Birthdays banned in 1951?

by M.J. 44 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  M.J.

  From the 1946 yearbook, Page 207-208:

  Many of the Uruguayans act very quickly on the message. One sister came out of the Adventist church and into the truth and immediately began publishing the best way she knew how, talking to all about the Kingdom and the fraud of religion. One time while witnessing on the bus on the way to her territory she placed all the booklets she had in her bag. One publisher placed a book with a woman and, upon calling back, met the husband, who was also interested. Both took part in the study started and the man took a pencil and marked down all the texts read so that they could review them later. When he had a birthday he invited all his friends and also one of Jehovah’s witnesses with a phonograph and records and gave a good witness to them all. They are both now publishers.
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  sir82

  This may have been the first official mention of birthday prohibitions, but I have a hunch something stronger came out in the mid-60s.

  My parents were long-time JWs, my dad from the Rutherford days. Yet I have seen a photo of me at my year 1 birthday party, which would have been right smack in the middle of the mid 60s. But I never again got another birthday party.

  I'm at work and don't have my CD available, but I suspect something else was written around then.
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  Leolaia

  According to the 1975 Yearbook, Christmas was banned in 1928-1929 (two articles in each year on the subject), and after this, Mother's Day and birthdays were dropped (p. 147).

  Anyone know when Mother's Day was abandoned? I recall Rutherford railing against it in one of his books (Vindication, I think).

  Anyway, this would suggest that birthdays were banned in the 1930s at the earliest, but is imprecise as to the actual date.
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  M.J.

  strangely vague.
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  AlmostAtheist

  Does it infuriate anybody else that it is so hard to nail down when this organization did what? When has anybody worked so hard to sanitize their history?!?

  M.J.'s research seems to suggest that birthdays weren't officially booted until the 50's, but all the Watchtower references keep trying to tie it back to something earlier; the 20's or 30's.

  Trying to create an independant, factual timeline of what they believed when would be almost impossible. Not to even get into the fact that contemporaneous official literature contradicts itself, suggesting that they believe two things -- even opposite things -- at the same time. (Sodom's residents being resurrected comes to mind.)

  Dave
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  M.J.

  From the Jan 1, 1940 Watchtower, page 16:

  OCTOGENARIANS NOT ON THE RETIRED LIST
  MARYLAND: "On invitation of our daughter, Mother and I came up here for the summer. After consultation with the local servant, I went to work witnessing. Results: Day-(mostly September and October), 57; hours, 156; books, 112; booklets, 464. September 10, while here, celebrated my 80th birthday anniversary. Have six married sons and daughters, 16 grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren. Had four or five successful information marches, followed by transcription lectures at the Moose Hall."
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  Super_Becka

  When has anybody worked so hard to sanitize their history?!?

  Ever read Orwell's "1984"?? If you haven't, I highly recommend it, it's very good. It's all about an all-encompassing government system that sanitizes and rewrites its own history to keep the people under its control and prevent them from questioning the past and the government's lies. This government employs people to rewrite historical documents and destroy the truth using "Doublespeak", and there are even thought-police to prevent people from thinking independently. It even has a symbol, but instead of a watchtower picture, it's a omnipresent representation of a stern man called "Big Brother". It might be a work of fiction, but it's so much like the WTS that it scares me.

  The WTS is like Big Brother, forever changing and reorganizing things to keep its followers in line and afraid to rebel.

  The thing is, that's a fictional example - in the real world, the WTS is probably the only organization currently operating that is legal and yet completely and utter all-controlling and totalitarian when it comes to its followers.

  -Becka :)
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  blondie

  Mother's day reference

  "On the face of it the arrangement of 'Mother's Day' seems harmless and calculated to do good. But the people are in ignorance of Satan's subtle hand in the matter, and that he is back of the movement, to turn the people away from God." -- Vindication, 1931, (book 1), pages 158-59.
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  Chimene

  When did they ban smoking?
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  AlmostAtheist

  I think they went after smoking as a disfellowshipping offense in the 70's. They like to talk about the fact that they recognized the bad health effects of smoking for many years prior, but they also knocked aspirin, aluminum, and vaccinations. (They don't mention those nearly as much!)

  Dave