The May 2015 episode of JW Broadcasting was billed by its host, Governing Body member Stephen Lett, as being a “historic” one. It ended up being just that, but for none of the reasons given.
Lett opened the program by drawing attention to the fact that all seven Governing Body members have now hosted JW Broadcasting (tv.jw.org), and hailed the fact that approval has now been given to end the project’s trial period and roll it out on a permanent basis in multiple languages.
If this amounts to a “historic” development, then either Lett is shaky on what “historic” means, or anything new that happens anywhere to anyone can have the same superlative applied.
What WAS historic about the program was that it featured, for the first time, a Governing Body member admitting to the organization being in a financially precarious situation, with Lett revealing a shortfall between projected income and expenditure for the forthcoming fiscal period.
This website has long pointed to a number of omens that not all is well for Watchtower financially – chief among these being the slashing of branch offices and a whopping 39% reduction in monthly magazine printing. But this is the first time, at least to my knowledge, that the organization has come clean about being in financial difficulties – albeit with a notable lack of transparency about the actual figures involved.
Unsurprisingly, Lett used the opportunity to urge Witnesses to donate, and rather comically set about doing this by trying to distance the organization from others who “coerce” their followers to give money…
The above video is my own montage of Lett’s pleas for donations. To watch the full, 1-hour 36-minute unedited program, please click here.
From lack of transparency to blatant deception
As with the previous seven JW Broadcasting episodes, I will be making a full YouTube rebuttal to Lett’s performance in the next week or so. But I wanted to take this opportunity to point out the complete lack of transparency regarding funds in this episode, and highlight at least two areas in which Lett has been blatantly deceitful.
If you are going to divulge a shortfall in funds, particularly with the aim of leveraging more donations (or “valuable things”) from a pool of supporters who are already lagging in this regard, the least you can do is treat them like adults and give some hard numbers. Nowhere in Lett’s rather patronizing, condescending comments is a single figure cited regarding the projected amounts of income and expenditure, and the shortfall between the two. Everything is left to the imagination (or, more accurately, gullibility) of the viewer.
Then you have the flat-out lies regarding the new donation arrangement for kingdom hall construction, and the amount of money involved in the move to Warwick.
When Lett first mentioned feedback from Circuit Overseers regarding the new donation arrangement, the first thought that whizzed through my head was: “Thank goodness! The publishers have seen straight through the stealth-tithing scam and have been giving Circuit Overseers a piece of their mind.”
But according to Lett, rather than there being any dissatisfaction with the new arrangement, the cause of concern for Circuit Overseers is merely that there is a misconception among publishers that Watchtower is flush with money because it has “cancelled” the loans and mortgages of congregations who owe the organization for new kingdom halls.
Cue facepalm, and heavy sigh of despair…
As already reported by this website, a full unabridged reading of the letters to elders dated March 29 and May 12, 2014 reveals that Watchtower has not stopped congregations from sending in money under the new arrangement. Rather, it has insisted that at least the same amount of money be sent through each month for congregations who were already paying off debts, and that congregations without debts should start sending in money each month as though they were in debt!
And ALL congregations, whether previously indebted or not, have been ordered to send in any surplus of funds, leaving only $5,000 plus three months’ worth of operating costs in the local coffers. So rather than saving money for congregations, Watchtower is demanding more from them as a result of the recent changes.
And keep in mind that if Watchtower ever goes bust (an increasingly likely scenario) the kingdom halls will go straight down in flames with it under this new arrangement (being no longer financially independent), and none of the money invested in kingdom hall construction by local brothers will find its way back into their pockets.
In the twisted world of Watchtower, a Witness should pay for his or her local kingdom hall as though it is their responsibility, even though the kingdom hall is an asset ultimately belonging to Watchtower and Watchtower can (and will) get all the proceeds from selling it.
But you wouldn’t suspect any of this dreadful scam from Lett, who draws comparisons between the ‘generosity’ of Watchtower’s new stealth-tithing arrangement and the dropping of charges for literature in 1990 – a move which, by the way, arose only because Watchtower’s non-profit status was under threat.
This all represents a blatant deception on Lett’s part, relying entirely on the majority of viewers being blissfully ignorant of the letters to elders that were circulated last year, and the full scope of the new donation/tithing arrangement.
But if this weren’t enough, we then have what I think is the most bald-faced lie I have ever seen a Governing Body member utter into a camera…
The first thing to remember is that Watchtower has operated quite successfully for many years before the move to Warwick was proposed, so any attempt to fob the viewer off with some half-baked story that the proceeds of one unnamed “significant” Brooklyn property would offset only a few weeks of normal operating costs can be immediately dismissed.
Even if Watchtower were to sell one of its Brooklyn properties for only one dollar, that is a still a dollar they wouldn’t have had available to them in any of the years prior to the Warwick move being discussed – years when Watchtower had up to 116 branch offices in operation (in 2010) compared to only 90 today.
