Tech49

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Posts by Tech49

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  22

  Kingdom Hall Renovation Question: Who Pays?

  by breakfast of champions in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  so last night it was announced at the local hall that the ldc had decided against building a new hall, and that the existing hall would be "renovated.

  the prospect of a new hall has been dangled before this congregation for at least 10 years now.

  in fact, the congregation had already purchased property, had approval from the rbc for a new hall.

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  Tech49

  I know, firsthand, of 2 perfect examples of the latest "arrangement" for remodel and larger expenses. 1 KH needed a complete new HVAC (furnace and AC unit) system, as the current one was over 30 years old and no longer cost effective to repair. Another KH needed new carpet and chairs....same scenario. Both KH's sent request to the LDC to do the projects. Well over the $5000 funds-on-hand, mind you. Request was sent to LDC for funding. LDC came back and said..... if you raise at least 50%, then WT will fund the remaining amount, but you must repay via extra "contributions".

  Thinking of the carpet and chairs situation, as it is most recent. No total funding amount was ever disclosed to the congregation, just a "large cost". No other accounting information, no "funds on hand" figures, or "this is how much we need to come up with". Just..... "we need more, if this project is to go forward". Then a letter was read recently from the LDC. Basically it said "congratulations, you have reached at least 50% of the cost, and WT will cover the rest. Please make your continued contributions to cover the remaining balance in the NEW box to be located at the rear of the KH." No one knows what said "balance" is however..... all the figures and numbers are a mystery. Even the elders dont know... they say "the LDC is handling all that, so not too worry!".
  

  On the HVAC project at the other KH, funding was delayed until the congregation could come up with more than $15,000, then no further updates were given, just "remember brothers, we need to keep contributing, so that there might be an equalizing"!!

  So the congregations and the elders are completely in the dark as to the actual total amount that has been contributed toward each project, or when the contributions have been sufficient to cover them, and when the flock should stop making donations. The money just keeps on coming, and no one tells them to stop. Pretty convenient, right?!

  Complete and utter trust is given to this new LDC arrangement, to just keep funneling money to momma.
  
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  24

  Elder/MS requirement for marriage talk? (Wedding not in KH)

  by respectful_observer in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  okay team,.

  some family friends who are engaged are getting some flack around the particulars of their wedding ceremony (surprise!

  "strain out the gnat, gulp down the camel", and all that).

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  Tech49

  I will chime in on this one, as I have a recent first-hand experience with this very thing.

  A young couple I know wanted to get married. They asked an elder in their congregation to perform their ceremony at the KH, he agreed, and all was well. Shortly thereafter, other elders got their knickers in a wad, and didnt feel it "appropriate" that the kids get married in the KH, as they were too young (he was 19, she was 18). Quite the arguments went round and round, until such a ruckus was stirred up that the original elder pulled out, and the body decided that it would not be "appropriate" to have the wedding at the KH, and no elders or servants would be available to give the talk...... because such a commotion had been stirred up. NOT because the kids had done a single thing wrong, or been "unclean" in any way..... just because too many busy bodies got in a fight about the whole thing.

  Needless to say, now this poor couple was upset, confused, and completely lost. My wife and I agreed to help them.

  Here's what went down: They kept their original wedding date. We had them meet with a Justice of the Peace in a small, informal setting, just to perform the real legal ceremony and sign the paperwork. Then, the next day, we had the "ceremony", where everyone was invited, at an alternate location that we had helped them rent at the last minute....and I gave the wedding talk. I used the WT outline, very loosely at that! Everyone in attendance said it was the best talk they had heard in a long time! Now, mind you, I am no longer serving as an elder. And we had some in the wedding party that were NOT JW's. We had decorations, played music...It was a great day, the kids got married, pictures were taken, there may or may not have been some good whiskey passed around....a good party was had by all! Good clean fun, no one got out of control, it was a very decent and dignified event. Only 2 other elders in attendance, from another hall. None of the local elders were there. So sad.... but whatever, didnt want to spoil the day for the new young couple.

