by RubaDub 15 Replies latest jw friends
JTG,
Wow, that's pretty crazy!
Nothing like that in the US (yet). Maybe / probably they are trying it out in Australia first?
But yeah, it does indeed sound like they are going to be checking for "tithes" sooner than later.
In those old "tithe speculation" posts you referred to, I speculated that "privileges" might be dependent on how well one contributes. Maybe we are one step closer to that.
The entire cult is driven off of the "exemplary." The ones who can fill the donation boxes, leave their estates, put the "time" in, have building experience, law experience, health care experience, or who have any skill WT can "use" and stick their noses up anyone's ass, who can do anything for them. If you can do ANYTHING for WT, you are good! Once you become dead wood to them, they will dispose of you. The cash and assistance only runs one way....Watchtowers way!
A few threads on this ...below. A relative of mine recently went to Canada & he reckoned the hotel was 30% higher than he would have paid via Expedia etc and no reward points and the cost of the tours are grossly inflated , especially as the Society don't pay the ( usually ) pioneer guides. Because a show is put on for the "delegates" and everybody is ( superficially ) super friendly , they kind of are guilt tripped into donating far more than what they should. My relative put £300 donation on his credit card ( for him & his wife ) at the convention so goodness knows how much the whole convention got in cash.
Even back in 2009 , 6 days in France from the USA was $2900 plus $500 airline tax. This did include breakfast & lunch but not dinner , drinks , tips , "donations" etc etc. You could probably double that cost nowadays.
http://www.wegieltours-wcs.com/parjw/parisbrochurewegieltours.pdf
https://www.reddit.com/r/exjw/comments/7cybbg/watchtower_making_money_off_hotel_deals/
https://www.reddit.com/r/exjw/comments/95llm9/international_conventions_the_good_the_bad_and/
" A friend of mine was a delegate to an international convention a few years back and he said the price he paid through the WT society was almost double what he could have arranged independently for flights, hotels and tours. The thought was that the extra money was used to fund a CO and his wife who became the ‘Group Captain’ even though my friend said he really did nothing of any worth except drink a lot of red wine. "
"A friend of mine went to a international convention in Africa 20 years ago and he was telling me that the travel company used was a JW operation that charged more than double the price of what he could have arranged independently. But the delegates had to be approved by local elders as suitable candidates and no independent travel was allowed. "
I went to a couple of international conventions back in the early 90's.
Based on what I read & hear, it's quite a bit different now. 25+ years ago it was pretty much just the convention & maybe a visit to the local Bethel. Everything else was strictly "touristy", the only JWs you got to know were the ones on your tour bus. Lots of free time to go exploring on your own. Now it seems every moment is programmed, and you are obligated to spend virtually all your time with the local JWs.
As I recall, WCS (link in post above) was the one organizing things back then, too.
My mother-in-law went as a "delegate" via a WT-arranged tour to an int'l convention in Hawaii a few years ago. She paid an exorbitant amount, considering she was already in the US and that Hawaii already is a tourist destination (meaning you can get pretty good deals via Hotwire, etc.). I cannot recall the exact amount now, but it was easily twice what she would have paid through a package deal via Hotwire or Expedia.
I went to Helsinki in 2016. You pay for your own airfare and hotel. The hotel price was not inflated. The events during the week are non-stop and you they dont charge you. The local pioneers and others do all the tour-giving. They even provided some wonderful meals for the tour groups. After the evening event and during the convention itself they bring out the ATM machines. They encourage you to donate what all the tour events and meals would cost in real dollars. I think we donated $400.
