Posts by besty

52

Billy's Comments You Won't Hear at the 01-26-2014 WT Study (Obey Jehovah's Shepherds))

by Billy the Ex-Bethelite in

fine.

holy spirit appointed overseers to shepherd?

6:1, 2; jude 22) are these not good reasons for being obedient to those who are taking the lead?read hebrews 13:17.. .

Yearbook Chart Re-posted - Math explained. Top 7 countries account for 50% growth

by Westenddave in

sorted from high to low.

net increase in publishers2013 ave. pubs2012 ave. pubsincrease/ decrease in publishersincrease in pubs cumulative.

% increase cumulative columnabcde =a-b mexico (g-31)777,429749,58527,84427,84417.47%legend united states of america (e-32)1,167,7231,156,15011,57339,41724.73%red: latin/spanish landscongo, dem.

besty

Let me take a crack at explaining what I have tried to do with these numbers shown below.

To my mind if a country has 10% of the total global publisher numbers then it 'should' return to the Borg 10% of the annual growth in publishers. (I know there are 100 reasons why this doesn't happen). Some countries are pulling their weight, some countries are lagging and some countries are punching way above their weight.

So this is what that comparison looks like. Countries at the top of the table are doing really well. Countries at the bottom are struggling.

Lets try a few examples

Angola has 1.22% of the total publishers and therefore you could reasonably expect them to add 1.22% of 159,383 or 1949 new publishers. Instead they managed to add 7380 publishers. (7380/1949) = 3.8X Factor. Well done Angola.

Zambia has 2.08% of the total publishers and therefore you could reasonably expect them to add 2.08% of 159,383 or 3316 new publishers. Instead they managed to add 3313 publishers. (3316/3313) = 1X Factor. Well done Zambia - bang on the money.

USA has 15.17% of the total publishers and therefore you could reasonably expect them to add 15.17% of 159,383 or 24,176 new publishers. Instead they managed to add 11,573 publishers. (24,176/11,573) = 0.5X Factor, or 50% of sales target. Oh dear.

You get the idea?

Standout performers for me are:

Angola, Congo, Ghana, Ecuador, Mozambique, Phillipines, Mexico, Venezuela, Colombia, Peru, Nigeria and Malawi. See anything? (Africa, LatAm)

Standout underperformers are:

Chile, Brazil, Australia, USA, France, Cuba, Russia, Argentina, Italy, Britain, Canada, Korea, Ukraine, Spain, Germany, Japan, Portugal, and Poland, naughty naughty Poland. (LatAm, The West)

In Europe we call them the Big 5 Nations - UK, Germany, France, Spain and Italy - all in decline.

Countries in yellow mark the 1X Factor - below that and there are the strugglers.

