respectful_observer

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Posts by respectful_observer

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  48

  2018 Convention videos leaked by brave insiders

  by Room 215 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  anopther coup for cedars: http://jwsurvey.org/cedars-blog/leaked-2018-convention-videos-celebrate-anti-lgbtq-bigotry-unquestioning-obedience-doomsday-fear-mongering

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  respectful_observer

  Clip #1:

  A retail clerk doesn’t give two hoots whether you buy a charity item or not on top of your store purchase; they’re worried when their next coffee/smoke break is, or whether they can find someone to cover their shift next Saturday night.

  Btw, why are there almost only women shopping in that store?

  Clip #2:

  I’ve had elders and COs tell me specifically that it’s more important to attend the congregation that’s best for YOUR circumstances (and spirituality)

  Also: “Does it make more sense?” Who cares!!!

  Clip #3:

  Kid: (Hmmm...Armageddon will be terrifying with people dying everywhere.)

  Elder: "Don't worry about it! God has lots of experience killing everyone in sight! Assyria soldiers, babies in the Great Flood, whenever and wherever!"

  I’ve had elders and COs tell me specifically that it’s more important to attend the congregation that’s best for YOUR circumstances (and spirituality)
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  13

  Watch Tower Farms

  by Lost in the fog in

  1. social
  2. humour

  i know that the farms have been around for decades but i was wondering if the watch tower farms ever abbreviate their name simply to wtf?

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  respectful_observer

  Give the “WTF” stenciled all over Wallkill, I suspect one of the motivations to official change the name of the property to “Wallkill Bethel” was the emergence of “WTF” in the last decade or so into common slang
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  74

  The book burning has started

  by pale.emperor in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  don't know if this is a global thing but i've just been told by a pimo member of my old congregation that a min servant has been given the task of destroying all old books/literature in the kh library prior to 1992.. could be the elders (or even one of them) on a mission to stamp out dissent as my ex-wife used the same reasoning to her elder dad that i used in my jc: rutherfords books containing failed predictions.. anyone else heared anything?.

  the ms who's been given the task is a company man.

  no hope of him keeping them or selling them on ebay.. they have some russell books in that library too.

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  respectful_observer

  The concept of the "Overlapping Generation" is quite simple really. I find this graphic to be helpful:

  
  
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  23

  Has the Great Tribulation Already started?

  by The Fall Guy in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  w55 10/15 p. 623 par.

  w56 12/15 p. 755 par.

  w56 2/15 p. 119 par.

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  respectful_observer

  I'm of the mind that eventually the GB will claim NuLite that the GT has already started-- albeit "invisibly" (or only with those (read: JWs only) with the spiritual awareness to recognize the signs. They'll draw a parallel to "only God's Organization" recognized that Jesus began to reign in 1914, and that no one in Christendom or earthly governments did. It's a win-win for them to do so because it will drive the Kool-aid J-dubs wild, scare quite a few PIMOs to return-- and because the GT has no set time limit, they can milk it for 2 or 3 decades at least. Suddenly tragic world events and criticism of the WT aren't "signs of the last days", they are secret signals to JWs reinforcing the teaching that the GT is really underway.
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  13

  2 BOE's arrived-2018 Newsletter and Visitor Centre Update!

  by Atlantis in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  2 boe's arrived.. .

  2018-01-20--chelmsford visitor centre update.

  https://we.tl/wkfhroydcs.

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  respectful_observer

  Next time you encounter a J-dub who's crowing about going on this construction site tour, you should respond with equal enthusiasm and say:

  "Wow! That sounds so cool! You know, have you heard about the new Tesco they just broke ground on two towns away?! I'm organizing a group of friends to go next weekend and view the construction site. Want to come?!

  There's also a new M&S just announced, so can't wait to tour that construction site too!!"

  
  
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  53

  Crisis of Conscience where to find?

  by Jules Saturn in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  does anyone know where i can get a pdf version of this book?

  i’ve always wanted a physical copy but those seem really hard to come by, and if you look online they’re super expensive.

  thank you.. -jules.

