Latest WT study article - preparation for upcoming new light? (page 4)

blondie

How young do they have to be? Already the 2 latest are in their late 40's/early 50's making them born long after 1935. Are you thinking under 40?

acadian

Hello all,

Was the 1914 generation revealed at a convention?

I don't remember when, but some time around there.

In our cong. I think the new light kinda went over people's heads, and then we realize what this new light meant, we probably wont see the new system in our life time......uuugh.

LORD... How long must we suffer...going door to door...Crap, gives us a break already...Thank you Lord, Amen...

Acadian ~~~~~~~ of the cover your bases Class ~~~~~~

I specifically recall the 1914/generation change when I was at Bethel. It was a BIG BIG buzz at the time. We all heard rumors about it 2 days before it was sent to Walkill to be printed as a Watchtower. Sure enough, they were true. I remember being in a small group of brudda's standing around the "rejects" pile of the printing presses. This was the very first time anything was officially said regarding the 1914/Generation change. At the next morning worship Bethelites were counseled about Bethel Family confidentiality and how we should not spoil the surprise for those in the congregations by telling them what was in the magazines before they were received. At Bethel we typically had a 1 month lead on magazines before the subscriptions went out. Then, 2-3 weeks after the subscriptions went out, general delivery (kingdom hall) magazines went out.

A few of us speculated how long this change was in the works, since we knew it would be later addressed at the conventions. The total lead time from an articles finish to its production in the form of a Watchtower was about 3 months. We figured they decided on the change at least 6 months prior to it's release in the Watchtower, giving enough time for research, comments, drafts and copy edits. It was no coincidence. "The Flashes of Light" study articles were carefully timed to have been studied before any New Light was even rumored.

I'm not sure of the exact timing (May I think), but I am positive the "New Light" was first made known in a Watchtower. I am almost certain too, that it was about 1 month before any of the District conventions. It is possible that someone could have had an early Convention and not received the Watchtower before attending the Convention, but that would have been timed very close.... it would have been an exception. I distinctly remember follow-up morning worship talks that reprimanded Bethelites for not keeping their traps shut and letting the new light outa the bag before the subscriptions were received. (I remember chuckling to myself..."yeah right, you think your gonna keep gossip this big quiet.... good luck)

-FW

NewYork44M

No one that I knew saw a change coming in the 1914 generation doctrine...some still haven't.

I remember having a conversation with a thoughtful sister in the mid-90s. We were talking about the fact that the time was running out for the 1914 generation. Rather than the usual discussion that the end was so near we both talked about how the society had painted itself in a corner and were speculating about what the next "flash of light" would be.

That was a rare conversation. I rarely was able to talk to anyone about anything other than the very superficial. When the 1914 generation change came I was shocked and very upset that NO ONE SEEMED TO GET THE SIGNIFICANCE of the change.

mathead

The WTS is always using scare tactics to subject the members to total mind control, Very diabolical!

geevee

Fear, Guilt, Panic, Judgement [of those not doing anything, or doing less] does it ever change?

ballistic

I remember the generation change as a Watchtower article as opposed to a convention talk. And I distinctly remember a wife of the PO coming up to me to point it out. I'm sure to this day that this lady was pointing out the truth behind the truth in a very clever way. She was always there to tell people how it really is. I wonder.

TheOldHippie

The articles came in November, and I remember checking with the Knowledge book, which had been issued in July at the convention. And when discussing 1914 and the Final Days, it did NOT repeat what all other study books till then had said, that among those witnessing the 1914 events, some would still be around when the climax came. So, the New Light had been around for say a year before that convention, as it takes some time to produce a book, and it was foreshadowed in the book - but then it was made public in November. I have the strong feeling, November is the month when most New Light is made public. Not at the conventions, because it is not comprehended orally. But it was strange to notice that the generation light had been there for close to a year and a half before November - but in the meantime, articles had still preached old light.

A Paduan

I remember being visited in 1983 by enthusiastic jws who remained perplexed that I did not "take up their offer" as the world was going to end before "the 1914 generation......." etc.

I remember thinking "I'll probably be alive to see the embarrassing end of a religion"

Not so - societal norms don't apply to the WT - blumin spoilsports

garybuss

Great post TheOldHippie!

Watching the Watch Tower introduce new light is like watching a conspiracy unfold. First, and before the new light comes out, the basic support is laid for the principle used to justify the change. Then the arguments are all addressed. Then the change is made. If an argument is missed, a "Questions From Readers" article covers the missed argument like it did for the sheep and goats change.

These changes are planned months, years in advance. So you know they had the "new light" in the can, being withheld from the world while they wrote the "cover thy asses" and "get ready for new light" articles like they are doing now. It's hilarious they call these changes "flashes" of light. Nothing flashed! A farmer can plant a crop when the new light doctrine articles come out and harvest that crop before the actual new light comes out.

This corporation considers and calculates and meets and schemes and then it acts and acts slowly. The problem is the model is broken. Nothing has panned out except the desire to stay in business. The only thing that keeps them in business is the availability of enough gullable people to support all the jobs and activities like fundraising and real estate development.

They bank on people staying in the group even if insulted and abused because of the amount of control used on the members by the other members. That model is not holding up either.

Latest WT study article - preparation for upcoming new light?