Posts by thedepressedsoul

18

Religulous Woke Me Up

by thedepressedsoul in

there are many people that get their wake up call one way or another.. for me, i was bored and went to netflix.

on there was a documentary called, "religulous".

i watched it and that started my search.

thedepressedsoul

He made the idea of religion look completely crazy. It made me start to think that what I believed was completely crazy.

72

Update on everything going on in JW Land - Insider Information

by thedepressedsoul in

i'd like to start off by saying that i will be very vague in everything i say.

i am fairly "high up" in jw land and have to be somewhat careful how i word and say stuff.

sorry in advance if any specific details are left out.

thedepressedsoul

This thread doesn't deliver, sorry. Information? Where? I can read baptism figures in the report. The rest is a statement of the bleeding obvious. And no mention of what is clearly the most pressing issue to the leadership at the moment - the severe lack of money.

Sorry to disappoint. I knew a lot of this was already "known" but I was confirming that it was actually the case vs most that were simply assuming.

The money issue is a hard one. That is at the top of the top to know the world wide finances. Only information I can give you on that is that in local congregations, esp the one I am, the amount we were supposed to be sending has already been cut in half as we were not able to get close to the amount we voted on.

I can also confirm that the remodels to the Wallkill resident buildings have gone millions over budget vs what they were planning. The same were true for Warwick.

If I were to say one thing, I don't think they are currently struggling financially. I feel as if they are expecting a big pay out and are preparing for the storm ahead of time. The numbers don't add up. All the branch closures, money grab, more donations and so on should have been more than enough to carry them. Our hall alone sent close to $50,000.00. Granted they already had access to this money since all congregations kept surplus with the branch. Only thing I can think of is that they realized they couldn't pay back these congregations if they decided to use the money for their kingdom hall.

It's as if they are preparing to be financial strained.

72

Update on everything going on in JW Land - Insider Information

by thedepressedsoul in

i'd like to start off by saying that i will be very vague in everything i say.

i am fairly "high up" in jw land and have to be somewhat careful how i word and say stuff.

sorry in advance if any specific details are left out.

thedepressedsoul

Is that a typo? 150+ baptisms per convention? I was in for around 40 years and can't remember a convention with more than a couple dozen, max, and usually more like 10-12.

Correct, in 3rd world countries. At least the ones I have personally been to. Keep in mind these are usually fairly big conventions held in that area and could be for multiple surrounding areas. In those countries they usually have a lot less convention sites then we have in the states. There may only be one or two per coountry where we have multiple ones per state.

72

Update on everything going on in JW Land - Insider Information

by thedepressedsoul in

i'd like to start off by saying that i will be very vague in everything i say.

i am fairly "high up" in jw land and have to be somewhat careful how i word and say stuff.

sorry in advance if any specific details are left out.

thedepressedsoul

Thanks. Any info on the financial status of the org?
Keep the updates coming.

Money is pretty much being asked freely all the time now. The KM, WT, and broadcast. Every time I turn around I am being hit with, "giving of your material things".

It all points to they are either already in financial trouble or something is coming that they are aware of that is going to cost them big. My bet, a combination of the two.

18

Religulous Woke Me Up

by thedepressedsoul in

there are many people that get their wake up call one way or another.. for me, i was bored and went to netflix.

on there was a documentary called, "religulous".

i watched it and that started my search.

thedepressedsoul

There are many people that get their wake up call one way or another.

For me, I was bored and went to Netflix. On there was a documentary called, "Religulous". I watched it and that started my search. IF you haven't watched it yet, I highly recommend it.

I was raised a JW and I always wished I was able to find "the truth" on my own, vs being born into it. Well, I got my wish! Not the wish I thought of at the time but I was able to learn the truth on my own. Except it was that religion is a snare and a racket!

72

Update on everything going on in JW Land - Insider Information

by thedepressedsoul in

i'd like to start off by saying that i will be very vague in everything i say.

i am fairly "high up" in jw land and have to be somewhat careful how i word and say stuff.

sorry in advance if any specific details are left out.

thedepressedsoul

I'd like to start off by saying that I will be very vague in everything I say. I am fairly "high up" in JW land and have to be somewhat careful how I word and say stuff. Sorry in advance if any specific details are left out.

- First, I can confirm first hand that the only real growth is coming from undeveloped countries. I'm talking 150+ baptisms, per convention. Now while that isn't a huge number, compared to US baptisms per convention, it is a lot. It's also worth noting though that these are very poor people. Little education, without much to donate, if anything at all. I've seen it in person.

- We have often heard on here that the GB are now "rock stars". I have witnessed this first hand. I'm talking about a mob circling around them when they are at an event. Pictures, signatures the whole sha-bang. They almost get knocked over at times for how close a large group of people are around them. When they walk in the hallways, and do not want to be bothered, they actually have "body guards" around them. They are most likely just brothers in suits but they still ask the "friends" to move out of the way as they come through. They can't walk down the hall way alone without getting mobbed.

- I know many, many individuals that are being let go at both Bethel and as special pioneers in the US. The R&F seem somewhat confused by the whole thing, like they aren't 100% sure what to make of it. I have heard a few even say, "good now they have to pay for stuff like the rest of us!". The Bethelites are not happy. The ones being sent home seem rather bitter yet at the same time trying to come off as still being really spiritual. A lot also seem to be in shell shock. You hear a lot of witnesses also trying to justify why the branch would do this. It's pretty funny the stuff they come up with.

