Posts by NotFormer

35

1/2 of the Jehovah’s witnesses have gone

by hoser in

jw
friends

there are 1/2 of the jehovah’s witnesses that there were 30 years ago in my area.

some have left but i think that many have died and none of their kids stayed being jehovah’s witnesses.

7 congregations have been dissolved over the years.

NotFormer

Paradoxically, or at least anecdotally, I can't comment on the demise of the local JW congregation in my small regional city. I'm a recent blow-in, and my arrival here coincided with the JW's post-Covid resumption of the door to door work. We've had at least one visit per year from the JWs. Just last Friday I saw not one but two trolleys/carts in town to which "encounter" I devoted a thread:

https://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/6545528670650368/there-some-sort-campaign-on

On a Tuesday evening, ironically while on my way to another church's Bible study, I see the Kingdom Hall carpark on the edge of town quite full. From my perspective, the local Kingdom Hall may well be in quite a healthy state. Of course, they could well be down to one healthy congregation, where once they had two. It would be great to be able to engage in the sorts of conversations that would yield such information, but I find that the JWs of today are not the robust engagers in conversation and debate that their ancestors of a mere two or three decades ago were. They disappear very quickly, drawing from my experiences with them since I've moved here.

My apologies for the above: that was a lot of waffle to basically say very little 😔 🙄

40

The Governing Body is Restructuring the Org.and encouranging young ones to REACH OUT!

by liam in

the governing body just doesn't let up on encouraging the young children to reach out to do free labor for the organization.

so another generation of young people with ruined lives.

another generation of young people that will get old and wake up in their 50s to realize they were in a religious doomsday cult.. and they are getting rid of some old workers that ran the branches of the organization, and giving them different assignments or maybe they are just sending them home, who knows.

NotFormer

"First of all, anybody that age probably has no family left!! Everybody has passed away. Maybe there’s a niece or nephew(?) and when was the last time they saw them. So, the elderly bethelite is supposed to land on their doorstep? Right?? 😮"

That's pretty well the plot of Futurama. Farnsworth takes in his great-uncle (by thirty generations) Fry. That such a solution should be forced on them by a pragmatic and uncaring government makes an interesting allegorical point, in the case which we're discussing. Or at least, I can see 🙈 an allegorical point 👉 ☝️.

4

By their own standards, they are no longer ...

by wantingtruth in

jw
friends

by their own standards, they are no longer "jehovah's witnesses”.

.. i finally got a hold of the "od book" (organized to do jehovah's will), the book that replaced the other "organized" book for field service and congregational arrangements.

i was reading through this and noticed an irony starting on page 155. this section deals with "disassociation"... (i'm sure others have already seen or discussed this, but i've been running behind lately).. "a person might renounce his place in the christian congregation by his actions, such as by becoming part of a secular organization that has objectives contrary to the bible and, hence, is under judgment by jehovah god.

NotFormer

Well, as the old joke says: "Were it not for their double standards..."

11

Is There Some Sort of Campaign On?

by NotFormer in

jw
friends

on friday, i walked to my doctor's to pick up a couple of prescriptions*.

from there i walked in to town to the chemist's (pharmacy) to get the scripts filled.

it's winter here, and my town can get get colder than is average for my state**.

NotFormer

Bribie: 19° C?? That's summer weather here! 😳

Balaamsass2: I'd happily do that swap for a couple of days! 🤝🤝🤝 Yes, two trolleys at each end of a block, on the main St, seems a bit excessive. The blokes manning them seemed somewhat elderish already, to my untrained eye. A CO visit might be the reason. That was suggested when last I asked about a seeming increase in JW activity. That time it was a couple of car group's worth of JWs campaigning my street.

Biahi: Large country town here. I've been thinking about it a bit and I think they might be doing it on a Friday afternoon to get their hours in because Saturday would be hard for them to stand out in the main street. On Saturday morning, there is a literature stand manned by the Open Brethren, a Marxist book stall, often a Pentecostal handing out poorly written and photocopied literature about the Vaxx being the Number of the Beast, and possibly a different Pentecostal group. The JWs would hardly stand out amongst all that. So I guess the JWs do it the day before so they can exclusively ignore passersby and chat among themselves, as alluded to by punkofnice. 🙄

punkofnice: Like you, I'm not sure what their business model is. To be seen, but not to be actually doing anything of substance?

Beth Sarim: those talking points sound familiar... 🤔

13

A lot of bodies

by Elena in

i have this memory of a gb member once saying that there would be a lot of bodies to be buried after armageddon.. does anyone else remember who said it?.

it was probably in the last decade or so.

ive been trying to find the video i’m sure it was on lloyd evens and all the other similar channels when it was said.. i can’t remember which gb member said it.

