Per a "top secret, confidential, burn this after you read it" letter to all BOEs, dated March 2, 2010, but not read in our congregation until this past week:
New "Kingdom Ministry" school for all elders and ministerial servants, to be held (in the US anyway) between November 2010 and January 2011.
6 hours of jaw dropping tedium instruction for MS, 9 for elders. MS session to be held on a Sunday, elders on Friday and Saturday.
The "super secret surprise", for elders only: A new textbook will be released to be studied at this "school". No details released with this BOE letter, other than instructions to the COBE tio get an exact count of exactly how many books to order (one per elder).
"Instructions to come" on what to do with the old textbook.
So there you have it.
Any guesses as to the changes in this edition?
I'll get it started:
Multiple pages, several subheadings, maybe a whole chapter, on pornography, the internet, apostate websites, social networking sites.
Whole new sections on blood fractions and university education.
Sections on encouraging ex-elders to "reach out" again.
Any guesses on security measures they might try, in an effort to keep the info in the book off the internet?
I see 2 possible approaches:
(A) Go full bore in an attempt to control it - have elders sign a confidentiality agreement in order to get the new book (thus setting themselves up for legal action if it can be proved they leaked the contents), maybe serial numbers on the pages, distinctive watermarks that would be visible if copied/scanned, etc.
(B) Realize that no matter what they might try to do in order to keep the book's contents "confidential", within minutes of its release its entire contents will be posted to the web, so just don't bother. Keep the most damaging stuff out of the printed book, and the 9 hours of instruction are primarily to get the elders to write in, in their own handwriting, the most dangerous (from the Society's POV) stuff.