Luckily for me, even when I was PIMI, I was very materialistic. So other than time, I never lost a lot. Now out I own rental properties. I remember been made to feel guilty about this, but I stuck to my guns. In my entire 40 years as a JW I never once pioneered, or had the ambition to do so. I guess decisions that have paid off now.
joe134cd
JoinedPosts by joe134cd
-
17
What Did You Choose Jehovah Over?
by minimus insome jws believe they have the truth.
they alone understand god, jehovah.
they are very happy being jehovah’s witnesses.👍👌..... many others realize what they have given up for jehovah, to belong to the jehovah’s witness religion.
-
7
Dose age and the reasons for leaving affect the out come
by joe134cd infirstly for anyone leaving is don’t get involved in alcohol, drugs, parties, and sleeping around, because it will just come back and bite you in the arse.. i have a theory that those who leave the religion at an older age do better than those who leave at a younger age.
i think to that the reasons for leaving are quite different between the age groups.
i sometimes wonder if many of the under 30’s use the short comings of the religion, as an excuse to pursue the above mentioned life style.
-
joe134cd
Firstly for anyone leaving is don’t get involved in alcohol, drugs, parties, and sleeping around, because it will just come back and bite you in the arse.
I have a theory that those who leave the religion at an older age do better than those who leave at a younger age.
I think to that the reasons for leaving are quite different between the age groups.
I sometimes wonder if many of the under 30’s use the short comings of the religion, as an excuse to pursue the above mentioned life style. Of course they end up bring the poster child for what happens when you leave Jehovah’s organisation.
Talking as a person who left in his late 30’s. One thing I was great full for, was JWs stance on substance abuse, sexual practice etc. This has been something I have benefited greatly from in later life. I left purely because of a vote of no confidence of 8 fat guys in NY State. My reasons for leaving were intellectual rather than secular, and I wonder if this affected my life choices when I left the religion. I still maintain the same life style as when I was a JW. Perhaps more so as I run 30km a week, and have done so for a number of years. My health is +A, and I have no regrets. I wonder if I would of had the same out come if I had left at 18. Just my musings.
-
14
Kingdom Hall Sales
by lastmanstanding invideo conferencing systems are being installed in kingdumb halls.
this is being charged to the congregations.. the ability to video conference, zoom, directly from the halls will now be the thing.. i believe that the current situation has given the wts an idea.. if there are two kingdom halls in an area, then one can be sold.. congregations will split the use, half using the hall one week and zooming the next and visa versa..
-
joe134cd
Hard to believe, not so long ago, they were slamming this sort of thing. Jehovah’s people only received his Holy Spirit at the Kingdom Hall.
-
16
LDS statistics, by extension, may suggest that the JWs could be bigger with a more engaged membership.
by joe134cd ini was just watching this on you tube, about the growth of the lds church.
i think these numbers may support a number of theories that have been discussed on here.
(1) the jws are bigger as a religious organisation.. (2) jw membership is more engaged, as well as, more ethnically diverse.. (3) wt is been honest with its counting.
-
joe134cd
Just because Mormons men and woman, dont go out door to door proselytizing doesn't mean they are not registered and accounted church going Mormons.
That is a true statement as well. Ok, let’s look at it this way. The LDS general conference, which is comparable to the JW memorial, had a world wide attendance of 20 million. The JW memorial attendance, is around the same. This would anecdotally support the idea that the 2 religions membership are about the same. When you consider that the LDS had a 50 year head start on the JWs. It would suggest how successful the JW proselytising methods have been. True, over the short term,and particularly in this present environment, the results may be some what ambiguous. But when looked at over the long term, very impressive. In that, they were able to close a 50 year gap with their religious competitor. I would put it to you, that they may also have more members, who are more engaged. Those sorts of numbers, with that kind of customer base, would be impressive even buy Microsoft/Apple computer standards.
-
39
Has Anything Positive Come Out Of This Coronavirus Isolation For You?
by minimus ini guess you could make a case of more families being together although that might not be the best situation.
less cars and pollutants mean we can breathe better.
if you were ever uncomfortable in crowds, this could be good news.
-
joe134cd
It was absolutely fantastic. The whole 4 weeks were just jammed packed. I got some jobs finished that would of taken months to of completed if I only had weekends to do it. It was kind of weird because during lock down it was the furtherest thing from my mind. Kind of a blessing in disguise really.
-
16
LDS statistics, by extension, may suggest that the JWs could be bigger with a more engaged membership.
by joe134cd ini was just watching this on you tube, about the growth of the lds church.
i think these numbers may support a number of theories that have been discussed on here.
(1) the jws are bigger as a religious organisation.. (2) jw membership is more engaged, as well as, more ethnically diverse.. (3) wt is been honest with its counting.
-
joe134cd
Bear in mind that being counted as a member is widely different between the 2 faiths. Ok let’s say the activity rates for 9 mill publishers was at 50%. In other words only 1/2 could be bothered to turn up every Sunday.
9mill x 50% = 4.5 million
This is exactly the same as the Mormon count. I think this highlights the effectiveness of their proselytising, considering moronisms had a 50 year head start.