This leaves us with the breathtaking subterfuge of Lett’s suggestion that the sale of the Brooklyn property portfolio “is basically only financing the construction of World Headquarters in Warwick and the purchase of other properties that are needed to facilitate the move from Brooklyn in the future.”
Like many cults, Watchtower is less than open when it comes to divulging how much money it spends on various projects to those it holds responsible for picking up the tab. This means that information on what Watchtower is spending on the Warwick move is hard to come by at best, but there are two figures that give some indication of the amounts of cash involved.
Four separate neutral sources, namely The Brooklyn Paper, The Observer, The Real Deal and the New York Post all cite an estimated figure of $11.5 million for the building costs of the new Warwick headquarters. I am presently trying to verify the source of this estimate, but considering the complex is being built with mostly volunteer labor, such a low figure isn’t completely out of the question.
It has also been reported elsewhere that the Tuxedo complex, perhaps the most well-known facility for supporting the work at Warwick, cost Watchtower a mere $3.2 million.
Obviously there are a lot of other numbers we are missing for other properties and planning/development expenses (due entirely to Watchtower’s lack of transparency rather than any attempts to mislead or deceive on the part of anyone else), but even if we multiply the above two figures by 10 for the sake of argument, we are left with less than $150 million.
Contrast that with the 1 Billion Watchtower is making for the entire Brooklyn portfolio, with an eye-watering $375 million coming through for one transaction alone, and the depth of Lett’s deception should quickly become apparent.
The move from Brooklyn to Warwick IS an enormous money-spinner for the organization, commonly known as a property “flip,” and in no way can it be thought of as a like-for-like switch according to Lett’s blatant, bald-faced misrepresentation.
Nobody else to blame
If Watchtower is low on funds, which I am thrilled to hear confirmation of straight from the horse’s mouth (in more than one sense), it is NOT the fault of any misunderstanding on the part of ordinary Witnesses. If anything, most Witnesses woefully underestimate the breathtaking amount of money Watchtower has pocketed from selling off Brooklyn, thanks in no small measure to the Governing Body’s total, deliberate and ongoing financial information black-out.
There is only one direction in which the finger of blame should be pointed respecting the Governing Body’s monetary woes, and that is towards them. If the Governing Body is spending more money than they are receiving from the kindness and generosity of Witnesses, who are already hard-pressed as a result of the insane and immoral prohibition on higher education, then by no stretch of the imagination can they be thought of as either faithful or discreet.
Let’s just hope that, for many Witnesses watching this most recent parade of self-congratulation, exaggeration, lies and bluster, with Stephen Lett as the latest floundering, pompous ringmaster to hog the limelight in this grotesque JW Broadcasting circus sham, the penny has finally dropped.
Further reading…
- Rawstory article
- Friendly Atheist blog coverage of this article
- JWsurvey articles on Warwick move
- JWsurvey articles on Brooklyn sell-off
- JWsurvey articles on Watchtower’s downsizing
- JW Broadcasting video rebuttals
Related video…
As I wrote on Facebook: This is so not the organization anymore I was born into. It’s getting more and more pathetic every month.
That is so true. We had respect for Brother Knorr. The org. seemed to have a little dignity. Could have been a false front but, at least it had that image.
The “world is changing” Misha ! I can only agree with u.
“Oleaginous” is the word I would use to describe this man. The exaggerated mouth, eyebrow, hand and arm movements are so fake! You’d think he was speaking to a bunch of five-year-olds. I want to vomit!
I agree!!!
Someone said that Steven Lett was, “A clown with no make-up” and I don’t think that I could improve upon that. What a moron he is.
well said
Thank you! I was thinking as I was watching, that just seeing his exaggerated expressions makes me extremely angry! He just seems so pompous, it makes me ill.
The way Lett acts, gestures and speaks in this video shows just how much contempt and condescension he has towards the rank-and-file… let alone the “worldies.”
Oh well, at least it looks like he hocked his pinky ring.
Misha nailed it. This head bobbing, supercilious, Lett is the epitome of what years of cult indoctrination will produce. Every elder around the world simply will be drooling over attaining such a position, now they have tv aspirations, as well as lording it over the flock!!
Thank goodness I can sit on the sidelines and laugh at their antics. No guilt about not pouring my money down the rat hole.
Our congregation just slashed the amount they were sending the the branch by $1,000.00. The funny part is, they had a loan too that just started! They went way under the suggestion of keeping it the same or more!
We are at a loss each month, donations have dried up. I think people are starting to vote with their wallets. Plus, you discourage everyone from working, giving up good paying jobs etc… and then complain that they aren’t donation enough? You can’t take blood from a rock!
How do you know this Jack? Are you an elder still?
