hi all.. i have noticed that many of our forum members have sought professional help from counsellors who deal with ones like us who have broken free from high control groups or "cults".. my self esteem has been rocked by recent events in the cong, and while i know ttatt it still has taken my joy in life away quite a bit.. as you all know, mentally i broke free from the org several years ago, but now that i am trying to start making the physical break, i feel really unsettled and nervous.. i wonder if a good counsellor could assist in helping me clarify and sort my feelings and emotions , and provide help to take practical steps to cut all ties with the org?.
if anyone can provide ideas of good counsellors, it would be appreciated.. thanks everyone!.
I have a contact in the states with experience dealing with high control religions. Highest qualifications possible as far as education is concerned. Pm me if interested. In today's world international communication is just a time zone consideration which is easy to work out.
-TE
this thread is to formally address this subject.
this is for forum members and especially for lurkers (current witnesses reading this in secret).
please feel free to post any additional points.. there are a lot of changes happening in wt land.
Thanks for the posted comments. Sorry the OP turned out so long.
That video says it all DD!
Oubliette - It increasingly amazes me that nobody asks for an accounting from headquarters. I guess it shows just how god-like they see the GB. It's as if it would be considered blasphemy to dare ask for accountability.
I'm sorry. I don't care how holy you are supposed to be.. If you are in charge of millions if not billions of dollars, there needs to be checks and balances. The people that gave you the money deserve to know what you are doing with it.
It see two things.
One - I see how little respect the GB has for the people actually paying their way (they see the rank and file as children that are beneath them)
Two - I am beginning to better understand what the fascination is that men have in this organization for the higher ups and why they want to be one so bad. The GB are straight up gods. The people in their immediate circle are worshipped also. The elders trying to climb the ladder in this organization want in that club.
They are ok with the double standard partly because they want it for themselves.
-TE
this thread is to formally address this subject.
this is for forum members and especially for lurkers (current witnesses reading this in secret).
please feel free to post any additional points.. there are a lot of changes happening in wt land.
JWleaks - perfect - a picture is worth a thousand words
Lynnie - Sounds like it is quite a nice view from the top for the ole cousins.
-TE
this thread is to formally address this subject.
this is for forum members and especially for lurkers (current witnesses reading this in secret).
please feel free to post any additional points.. there are a lot of changes happening in wt land.
This thread is to formally address this subject. This is for forum members and especially for lurkers (current witnesses reading this in secret). Please feel free to post any additional points.
There are a lot of changes happening in WT land. The entire religion is being re-branded. It started with the website and the seemingly sudden embrace of technology and digital literature. The JW.org logo was then pushed and placed everywhere. Now the religion is moving to franchise-like commercial kingdom halls on strategic pieces of invest-able real estate.
Here is the thread link to investigate these new construction strategies
Let's not even waste time debating what this is. This is big business. This is a multi-billion-dollar international corporate conglomerate with a new business vision. The biggest piece of that vision is in real estate. They are aggressively growing their real estate empire. This empire is no longer just miscellaneous kingdom halls or assembly halls. They have now moved on to other commercial and even residential properties under the label of training centers and "translation offices".
Here is a thread link to just one luxury residential property that has been acquired as a "translation office"
Here is a thread link to a recently acquired training center (commercial real estate investment)
These real estate investments including the new commercial-grade kingdom halls will be built, renovated, or maintained by a volunteer labor force (reduced costs) and easily flipped down the road (10 - 20 years) for a healthy profit.
These points are-what-they-are...
________________________________________
Now for the question posed in the title of this thread:
Who Benefits from the Multi-Billion Dollar Real Estate Empire that is WT?
This can be confusing... and purposefully so. Jehovah's Witnesses do not have a payroll that we know of. Local elders do not get paid to be preachers. This is something most people consider a good thing. It keeps the financial-greed motive out of the equation at the local level. There is also transparency at the local level. Accounting is kept of all the funds coming in and out of each kingdom hall. Monthly Accounts Reports are posted for the public to see. This gives an impression of organization-wide openness and honesty. Most JW's only ever see this local level of activity and judge based on this.
What about at higher levels in the organization? Do people get paid at the NY headquarters? Well, as far as we know, they do not receive a paycheck per-say. Of course we have to go on word-of-mouth to verify this because there is no financial transparency at the world headquarters. There is no Accounts Report from New York.
Let's consider what we do know.
Do men at the top of the Jehovah's Witness organization support themselves the same way that elders do at the local level? No.
Men at the top of the organization receive food, clothing, shelter, security, transportation, full medical care (including chiropractic and massage therapy on site), laundry services, cleaning services, gym facilities, personal assistants, and more. Now answer this question:
Do the men at the top of the Jehovah's Witness religion make their living as ministers within the organization? Yes.
To replace this means of living and level of access, they would have to make a hefty salary outside the headquarters. I would put it in the healthy 6-digit category. Most of these men, if not all of them, cannot match their current creature-comforts making their own living in the real world. Most of the men also have wives to answer to that are used to a certain standard of living and security from living at headquarters.