Sorted in descending X Factor Order	2012 Ave. Pubs	2013 Ave. Pubs	2013 % of total	Expected Publisher Increase	Actual Publisher Increase	X Factor
Montserrat (P-32)	16	21	0.00%	0.4	5	11.5
Rota (K-20)	13	17	0.00%	0.4	4	11.4
Norfolk Island (P-23)	7	9	0.00%	0.2	2	10.7
30 Other Lands	27,388	34,485	0.45%	714.0	7,097	9.9
Cambodia (K-16)	546	684	0.01%	14.2	138	9.7
Kosrae (L-22)	17	21	0.00%	0.4	4	9.2
Macao (J-17)	239	283	0.00%	5.9	44	7.5
Mayotte (N-9)	101	117	0.00%	2.4	16	6.6
Mongolia (F-15)	317	366	0.00%	7.6	49	6.5
Niue (O-26)	23	26	0.00%	0.5	3	5.6
Bangladesh (J-14)	161	181	0.00%	3.7	20	5.3
Kiribati (M-24)	120	134	0.00%	2.8	14	5.0
Samoa (N-25)	450	496	0.01%	10.3	46	4.5
Nepal (H-13)	1,665	1,833	0.02%	37.9	168	4.4
South Sudan (L-7)	1,103	1,207	0.02%	25.0	104	4.2
Angola (N-6)	86,802	94,182	1.22%	1949.9	7,380	3.8
Tinian (K-20)	12	13	0.00%	0.3	1	3.7
Yap (L-19)	25	27	0.00%	0.6	2	3.6
Azerbaijan (G-9)	1,064	1,149	0.01%	23.8	85	3.6
Cook Islands (O-26)	176	190	0.00%	3.9	14	3.6
Guatemala (H-33)	33,017	35,598	0.46%	737.0	2,581	3.5
Malaysia (L-16)	4,124	4,440	0.06%	91.9	316	3.4
Rwanda (M-7)	20,604	22,152	0.29%	458.6	1,548	3.4
Saint Maarten (O-32)	311	334	0.00%	6.9	23	3.3
Kosovo (D-11)	207	222	0.00%	4.6	15	3.3
Saint Pierre and Miquelon (D-37)	14	15	0.00%	0.3	1	3.2
Uganda (L-7)	5,691	6,093	0.08%	126.1	402	3.2
Madagascar (O-9)	25,779	27,591	0.36%	571.2	1,812	3.2
Belize (H-33)	2,198	2,352	0.03%	48.7	154	3.2
Congo, Dem. Republic of (M-6)	163,349	174,687	2.27%	3616.6	11,338	3.1
Bonaire (Q-30)	103	110	0.00%	2.3	7	3.1
Belarus (E-7)	4,965	5,300	0.07%	109.7	335	3.1
Timor-Leste (N-18)	194	207	0.00%	4.3	13	3.0
Nauru (M-23)	15	16	0.00%	0.3	1	3.0
Nicaragua (H-33)	23,453	24,984	0.32%	517.3	1,531	3.0
Thailand (K-15)	3,508	3,737	0.05%	77.4	229	3.0
Montenegro (D-10)	233	248	0.00%	5.1	15	2.9
Namibia (O-5)	1,891	2,012	0.03%	41.7	121	2.9
Tahiti (M-27)	2,700	2,869	0.04%	59.4	169	2.8
Palestinian Territory (H-8)	64	68	0.00%	1.4	4	2.8
Albania (D-11)	4,635	4,923	0.06%	101.9	288	2.8
Sao Tome´ and Prncipe (M-4)	634	673	0.01%	13.9	39	2.8
Equatorial Guinea (L-5)	1,359	1,442	0.02%	29.9	83	2.8
Taiwan (J-17)	8,366	8,853	0.11%	183.3	487	2.7
Vanuatu (N-23)	492	520	0.01%	10.8	28	2.6
Guinea-Bissau (K-2)	123	130	0.00%	2.7	7	2.6
Congo, Republic of (M-5)	5,526	5,835	0.08%	120.8	309	2.6
Turkey (G-8)	2,171	2,291	0.03%	47.4	120	2.5
Burundi (M-7)	10,511	11,082	0.14%	229.4	571	2.5
Panama (J-34)	14,242	15,007	0.19%	310.7	765	2.5
India (J-12)	34,995	36,869	0.48%	763.3	1,874	2.5
Rodrigues (O-11)	38	40	0.00%	0.8	2	2.4
