konceptual99

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Posts by konceptual99

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  46

  Fudging the Numbers: Is the WTBTS in decline?

  by Coded Logic in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  it's no secret that the wtbts has a cash flow problem.

  over the past three years they have closed 20 of their 116 branches.

  they have sold off most of their properties in and around ny (including some kingdom halls), drastically reduced the # of printed pages for the watchtower and awake magazines, reduced the printing of books and other materials, increased the number of single page tract campagnes, installed cc machines at their assembly halls, and are now seizing of controll of property assets from local kingdom halls using renovation projects.

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  konceptual99

  There were 63 baptised in Scotland at the convention. Add on those baptised at the circuit & special days and you are maybe talking about 140 for the year. That's in a country of 5.5 million people and is mostly made up of JW kids getting their rite of passage dunk at 14 - 16 years old. So maybe 50 have come in through the ministry. That is a tiny amount and doubtless typical of most european countries. The WTBTS has definitely gone ex-growth now in the 1st world.

  There were around 340 (ish) baptised at Twickenham and I recall the number for all the conventions around the UK being somewhere around 700. I know many waited for Twickenham so I expect the numbers at SA/CA events to be less. I still expect growth for the UK at around 1-2%.
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  11

  New - JW Flash Mobs...

  by konceptual99 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  ... all this emotive stuff they have been gorging on recently is making some dubs go really vocal.... .

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vc2cra-rwm8.

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  konceptual99

  ... all this emotive stuff they have been gorging on recently is making some dubs go really vocal...

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vC2cra-rwm8
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  31

  the insanity of Sam herds talks at the convention

  by purrpurr in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i've picked up two that stood out to me but i'm sure others will have noticed more:.

  he gave an illustration about fearing god and he said it is like a wife who has spent all day preparing the evening meal for her husband and she hears him come home and perhaps she is trembling a bit out of fear that he might not like the meal she has cooked for him....!!!!!!!!????.

  the other was about verbal abuse and how it should not be used but rather than site the effect it has or the forms it can take he said that we shouldn't call each other " dumb dumb" or "knuckle head" .

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  konceptual99

  I agree about the deep rooted sexism Paris. I am not suggesting that's what I thought about Sam Herd, just reflecting the concensus of opinion I heard from conversations with various ones. Even some of the most independent sisters I know thought he was lovely. It's the cult of personality.
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  5

  Heard Lett gave a talk also.

  by hamsterbait in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  was this his usual delusional crap too?.

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  konceptual99

  Lett did not give a face to face talk at Twickenham. He presented the audio drama via a pre-recorded video preeee-sentation.

  There was audible laughter at his facial expressions. The guy looks like a nut job.
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  31

  the insanity of Sam herds talks at the convention

  by purrpurr in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i've picked up two that stood out to me but i'm sure others will have noticed more:.

  he gave an illustration about fearing god and he said it is like a wife who has spent all day preparing the evening meal for her husband and she hears him come home and perhaps she is trembling a bit out of fear that he might not like the meal she has cooked for him....!!!!!!!!????.

  the other was about verbal abuse and how it should not be used but rather than site the effect it has or the forms it can take he said that we shouldn't call each other " dumb dumb" or "knuckle head" .

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  konceptual99

  @Apognophos

  Sorry, which convention was this? Not this summer's RC?

  He came out with this at Twickenham. He might have used it elsewhere if he did the same talks I expect.

  The "knuckle-head" thing just made people laugh. It's cultural. We don't say that in the UK but the point was understood. People found it endearing.

  The wife fearing her husband raised plenty of smiles as well. Of course people had raised eyebrows but it's not unusual to hear old school brothers come out with claptrap like that. People don't take wholesale umbridge. They just think he's an old boy and brush it off.

  Sam Herd came out of his time at Twickenham with a shining reputation. They loved him. They thought he was gentle, humble, understanding, concerned and not what they were expecting.

  The knock backs I got when blowing cold water over his talks were quite pointed.
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  106

  The long weekend of B.S begins - UK.

  by quellycatface in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  isn't going to be wonderful??.

  not being there..

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  konceptual99

  They actually apologised for something?

  Yes Heartofaboy, they actually apologised for something. In fact they apologised for two things.

  The first was the shambolic way they (dis)organised things for the infirm and those with special needs on Friday. They completely underestimated the numbers and they ran out of facilities very early on. There were many who simply could not be properly accomodated.

  The other apology was for the complete and utter cock up in organising the shittle (I mean it that way) buses going back to the hotels. There was no organisation of the queues. People waited patiently for bus after bus, only for them to turn up, stop in the wrong place and then have a bundle of brothers barge on, pushing and pulling - ignoring those who had been waiting for far, far longer. I know of one brother who in the end had to physically block the steps to the bus to let his pregnant wife, another family with a pregnant sister and some elderly ones get onto the bus where they had waited for bus after bus for almost 2 HOURS and simply been pushed out of the way all that time. All he got was abuse from his "brothers" in the melee. So much for brotherly love and showing an interest in others. I don't know how he showed that much restraint.
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  36

  A new member

  by LP97 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i'm a 17 year old from scotland.

  can i just say this site is absolutely brilliant.

  finally found people with open minds and free thought that doesn't just consist of "well the wt told me this so it must be right".. my story is that i'm just like any other child of a jw...brought up into a life of indoctrination where "the world's" thinking is automatically wrong.. that is until i was 14 - a light turned on in my head.

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  konceptual99

  Welcome LP. Glad you are awake before you get consumed into dubdom.
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  53

  Sept 1 service meeting mystery revealed

  by Saltheart Foamfollower in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  the letter has appeared at last - just for uk.

  it is a money grab for the new bethel which has been approved.

  there is a video to be shown - just watched it - brief summary of uk bethels, why current one is too small, why we need money to build a new one.

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  konceptual99

  Good job Saltheart. The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant were one of my fave reads in my teenage years btw....
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  106

  The long weekend of B.S begins - UK.

  by quellycatface in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  isn't going to be wonderful??.

  not being there..

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  konceptual99

  Oh - I forgot to mention the other landmark announcements.

  They actually made TWO apologies from the platform. One for the disasterous way they handled the infirm and those with special needs on Friday. The other was for the chaotic way they organised people queing for shuttle busses to their hotels. Delegates who had paid thousand of pounds had to wait 2 hours to get on a bus then spend an hour driving 3-4 miles.

  That was a first that I can remember.
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  37

  6 branches subsidize the rest of the branches.

  by hoser in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i went to the meeting this morning and we had some guy from overseas bethel give the public talk.

  6 countries subsidize the rest.

  he said in some countries all the donations that they get from contributions don't even pay the electricity bill for the branch buildings so money has to come in from these 6 richer countries.

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  konceptual99

  I think both theories are true. They are turning assets into cash for a number of reasons, including getting more assets. In the short term they have plenty of money. The question is what the projections are like? How sustainable is the current cash flow? As I have expressed elsewhere today I don't think the WTS is going to run out of money anytime soon but I am sure that the projections for the next 20-30 years do not make fun reading for Letts and co.