah does not expect us to show blind credulity. He does not want from us the kind of obedience that a trainer gets from a beast with a bridle or a whip. That is why he told David: “Do not make yourselves like a horse or mule without understanding, whose spiritedness is to be curbed even by bridle or halter.” (Psalm 32:9) Rather, Jehovah has endowed us with thinking ability and discernment so that, based on understanding, we can choose to obey him.

21

Watchtower Study June 18 from April 2017 issue

by BluesBrother in

https://www.jw.org/en/publications/magazines/watchtower-study-april-2017/judge-of-all-earth-always-does-what-is-right/.

the judge of all the earth always does what is right.

intended as a confidence builder in the organization ..see what you think.. theme is from deuteronomy but it is really highlighting that passage in genesis where abraham had a dialogue with god, (gen.18) would god destroy sodom if 50 righteous men would perish?

Hecce

Hi Lois, I am writing about things learned by reading about it; regarding Knorr's marriage I remember this sad case that I am posting; I have read also that Knorr's marriage was never consummated. Who knows and who cares?

Sorry, I think that we are getting away from the topic.

Charles De Wilda was a young man, with a military past who wondered into the lobby of the Brooklyn Headquarters building sometime after World War I. Asking for a job, he was given one for room and board and a few dollars month. He stayed for almost his entire life.Years later, after meeting a mature sister, also a follower of the Watchtower Society, he asked permission to marry her. The president, Knorr flatly refused. It was against the rules. Bethel members could not marry, they must remain single.
But in 1952 Knorr married one of the headquarters staff. Later, Charles De Wilda confronted the president, telling him he should leave headquarters for violating the rule, that he showed less Christian love than anyone Charles knew. Charles was reprimanded, and his life was made miserable.
Having started his headquarters life as a young man, even staying at Bethel during his vacations, now elderly and without funds, he found his life unbearable (this was done by such practices as forcing him to eat alone in one corner of the dining room) and he decided to leave. He stayed within a few blocks of the buildings where he had spent his entire adult life. Workers in the Watchtower Society's factory would see him on the street and in the park, some giving him quarters and dimes so he could stay out of the weather in "flop houses"
President Knorr heard about the charity, and announced a strick policy forbiding any member to give money or any other assistance, to Charles De Wilda. Knorr had letters written to surrounding congrogations absolutely forbidding any Witnesses from helping him.
Shortly thereafter, the old mans lifeless body was found on a Brooklyn park bench, the author was told, in the dead of winter, wrapped in newspapers. No announcement of his death was made at the headquarters of Jehovah's Witnesses where Knorr had often used him as an example, pointing to his several decades of hard work as "the best book binder" in the factory to illustrate the "proper attitude" Bethel workers should have. In fact Charlie's name was never publicly mentioned again by Watch Tower officials.
http://exjehovahswitnessforum.yuku.com/reply/254935/CHARLES-DE-WILDA#.WUa7vWgrLSs

21

Watchtower Study June 18 from April 2017 issue

by BluesBrother in

https://www.jw.org/en/publications/magazines/watchtower-study-april-2017/judge-of-all-earth-always-does-what-is-right/.

the judge of all the earth always does what is right.

intended as a confidence builder in the organization ..see what you think.. theme is from deuteronomy but it is really highlighting that passage in genesis where abraham had a dialogue with god, (gen.18) would god destroy sodom if 50 righteous men would perish?

Hecce

Eventually, the mistaken view regarding marriage that prompted the injustice was corrected, and Brother Diehl’s privileges of service were restored. His loyalty to Jehovah was rewarded.

Remember that the "mistaken view" regarding marriage was corrected not by spiritual guidance but just because N. H. Knorr decided that he wanted to get married.

The end result of this experience is just a reflection of how much the WT has changed over the years, under today's "divine" rulings the end could have been different. It comes to mind the couples that were DF back in the 70s for unnatural practices in their marriages and that they never got their sanctions rescinded or any sort of apologies.

43

The denial of 1975 when and how did they go about it.

by Crazyguy in

i was pretty young in 1975, all i remember was a few complaining at the hall after and those at the door that razed us over it.

does anyone remember how they went about denying it and when this started.

i do remember a scripture in psalms about people being mighty and living longer so this was used.

Hecce

The negative reaction was not immediate, there was a waiting period; based in the leeway of variable calculations of months or years. In the meantime, the WT started hinting that if there were improper expectations about the end, they were the result of false interpretations from the flock. The attitude was one of denial from the very, very beginning.

Like everything else in WT land it was a brazen denial of the reality and facts.