'If not, you better get them out to preach six hours a day during summer break!!'
This is my first post here... I stopped associating a just about a year ago, serving as an elder (WT conductor) up until I stopped going. Multi-generational JW, baptized 1984, pioneered, all that stuff. That's another story, but just to give you a quick background. I'll post a story later, I suppose.
I ran across this scan through another thread, and this page was originally scanned to show that in 1941 the organization taught that there were mere months to go before Armageddon, but... it ALSO discusses Rutherford's handing out "autographed copies" (?!? "glory to men"?) of the book Children to the kids at the convention. It was not the "remaining months before Armageddon" comment that caught my eye, but rather this one, that follows, that shocked my sensibilities as a parent.
(Remember that they felt the Ancient Worthies (Heb 11) would be coming back to earth as Princes to guide those in the New Order, thus the reference to Daniel, David, etc.)
…be able to give you girls proper advice, you girls who are looking for a husband. When you see Daniel, David, Moses, and all the prophets, listen to what they have to say, and they will properly advise you boys and girls. I am going to have handed to every one of you 15,000 children one of these books as a gracious gift. I ask that you first study it faithfully. Ask someone else to sit with you under the shade of a tree and study that which leads to life and endless blessings… It is your privilege between now and before the day school opens to spend six hours a day in taking the book Children to others. The parents should encourage their children to do this very thing,
if they would have them live .
Can you believe that?!
Emotional extortion, I say! Sounds like the soup Nazi in Seinfeld… "No Summer Vacation for YOU, lest you DIE in a few months!!"The next paragraph says that "many, including strong men, wept at the demonstration [seeing the kids filing down to get books]". I wonder how many of them were crying because they thought their kids were gonna die in a few more months!
Original scan: http://www.jwfiles.com/scans/WT9-15-41p288.htm
TJ