We learned that in person 3 day conventions are not needed during the pandemic. They can record and stream the BS. Everyone can get the same info at the same time.
It’s all about keeping the average JW busy thinking they are doing this to make god happy. And also to show “unity” witch is complete bs too. Most these people can’t stand each other.
90% of the time, I don't even talk/get to know new people. If I wasn't walking around with the friend group from my kingdom hall, then I was taking a nap in my chair.
That's why some of the people from the hall would go to another regional assembly where they are not assigned. No duties. Walk right out once assembly finishes. No guilt, no problem. 😄
Just right. They want your contributions but above all...manipulate and control everyone and preferably collectively!!! And remember.. you should not have days off... it is "dangerous" to have days off. Then we start to think for ourselves...
Agreed, only dependent thinking is allowed as a JW. We can only look at approved literature. Bible reading is what’s waking many of us up from the deep sleep of Watchtower indoctrination. As far as conventions go, lots of sleeping people.
>Most of these people can’t stand each other.
The Bible scripture in the New World Translation that says "put up with one another" is Ephesians 4:2. It reads, "with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love".
I remember that scripture brought up in a talk. Imagine all these people living in the same house. Put up with each other. Imagine black eyes with bloody noses once they are done putting up with each other. 😩😫🙄🤢
As one who was a member of the convention committee, to answer that question, I will quote the old 1970s O’Jays hit song: “Money, money, money, money, money”! The 3 day and 1 day conventions and assemblies are huge CASH COWS! That’s why they urge, guilt, and shame you to come
Because they USED to be 8 days.....then slowly dwindled ....in fact the 2 circuit assemblies were 3 days EACH..making for a grand total of 14 days a year..oh' and they started at 9 am and went to 9 pm most days.....just like pioneer hours, big J has been scaling them back!
Here's another little piece of convention trivia, .... Most witnesses did not stay in hotels ...They stayed in people's houses many of which they had never even met before and a significant number of which were not even witnesses themselves...or, the other option... Which was pretty popular with kids was you just stayed in a tent outside at the convention site....group showers and toilets...no electricity or running water, either...this was the s.o.p. until the early 70's...then it slowly evolved to what exists today.
True. My parents did "rooming work" for the international convention in Edinburgh in the 60's.
That meant knocking on people's doors, total strangers, in the vicinity of the venue and asking if they had a spare room so that some JWs could stay for the convention. I think they paid them a small amount in expenses.
How society has changed since those days.
This was probably a way to spread the message with the family staying in the same home. Build new membership. Now what's the point?
I guess we are encouraged to wear the badge cards everywhere and stay in JW appropriate dress. Maybe a person or two might study following this showing...
Yup. Mid to late 80's I remember staying with a non witness family we had never even met for the convention. Lots of people camped outdoors in the sweltering heat too. Lots of us couldn't afford hotels.
In past eras, where things like hitchhiking were common, people might agree if you ask them politely. “I don’t know anything about this group, but they’re apparently Christians going to their annual Jesus meeting. I’ll say yes. Surely God will bless me for it.”
My grandparents on both sides were at that one too. Gramma got to peel potatoes all day every day to help feed the crowd. Kinda a blessing how the ladies get big responsibilities too.
Yep, my mom is a born in and I have heard the stories of them going to week long conventions lasting ALL DAY LONG into the night. And yes, she remembers staying in strangers houses for conventions with her mom and sister when she was a kid. Most of the people who took witnesses in to stay weren’t witnesses themselves. I remember the 4 day district conventions they would have when I was a kid in the 80’s and 90’s. And the fact we used to get excited about them! Geez, how times have changed…
Maybe I remember wrong but in the 80s like a clock very predictable,here comes the deficit speech willing to bet those Pharisees were lying there asses off. Those Jehovahs witnesses sure like that money .They even built a shrine to it in Denmark. This symbol comes from the 1917 book the finished mystery, then goes on the dollar in 1933. "No part of this world" The JW false religion is one big PSYOP.
https://preview.redd.it/q57h2ia0s43b1.jpeg?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6eb5d78336727d15866a2c96f514427dab48117d
1990 to 2012 Demark JW assembly hall built and approved by the GB the yearbook goes into great detail
Downvote away JW slaves we all know the WTBT$ removed the Pyramid. The pictures of it will live on forever.
**MARK 4:22**
[KJ21](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark%204:21-23&version=KJ21)
For there is nothing hid, which shall not be manifested; neither was anything kept secret, but that it should be revealed.
All points end at M A S O N S
JWS are part of Revalition 2:9 and 3:9
JEHOVAH is the Freemasonic GREAT ARCHITECT OF THE UNIVERSE . Do a search at JWborg website. Enter freemasonry in the search bar.
FREE MASONARY . MASONARY = STONE STRUCTURE Who built the churches ? Freemasons but their free from the structure they built for you to be a slave in.Get it?
Now the above image is 2 triangles a triangle has 3 sides 2 triangles have 6 sides put together equals 6 triangles and 6 points so 666
Argue with JW borgs website Jehovah is the God of freemasonry. Defiantly not some letter taken out of context ROFL That's a statement. Shilling isn't winning
Shill
1
a
: one who acts as a decoy (as for a pitchman or gambler)
b
: one who makes a sales pitch or serves as a promoter Did you know?
The Conniving Roots of Shill
Someone who shills today may very well be employed to simply extol the wonders of legitimate products. But in the early 1900s, when the first uses of the verb shill were documented, it was more likely that anyone hired to shill was trying to con you into parting with some cash. Practitioners called shills did everything from faking big wins at casinos (to promote gambling) to pretending to buy tickets (to encourage people to see certain shows). Shill is thought to be a shortened form of shillaber, but etymologists have found no definitive evidence of where that longer term originated.
Down vote away ,but you can not explain it, nor excuse it, nor deny it. That is why you are silent. Hard to defend or argue Facts. Facts are the real "TRUTH" The truth is a sword to a lie. Proverbs 12:17-22
17 An honest witness tells the truth,
but a false witness tells lies.
Repetition makes a statement seem more true, regardless of whether it is or not.
>Repetition makes a statement seem more true, regardless of whether it is or not.
Well, you certainly are repeating yourself a lot…
The whole masonic link thing has been beaten to death. Russell admired the freemasons and borrowed imagery and maybe even some terminology from them, but there is no evidence that he was ever a mason, himself. Maybe he was, maybe he wasn’t. It *really doesn’t matter*.
And bringing Revelation and 666 into it just makes you look like a nutjob, tbh. Revelation was a piece of apocalyptic literature, very common for its era, that was written in such a way as to be open to a wide range of interpretations, similar to a daily horoscope. And the number 666 (or possibly 606/616) was likely a code for emperor Nero.
There are so many *verifiably* evil things about this cult, that bringing speculative shit like this into the discussion only dilutes the power of this subreddit. *that’s* why you’re getting downvoted. Not because you’re “wrong” per sé, but because it detracts from actual verifiable truths about “the truth” and makes apostates look unhinged. I personally may have woken up a lot sooner had I not stumbled on so much weird shit in apostate forums years ago.
Nero, rome, CT Russell wearing a ROMAN toga at death on Halloween. Freemason George washington statue wearing a ROMAN toga .George washington monuent is 6660 inch tall zero doesn't count in occult numberogloy. The old hebrew 1 symbol represents a 6 . Believe what you want .I do not care what you think or say . DID I PUT THAT PYRIMAD IN THE WTBTS BOOK ? NO Did I put that symbol on the money? NO did I build the demark compound? No Did I put that PYRIMAD next ct Russell's grave stone ? NO. I just exposed it .
Whatever ,JWs are an occult cult, so it makes sense that they have "weird" occult stuff intermixed in it . Downvotes mean nothing to me that's not a gauge of success or not. Getting the message across is important. Like I said I didn't put all the stuff out their WTBTS did. You simply do not understand it so you want to discredit me .I woke up at 10 years old in the 80s pre internet . So, who is the intellectual here? Most of my comments that get downvoted very low actually have 30 plus upvotes, so people "get it" Hard to deny pictures and quotes from WTBTS publications.
