Posts by darkspilver

10

South Korea court frees JWs who refused to serve in military

by darkspilver in

jw
friends

from the times of london website.

south korea court frees jehovah’s witnesses who refused to serve in military.

two south korean men who refused to do military service have had their convictions overturned in a landmark ruling against the government.. [snip].

darkspilver

Hi intropist!

Once young JWs go to prison and come out, they have few choices in secular jobs and get motivated to do pioneering more than ever. They can not but be isolated socially too.

fascinating observation - the 'modern' term that people might use then is that the young brothers are effectively being radicalized by the very government that is putting them in prison due to the ongoing consequences.

Does Korea have the highest proportion of Reg/Aux Pioneers in the world? (say countries with 50 thousand JWs or more? They're easily beating Japan....)

South Korea quick numbers (2016 Yearbook, rounded)

Population: 50 million
Average Witnesses: 100,000 (1 in 500 of population)
Average Regular Pioneers: 40,000
Average Aux Pioneers: 10,000
Growth: 0%
Memorial Attendance: 135,000

USA quick numbers (2016 Yearbook, rounded)

Population: 320 million
Average Witnesses: 1,200,000 (1 in 261 of population)
Average Regular Pioneers: 167,000
Average Aux Pioneers: 56,000
Growth: 1%
Memorial Attendance: 2,475,000

17

Rape Victim Forced To Listen To a Tape Of Her Assault In A JC

by pale.emperor in

this is absolutely outrageous.

a rape victim was forced to listen to herself being raped while the elders stopped and started the tape claiming she was consenting.

even though during one of the assaults she was duct-taped, gagged and had a pillowcase over her head.

darkspilver

Hi JWdaughter!

Any one who is a publisher is supposed to be in good standing, so far as elders know. That is what JWs assume-anyone known by elders to be a danger should not be in a position as anything, isn't that what fireproof and DFing is about? So they won't endanger others?

Define: good standing

A publisher can be 'marked' but still have a fairly full role in the congregation.
A publisher could be under 'restrictions' but still have an otherwise full role in the congregation.

To have a 'role' though a publisher would normally need to be 'exemplary'

For example to auxiliary pioneer or be used on an assembly item (demo or interview)

The auxiliary pioneer thing needing to be exemplary was 'interesting' when the WT first brought in the special 30 hour months and encouraged ALL in the congregation to aux pio - of course, not all the congregation was 'technically' explemary, which was kinda interesting! haha!

Likewise with the new style assembly Watchtower review - all those publishers walking on to give a brief answer/comment - they should ALL be exemplary - so the one's in the congregation that aren't used, well, well....

Most publishers fall down on the right view of the Theocratic Ministry School which was different - by it's very nature of being a 'school' - you didn't need to be explemary to be on that and have an assignment, BUT you did need to be exemplary to be used for a demo on the Service Meeting. Haha yeah, that confused people because they just viewed being on the platform as being on the platform.

11

Kingdom Hall construction -- Counting time and reporting travel, meals, and lodging expenses

by FatFreek 2005 in

i have two questions.

1. if you work on kingdom hall construction, are you allowed to count your time in lieu of field service?

an old thread here indicated that if you are pioneer, you can count your time.

darkspilver

Hi Tameria2001!

Is this something new, or has this been something that they have always done?

haha, cheeky - you know everything is easier these days in JW-land!

hour credit appears to be something that has evolved and been formalized over time with the increase in additional 'organized' theocratic activities - such as the RBC building activity as well as the seasonal help at the Bethels.

See BoE letter 1 July 1988

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BwqmWMK7dwtlb2VJSzBiY2hUNnM/view

11

Kingdom Hall construction -- Counting time and reporting travel, meals, and lodging expenses

by FatFreek 2005 in

i have two questions.

1. if you work on kingdom hall construction, are you allowed to count your time in lieu of field service?

an old thread here indicated that if you are pioneer, you can count your time.

darkspilver

Hey FatFreek 2005!

If you work on KIngdom Hall construction, are you allowed to count your time in lieu of field service?

Yes, and no:

REGULAR PIONEERS - BoE letter 25 August 2014 'Re: Regular pioneers', paragraphs 14 to 16

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BwqmWMK7dwtlb0JteEJTT3RmeTg/view

A pioneer, if authorized/assigned, in certain 'theocratic' activities, such as KH construction, can claim a time credit;
The pioneer must spend some time in the actual ministry each month;
The credit plus ministry time can never exceed a total of 70 hours each month (so if they do 70 hours ministry and have 70 hours credit in a single month - they can only claim a total of 70 hours that month)
On the Publisher Record Card, the ministry time is written in the 'Hours' colums, the hour credit is included in the 'Remarks' column;
Credit can not be carried forward to the next month;
Only the actual ministry time is reported to the Bethel for purposes of counting ministry time.
NOTE: 70 hours x 12 months = 840 hours which is the annual target - therefore the 70 hour limit does not allow time for holidays, attending conventions or sickness etc
NOTE: I believe the only time you can count credit for a total ABOVE 70 hours per month is when you get hour credit credit for attending the pioneer school.

PUBLISHERS - BoE letter 7 November 2008 'Re: Field service reports', last pararaph

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BwqmWMK7dwtlaGUzSkthUGhJak0/view

On the back of the Report they should write a brief note describing the additional theocratic responsibilities they cared for that month, no hour figure needs to be given - this can then be written on the Publisher Record Card under the 'Remarks' column (interestingly the new Report forms have a 'Comments' section on the front nowadays)

Not sure about Auxiliary Pioneers, but I'd suspect they'd be covered by the 'Publisher' procedure - though I'd suspect the BoE would show consideration for short-term short-fall in hours due to theocratic activity if the publisher was a regular auxiliary pioneer.

