i have had a conversation this evening with a jw friend i have known since childhood.
he is of the opinion that armageddon will have come and gone within the next 5 years.
are the jws now pinpointing 2020 as the supposed year?
I remember the talk and opinions of Witnesses in the 1970s. A Circuit Overseer would give a talk about how close the end was, then you would hear Witnesses say "the system can't last two more years," or "the world won't last another year."
I haven't heard anything about 2020, but in general the opinions of JWs about the end of the system are worth nothing.
i saw this on reddit:.
https://www.reddit.com/r/exjw/comments/5mlgsm/2017_yearbook_of_jehovahs_witnesses/.
overall the numbers are better than last year (1.8% growth compared to 1.5% last year -- as i predicted ;-) ) with an increase in all major figures including 1300 more congregations (i assume this is not physical kingdom halls?).
Slimboyfat: There is the component of commitment and enthusiasm to consider.
I think this speaks volumes, and leads to another component of measuring true growth or decline, but unfortunately it's something we can't measure because Watchtower won't disclose it.
Donation money.
If there is zero growth, or even a decline, in many advanced countries, there must be some who are still for various reasons but not committed, whose donations have declined along with their enthusiasm.
Donations are likely declining much more than the number of people, which would be a major problem for Watchtower.
a known poster on this site (anon) says:.
i have just received a text from an elder i've known for decades in my circuit who has some sympathy for my feelings and who is aware of the arc, the uk charity commission, etc., etc.
here it is verbatim, and my reply.
This whole document is too wordy for the average elder to understand what it's actually saying.
Using too many words BTW is a common tactic of the chronically dishonest.
Watchtower's attorneys at work, no doubt.
it's no secret that both remaining a jw or leaving the wts can take a toll on mental health.
some will suffer from depression and ultimately some will have thoughts of suicide and a few will succumb to those.. but i don't recall ever seeing any hard stats or studies on it though.
i'm sure we all know of some people who have committed suicide but i don't know if, because you may have loose association with a much larger pool of people through the religion, that this only seems higher or maybe not be actually higher than the general population.. what i mean is, you go to a kh here there maybe 100-150 people, you attend circuit and district conventions with many tens of thousands - if any one person commits suicide then you likely hear about it and it becomes part of the anecdotal 'evidence' that is then put forward as a fact that there is a higher rate ... but is there?.
Watchtower's disfellowshipping policy, which isolates people, leaving them completely cut off from their social group, is a contributor to suicide. Watchtower admits admits that isolation is deadly but never applies it to their own shunning policy....
And the consequences? “I know of no more potent killer than isolation. . . . It has been shown to be a central agent in the etiology [starting cause] of depression, paranoia, schizophrenia, rape, suicide, mass murder, and a wide variety of disease states.”—Psychology Today, August 1980.
Awake 5-22-1983 p15 (Bold added)
Former friends, and especially family, refusing to have anything to do with you must be the worst kind of isolation there is.
if you're looking for something new to watch, i can really recommend this show.
it's on netflix and there is a new series starting soon.
don't let "series" put you off - they are only 3 or 6 episodes long.. how to describe it?.
I really like most of the Netflix series that I have seen. I'm going to have a look at Black Mirror.
so our sunday meeting was on the 25th (christmas) and my active jw wife and i were out of town enjoying some family time with relatives.. apparently there were many others in our congregation that missed as well.
so few were there in fact that sisters ran the mics.
(actually it was a sister running one of the two mics) a friend of my wife commented to her about how the brothers just aren't stepping up and it "makes her want to cry.
Did the sister handling the microphone have to wear a head covering?
I am aware of women offering prayer, reading the Watchtower, or even conducting a meeting when qualified males were not present. In these situations head coverings were required.
.
what do you think about using pre-teens to work religious propaganda phonebank?.
Spoletta: it looks to me as if the kids are just doing a demonstration.
It looks that way to me too. Maybe something as simple as a demonstration on how to witness to someone who calls you, like a relative - an example of "giving a thorough witness at every opportunity."
(That is something that, notably, Governing Body members refuse to do, ala Gerritt Losch, who refused to appear in court to testify regarding Watchtower's child protection policies, using the lame excuse that "I don't answer to Watchtower." That would have been a perfect opportunity for the GB to practice what it preaches to JWs, but instead Gerritt Losch passed on the chance to "give a fine witness.")
.
what do you think about using pre-teens to work religious propaganda phonebank?.
Oppostate: Imagine you are a kid and you get some creepy dude on the phone saying nasty things maybe some sex talk from a perv sex offender and then what?
Easy. Invite him to the Kingdom Hall. He will fit right in and make a great elder some day!. (Just kidding)
there are two kingdom halls in two parts of the county i live in.
one is smaller and their are already about to begin work to replace with a new one.. just posting because i noticed posts saying their wasn't new khs being built.
and i learned this today from someone..
A Believer: There are two Kingdom Halls in two parts of the county I live in.
Can you say what county that is?
the wts has a tax free income of 2 bilion dollar now by selling the brooklyn hq (beside other recent money schemes).
were has the money gone?.
it must be somewere.. g..
Sparrowdown: And, not one dollar of it goes towards giving back to humanity.
That has been a real eye opener to me.