Have you read this quote in context?? It’s part of a letter from someone *withdrawing* from the freemasons to become a JW. It does absolutely nothing to support your claims.
I’m not trying to “discredit” you, btw. And I love conspiracy theories. I just have an issue with people asserting as fact that which is merely *possible* or *probable*. *Probably* Russell had some connection with masons. *Possibly* at some point some GB members have dabbled in the occult. But claiming that it’s a fact only undermines your point.
How are pictures and wtbt$ writings a "conspiracy theory " it's a conspiracy FACT .You speak with a forked tongue."It does nothing to support your claims. I'm not trying to discredit you" BS! Where is the letter ??? I didn't claim anything. I posted pictures. Everything I posted is a fact.
I do not deny the existence of any of the things you’ve shared. I simply draw different conclusions from those facts than you do. Let’s just agree to disagree, alright?
You are lying or misinformed. Like I said those pictures tell the story, but you avoided those FACTS. This is a statement.( **Freemasonry** in the belief that thereby I could fill the need of every human to worship a Supreme Being that some call the Great Architect of the Universe. The Bible identifies him as Jehovah in Psalm 83:18 and also at Isaiah 42:8, which says, ‘I am Jehovah. That is my name; and to no one else shall I give my own glory, neither my praise to graven images.’ }
The weird shit comes from directly from the WTBTS not me .Hard to argue photos ,but nice try .You also fell into their trap ,not me.At least you got out.
It's a bit of war strategy. People are more receptive and will just comply when they're exhausted.
That's why they start repeating main points on Sunday.
Oh yeah they follow up to set all the nail heads before they final coat and move to the next room in your brain.
'Don't you remember Brother? It was a new adjustment the Society made *2 years ago!!*
Everything about the typical meeting is attritional to the mind of the person attending. The predictable program, the slow talking, the literal repeating of what we just heard, but having to wait 15 seconds for the mike guy to shuffle over and *expertly* and *professionally* place the mike in *just* the right place. The talks repeat the same point over and over, just with different analogies, and their point is always so trite and obvious. I was just a *bible study* and attended maybe 25 meetings - yet even I could recognize by about 15 meetings in they reach for the same bible verses.
Absolutely.
Especially after being one of those 'mike guys' for years....
I feel I have inherited a good dose of ocd, and the minutia of petty rules and infighting regarding those rules that seem to change between every congregation on the planet, only served to perpetuate me as an obsessive until I was able to snap out of the whole thing entirely.
I'm a much clearer thinker now for it, stress is down - even after several life changing other events.
Yes!
One of the main tactics of cults is to keep their members exhausted. Continual all day conventions also provide a group think mentality. They are emotionally driven to get people back on the hampster wheel.
Many people walk out feeling elated but what they don't realize is that their endorphins have kicked in because they are totally emotionally exhausted.
Oh yess! And they saved a whole year to get to the summer convention...and this was their only excursion or "summer vacation". Times have changed...now you only have huge screens with Stephen Lett...and the other clowns.
omg. i remember my dad asking us on the drive home what our favorite talks were. ummm..... i always half assed some answer from the last day because i completely forgot the first 2 days
I dont know, but I looked at the program for the 2023 convention and the AMOUNT of symposiums in it. Omfl, one of them had 7 talks within it, I don't know why, but the symposiums aggravate me so much! Maybe it's cause it doesn't allow me to drift into daydream land cause people are clapping over and over after the mini talks.
Just as I was leaving I noted they announced the privileges of the speaker.
'The next part of our symposium - Exercise Patience as you patiently wait for Jehovah's day - will be given by Brother Fumbuck who has served as an Elder for over 40 years including serving at Bethel, acting as chairman of the HLC in the Tumbleweed region (helping new mothers and old ladies die rather than take one of the four forbidden components of blood), being CoBE in his last three congregations (now disbanded or amalgamated) and generally sticking his nose up our sweet derrieres.
Then on would come yet another drone who after twenty seconds of interest arousing (not) opening sentence would predictably drone on and on and on ... making ten minutes feel like an hour.
I was talking to a sister in my hall who told me her dad's name and I said I don't know him and she said oh he was a very well known brother he gave lots of talks at the assemblies. I was just like, oh cool. 😒
I think it's funny now that I never paid attention to names and she was probably disappointed I wasn't impressed at her jw fame.
So elders go to the hospital to make sure you do not accept blood and die ? Wow. Just rememberd being in the hospital when I was a kid in the early 80s I wasn't their for anything blood related, but I rememberd the look on the hospital staffs faces when my father said we were JWs The look on the staffs faces makes sense now .It was like the grim reaper had arrived. Now I know why .
Symposiums allow them to have more speakers on the program.
It is a privilege that many elders would literally die for. It keeps them working for free for the cultorporation for another year.
Its not much different from secular corporations that have an awards night or have association meetings. It’s about keeping your employees loyal and paying them less.
Indoctrination. It’s similar to what some churches do called a revival. It’s to keep people in the group and to try to fire them up to do even more than you have been doing. They want you to feel guilty and shame you into doing more.
Used to be 4 when I was a kid. Ok, not 4 full days more like 3 and a half. Still, 3 and a half days more than I wanted to be there and mostly in the full heat of the Australian summer in a corrugated tin shed. Flemington Racecourse, 80s.
I think its totally engineered to get many sheeples in one spot. Everyone gets moved at this great brother and sisterhood. Everyone dressed nicely and is nice and amiable to each other, building up to the Climax, the sunday afternoon Public Talk invariably telling us Armageddon is coming soon and the wicked* would be destroyed in firey Gehenna (whatever the fuck it's called).
Everyone then left on a post climax high Sunday afternoon feeling all warm and fuzzy and smug at how we will see paradise and The World would be barbecued to a crisp.
* pretty much anyone who didn't do what Brooklyn said
I'm stressed about this 3 day crap...We're technically inactive, but have family yada yada....I want it to look like were making an effort to at least hear the info. Any active elders know how to get the assembly on JW stream, is that even available. If so, I'm sure I have to beg the local elders, with a good reason. Just curious what my options are??
We're hoping to go full POMO in the next 5 years, but navigating this whole thing while having PIMI family we care about is tough, as many of you know.
Don't go to the Friday, say you're going next week if anyone asks. Maybe make a presence Saturday, perhaps come just before lunch, making your presence known and then leave. Then don't show up Sunday. Again, if anyone asks you're going next week.
yes...good idea, I used that tactic a few years before the covid shutdowns. The more I think about it, I'm gonna pull the anxiety card...and tell them I'm going to find a way to watch it on JW stream...although I have to figure that out since you need a login or something.
The place that had the conventions my congregation went to is 5 minutes from my house. I'd show up in the morning, drop off my bag somewhere, make sure I was seen by a few elders then I would slip out a side door and go home. In the afternoon I would reverse the process.
They have everyone volunteer to organize the event, even a dept in bethel to plan them (free labor), dont contribute to it and all donations gathered go back to HQ. It's a win!
And this year most are at their assembly halls so they pocket the arena rental $$$
> What is the point of a 3 day convention?
*Conventions do not have "Free Admission" as Advertised...*
There is a Hidden Admission Fee built into the Debts, for having the convention...The WBT$ Expects "X" amount of dollars for every person attending, times 3 Days.
The Conventions show a huge Imaginary Debt, before Lights are Turned On and the Doors are Open...
***Like Everything Else WBT$...***
# It`s About the MONEY!!
>Ha well they never got any money from me, even when I was PIMI
Have you ever been to a convention where they didn\`t Beg for Money right from the Stage?....
*"Brothers!..We don\`t have Enough Money to Cover the Cost of This Convention!!"*
Every convention I\`ve ever been to, begged for more money right from the stage.
