They told me on the phone that the literature is all special order now and isn't in stock at the literature counter anymore because "We still need to pay for it"... I said "Oh really I thought it was free?" and the lady stuttered and said "Well yeah ugh well you would have to make a donation for it" then another guy said the reason it's not in stock is because it's free...
WTBTS NEEDS MONEY NOW !
by Hairyhegoat 19 Replies latest jw friends
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brotherunsure
I think with allot of churches that do have collection plates most people only put a dollar in and just a few members put in big bucks and they're the ones carrying the load and keeping the lights on. Allot of Kingdom Halls probably are struggling to pay the bills because with no collection plate being passed people don't feel as compelled to give anything and then often times when they do they put it in the "worldwide work" box rather than the Kingdom Hall one. I wouldn't be surprised if allot of times a couple of elders end up footing the electric bill.
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finallyfree!
i wouldnt be surprised if a few elders pay for their suv's with the congregation cash. all that cash floating around in little boxes at assemblies and kh's. im sure jehovah wont mind, afterall brother bullshitter, and sister backstabber are using that suv to go out in field service...and who are we to judge?
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TotallyADD
Sorry finallyfree it would almost be impossible for any elders to steal the money to buy anything. There are so many check's and balance's the account servant has to go through then the Cir. Overseer reviews all that data. WTS makes sure they get every penny. Believe me I know this for a fact. Not to say someone is stealing from the box but when it comes to the money accounts it better be right on. Or the Cir. Overseer will call you on it. Totally ADD
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blondie
The accounts servants collects the money from the contribution boxes with another baptized brother watching. Both count the money, the accounts servant fills out a form with date, amount of money, and both brothers sign it. A copy of the slip is given to the secretary. The accounts are audited every 3 months by a qualified brother (sometimes a sister if no qualified brother) one not involved in the other steps. This is reviewed by the COBOE and the CO when he visits.
But I have known of 3 brothers who tried to embezzle the funds; they were removed as accounts servants and were "marked" unofficially as not dependable. The WTS monitors their money closer than the pedophiles in their midst, after all they are the ones that will be "screwed" not the children.
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WontLeave
They talk out both sides of their mouths on things like this. First, they tout how much real estate the Society owns, as evidence that 'God is blessing them'. Then, they beg for money. However, they never actually imply they need money; they just ask for it a lot, lately. With all the cutbacks in printing facilities, cheapening the quality of the literature (e.g. paperbacks), making many things available for download so they don't have to actually give anything tangible away, taking all "extra" money from the local halls, etc., it may appear they're having money problems, but I think they're just becoming more miserly and power-hungry.
I've always loved the JWs who would rationalize a value of the literature based on retail of a similar-sized book. I've heard the Watchtower valued at a few dollars, small books at $5-10, Bibles at $40-60. Are they nuts? I see Bibles in the dollar stores all the time. Printing and recording are actually ridiculously cheap businesses. The profit margin is incredible, which is why companies who do that can invest huge quantities of money in marketing talent, in hopes people buy their books or albums. For every success story in printing and recording, those companies have lost tons in failures. A religion doesn't have that risk, because every member is a guaranteed customer. ...and in the case of JWs, the major cost of printing - labor - is negligible.
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factfinder
@WontLeave-
You are right about the price markup of books and magazines sold at a bookstore.
For example, "Time" magazine costs only about 30 cents to print, and the expensive HC coffetable books cost only around $4.00 to print and bind- that is if the publisher is having them printed by RR Donnelley or World Color Press (Quebecor). Most mass market books and magazines, including Comic Books in the USA are printed by those two companies and their subsidiaries.
The w & g cost less than 10 cents to print , same with the brochures. The books cost about 35 cents to print. This is the wts' cost to produce them.
It is the shipping costs that are so high.
@Mad Sweeny- THE WATCHTOWER is considered just 1 magazine. The bvs contain all 24 issues. By publishing 2 editions each month they can:
1) keep certain information from the public by putting it in the study edition , and
2) save money by printing only about half as many copies of the study edition as of the public edition.
But the wts considers both editions to be one magazine- THE WATCHTOWER.
@Blondie- you are right. The elder who studied with me was the cong secretary and my jw brother handled the cong financial reports in his cong- the rules are too tight for anyone to not get caught. The cong I was in used an outside auditor at the society's direction!
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factfinder
@Sam Wiskey-
I think people make a big deal out of jws asking for money because the wts claims it has Jehovah as it's backer and has said that it would never ask or beg for money.
The way things have appeared the past 10 years or so, the wts is no longer recieving anywhere near the donations it once did, and has been cutting back in many ways as a result. This belies their claim of having Jah as their backer and that the constant expansion of their printing facilities is proof of such.
What we see instead is downsizing and consoladizing- same as worldy corporations. So they do not have Jehovah as their backer, do they?
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DaCheech
I did accounts servant for nearly 10 years, and the ONLY ONLY way you can steal, is if you got magicians fingers.
these brooklyn buggers, got 4 eyes collecting the money, and a dozen people auditing the duplicate receipts