Bulgaria (F-7)	1,925	2,026	0.03%	41.9	101	2.4
Honduras (H-33)	20,122	21,165	0.27%	438.2	1,043	2.4
Bolivia (M-36)	21,957	23,014	0.30%	476.5	1,057	2.2
Haiti (O-28)	17,403	18,236	0.24%	377.5	833	2.2
Liechtenstein (F-4)	85	89	0.00%	1.8	4	2.2
Anguilla (O-32)	65	68	0.00%	1.4	3	2.1
Co te d\Ivoire (L-3)	8,786	9,190	0.12%	190.3	404	2.1
Tanzania (M-8)	14,478	15,137	0.20%	313.4	659	2.1
Togo (L-4)	16,612	17,348	0.23%	359.2	736	2.0
Sri Lanka (L-13)	5,132	5,359	0.07%	110.9	227	2.0
American Samoa (N-26)	204	213	0.00%	4.4	9	2.0
Saint Barth ´elemy (O-32)	23	24	0.00%	0.5	1	2.0
Aruba (Q-29)	877	915	0.01%	18.9	38	2.0
Turks and Caicos (N-29)	302	315	0.00%	6.5	13	2.0
Suriname (J-37)	2,536	2,644	0.03%	54.7	108	2.0
Costa Rica (J-34)	27,172	28,316	0.37%	586.2	1,144	2.0
Curacao (Q-30)	1,811	1,883	0.02%	39.0	72	1.8
Ghana (L-3)	109,085	113,392	1.47%	2347.6	4,307	1.8
Iceland (B-1)	356	370	0.00%	7.7	14	1.8
Ecuador (K-34)	76,587	79,566	1.03%	1647.3	2,979	1.8
Mozambique (O-7)	47,906	49,765	0.65%	1030.3	1,859	1.8
Philippines (K-18)	178,467	185,387	2.41%	3838.2	6,920	1.8
Nevis (P-32)	53	55	0.00%	1.1	2	1.8
Mexico (G-31)	749,585	777,429	10.10%	16095.5	27,844	1.7
Faroe Islands (C-2)	108	112	0.00%	2.3	4	1.7
Venezuela (J-36)	124,670	129,284	1.68%	2676.6	4,614	1.7
Gambia (K-2)	197	204	0.00%	4.2	7	1.7
Zimbabwe (O-7)	38,637	39,999	0.52%	828.1	1,362	1.6
Dominican Republic (O-29)	34,132	35,331	0.46%	731.5	1,199	1.6
French Guiana (J-37)	2,138	2,211	0.03%	45.8	73	1.6
Colombia (J-35)	152,280	157,395	2.04%	3258.6	5,115	1.6
Hong Kong (J-17)	5,262	5,435	0.07%	112.5	173	1.5
Indonesia (M-17)	22,862	23,596	0.31%	488.5	734	1.5
Israel (H-8)	1,348	1,391	0.02%	28.8	43	1.5
Peru (L-35)	110,651	114,153	1.48%	2363.4	3,502	1.5
Chad (K-6)	609	628	0.01%	13.0	19	1.5
Benin (L-4)	10,545	10,872	0.14%	225.1	327	1.5
Pakistan (H-12)	842	868	0.01%	18.0	26	1.4
Kenya (M-8)	24,223	24,965	0.32%	516.9	742	1.4
Cape Verde (K-1)	1,936	1,995	0.03%	41.3	59	1.4
Burkina Faso (K-3)	1,518	1,563	0.02%	32.4	45	1.4
Guyana (J-37)	2,680	2,758	0.04%	57.1	78	1.4
Nigeria (L-4)	312,251	320,589	4.16%	6637.3	8,338	1.3
Fiji (N-24)	2,734	2,807	0.04%	58.1	73	1.3
Myanmar (J-15)	3,705	3,803	0.05%	78.7	98	1.2
Ireland (E-2)	5,930	6,078	0.08%	125.8	148	1.2
Malawi (N-8)	78,225	80,175	1.04%	1659.9	1,950	1.2
El Salvador (H-33)	37,721	38,643	0.50%	800.0	922	1.2
New Caledonia (O-23)	1,936	1,983	0.03%	41.1	47	1.1
Guinea (K-2)	692	708	0.01%	14.7	16	1.1
Ethiopia (L-8)	9,300	9,515	0.12%	197.0	215	1.1
Sierra Leone (L-2)	1,840	1,882	0.02%	39.0	42	1.1
Gabon (M-5)	3,560	3,641	0.05%	75.4	81	1.1