Great article! A big part of expenditures for the Warwick project involve the purchase of a LUXURY condominium complex that was reported to cost $57,000,000. Sources tell me that the condos are very luxe indeed and that the bethelites are all vying for their room in the complex. Aside from that purchase, I actually believe that Warwick could be constructed much cheaper using outside labor rather than volunteers. The cost of housing, feeding, transporting, administration work, etc. for using volunteers far exceeds the cost of employees caring for the work. This project requires volunteers because of the ambitious schedule and the need to claim that “it was only by Jehovah’s hand”. My theory is that projects using volunteer labor will be greatly reduced in the coming years because of the great cost involved. An example of this is the South Africa branch expansion which has been completely contracted out. The organization is bloated with volunteers that are completely unnecessary except for bragging rights. They would need much, much less people, buildings, etc. if they would just have salaried employees that cared for their own needs. I worked at the Wallkill complex and noted that the 300 workers that actually produced the literature in shipping, bindery and printing required about 900 people in support roles…. To be continued
I believe this is the very same reason the Soviet Union collapsed. Socialism doesn’t work because there is no incentive for an ordinary person to succeed or manage for themselves; all the thinking is done for you and all the work is done by you with no real compensation.
Soviet Union is a very accurate description on a couple different levels.
While it is true that Bethelites are a form of slave labor, they are not cheap to maintain. Think of the cost of heating/ cooling, electricity, water and utilities for all of the residential buildings. There is the food cost which involves tons of food every week. Taking only Wallkill into consideration, imagine the cost of 400 pounds of salmon or 800 pounds of chicken for one lunch and so on. Bethelites also receive medical attention and dental work, laundry services and other personal service. They receive a monthly stipend, yearly PEA – personal expense account that is several hundred dollars, AEA – automobile expense account that reimburses them for each mile driven for congregation activities, etc. A very conservative figure that was thrown around while I was serving at Bethel was $20-30,000 a year per Bethelite. Let’s do some math just involving Wallkill – using conservative figures (these are going back a couple of years but I feel the principles are applicable) 1200 bethelites- 300 doing the actual printery work- 900 in support roles. 900 support bethelites cost $20K a year equaling $18,000,000 – divide that by the 300 actually doing the essential work and it comes to- $60,000 a year – not a bad wage to pay an employee. This of course is solely operating expense which doesn’t include building costs, etc. Bethel could employee people for $40,000 a year and do pretty well (leaving a $6,000,000 surplus towards the building) while at the same time providing much needed jobs for the economy but then… Jehovah’s hand and wonderful Bethel stories would disappear…. The great thing is that the GB is so deluded that they will continue to overspend and think that Jehovah will keep them afloat but reality will catch up to them eventually.
Sorry everyone! I have diarrhea of the mouth again. This just upsets me vey much and I have to vent. Two quick things- 1. Warwick is basically a lakefront resort and every room has a balcony. How’s that for keeping a simple eye?
2. While I am a humanist at this point in my life, I still get upset by the misuse of scriptures. Lett mentioned the “equalizing” – do they really think Paul was talking about buildings? The money in the first century was given directly to the people who needed it, not in the form of a Kingdom Hall but in food and sustenance. Give me a break. Do you think they need more Kingdom Halls in Africa or food and personal housing? Jeez… “RTO’s cost a million dollars or more in other countries?” Why? Can’t somebody translate from anywhere they can access the internet and a computer? Why not send the $5000 in needed equipment and use the remaining money to build people houses they can live in and some to work out of instead of building/ buying mansions for a small team of translators? So dumb…
Don’t be sorry!
You made some really excellent and interesting points!
I know so many brothers and sisters who would cut off their own appendages to get ‘in’ as a construction volunteer, or some other full-time assignment! Then these people hope and trust that Jehovah’s Organiztion (Mother) will look after their every need right on into the paradise. They will be in for a rude shock when it financially tumbles down on them.
McFair, I probably shouldn’t throw around names but did you know Todd Hockensmith, Randy Carlson, or Dustin Fox at WTF?
Thanks for mentioning the theocratic retirement plan. The names you have thrown around are familiar to me. I’m sure they would all appreciate the shout out on JW Survey :-)
Thanks for your perspective MrFair !
I have a friend who works in the bethel in NY and I directly asked her if Wt was having financial difficulties. All though she had no hard hard facts or numbers she was able to confirm to me that these rumours were floating around bethel. Another interesting comment she made was that due to the huge assets in real estate would probably see them out. Looks like her words have proved true. I think the fact she even knew about it and could confirm that rumours were circulating right at the heart of the organisation is telling.
I am utterly nauseated by this accounting of the JW money-grubbing deceit. My family is permanently demolished, in large part, by this religion.
There is no punishment equal to the harm they cause to real people and the selfish motivations they ascribe.
Operating Shortfall is business parlance for “DANGER, DANGER!” You cannot keep operating at a loss. It will take you under very quickly and I’m sure that the bean-counters even in JW-land can’t figure that out.
Now what I’m wondering, unless a miracle happens, the GB must know when the ship will sink to the ‘point of no return’. Do the GB and other ‘heavies’ in Bethel have an escape plan prepared for themselves?!? Are they starting to stash money in offshore accounts, are they converting real estate into precious metals or diamonds so that they can jet off like some displaced dictators?
