It’s the time of year when Jehovah’s Witnesses worldwide look forward with eager anticipation to Watchtower’s Annual Meeting.
Usually hosted at the Jersey City Assembly Hall (or “Stanley Theater”), over recent years the Governing Body has increasingly used the event to showcase new releases, or announce new organizational developments or understandings of scripture.
The 2015 Annual Meeting, to be held next Saturday, October 3rd, will be no different. But this time, thanks to an anonymous contact within the organization, JWsurvey has exclusive details of what will be announced.
A letter to be read to all congregations dated October 4, 2015 (the day after the Annual Meeting) outlines a number of intriguing changes that, in different ways, highlight the new direction in which the organization is moving.
Gone is the much-loved Theocratic Ministry School, to be replaced by a 15-minute session for demonstrating preaching presentations. And, perhaps more tellingly, printing of the public Watchtower and Awake! magazines is being further scaled back as the organization continues to downsize.
[Update: 09/29/2015 – Letter removed –
For more information, please click here ]
As mentioned, the scaling down of magazine printing is perhaps the most telling of these changes. In July 2013, I wrote about how the magazine reductions for that year represented a 39% reduction in printing since 2005. That figure is now up to a staggering 57% reduction in monthly magazine printing, even after factoring in increased circulation figures for the Watchtower and Awake!.
If you want to check my math for yourself, please do…
Jehovah’s Witnesses trying to digest this news would do well to ponder the question: “If we are so deep in the last days, and more urgently in need of spiritual food than ever before in earth’s history, why is spiritual food in our magazines being reduced? Why would Jehovah give us MORE spiritual food 10 years ago, when there was supposedly more time to elapse before Armageddon, than now?”
The reduction in printed “spiritual food” will be especially noticeable to anyone who collects bound volumes of the organization’s magazines. As the following graph shows, the equivalent of only 9 months’ worth of pages out of the original 24 months (12 months for each magazine) will be printed from 2016 onwards…
The announcement about the updated “Organized” book also offers a glimpse at the direction Watchtower is being forced to move in as its woes deepen. Publishers have been told to ponder carefully whether they really need a printed copy of the book rather than viewing it online.
It really wouldn’t surprise me if, within the next few years, we reach a stage where printing operations are cancelled altogether and ALL material for preaching and meeting preparation is to be accessed online, with greater use of tablets or publishers printing out their own leaflets advertising JW.org.
The scrapping of the Theocratic Ministry School will similarly come as a shock and disappointment to many thinking Witnesses. As I mention in the video that accompanies this article (see below), if there was one nugget of goodness in my experience as a Jehovah’s Witness, it was in the training I received as a public speaker in the Theocratic Ministry School.
Not that the Theocratic Ministry School compensated me in any way for the many years I wasted being taught lies, but at least it gave me skills that were transferable for when I left the organization. Now, even that small personal benefit has been excised by the Governing Body, who are seemingly only interested in their followers learning how to be distributors of their propaganda rather than competent individuals who can express themselves effectively.
But any sadness and nostalgia I may feel for seeing the religion I grew up in bled of all useful cultural elements is quickly replaced by joy, for two reasons.
Firstly, I have the privilege of witnessing a harmful cult entering its death throes, forced by this wondrous new age of information to downsize and implement counter-productive measures in its floundering attempts to stay afloat.
And just as significantly, I am witnessing a Governing Body that, already unable to claim control over ALL of its 8 million members (many of whom stay inside through fear rather than choice), cannot even stop leaks from the bethelites it sits down for breakfast with.
Change is happening before our very eyes, and THAT is worth celebrating.
Update: for those of you who might be wondering whether this leak is genuine, the following images have emerged on a pro-Watchtower website (jw-archive.org) related to the new “Teach Us” book. The title differs from that mentioned in the letter (“What Can the Bible Teach Us”). Also, the letter advises that the cover will be only “slightly altered” from that of the Bible Teach book, so it could be that these are only early mock-ups before changes were made to the title and appearance. We shall see.
Further reading…
- More downsizing on the way? Multiple sources report bethel letter warning of further cuts
- Is Watchtower imploding? 10 reasons why the end could be nigh
- JWsurvey articles on organizational downsizing
Related video…
They did two things wrong which are sounding their death knell: 1. printing voluminous materials when all they needed was the Bible, 2. trying to so strictly control members and every facet of their lives.
They are changing the former: downsizing on materials, which will save on costs.