What ever your opinion, there isn’t much separating the 2 faiths with regard to membership. It could also be argued as to the success of the preaching work. The results can’t be seen in the short term, but it has paid off I’m the long run.
In my opinion this idea of the Mormon church been bigger, through doing less, and appearing less culty, just isn’t true. I think it may also testify to effectiveness of decades of preaching.
-
16
LDS statistics, by extension, may suggest that the JWs could be bigger with a more engaged membership.
by joe134cd ini was just watching this on you tube, about the growth of the lds church.
i think these numbers may support a number of theories that have been discussed on here.
(1) the jws are bigger as a religious organisation.. (2) jw membership is more engaged, as well as, more ethnically diverse.. (3) wt is been honest with its counting.
-
joe134cd
Finkelstein - Please you need to view that video before you speak.
Wrong there are 1.2 million JWS in the US, there are 6.5 million Mormons in the US.
This is true, but I don’t think you are understanding the methodology here. The 6.5 mill LDS figure is a maximum rather than a minimum figure. Although they identify as a Mormon is no indication of their involvement.
The 1.2 JW figure is a minimum rather than a maximum in that it doesn't include the members children or interested ones.
If you were wanting to get a truer comparison, it would be the number of temple recommend holders. These are full tithing, and practicing the tenants of the faith. This would be comparable to a publisher. Unfortunately the church dose not publish these numbers, and for good reason. i would suggest that the number of temple recommend holders would be significantly less than the 6.5 mill figure. What ever the case we will never know.
Now this is where the maths kicks in.I apologise but I made a mistake about lds involvement being at 33%. This is not correct, as its 30%.
6.5 mill lds x 30% = 1.9 million. Like I said above those willing to part with their money could be even less.
Most census data would suggest that those identifying with the JWs is twice that of the publisher rate. I’ll be conservative here and say that it’s 50% higher.
1.2 JW x 50% = 1.8 mill JW
Weather you choose to accept the offical 1.2 jw or the 1.8 mill jw. They are certainly in competitive range of each other. When you consider the USA is in the home of Mormonism I think the JWs have done significantly well, Go out side the USA, and that is where the JWs dominate.
Mormons have 15 million world wide.
15 mill x 30% = 4.5 mill active lds
JW service report 8 - 9 million publishers.
There really is no argument.
-
16
LDS statistics, by extension, may suggest that the JWs could be bigger with a more engaged membership.
by joe134cd ini was just watching this on you tube, about the growth of the lds church.
i think these numbers may support a number of theories that have been discussed on here.
(1) the jws are bigger as a religious organisation.. (2) jw membership is more engaged, as well as, more ethnically diverse.. (3) wt is been honest with its counting.
-
joe134cd
You think anyone is going to listen for hour about the Mormon growth rate in the last 20 years ?
Well if you are going to blind your self to the facts of the matter. Or don’t have time for critical thinking. I’m sorry, but there isn’t really much else I can do for you. This maybe a result of your upbringing as a JW. IDK.
JWS drop out of the organization meaning a poor retention rate.
This could be true. That been said they are still do 100% better than the LDS, who are also losing significant numbers.
-
16
LDS statistics, by extension, may suggest that the JWs could be bigger with a more engaged membership.
by joe134cd ini was just watching this on you tube, about the growth of the lds church.
i think these numbers may support a number of theories that have been discussed on here.
(1) the jws are bigger as a religious organisation.. (2) jw membership is more engaged, as well as, more ethnically diverse.. (3) wt is been honest with its counting.
-
joe134cd
Can you name a religion that has a documented slow growth rate but proselytizes as much as the JWS do ?
Put it this way Fienkelstein. If the above report is correct. The JWs would have twice the active membership of the LDS, and it took 50 less years to do it. That’s impressive by anyone’s standards. I would haste to say, a result of their proselytising methods.
-
16
LDS statistics, by extension, may suggest that the JWs could be bigger with a more engaged membership.
by joe134cd ini was just watching this on you tube, about the growth of the lds church.
i think these numbers may support a number of theories that have been discussed on here.
(1) the jws are bigger as a religious organisation.. (2) jw membership is more engaged, as well as, more ethnically diverse.. (3) wt is been honest with its counting.
-
joe134cd
I got a news flash for you Joe .. many JWS do not attend all the Meetings every month.
I don’t deny that either. This is quite controversial and goes against the thinking of many exmos and JWs. What I’m trying to establish is when you factor things in such as
(1) The definition of a member and requirements there of.
(2) The counting methods used
(3) membership retention as opposed to involvement.
(4) The LDS had a 50 year head start on the JWs. So, understandably they should be bigger. However, I would be brave enough to suggest that they have the same rates of activity.
A very different picture begins to emerge. This idea of how badly the JWs have done despite their vast hours of preaching when compared to other religious competitors, may have to be reassessed. It could be suggested that they may of done comparatively well. I’ve suspected for a long time that the TBM and PIMI are similar in both camps. I really think you need to watch that You Tube video Finkelstein.