NotFormer

St George of England, it's never the self-styled leaders who have to put in the work, in their fantasies, is it! 🙄

22

Can someone remind me the reason's you could be disfellowshipped?

by SydBarrett in

jw
friends

the only reasons i can remember are smoking, sexual immorality and of course, apostasy.

there must be others but having been out since 1990, i'm drawing a blank.

i was thinking perhaps serious criminal offenses that result in prison, but then i remembered a brother in my congregation in the 1980's who went to prison.

NotFormer

Blondie, seeing as how they are such a two-faced sect by nature*, I just knew that they would have some wiggle room within the "don't sue each other" declaration. 🙄 Thanks for providing those examples. 👌👍

* The leadership, that is. Quite a few sincere practitioners among the rank and file, I believe.

11

Is There Some Sort of Campaign On?

by NotFormer in

jw
friends

on friday, i walked to my doctor's to pick up a couple of prescriptions*.

from there i walked in to town to the chemist's (pharmacy) to get the scripts filled.

it's winter here, and my town can get get colder than is average for my state**.

NotFormer

On Friday, I walked to my doctor's to pick up a couple of prescriptions*. From there I walked in to town to the chemist's (pharmacy) to get the scripts filled. It's Winter here, and my town can get get colder than is average for my state**. On Friday there was quite a disagreeable wind in my face for much of my walk. Occasionally in town, you'll see some JWs manning*** a trolley/cart. Being such filthy weather, I didn't expect to see them on that day. Imagine my surprise when I saw not one, but two, trolleys/carts. And both trolleys/carts were manned by not two, but three, blokes each. No suits and ties, that I could see (they were really rugged up against the weather). I didn't bother trying to chat with either group**** It was too damned cold, and I needed my prescriptions filled.

Is there any known reason for such an increased JW trolley/cart presence in my small rural city? No special campaign that anyone knows of?

* It could have all been done electronically, but I like the paper scripts; I'm old fashioned like that 😸🙄

** For some context, the possibility of snow is being forecast for later today. It was actually less pleasant weather ☁️ 🌡️ on Friday than today

*** Even the women, sometimes. Would it be "staffing", in that case? 😐

**** It's hard enough with two, let alone three of 'em ganging up on little old lonesome me! Besides, I've never tried engaging with the trolley ministry, due to assertions on here that they will say "We're not here for a debate" and tell you to rack off.

28

Hotel Bossert, a storied hotel on Montague Street in Brooklyn Heights, was sold

by Balaamsass2 in

memories..... a 1970s-1980s meetup location to grab a ride to local trips on the subway...or a bite on montague st.. brooklyn heights hotel to be turned into homes.

the hotel bossert, a storied hotel on montague street in brooklyn heights, was sold to someraroad, a new york city and nashville-based real estate investment and development firm.. bk reader staffmay 31, 2025 10:00 amjun 2, 2025 9:20 am.

photo: supplied/jim.henderson via wikimedia commonslisten to this article00:01:23. .

NotFormer

It must have been heartbreaking to have Bethel hyped up about back in the home congregation, only to find more worldly behaviour than you left behind! 😿

13

Baptismal Failure Rates Among JW Bible Teachers

by Sea Breeze in

jw
friends

the 2024 data from the jw website indicates that jw teachers have an over 96% failure rate with their students : .

2024 average bible studies each month: 7,480,146.

2024 baptisms:296,267. number of bible studies it takes to produce one baptism : 25.25. this means that jehovah's witnesses have an over 96% failure rate with people who want to study the bible with them.

NotFormer

"Number of bible studies it takes to produce one baptism : 25.25

"This means that Jehovah's Witnesses have an over 96% failure rate with people who want to study the bible with them."

People might still invest in a company with a P/E ratio of 25.25... 🙈🙉🙊

"When your "in" they try so hard to kick you out for not following their made up rules."

They could be picky and choosy back when things were tough and the JWs looked like they might have some answers. Them days is gawn! But they still haven't learned the lessons they need to to retain the faithful few who remain.

9

NOT on JW.org Jehovah's Witness Doctor refuses Blood Transfusion for dying non-JW patientPregnant woman passes away mid-operation as Jehovah’s Witness doctor refuses blood transfusion

by Balaamsass2 in

5/10/25 this story from nigeria is a twist.

the doctor is the jw!.

pregnant woman passes away mid-operation as jehovah’s witness doctor refuses blood transfusion.

NotFormer

It's a bit hard to follow what's going on here. Was the lady unaware of the no blood stance of the "doctor"? Did she not sign various consent forms? Did the issue of blood not come up in pre-admission conversations?

It seems a bit rich for the "doctor" to turn around and say "Sorry, we don't do that!" , at the vital moment. Of course, as a quack, she might not have access to the right resources anyway.