Now, imagine if the Gov Body relented and told members they were free to socialize with family members who have left. Imagine the family reunions; imagine the joy. If they turned around and stopped all the legalistic, controlling nonsense, what a joyous new day it would be. Other religions allow for this and they have survived.
The Damage is Evident:
They have left a damning paper trail so are also trying to cover themselves by reducing what is printed; their bad fruitage (shunning, unmerciful policies, risky medical dictates) has caught up with them in an upwardly mobile and vocal world. The old silencing tactics are no longer working and they are being exposed for their dangerous, psychologically abusive practices.
It would not be possible to have a change of thought on shunning.
Too many have been obedient on this issue too long.
They would lose too many that way.
There may well be reunions but there would also be a massive amount of resentment due to time that has been lost and years wasted.
“The sky that came in out of the cold”
I love this cloak and dagger stuff with insiders in Bethel helping us out. I hope there are trench coats, brief cases, collars turned up and slow burning cigarettes under the street lamp while waiting for a contact.
I hereby name the secret agent “Rapunzel” because they are a mystery, yet beautiful to us but locked up high in a Tower. If there are more than one Bethel agent they can take on the name Gandalf as he was locked in the tower by Saruman and Galileo as he was under house arrest by the church.
CANT WAIT to meet these individuals on the inside when this cult collapses.
Ugh.. Spell correct.. It should have said..
The SPY that came in….
I like Felipe’s point about dropping the word Kingdom from
the K,Min, and replacing it with “Our Christian Life & Ministry”
Indicating a swing to mainstream religion.
That word kingdom is imprinted on the JW mind as strongly
as the name Jehovah ( strangely not Jesus the model for the
Christian life.) It seems now, the Kingdom ( or rather its absence )
has become like some embarrassing episode in your life, that
you prefer to forget.
Is it too fantastic to conjecture that they could make a complete
transition to mainstream, and assign the great crowd a heavenly
destination, albeit in a lesser position than the 144,000.
Wasn’t that Russell’s original view? Eph. 4:4-6 would support
that.
And of course it would convey the idea that you’ve got keep on
for life, and not expect some imminent new world.
The Mormons do very well out of that dogma. And the org, has
already adopted their method of eliciting funds directly from
the sheep ,or should that read fleecing. Time will answer.
@Ted I like the points you made about the Great Crowd maybe going to heaven Like RUSSELL taught & only changed in 1935 by Rutherford!! WELL it Was STRANGE a Few weeks ago in Watchtower Study the Word ‘PARADISE ‘ was Discussed & the GREEK meaning & it was Admitted it CAN Refer to ….. ‘HEAVEN!!!!’ As in Revelation ch. 2v7 ! There are only 3 Mentions of PARADISE in Greek Scriptures the other 2 at Luke 23v43 and 2Cor 12v4 . So YOU Could be RIGHT Ted !! I Think I am going to PROMOTE you TED to the 8th Governing Body Member as you have Great Insight!
FANCY the JOB?? COMES with FREE LUXURY ACCOMMODATION by the Lake ; FREE New CAR & Maintenance; Free Food & Cooks & Cleaners; Free ROLEX Watches & Pinky Rings!!!
The translation of this page in french
http://www.jehovahforum.org/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=1012
thanks
I’m so excited, and I just can’t hide it,
I’m about to loose control and I think I like it :)
Ding dong Watchtowers gone….
They have dug their own grave now.
I haven’t been on the school in years. The same old faces always did the talks and others who didn’t fit in were never given slips. Two years of not even being asked to be a householder. I can’t afford an ipad so rely on the old fashioned way. Bummer when it comes to the new songs lol. I just get to stand there and look stupid while everyone is singing… oh dear, how sad, never mind.
E-haa. Not sure if ehaa is a world wide exclamation of joy or jus an Aussie thing… Hopefully the beginning of the end for them and not us…
The video I filmed earlier to accompany this article is now up on YouTube! :)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3xa71kfh-A
Outstanding job on the video Lloyd!
The last bit where you address the governing body to their faces was the best segment of video I have ever seen you do. The GB must have felt they were looking down the barrel of a gun.
Bravo!!!
Excellent :) but your message to the Governing Borg. was priceless. Wow I had goosebumps. BTW you have very pretty eyes… lol
What a powerful video, Lloyd. Found it very encouraging. Financial crisis is writ large and clear over this Organisation now.
Thanks again for your inspirational activism.
I wonder how long before they rename the KINGDOM halls to Christian-Dom-Hall’s?