  Fast forward about 2 weeks. I get pulled into the "back room", because of the huge "concern" for what went on. I was not "qualified" to give the talk, they said. That devil ALCOHOL was present! WORLDY people were in the wedding party!! OMG!!! People (who had not even bothered to attend) were so stumbled! How dare I circumvent the "brothers". I WENT OFF! I used some choice language, and basically told them to mind their own business! They couldn't be bothered to support the couple previously, and so it was none of their business who was or was not at the ceremony, or who did or did not perform the ceremony! And I certainly did not need anyone's permission to speak at the ceremony, and perform a "mock" ceremony. I did not tell them that we had done the legal stuff the day before, it was again..none of their business.

  So ya, we got a ton of crap for that one, but in the end it was worth it! It was a bright shiny day for the young newlyweds, without an "elders" thumb micro managing the whole event!

  Bottom line... anyone can PERFORM a ceremony. You may have to have the actual legal stuff done at the courthouse. And dont let anyone dictate to you otherwise.

  Jack Harper, Tech49
  
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  3

  Indoctrination or Education? Grooming Minds

  by Tech49 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  dear friends,.

  i came across this video a while back.

  after thinking about it for some time, i wanted to share.

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  Tech49

  Dear friends,

  I came across this video a while back. After thinking about it for some time, I wanted to share. Please take a look, as it very succinctly highlights the problems with indoctrination of children, and people in general.

  For any lurkers out there, please take a minute and really think about this one....

  GROOMING MINDS

  Jack Harper, Tech49
  
  
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  20

  RBC Used Tools Liquidation - 80% Off Cost!

  by thedepressedsoul in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  has anyone else received this email?

  "items priced to move, up to 80% off cost".

  i'd post the email but i worry they put secret identifying marks on it somehow.

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  Tech49

  Seems to me they had another tool liquidation sale a year or two ago, selling off RBC stuff. If I remember correctly, there was a website link to the items for sale. I also remember looking at the used, overpriced tools and thinking "sheesh, I could pick that up at Home Depot for the same price, or LESS!"

  Up to 80% off..... I doubt it. As someone commented previously.... WT would not leave that much money on the table, out of the kindness of their hearts. Sounds like used-car salesman tactics to make money on stuff cluttering up the storage shed.
  
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  23

  Are GB accountable for deaths for changing policy ?

  by Chook in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  example blood factions, organ transplants.

  suicide from disfellowshipping , breaking up family's with old oral sex policy.

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  Tech49

  I tend to agree with Simon's comment early on. Ultimately, it is OUR personal decisions that we live with. However, the caveat to that is how our decisions are influenced.

  We had a teenage boy in our area recently commit suicide. JW parents, they weren't super-strict, but no doubt his upbringing and the pressures of being a witness were a factor. Should we blame the GB? Maybe, to a small degree. But again ultimately, a larger degree of blame lies on the person making the decison to pull the trigger, including the parents, as they are intimately involved with their childs life, and maybe could have done things differently??.

  I have seen several JW suicides over the years, and they all have similarities, including OTHER influences outside JW life.

  Alot of it boils down to whom you trust. Do you trust 7 men in New York with your life? I dont. They dont know me and my family. They dont know real struggles, they dont know real family issues and how to cope in the real world. They are spoiled, pandered to, and are put on pedestals, whether they admit it or not. They grow fatter by the day, while spewing out "new light" just to keep up the facade of the "man behind the curtain". They could care less if I live or die. In my humble opinion, that is disgusting.
  

  I firmly believe that we all need to take responsibility and take care of ourselves, and look at WT presented information (if that is where you are at in life) and "truth" very objectively. As has been said many times, "truth" does not change. WT does.

  No sane person would EVER give themselves over mentally, without question, to an organization, or a group of men. Those who are NOT entirely sane.....just might.
  
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  16

  Video about boy to not play violin?

  by Crazyguy in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  it looks to me as though they are saying don't play at a higher level because your then in competition?

  so if i'm correct what if any bible scriptures can be used to back up this anti competitive idea and are there other scriptures showing the opposite?.

