Watchtower & Awake Subscriptions (page 2)

refiners fire

Are you contradicting me Stephanus? ARE you???
When is the last time you lay in bed reading a book. Its a goddamn PAIN in the ASS holding a book in bed. My arms get tired.
And the "Age" newspaper is a curse to read ANYWHERE, let alone on a Goddamn TRAIN.
No.
It is obvious that, very soon, we will all possess a little silver box, maybe even GRAFTED onto our HEADS , thru which all information will flow.

uncle jimbo

One simplification that hasn't been mentioned.

My elder father told me the Society ships their congregation literature orders to Rochester (Henrietta) assembly hall (over 100 miles away). Then, some poor local brother has to make the 4 hour drive (once a month) so the congreation can get their literature. Supposedly every congreation in the area has similar arrangements. Anyone else heard of this?

I guess there was a retired MS who faithfully made the trip until he died. Now the congregation gets literature every 2 or 3 months. Spiritual food at the proper time, I guess. And given the cost of shipping, it probably would be cheaper for the Society to use it's own trucks.

Amazing

Hi Uncle Jimbo: When I was in California, we used the Fremont Assembly Hall for literature distribution centers. That was started sometime in the late 1970s or early 1980s. The Society actually owns their own fleet of trucks, and Bethel Drivers leave New York in a tractor-trailor with shipments of literature for these distribution points. And then local Circuits have brothers appointed to go to the Assembly Hall used for the literature and pick up the shipments, sometimes for more than one congregation. - Amazing

SixofNine

As I understand it, they have stopped trucking their own stuff, for the most part, including literature.

We have a WT truck depot at the assembly hall in Denton TX. My bookstudy conductor was a good ole boy elder who drove trucks for the society, and got to count much of his pioneer time that way. Good thing, as he was nice enough, but he could barely read and couldn't really string together a coherent thought about doctrine to save his life. (pardon the pun, lol). Last I spoke with him, he was pretty much out of a job driving for the society- said it was due to the insurance risk exposure that having trucks on the road opened the Society up to. I think he had a story or two of some accidents by others, and very close calls by himself.

VM44

Good post Amazing,

I recall reading that the "Golden Age" magazine (original name for
the Awake!) was started by Rutherford because the Society had
excess printing capacity at the time (1920s). Instead of
being idle, the presses could be used to print the new magazine.

The magazines used to be a tremendous source of income to the WTS.
Your comments indicate that the magazine profit margin is not
what it used to be.

--VM44

MacHislopp

Hello Amazing,

great post and a great
analysis indeed. Some of your statement are
really true.
The WTBS is changing its - modus
operandi- and will continue to do so, for
financial reason and also to avoid as much
as possible, that the literature arrives to

those that she views as - enemies and apostates -!

I do agree also about the lenght of the Conventions,
most probably thay will cut down, to one for all
the year.

Reports on this board and I can confirm
from my informations,wrote of attendance decreases
i.e. Friday morning/afternoon attendance
at District conventions .

In Europe , I was told that it was down
in some places as much as 35-40%, with highest
attendance only on Sunday morning.

I'm alco curious about the possibility on one
and only magazine...! Big money save.

Thanks for all your efforts, and your nice and
informative posts, which I always read with
great interest and pleasure.

Greetings, J.C.MacHislopp

gambler

I disagree with you refine fire.There will always be books and newspapers.You ever try reading a book on the computer, its not fun.In a casino you have the same thing.The casino is quite capable of making all the table games digital on a slot machine.But most of the players want the tactile feel they get with the real thing.The same is with information, most people would not give up the feel of printed media and books.The internet is good for alot of info but it will never totaly replace print.I get headaces if I read to much on a computer screen but not print paper.

Abaddon

An excellent post Amasing, but I disagree.

I have a far nastier idea.

Imagine if due to insolvency caused by class-action suites for child abuse, or for other financial reasons, the WTBTS become insolvent.

Effectively speaking the Christian Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses would take its place.

They would be able to secure an income by becoming an ISP, providing not just Internet, but 'phone and TV feeds.

These would be censored, and a persons viewing choices monitored. Study time would be online, and monitored. Preaching could be done by incidental means on Discussion Boards. This could be monitored. Children could be home schooled. This would be monitored. Meetings would be online. This would be monitored. In fact, the little webcam on the top of each screen would be on all the time. Subscribers could become part of an online workforce, answering calls in a virtual call-centre, for example. Many things could be ordered online from approved suppliers. These purchases could be monitored. Association would chiefly be online. This would be monitored.

This would be justified by 'New Light', citing scriptures that would make becoming techno hermits seem to be god's will.

People with good records would be promoted to MS and then Elder, and would monitor the flock, with the help of clever software. They would be monitored by CO's. Anyone who got a bad 'profile' could end up being monitored by someone in Bethel 24-7. They could justify this too, scriptually, if they wanted...

If someone didn't tow the line, eventually they would be disconnected. As they would have even LESS of an idea of the outside world, possibly having been reared and raised online, they would be totally disfunctional cut-off from the collective.

Far scarier idea than the WT and A! sharing covers and being monthly. Makes the Borg and 1984 comparisons spooky.

People living in glass paradigms shouldn't throw stones...

bj

If one reads the WILL of Charles Russell, it made it clear that the ONLY magazine the WBTS had to publish was the Watch Tower. Therefore by publishing another journal, it violated Russell's WILL. (see W 1916, December 1)

Joe

ozziepost

G'day bj,

Long time, no hear! Good to 'see' ya!

The publication of The Watchtower alone would not be the only thing in Russell's will that was overturned. Rutherford overturned the governance stipulations by having himself elected President. As I understand it, Russell didn't envisage Joe Ratherflawed playing the central role that he assumed. And from what I recall of Russell's wishes, the trustees were women. Didn't take long for Joe the mysogonist to gloss over that!

Cheers,
Ozzie

"It's better to light a candle than to curse the darkness."

Anonymous

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