Without the TMS, they will have less gender inequality complaints levied against them. So that’s a plus. The reduction of printing is a wise move economically, though the entire point of the WTS was printing, so over all, idk if that is a good sign.
It seems the WTS is running things like a business, which seems reasonable if there wasn’t this pesky notion they are God’s spirit direction organization, rather than CEO Jehovah’s fortune 500 company.
Then what else could we expect. They are a corporation after all and are certainly behaving as one. I’m afraid it’s all about money.
More evidence that they are facing drops in demand and in Steve Letts words “they have done the math, and the outgoings are greater than the incoming funds” – so expect to see even greater reductions in printed matter.
This is quite telling.
The next moves are redundancies at branch offices.
Interesting times, and we may be seeing a major exodus soon.
I thought they already did away with the Congregation Book Study about 8 years ago, and turned it into some sort of “family night” study. This changed the same year of my exit so I may have it wrong. Can anyone clarify for me? And if so, does this mean no more family night study as well as no more Ministry School?
I know what you mean, Cedars, about the benefits of the TMS. I had a love/hate relationship with it, and am oddly sad to see it go. It was such a big part of my childhood–giving a “talk” was one of the few times I received praise from my parents, which could quickly be offset by being too wiggly after sitting for two hours. LOL
Here’s a question: Could it be possible that a another reason for this big change, in addition to cash flow troubles, is the sex abuse scandal? I mean, they’ve got to be scared witless over the fallout from this, don’t they? I know the WTBTS likes to keep people hooked with new stuff. A major change might keep would-be doubters exited, and thus distracted from said scandal, anticipating a new chapter in the count down to armageddon. What say you?
Ren
To answer your question… The book study arrangement went away in 2009 just a month after I left. It was no longer in private homes and it was no longer one hour. It was reduced in time and held at the hall.
The new changes are all a part of an organization that is a sinking ship and they are throwing everything overboard that they can think of to keep it afloat… Branches, District Overseers, Bethelites, 75% of the magazine compared to 2004, selling Brooklyn etc etc.
Yes… They will always spin it and try to make it look like an improvement….look for words like “stream lining” ,”simplification”, “Gods chariot on the move” etc. change keeps peoe in their seats. If a restaurant never changes the menu they lose customers..
I’m not religious but I can’t help thinking about that scripture in Revelation where they talk about “her waters are drying up” in application to Babylon the great. It fits the Watchtower society however perfectly right now.
Thanks for the clarification, Garrett. I hope she is drying up. I miss my daughter and grandchildren terribly. I was hoping that this ongoing sex abuse issue would bring them to their senses. But now the GB has made these changes, and I know all too well how they will be received–with a sense of privilege to belong to such a progressive *cough, cough* organization.
Ren, The Congregation Book Study is included in the same Meeting Night as the theocratic ministry school. The book study is conducted before the theocratic ministry school.
Garrett,
Enjoyed your spy narrative re, intrigue and sinister goings on
at Bethel. Maybe more truth in it than we imagine. It was like
reading Grahame Greene, Ian Fleming and John le carre all
rolled into one. Good fun though. Thanks.
@Ted John Le Carre novels .,, I was a very big fan & I like the role of Double Agents!! That’s why I stay Inside the Organisation going to meetings & on Field Service … SOWING SEEDS of DOUBT where possible to those willing to listen , BUT it is a DANGEROUS GAME as My Wife makes MY STRANGE COMMENTS in the Watchtower.,, I am playing THEOCRATIC WARFARE in Reverse!! Quite Fascinating & Amusing at Times!! I have been BLANKED & COLD SHOULDERED as more are getting SUSPICIOUS but a Quite easy to Quell it by occasionally saying ‘Isn’t the GB SOooooo Wonderful with ALL? This NEW LIGHT we are getting!!
I remember last week the TMS elder approach and said he would like me to do talks again. Watching I was like naaahhhh there wouldn’t be A School anymore.
I remember when they scrapped the book study many had questions and especially for the elderly ones it was a kick in the heart they loved the association and cups of tea and cake after the group, it was a sad day and I knew of a few that left after this.
Just maybe ones will start to wake up and realise that the GB are like CEO of a business org rather than a so called FDS of a Christian org.
The depersonalization angle is intriguing. I think it points to a near concession that they’ve lost control of the flock to the internet and are prepared to see a lot of turnover. The fact that they’re using strategies perfected by corporations in regards to technology should speak volumes. This is not how a religion tends to the flock or saves souls; this is how they reduce overhead and rebrand. It’s hard to see how they’ll effectively be able to tie this to theology or faith of any kind.
