by Hecce 182 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
Hi steve2
It will be interesting to check the 2017 Yearbook to see how many congregations there are in the USA compared with the 2016 Yearbook.
It'll be back to 2014....
|
2008 Yearbook |
12,494 congregations in USA |
|
2009 |
12,635 |
|
2010 |
12,800 |
|
2011 |
12,995 |
|
2012 |
13,309 |
|
2013 |
13,546 |
|
2014 |
13,714 |
|
2015 |
13,871 |
|
2016 |
14,063 |
The more I see of the WT, and the more I know about them, the more I think that they just put whatever the heck numbers they want in the "Yearbook"... right?
i.e.: "We are $9,000 behind in costs for this assembly"
SIR82:
I agree with you that this move to get rid of and sell many halls will hurt those within the Witness religion who are the most vulnerable and also probably the most loyal. This can only mean the religion feels it must do this because it needs vast sums of money either to pay out lawsuits, changed tax status in some places and/or a possible reserve for its coming "lean" years where next to nobody is going to donate money.
Once their affluent senior citizens pass away, I think it's pretty much over! People seem to think all seniors are poor which is not entirely true. Yes, some are but others have much disposable income they have been throwing around like confetti. This income was from jobs and great pensions that people don't get anymore. This was from a healthy economy, which is a thing of the past.
All through the years these seniors were the ones who forked over the most money to renovate Kingdom Halls that didn't need anything. (What a ripoff.)...They were the ones who gave money to deadbeat pioneers (the ones I wouldn't give a dime too). Does ANYBODY imagine the younger struggling people in the halls, plus the newer demographic of people with serious social ills are going to do this??? I think not.
I think the religion knows it's over and they are going into survival and rebranding mode.
i was gobsmacked when i found out my ( now deceased ) father had handed over £5000 towards the kh building fund a few years ago. then to discover he was donating £100 a month---needless to say when i took over all his affairs when he went into a care home --i straight away stopped that!
@ Stan
Yep the "gullible" but comfy widows are dying off. My parents "loaned" sums between £1K and £5K over the years for hall refurbs and turned them into "gifts".
I can think of five sisters in their eighties and nineties who have died in the last three years.
One left about £5,000 from her estate to the local cong. after the Society's money grab of 2015 (probably didn't understand it all and never changed her will) so it got sent to London with all the other dough - not a big pot but about £10,000 altogether). A shame really because even £5K would have helped her struggling grandchildren.
Here's what happened with the other four - in accord with their wills.
1. Age 94. Her apartment was sold and her cash assets (largely from her worldly husbands job related pension) totalling about £200K got divided up among kids and grandkids. Nothing to WTB&TS! Apparently she changed her will in 2011 cutting them out - saying they "were rich enough"!
2. Age 87. As above but about £300K! Not a penny to the Brooklyn cash grabbers. Several small sums (£1K each) left directly to a handful of "needy ones in the hall" - fair enough.
3. Age 89. She wanted half her money to go to JW's - if her unbelieving husband died before she did. Against all the odds he is still alive at 91 and has changed his will to leave all the lolly to the adult children! Result!
4. Age 82. Left her money to her husband and it's touch and go what he will do as he is devout and deluded. We shall see. Thankfully no house to make up a large pot of money here.
my dad passed away peacefully this january. in spite of the money he already gave the cult-----he left me well provided for.
my dilemna is what do i do with my will ? i remarried earlier this year--and my new wife will naturally be well looked after ( she is much younger than me. if its good enough for a GB member--who am i to argue! )
but--what do i leave for my 3 kids?
my dub-daughter is married and quite well off i would imagine. she shuns me completely--so any money i leave her will probably wind up in the watchtower coffers
ditto my younger son--not seen him in 30 years. but i know he also is a devout dub.
then there is my older son--d/f over 5 years ago--doing very well in life--probably better off than me--we have a good relationship.
what to do ?
i know--blow the bloody lot. problem solved!
@stan - maybe leave a portion to your son and the rest to a school. Herb Alpert the musician recently gave a large amount of money to a school, and the scholarships are helping a lot of kids.
I like the idea of helping kids who are making an effort to use their time wisely and get an education. They are the self-responsible people of the future!
A good thing to donate to would be a fund to help foster kids when they age out of the system. (My personal pet cause these days) Or a regular sum sent to the local food banks fresh for fresh food or toiletries (hard to find in a food bank).
My father left a much younger surviving spouse. Each of us, his children, received a small sum and the remainder went to his wife. I think it was fair to everyone.
At some point, old dubs die off and leave their money to dubland. I think there is an increasing number of these with undub kids. We should start to see these contest the will in court.
