Asking For a Friend

Resources supporting this podcast:Pew Research: https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2016/10/11/how-income-varies-among-u-s-religious-groups/Religion Watch: https://www.religionwatch.com/jehovahs-witnesses-educational-and-professional-deficit/Educational Attainment by sex and religion in the United States: https://paa2019.populationassociation.org/uploads/190745Jehovahs Witnesses and Higher Education: https://jw.support/blog/2019/12/02/jehovahs-witnesses-and-higher-education/To contact us please email: askingforafriendquestions@outlook.com We will respect your anonymity.Music: 'You're Not Who You Say You Are' by Ancient Modesto, Written by Simon Endeacott, Produced by Ian David c Four Monkeys Records

References: 'The Four Presidents of the Watchtower' by Edmond C Gruss. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Presidents-Watch-Society-Jehovahs-Witnesses/dp/1594671311Photo of Christmas celebration at Brooklyn Bethel: https://www.reddit.com/r/exjw/comments/zu71me/the_last_time_christmas_was_celebrated_at/Evidence of Nazi Flags at Rutherford's Berlin convention: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdJEvw9pdAcTo contact us please email: askingforafriendquestions@outlook.com We will respect your anonymity.Music: 'You're Not Who You Say You Are' by Ancient Modesto, Written by Simon Endeacott, Produced by Ian David c Four Monkeys Records

An entertaining discussion about the carts compared to the perils of olden day field service, the role of the sisters and their legendary cleaning and catering skills, and then Adam gives us a detailed run down of what the Thursday meeting used to be like before the format radically changed into its current iteration.To contact us please email: askingforafriendquestions@outlook.com We will respect your anonymity.Music: 'You're Not Who You Say You Are' by Ancient Modesto, Written by Simon Endeacott, Produced by Ian David c Four Monkeys Records

Books used to research this episode:The Four Presidents of the Watchtower Society by Edmund Gruss https://www.amazon.co.uk/Presidents-Watch-Society-Jehovahs-Witnesses/dp/1594671311Webpages used in this episode:https://loc.getarchive.net/media/the-evening-prayerhttps://jwdivorces.bravehost.com/russell.htmlhttps://archive.org/details/1880ZionsWatchTowerTo contact us please email: askingforafriendquestions@outlook.com We will respect your anonymity.Music: 'You're Not Who You Say You Are' by Ancient Modesto, Written by Simon Endeacott, Produced by Ian David c Four Monkeys Records

Links to the articles and emails mentioned in the show are as follows:https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2001/oct/08/religion.worldhttps://www.theguardian.com/uk/2001/oct/15/religion.unitednationshttps://www.jwfacts.com/watchtower/united-nations-association.phpPlease contact us on askingforafriendquestions@outlook.com We will respect your anonymity.Music: 'You're Not Who You Say You Are' by Ancient Modesto, Written by Simon Endeacott, Produced by Ian David c Four Monkeys Records

Adam looks at why the elders arrangement has been changed recently to allow men as young as 21 to become elders in congregations of Jehovah's Witnesses.Stephanie discusses why the book study meeting held in peoples home was removed and the team speculate as to the reasons behind the change.Louise discusses the court case that preceded the literature changing from having a fixed price printed on the covers, to being offered to householders for 'free', albeit it with strong encouragement to make a donation.Please contact us on askingforafriendquestions@outlook.com We will respect your anonymity.Music: 'You're Not Who You Say You Are' by Ancient Modesto, Written by Simon Endeacott, Produced by Ian David c Four Monkeys Records 

Please contact us on askingforafriendquestions@outlook.com We will respect your anonymity.Music: 'You're Not Who You Say You Are' by Ancient Modesto, Written by Simon Endeacott, Produced by Ian David c Four Monkeys Records

The Irish Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse 2000: https://childabusecommission.ie/The Australian Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse 2012: https://www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/Interview with Governing Body member, Geoffrey Jackson: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erWV8YnTFtoInformation video about how to make an application for redress for Child Sexual abuse while in the Jehovah's Witnesses in Australia: https://saysorry.org/2024/02/19/jehovahs-witnesses-and-the-australian-national-redress-scheme/New Zealand Inquiry into Abuse in Care: https://www.abuseincare.org.nz/reports/whanaketia/preliminaries/recommendationsScottish Child Abuse Inquiry: https://www.childabuseinquiry.scot/England and Wales Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA): https://www.iicsa.org.uk/UK Government proposals following IICSA: https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/next-steps-to-tackle-child-sexual-exploitationIrish Scoping Inquiry into Historical Sexual Abuse in Schools run by Religious Orders: https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/42b7e-education-scoping-inquiry/#survivor-engagementMusic: 'You're Not Who You Say You Are' by Ancient Modesto, Written by Simon Endeacott, Produced by Ian David c Four Monkeys Records 