There must be a cut off line somewhere in the hierarchy and there will be some disgruntled underlings who are not included in the escape pod. (When Dr. Evil was getting away he closed the door on No. 2. “There are 2 seats in there!” Dr. Evil replies, “I like to put my feet up.”)
This may get interesting!
Arg! I meant to say that the bean-counters CAN figure that out, not can’t.
I wish we could correct out posts.
As a side note, huge props to Cedars for stifling the automatic gag reflex from listening to these…episodes. Two minutes was my limit.
Lett is consistent with the usual JW style of half truths.
I guess they are following a different Jesus. When I read the Bible I cannot see a Jesus so concerned about building huge real estate. Lett selects unrelated scriptures to support their old distorted truth. We must worship God in spirit and truth, God does not need all those buildings, they are merely used to brainwash people. And please Lett do not judge other religions saying that they all coerce or that they are all false form of worship. Respect other as you want respect for yourself, Charlatan!
That is so true. Jesus never did a building work, did he?
After reading this excellent article and trying to put myself through listening to such a dramatized video I came to several conclusions.
1) The WTBS has now joined the electric church format of asking for money and I would bet my life on it that it is going to increase as time goes on.
2) This supposed Anointed leader is a poor B actor who knows himself how much he is lying in order to get what he wants.
3) If a fellow member views this video they really either have to be so deluded into believing this rant of lies or their insides are really starting to boil over wondering what has truly happened to their organization and how they have been really moving backwards these days.
4) With their new spiffy broadcast room and videos and revolving world they are no different then any other evangelical church airing on TV.
5) Someone please get me a Alka-Seltzer after viewing these videos. This DUDE is really scary to watch.
P.S Can someone bring in the real Clowns to Cheer me up now. lol
I wonder why he decided (or was told) not to wear his famous pinky ring this time.
http://lh3.ggpht.com/lcpJZmXj6tKUI1keJXGy-agkRFiN9DX5u7_VGdl6e1M06IiBL6BEMI10mImxGLEiXDxR9E14vuTbRL2o2Gkcxzek=s580
I can already imagine the stories we’ll start hearing soon about how “even poor brother Lett had to sell his pinky ring because of our bad finances”… Like I said somewhere else, I wonder if Samuel Herd will get rid of his flashy Rolex-lnvicta watch next time he’s in charge of the broadcasting!
Just curious…. Was it a Rolex or Invicta? Invitas are less than $100…
Whether it was a Rolex or an Invicta, their own publications and explanations regarding 1 John 2:16 condemned his exhibition (w83 11/15 p. 17-18 §12).
Actually, I think it does matter. I wouldn’t want to falsely accuse someone of being pretentiousness and also if it wasn’t a Rolex, there’s a huge difference in price…
It’s just better PR management .It looks to stupid to ask about money and have one extra gold “pinky” ring on your hand :-) these “poor bros” are learning as they go…like rest of us :-)
2 Corinthians 8:14 is not talking about giving to extend the real estate of an organization is talking about the richer to help the starving, the poorer persons.
If Lett interprets the scripture differently it means that he is either a retarded or he lies to lie deliberately.
Oh boy! First, does Lett really know how stupid he looks when giving a speech?! He acts like he’s reading a “verwie scarwie storwie” to a bunch of kindergarteners. I wonder if he talks to his wife or people on the street like that?
Next, this is the start of the death-throws of a failing organization. When the begging starts, it won’t end until the last penny is extracted from the masses and used up. The GB has really painted themselves into a corner this time. They have limited the income potential of their “flock” by asking for “Pioneer” time and placing damnation on higher education. They have set up a socialistic style of support organization in NY as pointed out by MrFair, that is only going to get more and more expensive to maintain. The GB dolts can’t do math, because their too busy rewriting the bible and rewriting their history. Or maybe they didn’t get out of remedial math in school because they shunned higher education. Well, I digress… I wish I could say this is going to get entertaining to watch, but the unfortunate underlings in the ‘greater crowd’ are the ones that will get it in the end.
Wasn’t it Jesus that saw the Pharisees were sheering the flock and loading them up with rules and regulations? These GB leaders are a real piece of work!!! How can they live in their skin!!!
RE: “If the Governing Body is spending more money than they are receiving from the kindness and generosity of Witnesses, who are already hard-pressed as a result of the insane and immoral prohibition on higher education…”
The Governing Body has no problem with those seeking higher education and the increased income that it provides. Wealthy doctors, lawyers and business executives are always welcome, provided they obtained their college degrees prior to coming into the “truth.”
On the other hand, those who are born into the organization are shamed into quitting school as soon as possible and encouraged to endure life with marginal job skills and low income.
Wow,just house~flipping huh? Premo N.Y. Property to outside of town…you know I remember back in the day,one of the “upper crust ” visited the hall with special slides…they were of travels& photos of new headquarters at different locations,well there was a lot of fine~looking dining & drinking,pretty swell looking accomidations. I thought boy that doesn’t look like the way the pioneers travel or stay!