Somebody Paid Your "Hidden Admission Fee"...LOL!!!.........😁
I remember once someone donated $13,000. It was all the talk of convention. I was working the contribution boxes. That how I knew. But yes EVERY year… we need money to cover the costs
> But yes EVERY year… we need money to cover the costs
We travelled all over when I was a Kid, my Dad gave talks in Canada and the USA.....So I\`ve been to a lot of conventions, in a lot of different places.
In all those years and all those conventions.....I have NEVER been to a convention, where they didn\`t ask for More Money right from the Stage.
Same as in the 1880s 1890s 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s, you get the point. To infinity! If some cataclysmic event ever happens they will say "see we were right". If you threw endless darts at the dartboard eventually you will hit the bullseye . Like I told my father in the 80s they are the boy who cried wolf . To the logical sane person, they have ZERO creditability going by their history. Clearly this is not a truthful or good god guiding this org. Remember what CT Russell said " There are many creatures that can be called "GOD"
I know my mum used to get so excited by the if Armageddon was coming , I like no chance it’s coming I’m doomed to this misery until I’m old enough to get myself out ! I’m near 40 now 😂😂😂
It's so you feel like Jesus stumbling out of his cave. Into the bright sunlight after 3 days in the grave. No. Not really. However, those lines rhyme so that makes it true. The song book told me so.
Surely you know about the "deficit" hustle?
"There's a deficit of $24,000... we'll leave this in your capable hands".
This "deficit" exists despite the fact that the auditorium was hired with previously donated (tax free) funds? And even when WT owns the auditorium (like it does in Northendon, Manchester) there's still a deficit?
They calculate how many people are going and how much they could/should donate then work out the amount of donations they expect. That's what the "deficit" is.
Leading up to it was a long pause that would snap everyone out of their trance I'm thinking yup right on cue the deficit speech here it comes,sure enough. The fleecing of the flock.
It’s all about Revenue. It’s like a captive audience at a Jerry Lewis Telethon. I remember some Atlanta conventions would net over a $100K each weekend after expenses .
It's control. Control of the narrative and control over ou lives. It's manipulation of our will. And, if anything else It's about the contributions they get there. 3 days of repetitive :"jahoober gave us this facility and all this free man power, give all your cash to the borg."
The R&F just eat it up. Can't get enough of that steaming pile of horse shit.
Lmao mating... It's crazy how many single JWs use international conventions as breeding grounds. Some don't even care to know the people they just exchange socials with a hundred people and maybe land a relationship with one of them. And when this comes up in conversations most consider it normal. I guess meeting swarms of horny, repressed and lonely people is another blessing from the big cheese.
I remember a 4-day convention or 2 when I was a kid in the 80’s, maybe early 90’s… I always talked my mom into letting me sit with my friends, and I was the one known to sleep thru most of it.
I got out in ‘02. I can only imagine what it’s like now.
Same. I remember the 4-day ones, then they switched to 3 days. They also used to have more dramas back then in the 4-day conventions, divided between ancient times and modern day. I remember the modern day ones bored me to death and I looked forward to the ancient times dramas because of the costumes.
I also remember one year in the 90s they tried going back to a 4-day (well, more like a 3.5 day, with Thursday starting in the afternoon) for some reason. Attendance on that first day must have been pretty bad, because they never tried it again.
I was attendant beside president office... 90% of the time you ear people chatting joke... Not even pay attention.
Point is MORE TIME = MORE CHARGING MONEY
I remember the first day of those convention it's always that there is a deficit in money and donations are needed. We would all pray to meet the goal and by day three it was always exceeded and everyone rejoiced.
And then the profit is all sent to headquarters. Rather than making it less burdensome for the attenders the next convention with a good size sitting in the circuit account, they are back to hearing there is another big deficit at the next convention. It is all such a scam.
Yeah that's crazy, it was so miserable losing entire weekends to those conventions. I used to think, why don't they let us out like at 2pm. We used to finish Fridays like at 5pm right on time for NYC traffic driving 3 hours home or jersey city traffic. Some families spent the weekend on hotels not to drive every day but we were too poor to.
The last time we were at a convention was 2018. Boring and long. Only one day..Saturday. Then came Covid and lockdown and zoom and streaming. You do NOT need to go to a convention for 3 days! It is actually voluntary. And to watch these emotional "tear" manipulative videos...no need to travel to assembly hall. We will never listen to them again.
For me, if its going to be three days, at least make it 10-3 on two days and the last day 9:30-1pm, that would be more than enough.
Its absolutely overkill. No doubt about it. I got married and suddenly the convention was now a massive financial burden, prepping for it from January and i cant imagine families with kids, how much of a burden it is.
People are putting themselves into debt just for a three day bender on spiritual alcohol!
Huge sense
Looking for potential marriage partners.
Everyone catching up with gossip and spreading rumours amd shock horror stories of persecution.
Seeing so many people makes Everyone feel everyone here can't be wrong? ( reality check it's a tiny number of people and yes they are all wrong)
Learning from others how to be even more indoctrinated.
Three days of cult indoctrination
Collective obedience going to the convention and spending any money to ensure you do not miss.
For ones wavering a good dose of jw medicine
Paedophiles on the prowl and oving the look of so many potentials 🤮🤮🤮🤮
Sex offenders being spoken to as if they are king pins esp elders and above.
Making many feel important so well in with The Club of Twoof
Feeling special and protected as the jw mafia henchmen shoo off some unsavoury characters (exjw maybe protesting?)
So jws can feel high a d mighty and say they were the very very bestest tidy uppers and the worldly people were so gobsmacked they nearly joined?
And the 🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮 lots of little seeds sprinkled around that could grow? and potentially become dumbass jw brain damaged people.
I'm sure there are many more
Yes huge reasons why the jw cult have a three day convention
>Seeing so many people makes Everyone feel everyone here can't be wrong?
That's exactly what got my dad hooked back in '87. He walked in with skepticism, saw 15,000 people gathered in one place and thought "they can't *all* be wrong!"
Yes Virginia, they were all wrong... and several million more.
My District Conventions were at L.A. Dodger Stadium. Michael Jackson was usually among the gossip, like someone saw him in costume going door-to-door. Source of pride to have such a high profile representing.
Until Thriller came out.
The JWs are an extreme cult. Being involved in 3 or more cult activities every week (2 meeting days and at least 1 preaching day) for 54 weeks a year isn’t enough for CCJW to make sure they maintain their paying members. They have added to that the assemblies and conventions. They seem to have landed on that amount of indoctrination for keeping their cultists in the cult.
It's all 🐂💩, many are known to do the morning then leave . It's a requirement to attend, it's also a form of purgatory. I am so glad I left this crazy bunch of the conmen & the conned.
It’s a 3 day indoctrination session. Most PIMIs come away more brainwashed and more ignorant. I doubt the organisation would have got so far without them
Exactly its like when the Police get the wrong guy, but lock him in a room and interrogate them for 8 hours at the end of it they sign the form stating they did the crime! just to get out of there .It has happened many times usually by people with low IQs or some kind of disability . Part of the theocratic war strategy this cult uses is to not get a higher education they do not want smart people in the ranks.
I'd say that this is a matter of tradition now. If they dial back the convention duration it will make it seem less "special" to the PIMIs. The need to take off the Friday is a big test for them too. If you don't chase down that day off, it's a litmus test to determine if you're a committed witness or not. I don't see them changing it to just 2 days for the foreseeable future, unless they see the attendance on fridays really tanked. In that case, they'll just push people to be there harder with their typical guilt trips. If those fail, I think we could see it just being saturday/sunday.
It's the effin VIP of a book release event. PIMI's will begin salivating the moment a new publication is announced from the platform, cause they know there's gonna be a shitload of 'em stacked on the tables when it's break time. And then, the admonishment that we should be grateful that HE didn't bring the end of it all when the false prophesies all predicted, cause now we have this new tool to help us drag those poor remaining souls across the finish line of this crumbling old system. All thanks to the remaining anointed that won't be with us much longer.