Please contact us on askingforafriendquestions@outlook.com We will respect  your anonymity.The links Lara referred to in the podcast are as follows: I was a Jehovah's Witness Forced Child Labourer facebook support group https://www.facebook.com/groups/901752817995187/The Say Sorry website https://saysorry.org/The Decult Conference New Zealand https://decult.net/The film 'Recovering from Religion with Music' by Banana Island Films https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJoOrhh6MSYUK House of Lords Inquiry into Modern Slavery https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/700/modern-slavery-act-2015-committee/news/203272/uks-response-to-modern-slavery-has-not-kept-up-with-the-advances-of-other-nations/The Lived Experience Human Trafficking Foundation https://www.humantraffickingfoundation.org/leapThe Survivors Alliance on Modern Slavery https://www.survivoralliance.org/anti-slavery-infoUK Anti Slavery Commissioner https://www.antislaverycommissioner.co.uk/Australian Anti Slavery Commissioner https://www.antislaverycommissioner.gov.au/contact-usAustralian Anti Slavery Hotline https://antislavery.org.au/free-legal-services/UN Special Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Slavery https://www.ohchr.org/en/special-procedures/sr-slaveryMusic: 'You're Not Who You Say You Are' by Ancient Modesto, Written by Simon Endeacott, Produced by Ian David c Four Monkeys Records  

Adam and Louise discuss the figures in the 2024 Yearbook and what the trends show. There are some very interesting facts about the numbers of kingdom halls reducing, and the numbers pioneers in some countries, and how effective they are. Adam highlights how much of the worlds population lives in countries where Jehovah's Witnesses are banned and how this counters the narrative that every person will have a chance to convert before Armageddon.Adam has a little gem of information from the latest letter to congregations, that might have a huge implication for a future discussion around child labour, Child Labour laws and modern slavery as defined by the Modern Slavery Act 2015.We reference Paul Grundy's website, https://jwfacts.com/ and also https://avoidjw.org/ where you can get past issues of the Yearbook that are no longer available on the official JW website.To contact us please email: askingforafriendquestions@outlook.com We will respect  your anonymity.Music: 'You're Not Who You Say You Are' by Ancient Modesto, Written by Simon Endeacott, Produced by Ian David c Four Monkeys Records 

 Louise and Adam discuss how difficult navigating Christmas is when you are questioning, leaving or have just left Jehovah's Witnesses. They have some suggestions for navigating the guilt and awkwardness, picking and choosing the bits you like or doing something completely different. Adam reviews the history of Christmas within the Jehovah's Witnesses and how the doctrine has changed over time. We also find out what Adam did with his Advent Cheese.Adam discusses a recent Letter to Congregations regarding defibrillators.You can contact us at: askingforafriendquestions@outlook.com Your anonymity will be respected. We would love to hear any questions, comments or personal stories.Here is a link to the Elders Textbook Adam discusses in the show: https://avoidjw.org/manuals/elders-textbooks/Music: 'You're Not Who You Say You Are' by Ancient Modesto, Written by Simon Endeacott, Produced by Ian David c Four Monkeys Records

You can contact us at: askingforafriendquestions@outlook.com Your anonymity will be respected. We would love to hear any questions, comments or personal stories.This week we referenced Paul Grundy's website www.jwfacts.com and www.avoidjw.org. We also recommended the book 'Crisis of Conscience' by Raymond Franz which can be purchased on Amazon https://www.amazon.co.uk/Crisis-Conscience-struggle-between-religion/dp/0999499211Music: 'You're Not Who You Say You Are' by Ancient Modesto, Written by Simon Endeacott, Produced by Ian David c Four Monkeys Records

Music: You're Not Who You Say You Are by Ancient Modesto. Written by Simon Endeacott. Produced by Ian David. c Four Monkeys Records. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kS2guNacFtoTestimony of Geoffrey Jackson, member of the Governing Body, to the Australian Royal Commission on Child Sexual Abuse: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eu6X1YU6YYIAuastralian Royal Commission, Case Study 29 Jehovah's Witnesses: https://www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/case-studies/case-study-29-jehovahs-witnesses