Fiji Bethel Scandal

Does anyone remember the scandal that rocked Fiji in appx early 1992? I have searched this site and found no reference to it. So, hoping someone here might remember the finer details and whatever happened to the guilty culprits......

My best mate was in the Australian bethel at the time, and on a trip back home to Melbourne he caught up with me and told me most of the details.  From memory the entire Fijian branch comittee was removed and df'd. They were supposed to have been smudging the books and adding in phantom publishers to make the country report card look good.  If someone could check the old year books or w/t's, I think you will find they went through a stage where they kept having record publisher peaks month after month. I remember those peaks being mentioned in the Australan k/m at the time.

At the time, (not sure if this system is still in place) third world countries like Fiji, were getting monetary grants on a per publisher basis, so by pushing up the publisher figures, more $$$ was coming into the Fijian branch.  The comittee members then went out with the excess funds and bought each other brand new luxury cars and fine clothing for them and lovely lady wives....  Local brothers in Suva were "stumbled" by the excessive luxuries that was beiing shown and started to grumble.  Things came undone on a zone visit and all got revealed.

The brother sent from Sydney to clean up the mess from a legal viewpoint  was best mates with my mate (lots of mates i know) and spilled all over a drink when he returned to Australia. A special pioneer couple I know were sent from Melbourne to serve a c/o in Fiji, I caught up with them when I went to Fiji in 97 and when I asked him about it, he said they dont talk about it anymore.  I did tour bethel in Suva and found all the bethelites to be really nice native Fijians, sincere, genuine and not having much material possesions (our tour guide was wearing a coke t-shirt and yes I have the photo!) so the buying of brand new cars would have gone down like Michael Jackson taking the emblems...

So if anyone knows more, do tell.

Mattieu.

The figures do show a 9% decrease in 1992 after strong growth.

Buying brand new luxury cars ..................... How much money were they supposed to have got? While not trying to deny something might have happened, that sounds as if it were blown out of proportions, I mean, THAT much money they cannot have received? I have by the never heard that branches get MONEY per head?

Yet another case of Jehovah cleansing his organisation!

(tongue firmly in cheek btw )

Wasn't the branch overseer running some kind of business on the side  - was that Fiji or somewhere else? I seem to remember that it had something to

do with car rentals. Didn't hear too much about i -  definitely a coverup.

yes..i clearly remember this incident...i was i think 10 or 11 then..... this was just shortly after the dedication of the new branch office.....i remember that  the 3 Branch Coordinator were removed and disfellowshipped...2 of them have been reinstated ..... the third one never got reinstated and died....  out of the two who were reinstated one is probably in NZ and the other one has recently died. i think their wives all remained in the organisation till now...though one of themhave died too...

it shocked the Fijian JWs.... but i heard that they have grown ever since.... i can see them still persistent with their preaching...and plus they have a lot of KH around in the capital city...Suva

the three men were Clare (Caucasian) Tofiga (Tuvaluan) Laucala (Fijian)

Thank you for the information KAIVITI. It's great that what could once be swept under the carpet is now on record for the whole world to see thanks to the evil Internet.

Bula Kaiviti!

And welcome to the board!

(BP from Australia)

Thanks KAIVITI.  The news from the islands is usually well 'filtered' before I get it.

Cheers

Chris

Bula BP! and Chris!

nice to see you on Board.....yeah i remeber that very well..my grandma and my mum were still alive then..they were both JWs..we use to go to the meeting and FS and also the dedicatiion of the Bethel..my mum passed away shortl after that and my grandma a year after..my dad got married again and my stepmum was kinda evil...so i had to go to and live wth my uncle who was a pastor of the Assemblies of God church....the Truth slowly drained out of me...m still lost..and confused...but somewhere deep inside my heart i still think that it is the Truth...what do you think?

somewhere deep inside my heart i still think that it is the Truth...what do you think?

Their primary claim is that they were selected by Jesus in 1919 to be Jehovah's sole channel of communication.  Considering the number of failed prophetic teachings and on/off/on/off rules and doctrines, were they really chosen? ...   were they chosen but weren't listening? .... and how can they 'prove' the 1919 date?

By their fruits you will know them .... and their fruits are failures.  Jehovah has never stopped any leaders of this church from making fools of themselves, their followers, and their god, and I am ashamed that I was associated with people that took this American doomsday church to the Islands.  When I was a kid, I used to laugh at the John Frum cult, but Dad's church's promises were just as empty.

I suggest you do some research on the JWs, Kaiviti.

Look up "Crisis of Conscience" by Ray Franz.  He was a GB member and his uncle, Fred Franz was the president of the WTS at one time. Ray Franz had some very unique insight into how the WTS operated.

I suggest you read it and then tell us if you still think it's "the truth" anymore.

By their fruits you will know them .... and their fruits are failures.  Jehovah has never stopped any leaders of this church from making fools of themselves, their followers, and their god,

Didnt the  Israelites do the same??

 For that matter which religion isnt doing it also?

 NONE!.

Welcome, KAVITI, to this site.  When we grew up in our youth, there are many things/thoughts to unravel.   Mind control can truly impact and take advantage of youth.  You need to read a lot to unravel the lies we were taught.  This site can help you in re-evaluating in why the Watchtower organization did not help you in any way.

In Fiji, 2010 Service Report had 280 baptized.  2011 had 121 baptized.  A 56.8% decrease.   Though, an increase in pubs. showed.  So, will watch for trend.

Is Fiji a "branch" of the organization yet? 

Welcome KAIVITI!

Welcome aboard KAIVITI!

Thanks for the information.

You have to love the purity of God's org.  :)

The Oracle

As an aside:  Wouldn't you just know that the very first thing to get under the WTBTS skin would have to do with THEIR MONEY?

Thanx for the comments

Gayle, i think they have a sign board at Bethel reading JEhovah's Witnesses Fiji Branch..they just extended the comlex a  few years ago i suppose...