Georgia (G-9)	17,577	17,964	0.23%	371.9	387	1.0
South Africa (P-6)	89,929	91,848	1.19%	1901.6	1,919	1.0
Zambia (N-7)	156,898	160,211	2.08%	3316.9	3,313	1.0
San Marino (F-5)	199	203	0.00%	4.2	4	1.0
Liberia (L-2)	5,728	5,843	0.08%	121.0	115	1.0
Saint Kitts (O-32)	202	206	0.00%	4.3	4	0.9
Switzerland (F-4)	17,696	18,038	0.23%	373.4	342	0.9
Cameroon (L-5)	35,604	36,288	0.47%	751.3	684	0.9
Paraguay (M-37)	8,781	8,947	0.12%	185.2	166	0.9
Senegal (K-2)	1,116	1,136	0.01%	23.5	20	0.9
Chile (M-35)	72,420	73,658	0.96%	1525.0	1,238	0.8
Kyrgyzstan (G-12)	4,804	4,882	0.06%	101.1	78	0.8
Norway (C-4)	10,959	11,133	0.14%	230.5	174	0.8
Brazil (L-37)	737,951	748,940	9.73%	15505.6	10,989	0.7
Solomon Islands (M-22)	1,717	1,742	0.02%	36.1	25	0.7
Trinidad & Tobago (R-33)	9,216	9,347	0.12%	193.5	131	0.7
Saint Lucia (Q-33)	711	721	0.01%	14.9	10	0.7
Malta (G-5)	570	578	0.01%	12.0	8	0.7
Martinique (P-32)	4,711	4,771	0.06%	98.8	60	0.6
Antigua (P-32)	475	481	0.01%	10.0	6	0.6
Seychelles (M-9)	327	331	0.00%	6.9	4	0.6
Botswana (O-6)	2,045	2,070	0.03%	42.9	25	0.6
Cyprus (H-7)	2,439	2,468	0.03%	51.1	29	0.6
Dominica (P-33)	422	427	0.01%	8.8	5	0.6
Australia (O-19)	64,884	65,596	0.85%	1358.1	712	0.5
Grenada (Q-32)	547	553	0.01%	11.4	6	0.5
Lithuania (D-6)	3,095	3,126	0.04%	64.7	31	0.5
United States of America (E-32)	1,156,150	1,167,723	15.17%	24175.9	11,573	0.5
France (F-4)	121,331	122,456	1.59%	2535.3	1,125	0.4
Serbia (C-11)	3,816	3,851	0.05%	79.7	35	0.4
Cayman Islands (H-34)	221	223	0.00%	4.6	2	0.4
Cuba (G-34)	94,810	95,656	1.24%	1980.4	846	0.4
Gibraltar (G-3)	113	114	0.00%	2.4	1	0.4
Russia (C-15)	162,748	164,187	2.13%	3399.2	1,439	0.4
Romania (F-6)	39,803	40,154	0.52%	831.3	351	0.4
Kazakhstan (F-11)	17,175	17,321	0.22%	358.6	146	0.4
Argentina (N-36)	142,435	143,620	1.87%	2973.4	1,185	0.4
Italy (G-5)	245,326	247,259	3.21%	5119.1	1,933	0.4
Denmark (D-4)	14,281	14,380	0.19%	297.7	99	0.3
Central African Republic (L-6)	2,474	2,491	0.03%	51.6	17	0.3
Uruguay (O-37)	11,386	11,464	0.15%	237.3	78	0.3
Britain (E-3)	131,629	132,515	1.72%	2743.5	886	0.3
Lebanon (H-8)	3,581	3,602	0.05%	74.6	21	0.3
Papua New Guinea (M-20)	3,770	3,792	0.05%	78.5	22	0.3
Belgium (E-4)	24,131	24,243	0.31%	501.9	112	0.2
R ´eunion (O-10)	2,887	2,899	0.04%	60.0	12	0.2
Mauritius (O-10)	1,733	1,740	0.02%	36.0	7	0.2
Virgin Islands, British (O-31)	264	265	0.00%	5.5	1	0.2
Austria (F-5)	20,795	20,873	0.27%	432.1	78	0.2
Mali (K-3)	274	275	0.00%	5.7	1	0.2
Canada (C-31)	112,710	113,111	1.47%	2341.8	401	0.2
New Zealand (Q-24)	13,742	13,789	0.18%	285.5	47	0.2
