A question on " 1975 "

by The 50 Replies latest jw friends

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  BluesBrother

  We were there. Already grown up in the "truth" , newly married and looking forward to eternal life in peace and happiness

  Did many stumble out? Not many immediately or openly, but it must have made a difference to many who fell out later. There was a sort of macho attitude "We are not the sort to drop out over a thing like that,"so we stayed on, and on and on ..

  It affected me to never trust them as directly speaking for God, again. I viewed them differently.

  Yes , people today deny ever believing it , or that the Society said it, if they can
• 

  Narkissos

  I became a JW with part of my family in 1972 (I was 13). Here in France the expectations would vary greatly according to congregations and individual JWs. In the first congregation we attended, they were very high in general. My father was quite reluctant, often referring to the "nobody knows the day and hour" saying, and he was regarded as "lacking faith" by others. I remember discussing the issue with an elder who was quite assertive and asking him, "What will you do if it doesn't happen in 1975?" He answered: "I don't even wonder about that. It will happen in 1975." Years later he was still an elder.

  The oil crisis in 1974 revived the expectations, even in my own family. Some JWs pointed to a sentence in a WT book about Daniel (Let Your Will Be Done? -- not sure of the title) which had a passing mention of "oil" as one issue of the struggle between the King of the North and the King of the South, and it was viewed as a "prophecy in the prophecy". As some conjonctural shortages occurred my father made huge stocks of basic food (flour, sugar, etc.) -- most of it was eaten by weevils in the next few years.

  Strangely enough, in the course of 1975 everybody seemed to forget about those expectations. The "normal" course of events, and the busy "theocratic" schedule made it just too unrealistic I guess. The "date" came and went largely unnoticed. I remember an elder joking a few months later: "6,000 years ago, Adam was in his garden and he just caught sight of a lion's tail" -- an allusion to the supposed delay between Adam's and Eve's creations, which was already a well known "chronological parameter".

  I don't remember any acquaintance leaving the WT for this reason in the next few years.
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  freedomlover

  I was born in 1974 and I have heard my mother say that when she was pregnant with me, witnesses made comments to her in the effect of "how could you be having a baby! we could be in concentration camps next year!" my mom just laughs about it now. so weird.
  
  I do think a lot of the hype depended on individual congregations. Where the society never said the exact words "it's 1975" they made plenty of hype and suggestion to the R&F.
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  JeffT

  I was baptized in the fall of 1973. The congregation I was in (Pullman, WA) was very caught up in 1975, indeed the whole circuit was. I new one family that decided to sell their farm and go where the need was greater. (He had a nervous breakdown a few years later). I was told flat out by the person studying with me that I needed to be baptized within six months because the end was so close. When the first good news tract was released at the International Convention in the summer of 1973 there was a lot of speculation (as noted by another poster) that the last one would be distributed in the fall of 1975.

  One thing that has always struck me as telling, is that the society did nothing to correct or stop the speculation. Clearly they knew about it, you can't sneeze sideways in a KH without somebody reporting it to the elders, who in the case of possible apostacy would have been obligated to report it on up the food chain. The fact that not once did the society print an article, PRIOR TO 1975, that said something like "yes we think Adam and Eve might have created 6000 years ago, but that doesn't mean anything and the elders will tell you to shut up if you say it does."

  IMHO the Society knew what was going on, and loved the attention and increase it got them.
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  unclebruce

  The Blues Bro is spot on. I remember supressing doubts to save face - the last thing you'd want is to be labled a quiter over 1975 .. so I quit for love instead lol.
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  looking_glass

  The Society hinted at it in the materials so as to allow people to read and run with it. My belief is that they really thought it was going to happen. They are always saying something like that .... think about the "peace and security" statement. They kept claiming that would cause the end to come right away. That statement was made 20 years ago and here we are still around. But people say ... a day to god is a thousand years to man. So in other words maybe it is not 1975 but a thousand years from 1975? You can spin the tale as much as you want, it is still the same. No one knows any date as it relates to when and or if the end will come whether it is by god's hand or man's.
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  anewme

  One may not find a large amount of evidence proving the urgency of 1975, but these presented here show there was a push from the society down to brace ourselves for something of biblical proportions.
  
  I was there. I was attending the hall in 1972. Among the pioneers there was a fever to save all they could from Armaggeddon's fury. The zealous among them were taking liberties and adding excitement to comments about the coming doom and vindication of Jehovah's name. There was no time to lose in making a committment and showing on whose side you were on.
  
  A person would be a fool NOT TO JOIN DURING THOSE DAYS OF FERVOR!
  
  I remember those who stayed had to readjust their thinking. Alot of counsel was then given to remind us all that we worshipped Jehovah without an expiration date to our devotion.
  And those who sold all for the sake of the kingdom were encouraged to continue in the path and plan they had embarked upon to "go forth and make disciples of people of all the nations".
  The faithful readjusted their thinking and the brainwashing continued. It was unthinkable to leave Jehovah just because our imperfect overeager expectations did not come true they said.
  
  
  Oh if only I had left in 1975 my heart is saying.........what woe and heartache I would have spared myself!
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  Beep,Beep

  I'm surprised that you haven't been blasted for this. From past experience on this board anyone who takes such a stand on 1975 is either lying or nuts( I have been labled such). But like you my person experience is that not much was made of 1975 locally. Such stuff as has been described here did not, repeat, did not occur where I grew up.
• 

  south african beef

  I was 13 in 1975 having been born into d troof.
  
  I remember that a wealthy brother from a neighbouring cong |('millionaire Bob', or 'jet lag Bob', as he had always just flown in from somewhere or other just before the meeting),sold everything he had, gave up his job and even bought a minibus to transport everyone round the territory to make sure 'all those that wanted to could be given a chance to side with Jehoovah before the end came'.
  
  Anyway 1975 came and went and 'jet lag Bob' left d troof, got another job and was a millionaire again within a year. How cool was that?!
  
  Another thing I remember is being a good theocratic boy I let everyone at school know that I was a Witless. However one of the kids had found out about the 1975 end of the world thing - he said to me that on January 1st 1976 he was gonna come round my house and laugh and laugh and laugh again! However how relieved I was when my dad was asked to move congo's to help out where the need was greater - we moved away towards the end of 1975. I still wonder to this day about how embarrassed I would have been had that kid carried out what he had threatened to do!
  
  I got d'fed 4 years ago. Looking back I remember wishing I was 'part of the world' in the '70s. Many wasted years trying to please parents and Jehoopla have flown under the bridge.
  
  Anyway I am really happy now.
• 

  Apostate Kate

  Any congregations that did not spotlight 1975 were obviously not paying attention.

  In Southern California EVERYONE believed Armageddon was coming in 1975. EVERYONE.

  Afterwards the few that stayed in felt pretty darn self righteous for being the sheep and not the goats who wised up and left. Holy holy holy dubs ...were beautiful flowers whiles the rest were noxious weeds.

  The Truth that leads to Freedom From a Cult.