- All special pioneers that are young enough to care for themselves are being assigned to pioneering. Only the ones that are too old to care for themselves or enter the job market are being kept. I wonder if the term special pioneer will be done away with. The amount being laid off is a lot. A majority of them.

- Child abuse. This is not being talked about at all. At least around me. I heard 2 R&F talk about it when it happened, other than that, nothing. Dead silence, like nothing is going on. They seemed to excuse it with "it happens anywhere". I think they forget that they said it proved the Catholics were a false religion when it happened to them. I think a lot know about it, but no one is talking, at least not openly. It's the elephant in the room that is being ignored. I am 99% sure though that all CO's have been informed as to how to handle anyone bringing it up per congregation they visit.

- There are becoming two groups in the congregation, a split down the middle almost. Every year there seems to be a bigger gap between super spiritual JW's and spiritually weak JW's. I am noticing these two groups becoming more and more noticeable. You either have JW's that are super in, elders, pioneers, MS, need greaters etc... Or the complete opposite of what they view as "spiritually weak". Barely any service, bad meeting attendance and so on. It seems like there is no longer an in between. You're now either one or the other. The "middle class jw" is being pushed into one of the two groups.

- The younger ones. They have a big problem here. Most younger ones I know and see could care less about spiritual things. They do what they have to and nothing more. They play the video games they want, watch the movies they want, and party. I see very little, if any, teenagers that have spiritual interest. They are far and few between. The GB definitely don't have a hold on the kids like they did when I was a kid or even further back in the day. They are so disconnected that it is extremely noticeable.

The next time I am going to say may upset a few. We usually think of JW's having no critical thinking skills, question nothing the GB say etc... I'm going to venture to say that a lot do. In the US at least. I'd say that more than you think are questioning, have doubts or are just straight up are staying for family reasons. It's hard to tell since everyone is afraid to talk but I feel like a lot have a bigger clue about the things going on then we'd imagine.

I'll update with more information soon.

166

Mobile Hotspot - JWFACTS.COM - Assembly & Conventions

by thedepressedsoul in

here is an idea i tested.

works at both assemblies and conventions.

i have noticed at the last convention and at my last assembly that when i opened up my wifi setting, tons of hotspots came up for people tethering their tablets to their smart phones.

thedepressedsoul

My suggestion, get an old cheap unlocked android phone that can enable Wifi Broadcasting (Most do). Just set the name and leave it somewhere or keep it by.

The phone will have no internet access so you don't have to worry about IP tracking or anything like that. You can get them cheap enough that you can just toss it in the trash by your seat. You then use your primary phone to see if it pops up and check the signal strength.

You are basically allowing hundreds, if not thousands of people at one shot know that jwfacts.com exists and has information. That's all you need to do.

166

Mobile Hotspot - JWFACTS.COM - Assembly & Conventions

by thedepressedsoul in

here is an idea i tested.

works at both assemblies and conventions.

i have noticed at the last convention and at my last assembly that when i opened up my wifi setting, tons of hotspots came up for people tethering their tablets to their smart phones.

thedepressedsoul

Great to see how many are doing this already! I have a feeling the JW Talk post is from an apostate though.

I like everyone's idea's and suggestions. I feel like some may be over complicating it though by using other devices, forcing websites etc...

When has forcing someone to do anything really been effective?

Keep it simple. Just make the hotspot name a website or something that causes them to think. That's all you have to do! For already doubting members it may give them the final doubt. For people who aren't doubting, they could remember that link years down the road when they start to doubt. It also lets any mentally out people know they are not alone.

Keep it simple!

166

Mobile Hotspot - JWFACTS.COM - Assembly & Conventions

by thedepressedsoul in

here is an idea i tested.

works at both assemblies and conventions.

i have noticed at the last convention and at my last assembly that when i opened up my wifi setting, tons of hotspots came up for people tethering their tablets to their smart phones.

thedepressedsoul

Do you mean that when searching for a wireless network to connect to, the names of such are misdirections to sites of our choosing?

When you are searching for Wifi, you know how each Wifi spot has a name? Like "ATT Hot Spot", "Last Name Wifi" etc...?

You simply just make the name jwfacts.com. You set a password so no one can connect to it and track the exact location. That way, when everyone uses their devices it pops up saying there are wifi networks and the name that shows up is jwfacts.com.

Simple as that and nothing more. That site is now in a JW's mind and if he already has some doubts he now has a site to look it. It's not to force any JW to a site. It's all up to them at that point.

166

Mobile Hotspot - JWFACTS.COM - Assembly & Conventions

by thedepressedsoul in

here is an idea i tested.

works at both assemblies and conventions.

i have noticed at the last convention and at my last assembly that when i opened up my wifi setting, tons of hotspots came up for people tethering their tablets to their smart phones.

thedepressedsoul

Love all the ideas everyone!

The reason I like the hotspot one is because it's simple yet reaches a lot of people. Everyone has a smartphone and a tablet now. Most cell phones offer tethering features. Just type in your wifi name and hit ON. Now, everyone who looks at the wifi list will see that.