Potential Changes at Bethel... (page 2)

TJ - iAmCleared2Land

Dude, what color is the sky in your world?

Blue... how about where you are? :-)

When has the Society ever given a flying fig about the cost of their "simplifications" to the rank & file? They don't care how much you have to spend!
They will almost certainly do this within the next 5-10 years, at least for the "study" Watchtowers and the Kingdom Ministries. Actual literature to be placed may still be printed by them for a bit longer

I agree... I was referring to literature for PLACEMENT not being printed at home. I can see publishers being asked to print their own KM and study articles.

sir82

One hurdle is that many dubs have no PC and/or no internet connection.

I believe that the only way to turn in the congregation field service report (the totals) is via the www.JW.org website now. You used to have the option of mailing it in, but no more.

I think they expect the secretary to go to the library and use the internet there, if they do not have a home internet connection.

That is just stupid. Printing Watchtowers at home, yeah right!

All they need is to break their taboo of asking for money and start getting people to fork it over. JWs are very cheap! They give so little $$$ to the movement because they have been trained to think that asking for money is a bad thing. Once the WTS gets beyond their stupid ideas on money people will start to give what they need to. IF the WTS has made it this far without really asking for all that much money, imagine what they could get if they started to push. They probably could pull in over a billion dollars in a year if they really pushed hard enough.

james_woods

Drew might be right... maybe. Another thread suggests that they may now be doind just that. But, Scientology tried this (heavy money-grubbing from their members) and pretty much broke the backs of their basic rank & file. You can no longer get a straight answer on their true membership numbers.

I wonder what with the internet, price of gas, general disrest amoung the natives, etc...what Drew suggests might be yet another notch in the old gunbarrel for WT opposers.

However, I also just have the gut feel that with the traditional WTS paranoia of "rule from above" they would never allow any cottage prinnting industry to develop.

OMG - can you imagine what a few semi-apostates who were skilled with say photoshop could create?

daniel-p

Or how about this: The BOE in each congregation collects funds to buy a color laser printer and prints each magazine so many times a month. THat way the printing is decentralized AND individual JWs aren't printing them on their own.

sir82

However, I also just have the gut feel that with the traditional WTS paranoia of "rule from above" they would never allow any cottage prinnting industry to develop.
OMG - can you imagine what a few semi-apostates who were skilled with say photoshop could create?

That may be what is holding them back for now.

On the JW.org website, there is a "login" procedure. Only a select few elders per congregation have login IDs and passwords. If they could make that site as secure as humanly possible, they could post PDF versions of the study magazines & KMs there for trustworthy elders to download, with strict instructions on how, when and where to get the actual printing done.

Most elders pride themselves on how well they follow instructions from "mama"!

drew sagan

Drew might be right... maybe. Another thread suggests that they may now be doind just that. But, Scientology tried this (heavy money-grubbing from their members) and pretty much broke the backs of their basic rank & file. You can no longer get a straight answer on their true membership numbers.

I just don't think that the WTS has at all tapped the full potential of what their members could donate to the organization. Of course it would take a few years, but they could slowly change the members entire mindset on giving.

Think about it. For all those years they sold the literature there was a definite price on every single book, even if they were not sold! This basically was a form of tithing. JWs were required to purchase a set quantity of a product, plus encouraged to hand over a bit more. It always kept the org with plenty of extra.

Now that this arrangement is gone it is no surprise to see that they have to cut back on what they print. They are no longer getting a set price for each item. I think eventually they will find a way to change that. Maybe a 'suggested donation' on every item. You don't have to give, but you probably should ;^)

sir82

JWs were required to purchase a set quantity of a product

That was certainly not the case at all.

You purchased what you thought you would use in your door-to-door work, nothing more. Some people purchased 60 magazines a month, others purchased 6 a month. There were no "minimum requirements".

M.J.

Or maybe just put it up for sale again and pay the friggin sales tax on the lit!

Or...raise the donation bar?

w1971 8/15 506
The emphasis in all giving among the Witnesses is that it must be voluntary and spontaneous, from the heart. In fact, ever since the earliest days of the modern witnesses of Jehovah it has been their policy that never should there be any passing of collection plates or similar solicitations for money.

Ha!

drew sagan

There were no "minimum requirements".

They had to at least buy enough for themselves and their family. Since all JWs went into the field ministry they had to at least buy a few extras in most cases.

The bottom line was that there was a cost associated with receiving the magazines. If you have on million people on earth who must by a certain book because it is necessary for your weekly worship that is one million+ books sold, garunteed!

Potential Changes at Bethel...

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