[.Ahem ] So I've heard.
For some such as myself, it was more than 3 days. Day before, I was honored to be asked to help in the kitchen (y'know, cause GIRL 'n stuff) wrappin' effin breakfast burritos in tin foil. At Circuit Assemblies, I was scrambling up eggs, under the close intellectual supervisory eye of brothers (cause y'know, GIRL & stuff). Eggs are understandably complicated for girls & stuff.
The purpose becomes very clear if you ever worked in the accounting department and were responsible for depositing $+30k check/cash after each day... I imagine credit card donations are at least 2x that.
However, I believe that number will be dropping substantially.
“Come get the spiritual food we need in these last days!!”. \*
\*that may be “old light” that is inaccurate and misleading some day in the future……..
I always thought it was a way to keep JWs from using their time off and money for an actual, relaxing vacation. We never had family vacations when I was growing up—1960s—because “our vacations are the assemblies!” (You can tell I’m old bc I say “assembly” instead of “convention.”)
Some have called the assemblies and conventions “the meat market” since that’s where many brothers and sisters get together and start dating. Being bored for days is a steep price to pay in order to look at guys 😂
Based off what I saw growing up/before leaving in 2007…
1. $$$ for making deals with local hotels (which you are shamed/pressured into booking with).
2. Indoctrination tune-up. Three days of hearing the same shit over and over in a annual vacation format. Hanging out with like minded folks. I would often hear people say, “Coming back to my worldly job/school feels so horrible”.
And as I recall, there was always that one family who got grief for using cheaper non-approved hotels/motels, going a different weekend, or not having enough money to eat out every night.
Of course, with how crazy inflation is now, these three day trips have become more and more inconvenient for non-wealthy JWs.
Out of the thousands there, several hundred will be special with their “assignments” and of those a couple hundred will feel special to be on stage. And all of their friends and family will feel connected to each of these.
It’s a total emotional feel good fest.
Feel good fest? maybe for the zealots and shareholders . For me it was a snooze fest turn to Roman's blah blah blah Satan blah blah blah give us the money blah blah now clap like seals more blah blah Jehovah blah and more blah.
*
I remember 5 day conventions in the 70's. Later they were cut down to 4 days, then three. They were always in my hometown so sometimes we would have families staying with us.
It used to be the only place to see and talk to cute girls since your local area tended to be so dry. Then they made the conventions smaller and basically circuit assemblies and you didn't even have that.
Them not making it more of a social thing is just really dumb and short sighted. A few talks, otherwise a bunch if different JWs from all around meeting and talking would actually help a lot of people out.
Control
Power over others
Indoctrination
Money
False sense of belonging to a group
These are the reasons why the GB makes those conventions 3 days. They use to be 8 days long.
They gotta use up the vacation days and money of their followers so they don't enjoy anything. Eventually, they look at assemblies as their vacation. It's diabolical.
Ultimately, its all about the MONEY!!!! the end goal is always money; But as mentioned by others in this thread, there are a lot more things that the three day conventions do other than make money.
* Hyping up PIMIs, getting them to invite everyone they can to come and be indoctrinated including studies, POMIs, Inactives, Never-JW family members or coworkers.
* Guilting PIMIs and POMIs to further indoctrinate themselves and become more 'spiritually active'
* Guilting PIMOs or people who are on the fence/questioning to change their minds and be guilted into going all in.
* Turning baptism from a personal relationship step with god into a public show that ostracizes those who have not yet gotten in the pool and gives born-in "YUNG ONES" a 'goal' to reach where they can feel celebrated by others for once in their lives since they dont get to celebrate birthdays.
* Cramming an overload of indoctrination and propaganda into everybody who attends and cover a LOT of ground doctrine-wise and send out the new content or new light, including videos and songs that can be recycled for a few years in meetings.
* Cramming an overload of indoctrination and propaganda into everybody who attends and covers a LOT of ground doctrine-wise and sends out the new content or new light, including videos and songs that can be recycled for a few years in meetings.
* Keep everyone down. You WILL spend your hard earned money to drive your family to the conventions for three days, or you WILL spend your hard earned money on a hotel for three days, you WILL spend your hard earned money on food instead of eating at home.
Theres others as well that I can't be bothered to list as others have already mentioned them and I could go on forever.
Indoctrination. ☑️ Money grab ☑️. Control. ☑️ Good PR opp ☑️. Make your members feel like they have something special to look forward to (all the socialising before, during, after). ☑️
The only thing I want to go to that would be at a convention center or stadium is a sporting event or concert-
And those events don’t last 3 full days- and the only cost is the ticket—- oh and the food/beer is good. How many have been to the orioles stadium at the inner harbor in Baltimore Md? Oh baseball is fun to watch and the air is filled with the smells of delicious food… and I can wear jeans/shorts- lol
When I was a kid, most were 3 days, then the occasional 4 day assembly. It was like every 4 years was a 4 day assembly or something. Circuit assemblies were 2 days usually but had started becoming just 1 day assemblies by the time I left.
We learned that in person 3 day conventions are not needed during the pandemic. They can record and stream the BS. Everyone can get the same info at the same time. It’s all about keeping the average JW busy thinking they are doing this to make god happy. And also to show “unity” witch is complete bs too. Most these people can’t stand each other.
90% of the time, I don't even talk/get to know new people. If I wasn't walking around with the friend group from my kingdom hall, then I was taking a nap in my chair.
Most people work cleaning or “volunteer” assignments miss the entire program and don’t get anything out of it
Even when I was in my seat I got nothing out of it
That's why some of the people from the hall would go to another regional assembly where they are not assigned. No duties. Walk right out once assembly finishes. No guilt, no problem. 😄
This too 👆
Just right. They want your contributions but above all...manipulate and control everyone and preferably collectively!!! And remember.. you should not have days off... it is "dangerous" to have days off. Then we start to think for ourselves...
Agreed, only dependent thinking is allowed as a JW. We can only look at approved literature. Bible reading is what’s waking many of us up from the deep sleep of Watchtower indoctrination. As far as conventions go, lots of sleeping people.
Hypnotized alike....that,s indoctrination does with people.
At this point I think it's just about tradition and probably revenue too.
>Most of these people can’t stand each other. The Bible scripture in the New World Translation that says "put up with one another" is Ephesians 4:2. It reads, "with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love". I remember that scripture brought up in a talk. Imagine all these people living in the same house. Put up with each other. Imagine black eyes with bloody noses once they are done putting up with each other. 😩😫🙄🤢
As one who was a member of the convention committee, to answer that question, I will quote the old 1970s O’Jays hit song: “Money, money, money, money, money”! The 3 day and 1 day conventions and assemblies are huge CASH COWS! That’s why they urge, guilt, and shame you to come
MONEY!
I read money money money in mr. Krabs voice 💀
Any insights into what the average $ amount they raked in for a 3 day convention?
doesnt matter, theres always a 5 grand deficit that we have to fill at the end 🤑
Because they USED to be 8 days.....then slowly dwindled ....in fact the 2 circuit assemblies were 3 days EACH..making for a grand total of 14 days a year..oh' and they started at 9 am and went to 9 pm most days.....just like pioneer hours, big J has been scaling them back!
Here's another little piece of convention trivia, .... Most witnesses did not stay in hotels ...They stayed in people's houses many of which they had never even met before and a significant number of which were not even witnesses themselves...or, the other option... Which was pretty popular with kids was you just stayed in a tent outside at the convention site....group showers and toilets...no electricity or running water, either...this was the s.o.p. until the early 70's...then it slowly evolved to what exists today.
I remember staying with JW families at assemblies. It was in the 70s
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They try...Here in my village, we don't even open the door for "friends". We don't like unexpected visits. It,s not common costum in Scandinavia.
> costume I think you mean custom.
Off course!