What happens when seven undereducated Jehovah’s Witnesses get handed a corporation that manages hundreds of millions of dollars of funds and assets? Ta-da! They go bankrupt! That’s what happens when your fiscal policy is based on Matthew 6:25-33!
I am so glad that I am out the outside looking in now from a different perspective than a year ago. A year ago I would listened to this talk and felt so guilty about not giving enough and would have felt that I would have to up my donation to the Society every month. Now I see it for what it really is, which is a money making scam to increase their real estate portfolio and nothing else.
Lett as much as admitted that their little “scheme” to try and trick the followers into thinking that their loans were paid off but then the rest of the letter that the elders were not to read to the congregations were to trick them keep paying off those “paid off” loans forever backfired and instead of tricking the followers into giving more money and forever, made the rank and file think that they were rolling in dough instead. Rich!!! That brings a smile to my face.
One of the elders asked me when they came to visit what would happen if the Society went under and I know what would happen. The Watchtower would be the richest organization on the face of the earth with all that it owns and got with all free gullible labor thinking they were saving the world but in reality just making the Society rich. They are all a bunch of Bernie Madoff’s in sheep’s clothing.
The Governing Body can’t give an hour long talk without lie after lie. Even that little scene where a brother was asked to work on Sunday mornings didn’t make an ounce of sense. The brother was worried how he was going to support his family if he lost his job and he could have gone to another Sunday meeting at night in a different Kingdom Hall and they said he kept looking for work and looking for work and nothing happened (obviously he was working on Sunday mornings) because of his limited schooling and then he got unemployment insurance and while he was still looking for work, he pioneered with that time off.
First off, if you are getting unemployment insurance, either you were laid off (employer didn’t have work for him anymore) or he had to prove he was fired unfairly. If you quit a job, you can’t get unemployment insurance so if he got “fired” for not showing up for work, he wouldn’t have gotten unemployment insurance and wasn’t sacrificing anything and and if he “quit” then he wasn’t “sacrificing” anything and wouldn’t have gotten unemployment insurance so long story short, he got laid off. So, with the money he was collecting to support his family while he was laid off, he was instead using that money to go in service. It costs money to go in service and you don’t get that much for unemployment insurance. How did his family survive? Did his wife work? They leave out so much out of those stupid little scenarios that it has to be scraping the bottom of the barrel to come up with examples of people giving of their “valuable” things. What they were really trying to say is that no matter how poor or no matter how desperate your situation is, you should go in service and give whatever money you have to the organization, even if it means your family goes without necessary provisions.
When the Israelites were in the wilderness, they were to give of their gold and silver and jewels and donate their sheep and cattle to the sanctuary for the maintenance of Aaron and his sons serving at the tent of meeting. Most of the stuff they “donated” was burnt up as sacrifices to God. They also “donated” 2 sheep every day and a bull. These people were supposedly unpaid slaves who left Egypt. Does anybody ever wonder how these people walked out of Egypt with all those animals and gold and silver and jewels if all they were was unpaid slave labor to the Egyptians and how did they provide for all those animals when they were in the desert? Did all those animals also eat manna? That is one of the examples Stephen Lett was talking about when it came to donating was what the Israelites provided to the temple sanctuary while they were in the wilderness. Do they even read their Bibles????
Hey you know what would have helped their financial crises? Not being idiots when it came to child predators. That would have negated a lot of lawsuits they are currently dealing with and WILL continue to deal with. But hey, what do I know.
The GB did not even let the faithful sheep know that donations are being used to pay off lawsuits for child sexual abuse cases. S Lett is the G B member that said the victims are liars and apostates with an agenda. I hate watching these wolfs in sheep covering. Each month is getting harder and harder to watch them, but I have to keep up to date until I am completely out. I keep hope my comments will wake somebody up. God I hate Jw.Org.
I agree with you Yvonne. Wolves in Sheep’s clothing they are. I have a sneaking suspicion they aren’t as bad off as they claim. With the recent lawsuits they are probably finding ways to hide money so as to keep from having to pay out. We already know with the lawyers they have at their disposal,they are professionals at twisting the law to suit their aims. I somehow imagine a “special volunteer committee” was organized to help them empty old coffee cans so they could stuff wads of cash in them, and then they hide the cans of cash in a vault in the shape of a pyramid somewhere just to keep the “secular authorities” away from it. Nothing would surprise me.
With a ratio of 900 support people to 300 production people; I wonder what all those supporting people are doing?? So many people needed to answer the phone and letters, do the laundry and the bathrooms etc??
It’s a total government style bureaucracy. You have people working in shoe repair, sewing, hairdressers, barbers, receptionist, landscapers, painters, cleaning, housekeeping, transportation drivers, farmers, cooks, waiters, laundry, dry cleaning, carpenters, water treatment plant workers and the list of laborers continues. The offices are bloated with people that handle: rooming, menu planning, picking finishes,
organizing labor, assigning morning worship and
watchtower comments, personnel, judicial matters,
gathering contributions from the bethel contribution boxes, keeping inventory on old literature and the bethel libraries and on and on. It’s a black hole – workers require more workers.