Barbados (Q-33)	2,484	2,492	0.03%	51.6	8	0.2
Korea, Republic of (G-18)	99,970	100,276	1.30%	2076.1	306	0.1
Ukraine (E-7)	149,199	149,597	1.94%	3097.2	398	0.1
Spain (G-3)	107,986	108,254	1.41%	2241.2	268	0.1
Netherlands (E-4)	29,292	29,356	0.38%	607.8	64	0.1
Jamaica (H-34)	11,838	11,843	0.15%	245.2	5	0.0
Swaziland (P-7)	2,938	2,937	0.04%	60.8	-1	0.0
Sweden (B-6)	22,043	22,033	0.29%	456.2	-10	0.0
Azores (G-1)	749	748	0.01%	15.5	-1	-0.1
Czech Republic (E-5)	15,352	15,329	0.20%	317.4	-23	-0.1
Germany (E-5)	162,705	162,459	2.11%	3363.5	-246	-0.1
Lesotho (P-7)	3,648	3,640	0.05%	75.4	-8	-0.1
Puerto Rico (O-31)	25,827	25,752	0.33%	533.2	-75	-0.1
Hungary (A-10)	22,593	22,526	0.29%	466.4	-67	-0.1
Japan (G-19)	216,692	215,966	2.81%	4471.2	-726	-0.2
Slovakia (F-6)	11,094	11,056	0.14%	228.9	-38	-0.2
Finland (C-7)	18,710	18,643	0.24%	386.0	-67	-0.2
Portugal (G-2)	49,049	48,843	0.63%	1011.2	-206	-0.2
Madeira (H-1)	1,140	1,135	0.01%	23.5	-5	-0.2
Armenia (G-9)	11,019	10,965	0.14%	227.0	-54	-0.2
Bahamas (G-35)	1,602	1,594	0.02%	33.0	-8	-0.2
Andorra (F-4)	164	163	0.00%	3.4	-1	-0.3
Macedonia (D-11)	1,329	1,320	0.02%	27.3	-9	-0.3
Greece (G-6)	29,003	28,804	0.37%	596.3	-199	-0.3
Niger (K-4)	290	288	0.00%	6.0	-2	-0.3
Bosnia and Herzegovina (C-10)	1,191	1,182	0.02%	24.5	-9	-0.4
Croatia (B-9)	5,552	5,509	0.07%	114.1	-43	-0.4
Poland (E-6)	124,292	123,278	1.60%	2552.3	-1,014	-0.4
Moldova (F-7)	20,020	19,856	0.26%	411.1	-164	-0.4
Saint Helena (N-3)	117	116	0.00%	2.4	-1	-0.4
Tonga (O-25)	225	223	0.00%	4.6	-2	-0.4
Estonia (D-6)	4,152	4,108	0.05%	85.0	-44	-0.5
Bermuda (F-36)	462	457	0.01%	9.5	-5	-0.5
Guadeloupe (P-32)	8,089	7,993	0.10%	165.5	-96	-0.6
Luxembourg (E-4)	2,013	1,988	0.03%	41.2	-25	-0.6
Latvia (D-6)	2,327	2,290	0.03%	47.4	-37	-0.8
Saint Martin (O-32)	299	294	0.00%	6.1	-5	-0.8
Marshall Islands (L-23)	178	175	0.00%	3.6	-3	-0.8
Slovenia (B-8)	1,983	1,948	0.03%	40.3	-35	-0.9
Guam (K-20)	748	730	0.01%	15.1	-18	-1.2
Virgin Islands, U.S. (O-31)	615	593	0.01%	12.3	-22	-1.8
Saint Vincent & the Grenadines (Q-32)	355	340	0.00%	7.0	-15	-2.1
Chuuk (L-21)	46	44	0.00%	0.9	-2	-2.2
Greenland (A-38)	154	147	0.00%	3.0	-7	-2.3
Saint Eustatius (P-32)	22	21	0.00%	0.4	-1	-2.3
Pohnpei (L-22)	81	76	0.00%	1.6	-5	-3.2
Palau (L-19)	80	75	0.00%	1.6	-5	-3.2
Saipan (K-20)	212	196	0.00%	4.1	-16	-3.9
Sudan (K-7)	495	456	0.01%	9.4	-39	-4.1
Falkland Islands (Q-37)	12	11	0.00%	0.2	-1	-4.4
Saba (O-32)	9	8	0.00%	0.2	-1	-6.0
Tuvalu (M-24)	62	53	0.00%	1.1	-9	-8.2
Wallis & Futuna Islands (N-25)	61	49	0.00%	1.0	-12	-11.8

