Gumby,
I almost think of Mother Teresa and her selfless work and how all that is considered manure by the WTS but they elevate any JW that puts in their mandatory hour (15 minutes for the sick/elderly) to insure their personal salvation.
Shame on these thankless ones who didn't listen to the bullshit the witnesses told them that they didn't listen to!.
Oxnard,
I once counted how many times Jesus was said compared to Jehovah and it was 3 to 1 in favor of Jehovah.SM
, you picked what I felt was in the top five phrases this Sunday that shows how desperate the WTS is getting.When shown the description of the fruitage of God?s spirit and upon being invited to the local Kingdom Hall, to see evidence of this for themselves, MANY QUICKLY acknowledge: "God is really among you." (1 Corinthians 14:25)(S)
I felt as you said:
If I was still an active JW, I would find this nauseating to say the least.
Good idea, johnny
lets compare the account report from Dec and Jan with each other and see if the pub listened to what the WT is saying.
If anyone still attends, watch and see if there is an upward trend in donations.
Nobody told me,
couldn't help think of that big wad of cash that young sister was throwing(away) into the contribution box. What happened to two small coins of little value?
I can remember a JW telling me that when she went to the Baptist church they sent around a collection basket that would not hold coins, you had to put in a dollar or more or it fell out on the floor. And they would lock the doors and keep sending it around until they got enough to pay the expenses. (Disclaimer: this is not to say all churchres or all Baptist churches do this). Will the WTS have to do this?
Good expansion on the importance of context, jgnat.
Due to your contribution, I was able to "prophesy" to my honey that we would be studying Tithing this week.
Doesn?t your honey ready his magazines right away when they come into the KH as directed by the WTS? (smile)
Christians are not marinating in sin and fleshly desires. They have a new life, a free gift from God. Such a gift can lead to a lot of gratefulness. Not unless the poor person has failed to completely accept Jesus? sacrifice. Which might explain why so many Jehovah?s Witnesses are so miserable.
Good point, actually, since the WTS/FDS says they are the channel to heaven, having taken over Jesus position, they now feel they control people?s status as sinners not Jesus. That is why the elders can DF people with the WTS sanction/permission since they speak for Jesus. There is no salvation for JWs except through the WTS.
Interesting observation, Gozz,
Usually, I'd watch of of sriptureless paragraphs; they habour convoluted reasonings, and perhaps droppings of something 'new' yet to make it through the blinking dim light.
But then the WTS is notorious for dropping in a scripture that has nothing to do with the point they are making. So a scripture is no guarantee of any connection with their point. Satan quoted scripture to Jesus in Matthew, chapter 4, but the application was wrong.
Jgnat?s point is another possibility.
Paragraphs in past articles may not quote scripture if they are quoting a testimony, or are bridging one thought to another.
Blueblades,
The magazines do not come as soon as they did when there were subscriptions. That much I remember before I stopped attending meetings.
The theory is that you should get them with ample time to read them to be able to present them in a timely fashion in the field ministry (WTS speak). So based on that, if the December 1 is placed starting 12/1 (usually a couple days before) I would think you should get them around November 15 (giving you 2 weeks to read and prepare a presentation, but the WTS provides them now in the KM)
As to Bethel, that is another world. They get them as soon as they roll off the presses. If you add it the time it takes to pack the boxes and mail them to the congregations, I imagine that means that Bethel is getting them at least a week to 10 days before those boxes hit the halls. You must factor in the diligence and timeliness of the brother assigned to the magazine distribution at the KH.
The reason I'm asking is that some of the material seems to be taken from our jwd.post here on this board.Looks like they are monitoring this site and then printing study articles to keep the rank and file in the dark and in line and busy doing more.
The WTS has articles planned out at least a year in advance. You might notice that certain articles always appear in the month of January. You might also notice that study articles after the conventions are the main talks from the conventions. Do I think that they read JWD and adjust the material in the magazines? No, I don?t. What I do think we see happening is that we have enough meeting attenders that keep us aware of the mood in the congregations. The COs and DOs also see the trends and report to the WTS. Many DO MORE articles are a result of a flood of reports from all over the US and the world showing the same trend. #1 trend right now, materialism. Through my sources, I have been told that the COs have been raking the elders over the coals on this one and it has been the theme or subtheme of 5 WT study articles in a row. If people aren?t giving the money to the WTS, it?s because they are being bad and spending on themselves for unnecessary things and are not keeping the end in mind.
Gozz
, I see you did get an answer.Concerning field service and meeting attendance being not optional: is it not true that some Bethel Staff, particularly governing body members, do not go out in the field ministry?
My experience, is that it varies. Some are very diligent in going out with their congregation. I worked door to door with one GB member and his wife. But then I knew others that no one every saw in the ministry. Public speakers can count their time so I figure that is how they stay "active." When I lived near Bethel, we had 40 Bethelites assigned to the congregation. Some never went out that I ever saw. Others were out every weekend, even using their vacation time to auxiliary pioneer.
Hi astrogirl,
No subs any more, any where that I?m aware of.
I'm not sure if her mag subscriptions were gratis but she sure was kicking up a fuss when she received some sort of bill for them!
As to a bill for the magazines, I find that hard to believe. Maybe she interpreted a "strong suggestion" as mandatory payment. Some congregations put a contribution box right next to where the magazines are picked up with a sign "suggesting" a donation. But so far, there is no formal charge for them.
Hey min, 3 months?hmm?I didn?t know it was that big a gap. But they do get them sooner. I used to time my visits to Bethel/Farm when they came out since I got them sooner than through my subscription.
There are less people contributing------PERIOD! Those that did (like us) are gone now. And that hurts the local congregation and the Society. No people= No donations. So the watchtower tries to instill GUILT into "true Christians, Jehovah's people". After a while, the money just won't be flowing because the bodies won't be there. Even when they have the infirm listening to the meetings by phone, they might be counting them as attenders but they sure aren't counting them as contributors. Expect congregation mergers this decade.
We used to be a regular contributor. My husband said they were usually the elders, the MS, and long-time JWs, at times only 5 to 6 families were contributing and carrying the congregation financially. If 2 or 3 leave?.
There have already been congregation mergers mentioned on JWD due to receding numbers at the meetings.
Jgnat and Blueblades,
The WTS usually has several magazines on the planning board at the same time. They will switch articles around depending on what seems to be developing in the congregations based on co/do reports. The usually have 30 to 40 (could be more now) people involved in all of this 8 to 5 m-f, 8-12 sa. With the current technology, changes and adjustments up to the day of priniting is quite easy.
Since the chronology and prophetic content is not re-researched but cut and paste, it takes less time to develop an article. We aren?t talking fresh material but regurgitated material.
Yes, galaxy7, I try to get a review done every week. I?m glad you found something interesting in it or the comments of the others here. Welcome
Blondiie