Wowser. They have downsized the number of branch offices; I guess they will have to start downsizing on people and all these various utilities too? Also, they are sooo proud of their many languages stuff is translated to, it seems hard to imagine they will allow this number to decrease. But it could be their downfall.
I would describe their current situation in a word: unsustainable. Cuts are coming and they will have to scale back contrary to what Lett said in his propaganda talk. Hopefully so many cuts will be made that they will disappear up their own black hole.
What was that C.T. Russell said about when the Org has to start begging for money? That they would lose God’s favor and should just disband? Yeah, I thought so.
Interesting is that although the number of branches has decreased, the number of bethelites has increased; between 5 and 10% per year even. E.g. a two-thousand increase in the 2013 to 2014 report (22,719 to 24,711). If every person costs the Society approx. $20,000 then this alone is $500 million per year! In many countries the costs of living will be lower, so maybe this figure is a bit high, but half this is still quite a lot.
BTW: the autocue reading this time is exceptionally bad! Almost stopping half-sentence sometimes. Shameful!
It was better when the governing body remained somewhat mysterious – walking the halls of convention centers like celebrities as witnesses aligned themselves for the opportunity to shake their hands. They are NOT ready for their close-up. They all come across as self-righteous, condescending, and evil old men. I haven’t been associated with the congregation for over six years, but my family is still there. It hurts that they are choosing this over a close relationship with me, and it boggles my mind that they can accept this drivel as “truth.” Since regularly visiting this site, I have hoped for their own spiritual enlightenment to foster, but my dad still sends me day texts and my mom recent issues of the Watchtower and Awake… something tells me, even if the organization is to fall due to poor economic handling, they will turn it around and say that Satan’s world is trying to snuff out true worship… and it will fortify some of them even more. There is nothing attractive about self delusion.
Much love man, I know what you mean.
I know my dad’s a smart man, he’s an elder reading this tripe. How the hell can he not see through this ruse?
I wonder how long they are going to be able to look at us and continue to act as if we don’t know this BS is over. Do they really think they’re rolling us at this point, are they really fooled themselves?
It drives me crazy trying to understand this. LOL
My wife and I watched the tv.jw.org episode and are still confused about the so called half truths and double speech. You can see Lett is a liar. Making 1 bilion real estate profit and still it’s not enough. It hurts seeing this and knowing our 5 generation JW family will turn in their grave. We are fading for 5 years now and in this time the believe went unrecognizable. We hope the rank-and-file JW’s will have a wake up call now. I’m still shocked! What a liars.
And the donation song is an absolute shock! Have they become crazy?!? Creditcard donation inserted. It’s propaganda. It’s a sect. We were part of it. And I have to say, from younger years something deep inside told me it was all wrong.
@Sardec . Good comment about Charles taze Russell ‘ when the Watchtower has to ask for money it should STOP PUBLICATION ‘ This statement has been Quoted numerous times over the years !
WELL STEPHEN LETTS me Old Chum … The Game is up!! This Latest Governing Body Lecture was Disgustingly CRINGEWORTHY!!
Jesus Christ had NOWHERE to LAY his HEAD & the Apostle Paul ( original Governing Body)was a TENTMAKER SO AS NOT To be a BURDEN on the Brothers !!!
MY ADVICE STEPHEN ‘me old buddy’ is GET A FLIPPING REAL JOB & Stop SPONGING off Little Children & Old Ladies!!! &Pay Taxes like the rest of us .& In the Video they mentioned all the SCHOOLS at Patterson & Elsewhere!! .. Well Jesus condemned the Scribes & Pharisees for these Schools !! The Bible was Enough & the first century Christians met in houses NOT FANCY POSH BUILDINGS with Expensive TV & COMPUTER SCREENS!!
@Queen Elsa, I agree with you. However, if you have the opportunity, take a look at the reference mentioned above (w83 11/15). As for the differences in prices, I’m so aware that I myself mentioned both possibilities in my initial post.
I haven’t read the article and have no desire to do because I can already hear the words…let me guess… We don’t want to appear materialistic, even though we may have the money… Something to that effect, ball park range?
Sort of. It basically says in paragraph 12 that you don’t need to wear the real thing and that even cheap things may be acquired to make a “showy display”.
Hi fellas,
I am not going to comment on Lett’s rebarbative “faceworks” & repulsive body lang any longer, this horse has so been beaten to death, it’s getting boooring (let his eyebrows slip out of his face entirely), and it’s not really the most important thing, but the actual CONTENT of his verbal effusions is.