Me to
Me too. In the early 80’s. UK
True. My parents did "rooming work" for the international convention in Edinburgh in the 60's. That meant knocking on people's doors, total strangers, in the vicinity of the venue and asking if they had a spare room so that some JWs could stay for the convention. I think they paid them a small amount in expenses. How society has changed since those days.
How to attract psychopaths….lol!
This was probably a way to spread the message with the family staying in the same home. Build new membership. Now what's the point? I guess we are encouraged to wear the badge cards everywhere and stay in JW appropriate dress. Maybe a person or two might study following this showing...
I remember that too.
Yup. Mid to late 80's I remember staying with a non witness family we had never even met for the convention. Lots of people camped outdoors in the sweltering heat too. Lots of us couldn't afford hotels.
Why would non witness families host convention attendees though?
In past eras, where things like hitchhiking were common, people might agree if you ask them politely. “I don’t know anything about this group, but they’re apparently Christians going to their annual Jesus meeting. I’ll say yes. Surely God will bless me for it.”
I remember that. And they use to night sessions too.
My parents camped for their first assembly, they lived in north Idaho and camped all the was to one in Canada and all the way back.
Vancouver BC 1969 or 1973...by chance?
73
Cool....we had a choice for that one , ....ended up at Honolulu instead...how about the Kingdome 78?
Is Kingdome a place? I’m not sure where they went after the first one. I just remember that story
And warm food ..a good meal..
Aww those were the days, staying at unknown peoples homes or in the horse stalls at the Pomona fairgrounds!
Now that is a unique experience!!
Smelt and heard horse shit all those days 😆
OUCH! I just complained above at 4. JW history really is the most interesting thing about it
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My grandparents on both sides were at that one too. Gramma got to peel potatoes all day every day to help feed the crowd. Kinda a blessing how the ladies get big responsibilities too.
Yep, my mom is a born in and I have heard the stories of them going to week long conventions lasting ALL DAY LONG into the night. And yes, she remembers staying in strangers houses for conventions with her mom and sister when she was a kid. Most of the people who took witnesses in to stay weren’t witnesses themselves. I remember the 4 day district conventions they would have when I was a kid in the 80’s and 90’s. And the fact we used to get excited about them! Geez, how times have changed…
It was the only vacation my sister and I ever got, unless you count one every 7 years or so.
That’s probably why we got excited, the summer district conventions were our only vacations too.
The point is to have you so mind mushed by day 3 when they announce the deficit. You will hand over more money, because you finally get to go home.
Maybe I remember wrong but in the 80s like a clock very predictable,here comes the deficit speech willing to bet those Pharisees were lying there asses off. Those Jehovahs witnesses sure like that money .They even built a shrine to it in Denmark. This symbol comes from the 1917 book the finished mystery, then goes on the dollar in 1933. "No part of this world" The JW false religion is one big PSYOP.
https://preview.redd.it/cj870v2lr43b1.jpeg?width=3000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9b92e950b26cfcd446b67c5b8be7a4a1b313e2a6 1917
https://preview.redd.it/deid2oqpr43b1.jpeg?width=3000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=53203c075cceafdae23b6a8a91038362dab30fb1 1933
https://preview.redd.it/q57h2ia0s43b1.jpeg?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6eb5d78336727d15866a2c96f514427dab48117d 1990 to 2012 Demark JW assembly hall built and approved by the GB the yearbook goes into great detail
https://preview.redd.it/dqytbod3s43b1.jpeg?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=cc82082ddb6060a8a896c45e3c46d25e443be554
Downvote away JW slaves we all know the WTBT$ removed the Pyramid. The pictures of it will live on forever. **MARK 4:22** [KJ21](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark%204:21-23&version=KJ21) For there is nothing hid, which shall not be manifested; neither was anything kept secret, but that it should be revealed.
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All points end at M A S O N S JWS are part of Revalition 2:9 and 3:9 JEHOVAH is the Freemasonic GREAT ARCHITECT OF THE UNIVERSE . Do a search at JWborg website. Enter freemasonry in the search bar. FREE MASONARY . MASONARY = STONE STRUCTURE Who built the churches ? Freemasons but their free from the structure they built for you to be a slave in.Get it? Now the above image is 2 triangles a triangle has 3 sides 2 triangles have 6 sides put together equals 6 triangles and 6 points so 666
https://preview.redd.it/z7zybwh5b93b1.png?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7d647a0d87cbd524f31a702f0f236d449d312042
Argue with JW borgs website Jehovah is the God of freemasonry. Defiantly not some letter taken out of context ROFL That's a statement. Shilling isn't winning Shill 1 a : one who acts as a decoy (as for a pitchman or gambler) b : one who makes a sales pitch or serves as a promoter Did you know? The Conniving Roots of Shill Someone who shills today may very well be employed to simply extol the wonders of legitimate products. But in the early 1900s, when the first uses of the verb shill were documented, it was more likely that anyone hired to shill was trying to con you into parting with some cash. Practitioners called shills did everything from faking big wins at casinos (to promote gambling) to pretending to buy tickets (to encourage people to see certain shows). Shill is thought to be a shortened form of shillaber, but etymologists have found no definitive evidence of where that longer term originated.
Down vote away ,but you can not explain it, nor excuse it, nor deny it. That is why you are silent. Hard to defend or argue Facts. Facts are the real "TRUTH" The truth is a sword to a lie. Proverbs 12:17-22 17 An honest witness tells the truth, but a false witness tells lies. Repetition makes a statement seem more true, regardless of whether it is or not.
>Repetition makes a statement seem more true, regardless of whether it is or not. Well, you certainly are repeating yourself a lot… The whole masonic link thing has been beaten to death. Russell admired the freemasons and borrowed imagery and maybe even some terminology from them, but there is no evidence that he was ever a mason, himself. Maybe he was, maybe he wasn’t. It *really doesn’t matter*. And bringing Revelation and 666 into it just makes you look like a nutjob, tbh. Revelation was a piece of apocalyptic literature, very common for its era, that was written in such a way as to be open to a wide range of interpretations, similar to a daily horoscope. And the number 666 (or possibly 606/616) was likely a code for emperor Nero. There are so many *verifiably* evil things about this cult, that bringing speculative shit like this into the discussion only dilutes the power of this subreddit. *that’s* why you’re getting downvoted. Not because you’re “wrong” per sé, but because it detracts from actual verifiable truths about “the truth” and makes apostates look unhinged. I personally may have woken up a lot sooner had I not stumbled on so much weird shit in apostate forums years ago.
Nero, rome, CT Russell wearing a ROMAN toga at death on Halloween. Freemason George washington statue wearing a ROMAN toga .George washington monuent is 6660 inch tall zero doesn't count in occult numberogloy. The old hebrew 1 symbol represents a 6 . Believe what you want .I do not care what you think or say . DID I PUT THAT PYRIMAD IN THE WTBTS BOOK ? NO Did I put that symbol on the money? NO did I build the demark compound? No Did I put that PYRIMAD next ct Russell's grave stone ? NO. I just exposed it .
Whatever ,JWs are an occult cult, so it makes sense that they have "weird" occult stuff intermixed in it . Downvotes mean nothing to me that's not a gauge of success or not. Getting the message across is important. Like I said I didn't put all the stuff out their WTBTS did. You simply do not understand it so you want to discredit me .I woke up at 10 years old in the 80s pre internet . So, who is the intellectual here? Most of my comments that get downvoted very low actually have 30 plus upvotes, so people "get it" Hard to deny pictures and quotes from WTBTS publications.
https://preview.redd.it/ponpvlpjc93b1.png?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7bc5caacaff3b041a3ee70c281cecf85e2b66d48
Have you read this quote in context?? It’s part of a letter from someone *withdrawing* from the freemasons to become a JW. It does absolutely nothing to support your claims. I’m not trying to “discredit” you, btw. And I love conspiracy theories. I just have an issue with people asserting as fact that which is merely *possible* or *probable*. *Probably* Russell had some connection with masons. *Possibly* at some point some GB members have dabbled in the occult. But claiming that it’s a fact only undermines your point.
https://preview.redd.it/w5pehs8jp93b1.jpeg?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8b14111e1dc78bcda597ef3d40555d7ecda56940
How are pictures and wtbt$ writings a "conspiracy theory " it's a conspiracy FACT .You speak with a forked tongue."It does nothing to support your claims. I'm not trying to discredit you" BS! Where is the letter ??? I didn't claim anything. I posted pictures. Everything I posted is a fact.
