Posts by Doubting Bro

33

A simple explanation for the financial changes

by JeffT in

jw
friends

as i've mentioned from time to time, i'm a retired accountant.

i have tried many times to come up with some logical, sound business reason why the wtbs has made the big changes in its financial arrangements: taking the congregations savings, the monthly donations per congregation etc.

i finally came up with the answer.. the leadership of the watchtower society is batshit crazy.

Doubting Bro

Honestly I used to dismiss the claims that there was someone behind the GB pulling the strings but the money grab that has taken place over the last year coupled with the freezing of construction leads me to believe that as crazy as it sounds, it may be true.

JeffTs theory though makes the most sense. They are crazy and not good at managing their money and are reactionary as opposed to strategic. I keep trying to understand their moves in a logical business like fashion and that's where I get hung up. Because they don't have folks with good business sense making business decisions.

119

Latest rumor - all WT construction "suspended", except for Warwick

by sir82 in

jw
friends

heard 4th-hand, but from a full-on believer, so not likely to be an "apostate lie":.

apparently, at bethel's morning worship this morning, it was announced that all worldwide wts construction is "suspended" for an indefinite time, except for the new world headquarters at warwick.. also, the "relocation" of remote translating teams is also suspended.. finally, there will be a "worldwide" reduction in bethel personnel.. all this came to me in a non-english language, and,as noted, 4th-hand.

so it is possible something may have been lost in translation and/or in the multiple steps between bethel morning worship & me.. but if true, it would be quite stunning.

Doubting Bro

I think while they may be a scaled down version of what they once were, the WTS and JWs will exist in some form past my lifetime (I'm in my mid 40s). Yeah, they have really mismanaged things, completely over expanded while at the same time, their revenues have dropped.

When you think about it, they don't need much money to survive. I'll bet they could get by with a few hundred employees. Quit printing materials (release only online and allow JWs to print their own), get rid of all branches and have part time COs (this rumor has been floated before) that get no support from the mother ship. The overhead on the local KHs are covered by the local congregation and AHs aren't really needed since often times circuits can rent facilities very cheaply on their own.

Their biggest overhead is the printing operations which is not turning a profit obviously. They are reducing supply as a response to reduced demand but they are stuck with the fixed costs.

The religion will continue to morph but if anyone thinks its going away anytime soon, I believe they are mistaken. Unfortunately because I'd love to see it implode but it simply won't.

135

Latest Leaked BOE letter to Elders Oct. 4th

by Watchtower-Free in

october 4, 2015. to all congregations.

re: new provisions announced atannual meeting.

dear brothers:.

Doubting Bro

Oh and great job whoever leaked this!!!

135

Latest Leaked BOE letter to Elders Oct. 4th

by Watchtower-Free in

october 4, 2015. to all congregations.

re: new provisions announced atannual meeting.

dear brothers:.

Doubting Bro

Wow, the elimination of the school is likely going to make many JWs happy. Of course, those presentations will still need to be handled and you know they aren't going to be done by elders. I wonder if they will have a procedure for determining who can do the presentations? Of course they will, they micromanage everything. Very interesting to see how that plays out.

35

Why did you choose Jehovahs Witnesses?

by vinman in

i'm wondering why ones on this forum initially became jw's.

if you were born in, why did you make it "your own"?

if you became one later, what was your draw and driving force?

Doubting Bro

Born in, went along for the ride. Got serious around 20 and got appointed a MS. Really believed at one point until my mid-30s when I woke up.

50

Is the WT SLOW-ly Changing the importance of the Door to Door preaching work to something more profitable?

by John Aquila in

its been a couple of weeks since a new c.o.

was appointed to the circuit and im starting to hear tidbits of his talks..

one brother told me that in one of his talks he asked the question; .

Doubting Bro

Totally agree that if they discontinued door to door or even stopped with the time slips, most JWs would be dancing in the streets. No question there are very few people that actually like doing it.

50

Is the WT SLOW-ly Changing the importance of the Door to Door preaching work to something more profitable?

by John Aquila in

its been a couple of weeks since a new c.o.

was appointed to the circuit and im starting to hear tidbits of his talks..

one brother told me that in one of his talks he asked the question; .

Doubting Bro

A) Thousands (meaning as little as what 3,000) worldwide - Yes? Significant numbers compared with a) the worlds population or b) even the population of JWs? NO.

B) They probably aren't any LESS effective since door to door is the biggest waste of time there could possibly be. I'll bet more literature is placed via the carts than on a typical weekday morning where no one is home. But is that an effective means of gaining converts, uh NOPE

C) I think its really the only thing they care about.

The real issue is that door to door work 1) keeps members busy, 2) allows for a shared miserable experience which helps galvanize an "us against the world" mentality and a persecution complex (if this wasn't Gods work than Satan wouldn't be trying so hard to stop us by making it difficult). and 3) provides a way to measure "spirituality" to determine if men qualify for leadership positions. Although you have some other touchstone (contributions!). There's no way that any JW thinks door to door is effective.

That being said, I don't see them dropping anytime in my lifetime. It's one of the fundamental parts of being a JW and about the only thing the general population knows about them. It's a signature trait.

30

Where you are in your life now.....What would you have preferred .... To be left in ignorance ? ...Or to know the truth about the truth

by smiddy in

jw
friends

i think possibly their are a few valid reasons for either options to this question ,depending on a number of factors .. such as how old you might be, how long you have devoted your life to the "truth" as you believed it .

?....how it may affect your mental/physical health and well being.?.

how it will affect your financial position in your life ,?

Doubting Bro

Although it's caused some problems, I would always choose reality over fantasy. I'm glad I know the TTATT and work on making sure the cycle stops with my generation (a real generation as opposed to the WTS version).

27

Instructions from the Old Elder's Book

by John Aquila in

last night i was looking over the notes on my old elders book and one of the instructors told us to write this down.

"when you want to get the friends to believe and obey anything, just keep saying it over and over and over and eventually they will believe it and follow whatever they are being told.

when i went back to school, i learned this quote in one of my world history classes..

Doubting Bro

But was it under the clothes or over???

25

For Those of You Who Still Serve... How Do You Do It?

by Kingdom Evader in

jw
friends

new here... been lurking for some time now.... i still serve... but with each passing day, it gets harder and harder.

i'm slowly... slowly working on my wife (i call her mrs. hardcore) and even my m-i-l (who taught my wife how to be hardcore).

making some amazing progress... they are still hardcore... but unrecognizable from a couple years ago!.

Doubting Bro

While I still attend I have no responsibilities anymore, don't comment, sing or say amen at prayers. I will say that while an elder, it got increasingly harder to find ways to handle parts without feeling like a hypocrite. None of the halls I was associated with did shepherding calls so that was easy.

Over the space of a year or two, I began cutting back and finally was able to step down for "family reasons". What a relief!!!

Actually, having to deal with JCs was what really got to me. I could fake the other stuff but I couldn't live with having a part in deciding whether someone would get cut off from their family and friends.

If it really bothers you, devise a plan to step down.