As to him asking for donations: Here speaks a bigheaded cocky, conceited, pompous, self-important and vain man who…
… does not hold a salaried position himself;
… hasn’t held one for several decades, or a VERY LONG time by now;
… hence, is living on the back of his generous bro’s and sis’s in absolute luxury and extravagance (I know, for I have “served” at various WTS-branches myself, and I do know first hand what’s going on as regards “privileges” for the “higher ranks” with lots of seniority);
… who is blowing those bro’s and sis’s donations for marbled Bethel entrance halls, stuccoed dining halls, teak wood paneled offices, oak desks, park-like gardens (paradises) around their top-shelf palaces;
… those bro’s and sis’s cranking out the “voluntary donations” are constantly being told not to pursue higher edu, nor a professional career, bec. this is “materialistic and selfish”;
… so they have to be content with whatever low-paying, low-life job they can get;
… and yet, they are “invited” to “donate freely”; rather, the “PRIVILEGE” to donate” (so much as to redefining notions) is “graciously being extended” to them, and they should wallow in dust out of sheer thankfulness for being blessed with such an inestimable “privilege” like emptying their pockets for WTS and its governing central committee’s members’ lavish life style.
All of this is so unreal, it’s not funny anymore. Truly, this is not the “old” WTS any more (which never was quite lovable, to say the least). Knorr, or the drinking, big-paunched Judge, were hard, harsh, unpleasant, dislikable, ossified, extremely power-craving individuals to whom only one law – their own – mattered and who had no qualms to ruin anyone who dared to stand in their path. The “scholarly” Freddy Franz was tremendously self-opinionated ; his personal views and speculations (“No new anointed after 1935”; 1975 etc.) became creeds binding upon every “faithful” JW (“If you don’t believe that HM is coming in 1975 you are not a JW!”). Still, looking back, I can’t help but agree that to some extent, I somehow “like” the “old” WTS better than those ham actors of the present. This is not going to continue well for them for too long now – “something” is bound to happen.
IMHO
Criticus
@Criticus . Your Comments are quite Brilliantly put& you are right this IS NOT FUNNY Anymore. Good hearted genuine brothers& sisters are being DUPED & CONNED out of their TIME& hard earned MONEY!! It is Sickening . The LIES Stephen Lett told in this latest GB Lecture is Blatant. I think If you are going to ask for DONATIONS of MILLIONS of DOLLARS we all Deserve some PROPER ACCOUNTING FIGURES to see WHERE are the BILLIONS going . Just a SIMPLE ‘INCOMINGS & OUTGOINGS’ Expenditure for a start . Then Let us all have a PROPER VOTE how our Donations are Spent without feeling we are viewed as APOSTATE if we vote against!! Obviously the GB have badly handled our money that is why they are begging for money!!
Just to say STANLEY HALLS where the AGM is held every year is DISGUSTING in its OPPULENCE & so is the NEW GB HEADQUARTERS at WARWICK which will be finished in 2017 & now we have the 5 year MASTERPLANs for Increased a Kingdom Hall Building & Maintenance plus all the support staff & RTO buildings at 1 to 2 Million dollars each Plus 6000 Bethel workers & Circuit overseers,Missionaries,Special Pioneers, Cleaners, cooks, ancillary workers etc & THEN The GB TELL us to get a part time job & pioneer which means we have LESS FUNDS to DONATE?? The GB are FINANCIAL MORONS!! The ORGANISATION Cannot be Sustained ESPECIALLY the COST of RUNNING a TV STATION & JW.ORG. On top of all this other financial commitment. ADD to all this The Paedophilia LAWSUITS the GB are facing with MILLIONS bring LOST in COURT CASES & LAWYERS FEES!! Any SIMPLE ECONOMICS STUDENT could see this is FINANCIAL ARMAGEDDON for the GB!! UTTER ECONOMIC MADNESS!!they Deserve to suffer as they have made millions suffer with their stupid prophecies!!
There throats are cut, be patient and wait for them to bleed out.
If there was an all powerful God backing this mob, they wouldn’t need
to put the bite on people, known to be in a very low income bracket
due to constant pressure not to put down a stake in this, ” soon to end
system”.
In proof, I’ve done what they are expert at, and farmed a couple of
unrelated scriptures from the book they use to dupe and COERCE
people. with.
In Deut, 15:6 , The Israelite God JHVH promised, “You will lend to
many nations, but will borrow from none”. It’s apparent that pledge is not
carried over to Lett and his associates.
Leaping forward now to John, 14:13, Jesus the son of JHVH. said,
“WHATEVER you ask in my name, that I will do”. With such an
unequivocal statement as that there’s no need to beg from the poor.
If J and J are with them, all they have to do is pray for money.
I think their support is drying up because it’s becoming evident that they
are not God’s org, and that while proclaiming the imminent end of this
world, they are planning for a long term future in “This System”.
As seen in the planned fabulous new head quarters with a recreation
facility that includes a ball court, and Olympic size swimming pool.
Dig deep brothers, at lest you know where your money’s going.
I am actually quite shocked that an admission of imperfection has been made by the powers that be within this organization.