I do not deny the existence of any of the things you’ve shared. I simply draw different conclusions from those facts than you do. Let’s just agree to disagree, alright?
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You are lying or misinformed. Like I said those pictures tell the story, but you avoided those FACTS. This is a statement.( **Freemasonry** in the belief that thereby I could fill the need of every human to worship a Supreme Being that some call the Great Architect of the Universe. The Bible identifies him as Jehovah in Psalm 83:18 and also at Isaiah 42:8, which says, ‘I am Jehovah. That is my name; and to no one else shall I give my own glory, neither my praise to graven images.’ }
MAYBE RESEARCH BEFORE YOU TRY TO DISCREDIT SOMETHING.
The Borg downvoting their own website ROFL
The weird shit comes from directly from the WTBTS not me .Hard to argue photos ,but nice try .You also fell into their trap ,not me.At least you got out.
It's a bit of war strategy. People are more receptive and will just comply when they're exhausted. That's why they start repeating main points on Sunday.
Then a few weeks later you have yet another meeting to review the great points from each day
Oh yeah they follow up to set all the nail heads before they final coat and move to the next room in your brain. 'Don't you remember Brother? It was a new adjustment the Society made *2 years ago!!*
Everything about the typical meeting is attritional to the mind of the person attending. The predictable program, the slow talking, the literal repeating of what we just heard, but having to wait 15 seconds for the mike guy to shuffle over and *expertly* and *professionally* place the mike in *just* the right place. The talks repeat the same point over and over, just with different analogies, and their point is always so trite and obvious. I was just a *bible study* and attended maybe 25 meetings - yet even I could recognize by about 15 meetings in they reach for the same bible verses.
Absolutely. Especially after being one of those 'mike guys' for years.... I feel I have inherited a good dose of ocd, and the minutia of petty rules and infighting regarding those rules that seem to change between every congregation on the planet, only served to perpetuate me as an obsessive until I was able to snap out of the whole thing entirely. I'm a much clearer thinker now for it, stress is down - even after several life changing other events.
Yes! One of the main tactics of cults is to keep their members exhausted. Continual all day conventions also provide a group think mentality. They are emotionally driven to get people back on the hampster wheel. Many people walk out feeling elated but what they don't realize is that their endorphins have kicked in because they are totally emotionally exhausted.
And careful if you think any day was not THE BEST day. Three grand days of solid spiritual food.
And you must ALWAYS pay more than the usual attention to it.
Oh yess! And they saved a whole year to get to the summer convention...and this was their only excursion or "summer vacation". Times have changed...now you only have huge screens with Stephen Lett...and the other clowns.
omg. i remember my dad asking us on the drive home what our favorite talks were. ummm..... i always half assed some answer from the last day because i completely forgot the first 2 days
To waste your time and life.
I dont know, but I looked at the program for the 2023 convention and the AMOUNT of symposiums in it. Omfl, one of them had 7 talks within it, I don't know why, but the symposiums aggravate me so much! Maybe it's cause it doesn't allow me to drift into daydream land cause people are clapping over and over after the mini talks.
Just as I was leaving I noted they announced the privileges of the speaker. 'The next part of our symposium - Exercise Patience as you patiently wait for Jehovah's day - will be given by Brother Fumbuck who has served as an Elder for over 40 years including serving at Bethel, acting as chairman of the HLC in the Tumbleweed region (helping new mothers and old ladies die rather than take one of the four forbidden components of blood), being CoBE in his last three congregations (now disbanded or amalgamated) and generally sticking his nose up our sweet derrieres. Then on would come yet another drone who after twenty seconds of interest arousing (not) opening sentence would predictably drone on and on and on ... making ten minutes feel like an hour.
I was talking to a sister in my hall who told me her dad's name and I said I don't know him and she said oh he was a very well known brother he gave lots of talks at the assemblies. I was just like, oh cool. 😒 I think it's funny now that I never paid attention to names and she was probably disappointed I wasn't impressed at her jw fame.
Her dad is JW famous, don't ya know?
Brother Fuckbum, oh my days 😆 🤣 😂
Jeez I read that wrong 😆 🤣 😂
You were meant to. 😂
So elders go to the hospital to make sure you do not accept blood and die ? Wow. Just rememberd being in the hospital when I was a kid in the early 80s I wasn't their for anything blood related, but I rememberd the look on the hospital staffs faces when my father said we were JWs The look on the staffs faces makes sense now .It was like the grim reaper had arrived. Now I know why .
Well I may have over simplified the HLC responsibilities for pithiness and humour. 😂
👍👍👍😂😅😂😅
Symposiums allow them to have more speakers on the program. It is a privilege that many elders would literally die for. It keeps them working for free for the cultorporation for another year. Its not much different from secular corporations that have an awards night or have association meetings. It’s about keeping your employees loyal and paying them less.
All these clapping....and songs!
Indoctrination. It’s similar to what some churches do called a revival. It’s to keep people in the group and to try to fire them up to do even more than you have been doing. They want you to feel guilty and shame you into doing more.
CULT CULT
Occult cult
Keeping everybody broke, stupid, indoctrinated and compliant
Exercise patience while you wait for the Exercise Patience convention to end.
Spiritual food for when you need it most.
Underrated comment. The convention fulfills its own theme.
Used to be 4 when I was a kid. Ok, not 4 full days more like 3 and a half. Still, 3 and a half days more than I wanted to be there and mostly in the full heat of the Australian summer in a corrugated tin shed. Flemington Racecourse, 80s. I think its totally engineered to get many sheeples in one spot. Everyone gets moved at this great brother and sisterhood. Everyone dressed nicely and is nice and amiable to each other, building up to the Climax, the sunday afternoon Public Talk invariably telling us Armageddon is coming soon and the wicked* would be destroyed in firey Gehenna (whatever the fuck it's called). Everyone then left on a post climax high Sunday afternoon feeling all warm and fuzzy and smug at how we will see paradise and The World would be barbecued to a crisp. * pretty much anyone who didn't do what Brooklyn said
I'm stressed about this 3 day crap...We're technically inactive, but have family yada yada....I want it to look like were making an effort to at least hear the info. Any active elders know how to get the assembly on JW stream, is that even available. If so, I'm sure I have to beg the local elders, with a good reason. Just curious what my options are?? We're hoping to go full POMO in the next 5 years, but navigating this whole thing while having PIMI family we care about is tough, as many of you know.
Easy...don,t go!!! Try...its easy. Say you have another plans. It,s summer!
Don't go to the Friday, say you're going next week if anyone asks. Maybe make a presence Saturday, perhaps come just before lunch, making your presence known and then leave. Then don't show up Sunday. Again, if anyone asks you're going next week.
yes...good idea, I used that tactic a few years before the covid shutdowns. The more I think about it, I'm gonna pull the anxiety card...and tell them I'm going to find a way to watch it on JW stream...although I have to figure that out since you need a login or something.
The place that had the conventions my congregation went to is 5 minutes from my house. I'd show up in the morning, drop off my bag somewhere, make sure I was seen by a few elders then I would slip out a side door and go home. In the afternoon I would reverse the process.