Grand Total (239 Lands)		7,698,377			159,383

24

Decided on the local C of E Church.

by quellycatface in

jw
friends

have decided to check out my local parish church.

it has a real mix of people.

old, young families and military personnel/families.

besty

erm Cofty - both cost a quid? :-)

24

Decided on the local C of E Church.

by quellycatface in

jw
friends

have decided to check out my local parish church.

it has a real mix of people.

old, young families and military personnel/families.

besty

What should I wear??

the number 1 priority of churchgoers.

20

Yearbook Chart Re-posted - Math explained. Top 7 countries account for 50% growth

by Westenddave in

sorted from high to low.

net increase in publishers2013 ave. pubs2012 ave. pubsincrease/ decrease in publishersincrease in pubs cumulative.

% increase cumulative columnabcde =a-b mexico (g-31)777,429749,58527,84427,84417.47%legend united states of america (e-32)1,167,7231,156,15011,57339,41724.73%red: latin/spanish landscongo, dem.

besty

@alanv

Besty I dont think Britain will be at all pleased with 0.5% increase. It shows they cant even keep their kids in the org. Millions of hours spent knocking on doors and that is the result. It is only slightly higher than the population increase.

yes I didn't word that very well - what I meant was Britain contributed 0.5% of the global increase. You could reasonably expect a country with 2% of the publishers to contribute 2% of the increase - hence my sarcastic comment about them being pleased. Not. Strong underperform.

2596

The Pastor of my Old Church Tried to Re-Convert Me Yesterday

by cofty in

yesterday evening my wife and i were invited to friends house for new year's eve.

we met them when i was a christian and we have kept in touch.

they had a few other friends there as well, including the new church pastor and his wife.

besty

there are missing pieces in the conversation.

its impossible to know what they are :-)

2596

The Pastor of my Old Church Tried to Re-Convert Me Yesterday

by cofty in

yesterday evening my wife and i were invited to friends house for new year's eve.

we met them when i was a christian and we have kept in touch.

they had a few other friends there as well, including the new church pastor and his wife.

besty

wow jgnat - that is the best piece of forumsmithing ever

238

Active JW understands flaws in WTS doctrine but believes in the Bible

by flamegrilled in

perhaps this is a common topic for newbies on the site, but i have browsed for a while and not seen this exactly answered.. as an active jw who understands the flaws in wts doctrine, but believes in the bible, how do i identify a form of worship that meets all the criterea:.

1) by this all will know you are my disciples if you have love among yourselves (john 13:35).

sure i know that not all jws do this, and that people from other religions or non-religious people do this also, but as an official doctrine jws will not kill one another in war, and in general there is a genuine effort to exercise "agape" love not widely found in the world at large.. 2) preach the good news.

besty

bttt

@flamegrilled - have you a moment to give us an update on your OP?

thanks!

2596

The Pastor of my Old Church Tried to Re-Convert Me Yesterday

by cofty in

yesterday evening my wife and i were invited to friends house for new year's eve.

we met them when i was a christian and we have kept in touch.

they had a few other friends there as well, including the new church pastor and his wife.

besty

good to see the energy still here on thread...

2596

The Pastor of my Old Church Tried to Re-Convert Me Yesterday

by cofty in

yesterday evening my wife and i were invited to friends house for new year's eve.

we met them when i was a christian and we have kept in touch.

they had a few other friends there as well, including the new church pastor and his wife.

besty

@flamegrilled - you are giving God a free pass on natural disasters because 0.1% potential disconfirmation* of your worldview is an acceptable cost to you

atheists (me, us, cofty, whoever) have used a different scale in our observation. Massive scale death of the innocents are yet more evidence 'He' probably doesn't exist.

* " If a good friend told you the truth 999 times, but then said said something that appeared to be untruthful..."