By stating that they are facing a financial shortfall – they are in effect admitting that they failing and that things are not perfect at Bethel –
In my opinion this is a pivotal moment in the history of the witness religion. I remember assembly after assembly hearing about how great everything was at Bethel and how Jehovah was directing this organization and that this organization was God’s channel to bring the true religion to mankind and that it was perfect and could not be questioned.
I think that there are now going to be a plethora of questions.
Not sure how they can say with a straight face (all weird face gestures by Lett aside) that Jehovah is directing an organization that cannot balance their income and expense ledger.
In my opinion God is far removed from this religion.
There have been NUMEROUS COMMENTS about the SUBTLE ??? GESTURES & FACIAL TWITCHES of Stephen LETTS !! I would be TWITCHY if DEEP DOWN me old mate STEVE Knows the GAME is Up my Son !! He Is One DESPERATE TV EVANGELIST BEGGING for MONEY & He can see his OPPULENT & LUXURIOUS Lifestyle coming to an end. He EVEN Took off his PINKY RING for this Video . !! I think when you are BEGGING for Money you CANNOT be FLASHING Too Much JEWELLERY Around!!
@rob . I think you are right . This is a PIVOTAL MOMENT since 1879 when this religion was started. Reminds me of BETH SARIM & Rutherfords 10 room mansion & his property on Staten Island & flat at Bethel& 2 Expensive Cadillac s . His Excellent Lawyer OLIN ZmOYLE Resigned & WON the Lawsuit against Rutherford stating the OBSCENITY of the POVERTY of the Bethel Workers in Contrast with the President of the Watchtower!! JESUS or Paul or any Apostle would NOT HAVE BEHAVED LIKE THIS!! OBSCENE!!!
I think the internet is having a tremendous impact on the org, and they probably view sites to get feed back, notice how Lett made the point that the no one is getting rich from the donations and all money is spent on WWW (lies) I think that donations could be way down and their scam of monthly pledges is not working, hopefully this is because many JW are waking up.
The elders get to see all the letter from the GB so they are in the know, surely they must realise after viewing this that Lett is lying, they would have to know about the child abuse cases and money having to be paid out, and what of that Loch running of and costing the donators millions of dollars, surely if there are any decent elders they would be waking up, but sadly most are trapped with family and the GB has this hanging over most JW.
I’m hoping there will be a mass exodus, I do know of families that are no longer going to meetings, so if the head of the family wakes up and can help the rest we can have whole families leaving this would be ideal.
Rutherfords Lawyer was OLIN MOYLE. Apologies for the Misspelling!
@Mr Fair. Enjoyed all your comments. Excellent ANALYSIS of the Downfall of the GB Very Shortly!! I give them 5 years at the most for Financial Armageddon UNLESS the REAL ARMAGEDDON comes first ???
w88 12/15 p. 21 par. 9: TV evangelizers have sheared their flocks of hundreds of millions of dollars
I notice that they have a picture of the heavens in the background when they do their talks to make them look so heavenly & authoritative like they’re speaking down from up high. It’s amusing when you wake up & see the blatant propaganda stunts that they use to suck people in.
If they do get to the point of going down in a heap of smoke, I will give one of those long claps that we used to give at the conventions when one of the important bethelites would bless us with one of his talks.
@Stephen LETTS !! My Advice to you my DEAR ANOINTED BROTHER is in the Words of Jesus Christ at Matthew 19v21 which says GO SELL YOUR BELONGINGS & GIVE TO THE POOR!!
You ,Stephen do remember?? Jesus your Role Model … I’m sure you do Stevie & how about Acts 17v24 ‘ the Lord of Heaven & Earth doesn’t dwell in hand made Temples’… & Luke 12v18 about the stupidness of building bigger Storehouses … WHO MENTIONED ‘Warwick,Walkill,& Patterson???
I found it very disturbing when he used the phrases
‘the masters resources’
and ‘Jehovah’s money’.
surely God would not approve of wasting hard earned money, [earned by low wage workers] operating an expensive unnecessary tv streaming channel a public web site, or to operate a huge facility full of volunteer workers to construct ‘temples’ to honor an organization. Or to require congregations to use important funds to buy large tv screens to stream in this unneeded repetitive nonsense . where pray tell, is the humility? the meekness, the kindness, the self respect? the satying out of the limelight? All I see is the boastful desire to make themselves known, no matter the collateral damage that will ensue. yes they stand to be seen alright, for what they are, self important blasphemers.
watching that man creeps me out, its like hes some touchy feely grandpa putting on a huge[really bad] act to come across as some nice and friendly all knowing story teller. I see this man border lining on dementia and cannot believe the organization allows him to be seen by the public as a representative of them. its outright embarrassing not only for him, but for anyone who sits and watches these videos.
i forgot to add, jehovah apparently has not ‘blessed’ them enough if they claim to be ‘needing’ more [funds] help from imperfect humans they stand in opposition to god
they ask for more than they have a right to.
Hey! I have an idea for Uncle Stevie and story time on JW.org. How about “Magic Wheat” for sale to the masses? That’ll make LOTS of $$$ for the organization.