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  respectful_observer

  I'm sure this question has been asked and answered ad nauseum on other older threads, but can't seem to find an answer.

  Understanding how CoC is becoming harder and harder to find, is there any speculation that the WT has somehow acquired the legal rights, or may have entered into some agreement (read: financial payout with confidentiality clause attached) with the copyright owner, to prevent future printings or electronic distribution?

  ...............

  EDIT: Found this thread where Blondie confirms knowing the copyright owner personally:

  https://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/5944127975849984/publisher-offers-print-cofc-without-cost?page=2

  Assuming Blondie wouldn't consort with someone who was near and dear to Ray, but then agree to some backroom payoff from WT to keep CoC off the shelves and internet, any other insights into why the lack of a current edition in print physically or as an e-book?
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  37

  Thank you, George Couch!

  by charonsdog in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i just thought i'd share this story from my past.. back in the 80s i remember the big problem seemed to be about music.

  (today, it's tight pants, i guess) the organization, society, whatever they were calling themselves, were always going on about the music we listened to.

  disco, heavy metal, the whole "backwards masking" thing...couldn't escape hearing or reading about how satan was corrupting us unless we were listening to kingdom melodies or elevator music.. i was assigned to wtf in the late 80s and remember one of the articles stating that "young people know that the rhythm of rock music is the rhythm of sexual intercourse.

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  respectful_observer

  My rather self-righteous (at the time) elder cousin decided that his nephew's Beastie Boys CD (and the rest his CD collection) was so bad that in the middle of his rant he threw the whole thing out the window of the car at highway speed.

  This is the same elder who was blissfully unaware at the time that one of his kids was an active opiate user, and the other was dating a coke dealer and had a secret abortion while she was a teen (he still doesn't know about that one).
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  53

  Crisis of Conscience where to find?

  by Jules Saturn in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  does anyone know where i can get a pdf version of this book?

  i’ve always wanted a physical copy but those seem really hard to come by, and if you look online they’re super expensive.

  thank you.. -jules.

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  respectful_observer

  I ended up just listening to homemade "audio book" version (quality wasn't too bad at all, btw) that can be easily found on Youtube. Posted in about 10 separate segments if I recall.
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  3

  1970-2017 Service Year Report of Jehovah's Witnesses (New Zealand)

  by The Poetry Of Reality in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1pktibmzbzmap6dfo0dx1vr5h9zerejgj/.

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  respectful_observer

  Interesting...Memorial attendance really hasn't changed much in 17 years. It was 27K (and change) last year...and the same in 1998. Meanwhile, the population of NZ has grown by 1 million in that same period (26%).

  The 2017 "Ratio 1 publisher to..." has slowly increased to 1:340 in 2017-- the worst ratio in NZ since 1986...31 years. Clearly the efforts of JWs in NZ to even keep up with population growth has stalled.

  "Peak publishers" has basically stayed flat, only fluctuating within a small margin since 2008...nearly 10 years.
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  40

  Older JW: not happy

  by Gorbatchov in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  this week i visited my sick father in law.. then an old elder from my far away congregation came in for coffee.

  did not see him in 15 years.. nice chat.

  had a lot to say, is alone, his sick wife disabled and away from home.. he told me: "living alone is so hard.

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  respectful_observer

  I was surprised recently to hear my parents (in mid/late-60s) -- both uber-dubs who always put a positive spin on everything WT-related-- lament (unprovoked) that their congregation, which used to be full of young people, families, and tons of kids, is now just a collection of older people battling health issues, whose children have all moved away.

  Their congregation looks good on paper-- a disproportionately high % of publishers who are pioneers and elders-- however it's the same people that have been pioneers and elders for 30+ years. Same people, same apathetic territory, etc. The only thing that seems to have changed in the last 30 years is steady decrease in "young" (<50 y.o.) and in the increase in health issues for remaining members.