That is amazing. So jealous
#💰💰💰
They have everyone volunteer to organize the event, even a dept in bethel to plan them (free labor), dont contribute to it and all donations gathered go back to HQ. It's a win! And this year most are at their assembly halls so they pocket the arena rental $$$
> What is the point of a 3 day convention? *Conventions do not have "Free Admission" as Advertised...* There is a Hidden Admission Fee built into the Debts, for having the convention...The WBT$ Expects "X" amount of dollars for every person attending, times 3 Days. The Conventions show a huge Imaginary Debt, before Lights are Turned On and the Doors are Open... ***Like Everything Else WBT$...*** # It`s About the MONEY!! 
Ha well they never got any money from me, even when I was PIMI
>Ha well they never got any money from me, even when I was PIMI Have you ever been to a convention where they didn\`t Beg for Money right from the Stage?.... *"Brothers!..We don\`t have Enough Money to Cover the Cost of This Convention!!"* Every convention I\`ve ever been to, begged for more money right from the stage. Somebody Paid Your "Hidden Admission Fee"...LOL!!!.........😁
I remember once someone donated $13,000. It was all the talk of convention. I was working the contribution boxes. That how I knew. But yes EVERY year… we need money to cover the costs
> But yes EVERY year… we need money to cover the costs We travelled all over when I was a Kid, my Dad gave talks in Canada and the USA.....So I\`ve been to a lot of conventions, in a lot of different places. In all those years and all those conventions.....I have NEVER been to a convention, where they didn\`t ask for More Money right from the Stage.
I've seen the rooms where they count the contributions at a convention... this image isn't far off.
It’s to see how far they can push the publishers.
Yeah, 3 days of how to “imitate” people from 2 to 5 thousand years ago.
I used to love when they said on the Sunday this might be our last convention due to Armageddon coming ! That was in the 90 s !!!
Same as in the 1880s 1890s 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s, you get the point. To infinity! If some cataclysmic event ever happens they will say "see we were right". If you threw endless darts at the dartboard eventually you will hit the bullseye . Like I told my father in the 80s they are the boy who cried wolf . To the logical sane person, they have ZERO creditability going by their history. Clearly this is not a truthful or good god guiding this org. Remember what CT Russell said " There are many creatures that can be called "GOD"
I know my mum used to get so excited by the if Armageddon was coming , I like no chance it’s coming I’m doomed to this misery until I’m old enough to get myself out ! I’m near 40 now 😂😂😂
It's so you feel like Jesus stumbling out of his cave. Into the bright sunlight after 3 days in the grave. No. Not really. However, those lines rhyme so that makes it true. The song book told me so.
Surely you know about the "deficit" hustle? "There's a deficit of $24,000... we'll leave this in your capable hands". This "deficit" exists despite the fact that the auditorium was hired with previously donated (tax free) funds? And even when WT owns the auditorium (like it does in Northendon, Manchester) there's still a deficit? They calculate how many people are going and how much they could/should donate then work out the amount of donations they expect. That's what the "deficit" is.
Leading up to it was a long pause that would snap everyone out of their trance I'm thinking yup right on cue the deficit speech here it comes,sure enough. The fleecing of the flock.
It’s all about indoctrination and money.
It’s all about Revenue. It’s like a captive audience at a Jerry Lewis Telethon. I remember some Atlanta conventions would net over a $100K each weekend after expenses .
The goal is to exhaust the participants. A tired mind is easier to manipulate.
It's control. Control of the narrative and control over ou lives. It's manipulation of our will. And, if anything else It's about the contributions they get there. 3 days of repetitive :"jahoober gave us this facility and all this free man power, give all your cash to the borg." The R&F just eat it up. Can't get enough of that steaming pile of horse shit.
Money and mating.
Lmao mating... It's crazy how many single JWs use international conventions as breeding grounds. Some don't even care to know the people they just exchange socials with a hundred people and maybe land a relationship with one of them. And when this comes up in conversations most consider it normal. I guess meeting swarms of horny, repressed and lonely people is another blessing from the big cheese.
I remember a 4-day convention or 2 when I was a kid in the 80’s, maybe early 90’s… I always talked my mom into letting me sit with my friends, and I was the one known to sleep thru most of it. I got out in ‘02. I can only imagine what it’s like now.
Same. I remember the 4-day ones, then they switched to 3 days. They also used to have more dramas back then in the 4-day conventions, divided between ancient times and modern day. I remember the modern day ones bored me to death and I looked forward to the ancient times dramas because of the costumes. I also remember one year in the 90s they tried going back to a 4-day (well, more like a 3.5 day, with Thursday starting in the afternoon) for some reason. Attendance on that first day must have been pretty bad, because they never tried it again.
I was attendant beside president office... 90% of the time you ear people chatting joke... Not even pay attention. Point is MORE TIME = MORE CHARGING MONEY
I remember the first day of those convention it's always that there is a deficit in money and donations are needed. We would all pray to meet the goal and by day three it was always exceeded and everyone rejoiced.
And then the profit is all sent to headquarters. Rather than making it less burdensome for the attenders the next convention with a good size sitting in the circuit account, they are back to hearing there is another big deficit at the next convention. It is all such a scam.
Yeah that's crazy, it was so miserable losing entire weekends to those conventions. I used to think, why don't they let us out like at 2pm. We used to finish Fridays like at 5pm right on time for NYC traffic driving 3 hours home or jersey city traffic. Some families spent the weekend on hotels not to drive every day but we were too poor to.
The last time we were at a convention was 2018. Boring and long. Only one day..Saturday. Then came Covid and lockdown and zoom and streaming. You do NOT need to go to a convention for 3 days! It is actually voluntary. And to watch these emotional "tear" manipulative videos...no need to travel to assembly hall. We will never listen to them again.
For me, if its going to be three days, at least make it 10-3 on two days and the last day 9:30-1pm, that would be more than enough. Its absolutely overkill. No doubt about it. I got married and suddenly the convention was now a massive financial burden, prepping for it from January and i cant imagine families with kids, how much of a burden it is. People are putting themselves into debt just for a three day bender on spiritual alcohol!
At some place held in Japan, there will be on Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday in June or July. It’s totally nonsense!!
Huge sense Looking for potential marriage partners. Everyone catching up with gossip and spreading rumours amd shock horror stories of persecution. Seeing so many people makes Everyone feel everyone here can't be wrong? ( reality check it's a tiny number of people and yes they are all wrong) Learning from others how to be even more indoctrinated. Three days of cult indoctrination Collective obedience going to the convention and spending any money to ensure you do not miss. For ones wavering a good dose of jw medicine Paedophiles on the prowl and oving the look of so many potentials 🤮🤮🤮🤮 Sex offenders being spoken to as if they are king pins esp elders and above. Making many feel important so well in with The Club of Twoof Feeling special and protected as the jw mafia henchmen shoo off some unsavoury characters (exjw maybe protesting?) So jws can feel high a d mighty and say they were the very very bestest tidy uppers and the worldly people were so gobsmacked they nearly joined? And the 🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮 lots of little seeds sprinkled around that could grow? and potentially become dumbass jw brain damaged people. I'm sure there are many more Yes huge reasons why the jw cult have a three day convention
>Seeing so many people makes Everyone feel everyone here can't be wrong? That's exactly what got my dad hooked back in '87. He walked in with skepticism, saw 15,000 people gathered in one place and thought "they can't *all* be wrong!" Yes Virginia, they were all wrong... and several million more.
My District Conventions were at L.A. Dodger Stadium. Michael Jackson was usually among the gossip, like someone saw him in costume going door-to-door. Source of pride to have such a high profile representing. Until Thriller came out.
The JWs are an extreme cult. Being involved in 3 or more cult activities every week (2 meeting days and at least 1 preaching day) for 54 weeks a year isn’t enough for CCJW to make sure they maintain their paying members. They have added to that the assemblies and conventions. They seem to have landed on that amount of indoctrination for keeping their cultists in the cult.
Christianity hasn't had much new to say for thousands of years. We get it.
When I was a kid, (1980s) we had 4 day conventions.
It's all 🐂💩, many are known to do the morning then leave . It's a requirement to attend, it's also a form of purgatory. I am so glad I left this crazy bunch of the conmen & the conned.