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  Tech49

  This has been touched on, but I wanted to make sure it was brought out in full.
  

  Has anyone seen the videos of the songs that are made by WT.? They feature a full orchestra. Many hours are spent by the brothers and sisters at Bethel to put together these instrumental pieces. We are told to APPRECIATE the great gift we have been given with these musical symposiums. Where did they all learn to play so well? Was it just High School band? I seriously doubt it. How many went to a formal, "higher education" program to enhance their skills? I would venture out on a limb and say ALL OF THEM!

  So, playing the violin, or bass, or trumpet, or cello, or flute, or trombone, or guitar, or harp, or drums, etc etc..... for WT music-making is ok....... but encouraging your children pursue their interests so that they can make a living with something they enjoy and are good at...is wrong?

  The blatant hypocrisy is so obvious!!

  I posted this same comment on another thread, sorry for the double post, but this issue brings up so many feelings from my youth. I personally was dissuaded from pursuing higher education in the 80's at something I was so unbelievably good at (not music), and I could have had a full 4-year college scholarship. I vividly remembering sitting in my guidance counselor's office and telling her.."yes, I will NOT be attending college, I have other interests." She had a stack of offers and scholarships on her desk, all I had to do was fill them out. It was a lie, and I tried so hard to convince myself that it wasn't. But I was faking it, I hated that those words came out of my mouth. All she could do was shake her head, and do her best to be positive about the situation. I look back and am disgusted by what others pushed on me.

  The efforts by WT and the self-appointed GB to crush the dreams of our youth is just sick and wrong.
  
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  41

  Non-JW music teacher talks about JW.org

  by Watchtower-Free in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnzgd8oa2re .

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  Tech49

  So about the video and the kid who "gives up" his interest in the violin....

  Has anyone seen the videos of the songs that are made by WT.? They feature a full orchestra. Many hours are spent by the brothers and sisters at Bethel to put together these instrumental pieces. We are told to APPRECIATE the great gift we have been given with these musical symposiums. Where did they all learn to play so well? Was it just High School band? I seriously doubt it. How many went to a formal, "higher education" program to enhance their skills? I would venture out on a limb and say ALL OF THEM!

  So, playing the violin, or bass, or trumpet, or cello, or flute, or trombone, or guitar, or harp, or drums, etc etc..... for WT music-making is ok....... but encouraging your children pursue their interests so that they can make a living with something they enjoy and are good at...is wrong?

  The blatant hypocrisy is so obvious!!
  
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  19

  Tech49 on DC: Experiences are not truthful

  by Tech49 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i was sent a link to a homemade video from our summer district convention, not the one i attended, but the next weekend.

  it was a video of a local brother, relating his "experience" of "trusting in jehovah", and how he was blessed.. it was just about 1 short minute long.

  ms harper showed it to me first, she wanted to get my comment on it before she said a word.. background: we both know this brother, he is about our age, so we know the "real" story.. anyways, his story goes like this: this experience goes back about 10 years (jeez, we must be really searching for the experiences now!).

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  Tech49

  Bumping this thread, because it is so similar to the other one recently started on the same subject. With the Convention season upon us, look for all those contritely made-up super encouraging experiences and tales of Gehovahs direction!
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  44

  KH construction

  by truth doubter in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  is it a fact that all kh construction earth wide has stopped?

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  Tech49

  I know that on the West Coast of the US, virtually ALL building and remodeling has come to a halt. A few little minor things going on where select individuals get invited, but essentially ALL RBC programs have been shut down.
  
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  15

  You are tomato sauce...

  by rrb2016 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  the wife and i went to the memorial strictly out of respect for my mother-in-law last night.

  luckily our 20 month-old grand-baby was restless and making noise, so i quickly volunteered to take him in the back.

  so i didn't have to listen to the presentation.

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  Tech49

  And so there you have it... confirmation via PM's....... we were at the same location as rrb2016.

  Its a small world after all!