Not complaining.
I agree Paul – as in in most big corporations:
– Top down communication style – suggestions not considered or entertained.
– The politicians ‘float’ to the top while the average employee is not regarded as a valued member or stakeholder.
– Keep it lean – overheads are not good for profit unless they are charitable and you can get a tax credit for them.
– The average worker is a faceless expendable number expected to deliver and report on the 8 hours daily.
– Your boss got where he/she is based on connections, family, A type personality or just being there long enough to know how the game works.
– You are fired if you don’t tow the company line or question authority.
– Never promoted if you question the rules or if the company is your not your only reason for living.
– Ex employees and CEOs take the blame for anything bad and the executive take the credit for anything good.
No room for love here – after all it is business!
Excellent points, kaput, and even more significant as we see the organisation becoming more corporate in its expressions.
Wow, This website is awesome. Check this out. When I responded to Ren’s question I didn’t see anybody else online. I checked back five minutes later and I saw several answers. I think we were answering at the same time. I love that. That is so awesome.
The TMS served me well, good training for latter life, & as i have seen the training it provides for younger men who are reaching out is no longer available, so how do they get trained anyway, the old format was out of date anyway, as i have said before they are trying to attract new young ones, because us older ones are all becoming a bit sinacle as time goes on & nothing is happening, & yes financially they are struggling.
Bethelites to do their own laundry and cook their own meals, was that correct?
If so wonder if the GB will do the same, or at least get their wives to do it.
Another great video about the reduction in Cult output to the Congregations. I’m wondering if the New Ministry Literature will form a series of collected Part-Works over the Year that Witnesses will use as a Ministry Education Series that goes above & beyond what the Watchtower issues as changes in Doctrine? No doubt the Governing Body realises that following the Australian Commission they have about 2.5 years to bring about changes to its administration policies and will have to discuss amongst themselves how to release any changes as New Light from Je-Hovah(the Lord of All their Mischief over the years) !
Hi guys funniest thing just happened. My dad, who’s an elder, just came out sayin if we get emails bout this leaked stuff don’t read it. I sent it to my cousin nd now he believes JWs are about to crumble. Keep up the good work Lloyd. My assembly is this Saturday I’ll give details to what I hear guys. This JW nightmare may be over soon.
“The scrapping of the Theocratic Ministry School will similarly come as a shock and disappointment to many thinking Witnesses. As I mention in the video that accompanies this article (see below), if there was one nugget of goodness in my experience as a Jehovah’s Witness, it was in the training I received as a public speaker in the Theocratic Ministry School.”—
Ceders I agree . I did not like the Theo school , but doing away with it is a poor design . I hated it as young boy , but now as a middle aged man I think it’s the only way JWs got some education . Now the elements of calling the new meetings “Christian” makes me wonder are they Finnaly emphasized Jesus Christ ?
Guys look at this text my dad sent.
Good evening friends. Sorry for disturbing you friends. However, there’s an email or text that’s being spread that is not from the branch. Please inform your groups not to open or even read this information. IT’S NOT FROM SOCIETY! Please do not be curious to this information. Thanks and please let me know that you received my text.
The really interesting TMS nights were when the usual TMS overseer wasn’t there and an elder would stand in who could scarcely get a “G” himself on any of the points he was judging people on, like pernownce-ee-ashin.
I love the “breaking news” feel of this post. It’s exciting that there is an increasing number of Bethelites willing to contribute to the enlightenment of those searching for the real truth about the Org.
Thanks again Lloyd, for this vital site, today’s posts and your excellent video. On top of that, you get a “G” for pitch, pace and “marjulashin”.
I think we may have had the same stand-in TMS overseer!
I think the GB may be trying to crackdown on free thought even more so. Reduce any critical thinking what-so-ever and just have them looking at pictures and reciting singsong. They want a bunch of robots that are easy to control. I don’t know if I can ever imagine them going “mainstream.”
The reduction in printing IS telling. I think they are hemoraging financially, more than they let on.
1600 bethelites told ”cut backs”, f off youre going warwick. Chemsford england shutdown till futher notice. One mag a month? Oh how im enjoying this. Ha ha ha!
GOD pays debts without money,i can only hope this evil cult is going down the toilet qwicker than i thought.
Wauw! No end to JW changes. Thanks again for the news Lloyd.