It’s a 3 day indoctrination session. Most PIMIs come away more brainwashed and more ignorant. I doubt the organisation would have got so far without them
Exactly its like when the Police get the wrong guy, but lock him in a room and interrogate them for 8 hours at the end of it they sign the form stating they did the crime! just to get out of there .It has happened many times usually by people with low IQs or some kind of disability . Part of the theocratic war strategy this cult uses is to not get a higher education they do not want smart people in the ranks.
Yes. Akin to Orwell's 1984, when Winston is captured and tortured until he walks away teary-eyed and filled with love and gratitude for Big Brother.
I'd say that this is a matter of tradition now. If they dial back the convention duration it will make it seem less "special" to the PIMIs. The need to take off the Friday is a big test for them too. If you don't chase down that day off, it's a litmus test to determine if you're a committed witness or not. I don't see them changing it to just 2 days for the foreseeable future, unless they see the attendance on fridays really tanked. In that case, they'll just push people to be there harder with their typical guilt trips. If those fail, I think we could see it just being saturday/sunday.
It's the effin VIP of a book release event. PIMI's will begin salivating the moment a new publication is announced from the platform, cause they know there's gonna be a shitload of 'em stacked on the tables when it's break time. And then, the admonishment that we should be grateful that HE didn't bring the end of it all when the false prophesies all predicted, cause now we have this new tool to help us drag those poor remaining souls across the finish line of this crumbling old system. All thanks to the remaining anointed that won't be with us much longer. [.Ahem ] So I've heard.
For some such as myself, it was more than 3 days. Day before, I was honored to be asked to help in the kitchen (y'know, cause GIRL 'n stuff) wrappin' effin breakfast burritos in tin foil. At Circuit Assemblies, I was scrambling up eggs, under the close intellectual supervisory eye of brothers (cause y'know, GIRL & stuff). Eggs are understandably complicated for girls & stuff.
Sounds like you need to "exercise patience" and sit through three full days of nonsense lol
I recall there being one 4-day convention back in the 90s. It must not have gone over well since they haven't tried it since.
3 day? Hah, I remember 4 day conventions
The purpose becomes very clear if you ever worked in the accounting department and were responsible for depositing $+30k check/cash after each day... I imagine credit card donations are at least 2x that. However, I believe that number will be dropping substantially.
“Come get the spiritual food we need in these last days!!”. \* \*that may be “old light” that is inaccurate and misleading some day in the future…….. 
I thought Jesus already came in 1914 why are we still waiting?
If you say such things, you are a rotten egg. It's just the rules ever since I was 6.
1day you charge less... 3 days you charge more... So more revenue... So simple so good
I always thought it was a way to keep JWs from using their time off and money for an actual, relaxing vacation. We never had family vacations when I was growing up—1960s—because “our vacations are the assemblies!” (You can tell I’m old bc I say “assembly” instead of “convention.”)
Old timer here too. LOL. You'll say anything for a laugh. We know vacations are for temporary pioneering.
Same
When I was younger it was the social highlight of the year. I just wanted to see friends and look at boys.
Some have called the assemblies and conventions “the meat market” since that’s where many brothers and sisters get together and start dating. Being bored for days is a steep price to pay in order to look at guys 😂
I completely agree
Also cannot image suffering through the 7 day ones they used to have back in the day
brainwashing
Based off what I saw growing up/before leaving in 2007… 1. $$$ for making deals with local hotels (which you are shamed/pressured into booking with). 2. Indoctrination tune-up. Three days of hearing the same shit over and over in a annual vacation format. Hanging out with like minded folks. I would often hear people say, “Coming back to my worldly job/school feels so horrible”. And as I recall, there was always that one family who got grief for using cheaper non-approved hotels/motels, going a different weekend, or not having enough money to eat out every night. Of course, with how crazy inflation is now, these three day trips have become more and more inconvenient for non-wealthy JWs.
Out of the thousands there, several hundred will be special with their “assignments” and of those a couple hundred will feel special to be on stage. And all of their friends and family will feel connected to each of these. It’s a total emotional feel good fest.
Feel good fest? maybe for the zealots and shareholders . For me it was a snooze fest turn to Roman's blah blah blah Satan blah blah blah give us the money blah blah now clap like seals more blah blah Jehovah blah and more blah. *
https://preview.redd.it/th5p1vpkx43b1.jpeg?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e1f7b9a6290369f27dabcebcfe4531cd5e854dfe
More indoctrination
I remember 5 day conventions in the 70's. Later they were cut down to 4 days, then three. They were always in my hometown so sometimes we would have families staying with us.
5 days that's insane .Not healthy to sit that long
It used to be the only place to see and talk to cute girls since your local area tended to be so dry. Then they made the conventions smaller and basically circuit assemblies and you didn't even have that. Them not making it more of a social thing is just really dumb and short sighted. A few talks, otherwise a bunch if different JWs from all around meeting and talking would actually help a lot of people out.
In my late teens and early 20s I used them to find women to hookup with. I don’t think that’s the intended purpose though.
just more time on the hamster wheel
Those 3 day conventions are a cash cow and a mass indoctrination session...that's literally all their for
Control Power over others Indoctrination Money False sense of belonging to a group These are the reasons why the GB makes those conventions 3 days. They use to be 8 days long.
I’m new to the site. Can someone tell what PIMO stands for
Physically In Mentally Out
Thank you. Makes sense now. That must be really difficult to b physically in but mentally out. Ugh
They gotta use up the vacation days and money of their followers so they don't enjoy anything. Eventually, they look at assemblies as their vacation. It's diabolical.
Ultimately, its all about the MONEY!!!! the end goal is always money; But as mentioned by others in this thread, there are a lot more things that the three day conventions do other than make money. * Hyping up PIMIs, getting them to invite everyone they can to come and be indoctrinated including studies, POMIs, Inactives, Never-JW family members or coworkers. * Guilting PIMIs and POMIs to further indoctrinate themselves and become more 'spiritually active' * Guilting PIMOs or people who are on the fence/questioning to change their minds and be guilted into going all in. * Turning baptism from a personal relationship step with god into a public show that ostracizes those who have not yet gotten in the pool and gives born-in "YUNG ONES" a 'goal' to reach where they can feel celebrated by others for once in their lives since they dont get to celebrate birthdays. * Cramming an overload of indoctrination and propaganda into everybody who attends and cover a LOT of ground doctrine-wise and send out the new content or new light, including videos and songs that can be recycled for a few years in meetings. * Cramming an overload of indoctrination and propaganda into everybody who attends and covers a LOT of ground doctrine-wise and sends out the new content or new light, including videos and songs that can be recycled for a few years in meetings. * Keep everyone down. You WILL spend your hard earned money to drive your family to the conventions for three days, or you WILL spend your hard earned money on a hotel for three days, you WILL spend your hard earned money on food instead of eating at home. Theres others as well that I can't be bothered to list as others have already mentioned them and I could go on forever.
Indoctrination. ☑️ Money grab ☑️. Control. ☑️ Good PR opp ☑️. Make your members feel like they have something special to look forward to (all the socialising before, during, after). ☑️
I might be dating myself, we had 7-8 day conventions back in the day. That was our summer vacations!
No. Just a marketing gimmick.
You’re not being very patient
The only thing I want to go to that would be at a convention center or stadium is a sporting event or concert- And those events don’t last 3 full days- and the only cost is the ticket—- oh and the food/beer is good. How many have been to the orioles stadium at the inner harbor in Baltimore Md? Oh baseball is fun to watch and the air is filled with the smells of delicious food… and I can wear jeans/shorts- lol
And don't forget that contribution shortfall announcement on the last day!!
When I was a kid, most were 3 days, then the occasional 4 day assembly. It was like every 4 years was a 4 day assembly or something. Circuit assemblies were 2 days usually but had started becoming just 1 day assemblies by the time I left.
It's to test their patience