Beyond material comforts, men are often motivated by a desire for power. Why do men sometimes leave jobs making 7 figures to run for political office? Why would they pursue another job that pays so much less? ....We all know the answer. Power, control, perks, prestige, backdoor financial benefits, etc. etc.
-Sitting at the top of this multi-billion-dollar international corporate conglomerate called Jehovah's Witnesses would be intoxicating to any power-driven man. How would you feel if you served on committees deciding how to manage billions of dollars worth of equity? Would you feel pretty important? Would you feel pretty powerful? How would you feel to serve on committees that made life-altering decisions for millions of followers worldwide? What if you had the power to enforce compliance to these decisions as if they were literally the word of God?
Control billions of dollars and millions of lives?
Please.... for a power-driven man this stuff is crack cocaine...
Why do politicians often vote to increase the power and scope of government? To increase their personal power.
Why would Jehovah's Witness leaders seek to grow the wealth and power of the organization well beyond the needs of any ministry work? Same answer as above.
Greed can show up in many ways. Often those with power want more of it.
_______________________________________
So, Who Benefits from the Multi-Billion Dollar Real Estate Empire that is WT?
Answer: Anybody serving in a Leadership Capacity at the World Headquarters or other branch location.
How do they benefit?
This aggressive business model works to grow the organization's wealth. On a personal level this insulates and potentially improves the Leaders' living and lifestyle, adds to their prestige, increases their power and authority over others, and produces opportunities for backdoor perks and benefits (monetary and otherwise) as millions change hands through the entire empire-building process.
If these are the only benefits, it is more than enough. Men have killed for less.
-TE
fresh from the "press":to all bodies of elders in the united states branch territoryre: local design/construction department broadcastdear brothers:the work of constructing and maintaining theocratic facilities throughout the unitedstates branch territory is indeed great!
(1 chron.
29:1) with this in mind, we are pleased to informyou of a special meeting to be presented on saturday, january 31, 2015, at 3:00 p.m. easternstandard time (est) to all elders and circuit overseers in the united states branch territory.the meeting will be approximately two and a half hours in length and will includepresentations by members of the local design/construction department, the united statesbranch committee, the worldwide design/construction department, and a member of the governingbody.
Why such a push in the marketing department? Isn't the organization above that?
I understand Starbucks doing this. They want a fresh image to sell their high priced coffee. But Starbucks doesn't have legions of angels behind them nor do they have the most powerful force in the universe - holy magic spirit.
Herein lies the problem with any religion that turns into a business. You forever wonder which is more important to the organization - the business or the faith? I think it's obvious what the answer is for WT. It is also obvious they do not believe nor do they have faith in what they teach - that they have God's backing and blessing.
-TE
synchronicity - the simultaneous occurrence of events that appear significantly related but have no discernible causal connection.
today is the first day of the rest of my life.
freedom.
Welcome... enjoyed the quotes. Look forward to your future posts.
-TE
what is the watchtower organization leaving behind for all the kingdom halls after their done siphoning them dry?
who is going to pay for a lawsuit or damages when some incompetent elders or three are busted for something very bad?
will the watchtower help or leave them alone for the sharks to shred to pieces?
OTWO,
I agree. It also is a deterrent to people suing. If the WT can convince dubs/former-dubs that the WT is untouchable, the dubs may not pursue a case.
-TE
last week we had an elder giving a talk, cant remember the title.. the thing that was of interest is the experience he gave:.
"a brother who was working in a hospital had to leave his job which was paying him good money because the nurses wanted to sleep with him and they kept putting notes for him on his desk!".
this is not the first time i hear similar experience.
I know one former elder who would give experiences that started out with "I know one brother who..." or "I know one brother that would say..." and he was talking about himself every time.
Also my wife was used on an assembly part to give an experience when she was a teenager, and the brother handling the part asked her to rephrase things and add to the story. He changed her story so much that she felt like she was lying when she gave the experience.
You barely scratched the surface of what really goes on inside a JW circuit. - Honesty
I know a pioneer couple that went to pioneer school about an hour's drive away from their home. They stayed with a family from the host congregation. Well the husband and wife that they stayed with served the pioneer couple wine and stayed up late with them telling them how they got in trouble a few years back for swinging!
Uhh.... baiting much?
It's crazytown out there in JW land.
-TE
i met an aging, well, late sixties, pioneer sister a few days back, from a congregation four removes away, and a different circuit to my old congo.
i have known her since i was a kid.. i wasn't quite sure at first if she knew our "status" as we exchanged pleasantries, but it soon became clear she knew exactly our situation, that we walked away a few years ago.. she asked me about my views on life now, and listened respectfully, and said she appreciated my view, but a couple of questions that she threw at me, as in the thread title, showed that she was surprised that mrs phizzy and i had not gone off the rails after we left.. the mind control goes so very deep does it not ?
she was surprised that our marriage hadn't failed, and that we were now happy.. i wonder if she will ever make the connection that the jw org has lied to her about those of us who leave ?.
Living well is the best revenge :)
-TE
how long have they gone back to the photodrama days?.
I know. It's ugly. They threw rocks at tele-evangelism forever and then start a web channel. Oh yeah and the internet is from the devil...new light just in....internet is from God to get the preaching work done. lol
-TE