In the letter it does mention 3 student assignments though. But definitely great changes. A bookstudy at the END of the meeting!
I thought with the last days being iminent ( i was told at 16 that i would not see 18, i’m now 44) that the preaching work would be increased and publications would be churnen out by the boat load, but no, cut back on printing and don’t give members the chance to gain confidence by public speaking. Well done.
I was told I would never leave school…Im now 57!
I refused scholarships because I wouldn’t have time to use the knowledge…I was 17, now I’m 62
My parents and I were told that I would never finish school!
(Ok, they were right about that one, but not for the reasons that they thought)
dear Cedars the best yet! thankyou for giving the GB some valid truth , some well needed advice and a gentle warning. Reguardless of our current religious views you are doing Great work,truly and this site has great value to all who read it andwho contribute. Thanks once again.ruthlee. Note to 1914 hahaha. perfectly put God pays debts without money this org is money mad and this debt they owe to the rank and file jw society is long overdue. They no longer build with fire resistant materials rather shoddy ones now.The snakes in suits might be shiny still but the message is getting threadbare. rl.
The M.S, was one of the less boring meetings, the faux pas
and mannerisms of different bros, often provided occasions
of mirth. One brother informed us in his talk, that Jehovah
at Armageddon could use “Cosmetic Ray’s ” to destroy the
wicked, and that the bible was not full of “Leg-Ends”
Another very nervous bro, used to get tongue tied, and we’d
get such expressions as,”Watchtower Tribal & Bact society,”
or “John Bed Zedebee”, the Bulgarians became “Gulbarians”
Yet another bro, was so short sighted, he would hold the Bible
about 2 inches from his face, and when he got to the name
Jehovah, he would emphasise every syllable, Je-ho-vah,
You couldn’t see his face, all you could see was his right hand
stabbing the air with his fore finger, in unison with the added
stress he placed on each syllable.
Lovely people, brave souls, fighting their anxieties, nerves
and disabilities, to serve God . Cruel shame about the religion.
I’m afraid the meetings will be even drearier without the M,S.
Funny I remember the TMS when it was brought in by Knorr, that it was to increase our skill in the house to house ministry, I guess that’s not needed anymore, I’ve felt for a long time that the door to door ministry is really more about reinforcing solidarity than spreading the good news,after all you don’t need training to tell the bro or sis working with you how nice it will be to have a pet panda,so of course the TMS is no longer needed lol
I wonder about this dumping of the TMSCHOOL, as there is usually always some legal thing behind what the WT does, could it be because its a school and kids have parts, maybe I am being overly suspicious.
@Kat . I Think YOU COULD be SO RIGHT!!
I will give my JW father a call with this news tonight!!
Than! When he hears the actual annoncemant next week, I wonder if he will think that I am the FAITHFUL AND DISCREET SLAVE!! lol!!
Brilliant, Mc fan! Tell him you saw it in a dream!
Blinking ‘eck, this is wonderful! I’ve been having the feeling lately that the org will gradually diminish to an innocuous little bible group of little consequence and very few members, and my goodness they’re really helping it along aren’t they. Lovely jubbly! *Big grin*
Thanks for the hard work Cedar.
Informing people is the only tool we have to let people know that the JW love as long as you follow them blindly. Even if it goes against basic logic.
It is emotionally draining following their crazy mentality and cult like behaviour so I appreciate your efforts.
Lloyd, that was brilliant, especially in the light of the recent Watchtower magazine on ‘Who are Jehovah’s Witnesses?’. By the way I loved your expression “nougat of goodness”. I think you meant “nugget”. The later means “rough lump or mass” whereas the former is “sweetmeat of almonds in a sugar and honey paste”. On second thought perhaps you are right all along.
lol, I fixed that mistake yesterday and still got picked up on it! ;)
I think the reason for dropping the TMS and replacing it with demo session is to avoid taking responsibility for any children enrolled.
In many places as soon as you have anything called a “school” where children are enrolled a whole bunch of legal requirements come into play re child safety etc.
I ‘m almost positive that this is what these adjustments and name change is really about.
@ pearlsB4swine. I THINK you SO SO CORRECT in your Analysis of the situation regarding the word ‘SCHOOL ‘ & the Child Abuse Cases!!
— TO CEDAR — Can you please tell me why you deny me to post any comment anywhere on your site? What did I do?
Obviously you are not prevented from posting, unless I’ve blocked you under a different IP, in which case how would I know who you are and what the reasons were?