14

Memorial Attendances This Year

by steve2 in

have attendance figures at this year's memorial been released yet, including number of partakers?

sometimes the kingdom ministry (now called christian life and ministry) provided local figures say for the country.. for two to three years the worldwide figure has hovered around the 19 plus million, with a drop off in attendance last year.. just wondered if there has been any change this year or if the downward trend has continued?

.

darkspilver

The 'problem' nowadays is that the CLAM workbook is regionally generic with no space for 'local annouuncements' or even 'theocratic news' as per the old Kingdom Minstry.

AFAIR the memorial figures where generally always printed first in the 'local' KM for each country - and it's that we're missing now :(

With regard to this the 4 October 2015 letter 'Re: New Provisions Announced at Annual Meeting' that was read out at all congregation worldwide stated:

Since the workbook will not include a section for announcements, congregations will be informed of monthly literature offers by means of letters from the branch office.
(side note - this also means that NOBODY in the congregation has any real idea what the monthly offer is anymore)

9

Jonathon Edwards preached to the Red Indians

by StopTheTears in

jw
friends

i never knew that the famous new england theologian jonathan edwards spent some years as a missionary to the red indian tribes.

there are various modern ideas as to how one should preach to those completely ignorant of christ and the way of salvation, but edwards had confidence that the gospel is the power of god unto salvation for all people.

perhaps someday those still living in pagan lands will accept christ and share in the blessings of america.

darkspilver

Hey freddo!

All that and a triple jump Olympic gold medallist too!

In his early days he refused to compete on a Sunday, but then he gave up a TV job presenting a religious programme because...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1542391/Olympian-Jonathan-Edwards-has-crisis-of-faith.html

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/real-life-stories/jonathan-edwards-ive-taken-leap-3190574

20

Arrival of War in 1914 a Shocking Development

by berrygerry in

one comment-giver during the rules study, remarked that ww1 was predicted by wt to arrive in 1914, despite the fact that everyone expected an era of unparalleled peace.. this was something continuously drilled into our heads - how peaceful everything was prior to ww1.. when you look at wt library under 'world war i' - "unexpected" - the results are all offline - there are no recent references ( unexpected: re 106; w92 5/1 4-5; yb87 124; w86 2/15 5; w86 11/1 6 ).

http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1200276290.

the offline quotes are as follows:.

darkspilver

I would move that, with the advent of techological advances at that times, and the general detachment that the domestic market generally had of international affairs at a time - a time of no TV and very slow moving news. That despite what was going on politically on the international stage - with the huge number of alliances and treaties being made in order to avoid a major war - the view of the man (and woman) in the street was one of detachment and feelings of peace - and a faith in the political system to avoid a war, at least on home soil and/or the home army. Remember you are not talking just about July 1914, but rather the years leading up to it.

My history books are stored away, but below is an interesting piece which partly explains the contradictory nature of this - the principle of 'you stop war, by preparing for it.'

International relations of the Great Powers (1814–1919)

Coming of World War
The main causes of World War I, which broke out unexpectedly in central Europe in summer 1914, included many factors, such as the conflicts and hostility of the four decades leading up to the war. Militarism, alliances, imperialism, and ethnic nationalism played major roles. However the immediate origins of the war lay in the decisions taken by statesmen and generals during the Crisis of 1914, which was sparked by the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand (the Archduke of Austria Hungary) by a Serbian secret organization, the Black Hand.
By the 1870s or 1880s all the major powers were preparing for a large-scale war, although none expected one. Britain focused on building up its Royal Navy, already stronger than the next two navies combined. Germany, France, Austria, Italy and Russia, and some smaller countries, set up conscription systems whereby young men would serve from 1 to 3 years in the army, then spend the next 20 years or so in the reserves with annual summer training. Men from higher social statuses became officers.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_relations_of_the_Great_Powers_(1814%E2%80%931919)#Coming_of_World_War

182

Major congregational quake in Southern California

by Hecce in

this notice is not official yet and it should be confidential until released thru the proper channels.

a friend of mine told me about a huge elders meeting in southern california.

the subject was the relocation and dissolution of some congregations; it seems that this is the result of some project that has been going on for some time and is going to be implemented right now.. please let me know if this is happening all over the country?.

darkspilver

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

2

Barbara Grizzuti Harrison's Vision of Glory now online for free

by darkspilver in

jw
friends

read barbara grizzuti harrison's vision of glory, online, for free at.

https://web.archive.org/web/20051217183855/http://www.exjws.net/vg.htm.

i understand that barbara gave her permission to publish her book for free at the above website - i don't think it is available else where??.

darkspilver

Read Barbara Grizzuti Harrison's Vision of Glory, online, for free at

https://web.archive.org/web/20051217183855/http://www.exjws.net/vg.htm

I understand that Barbara gave her permission to publish her book for free at the above website - I don't think it is available else where??

https://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/30356/_post/392131

5

Suggestions Please

by Lostandfound in

my daughter is an ex jw as are all my children and my wife.

she works at university and as seems to be the case with uni staff, always looking for another degree to obtain.

she has had some suggestions and is keen on something along the lines of research into cults such as wt and scientology, more specifically why so many former jws fo example, are living with the need to destroy and oppose quite loudly the wt.

darkspilver

Hi steve2

Then there is the crème de la crème of ex-JW books, Barbara Gruzitto Harrison's (I'm just about to look up the title)

Nathan Natas said:

Barbara gave Randy Watters permission to publish "Visions of Glory" on line where I expect it will be enjoyed by the current "generation" of soon to be X JWs.
You can read it for free.

https://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/30356/_post/392131

edited to add - check out:

https://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/6258747057897472/barbara-grizzuti-harrisons-vision-glory-now-online-free